Run for Your Life

A few weeks ago, when it still felt like summer here in New England, I competed in my sixth triathlon.

This was my fourth swim/bike/run event of 2006, and my third straight year in the annual September Hyannis, Mass., sprint-distance race.

How did I do? We'll get to the results in a moment. But first, I want to give you some advice in case you want to race in 2007.

My introduction to triathlons was serendipity: A few years ago I realized that a slowing metabolism and endless hours in front of computer screens had sapped my strength.

Unhappy that I could not run five miles like I could in college, I joined a YMCA to jumpstart my workout routine.

Tonya Spagnuolo, one of my instructors, mentioned she was doing a triathlon on Cape Cod at the end of the summer and said I should join her. It was an easy decision for Tonya; she came this close to competing in the Olympics in synchronized swimming and could also hold her breath underwater for two minutes.

Since the race was months away, I agreed. I could always back out later.

But before I knew it, it was race day and I was standing at the edge of Nantucket Sound. What had I gotten into? I could bike 10 miles and run 3.5 miles, but the swim -- a quarter mile never looked so long.

"Is it possible that I'll wash up on shore this afternoon?" I muttered to the guy next to me.

I finished the race in one hour, 23 minutes and 39 seconds.

While still glowing from the endorphins, I set my next goal: to improve my time the next year by 10 minutes. And I did, finishing in one hour, 13 minutes and 12 seconds. For 2006, my aim was to finish under 70 minutes.

While it's always satisfying to improve your performance, what matters the most to me are the physical and mental benefits of regular training.

Today, thanks to cross-training, I'm in as good shape as I was in my early twenties. And the discipline of committing my sports goals to paper and then working to achieve them helps organize the rest of my life.

To cite an example, I am a better securities analyst since I started working out, and that's partly because of applying lessons learned about measuring activity and sticking to a well-defined process for my workouts to portfolio management.

If these benefits sound appealing, here are a few suggestions to help you prepare for your first race: