I really like to train. Sometimes it borders on the unhealthy side but for the most part swimming, biking and running has been good for me. It is also an inherently selfish activity if you let it be. 10 – 20 hour training weeks need to come from the finite number of hours available in the week. Sometimes it’s work, sometimes it’s familiy, sometimes it’s sleep.
For me, one of the reasons I blog is to share my thoughts on fitness and nutrition in hopes of inspiring others to go out and exercise. In my mind anyway, this helps offset the selfish nature of the training I do.
I never thought of myself as a writer (just ask my high school english teacher!) but I’ve found that since I’ve started to blog about what I think about during the hours and hours of training, at least a few people have responded positively. Some have gone so far as to tell me they are inspired by it. That’s very humbling and creates an urge to write more.
However, one of my biggest frustrations has been finding the time to get down “on paper” what goes through my head while training. Many times the stream of conscience flow of information in my head experienced in 1, 2, 6 hour training sessions is overwhelming to sort out into a cohesive blog post.
Hopefully I’ve found a solution.
Over the past couple of weeks I’ve quietly launched two communities – Why I Run and Why I Tri. Using Ning, Twitter and Facebook, I’ve created a place to share my thoughts in more digestible chunks, both for me to write and hopefully for those who choose to read those thoughts. As a bonus, I’ve seen a community of runners and triathletes join in sharing their motivations which has only served to make the communities better for everyone.
Do you run or tri? Please join the community and share with the rest of us.
Why I Run
On Ning
On Facebook
On Twitter
Why I Tri
On Ning
On Facebook
On Twitter
Dave Criswell 
I train to forget. Forget the past, forget the pain, forget the perdition. Somewhere out there at kilometer 18, at 3,000 yards, running past mile marker 10 my mind changes focus. My memories shut down and the present moment is all there is. I feel the cool winter breeze brush my cheeks and the nagging pull of my upper right hamstring rear it’s head as i chomp down on a red berry shot blok and reach for my fuel belt’s watered down gatorade. The mind shifts instinctively to the primitive survival mode and the dominate present distress of training allows the agony burned on my subconsciousness to slowly fade until the point where my mind draws a blank. It is in this moment i feel free, content, the most happy. I check my watch at the turn around point. Feeling strong I crank up my pace as the snow begins to fall. It’s 7 am, all is quiet and I have found the lucidity i’ve been searching for. I have found my faith and tomorrow I’ll find it again somewhere in the swim, in the bike, or in the run.