Well, you gotta start someplace.

So I've decided to change tack on this blog to use it for purely personal reflection on my quest to get in shape and, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, compete in a triathlon in a year or so's time.

Taking inventory of why I decided to do it: Well, why not?

So I'm keeping a journal -- online -- as a way of thinking through what I'm doing and to allow myself to track my progress.

What's held me back in the past -- and holding me back now?

Laziness, for one thing. That's the biggest obstacle, but I think that itself is rooted in something deeper. I've never been very patient with myself, never been able to accept that there are things I'm not good at -- things I have to work harder at to have any hope of accomplishing well. And I've been reluctant throughout my life to embrace anything I couldn't pick up easily -- to willingly expose myself to failure or admit that ... well, I don't have all of the answers and can't do everything.

So this, to a certain extent, is an effort to address a personal shortcoming, to capitalize on a moment when things are going well with my career and life and do Something Big. Perhaps down the road, when the going gets tougher, I'll need clearer reasons, but for now, I'm doing it to get into shape -- and to see if I can't end up surprising myself and developing a healthier attitude toward competition and hard work, things I've generally shunned in the past.

More to come: Should be an interesting ride.