Today is a new beginning of sorts. A little over six years ago, I started running. Over the years, I gradually increased the number of races and distance and, reduced my times. After doing the same races and distance since then with an occasional half thrown in, I decide I need a new challenge. This actually became two challenges.

The first is to do triathlons – races which tested one’s endurance in swimming, biking and running. Thus far, I have signed up for two…the Musselman Half-Iron on July 15th and the PITA on September 23rd. I am sure there will be an occasional sprint especially before Musselman in order to get used to the whole she-bang.

The second challenge….my first marathon. Yup, all 26.2 miles of it. I have this little oval decal hanging from my bulletin board that says “26.2”. I’ve decided it no longer belongs there. It’s rightful place is the back window of my truck alongside the the Checkers AC, Ionraic Tri Club and “13.1” decals. So what did I do?

Today, I signed up for the Buffalo Marathon. Yup, I forked over the grand total of $75.55 for the right to run a full 26.2 miles throughout Buffalo on May 27th and get my name announced by the grand master of Buffalo running, John Beishline. Because I signed up early, I earned the right to receive an official “I’m Training for the Buffalo Marathon” T-shirt.

Training begins with the New Year. I am armed with a workout downloaded from Runnersworld.com, my brand new Garmin Forerunner 310XT – a Christmas gift courtesy of my wife, my faithful ASICs GTs, a partner to be determined, God, the 3Ps (Persistence, Perseverance, Patience), and a commitment to do my best and finish.

During the next five months, I will be chronicling my efforts. I will try not to bore you with the mundane details of my life. I will try to keep everything to the point and simple. If you have any suggestions, comments, training tips, money, encouragement, or an occasional “smart aleck” comment, please feel free to toss ’em my way.