Apr 062011
 

In Part 1 of our interview with Peter Engwall, we learned about the man who lost nearly 150 pounds when he decided to change his life for the better.  In Part 2, we are going to learn about Peter Engwall, the man he is today.  Peter has “an amazing wife, and the best son in the entire world!”  And loves coaching his sons baseball and football teams.  He’s a Project Manager for a wireless telecommunications company in Seattle, Washington.  His schedule is extremely busy, but Peter always makes time for his Ironman training.  Peter remains extemely active and we asked him a variety of questions relating to his fitness goals and about his website, http://auggiesdad.sweat365.com/.

As you may recall, Peter began exercising in order to lose weight and quickly discovered that entering himself in endurance events would help him stay focused on the end result of losing weight.  One summer, he decided to sign up for his first Sprint Triathalon.  Four years later he is planning on completing his first Full Ironman in November.  Peter has also set a variety of other goals.  He wants to complete an Olympic Distance race in under three hours and plans on completing his first Full Ironman in the alotted 17 hours.  Lastly, he wants to remain injury free.

Peter’s life has been filled with memorable experiences.  He married his best friend.  He witnessed the birth of his son.  He was on the Oprah Show.  He completed a sprint triathalon.  He completed a half marathon.  And he completed a half Ironman.  As a beginning runner, I know what Peter means when he says that those are memorable moments.  It’s about being able to complete something that once was impossible and being able to accomplish something like that makes anything seem possible.

Training allows you to “get away from it all,” Peter says.  When in training, all your thoughts and worries get focused on your training and it allows you to clear your head.  And for Peter, it has been a surprisingly social activity.  He has met numerous people that he has trained and worked with, including our first hero, Mitch Roberts.  Peter began training with Mitch because he recognized the fact that it was important to find people to train with that are smarter and people to train with that are faster.  I’m not sure which category Mitch falls into, but my guess is that it’s not the smarter one (Just Kidding). 

http://auggiesdad.sweat365.com/ is a place that Peter goes to log his workouts and serves as a reminder to when his next races are scheduled.  He has been able to track his distances through the website and he says it’s great to see his results grow.  His post on http://sweat365.com/blog/2008/05/14/lifestyle-changes-yield-big-results/, is how I learned about Peter losing nearly 150 pounds as a result of his lifestyle change.

Through Peter’s website, he has been able to make many new friends from many different areas.  His favorite websites are http://runningbrothers.com/ (obviously) and http://www.slowtwitch.com/.  He encourages all of you to be yourself and have fun. 

Lastly, Peter believes that every person should make someone else’s life just that much happier.  He recommends that you change the life of someone else for the better.  And I can honestly say that your story, your participation and becoming one of our heroes has changed our lives for the better.

If you would like to learn more about Peter Engwall, please visit his website, http://auggiesdad.sweat365.com/.

Jan 262011
 

Steve Ference, you posted two comments, one about swimming during lunch so that we can eat whatever we want and how quitting the drinking of alcohol was a good thing.  In order to return the favor, we have made the decision to make you one of our heroes.  The honor is immense, but you are worthy.

 

Viva Movement began as a blog about Steve wanting to become more adventurous.  One new such adventure was a sprint triathalon.  As Steve puts it, “It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done.”  After that, he was hooked and now VivaMovement has transformed into the chronicling of his journey to become an Ironman.

Steve has a very practical approach to attaining this goal.  He is trying to accomplish little steps along the way to reach his ultimate goal.  His next step is to run a marathon.

When I emailed Steve, asking him for an interview, he indicated to me that he was moving to South Korea.  Originally from Indiana, PA, he and his wife, decided to up and move to the other side of the planet, to teach English to South Koreans.  They figured that with no children and no commitments, that this would be there only time to do something like this and is now finding himself getting situated in an entirely new country.

 
The most rewarding things that Steve has accomplished so far is swimming a mile in a pool.  Which, also happens to be my favorite article that he has written, http://vivamovement.blogspot.com/2010/12/one-mile-swim.html, very inspiring.   It really gave him some perspective on how much more training that he was going to have to do to prepare.  He likes the solitude of running by himself, but also enjoys the company of others on a run. 
 
Steve recommends setting small, attainable goals.  Having a huge goal is great, but you need to feel some sense of accomplishment along the way.  He also suggests telling as many people as you can about your goals, so that they, and yourself will hold you more accountable.
 
One thing Steve recommends that everyone should do at least once in their lifetime is travel to a different country.  He has been in South Korea for just a short period of time and already has called it one of the most life-changing experiences he has ever had as it has changed his worldview and personal views.
 
Writing is Steve’s passion and if you are interested in learning more about Steve, Viva Movement, or his Ironman training, visit his website, http://www.vivamovement.blogspot.com/
Jan 202011
 

ZebI completed my goal for this week . . . are you surprised?

Weekly Amount:

Running = 10.2 miles
Biking = 43 miles
Swimming = 4300 M or 2.7 miles
Total Amount: 54 miles

Overall Amount:

Running = 30 miles (7.3 miles to downtown L.A.)
Biking = 43 miles (68 miles to downtown S.D.)
Swimming = 12,600 meters or 7.8 miles (29.5 miles to downtown L.A.)
Total = 79 miles (32 miles to downtown S.D.)

Accomplishment:

Zeb Bikes to L.A.

Jan 072011
 

Sister to the Running Brothers Hello, I am Lacey Welborn of LaceyW.com and sister to the Running Brothers. I am very proud of my brothers for getting all this going. They’ve set ambitious goals for themselves. They told people they knew about their goals and found they have similar goals. They made the decision to help each other stay on track. Then, they started this blog which, will not only track their progress, but also keep them accountable to work towards the goals they have set. Rocky wants to be a marathoner. Zeb wants to become an Iron Man.

Rocky, my twin, used to run cross country in high school. I think he has a very good understanding of the work that he will have do to get into marathon running shape. He knows it will be difficult, but he also knows just what he needs to do to reach the finish line.

Zeb, on the other hand, has no idea what he’s in for. Sure, he’s always played sports and for a while he was a gym rat, but he hasn’t done much in endurance training. Besides the sprint triathlon he ran last year he’s got nothing under his belt. When he told me he wanted to be an Iron Man I thought once he looked into it he’d leave that idea behind and settle on something else. Needless to say I was wrong.

A couple days ago Zeb told about his swim workout. He wanted to see how long he could swim without stopping. When he told me his results I was surprised. He did really well. Zeb says he knows that he can finish the swimming part of the Iron Man in the appropriate amount of time. Perfectly reasonable, BUT then he told me that he thinks completing this Iron Man is going to be a lot easier than he originally thought.

Wait. What!? Easier? It’s insane! Complete a marathon after biking 112 miles and swimming 2.5 miles… to me, it’s CRAZY!

I’m glad he thinks it won’t be too hard. I have to admire his optimism. I will definitely encourage him, but I know there will be road blocks, and I hope he’ll be ready for them.

Jan 052011
 

ZebI don’t want to flood my posts with my exercise routine; however, I do think it’s important to update everyone on the progress I’m making, so every Wednesday I will post the amount of exercise I have done for the week and my total amount.

Total Amount:

Running = 9.8 miles (27.5 miles to downtown L.A.)

Swimming = 4100 meters or 2.5 miles (34.8 miles to downtown L.A.)

Total = 12.3 miles (25 miles to downtown L.A.)

Dec 122010
 

ZebIf you must c0mplete the bike ride in 10 hours and 30 minutes, that means they allow you to complete the run in 6 hours and 30 minutes.  The run is 26.2 miles, so, in order to complete the ironman, I would have to run at just a little over 4 miles per hour.  And would have to complete every mile in just under 15 minutes.

Fifteen minute miles?  Piece of cake.  When I was going to the gym, I could do a mile in under 7 minutes, so that’s getting about double the time.  Of course, I would be doing about 26 of those and adding on a 112 mile bike ride and a 2.4 mile swim just before it, but hey, that’s not much.

This whole ironman thing sounds pretty easy, I mean who couldn’t run a mile in under 15 minutes?  Right?

Today, I will be doing a little exercise.  I have my weekly soccer game to play in a couple of hours, should be fun.

Dec 112010
 

ZebYesterday, I figured out what pace I would have to swim at in order to complete the 2.4 miles necessary to complete the Ironman.  Today, I want to find out the pace I would need to be at to complete the biking portion of the race.

According to ironman.com, The cutoff time for the bike ride is 10 hours and 30 minutes from the start of the race.  So, if I cut off the 2 hours and 20 minutes that gives me 8 hours and 10 minutes to complete the bike ride of 112 miles.  This is roughly 13.7 miles per hour.  Again, I have never really timed myself on a bike either, but I am eager to see how many miles I could actually do on a bike without any preparation.

Tomorrow, I will set the running pace.

By the way, today is my wonderful girlfriend, Cindy’s Birthday.  So, Happy Birthday!  Can’t wait for the concert tonight.

Dec 102010
 

Zeb

Today, I want to know what my pace would need to be in order to complete the swimming portion of an ironman event that way I know what pace I need to be at for the swim.  Knowing this will help me keep a benchmark on how well I am doing time wise.

The cutoff time for the swim of 2.4 miles is 2 hours and 20 minutes.  Which means I would have to swim at a pace slightly over 1 mile per hour.  How fast is that in the pool?  I swim in a pool that is a 25m pool.   A 2.4 mile swim is the equivalent of 3862.425 meters.  3862.425 meters is 77.2485 laps in my gym’s pool (by laps I mean to the end of the pool and back).  So, the average time per lap would nead to be about .551775 laps per minute or 33.1065 laps per hour.

I have never actually timed myself in the pool, but I do want to go out and try it without any training just to see how long I could last.  I am not anticipating long, but who knows.  Tomorrow, I will set the biking pace.

Dec 092010
 

Zeb140.6 miles.  Wow!  I once traveled cross-country and 140.6 miles per day was about all I could handle, and that was in a 2007 Toyota Tacoma.

According to Mitch Roberts (http://mitchr.sweat365.com/), I would be considered an Ironman if I complete any race that consists of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run.  The challenge is more direct, I will complete an Ironman event.

How long will it take?

To be honest, I have no idea what I am in for, nor do I know how long it will take.  I have been fairly athletic my whole life, playing soccer at least once a week since I was 5, but I have never ran, swam or biked on a consistent basis.  In fact, the most I think I have ever run in a single day was 3 miles.  Who knows how long it will take to train.  But, I do want to establish a time frame to accomplish this goal.

I am 29 years old, which I have heard many people say that 28 to 29 is when a male is in his athletic prime, so in order to give myself the best chance, I need to do it fairly soon.  The commitment will be to complete 140.6 by my 35th birthday, which gives me a little over 5 years.

Hopefully, I won’t have to wait that long, but who knows how long it will take to get ready for something like this.

I am up for the challenge.  If you see me on the side of the road holding up a sign that reads 140.6 or bust, don’t pick me up, just shout some words of encouragement as you drive by and I’ll see you at the finish line.

Dec 062010
 

ZebIt’s time for a brief introduction, I’m Zeb, the older, better looking Running Brother.

My ultimate goal in this process is to become an Ironman.  My brother first suggested that we attempt a half Ironman earlier this year.  I had never heard of the Ironman, but it peaked my interest so, I decided to research the topic.

According to ironman.com, The Ironman World Championship is a competition that takes place every year in Kona, Hawaii.  Only 1,800 people can enter the race.  Their are two ways to get in, you can qualify for the race by performing well at other Ironman events or you can get accepted through a lottery system.

The overall distance for the race is 140.6 miles, a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26.2 mile run and in order to finish, the race must be completed in 17 hours.  Typically, temperatures on race day are 82 to 95 degrees with humidity around 90 percent, and in the past racers have had to deal with winds that have gotten as high as 60 mph.

I want to be able to say, “I am an Ironman.”  However, all my research did not give me an adequate answer as to what constitutes being an Ironman.  Is it coming in first at the Ironman World Championships?  Is it completing the course in Kona in under 17 hours?  Is it completing one of the other qualifying events that are also 140.6 miles?  Is it completing a half Ironman?  Does anyone know how I can say that I have become an Ironman?

Take a look below to view a brief video preview of the 2010 Ironman World Championship, set to take place on December 18.