The Running Brothers

Why do you compete in endurance events? What goals do you have?

Initially for me, competing, or should I say, participating in endurance events came as a way to help me stay focused on the end result of losing weight.  I needed something to look forward to one summer, so I decided to sign up for my first Sprint Tri.  Now 4 years/3 seasons, (out 1 season due to injury), I’m looking at doing a Full Ironman in November.  I got hooked!  I have three main goals this year for me and my endurance adventures.  1st Goal – Go Sub 3 hours at my Olympic Distance race in July.  2nd Goal – Go Sub 17 Hours for my Full Ironman, (I have a time I’d really like to hit, but I’m really looking forward to finishing, and, I’m keeping that time in my head and not sharing.) 3rd goal is to get and remain injury free. 

Do you have any memorable experiences that you’d like to share with us?

Where should I start? Marrying my best friend?  The birth of my son? Being on the Oprah Show.  Finishing my first Sprint Tri.  Crossing the finishing line in my very first “race”, getting a finishers medal and landing in my wife’s arms.  Crossing the finish line at my very first 1/2 Marathon, my very first 1/2 Ironman…Pick one.  They are all extremely memorable.  I haven’t and won’t forget any of them.

What do you enjoy most about training?  The least?

I enjoy “getting away from it all” the most about training.  In other words, when I swim, bike or run, my mind is solely focused on those things that I am doing and the rest of the world is all a blurr…All of the other things just go away.  I also enjoy the camaraderie of it all.  Training, (read = pain) with friends is a lot more fun than pain without friends.  They keep us honest.  The least…Well, all good things must come to and end, right?  In other words, getting back into the “real world”.

Any recommendations for someone who is new to endurance training?

Find people who are 1) Smarter than you are about what you’re about to do.  And 2) Find someone faster than you.  Smarter will help you learn the right things about the sport.  They can help you figure out what to do and what NOT to do.  Depending on what distance or goal you’re looking at doing, you don’t necessarily need a coach, but at least someone who has been involved in the sport for awhile, and knows what they are doing.  Finding someone faster than you makes training a lot of fun.  You’ve got to keep up, which, in turn, makes you faster.
 
Could you please tell us about auggiesdad.sweat365.com? 

http://auggiesdad.sweat365.com/ It’s a place I go to remember how many days is it until my next event, (or, more importantly a place I go to remind myself I’ve only got X amount of days until my Ironman, and then I say, ‘HOLY SH@!$%T’!.  It’s a place I go to track my workouts.  It’s a place I go to see how far I’ve swum, biked, and ran year to date.  It’s my little place in the internet space.

What was your inspiration for starting your blog? Has your blog changed since you started?

My inspiration for starting was just so I could hang with the cool kids…No, I’m kidding.  I thought it would be a hoot to see how far I go and track distances.  A place to write about what I see when I swim, bike and run.  My own little place for everyone and anyone to see, whenever they’d like.  If they want to. 

How has keeping a blog enhanced your running experience? 

It shows me how far I’ve gone. It motivates me to go further, (when I’m not injured).  It inspires me to keep moving.  Move More, Every Day.  I like to see results, so when those results grow on a daily basis, (as in, when I log my workouts), those results grow.  That moves me more tomorrow than today!

Do you have a particular post that you’re proud of?

http://sweat365.com/blog/2008/05/14/lifestyle-changes-yield-big-results/  (pretty self explanatory as to why it’s my most proud post…But, let me know if you’d like me to go into details). It’s not technically a post on my blog, but it’s a post on sweat which features me, which I wrote the answers to.

What has been your most rewarding experience through your blog so far?

Meeting new people and making new friends.  When you start reading other members questions, comments or blogs, you get to meet all kinds of interesting people from all over the place.  And, some who just so happen to be local.  So, you throw out an invite for a run, and before you know it, you’ve got a group ready to meet up for a run.  Then a little while longer you’ve got a training ride together.  Not too much later you’re heading out for a run and coffee, and the learning continues, and you get new friends! 

What are your favorite websites or blogs related to running?

http://runningbrothers.com/ and slowtwitch.com mostly.

Do you have any tips or ideas for a new running blogger?

Be yourself. Be true to whom you are, have fun! And, to steal a slogan from Brooks Running…”Run Happy!”

What are you most passionate about?

My family. My friends.

What is something that you think everyone should do at least once in their lifetime?

WOW, to pick one is difficult.  The list is huge…But, I guess, I’d like to make someone elses life just that much happier.  Change the life of someone else for the better.

You can learn more about Peter Engwall by visiting his website, auggiesdad.sweat365.com

Can you explain the concept of Sweat365?  To me, it seems like the website is set up specifically for athletes to record workout procedures and times, is that accurate?

It was created as a social networking blog side for logging your workouts and connecting with other athletes. I use it as a place to log all of my workouts, but once is a while post something as well.

Have you made any friends through Sweat365?

Quite a few actually. I have become quite good friends with those that live near me (other triathletes), but have also created a few friends where we follow each other’s workouts and keep motivating as we go along.

I noticed on the right hand side of your page you have a counter that keeps track of the distances you have run, biked and swam?  Did that come with the website?

This is controlled by what is referred to as Side Bar Widgets. You can get to those but going to your Dashboard, click on Advanced Setting, then “dragging” the Logbook 2” widget to the Main Side Bar. Then all of your distances will show up. Logbook 2 is what I have, but there is also a Logbook 1 that shows slightly different data.
 
How about the countdown watch to the Vancouver Half Marathon or to Ironman Coeur d’Alene?

The countdown timers are part of the options under Sweat365. If you navigate to you Dashboard, then click on Advanced Settings and look for Sidebar Widgets. Under Available Widgets, you should see the Countdown Clock 1-4. Simply drag one of them to the Main Side Bar Menu. From there, click on the little box/lines that are next to it, page up to see the information and add in the URL, dates, etc for your event. Then click on Save Changes and there ya go!

What has been your most rewarding experience through your blog so far?

Being able to meet friends who live near me, and become “virtual friends” with others around the world. That is way cool. Finding stories like yours are very inspiring too.

Do you have any tips or ideas for a new running blogger?

Just start writing, with no holding back.

What type of posts do you get the most feedback from?

Typically the most feedback comes after I have done an ironman (or other triathlon) and write about how the event went. There are a few Sweat365 friends (that I only know through S365) that comment frequently too. It really depends on the topic; for instance, my wife also has a blog and wrote one time (titled A Girls Guide to the Farmer Flow) about being able to finally “farmer blow” while running, as a girl. It was absolutely hilarious, and got a ton of comments.

What was your inspiration for starting the blog? 

Has your vision changed since you started it? I know the owners of the website, and at the same time I was training for my first ironman. So I wanted a way to track what I was doing. This was the perfect entry into that! If anything blogging has become a daily thing for me now.

What has been your most rewarding experience since you started training?

I have completed 3 Ironman Canada events, and signed up for a 4th in Idaho. Crossing those finish lines is such an amazing feeling. In 2007 my wife and I trained for my first event (she competed and finished as well) and it was one of my most favorite moments in my life to not only finish, but to be able to run down the finish line chute with my wife and son.

Why do you keep doing them?

I love the training aspect, and it has really become a social event for me too.. Almost every Friday morning there are 3 of us that head over the YMCA for a swim, and then go to coffee ( I work from home on Fridays).

What do you enjoy most about training?  The least?

I love how I feel after completing my goal (half marathon, ironman, whatever it is). Least? Sometimes it does take away from other things that I would love to do instead, but your finish time is what you put into it; slack off, and you are going to suffer; put the time in to train properly and you will achieve your goal.

Any recommendations for someone who is just starting out their training?

Find a plan and stick with it. Again you get out what you put in. Listen to others about what they are doing for training; listen to your body; if you are constantly tired or sore, something is going on that you need to pay attention too before it becomes worse. And most of all DON’T SUFFER…don’t be a victim. There are some many folks that I know of that sign up for an event and then complain about it. If you are going to sign up, then experience the event, all of it… the training, the mental and physical side, and the joy of completing on your goal

What is something that you did that you think everone should do at least once in their lifetime?

Travel to Europe, London, Paris, southern France, Italy, anywhere in Ireland, see what it is like to experience “history”. Love as if you will never get hurt. Go Gluten Free for two weeks and see what the difference is. When at the grocery store, only shop on the outsides and leave the frozen pizzas out of the cart. But my guess is that you are more interested in swim/bike/run J… sign up for something, anything, whether it be for a 5k, 10k, marathon, ironman, and train full out. You will never know until you go all in what might change in your life. I have a friend who was nearly 320lbs, ended up losing 140lbs through healthy diet and exercise, and is now a triathlete I (and a very good friend of mine). His life’s turnaround is very inspiring to me and am happy to be part of his life. 

What are you most passionate about?

Being with my family, Washington Huskies, week long bike rides with friends, training with my wife (we have turned this into date nights and days), going for beers with the guys, running across the finish line of any ironman event (it’s a huge adrenaline rush!), anything with my son (cooking, golfing, road trips to university, traveling to Europe). There’s a lot of passion in my life, so to limit is to “the most”  is really tough.

What is something you would do differently in your training or your blogging if you could do it all over again?

Well, for the training side, it really following my plans. When I followed it to the T during the first ironman, I had such a rewarding experience. When I slacked off the plans the last two years, I paid a real price, including a trip to the medical tent in 2010… not a good feeling.

If you would like more information about Mitch Roberts, visit his blog, www.mitchr.sweat365.com.