I am swimming a few times a week these days in preparation for a triathlon in less than two weeks.

But there’s a problem. I taught myself to swim as a kid, and I don’t think I was a very good teacher.

I’ve noticed when I am at the pool that everybody else seems to swim fast and efficient, while I am slow and clumsy.

And I get tired really easy – like I need to take a short break after each 25 meter length kind of tired.

So, as embarrassing as it is to have to take swim lessons, I think it’s time. Ugh.

I’ve created a profile on dailymile to track my progress as I train for my first indoor triathlon in the coming month.

It’s a neat community where you can sync with Nike+ for runs and manually input details for swimming and biking.

The site includes an option to have each update automatically post to Facebook and/or Twitter. I have my account set to post the updates on my Twitter account @thefatblog.

See my profile at http://www.dailymile.com/people/affiliatetip.

Just a couple weeks until my triathlon.

I just signed up for the Life Time Fitness Indoor Triathlon, taking place March 14, 2010 in Berkley Heights, NJ at Life Time Fitness.

Granted, this isn’t an Ironman Triathlon by any means – it only spans an hour total, but it’s a new challenge and I’m excited for it.

This particular triathlon consists of a 10 minute swim in the lap pool (good this is first, because it’s my weakest area), a 30 minute bike in the Cycle Fitness Studio (probably not so bad, but I never really ride the bike), and finally a 20 minute treadmill run (should be a piece of cake, though I always run fresh, and I won’t be here).

Time to add in some swimming and biking to my exercise routine.

I started running back in the early summer last year. It was partly out of being stubborn.

One day, I decided to go for a run. This was totally random, since I hadn’t run since 1993 or so.

So, I was running and felt like I was about to die after a half mile. That day I decided I needed to get in better shape, and I made plans to complete a 5k race about 6 weeks later.

Long story short – I’ve run three 5k races since then, and I just got to a new level on my Nike Running account. I’ve run over 150 miles now.

I am working on running longer and more often. Feel free to check out my progress at http://my.nike.com/affiliatetip and give me grief if I slack on it.

I went to the gym today to run a couple miles on the treadmill. It was my first run of the new year, and I was anxious to kick off the year.

But so were tons of other people – all of the college kids and New Years resolution makers crowded the place.

And then I had some bad gas, which isn’t a great thing in the gym on any day, but worse when it’s packed.

If you’re not familiar with Walter the Farting Dog, it’s about this dog who is making lethal fart and his owners want to get rid of him. So he tries to hold them in. Ultimately, there is a big explosion at the end, which takes out some robbers, and Walter is the hero.

Anyhow, that was me holding it, but no funny ending.

I can’t wait until the gym clears out again in a couple weeks.

I haven’t run outside since mid-November, and I got excited when I saw that it was 50 degrees today.

I figured it was a good time to get some fresh air and run someplace besides the treadmill at the gym for once.

But shortly after starting, I was struggling as I took big pulls of cold air and ran against the wind.

This wasn’t the refreshing and comfortable run I planned on. Rather than my usual 2 or 2.5 miles, I dropped off at 1.5 miles.

Back to the gym until it warms up in the spring… or I forget how I don’t like cold running.

We’re just a few weeks away from the diet frenzy that kicks off January 1 each year. But why pile it on now and work harder next year?

I fully accept that I’ll be more of a pig this month than usual with the parties, gifts, etc. throughout December, but there is no reason to just straight out gain.

It’s a stressful season – well, it isn’t to me, but I always hear that – so get some workouts in to alleviate that stress and burn off some of the egg nog, candies, cakes, etc.

I am actually planning to step up my activity this month to compensate for the added calories, and keeping consistent is the way to go.

I seem to pick a lot of songs with sounds that sometimes freak me out while running – the worst is when I think I hear a siren.

Sometimes if I’m not paying attention to the music, I’ll be caught off guard by what seems to be an ambulance racing up behind me.

One that comes to mind is Ring the Alarm by Beyonce.

Read Five Freaky Sounds That You Don’t Want in Running Songs for other sounds you probably want to eliminate from your song selection when running.

I’ve had a really tough time running the past few weeks – I am out of breath nearly a 1/4 mile into a run.

So, I went to the doctor, and he said I might have Exercise-Induced Asthma, since I don’t have the issue when I am at rest. If that’s the case, it sucks.

But he said to give it a couple more weeks to see if it improves, because it might also be that I had Pneumonia when I was diagnosed with Sinusitis a few weeks back.

I hope that is the case. While I was at the doctor, I got an EKG and lung x-ray, and both turned up regular, so that’s good.

Anyhow, I’ve off to the gym to try out the treadmill. I’m going to stay away from running outside while the leaves are still falling and being blown all over by landscapers in my neighborhood. Maybe that junk is gunking up my breathing?

I ran in the inaugural Damon Runyon 5K Run/Walk for Cancer Research yesterday at Yankee Stadium and raised $2,570. My goal was $3,500, and while I didn’t reach it in advance, donations can be made through December 18, 2009.

According to the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, more than $300,000 was raised for cancer research. How about a little more, affiliate marketers?!

100% of the money raised will be used by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation to fund innovative research by today’s most brilliant young scientists, who are racing to find the causes and cures for all types of cancer.

It was a really near experience to run through all of the areas of Yankee Stadium for a 5k. We entered at the Great Hall.

And then we moved near Section 120 to start it off on the 100 level concourse.

During the run, I slowed down a couple times for pictures from my Blackberry. Here is a shot from the upper deck. You can see runners along the warning track.

And I snapped a picture from near the Yankees dugout while doing one of the two laps around the warning track.

Please do what you can to sponsor the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation.

Thanks to Freddy Abrahamson, Bryanne Corra, Debbie Chill, Shawn Drewry, Peter Figueredo, Dana Hariton, Dennis Hickey, Daniel McQuade, Mona Patel, and Rich Vergara for signing on with the Affiliate Summit team for the Runyon 5k.