By Steve Morris

It's go time baby. It's all or nothing. For the second year, I, the sports reporter at the Post Review, will compete in the Chisago Lakes Triathlon.

For those of you who don't remember, my experiences in last summer's triathlon was a complete and utter catastrophe.

My biggest problem was my bike. It was about as useful as North Branch being in the Rum River Conference. It slowed me down to the point women twice my age were cruising past me. It was quite the humbling experience for a 23-year-old male. Adding insult to injury, I ran out of water while on my bike. Lucky for me, a fellow rider I had befriended gave me water.

So, for this triathlon I have a couple of new strategies. First, I plan to race with a new bike and an extra water bottle. I haven't purchased the bike yet or the water bottle, but I plan on doing so in the near future, if of course, I get a big tax return.

The way I look at it, if getting a bike can make me finish ahead of the middle-aged soccer moms, it's well worth the investment. Plus, I can't embarrass myself once again because my wife couldn't stomach staying with such a buffoon.

I do have one more incentive to improve my performance from last year: I don't want to embarrass the Post Review. After all, this is a small town and word would spread rather quickly if the local sports reporter bombed the triathlon for the second consecutive year. Remember, I have to show my face at local sporting events.

This season, I have put those embarrassing experiences behind me and I am ready to improve. The triathlon is July 29, which should give me plenty of time to prepare for the big race.

With new goals, a new bike and a new water bottle, this triathlon will be much better.

If you are interested in following my journey, look for periodic updates on my how my training is coming and how my bike hunt is developing.