Since January, six iReporters have been training in the Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge. We’re following along as they prepare to compete alongside Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the August 7 Nautica NYC Triathlon.  During their last week before the race, we asked each of them the following questions: What's the biggest change you've seen in yourself since kick-off weekend? What are your personal goals for the tri?"

This weekend, "Sanjay Gupta, M.D." will be live from New York at 7:30 a.m. ET Saturday and Sunday. Watch the culmination of our team's training

We all make excuses why we can’t do something. I’m too busy, I’m not a runner, I’ve got to make dinner, I’ve had a long day at work, etc.

Before signing up for the CNN Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge, I made excuses. Some of them were partially true; others were nothing but cop-outs for my laziness and fear of failure. It’s easy to procrastinate and say, “I’ll go work out tomorrow." It’s much harder to buckle down and get it done.

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Since January, six iReporters have been training in the Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge. We’re following along as they prepare to compete alongside Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the August 7 Nautica NYC Triathlon.

I’m in the homestretch right now. I’ve put in all the hard work over the last several months and I’m ready to reap the rewards.

Up until about a month ago, I was enthusiastic, excited, and jumping to go but, lately, I’ve been kind of hesitant. I can’t really describe it with accuracy. I still very much love triathlon, my coach is awesome, along with all the wonderful people who’ve helped me out or trained with me along the way, but I can’t help but feeling a little depressed.

Why am I not faster by now? I don’t look like your "typical triathlete." How come I’m not this or that? All of these self-sabotage questions are flying through my head at 100 mph and it’s all I can do to get on my bike or throw on my running shoes because I’ve only got two and a half weeks left. I’m not going to get magically faster in that amount of time. No one else cares how fast I can run or what I look like in my race kit except for me.

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Since January, six iReporters have been training in the Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge. We’re following along as they prepare to compete alongside Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the August 7 Nautica NYC Triathlon.

As the 2011 Nautica New York City Triathlon approaches (24 days and counting!), I have such mixed feelings about the end of my first season as a newbie triathlete and the race that will be the culmination of the 2011 CNN Fit Nation 6-pack. I’m excited and nervous for the race, I’m looking forward to shifting my focus for the fall and winter months, and I’m sad that my journey with my other 6-pack friends is almost over.

I started out with a fire burning brighter than a thousand suns. I’d lost some weight prior to the whole experience and this was the next piece of the puzzle, the next fork in the road leading towards a healthier weight and a healthier life. As the seven months of training has gone by, I’ve lost a bit of my oomph, but I’m still going strong. I can see the finish line, so to speak.

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Since January, six iReporters have been training in the Fit Nation Triathlon Challenge. We’re following along as they prepare to compete alongside Dr. Sanjay Gupta in the August 7 Nautica NYC Triathlon.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It’s good to hear about all the positive workouts and events that I and the other 6-packers have had, but sometimes it’s comforting to know that no matter how hard you train, you’re just going to have a bad day or two. I’m human and sometimes things just aren’t going to go my way.

I had a longer run scheduled for this past Sunday. Six miles. Mentally, I know I can do this distance; I raced a 10k back on April 2 without any problems. I wanted to use this run as a test of how far I’ve come and pace myself according to my NYC race plan. I wanted to rock this run, so I went to bed early. (9:30 on a Saturday night. Ahh, the exciting nightlife of an aspiring triathlete!)

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Saturday, June 4, 2011, marks my first ever multi-sport race: The Sedalia Spring into Summer Duathlon. I woke up at 4 .m. to meet my coach, who was also doing the event so we could make the two hour drive to Sedalia, Missouri, together. When we hit town, we had about 15 minutes until packet pickup began so we decided to drive the bicycle course. It was hillier than I’d expected, but I knew I could do it.

The morning started off very hot and humid. We picked up our race packets and went to scout spots at transition. After setting up our transitions, we went for a quick warm-up ride and then back to transition and did a warm-up run. I was worried at this point, because I just didn’t feel like I was ready to race.

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