Conine going extra

162 games of baseball is often referred to be like a marathon. Jeff Conine wanted to see if he could push things a bit further. The former MLB player will participate in his first Ironman triathlon in Hawaii Saturday.

Conine, a member of the Marlins' two World Series championship teams, must swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run 26.2 miles in 17 hours to claim Ironman status.

''There's nothing that I've done that will come close to this,'' Conine, 42, said Wednesday by phone from Hawaii. ``I'm nervous. I'm anxious. I'm fearful because I've never done all three [disciplines] in one day at this distance. You don't know how your body will react and how you will get through it.''

For the first time, I might actually check out the results of a triathlon this weekend.