70 days and $3185 to go!

Because I have agreed to be an assistant coach for the TNT Greater Cleveland Triathlon Team, several weeks ago, I was given the opportunity to learn triathlon coaching from the master, Dave Scott. It took a little creativity, however, to get to the venue because I had already scheduled a trip to Florida on the preceeding week. So, after spending the week in Florida, I returned to Hopkins Airport in Cleveland at around 2:30PM on friday, 3/19. With no time to get home, I waited in the airport for about 5 hours to catch a 7:15PM flight to Washington, D.C. I was travelling light with my customary one "carry-on" so I managed to stuff bathing suit and exercise chords in with my running shoes and shorts.

The flight to Washington, D.C. was uneventful and the plane landed around 8:30PM. My plan was to take the Metro to "Foggy Bottom" (I love that name) which would leave a 10 minute walk to the hotel. After puzzling over the fare machine for several minutes, I finally solved the riddle with a little help from another rider and managed to purchase a one-way ticket. The ride from the airport was a straight shot on the blue line. But, I accidentally got on the yellow line. My error wasn't apparent for several stops since the trains parallel each other for several miles. After seeing 2 or 3 stops that I didn't recognize, I decided to get off and take a closer look at my map. Backtracking for several stops on the yellow line and heading in the opposite direction on the blue line eventually got me to "Foggy Bottom".

The weekend with Dave Scott was a great experience and I spent time with a number of great TNT coaches, including Dea, of whose courage I spoke last week. It was a very busy and exhausting weekend, but I learned a lot about triathlon coaching.

I returned home on Sunday and crashed! My training this week was back on schedule, with three mile runs on tuesday and thursday and a 6 mile run on wednesday. After a day of on friday, I tackled my longest distance so far, 13 miles, on saturday. The weather was perfect and I covered the distance in about 2 hours, 15 minutes. I'm still walking 1 minute out of every 10. That seems to keep my calf cramps at bay. However, I have had to work on them with "The Stick", massaging every hour, to loosen them up again. Yesterday, I took my first bike-ride of 2010, covering about 12-13 miles. It felt very good to get back on the bike. And after the long run on saturday, it was a good change of pace.

75 days and $3185 to go!

I'm not going to talk about training this week. I did spend the weekend in Washington, D.C. learning from Dave Scott, one of the truly great Triathletes. But, while I was there, I met a truly inspiring woman who reminded me why I am part of Team in Training. And, she is happy to let me share her story with you.

Dea is a young mother of two lovely little girls, Lauryn and Jordyn. Two years ago her then 4 year old daughter, Lauryn, was diagnosed with Leukemia. It has been a difficult 2 year journey for Dea, Lauryn, and Jordyn, but in a few short weeks they will be able to throw Lauryn's meds away. She is truly on her way back to full health. Dea is raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society by training for the Steelhead half-ironman triathlon. She knows first-hand the good that the society does for people who are battling cancer.

You can see Lauryn's very touching story of tragedy and hope here.

84 days and $3235 to go!

My schedule called for a light week. And, that's exactly what I did. After last week's 31 miles, I dropped back to 18 miles this week. After a rest day on monday I ran 3 miles on tuesday, 5 miles on wednesday, and 3 miles on thursday. I'm fighting a little muscle tightness just below my right calf - probably as a result of the high mileage of last weeek. So, the easier week should help to resolve that.

A rest day on friday, which consisted of my 15 minute yoga routine was followed by yoga and a 7 mile run on saturday. The 40 degree temperature accompanied by a very cold drizzle seems to have aggravated the muscle tighness below my right calf. So, today I went for a walk. It's feeling better now.

This week, I plan to up the mileage to 24 and end the week with my longest run to date, 12 miles. I will be in Florida for the week and the morning temperatures should be in the 50s. Next weekend, I will be in Washington, D.C. to be certified as a triathlon coach. The training will be conducted by the legendary Ironman Dave Scott. Well, he is certainly legendary to triathlon wonks like me. :) I can't wait!

91 days and $3460 to go!

This week I stepped up the mileage, covering a total of 31 miles. My strategy of walking about 1 minute out of every 10 is working well to keep my leg muscles from cramping up. Monday I took the day off. The schedule I am following includes two days a week of rest, usually monday and friday. Depending on whether or not I am travelling, I may rest on different days. The rest days are an important part of this schedule, allowing my body to recover from the long runs.

Tuesday, I covered 9 miles. The long runs are typically done on saturday. But, since I did not have the time to do the run on saturday, I determined to get it in at the first opportunity, which was Tuesday. I felt strong throughout the run and even though I was a little weary at the end, my legs felt good afterward. I covered the distance at about an overall 9:30 pace. Pretty good, considering that includes the walking intervals.

Wednesday and Thursday were shorter days for me. I covered 3 miles on each of those days. The weather in Florida was unusually cold this week, averaging in the low 40s for the mornings, which was the time I did my running. Luckily, I heeded my wife's advice and took my long sleeve pullover with me on the trip.

Before I left Florida on Friday, I ran 6 miles. I'm still waiting to pick up my new shoes. I called the store on my way home on friday to discover that they had received the wrong size. Not what I ordered. So, I will have to wait a little longer.

Saturday was a day off, and today I ran 10 miles. I covered the distance in 1 hour, 33 minutes. This averages just under 9:20 per mile. I will slowly work my way up to a 20 mile run by increasing the distance of my long weekly run by a little each week.