126 days and $2060 to go!

Thursday a week ago, when I went to the Team in Training kickoff meeting, I met one of my coaches for the Nation's Triathlon. He encouraged, no urged, us to begin running immediately - to start to get used to running for long distances. He stressed that the run can make or break the triathlon for many competitors. I've read this before. And, having competed now in two triathlons and one duathlon, I believe it. Being the last leg of the race, the run finds you at your most vulnerable. In the water you are relatively fresh, on the bike you can coast from time to time or find other ways to momentarily relax. On the run all you can do is stop or walk. You probably can't gain a lot of time on the run. But, you can lose a lot of time, particularly if your energy is spent or you are unprepared.

I have had real trouble on the 13 mile run in both of my half ironman efforts. In both cases I probably walked 1/3 to 1/2 of the distance, losing much time in the process. Largely as a result of this and of the coaches comment about training for the run I am seriously rethinking my strategy for preparing for this next race. What better way to enjoy, and to do well, in this race than to really prepare for the run.

I know I can cover the swim distance. And I don't expect to shave much time off of that effort. I just bicycled about 30 miles yesterday - then cut the grass. So, I know I can handle the bike portion which is 25 miles. What I really need to work on for September is the run.

With that in mind I have found an 18 week training schedule for a marathon (http://www.halhigdon.com/marathon/novices.html). Since I last ran a marathon about 20 years ago, I consider myself to be a novice. Yes, I am still thinking about the Akron Marathon which will be held two weeks after the Nation's Triathlon. We'll see how the training goes. I still haven't fully decided to enter this marathon, but I will try to stick to this training schedule and see how I am running after 8 to 10 weeks. Wish me luck! :)