Good run, but knees are feeling it now four hours later. Definitely feel that the marathon will be done now, especially if I avoid any major injuries. Also feeling good about finishing the sprint tri. I think it's premature to have time goal (especially as aggressive as the ones I set), so I'm changing them.

Today and yesterday have been bizarre. The sky has been clear, it's actually been beautiful. But no birds. Not a single bird. Also, I've had a bunch of people want to come stay with me, then decide to stay on the road...some people have been on I-45 for over a day...I couldn't imagine doing that. Someone spent 6 hours to go 8 miles. Somebody I know had been on the road for 14 hours...with his wife, three kids, and both parents...in 97 degree Texas heat. That sounds like the third circle of hell. Anyway, will try to get a run in today, but who knows how this will turn out. LATER: Now the clouds are coming in. Went for a run, there are some tree branches down and some leaves have been stripped, but the wind gusts aren't that bad yet. But it's 7:30, and it has gotten very dark...see everyone on the other side!

This is completely inappropriate. This storm is going to get all up in the way of my training! About to do my first tri, and I'm going to be stuck doing this for 3-5 days...this is unreal.

Screw everything. Woke up late today, had to hustle, have to get a bunch done today, have to prepare for a lil storm, and have a date tonight. I'll do a swim and bike brick tonight. Holy. Hit a bit of a wall today, was trying to push the bike, and the bike pushed back. I'm starting to think I'm going to have an interesting time, with this upcoming storm and my apparent mini-peak here.

Wanted to prove to myself that I can still be fast. Kinda worked, it was just a speed workout. My legs are surprisingly not sore at all after yesterday's bike. Think tomorrow will be swimming in the morning and biking in the evening.

There’s no pretending that the bike is anything but my weakest event. Lovely, that, given that it is also the longest event in the triathlon. I can’t care, this ride won’t beat me. I go with the cadence cranking it out. Slowly at first, trying to warm up. Already getting behind in my breathing, that’s not the most auspicious start. Hm, legs are feeling okay right now, but it’s early. Keep chugging along… Back doesn’t hurt. And my shoulders don’t hurt from swimming (right now)…that’s about all the good I feel here at 5 miles into the bike. It’s a fight between the body and the mind. “I’m a runner!” my mind screams. My body laughs pain at me through atrophied leg muscles that running doesn’t use. I am a bilge pump. It’s quite a feat of nature to eject this much water out of a human body, but here I am, awash in sweat. I pathetically try to force some back in, pushing the water bottle at my mouth, but my breathing hasn’t caught up, isn’t going to catch up, and my stuffy nose threatens to drown my lungs at each attempt of a swallow. I crush along, abusing the body that abuses me. I feel like Da Vinci’s depiction of man. I can feel every sinew in my hamstring, and my knees announce that they still haven’t forgiven me for pushing it too hard on a long run from a few days back. The ligaments are holding me hostage, promising retribution if I continue to pound like this. At least my feet don’t hurt. Or at least I can’t feel any pain. There’s a pleasant thought… Keep your eyes open. I have to train like I’ll race. I won’t close my eyes to focus on my legs during the race, I’ll be trying to pass people (why, hello, Optimism!), I’ll be judging turns, I’ll be firing my legs down to get up the hills. Practice what I preach. Crank all the way around the pedal. Don’t have a dead zone, keep pedaling. Open your eyes. I’m not really sure the legs could hurt much more. Really, this is incredible. Open your eyes! Man, my lungs hurt. And that little point in my shoulder, must be from swimming. Really is kinda sore. OPEN YOUR EYES. Final 2 miles. Crush, crank, rip, grind my way through the pain, the sweat, the breathing, the heartbeat. Push and…and…and…done! In the car on the way home, I feel ebullient. Was it a great ride? Absolutely not. But I didn’t give up (despite all internal attempts to the contrary) and made it. And, since I was feeling a bit descriptive tonight, I decided to put it down to remind myself of how it feels. This is how I used to train, this is how I will train again. What is past is prologue, and mind IS over matter!

I want to work out. The head cold and 12 hours sleep in the last three nights want otherwise. They win this round. P.S. Ha, thanks for the awesome Inspiration! To that I can only say: I used to be faster, and my brother got all the looks, but it sure is nice to have people talk about it.