Fit and sick, a strange combination

I recently took a new job as a phlebotomist at a medical lab. It's a great job, I feel much more important than I did when I was just a lifeguard. However, working in a medical setting does have one major drawback- sick people. Drawing blood requires me to be in very close proximity with patients, and after a few weeks of working my immune system has succumbed to a significant head and chest cold. Nevertheless, the week's training has gone well, logging around 10,000 yards of swimming, 112 miles of cycling, and 50 miles of running. This morning I topped off the week racing the Turning Point 5k in Saratoga. I finished 3rd with a time of 18:31. I felt pretty good about it, but my chest cold definitely did some damage in the second and third miles. I think the jolt of racing helps put some life into the legs. Despite the sickness, I think I've managed to get some solid fitness and strength out of this week, especially with running. This coming week I would like to take the running down to 40 miles and crank the bike miles up to about 200 to round out my fitness for the Fronhofer Tool Olympic Triathlon and set myself up for a good taper to Timberman 70.3.

On a completely separate note, the London Olympics began today, and the games again have not failed to amaze me. I got to see bits and pieces of indoor volleyball, beach volleyball, handball, and archery. The array of different types of athleticism is just absolutely incredible. Archery in particular captivates me, how somebody can take a bow and arrow and hit an itty bitty target from across a huge distance shot after shot. Very different form of athleticism than triathlon, but so impressive.

I'm going to try and get some sleep. I have to kick this cold before racing this weekend, and I still need to get those big bike miles in this week, and that could mean riding in some t-storms by the looks of things...

The mission

Operation K13 is nothing short of the greatest physical challenge I have ever faced in my athletic career. The objective is simple- make it to the Ironman World Championship in Kona in 2013. At midsummer 2012 I can confidently say I am good at the sport of triathlon. However, good athletes don't make it to Kona, only exceptional athletes do. After a half season littered with mixed results due to illness and time constraints, I have registered for Ironman Lake Placid, taking place July 28, 2013. I also plan on competing in one or two of the early season 70.3 races that serve as Kona qualifiers. For now, however, the focus has to remain on finishing out the 2012 season well at 70.3 Timberman on August 19. Keep following my blog for updates and an occasional look at my training days. Lake Placid registration was the first active step in my run for Kona, so Operation K13 is now underway!