Tim: There are now less than 100 days until the Reston Sprint Triathlon on June 3.  This past week was also eventful for a couple of other reasons.  My 20 cases of Girl Scout cookies were delivered and Yuengling went on sale at Safeway.  What do Girl Scout cookies and delicious, delicious beer have to do with Triathlon training you ask?  HA!  That shows how much you know about triathlon training.

Speaking of which, I got an email “confirming my participation” for a Triathlon training seminar at REI this Thursday.  It was the first I’d heard of it; Karen must’ve signed me up without asking/telling me.  Typical.  I was a little peeved about the short notice, but I was able to appropriate some material from the interwebs and pull together a nifty PowerPoint presentation.  Borrowing the company projector, I’ll be ready to stumble through it.  Should I assume everybody already knows how to ride a bike?  Or do I need to bring one?

On Tuesday, two days before my training presentation, I will be attending the official monthly Reston Triathlon Happy Hour with like-minded, carb-loading-centric individuals like myself.  It’ll be great to meet people who understand that it’s not about the swimming and the running and the biking; it’s really about the Camaraderie of Self-Inflicted Pain and the Quaffing of Beer. The promotional material states “Come meet local professional triathlete Margie Shapiro. She will share her experiences … and take questions on all things triathlon related.”

A Professional Triathlete!  I had no idea such a profession existed!  I’m sure I will pick up tips from her I can use in my presentation Thursday.  I’ll be very curious to see if she brings a bike.

Karen: Fourteen weeks to go and this past week had its challenges. My plan allocated the first three weeks to overall conditioning and weight loss. The next 9 weeks are committed to working through the "Couch to 5K" running program. The remaining time is to get up to speed with swimming the 400 meters. Biking will happen on nice weekends as the weather cooperates. I am confident it will all come together at the end.

This week, my incessant daily gym routine was thwarted by a nasty case of strep throat. On the bright side, my weight loss goals were achieved despite the lack of cardio. In the past three weeks, I have lost three pounds and three inches.

Perusing a recent email from the Fairfax REI, I spied a discussion session for "triathlon training". I signed Tim and me up.  I consider myself fearless in the face of any danger except for those I cannot see. At this point in our endeavor, I am sure our ignorance of the real challenges facing us is our greatest weakness. There are burning questions to be answered: Do I need a specific type of shoe? What about tires?  And Good Lord - What the heck am I supposed to WEAR??

Tim: "Our" ignorance?! I'm giving a presentation this Thursday on Triathlon training!

Karen: Tim. We are ATTENDING the lecture. Not giving it.

Tim: What?

Karen: It's a good thing you're pretty. We know nothing about doing a tri. This is our first. It hardly makes us experts.

Tim: It's swimming, biking, and running; activities I mastered decades ago. Someone is going to show me how to ride a bike? OMG - WHAT IF I'VE BEEN DOING IT WRONG THIS WHOLE TIME!

Karen: You also used to camp in a canvas tent.

Tim:  And I’ve asked you not to call me pretty! Okay. My plan for this week is to just think strategy. Define my plan. I guess two training sessions with so-called experts can't hurt, especially the one taking place in a bar. I can carb-load and learn at the same time.

Karen: Don't learn to the point of having a headache the next day. A jog might be advisable. Have you done ANY training this week?

Tim:  Yes.  Carb-loading and there might have been a walk on that really warm day. I don't want to peak too early.  It's too soon to start running or biking in earnest.  I don’t want to leave my best 5K on the Blue Trail in mid-May. My biggest worry right now is over-training.

Disclaimer: We are not medical professionals or fitness experts.  We aren’t even so-called experts or self-professed experts.  Do not rely on this blog for information or inspiration.  Your dentist asked us to remind you to floss every day.