The last couple of weeks of training have gone fairly well. I've had one tough swim and one tough bike ride in the last couple of weeks; but, other than that, the workouts have gone well. I have learned something in the last couple of weeks. I learned that if I am going to make any headway running, I probably need to spend more time on the treadmill. It seems to me that this oppressive Mississippi heat is not doing anything to help my endurance. I could be wrong, but since I am letting my heart rate dictate my pace, a more controlled training environment might actually do me some good. I hate to say that because I have never been a big fan of treadmill running; but, at this point I don't feel like I have much of a choice.



I recently acquired a bike trainer to ride in my house on days when I have to work all day and can't get out on the road before dark. I really like riding the trainer because I can do it whenever I want whether it be 4AM or 11PM and doing it in front of the television during a good TV show really helps to pass the time.



The last week's workouts have all been short. Every 4th week of my training for both the triathlon and marathon are basically "recovery" weeks. That doesn't mean that there will be no workouts- it just means that the workouts will shorter. This week starts another build phase of the plan. I'm excited about the next 3 weeks. Before the next recovery week, I should be up to an 18 minute nonstop swim, an hour on the bike and running for about 30 minutes.



On the fundraising front, I've had some extremely generous donations which have kept me on pace to reach my goals. I can't thank everyone who has donated enough. Like I have said before, it makes it a whole lot easier to train knowing that so many people are supporting me.

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Humility.....

If there's one thing that I've learned so far in the early stages of triathlon/marathon training, it's HUMILITY! And this is especially true with cycling! Cycling, for me, has been a real eye opener in exposing my poor cardiovascular fitness. Of course, I knew how terribly out of shape I was before I started training. I am reminded how difficult preparation for these events is going to be every time I sit on the bike. I guess I am going to pay for all those years of living an unhealthy lifestyle. I look forward to feeling better and better during these workouts as time goes by.

Swimming has gotten a lot more fun recently. I think it has more to do with confidence in the water than anything else. I have had a few rough swims; but, for the most part, everything has been OK and I am slowly but surely building endurance in the water.

Running is really not something that I ever see myself excelling at, although I am certain that at some point in the near future I will begin to enjoy it again. Starting over building a running base is not a fun task! My Sunday run this last weekend was probably about as miserable as a run can be. It was 96 degrees outside when I got out of my truck at 3:30 in the afternoon right before I went out! Definitely not ideal running conditions. I also battle my heart rate constantly and have considered putting the heart rate monitor away for a couple of months. I constantly struggle to keep my heart rate below 170-180 bpm. There seems to be no "in-between" for me. Either I am taking a brisk walk with a heart rate in the 115-120 range or a slow run with a heart rate > 170- and when I say slow, I mean Sl-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-w!!!! In fact, I think I am that guy that we've all made fun of at some point in our lives that we see running and have trouble deciding whether we can actually call what they are doing running. Amanda will attest to the fact that I am probably the slowest runner she has ever seen.

My weekly training schedule looks like this (if you were wondering):

• Monday- short swim and short bike ride
• Tuesday- rest day
• Wednesday- long swim
• Thursday- short run
• Friday- long bike ride
• Saturday- rest day
• Sunday- long run

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Deb Benson, one of the co-founders of Grateful American Coin, had donated to my fundraising efforts for the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF). Deb and her husband have created a nonprofit which sells "thank you" coins to give to service members. The proceeds from the sale of these coins go to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation or Paws for Patriots. The buyer of the coins chooses which of these charities their purchase benefits. I bought a couple of the coins and got a great email from Deb. I responded and let Deb know that if she knew of anyone interested in donating to SOWF through my marathon fundraising campaign to pass the message on. The next day, I was surprised and excited to find that she had given a very generous donation. I encourage everyone to check out Grateful American Coins and consider giving them to family and friends who are service members. They deserve our thanks and gratitude and what better way to thank them than with a token that they can keep forever that reminds them how much you appreciate what they have done for us.

On the great news front, I was excited to find out today that Cain has gone home from the hospital. I know that Brad and Catherine have got to be beside themselves that they finally get to get their family back home. I know that they've had a stressful last couple of weeks and the trip home must have been awesome!

Also, if you are interested in donating to one of the two great charities I will be running the marathon for in January, please click on one (or both) of the Firstgiving boxes on the right side of the page. Also, you can click on one of the following links.

Children's Heart Foundation

Special Operations Warrior Foundation

Thanks so much to all of the following people who have already donated!!

Good news so far....

I was happy to wake up this morning to news that Cain Clinkscales was doing well! He had the second of three surgeries yesterday. I followed his progress all day yesterday. I can't imagine the emotional roller coaster Catherine and Brad must have been on all day waiting for updates while Cain was in surgery and while he was in the ICU post-op before they got to go back to see him. I keep trying to put myself in their shoes, but I don't think that it's possible for me to realistically imagine how they must have felt yesterday. As a parent, when my kids aren't feeling well, I just want to do whatever it takes to make them feel better and rest comfortably. It's difficult for me to imagine being able to put complete trust in an anesthesiologist, a cardiothoracic surgeon and a perfusionist to do such a major procedure on my own child. Now, don't get me wrong, I would have no problems putting my full trust in the cardiothoracic surgeons, perfusionists and the anesthesia attending physicians that I work with; but, that's because I work them and know that they are competent health care professionals who truly care about their patients. I am sure Cain's parents have gotten to know Cain's caretakers very well up to this point, which undoubtedly makes it much easier when incision time arrives. One thing I've learned about kids since I've been a parent and health care professional is that they are resilient and can typically deal with adversity much better than adults.

With respect to my training, yesterday was a rest day. A 40 minute bike ride is in store for me after work. I am looking forward to it. Tomorrow will be a run day, then Monday I am scheduled for another 2-workout day with a morning swim and an evening bike ride; but, I may have to postpone the bike ride until Tuesday and skip one of my rest days this week since I have to work from 6:30A-7P Monday.

Speaking of training, I completed the entire distance of the triathlon swim in the pool on Wednesday. I just wanted to see if I could finish it and I did. It's a huge confidence boost for someone who really doesn't have a swimming background to know that I can finish the swim distance 4 months before the race.

I've been watching some YouTube videos of the Disney Marathon. Looks like it is going to be fun- or about about as fun as running 26.2 miles can be. The race actually starts and ends at Epcot. After running around in Epcot for a couple of miles then leaving Epcot, it's about 7 miles to The Magic Kingdom and through the castle. After leaving there, it's about 6 miles to the Animal Kingdom. There's really not much running actually in the park there. After Animal Kingdom, it's about 5 miles to Hollywood Studios and on to the finish at Epcot. You can check out the course map here. Also, here's a 3 minute video of some of the highlight of the race. If you're questioning whether I'm really going to do this....there's my receipt right there! Do I plan on doing it fast? Depends on your definition of fast. I will tell you that I plan on finishing on the same day that I start!

By the way, I want to thank all of the people who have donated so far to the two charities I will be running for, the Children's Heart Foundation and the Special Operations Warrior Foundation.

Also, if you know anyone who was born with a congenital heart defect(s) or was killed in Iraq, Afghanistan or elsewhere and would like to share their story, please let me know.

Scott

Getting started (random thoughts)....

Yesterday was my first training day. On my way to running my first marathon, I have decided that I will go ahead and do my first triathlon, also. I have been wanting to dive into triathlons for some time; but, Amanda's last semester of school combined with a newborn baby and a work schedule that only my boss could love really made training difficult. Now that Amanda is done with school and Parker is sleeping all night, I feel like those 5AM swims will be much easier to make. So, my first 5AM swim in a few months is tomorrow morning.

I actually had 2 workouts on day 1. A swim and a bike ride. Both workouts went great, although the 1PM bike ride in 92 degree heat was a bit uncomfortable after a while. I guess I'd better get used to it since it's only June...should be really uncomfortable in late July/early August. No workouts today, though. Tuesdays and Saturdays will be rest days until late September just before the triathlon. My running mileage will start increasing a lot in mid-September, about 20 weeks before the marathon.

I weighed today- 199.3 pounds. The goal initially is to lose about 2 pounds a week until I lose about 25 pounds. I am trying to shave off some weight so that running is a bit more comfortable. I am targeting a daily caloric intake of a little over 1900 calories per day on off days and some added calories on workout days depending on the workout that day. If anyone is interested, Lance Armstrong's webiste has a really great application that you can also download to your Blackberry or iPhone. You can log your meals directly on your phone and synchronize it with the website. It makes calorie counting very easy since it can be done directly from your phone. You can also log workouts with the application and if you workout, it allots you more calories for that day. Definitely a cool program!

Keep Cain, Catherine and Brad Clinkscales in your prayers. Cain has his second surgery on June 5th. I know it's going to be a stressful time for the Clinkscales family.

Cain's mother sent me a link for a great video of the child of a Fox News journalist's son who was born with 5 heart defects. It's great that people are out there raising awareness.

Speaking of congenital heart defects. I read last week on his blog that David Goggins has been running ultramarathons and the Ironman Triathlon as well as other endurance events with an Atrial Septal Defect (ASD). Amazing that this guy has achieved what he has with a congenital heart defect of his own. He recently had surgery and is on the road to recovery. I am looking forward to seeing what this guys can do now that his ticker is fixed. He was really one of my primary inspirations behind the idea of doing an endurance event to raise money for charity.

Anyway, that's just a few thoughts from me...happy training!