1st time in 4 months!!!

I ran 30 minutes straight (that means WITHOUT stopping to walk) on the treadmill completely pain free this morning!!! That hasn't happened since before the marathon last November! Woo Hoo!!!! This is a HUGE confidence booster for me. Granted, it was slow and on the treadmill (i've been instructed by my coach and physical therapist to hit the pavement again) - but I finally truly feel like I might actually be able to run a marathon again next fall! My next run will be on Saturday and i'm hoping for another non-stop pain free experience. If I could string two comfortable runs back to back, i'll feel like i'm officially in the last stages of rehab.

I'm in my sixth week of training for the Philly Tri - i'm still building my base and generally, just getting back to some kind of active condition again. I'm completely new to cycling and swimming (having only done it recreationally), so it's been a slow start for me. This week, i've noticed small amounts of progress - my pedal stroke is more smooth than before (my quads and hamstrings are becoming more conditioned to transition between the upstroke and the downstroke) and I clipped in for the first time out of my trainer. I stumbled a few times, as expected, but I think i'll get the hang of it. And despite the fact that my freestyle stroke form is atrocious, I did a 10 x 100 yard interval workout the other day, and I actually got into a rhythm with my stroke and breath.

My workouts average about 10 hours a week right now (and will only increase in time). I'm trying to make changes in my life to accomodate this training and not "cheat" myself on some of the workouts. It's not going to be easy, especially considering I will be in a class 3-4 days a week from mid-April to mid-June. Somehow, i'll have to make it work. These small gains in my fitness are what make me most happy.