Ding Dong the cough is gone!

I was finally able to run today for the first time in about a month without having a coughing attack at some point during or immediately after the run. And, while I was at it I ran a 4.5 mile PR of 36:18. I may yet become a runner.

It's been just over 3 months since I decided to do the race and started training. When I began I weighed 210 pounds and couldn't even run 3 consecutive 9 minute miles. Today I weigh 186 pounds and (as noted above) can string together 4+ miles at just over 8 minutes a mile. Not nearly world class, but a lot of progress for me.

I haven't yet set any concrete goals for the race but the improvements I've made so far make me think I should be fine with my goal of breaking 13 hours total. I swam again yesterday and felt strong and was also pretty fast. Based on what I was repeating for 200 meter intervals in the pool I am pretty confident I'll be able to go under an hour in the swim for the race. I am also thinking I will be racing at less than 180 pounds so that will help a lot on the bike and run. Who knows, I may get delusional and start thinking about breaking 12 hours! After all, you've got to set goals.