Dean Karnezes (Ultra Marathoner): "To call running "fun" would be a misuse of the word. Running can be "enjoyable." Running can be "rejuvenating." But in a pure sense of the word, running is not fun."

• Run - 16 miles: Ran on Garret Mountain trails
• Swim - 0:30 hours - 1 mile: One quick loop around the lake in the main
• Yoga - 1:30 hours: Felt tight on the run this morning. Needed it.

Greg LeMond: "It doesn't get any easier, you just get faster."

• Bike - 3:00 hours: Rode 3 hours with my main training partner Maggie Stovikovich who is attempting to make the triathlon olympic team for Slovakia.

• Mandarin Oriental Dinner tonight.
• Run - 2:00 hours - 15 miles

Greg LeMond: "I know how the pain of cycling can be terrible: in your legs, your chest, everywhere. You go into oxygen debt and fall apart. Not many people outside cycling understand that."

• Bike - 3:00 hours
• Swim - 1:00 hours: 1 hour in the pool! This was the first time in 2 months I swam in a pool again.
• Run: 4 miles with quarter mile pick ups at 6:15 pace.

Joe Louis: "You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough."

• Bike - 2:00 hours - 43 miles
• Swim - 1:00 hours

John Short: "What counts in battle is what you do when pain sets in."

• Run - 16 miles: Felt ok - I am in midst of loading on a high mileage running week so will most likely never feel great, but this is good for the feel in an Ironman when you come off the 112 bike and have a marathon looming - trust me you don't feel great and the run becomes largely a mental game of how much you can will yourself to hurt.
• Swim - 0:45 hours: Definitely missing the beautiful ocean swims in Hawaii now that I need my wetsuit here.

William Feather: Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go.

• Run - 1:00 hour - 8 miles:
• Yoga - 1:30 hours: Hot Yoga (Bikram) in 104 degree room. This is incredible for flexibility, but also should help a little in keeping me used to the heat. For those of you who haven't tried it I highly recommend it. You sweat profusely which makes it easier to stretch - you have a towel under you on top of your mat and by the end of class it is as if you submersed it in a pool.

T.S. Eliot: "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."

• Run - 18 miles: Freezing! I want to go back to Hawaii!
• Swim - 1:00 hour

Steve Prefontaine: "Most people run a race to see who is the winner. I run a race to see who has guts."

• Bike - 56 miles: Climbing Skyline drive into Greenwood Lake and through Tuxedo.
• Run - 4 miles: Quick race paced transition to a run (brick) 4 miles at 7 minute pace.
• Bike - 45 miles: Race pace transition back to the bike - 45 miles on relatively flat terrain with a nice breeze (before my Hawaii wind experiences I would have called it wind, but compared to the tradewinds it was a breeze not wind.
• Run - 3 miles: One more race paced transistion to a 3 mile run - just enough to get the dead legged feeling out and settle into a comfortable pace.

Summer Sanders (1992 Double Gold Medalist): "I enjoyed every bit of my swimming career. I think that's the most important advice - to enjoy what you do."

• Run - 8 miles: Treadmill run to test out calf after accupuncture yesterday. It felt pretty good! I thought it might be tough staying motivated when I got home, but my kids took care of that. Everywhere I turn a post it is stuck (on my pillow, the refrigerator, in my closet, my bathroom, the treadmill) saying 30 days and 2 hours to the race!
• Swim: It was a drag putting on a wetsuit and swimming in the Lake after all the beautiful swimming in Hawaii, but I quickly remembered how much I enjoy swimming around the Lake in the Fall as the leaves begin to change color and the sun gives the Lake a different look than the summer.

• Rest: I landed Tuesday and planned before setting out on this training trip to have two days off to let my body absorb some of the training of the past two weeks. Tuesday was over by the time I got home anyway, but Wednesday was very difficult not to do anything. I had to keep talking myself out of just a little run!

Frank Shorter: "You have to forget your last marathon before you can try another. Your mind can't know what's coming."

• Run: Got up at 4:30 so that I could get in an 18 mile run before heading to the airport. The last 4 were tough as my calf tightened up. It was strange, my right leg felt great as my left began to feel like I had a flat tire.
• Swim - 0:30 hours: Only had time for 30 minutes before my flight.

• Bike - 3:00 hours: One last spin on tired legs - I saw Chris Lieto (First American in Hawaii last year with the second fastest bike split) at Java Lava afterwards and was excited to learn that I had put in more biking mileage than he did during my stay! I'm sure his miles were at incredible paces compared to my painful trudges, but I will take the little bits of confidence where I can get them. He is an impressive athlete who is incredibly gracious and kind. I wish him well and think he is going to have an amazing race in Kona this year.
• Swim - 1:00 hour: Kailua Bay - The buoys were out for a race so I was able to practice sighting.

• Bike - 6:12 hours: Unfortunately I woke up sick this morning - low grade fever, severe cold, aches, but I was determined to get my final chance to ride the course in. I was happy to work through the discomfort and ride the course in 6:12 despite the cold. Went to bed for the rest of day.

• Run - 1 mile: I set out to run 20, but my calf would not cooperate. Bummed!
• Bike - 55 miles - 3 hours: I did 10 repeats on the 6 mile out and back at the start of the course. I always have a tough time here because you've just come off the 2 1/2 mile swim and then have this gradual incline to deal with. Many of the guys go all out right from the start and I find myself getting passed by a lot of them. It can be intimidating, but I know it is important to hold back here and stay in control.
• Swim - 1:30 hours: Kailua Bay - I was out about 1 mile from shore and suddenly saw something bigger than a tropical fish in the corner of my eye. I panicked slightly, but when I looked up I saw it was a huge pod of dolphins. Suddenly they were swimming with me - 20 of them mothers and babies! They were underneath and beside me.They were within arms reach. I think they didn't like me swimming out that far by myself. It was definitely an experience I will never forget!

• Bike - 104 miles - 5:25 hours: After a 30 mile warm up I did 5 hill repeats on the 7 mile climb into Hawi which is the turn around point on the course. I really worked the climbs and tried to memorize them, but I am a strong climber and a weak descender so it was equally important for me to work the descents. By the final two I was comfortable staying in my aero bars at 40 mph even with the sudden gusts of wind that blow you 2 - 3 feeet in either direction without warning. It is essential to double down on the nutrition during the climb because if the tradewinds are strong you will not be able to let go of the bars on the descent to fuel yourself. I was happy with my effort today, I pushed all day.
• Swim - 1 hour: Easy Waikoloa Beach. Sea life was everywhere in the coral today, it was very peaceful despite the choppy water

• Run - 1 hour: Easy - calf injury forced me to stop!
• Swim - 1 1/2 hours: Swam straight out into the ocean past the 1.2 mile race buoy and back. Briefly got caught in a rip tide.

Floyd Landis: "There's no such thing as overtraining, only underresting. You can push as hard as you want as long as you give your body ample time to recover."

• Bike - 70 miles - 5 hours: 8456 feet elevation gain. I had to get back to Kona so even though I was tired I set out on this tough ride. What was I thinking would be so much fun about biking around the island of Hawaii???!!!

Floyd Landis: "Once I put my mind to something, I see it through to the end, no matter how hard things get and no matter how long it takes. I am not going to quit, I am not going away."

• Swim - 1 hour: Kailua Bay
• Bike - 130 miles- 8 hours: Kona to Hilo (half way around the island) Climbed over Volcano gaining 7569 feet into a strong headwind. 3 Flats!! This was a tough day, it was tough to get my heart rate up which is a sign of overtraining. After the last flat I had run out of tubes and had to walk last 3 miles into Hilo. Found a hotel (dump) and waited until a bike shop opened in the morning.

Lance Armstrong: "Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever."

• Run - 18 miles - 2:07 hours: ...unfortunately that nagging calf injury caused me to turn it in at 18 instead of the 20 I had planned! Stomach ache rest of day - not enough fluids??
• Swim - 1 hour: Kailua Bay

Floyd Landis: "The bottom line is that most cyclists just don't train that hard, because it's difficult to will yourself to do it."

• Swim - 1 hour: (Outrigger canoe championships) Kailua Bay
• Bike - 112 miles - 6:40 hours: The worst wind I have ever seen in Kona ! Made the day long and brutal. There were points I was going downhill into the wind and had to work my pedal stroke to go 9 mph!! The noise was relentless. None of the other riders I saw today went all the way to Hawi (turn around point) It is so hard to get 300 calories down an hour and I still need to up it to 400 calories per hour by race day.

Lynn Cox (Ultra Endurance Swimmer): "Sometimes I'm just really tired. But I know that if I miss any workouts I won't be prepared, and I have to train as hard as I can for the English Channel. I have to be ready for it."

• Swim - 1 hour: Very rough water. Swam back fast after seeing baby tiger shark near the rocky reef that was my turn around.
• Bike - 1:30 hours: 20mph.
• Run - 14 miles - 1:43 hours: 7:15 mile pace. Worked hard to hydrate. A little pain with my calf injury.
• Bikram Yoga - 1:30 hours: Hot Yoga. 104 degree Farenheit room.

Floyd Landis: "Once I put my mind to something, I see it through no matter how hard things get and no matter how long it takes. I am not going to quit."

• Bike - 60 miles - 3 hours: Windy section of course. The wind today reminded me of my 2004 race that had epic winds. The sound begins to drive you crazy. The sudden gusts are like an earthquake in that you hear it before you feel it. Remembering this helped me to hold on to my aero bars tightly at the right times and prevent any crashes.
• Run - 30 minutes: Transition run. Just enough to shake out the cycling legs and get comfortable.
• Swim - 1 hour: Focus on two-sided breathing. There were some rough currents.
• Bike - 1 hour: Easy spin to clear out lactic acid for tomorrow
• Stretching/Core - 30 minutes

Lance Armstrong: "If I rehearsed the pain, and punished my body enough and did enough work, maybe it wouldn't hurt so bad during the Tour itself."

• Bike - 90 miles: Rode 90 miles of the Ironman course. I forgot how tough this course is. It's not just the 91" temperatures, but the fact that you are riding in the middle of black lava fields making it feel like you are riding in an oven. The winds are relentless and nearly knock you over when it comes as a sudden gust. Took in one water bottle every half hour and 300 calories Gu nutrition.
• Run - 8 miles: Easy run to acclimate to intense heat and humidity.
• Swim - 1 hour: Kailua Bay (Ironman race start). A little rough since it was high tide but loved swimming watching the beautiful tropical fish and sea turtles the whole way.