The triathlon training is in full swing. This morning I got up at 5:30 to do a five-mile, high-resistance ride in my basement (the mileage was provided by my stationary bike, the resistance by my creaky knees).

A few hours later, I hit the gym for my first official “brick”—more biking, followed immediately by running. The biking went fine. I cranked out another five miles in about twenty minutes. The run? Not so much.

My legs felt like rubber. As the belt started to move, I broke into the irregular lope of an injured coyote. Every footfall made a dull “thud,” like War and Peace hitting the floor.

But I reminded myself that on August 16, I’ll be doing this in a swimsuit—in front of spectators. Oh, my god. Must … keep … running!

Then I developed a side stitch. I tried to deepen my breaths until I sounded like a shop-vac. Still the pain persisted.

I hung in there for another half mile, all the time wondering which vital organ had slipped its mooring. I imagined my spleen, bouncing around inside me like a pinball. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. 1.5 miles. Yay.

So that’s it for today. 10 miles on the bike and a 1.5-mile run.

But stay tuned—there’s more to come. The “swimsuit edition” is just around the corner!