I just complete my first Olympic distance triathlon on Treasure Island, near San Francisco. The event itself was a lot of fun, but it was also a very real reminder of why I've joined Team in Training. In the days before the race, I received this email from the coaches:

Team,
Obviously you know Louie's name, as we are racing in the event named ...

I found myself in Maryland during the holidays. It was great to see my parents, but the 15 degree weather quickly convinced me that my training would be done in the gym. And as I trained on varous exercise machines trying to get a decent workout, I gradually came to a realization which can be summarized as "This sucks". People like to complain about the cost of living in California (particularly people ...