Today the countdown begins in earnest. One week from right now we will be passed out after having successfully completed the 1.5k swim, 40k bike and 10k run, eaten an already planned dinner of steak, greek salad and pasta, and drunk more beer and whiskey than the last 3 months combined. can. not. wait.

No.

YOU did it!

Thanks to your incredible generosity we’ve surpassed our goal of $25,000! At this writing we have sold 109 t-shirts and had to create a new goal of $30,000 $35,000 because we cruised right past $25,000 to $30,039. The response to the t-shirt challenge was so overwhelming, we’ve decided to give you a veritable photo essay of the Landsharks in their wetsuits! Eat your hearts out!

To get the full effect, we suggest you go full screen.

Stay tuned for more updates as we close in on race day — less than 4 weeks to go now!

We have now sold 84 shirts and will be posting photos of all the landsharks in their wetsuits at some point over the weekend. Check back here for more info. If you’re lucky we may post photo (or even video) of the process of putting them on, which, I assure you, is a complete farce. Of course, if we were to sell 100 shirts by the time we get to the photo shoot we would tend to be more solicitous so get a few more for your friends and family.

As I write this we have exactly a month before race day. I think we’re all really excited to test out all our training on race day. Of course, we’ll all be happy to get back to a semi-normal schedule as well (not to mention sleeping in on Saturday mornings.) I think many (of the three people) who likely read this website know what we’ve been up to but for those of you who don’t, here is a typical week of training for us.

A Typical Week of Landsharks Training

Monday

We have a group training session (GTS) in the pool at LIU in Brooklyn. Typically we are grouped roughly by experience – Jed and Emily join the advanced group; Don and Alex the more basic one. I was in the advanced group for a while before I was pulled in for some remedial swimming education by our coach, Peter. This remedial swimming involves me becoming increasingly frustrated with my ability to do what he asks of me until the moment when I think I’ve done it correctly, only to surface and realize that he’s run off to help someone else.

Tuesday

This is usually an off day (I know its only the second day of the week. I should have started with Wednesday.) but we sometimes do solo workouts on Tuesdays. I think Jed went for a bike ride a couple weeks ago. Usually, this is a day where we can exhale and appreciate that we aren’t working out.

Wednesday

On Wednesdays we have our big Run GTS in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. Typically this is a about an hour of running. It can take forms varying in their difficulty (read: some are much more painful that others). The dreaded hill repeats (what it sounds like) are easier than the interval fastest sustainable effort (FSE) miles. You can try this one on your own: 1) warm up; 2) run a mile as hard as you can; 3) cool down for half the time that took you; 4) do it again; 5) do it again.

Thursday

We’re on our own on Thursdays and usually try to bike or run for an hour or so. Last Thursday I went for a run and got as wet as I’ve ever been. When I went to get my keys from my pocket as I arrived home, a pint of water ran out of my sleeves. This highlights another aspect of our training – its (largely) rain or shine. I don’t think I’ve ever been more attune to the weather, as well as less controlled by it, than I have this winter.

Friday

While everyone else is out socializing on Friday night, the Landsharks are usually trying to fit in a quick swim followed by a Team In Training pasta party at one of our fellow TNTers house. We did try to do movies on Friday night but found it difficult to coordinate. We also try to be in bed by 11. This routine has been good for the wallet but bad for the social life. What’s everyone doing on Friday nights in May?

Saturday

This is our hardest workout of the week and not just because it starts at 8:00 a.m. 7:30a.m.. We often do what triathlon coaches call a BRick, as in Bike then Run. Last weekend we did 1:30 of biking around prospect park, then ditched the bikes for a 30 minute run. For those of you who have never done such a thing, our coach used an apt analogy: as you run your legs go from oak trees to saplings. But I don’t know anything about the saplings.

Sunday

For me Sundays have three stages. First, I procrastinate about doing anything at all. Second, I get frustrated that I’ve procrastinated most of the day away and silently conspire with myself to skip my workout. Third, I betray myself and grudgingly head out for a run or bike. Usually the thought of Monday’s swim is enough for me to try to limit my exertion but a few Landsharks did go on a ride over the GW to River Road a few weekends ago. Monday morning came way too early that week.