Counting Down to Three Races

To clarify: the training I am doing right now is for my first Olympic Triathlon (1.5k, 40k bike, 10k run) that is 5 weeks from yesterday!  It's the longest distance I've tackled so far. Actual training for the Half Ironman won't start for a while, but I plan on building a good base and strength to help prevent any injuries.

Speaking of Texas 70.3, they released the date for next year: April 26th. I have over a year to prepare! (53 weeks and 6 days)

Today I signed up for the 2014 St. Jude Half Marathon (236 days away).  Maybe 3rd time is the charm. The first two times were a little weird. I injured my foot training in 2012 and had to run the race untrained (I had been cycling and swimming a lot, though, and that helped), and then last year I developed a femoral neck stress fracture a couple weeks before the race... which ended up being cancelled anyway due to a Memphis ice storm!

I was undecided about running it this year. It's a really great race, and for a really great cause, so I wanted to do it, but it's also 5 months out from Texas 70.3 and I don't have a very good injury record.
Ultimately, I knew I'd regret it if I didn't register. I've also learned a lot about my last few injuries and I think I know how to avoid future ones.

My last injury, the stress fracture, was caused from being hamstring dominant. My hamstrings were too strong and so my glutes, adductors, abductors, and- to some extent- my quads were weaker because they could be. I was evaluated by a physical therapist after my doctor finally cleared me to run a couple months ago and was astonished by what he was showing me. I knew I wasn't the strongest person around, but I didn't know I was that weak, either! He said he wasn't surprised I broke my femur where I did. My muscles weren't there to take the impact of running like they should be, so my bones were taking most of the force. He gave me a long list of exercises to do and said as long as I increase my strength there is no reason why I have to give up long distance running!  So I'm holding him to that.

I don't think I'll train as much as I did last year for it and will be more relaxed about my goal finishing time (last year I was aiming for 2 hours or less). I'll train, but I won't do runs longer than 8 or 9 miles, and I'll rely heavily on swimming, cycling, and strength training to increase my cardiovascular ability and muscle strength and limit the impact on my legs.
I'll also be relying heavily on God's help, so keep those prayers coming!

My fortune from last week.