Hedging My Bets

    Although it is very early in the training season, I am already having concerns about my knees' ability to hold up through the intensive training I will be subjecting them to. There are already a few issues, most noticeable when I run, that could get progressively more painful. Currently, I live with the dull ache of arthritic knees, and the occasional flare-up of more intense patella pain.  I am going to assume that I will be able to train as much as need be, but I admit, I am hedging my bet just a little. I haven't paid for my entry into the Epic 250K yet. My reasoning is that if, in say 3 months, my knees aren't letting me be at the level of training I need to be, then I am not out 300 bucks, and I can make other plans. Just in case my knees betray me for the full long course triathlon, I will do a repeat of the Best in the West Half-Ironman, and just make damned sure I carve an hour off of last year's time. I enjoyed that race so very much that I would love to do it again, but it is the weekend before the Epic 250K, so I can only do one or the other, definitely not both. I still fully intend to do my full long course this year, and will keep training with that goal in mind, so, fingers crossed that my knees allow me to stay the course.