ten days to tri...Running drills...strength training for my triathlon....training advice...nutrition dilimnas

My body hurts. Ouch. Ok, not that bad. I exaggerate. My right shin is a pain in the ****. My left ankle won't cooperate. I haven't run in a while. Yesterday I ran one PATHETIC mile, then gave up on account of taking care of my body. On Tuesday I took an amazing running clinic. Here's what we did in the class:

Running Drills class:
1. Half mile easy jogging warm- up
2. 3 sets of high knee exercises
3. 3 sets of butt kick exercises
4. 3 sets of four-by-fours. That's 4 high knees followed immediately by 4 buttkicks
5. 3 sets of sprinting drills. (My issue here is that I need to run on my toes more when I sprint)
6. Half mile easy jogging
7. Strength training exercises for runners:
a) Tricep dips. I hate these but hey- gotta work those triceps
b) Push ups. I know it's uncool, but I always swear at trainers when they ask me to do pushups!!! Ok, it is uncool because I remember showing clients pushup form and such and not appreciating it when they complained. Ok, I don't really swear, I just complain out loud, then I go ahead and do the pushups to the very best of my ability.
c) Push up followed by side plank(on hand) - 10 of these
d) Side plank (on hand) with top leg elevation
8. O.7 of a mile as a cooldown jog.

Wow!!! I need to just take a moment to take pride in the strength gains I've made! Today I had to drag myself to my strength circuit while kicking and screaming and pouting & crying. Not a good sight. Maybe not so dramatic. But wow, I gave it my all as usual once I started. My body has made amazing strength gains. If I was on testosterone or male, I would be looking mighty fine right about now. I still look fine, but as a female the cosmetic benefits from my training will take a while to show up...I've made 5 - 15lb increases in strength which is AMAZING. It's been just over a month. If you're checking me out in the weight room, you'll see me diligently marking my exercises in my journal every time and each time I assess to see where I can increase the mass. You will NOT see me with an ipod or other distraction in the weight room. I'll be focusing on my form or checking myself out. Probably the latter! You can probably predict my routine like clockwork. It's amazing & I gotta ride this out until the end of July. I'm so worried about losing strength after July. I won't have a gym membership which is ok, but can someone tell me how can I strengthen my hamstrings outside of a gym- aside from the ball method???

My eating has been both good and bad. I'm not allowed to have peanut butter in the house anymore because I just binge on a bottle in one sitting then I feel ill afterwards. For some reason, I'm allergic to TJ's frozen berries. I get violently ill whenever I drink a smoothie with TJ's frozen berries. I'm allergic to most foods actually. This week I've had more carbohydrates than usual & I've eaten some meals out. My last week needs to be cleaner than this. I need to eat a lot of good good food so that my body is ready, you know.

So today I ran into a triathlon trainer. I had one session with him months ago. I was in the middle of my strength circuit & he was impressed with my form & exercises & said "well done". I felt quite chuffed:):):):):):) A cheesy emotion indeed.
Except when I had to do my last side shoulder raise set, I chickened out- my form felt compromised, I think I need to bring the weight down...I didn't want to look shoddy after the compliment! So I went downstairs to another floor to finish my exercise somewhere else. Silly.

Anyhow, here are some last minute triathlon tips he gave me:

1. Get a good massage two days before your race. (I hope to do this)
2. Soak in epsom salts the night before the race. (I threw away my epsom salts last week:(:( are they cheap to get again???)
3. I expect you to do well and enjoy the race. My my!!! What strong words:):):)