Swimming, cleaning, coffee, cycling, baseball, babies...

It's been a good day. I ended up riding 22 miles with Alex. I think Alex rode 20.... I kept turning around to double climbs and pace Alex up. I do NOT say this to brag. Alex is doing great. It was his 3rd ride and he rode hard. My cycling form is good. I feel like I'm on target. Next Sunday it's a 77 mile endurance ride that I do every year to test my progress. I'm confident I'll do OK. Then it's up 181 for some more recon training for the Bridge to Bridge the following Sunday. Not to mention Hurt, Pain, and Agony at the end of the month. That's a tough one with climbs reaching 18% grade.
I had a good day in the pool. My coach (Phil) said he say very noticable improvement. We went over some stuff. .. and he added 3 new drills to work on next week. I'm also working on my breast stroke. The breast stroke is a great "fail safe" stroke if I need some rest in an open water swim. I'm beginning to feel like I belong in the water. I have a loooong way to go before I feel confident doing 1.2 miles in open water.... but I feel very confident I can get there. I am finally at the point that I look forward to pool workouts.

Never got to painting today... took too long to just clean up. Got a lot done though. It's always nice to be in a clean house. Especially when you get up at 4:30am everyday and the downstairs is your domain so you don't wake the wife and kids. My morning ritual is sacred to me. get up... eat (protein shake, whole grain cereal, vitamins, and EFAs.), then it's my coffee. I love coffee. Take anything away from me but don't take away my coffee! When I run (M/W/F) at 5am... the hot pot of coffee waiting on me gets me through the run. Then it's back home... hot cup of java... and I'm behind the computer checking news... most likely I'm on the forums at BeginnerTriathlete.com. It's a great forum with great members and good real-world advice.

In a moment we're off to the baseball game to chill with friends and coworkers. Should be nice. I'm really looking forward to getting some sleep. I've never appreciated sleep more than when I began a tri campaign. Guess that all ends when my daughter is born. Oh well... it's worth it. Peace!