Most of one loop of the IMFL swim course. Time includes stops to regroup. Very easy swim till the last little leg coming back in.

Saw two baby sting rays, a few jellyfish and thousands of little fish I huge schools. So gorgeous!

Ride the IMFL run course with two loops in the park.
Super easy ride mostly to make sure the bike was functioning correctly.

forgot to turn on the Garmin till I was out there a way. Bike computer stopped working for a while. Still I know the route distance. I was riding actually kind of fast, lots of 18 to 20 with some 22 on the way back. not much wind today. Stopped twice to text my kids. Stopped and rerouted to ride past the house my son has made an offer on, and stopped to visit with my daughter on the way back to the house, so who knows what the actual ride time was.

Nice ride 70 degrees and the traffic on Sunday afternoon really was light, and I hit it perfectly.

After the first bit I really enjoyed it. Focused on riding a T2 type of effort in the aerobars. We have good riding out here. For the main part of the ride it's 6 miles between stop lights. Much more continuous riding than in Albuquerque.

having a real hard time getting going today.  I was trying to blame it on nutrition yesterday or maybe the cold swim, but it finally dawned on me that I was up at 5:00 and didn't hit the sack until midnight.  So I took a nap. 

Today:Laundry, unload the car, unpack, 2 hr bike, start packing for Ironman Florida.

update: got the laundry mostly done, the car unloaded and the bike ride done.  Dinner with my daughter and we had a good visit.  No packing or laying out of stuff.  I have only tomorrow to get it done - I leave Tuesday morning at 6:50 for Florida.  :)

Forgot to pack a running shirt where I could get to it, so (gasp) I ran topless at Bottomless Lakes State Park. I like to start on the wetlands trail. Huge rains last night and the wetlands were beautiful. Lots of clear water and foliage. Only saw one bird - might have been a small hawk, but I'm not sure. Lovely cool afternoon in the mid 70's with a fairly strong north wind but the sun was warm.

Focused on keeping it easy. Achilles did not hurt. Pretty much nothing hurt. A bit slow that's all.

COLD. The water was quite chilly after my run. Strong north wind, that I though would blow the warm water toward the starting end, but it was pretty chilly last night and this morning. That combined with the rain and hail I suppose made it cooler. not too bad once I got in. I had planned to do five laps, but stopped after four. My fingers and toes were quite numb, and I just thought it was a good idea. Discovered when I got out and got my wetsuit off that I was shivering. I had a cold headache too. good thing I got out when I did. I was a bit off balance too. Interesting - from the cold, or from simply swimming for an hour straight?

Going across was challenging with the waves coming at me from a slight angle. On the third lap I finally got the timing down and stroked with the wave timing and breathing got easier. Coming back was almost like body surfing, easy to breath and it felt like the waves were pushing me. Also the sun was directly in front of me which made sighting super easy - all I had to do was swim toward the light, and it made the bubbles off my hands glisten and sparkle. I practiced breathing on both sides in spite of the waves and sighting.

Stopped to visit with three young men when I got out. They wanted to know how far, and how fast. A few people asked if I was the guy doing laps out there. That's kind of cool. The young men asked about why, and I told them about Ironman. They were impressed. That's kind of rewarding for an old guy like me.

7 days till IMFL

I did the ski school hiring clinic, had second breakfast with friends, drove to Bottomless, ran, swam, then drove the rest of the way to Midland. 

Tomorrow will be unpack, laundry, and repack.  Need a 2 hour ride, then I can disassemble the bike and pack it.  I've already got a flat.  Those stickers in Albuquerque.  I may put a new front tire on.  I've had 8 or 9 flats with that tire, and even though it's brand new - only 7 or 8 rides it still might be good to go to the race with a new one.