My 24th Year

What a great start to my 24th year of life...we've got 28 hours of training planned this week!! That's a bit of a jump from the 18-20 hours that we've been busting out for the first 2 months of the year! So, apparently, I'm not in Australia to just hang out:) There's actually a "training camp" going on here!!! And it's Kicking My Butt!
Getting to train in a different location is always a bonus. We've got new running trails, a nice out-door pool that we swim at, new roads to bike on, an ocean right outside the door to go swim in or run on the beach! I've done a bit of everything...the group rides here are INTENSE! I just try to hang on the back of the guys for as long as possible...and then stay with someone who knows their way back to Noosa when I inevitably lose the main group.
This morning we woke up around 4:30am to shovel down some breakfast while it was still raining outside. But we are tough athletes and a little rain isn't going to stop us from getting on our bikes with our swim gear and riding down to the Noosa Heads beach for a 2 HOUR open water swim session! It's 9pm and I have been completely WIPED out all day...even with a 2 hour nap I'm still going to fall asleep in a few minutes. We joined about 80 other athletes of all ages on the beach...surfers, lifesavers, swimmers, water polo players, triathletes...the session was run by the local swim club coach. The waves were awesome...crashing hard core about 100 meters out and perfect for body surfing into shore. We warmed up with one large loop around the far buoys. Then we all lined up on the beach for 4 In & Outs, followed by 2 large loops, 3 In & Outs, 2 more large loops, 2 In & Outs (and this point I could barely stand up), 2 large loops, and one final In & Out that turned into more of a float in the shallow water because I could NOT make it out again!
Basically, it was one of the COOLEST workout sessions I've done in my life! After a short coffee/muffin break at a cafe, I rode easy for an hour with my friends to spin out the legs and then I was officially done for the day (perfect for that LONG nap that I mentioned earlier:).
I've spent some time on the computer during the past 2 hours making plans for my first race of the season. I needed to order a ride to the Brisbane airport on Saturday, a ride from the Melbourne airport to my hotel...and return rides on Monday after the race. Other than that, I've got this weekend pretty much planned...entered the race, got a hotel room, plane ticket, race wheels, printed out the course map, etc. And I sent out my "Press Release" 10 minutes ago so all my friends, family, fans and supporters know about my first race of the season! Speaking of racing, I should get some sleep so that I can kick butt on Sunday...later!