Awesome Day!

Arizona = Awesome!

First a recap on the day then some thoughts.

Short Course 25 yard swim with an eye opener. Short Course + Yards = 2 x Fast. Fast is Fun. Great swim. For the past 3 days I have been feeling quite a bit different in the water. It's a good thing.

Ride to base of Mt. Lemmon, eat some muffins with PB and granola courtesy of Craig the man Taylor, re-apply the sunscreen, and hop to it.

Lemmon was a great climb. We began at about 2000 feet and climbed to just about 9000 over a total of 25 miles. Then there's a bonus 2 miles to the ski resort. We started the climb as a group and found a nice rhythm. It's the sort of thing where you might feel a little out of your zone to start, but with a little more spinning comes rhythm. Once you can feel the beats, you're ready to rock and roll.

I was amazed with the changes in scenery. There is a very visible line across the mountain at various climate zones and altitudes. Starting in the desert, it's pretty cool to finish up in the pine trees.

There were sections where I was absolutely awe struck by the beauty. A couple times I thought about catching a few pictures. Naaa, I'll remember this picture and feeling in my head. Now it's time to climb. I will continue to bring the camera on rides, and eventually will catch a picture, but in the mean time, just imagine a great place.

Andrew and I made it up to 25 miles in 1h 52 minutes. With the bonus 2 we were just under 2:02 to the ski hut. Nice climbing man, that was absolute awesomeness.

Roll down the hill and back to the Lemmon Tree house. Total riding time 4:45.

Eat some pretzels, drink some water, lace up the kicks and it's time for a 30 minute spin, running style. I really like building the run off the bike, especially after a long ride. With some conscious attention to forward lean and relaxed arms, I found a nice stride for the last 20 minutes. Awesomeness again.

My thought for today really comes back to the presence theme. When we're climbing a hill, out for a run, swimming, or doing anything, sometimes the mind wanders off to thinking, "How much have we done? How much is left?" These are important questions to understand for things like pacing etc. However, sometimes I find these thoughts to be distracting.

Right now I'm happy to be climbing this mountain, feeling the rhythm. I'm happy to be here in Tucson running in the sun. I'm right here, right now and regardless of how much I've done, or how much is left, this moment is perfect.

Now it's recovery time.

Rest well.