Like normal I woke up at 5. I’ve been sleeping great, going to bed early and getting a solid 8 hours of sleep almost every night. This is my favorite time of day… it’s quite and all I can hear outside are birds chirping while I load up on java and read emails.

Hawaii 70.3 is today. I had a blast at this race last year. We would have gone back, but it’s only 3 weeks before CDA. Last year I said, “This is my kona race” since I will never qualify for the championships. I still cannot believe I’m going to Kona this October!

We are riding with Edward and Jose this morning. Edward is also doing CDA and gets his coaching from markallenonline. This will be his first IM. Jose had a great day there last year. Wish he was coming back this year with his family. We are lucky to have found such great friends through triathlon.

I had a 5 hour ride planned for today. Ended up riding for 3 ½ and did my last 90 min. on my CompuTrainer. So I got in my 5 hours (85 miles) and was so happy to not have a transition run on my schedule. My legs are feelin it!

We rode south on the PCH through Newport Coast, into Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Canyon, Dana Point and then inland. Normally, I avoid the PCH on this stretch because many areas do not have a bike lane and traffic sucks. This morning seemed to be an exception since it was only 7:30. I was wrong. Some a-hole in a pimped out Mercedes honked his horn while driving past us. Derek made a comment and the guy rolled down his blacked out window. Here comes an exchange of testosterone. He looked like a meth head with full on tattoo sleeves on both arms. Words were exchanged and I thought Edward was going to take out a baseball bat (if he had one) and go ballistic on this guy. Note to self- avoid the PCH!

When I returned home, Mel left me a message that she go into an altercation with a driver who told her to ride on the sidewalk. When she told him to f-off, he almost ran her off the road. It began to rain, her adrenaline was up and she crashed. What a day! What’s the deal with drivers not giving respect to riders?

I talked to Shirlene after her race today. She did great, so did Cheryl placing third in her age group. Shirlene relayed that Jane from the Y was hit by a car today on her ride and broke her femur, fibula and tibia and was in surgery. That’s massive. Again, what is it about cars and cyclists? I’ve ridden with Jane before and she’s careful, strong, leads many rides… it just totally sucks. I hope she recovers well. I’ll send her something this week.

CDA is three weeks from tomorrow.