Training going SWIMMINGLY - pun intended

Feeling back into the groove of training, and have decided that I will more than likely participate in the half-ironman in September - the same weekend as my 34th birthday! Am feeling more and more confident in the water, and my endurance is amazing! I was just telling a co-worker today that I remember being a teen and swimming from one end of our backyard pool to the other and being exhausted and out of breath. Whereas now, I can swim a continuous 800m and feel great throughout. I'm still working on breathing every 3rd stroke rather than 2 - thinking this will only enhance my swim. I've done this the past two training swims and it seemed to work well. The only thing that would hamper this I think is the adrenaline and competitiveness during the actual tri's that inevitably kick in and I end up getting winded - forcing me to breath every two strokes.

Went on an hour bike ride today, and logged 14 miles. This is fairly slow by cyclist standards, but all I can do is continue to work on it, building up my endurance and leg muscles, and hope for the best. I still need to purchase some clipless pedals. Everyone is telling me this will only improve my ride - guess I'll find out sooner or later. Was hoping to get the two-hour ride out of the way, but it was incredibly windy today and I was paranoid that I was going to have a wipeout on the bike - plus thunderstorms in the forecast and I didn't want to get too far away from home and get caught in a downpour.

Plan to swim again tomorrow, bike on Friday, then it's off to St. Louis for my tenth half-marathon! Shane didn't get into New York so he's looking at alternatives, and is pretty certain he'll be doing San Francisco in July. If I go with him, of course I'm going to run the half - this will make my prospective half-marathon count for 2010 a solid 5 - the most I will have done in one year. Oh, the BLING!