Sabbatical: Day 1

Last week, I was knee deep in snow. This week, I'm experiencing heat in the mid 80's and chasing summer for the next 8 months. I took a group of students skate skiing, and it was for the most part awesome. There was only one moment where I had some regret. Two hours into skate skiing, one of the students decided that she had enough. She took off her skis and wanted to walk back. That would have been fine had there not been a foot of fresh powder. I convinced her that it would take longer to walk than ski, whew, I was thinking Donner Party for a moment there. We've had so much cold and rain of late that I was looking forward to doing some real training in hot and dry weather. But being in the snow made me realize how awesome and beautiful winter can be. I arrived in Kona today, in less than ideal shape. I had hoped to get my first 100 mile ride in January but the rain and a cold prevented that from happening. Regardless, Bree will be picking me up for a 4-hour ride on the Queen K tomorrow. Bree is the real deal, this is our first time meeting in person and she offered me food, her home, a towel, and even internet connection. She definitely lives up to the hype. This whole sabbatical thing is still quite surreal. I can't wrap my mind around the fact that I just wake up each day and train and then do whatever I want. There is no job, career, or responsibilities other than to take care of myself. In a nutshell, this is my plan: Feb-March, Ironman Australia focus; April, yoga teacher training program focus; and May is travel throughout New Zealand and volunteer for a social project in Thailand or Vietnam. Alright, off to bed.