Like a Hurricane

Hurricane.  That is the feeling of having a 3 year old join you in bed first thing in the morning.  It is a maelstrom. You've Entered The Dragon. There is No Turning Back.  Bri and I, growing up in Florida, have both lived through several Hurricane landings. The worst for us was a small but very powerful Hurricane Charley that tore a path almost directly over our condominium building in Orlando.  It was not at peak strength, but it was strong, loud, and unstoppable.

That is our son.

He is a joy.  I am a bit slow in the morning as the cobwebs that masquerade as synapses and plaque in my brain need firing time before the neural networks come online for slower than lightspeed transmission.  He has no such boundaries. It is all on all the time. We communicate, him through gleeful mischief, and I through groans and monosyllabic answers.  We are a pair, for sure.

So now you know what Every Single Morning (except Fridays when I get up to coach Masters swimming) is like for me, or almost any parent, to be fair.

In other news, the Umstead Trail Marathon is almost here.  I did a 21.5 mile run with one of our athletes just a few days ago. Below is the awesome map of all the territory we covered in Umstead Park. 

I have always wanted to run this, but we usually have our spring training camp the same weekend. Not so this year. It will also be nice to come back from my illness-DNF at the Instant Classic Marathon last year.  Seems like yesterday. Time happens. 

I am aiming for around 4 hours which is a decent time on this course. If feeling good I might run into the 3:40s but there's no pressure - I just like having a goal out in front of me. 

Bri wrote about our dog Tassie, so I don't need to reiterate.  She is a great dog and we love her. 

She also wrote about the speedway relay we did, that was fun.

This time of year goes very quickly for me. Coaching swings into full effect, preparing for upcoming clinics and camps takes time, and the tax man requires his pound of flesh. I hope you are all doing well in whatever you are doing!

Our next 2 clinics and dates are:

Feb 28 - Beginner swim training clinic
April 18 - open water training clinic

I leave you with:

Peace and love.