Getting out of the heat.

This is the first year we decided to leave town quickly after my son finished up school this year.  Looking forward to spending a week in cooler weather up in Prescott, AZ where my parents live and a brief road trip to Las Vegas.  The thought of doing long runs and rides in extreme heat really does not appeal to me and with Ironman in November in AZ, the chance of the temps being in the 100s is very slim to none (though there are 2 earlier races that could potentially be in the heat) so I am happy to take any opportunity to get out of the oven.  It is not often we take a whole week to chillax together and as long as my bike can come along, I am up for the adventure.  Unfortunately when we arrived, my son spiked a 102 fever and here we sit away from home and on a holiday weekend, so motrin and rest are our ticket, hoping to get him well enough to enjoy the Lazy River at Mandalay Bay and 2 shows in Vegas....however, now the momma turtle has a sore throat, but the good news is that I got my long ride and run in this weekend, but I had to elect to skip my swim this afternoon.  So let's not think about the sore throat right now and get to the bike ride and run.

My husband informed me right before we left Scottsdale that the temperature was going to range from 37-60 degrees which I found hard to believe since Prescott is usually 10-20 degrees cooler but we were coming from 90-100 degrees.  Once he showed me proof, I grabbed my long cycling tights and a heavier jacket, gloves and headband and I was very thankful the next morning when we went out for the ride.  It was sunny and cold!  Evenknow we did not need to get up early to enjoy cooler weather for this ride, my biological clock still woke me up around 4:30 am and I waited for my husband to rise and we took off by 6:30.  I was supposed to ride 3.5 hrs in my long HR zone which my coach gave me this week which is 125-148 which is typically the range I ride in, however, we were in a place that is full of steep hills and it is hard to find a route that does not contain a monster hill.  We chose to do an out and back course from Prescott Lakes to Skull Valley.  We had to ride up 6 miles to get to the 6 mile climb up to Granite Mountain.  Sorry, no pictures.  We were holding on for dear life on this ride.  What should have been a fast enjoyable 11 mile descent into Skull Valley was filled with gusty cross winds along the switchbacks.  It was scary but like a thrilling amusement park ride.  I was happy to get off at the bottom of the hill and we stopped at the General Store in the cute little town.  Some guy rode by on a horse and asked us if we saw any loose cattle wandering by.  When we walked through the shop, it was full of Southwestern knicknacks and 4 bearded old men sitting around a wood burning stove.  The winds were more in our favor on the ride back.  I had to dig deep through the wind and on the long climbs feeling a little under the weather, but it was a fun adventure as always.  My main discomfort and reason that I was ready to get off my bike after 47 miles was the back pain I was having on the climb.  I am still thankful for Scottie the bike and hopefully we will iron out what is causing the discomfort in my technique and position.  I have also slacked off on my strength and flexibility and I think that will help prevent the back pain in the future.  It has gotten harder to fit those parts in as the workouts are getting longer, but priorities.

So I woke this morning, looking forward to another workout in cool weather.  I had a 10 mile run on my schedule and opted to one of the flatter trails I could find around Willow Lake and Embry Riddle University.  Something strange occurred with my heart rate.  It was all over the place and especially on the high side.  My long running HR is 135 to 147 and only 5 minutes into my run, I looked down and I was 150-170, without being short of breath.  I got a signal saying low battery on my GPS but it seemed to be reading the mileage and time ok.  I think it may have been the altitude and perhaps the bug that my son shared with me.  It took me 1:55 to complete 10 miles. I could not go any slower.

There is always adversity to overcome whether it is wind, illness, cramping, flat tires, or cold weather.  Instead of wallowing in self pity, I know I have to just let these experiences make me stronger.  Pain never lasts forever and really we forget it once it goes away and we remember the good things.  Deciding when to push and when to rest still remains to be foggy line.  We had an Ironman Meeting this week and talked about how we were feeling and about when to back off.  Eventhough we are using science to design the plan, we need to really learn to listen to the little voices in our head and signals from our body.  Though, I am certain that part of this journey is learning how to ignore those little voices and listening to your heart.  This afternoon, I listened to the little pain receptors in my throat and decided that swimming may not be in my best interest.

As training gets more intense, I am hoping to learn to use my turtle shell as body armor to keep away injury and illness.  For now, I will have to stick to vitamin C, motrin, and rest.

Happy Training, Stay Cool!