Our one room studio has everything we need including a giant screen TV with movie channels. I don't even need to walk 3 miles in the heat to get my movie fix. Triathlon and Movies, I have landed in heaven once again!
The first week of camp was very productive. I put in over 18 hours of training including 5 bike workouts, 3 swims, and 2 runs. My long workouts included a 84 mile scenic bike ride, a 3000 meter swim, and a 15 mile run. I hoped to get more running in and a brick workout, but the brick keeps getting canceled! My husband and I enjoyed getting more bike miles in this week in cooler temps on rolling hills and some steep climbing. This week was definitely a breakthrough week. It still feels like a lot has to happen in the next 12 weeks to put together a strong swim, bike and run on race day.
My favorite ride was the long ride which we chose to return to Saratoga outside of San Jose and ride through Redwood forests and farmlands out to the coast. We rode 40 miles along Highway 1 to Santa Cruz and then had to climb back to Saratoga through a few cute little towns in the pines and back through the redwoods.
I stopped early and took the sag 6 miles from the top when my legs said "all done" and I was over my mileage goal. My husband rode the next day while I ran and then we headed to Del Valle Regional Park so I would not go through OWS withdrawal. Dennis agreed to kayak and protect me from the boaters.
I did not take a day off this week and I finished the week with a climb up Mt. Diablo with 3600 feet of climbing a popular cycling destination. Our rental is 13.5 miles from the summit and it was on my to do list this summer. It was a tough mental battle and practice for breaking up hard work into sections. I had borrowed mantras from some of my local idols like "NEVER QUIT", "DO EPIC SHIT", "FOCUS" and my own questions like "DO YOU WANT TO BE AN IRONMAN AGAIN".
I was close to accepting less and going as far as I could take my body until it could not go any further, but am I truly qualified to answer that question for myself. I easily forgive myself when I come up short. I managed to talk myself back into continuing the climb a few times after taking a few rest stops. I made it up to the towers and knew there was a 14% grade to get to the parking lot. I joked that I would just stop at the long term parking lot as I stood up and tried to take a few revolutions when my body started shaking and my heart jumped out of my chest and I forcefully unclipped before I went down! I said a few choice words and then slowly walked my bike up the steep pitch for a tenth or two of a mile to the parking lot at the very top which was no easy hike itself but at least I did not tumble down off my bike. A few riders passed by and I said while huffing and puffing that this still counts. I made it to the summit. The ride down was not a time for relaxation as it was shifting weight side to side down all the twists and turns. Everyone said, if you did Mt. Lemmon, you can do Mt. Diablo. Grades don't get less steep just because you climbed them before and today was no walk in the park. I did gain a greater appreciation for events that are more challenging then Ironman such as the 2 day climb my husband and brother are preparing for called the Everest Challenge (30K of climbing, oh my!).
Looking forward to a more moderate week 2 at training camp before we head to June Lake on Friday for another Triathlon in the Mono Basin. We will get to drive through Yosemite to get there and it for certain will be EPIC!
The rest of the day is being spent on watching the Tour de France and not doing a thing! LIFE IS GOOD!
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