Monday, March 12, 2012

Tuscon Training Camp

Last week I spent time in Tuscon, Arizona. The weather started out warmer in the first few days 70-90 degree highs. It changed quickly to a high in the low 60s and lots of wind. I managed to get in 23.5 hours of training (23,300 yards of swimming, 12 hours of cycling, and 37.4 miles of running).

I biked a little too hard Sunday and ran really hard Monday morning. It took me a few days to recover from those efforts. On Friday, I had a strong 5100 yard swim Friday morning. After 2 hours of downtime, we climbed Mt. Lemmon (25 miles 5200+ feet of vertical climbing). It took me a little over 2.5 hours. The hardest part of the climb was trying to figure out what clothing to wear. One minute super cold in a head wind and the next minute warm with a tailwind. After 17 miles, the temperature dropped below 40. At that point, I put on a vest, arm and leg warmers. It was my longest climb on the bike ever beating my previous by 16 miles.

I met several talented athletes, who were fun to be around. I saw a jackalope (bigger than my dogs, but no horns), an eagle eating a rabbit on a cactus, and a hawk fly into the living room window. It was a good experience. Thanks Mark.