On the Road to Tahoe

It's go time! This last weekend was full of shopping, prepping, making lists, making piles and packing bags.

I found it challenging to pack for this trip because I am not used to the cool weather that we will have in Tahoe. Which jacket will I wear on race day? Who knows, let's just throw in all of them! The picture above is about a third of the clothes I packed. While my body has had some aches and pains normal to taper I have enjoyed it, I feel like I should hate it but my body and mind was ready for a rest. I enjoyed easier rides.

And some time to enjoy fall treats
PSL!

Today I am excited to start our journey by driving from Denver to a state park near Park City, Utah.

We decided instead of staying in a generic hotel that we would camp for the evening. We really love to camp and haven't gone this year so this was a chance to get at least one night in before it gets too cold. It's about an 8.5 hour drive through the mountains and will be BEAUTIFUL. Tomorrow we will drive another 8.5 hours from Utah to Tahoe.

I imagine this part will be less scenic but we have lots of audio books to keep us entertained. Must go pack up the car, catch you guys in Cali!

Oregon Vacation

We will get to the full race recap soon (I hope). Things are moving fast around here with just 11 weeks to go until Ironman Lake Tahoe, work and life. Before I forget all the fun that happened last week in Oregon I thought I would take a minute to recap how fun our stay in Sunriver was. We have been there many times before, in fact my parents used to own a home there when they lived in Oregon. It was extra exciting to be there because we were celebrating Mom and Dad’s 40^th anniversary and they went to Sunriver on their honeymoon =)

We arrived in Sunriver on Thursday afternoon after 22 hours of driving straight, this is for convenience, but not my favorite way to start a vacation. Feeling a little stiff we decided that a nice easy bike tour of the half marathon course was in order. I really loved riding with my family! We stopped to take pictures at the finish line:

Cory and I looking dorky in our matching jerseys.

Mom at the half marathon start line. Cory and I were excited to race our first triathlon of the year but really bummed that mom's big race was at the same time so we didn't get to cheer for her. She did have by brother and dad chasing her all over the course so that did make me feel better.

Most of the day Friday was spent getting ready for the race and Saturday was spent getting a bad sunburn out on the course. She ended up beating her time goal and taking 2nd in her age group!

Sunday it was my mom, Cory and my turn to cheer from my bother and dad who raced in the 5k

They both did a great job, Erik took first in his group!!!

After their race we celebrated by eating at the lodge and getting a family photo.

The rest of the day was spent doing some work (for me) and packing up, Daisy spent her time well too

Next up….off to the beach and a training update!

Sunriver on Dwellable

 

You know your are an endurance athlete when....

(had to add another one)

You pack more triathlon gear than normal clothes for vacation

We leave tomorrow for Oregon and I am excitedly laying everything out and packing. I will share my Ironman pack list tomorrow. We created it for IMCDA but it can work for any triathlon with a little adjusting.

Moab Day 3 and 4

Lots of things to talk about but I need to wrap up my posts about our training trip to Moab.You can read about day one and day two if your missed them. Day 3 and 4 don't get their own posts because both ended up being half days unfortunately. Saturday we woke up to some light rain and very cold temps. Hoping that it would clear up we layered up, packed up our bikes and drove out to the start of our long ride for the weekend. Some very dedicated folks started from the hotel had 100+ miles on the schedule my plan called for 88 miles and lots of climbing up in Canyonlands .

As we were driving out to the parking lot (and the 6 people were riding) it started to really rain hard. As we regrouped at the parking lot shivering we got word (thanks smart phones) that it was snowing at dead horse point ,where we were headed. I was very nervous about riding in the cold rain since I was still recovering from a very nasty cold/sinus infection and I didn't want to risk relapse. Plus I was miserable just standing in the rain, I couldn't imagine riding in it. The rain was forecasted to stop in two hours (10 am) so we decided to head back to the hotel, get some food and wait out the storm. Most of the dedicated riders pushed on in the cold and wet, I am amazed by the toughness and dedication of these guys (and gals)!

Long story short we waited much longer than we would have liked for the rain to stop and our "long" was cut to 48 miles and the transition run was completely cut out.

We had a team dinner to get to at 5:30, priorities. I was disappointed to be cut short but I think it was the right choice and the views were still amazing!


Happy to finally be on the bike!

After a short ride we went to a team dinner, over 60 triathletes in one place was a lot of fun. After dinner it was early to bed so Cory and I could get up and head back to Arches for a trail run.

While we didn't get as many miles in as we would have if we had run on the roads and we did get lost a couple times

It was fun running around and finding arches everywhere

I just wish we had more time to spend on the trails, but we had to get back for check out

Next year….check out first and drive home sweaty so there is more time for trails!

Double Arch

"trail"

Can't wait to go back!

Moab Day 2

Ok, so there was a bit of a delay after posting Moab Day One, that's what happens when you neglect work and grad school to go play with triathlete friends!

On day two in Moab we got up early, grabbed some coffee and headed to the local rec center for a swim. About 40 of us piled into the pool so coach could put us through our paces. 2800 meters later I was tired from a lot of kicking and ready for some food. We had a little over an hour to get back to the hotel, clean up, eat and get ready to ride! We grabbed more coffee and breakfast burritos at the Love Muffin, so good!

Then it was time to roll out to Arches National Monument for 56 miles of riding and 4200 ft of climbing. This was a good wake up call that all my winter trainer and flat land riding has NOT prepared me for Tahoe, time to climb!

The scenery was amazing and made the burning in my legs worth it

I will admit that by the time we rolled back into the hotel I was tired and my legs were hurting. I had an hour run still left to do for the day but Cory was really hungry. I thought no big deal, I threw on running clothes with every intention of running after finding something small to eat. On our way through town we ran into Coach at a pub where we joined him to talk about the ride and how I should get shorter cranks (another story) while we were sitting there I "sorta" got permission to skip the run for the day. At the time I was relieved to be done and to get to rest my tired legs, looking back I wish I would have sucked it up and ran but it's a lesson learned. After filling up Cory and I headed back to the hotel to rest and recover we were both beat!

Moab Day One

Hello form Moab! We are currently sitting in the hotel waiting for the rain to stop so we can head out for our longest ride of the weekend (80 something for me but with the late start might need to be cut to 66) it's very cold and currently snowing at the top of our ride, a few hard core triathletes that were going for 100+ miles today went for it in the rain but most of us are waiting it out. I am still recovering from being sick for two weeks so I am not going to take my chances.

The trip so far has been a little impeded by weather, we have had a cold wet spring so it's really no surprise. But Day 1 (Thursday) made for a sketchy drive through the mountains from Denver to Grand Junction where we had planned to ride about 36 miles on our way to Moab but it was very cold and talk of snow so we pushed on to Moab where we checked into the hotel and quickly got on our bikes to put some miles in. The ride was still chilly but we rode along the river into a canyon on some nice easy rollers.

After the ride we cleaned up and headed to dinner with Coach and a bunch of people from the team the food wasn't great but the company was stellar. Then it was quick to get to bed for an early morning at the pool.

Day two coming soon, but I wanted to clear a couple things up. I called this a training camp and while in my mind it is we are very fortunate that it is put on by our local tri club and is free to members, not a fancy expensive camp. Obviously we have to pay to drive out here and for the hotel (some people camp but that seems crazy to me). Our coach and club officers plan the entire weekend (workouts, reserving a pool, discount at the hotel, etc) for us for free. It's a nice perk of being part of a really awesome club. We also have access to some of our club sponsors like Cliff Bar produces, Sierra Nevada beer as well a massages and recovery pump boots.

Cabo San Lucas 2013

Ouch, I have been under a rock for almost a month, not hiding more like buried, and I don't see that changing any time before August. But I shouldn't complain I make my own schedule and I just got home from a sunny Mexican vacation =)
 
Cory and I planned a quick five day get away to Cabo San Lucas to celebrate being together for ten years as well as a fun break from Colorado's winter. It was in the low 80s and low humidity so very comfortable. It was actually a little chilly in the morning and evening so if I were to go back next year I would bring more sweaters. We stayed at one of the local resorts, it was nice but kind of cookie cutter.
 
There were a lot of "spring breakers" staying at the hotel, luckily it was quiet by our room but I am not sure everyone was so lucky. We had a great time and tried to enjoy the sun and the ocean as much as possible. We borrowed a sea kayak from the hotel and paddled our way over the famous Cabo arch and Lovers beach. When I first looked how far it was away I was skeptical that we could paddle the entire way over and back but little did I know how easy it is to paddle a kayak, getting up on the beach is another story, we completely rolled over on the way in.  
We ate (and drank) a lot of great Mexican food
We went whale watching and checked out the town but our favorite part of the trip was spectating Ironman Los Cabos

We had the best time chasing athletes all over and cheering until our throats hurt. Ironman Los Cabos from the spectator point of view deserves it's own post so look for that in the near future.

Now it's back to reality and trying to dig out from under the rock!

Packing for Miami!!!

I am so excited to be heading to Miami tomorrow. I really hope I haven't forgotten anything, after a hectic day at work I laid everything out in the spare room of our house hoping that I would be able to make it all fit into my carry-on, I'm too cheep to pay the extra but I don't like to pack light. I love to have options so packing isn't my favorite task. I couldn't decide what to wear for the race so I packed two options

My forst choice is tank top and capris, my second choice is shorts and a t-shirt. It's like I have completely forgotten how to run in anything above 50 degrees. Race start is at 6 am (ugh, that's 4 am mountain time)

The race temps look pretty great, but the humidity is a little intimidating, I think the highest we have gotten lately in Colorado is less than 40%. No matter what I am so looking forward to this trip, hangin with Amanda from Run to the Finish and wearing my summer clothes that I had to pull out of storage. 

Anyone else racing this weekend? My mom and hubby are racing the Yeti Chase in Colorado. 

High Maintenance

I am going to Oregon next week to help my parents work on their houses. They are planning to move to Colorado after mom retires in June and they need to sell their homes so they are fixing them up. All of this information is background for how it became so obvious that I am now really high maintenance. I was trying to plan out my workouts while out of town and was really frustrated that I won’t have my normal facilities. I have a membership to 24 hour fitness and just assumed there would be one near my parents house, but no, the closest one is 45 minutes away! This may mean no swimming or biking for me for an entire week. I may be able to borrow my mom’s bike but it’s a hybrid bike from 1994, and won’t be anything like my road bike. I also realized that I won’t have all my normal rituals, I won’t have my beloved foam roller or recovery foods or training partner =(

I am happy to go help my parents but I will miss my routine.

This weeks training plan:

Monday: rest day…ahhhhhh
Tuesday: am 60 minute bike (on trainer) and commute to work, pm 6 mile interval run run (1 mile warm-up and cool down with 3 mile repeats with .25 mile recovery)
Wednesday: am 1900 swim (300 WU, 6x50 drills, 8x100 main set, 6x50 drills, 200 CD), pm yoga ** this may change because with a sinus infection it sucks to swim!
Thursday: 90 min spin class straight to a 3 mile run
Friday: 6 mile tempo run with an easy 1600 m easy swim
Saturday: 12 mile run
Sunday: Not sure yet……

Sunday and next week are to be determined.

Last weeks totals are:

Swim: 3400 meters
Bike: 70 miles
Run: 48.1 miles (I think this may be the most I have ever ran in a week)

I think training is going well but my nutrition has been horrible so I am focusing on cleaning it up. I spent a lot of time chopping this morning while sipping a blackberry green monster


Keeping it colorful.

Are you high maintenance? Happy Tuesday!

East Coast Time

Workout today: sitting on my but......all day

I didn't get into my hotel until after midnight last night after many delays. Here is the room I am staying in:
I was exhausted and fell into bed but couldn't sleep. So I am taking the day off and resting. Wishing I was still at home so I could read while watching the snow

Instead I will be watching it snow from this window: When I stayed here in September I made sure to run(and get lost) in Central Park. This time I didn't even bring outdoor workout clothes, It's just too cold!

Tonight I am off to Kefi, a Greek restaurant, should be good.

Do you like traveling to New York? If so what do you like to do here?

Good bye Colorado, hello New York City!

This morning started out nice a relaxing and spread up from there. I woke up to about three inches of fluffy white snow =)I took my coffee and Racing weight into our hearth room to read and watch the snow fall. Our 8 mile run had to be moved inside because of the snow so off the (VERY packed) gym we went for 82 minuets on the treadmill. We then hurried home for a quick shower and ice bath, helpful but so painful. I didn't have much time so I raced around trying to pack and ended up with a 48 pound bag, yikes!

I am now sitting in Denver International airport waiting to fly to New York City for a meeting about evaluating Professional Development. This is my exciting reading for the plane:
I will also hopefully have time to read this book:

Hmmmm, do you think the gummy bears are helping me reach my race weight?

Off to the east coast, catch you all on the flip side.