Are you kidding me? Is it really winter again?
Winter has descended upon us once again. You all know from my previous posts that I abhor winter, and this one has been rough. It has been cold, snowy and windy, a trifecta of winter misery. In my mind, snow is pretty for 5 minutes and is than an incredible inconvenience and being cold is a form of torture. Yes, I know that I live in Colorado and the nasty weather is to be expected (and even enjoyed by some; heretics, I say). The bottom line is, everything good that Boulder has to offer ultimately outweighs my profound dislike of the winter months. I was lucky enough to escape for two weeks in January to the sanctuary of parent’s house in San Diego. My parents are amazing hosts and my time there is solely dedicated to training (and driving to training since everything is so spread out); they take care of the rest. During this time, I saw a huge jump in my fitness and even ran the Carlsbad half marathon on somewhat of a whim. Not a PR, but close.
The direction of my training has changed dramatically as I prepare for the Olympic Trials on April 19th in the emerging hotbed of triathlon (or so they say?), Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The continuous long hours have been replaced with shorter, more intense workouts interspersed with some longer base building days. I have been doing speed work on the track or treadmill several days a week, ratcheting up the wattage on the bike, and swimming lots of fast 50’s and 100’s. This is a very unnatural type of training for me and while it is rewarding to see the improvements there is a new kind of pain involved. My muscles were confused into submission such that the end of the San Diego training block marked a relative low point with incredible fatigue and muscle soreness. I may have actually crawled off the bike one day, but since nobody saw me it really didn’t happen. Luckily, some rest has reinvigorated me and I ran a 5K on Sunday for the first time in 12 years. At 4K, I clearly remembered why it had been so long. They hurt. A lot. Especially at altitude. Especially when it is freezing cold. I can’t wait to run another one.
Since the Kona debacle, I have been diligently researching the cause of my unraveling there. I have recently been in touch with Dr. Randy Wilbur and Bob Seebohar from the USOC. Their input has been extremely helpful and we have come up with a new nutritional plan that includes a lot more electrolyte replacement and some new strategies for cooling and heat acclimation. Where were you guys 6 months ago? Better late than never!
Next up is the Miami International triathlon in March with a few running races in the interim.
Race hard, have fun.
