Summer Smashfests

July 15.  According to the calendar summer is half over.  Despite the fact that my schedule really doesn't change, we still seem to travel a lot more during the summer.  Shortly after my Grand Canyon trip with the #bff, the hubs and I met up with my parents for a long weekend in South Lake Tahoe to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary.  We joked that the whole family was invited but my sisters both have kids (read: obligations) whereas we are free as birds.  Trip to Tahoe?  We're in!!  I love that about my life.

A toast to life well lived.  45 years and counting.

The weekend was so relaxing.  Equal parts resting, eating, and exploring my favorite trail... the Tahoe Rim Trail.  My parents love to hike so I mapped out a 10 mile route for them, out and back on the Marlette Trail, while I started with them and circumnavigated 18 miles to end up back at the starting location.  There is something peaceful and magical about spending hours alone running on a beautiful trail and I savored every second of it.  The hubs is recovering beautifully from his Achilles' procedure last fall, but is not yet allowed to explore the trails.  The uneven surface puts a lot of strain on the tendon and we are not ready to push the envelope just yet.  So he enjoyed a little elevation training on the bike path from South Lake to Emerald Bay.

Selfie on the way to Snow Valley Peak

Marlette Lake in the foreground, Lake Tahoe in the background.

Happy Anniversary, mom and dad!!

After Tahoe it was back to work and time to get back into training mode again.  Not that my training ever stopped but with the GC and Tahoe I had a bit of a mental break.  Contrary to popular belief I was not burned out after Texas, but I think my body took more of a hit than I even realized.  It took me 7 weeks to feel normal again.  I had been missing goals on nearly every workout.  I just felt sluggish and not like myself.  Not even in a way I could really describe.  Then one day (July 3rd to be exact) I woke up, did my workout and felt completely awesome.  Normal.  Myself.  I messaged the boss and told her that it was like someone flipped a light switch.  I have no idea why, but my body was back in the game.  

Best I can think of:

1) it didn't get hot in Arizona until June and it took me that long to adapt to the heat.  Normally this adaptation would be done slowly in April/ May as the temps gradually increased.  This year it stayed nice and cool and then *BAM* it was hot and humid all at once.   

2) it took me longer to recovery from Texas because of the heat illness and dehydration experienced during the race. 

3) I restarted my multivitamin supplement and was probably getting some minerals that my body was lacking. 

Either way, I am so thankful that my body has caught up with what my mind would like it to do.  I've had a ton of fun training with my Team HPB teammates this summer.  Several weeks ago we bribed my friends' kid to SAG for us on our long ride to Sunflower.  It was a learning experience... teaching a 16 year old what it means to "leapfrog" and then when my ride was over, hopping in the truck beside the 16 year old driver while the boys finished up.  Now I know how my parents must have felt when they turned over the keys to me as a teenager!

Long ride to Sunflower.  #fastcats

   

Over 4th of July weekend we all headed down to Tucson, aka The Dirty T, for a long weekend of training.  Another teammate rents a house every summer to train in Tucson so we booked rooms at a nearby resort with access to our very own lap pool!  No one goes to a resort for the lap pool... everyone else could be found at the swim up bar and lazy river.  

Mt. Lemmon... ready, GO!

We arrived on Friday evening and met the gang for drinks and dinner.  On Saturday morning we got an early start and headed out from Le Buzz to climb Mt. Lemmon.  Summerhaven hosts an annual 4th of July parade and fireworks celebration so it made for very light traffic on the descent.  We each had our marching orders and agreed to meet up at the top before turning around.  

I held my watts as planned on the climb and though I started out in the back, I picked off teammates at mile 5, mile 9, and then caught Kona Dawn at Windy Point and stayed with her through the top of the climb.  We rendezvoused at the visitor's center at the top, drinking cokes and watching traffic filter into town for the parade before turning around and heading back down the mountain.  I've really been working on my descending skills and having a nice, steady wind (as opposed to the gusty winds and cross winds that can sometimes occur) and minimal traffic helped me have my best descent yet on Mt. Lemmon!  It was a PR for the climb, a PR for the descent and my first time under 4 hours total for the ride.  Very happy girl!  

Dawn and I goofing off, attempting to be "serious".

We nailed a quick transition run and then had lunch at Le Buzz before heading back to the resort for a few recovery laps in the pool and an early dinner.  

Recovery swim!!

Sunday proved to be a very long day.  We met at the boss's house in the morning to start our ride.  Instructions were to ride the Shoot-out loop with Madera Canyon climb, and then on the way back, add on the McCain Loop and a trip up and over Gates Pass.  118 miles total with over 7000 feet of climbing.  My legs were still tired from Mt. Lemmon on Saturday and I struggled to keep up with the group from the start.  Rube's lovely wife was our SAG driver and kept eyes on all of us so I didn't worry too much about falling off the back.  

Sunday Smashfest!

The climb through Madera is about 13 miles of false-flats and one steep pitch upwards at the end.  There were moments when I was certain I was going to repeat the camp episode and fall off my bike.  It was SO steep.  We stopped to refuel in the parking lot at the top but kept it brief because it was actually chilly up there, and starting to rain.  We warmed up again when we hit the flat roads back to Tucson.  After about 70 miles my legs started to come around and I felt a little bit better.  As long as my hubby wasn't pulling on the front I could keep up with the group.  

All day long I fretted about the Gates Pass climb.  It is a short but steep and if you're already tired it kicks your ass.  I climbed it back to back at camp and the first time was no big deal.  The second time I was seeing stars at the top and my heart was going to jump out of my chest.  We stopped for our last refuel with 10 miles to go, just before starting the climb.  

Since I was the "slow one" I headed out just ahead of the group.  Dawn agreed to come with me.  I stayed behind her and just focused on keeping a quick cadence.  Turns out, that climb was nothing compared to Madera!  I was freaking out for nothing, as usual.  We crested the top and I pumped my arms like a Tour de France stage winner before we rolled into a fast descent on the other side.  

118 done... and done!!

Our ride was over, and the women's soccer team was just starting the finals in the World Cup.  We had our sights set on a little bar across from the resort.  With lightening across the sky and rain pouring down we decided that our recovery swim was cancelled.  We showered quickly and fell into a booth with some cold beers and tacos.  The team nominated me to tell Coach that the pools were closed for lightening.  She responded quickly with, "don't worry, it won't last too long".  Suddenly our visions of having our feet up for the rest of the night faded.  

We did enjoy watching the women destroy the World Cup finals, and our beers numbed our aching legs.  Slowly we began to wrap our heads around getting in the pool.  (Turns out, coach was right... storms never last long in the desert.)  We had the pool to ourselves and enjoyed as many laughs as laps before finally hitting the pillow for some well deserved sleep.  

Getting ready for our sunset swim.

Monday morning we had one last task... the forever swim set.  The forever set is a team favorite.  It involves creating massive fatigue in the upper body while racing each other, band only, 25 yards at a time for about 10 minutes, and then sprinting 200's for time.  Over and over and over and over.  By the end your arms are literally falling off and you can't clear your fingers on the recovery.  My body was so tired from the previous two days that my 200's were about 10 seconds slower than normal.  It was almost comical.  

We started as the sun was rising and finished with just enough time to shower, load the car and drive back to the Valley to be at the shop by 10 am.  I love long weekends like this.  Having never played sports growing up, I totally love the team atmosphere and cherish any opportunity to train with friends.  We have as much fun smashing each other as we do laughing and chatting afterwards.  And it's great to have strong, talented teammates who challenge me to work hard and chase my goals.

And last but not least... #selfiewithmoo is half over!!  It started with a photo I took... a selfie with my cat, Moo.  It was not January 1, but it was early in the year- maybe mid to late January.  The next day I took another one.  And then it became a thing.  My 2015 thing.  Since I don't do resolutions, I try to pick one thing per year to focus on... still a self improvement type of activity.  Two years ago I took up flossing.  The habit stuck and I still floss daily.  (I can't believe I didn't floss daily before!!!)  Last year I taught myself how to do flip turns in the pool.  I decided if I was going to hire a coach who happens to be a phenomenal swimmer- I needed to start doing flip turns.  Now, I can't believe I refused to learn for so long!!  2015... well it's the year of #selfiewithmoo.  (He can be found on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.  He's becoming quite famous.  At least in my mind.). 

 

Kissing my little Moo.

My gorgeous baby with his green eyes, freckles, and little pink nose!!

I'm not entirely sure what I'll do after the year is over.  Do I continue?  Wouldn't it be amazing to have a chronicle of his entire life?  I started when he was about 8 months of age... what will he look like when he is 8?  Or 18?  The thing I love most about this project is every night when I come home from work I call out, "Moo!  It's time for your selfie!" And Moo comes running and jumps into my lap.  All he knows is that he's getting attention, and he loves it.  All my boys are friendly and LOVE people, but #selfiewithmoo has created an even stronger human-animal bond.  If I am sitting down, he is in my lap, purring, giving me kisses.  

Anyway, that's all I have to catch up from the last few weeks.  We're in a good place with training, and life, and we look forward to the next challenge that heads our way.   

         

CAMP: A Four Letter Word

****Disclaimer:  I am not an emotional person.  In fact, I am probably the least emotional female that I know.  I am a type A.  I am a get-shit-done type.  I am a pick-myself-up-by-my-bootstraps girl.  There is no crying in baseball.  I don't wallow in self pity and I don't have a lot of patience for those who do.  When there's a problem, I solve it.  I don't think about it, I just do.  However... when I am exhausted- either physically or emotionally (ie: stressed) my impulse is to cry.  Sometimes when I'm so mentally drained after four 12 hour shifts, I cannot think coherent thoughts and all I want to do is burst into tears.  Not because I'm sad or upset about something, it's just my body's reaction to that level of stress.  So please keep this in mind as you read on....****

On Wednesday afternoon we loaded up the car, made plans to meet our teammate to grab some food on our way to Tucson for the annual Team HPB Training Camp.  Camp is open to anyone, and approximately half of the athletes were members of Team HPB.  I was super excited to test out my progress over the last year and to meet some new teammates...

Bikes loaded, Beav and I are ready to roll on down to the Dirty T.

We got settled in our casita at Star Pass and made plans to meet another teammate Ben who had flown in from my home state (Go Hawkeyes!) for camp.  We were tired and hungry and rather than drive around all night looking for food, we headed up to the Marriott Star Pass resort for some pizza.  We had fun chatting and laughing and getting excited for the days ahead.  

Day 1:  Social Run

Thursday morning we slept in.  Actually this was the nice thing about camp- I had zero responsibility besides training, eating and sleeping- so I got a ton of sleep over the 5 days.  I was wonderfully rested.  We went for a nice easy ride over Gates Pass with some friends and hung out waiting for our official camp kick off that afternoon.

At 4 pm campers gathered near the Star Pass pool.  After a few brief introductions, we were off on our hour long social run.  Following the run, we met for a group dinner at La Cocina for further bonding.  Then it was off to bed before the first big workout of the week.

Day 2:  Madera Canyon Ride/ Forever Swim Set

I was pretty excited about the long bike ride on day two.  Last year heading out for the ride someone crashed in front of me and that ended up being the separation between group A and B.  I was comfortable in group B.  A long ride is a long ride, but it was social and easy going. 

This year -- a different story.  Coach told me to be in the "first third" of the group.  So with roughly 25 athletes, this means I need to be in the top 8ish.  Fortunately or unfortunately, this was our first bike ride so she had no idea of the level of athletes that had shown up.  Let's just say, I was sitting in about 16th place, holding higher than sprint-distance watts for 10 miles before I finally got dropped.  

The route we were taking is pretty straightforward.  Once I got dropped I figured I would just hold a hard effort as long as I could, keeping the A group in sight, and if I lost track of them I'd stop and wait for the B group.  The wind was ridiculous.  The whole thing was completely demoralizing.  At one point a truck went by me a little too close for my comfort and I immediately burst into tears.  Totally in pity party mode, I wanted to be in the group, not riding alone.  I was working my ass off... for what?  Part of me wanted to stop and wait for the B group... the other part of me knew that I had already failed my assignment and I better do my best to get a good workout out of this.... so onward I went.

Soon we hit some rollers and the A group slowed significantly, allowing me to catch back up.  I stayed with them through our first SAG stop, and through town until we started the climb through Madera Canyon.  After a mile or so of the climb I got dropped, and the group in general splintered a little.  I couldn't even see the front group.  Every once in a while I'd catch a glimpse of another rider in front of me.

The second crying...

Madera is a slow climb over about 10 miles.  It actually looks flat, and you don't even realize how much you climbed until you descend the same stretch later in the day.  After the slow false flat, you climb through a camp ground area and hit a couple of 12-14% grades.  At the top there is a circular drive with a parking lot-- this is where we regrouped last year.  This year, they were doing road construction and so we regrouped as far up the climb as we could go which happened to be on the 12% grade.

So I'm in my granniest gear, barely turning the pedals over.  My teammate (who I love and adore) finished the climb and stopped in the middle of the road.  I am shouting at him not to stop in the middle of the road (ie: where am I supposed to go?)... but it's too late.  I can't get unclipped in time and fall over.  Uninjured of course as I was moving at less than 3 mph.  Then, since I had gone from climbing in zone 5 to stopped, I proceed to have an exercise-induced asthma attack.  Yes, the image you have of me is correct.  Just fell off my bike and now I'm lying in a heap on the ground struggling to breathe.  I am a hot mess.  

I am familiar with this type of asthma attack, and the remedy is to move.  To keep moving until my heart rate comes down on it's own.  I'm shaking and crying and struggling to get my foot unclipped while lying on my side on the asphalt.  Finally, I get up and on this 12% grade I am walking back and forth across the 5 foot section of road, and into the woods to try to get my heart rate calmed down while gasping for air.  I am praying my teammates (the ones who legit belong in the A group) can't see me crying as I am totally humiliated at this point.  Oh, I didn't even mention the construction workers who had stopped working to stare at me very confusedly during all this commotion.  Yep.  That happened.  

Top of Madera, post trauma.

Finally my breathing is restored and I just want off the top of this mountain ASAP.  I pick my bike back up throw a leg over and start down the descent.  At the bottom we stop for the second SAG of the trip to refuel/ swap out water bottles.  I am cramming calories down my throat and dreading the second half of the ride home in the wind.  

The third watershed....

Since there were only 3 distinct groups and 4 coaches on the road by this time, Coach Alyssa was assigned to bring up the rear of the "first group", which basically meant that she biked behind me on the way home and we occasionally swept up another athlete that had been dropped by the A group.  The winds had picked up throughout the day and I was being blown all over the road in the cross winds.  I gave myself tendonitis because I was gripping my handlebars so tightly that afternoon.  I was bordering on hysterical at times and was choking back the tears that trickled from under my eyelids.

One of the reasons that for 5 years after starting triathlon I never had any desire to race in Kona was because I've biked the world championship course, and I know how brutal those cross winds are.  Wind is my kryptonite.  Alyssa was so patient and gave me some pointers which helped me relax a little and just go with the flow.  I KNOW that when I get the chance to race in Kona, I will hear her tips in the back of my mind and I will be safer because of it.  If I gained nothing else from this ride, I learned some valuable tricks.  

After an eternity, we were back at the casitas and making plans for our afternoon swim at 3 pm.  Less than 2 hours later.  Already in survival mode, I immediately went into the condo and mixed up a huge plate of rice and avocado (thank god for rice cookers with a timer!).  Last year I cramped in the swim so I knew that refueling/ hydrating was going to be key.  I kept drinking Osmo Hydration and put my legs into the Recovery Boots.  I didn't fall asleep, but I tried to relax as much as possible.  

The Forever Set is a three times through band only sprinting set followed by a 200 sprint PBB (paddles/ buoy/ band).  After a brief warm-up the coaches divided us into lanes so that we could race the people in adjacent lanes.  I led my lane and raced 2 professional triathletes and another swimmer-dude.  I swim in a meter pool during the winter so I wasn't sure how my sprint 200 times stacked up to my normal, but Coach seemed pretty happy with the first couple.  I did fade badly, and by the 3rd 200 Alyssa (who was in the lane next to me) beat me to the wall.  

For as bad as I felt during the bike ride, I felt equally good in the swim session and considered it a successful day overall.  We finished up and went for salads and pizza with Ben, Marc, and Maggie.  

Day 3:  The 10k Swim/ Gates Pass Ride

Last year I fell apart during the 10k swim.  Cried actual tears inside my goggles.  (Are you picking up on a camp theme here??)  Coming to camp this year, I had the most anxiety about the 10k swim.  After the bike ride on Friday, I figured things couldn't get any worse and no matter what happened in the swim, I was NOT going to cry.

I woke up and began my morning routine.  I turned on my phone to check messages and share my daily #selfiewithmoo on social media.  I flipped to Facebook and saw this comment on a photo from Friday:  "Hope MK's arms are in the Recovery Pump cause someone is swimming in the fast lane tomorrow!"  Coach had posted this at 9:30 pm- thankfully I was sleeping because I probably would have been too stressed out after reading it to fall asleep.  

Immediately I was wide awake and filled with dread.  WHAT???!!!???  NO!!  This is a mistake.  I do not belong in the fast lane.  May day!  May day!!  *waving white flag*  I could barely choke down my breakfast.

Swim orders:  100 x 100 FAST LANE

We caravan'd to the University of Arizona rec center for the 10k swim.  Each swimmer was given a lane assignment and a specific workout to follow.  My instructions simply said:  FAST LANE 100 x 100!  Coach was going to make it up as we went along.  

We started out with a 10 x 100 swim on 1:30.  And followed that up with 10 x 100 as 75 free/ 25 back also on 1:30.  And then 10 x 100 25 fly/ 75 back... still on 1:30.  I was toast.  It felt like I swam a 3000 straight faster than race pace time trial.  I attempted 3 backstrokes, and one fly, but I fell too far behind and was afraid to get lapped and completely dusted so I just swam freestyle as hard as I could.  We paused for a quick water/ fuel break and then it was on to 10 x 100 band only on 1:40, and 10 x 100 buoy/ band on 1:30.  This was a bit more comfortable pace-wise and I was able to get at least a couple seconds on the wall between each 100.  

Then we jumped into a 32 x 100 PBB as 2 @1:30, 2 @ 1:25, 2 @ 1:20, and 2 @ 1:15 (4 times through obviously).  The first two sets I was fine until we hit the sub 1:20, then it became a straight swim until we were back at the 1:30.  I was thrilled to be feeling a little bit better (took me long enough to warm up!) and actually hit all the targets on the final two sets.  

Beav recovering with a social kick in his 10k swim lane.

We recovered with a 3 x 100 social kick.  And ended with 8 x 100 with roving 25 yard sprint on 1:30 followed by 7 x 100 alternating 25 breast / 75 free and 100 kick on 10 seconds rest.  When I got out of the pool I was a) very tired and hungry b) so proud of myself.  Though I can't say I had much fun, especially in the first half of the swim, I stayed focused and got the job done without any drama.  This was a huge improvement over last year, and by far the fastest 10k I've swum.  

Lane 2:  My peeps from last year's 10k swim.

We had a couple of hours to kill and get food before we met for the afternoon social ride over Gates Pass and McCain Loop.  We met at 3 for the afternoon ride.  We had a good time and the scenery is gorgeous on this ride.  I hung mostly with Maggie and Dawn, but when we started the climb it was every man for himself.  Thankfully it's not long, but the climb is steep and on tired legs I was at threshhold when we hit the top.  Maggie and I rolled over the top and down the other side before stopping to wait on the rest of the group.  

Maggie snapped this photo of me preparing for the climb up Gates.  You can see the switchback in the distance.  

Back at the casita we were given instructions for Sunday morning meet up and instructed to get a good meal in tonight for the climb up Mt. Lemmon tomorrow.  Our little dinner group opted on Coach's recommendation to hit up Choice Greens.  She had us at mac and cheese.

Per boss's orders, we had enough food for 10 people.

Day 4:  Technique Swim/ Mt. Lemmon Ride/ Transition Run
Sunday morning dawned with a short, sweet technique session in the Star Pass pool.  We were divided into groups based on how we would start the ride on Mt. Lemmon.  We each had an opportunity to practice on the straps- a way to simulate race start, basically focusing on high turnover and powerful stroke.  And then we swam some sprints/ easy 25s and took individual feedback from the coaches on deck.  

A common HPB swim torture device:  The straps.

Taking feedback from Coach.

After our swim we loaded up our bikes/ run gear, ate a quick breakfast and headed toward Le Buzz where we would start our assault on Mt. Lemmon.  I was given instructions to try to stay with Dawn on the climb.  We took off out of the parking lot with a 4 mile warm up to the base of the climb.

Ready to ride.

Warm up to Mt. Lemmon.

As soon as we started the climb, Dawn took off and I was left instantly in the dust.  At first I thought, great, another failed ride.  And then I thought, who gives a shit?  I can still f*ing climb Mt. Lemmon.  And so I set off to hold a consistent, strong pace to the top.  I actually caught up with Dawn at mile 6, but could only stay with her for about a mile.  I hit a rough patch around mile 11-14 so I opted to stop at SAG to grab a little extra fuel for the rest of the climb.  Within a mile I was feeling good again and charged on.  Though it wasn't a PR to the top, I was happy with the effort level and was ready to start the descent.  

Team HPB Camp at the Cookie Cabin, Summerhaven, AZ

      

At the top, Coach gave us orders for the transition run before sending us off.  "You're running with me!" was the instruction I got and I did my best to stay with her on the descent.  I am terrified of heights so when we reached Windy Point (approx mile 14) I am totally in survival mode until we pick up the mountain on our right side again around mile 6.  

We got back to Le Buzz and I threw on my run gear.  I was one of the last ones off the mountain and so most of my teammates were already running.  We took off and at mile one, my watch beeped 7:30 pace.  "This is where my legs start to burn," I announced and Hillary suggested we slow a little up to the turnaround (mile 2) before crushing it back to the car.  Mile two was a leisurely 8 minutes.  We crushed the last 2 miles in 7:30 and high-fived a job well done.  Turns out, I missed the part of the orders where I was supposed to do a progression run.  I just went balls out from the start because that's what I thought I needed to do.

That evening we had a group dinner at Smashfest Queen Headquarters (aka:  Hillary and Maik's house).  The food was catered by a local gal- ALL vegan and gluten free- every last bite!!  It was so amazingly good.  We had fun chatting, laughing and shopping, of course.  It was bittersweet, knowing that this was our last night together and tomorrow camp would be over.

Day 5:  Long Trail Run
As we did for our bike rides, we divided up into 3 groups for the trail run.  Coach Alyssa led my group and we headed out at a conversational pace.  Last year by the time we hit day 5 my legs were trashed and every step was a huge effort.  Today, I was happy to find that after the first hour my legs felt normal.  All this means is that they are used to feeling tired, and running tired.  We ran an out-n-back course and on the way back we got lost.  If I had my brain screwed on I would have remembered that my Garmin has a breadcrumb feature and I could have easily pointed us in the right direction.  As it was we made it back on a slightly different, slightly longer, slightly more uphill route.  I was happy that my training on Pass Mountain had prepared me well for this.

One of the runners had a GoPro and tripod.  We set it up mid run and goofed off a bit...

Coach Hillary's run group heading to the SAG stop half way.

Me and Kona Dawn post run.  Love this girl!!

After the run we said goodbye to some of the group that had to travel home.  We had debated driving home, but we had the condo until Tuesday and there was mention of margaritas on Monday evening so we decided to stay (twist our arms).  Beav and I joined the others for lunch and beers and then crashed at the casita for a much needed nap.

Toasting a successful week at Team HPB Camp.

That evening we met everyone on the terrace at the Marriott Star Pass.  We enjoyed some fancy margaritas (mine was a version with blackberry and jalapeno- highly recommended!), tapas, and s'mores complete with marshmallows that we toasted in our fire pit.  We had fun relaxing and chatting long after the sun set and the stars covered the sky.

As always there are lessons learned and friends made.  Here are some of my takeaways from camp this year.

1.  I am not as strong as I think I am.  There is more work to be done.  I had gotten a little comfortable in my training, thinking that I was ready to crush whatever comes my way.  After the ride on Friday I was humbled.  Despite how much improvement I've made over the last few months, I have a LONG way to go.  I cannot delude myself into thinking this is locked up.

2.  Laughter cures EVERYTHING!  Every day during training my body was punished and I finished aching and tired.  Every evening I gathered with Beav, Marc, Ben and Maggie to eat dinner and we laughed for hours on end.  We did not stop laughing the entire time we were together.  It was the best medicine.  By the time I fell into bed at night I was recovered, content and lighter.

3.  I am stronger than I think I am.  Every time I thought, "there's no way I can do this," I did it and it was fine.  I thought I would blow up in the fast lane.  I didn't.  I thought I couldn't climb up the back of Gates Pass a second time.  I did.  I thought I was going to suffer through the trail run.  I didn't.  It's fine.  My body has adapted and made huge gains over the last year.  It will continue to absorb the work and improve.

4.  Time is short, don't wait.  For months, I have been telling my husband that my teammate, Jen, is my long lost twin.  She is the coolest person I had ever cyber stalked that I hadn't actually met yet.  She is a nurse and works nights in trauma/ ICU.  She thru-hiked the AT.  Ya.  How fucking cool is that?!  With her dog!!  I feel we are kindred spirits.  I met Jen on Thursday evening at dinner and talked with her a little.  But the rest of the weekend we were in separate groups for the swim/ bike/ run and I didn't have a lot of time with her.  For some reason I thought she was staying in a house with some other campers so when making dinner plans I didn't want to interfere with what I thought they had going on.  On Sunday, coach told me that Jen had been staying alone in a hotel and I was crushed.  We had an extra bed in our condo she could have crashed in and I would have loved to drag her to dinner with our little 5-some.  Lesson learned.  And, Jen, if you're reading this-- I'm praying you're still in CA when I visit in June!!  We must run trails together!!

Recovery
Since coming home from camp I have been working non-stop.  I moved the contents of our home in 3 days (literally packing boxes, loading my car, driving 1 mile, unloading boxes into the new house).  Thank God I had two of the greatest friends on the planet volunteer to help me!  I orchestrated movers to transport furniture.  And I have been living under boxes and trying to scrape meals together without a fully stocked/ operational kitchen for 10 days.  I have been overwhelmed and exhausted.  Coach must have recognized the strain I have been under as my week leading up to my first race of the season has been very refreshing.  I am super exicted to head to California next weekend for the Oceanside 70.3.  I will try to share a timely update post race.  And maybe even announce the winner of my name-my-bike contest before the gun goes off!  My only hint... there was one name that gave me instant goosebumps when I read it.  When that happens, it's a good fit.  So I'm keeping my options open as more suggestions come in, but there is one clear leader.

My gem needs a name!

Tri Camp: My Initiation to Team HPB

When I was a child I went to camp for a week or two every summer.  My parents would drop me off in the middle-of-nowhere Iowa and I would spend the days swimming, learning to ride horses, making new friends, and singing songs by the campfire.  By the end of the glorious two weeks I would return home rested, happy, with a new set of skills and songs to entertain my friends with.

When I signed on with my coach in December, I noticed that she was hosting a triathlon training camp in Tucson at the end of February.  I glanced at my work schedule and determined that I would be free that weekend.  With visions of kum-ba-yah and roasting marshmallows by the fire I immediately signed up.  And then I got the weekend schedule....

I hitched a ride with fellow Team HPBer down to Tucson.  On the way we shared stories of training and the things we have learned about ourselves during this process.  He's been with Coach for 5 years, and it was nice to know that the things that I have been going through over the last 8 weeks he also endured.  We arrived in time to unload our stuff into our Casita before meeting the rest of the gang poolside to start our journey.

The first two days went as planned, before the weather intervened.  We enjoyed an hour get-to-know-you run around the complex which served as our home base for the weekend and then rendezvoused in town for a dinner at La Cocina.  The scent of orange blossoms filled the air as we enjoyed good food and great conversation.

Day two began with a ride on the infamous "shoot-out" course with a loop of Madera Canyon added in the middle, a total of about 95 miles.  Immediately there was carnage everywhere.  If you've never enjoyed the pleasure of biking in Tucson.... the roads SUCK ASS.  And that is an understatement.  Fellow campers arrived from out of town and assembled their bikes from travel.  Within 3 miles of hitting the roads, bikes were falling apart, screws not tight enough allowed handle bars to drop, and one unlucky camper hit a massive pot hole and crashed.  It was going to be a long day...

Once we got everyone put back together, we took off again only slightly delayed.  I was riding with the "B" group, a nice intimate group of 4 plus Coach Hillary.  As is typical for me, I struggled a little in the first half and my legs felt better, stronger in the second half.  At that half way point we made a 3 1/2 mile climb to the turn around point.  I had heard stories of this climb and was sufficiently frightened.  I heard things like 14% grade, people falling off their bikes on the climb, etc.  I was convinced there was no way I was going to make it.  When we started the climb, Coach came with me and chatted, distracting me from the fact I was going 5 mph.  The hardest part is that the surrounding terrain looks flat.  Pancake flat.  It doesn't look like you should be climbing, but the number on my bike computer was not lying.  I was barely moving.

We progressed through the miles and past some of the camp sites of Madera Canyon.  The road pitched upward.  Straight up.  "How much farther?" I shouted.  "Not far", Coach replied.  "NO!  I need a number!  Like quarter mile??!", I'm panicking now.  "Something like that," she laughed.  In reality, the climb was no where near as bad as I had built up in my head.  I had thought the whole 3 miles was as steep as the final climb.  I was happy to pull into the parking lot at the top to the cheers of my teammates.

Half way through the long ride.  Tucson Tri Camp.

High fives all around and then we headed back down the hill for the ride home.  I enjoyed a little paceline work with a fellow teammate and overall finished feeling better than when we started.  We had time for a recovery shake which I promptly whipped up in my Vitamix and a quick nap in the Recovery Boots before hitting the pool for afternoon our swim session.

Saturday morning dawned cloudy and gray.  On tap we had our long swim.... 100 x 100 yds in the University of Arizona rec pool (a beautiful facility!!).  We were split into lanes based on our swim speed and given specific intervals to do.  We made it through 1000 yds before lightening cracked across the sky causing all of us to scramble out of the pool.  We killed a little time at Starbucks before deciding that the lifeguards were looking for reasons to take the day off (they are supposed to let us back in after 45 minutes of no lightening), and decided we'd be better off trying again later.

Many of you know that I am kind of a control freak, and lack patience.  This "killing time" was a real test of my ability to adapt and go with the flow.  We decided to take a quick lunch break and then hop on our bikes for our "easy" ride before heading back to the pool in the evening.  We broke up into our ABC groups from the previous day to tackle Gates Pass with a McCain Loop.  The "B" group was assigned to Coach Alyssa but since we all took off together, we approached the climb pretty much together.

Return trip over Gates pass.  In the distance the climb is visible.

My legs felt decent, I dropped into my granny gear and spun up the hill, passing Coach Hillary (leading the A group) along the way.  We regrouped at the top of the climb and proceeded down the back side to through the loop before making our way up and over Gates pass again on the way home.

An hour later, we met on the pool deck to tackle our 100 x 100 swim (Yes, we had to start over.  Duh!)  Coach gave us our assignments for the following morning's Mt. Lemmon ride before we jumped in the water.  I'm not sure if I was being punished for passing her on Gates Pass, or if she just thought my legs were not trashed enough from our 100 mile ride on Friday, but she announced that I would be riding with the "A" group on Mt. Lemmon.  WHHAAATTT??!

I am back pedaling.  No, I can't ride with the A group.  They'll be waiting for, like, an hour at the top for me!  I'm not that fast.  I promise.

But my fate was sealed.  Now I had one more thing to stress about during my 10k swim.  I love to swim.  I do.  But when I am chasing some fast girls in front of me, trying to make every interval... it's not all fun and games.  I was being pushed outside my comfort zone.  By 3000 yds, I was tired.  By 6000 my arms wanted to fall off.  At some point the sun began setting and cast a gorgeous shadow of palm trees against the block wall on one end of the pool.  The rain stopped, and a double rainbow graced the sky above us.  We paused for a moment between sets to appreciate the view.

University of Arizona Rec Center.  10k baby!

I began counting down the final set of 30 x 100 before the 10 x 100 cool down.  As I neared 8000, with the end in site, I got a second wind.  My arms felt stronger and my pace quickened.  This didn't last long, however, and by the time I finished the main set with only 1000 to go I just wanted to be done.  I hauled ass through the cool down and jumped out of the pool.  2 hours and 49 minutes my final time for the 10k.  My fastest by about 30 minutes, and my arms felt every second of it.

Coach pulled me aside after the swim and gave me specific directions for my Mt. Lemmon workout.  I was instructed to stay on the wheel of my teammate (MR) for as long as possible on the climb.  If I fell off, I was to stand up and sprint to get back on.  I was to kill myself holding on until I couldn't do it anymore and she slipped away.  And then I was to recover and wait for another camper to pass me at which time I would repeat the process.

Did I mention that my teammate finished Kona in 10:23?  And that she's really freaking fast?  And that she's probably going to get her pro card this year?  I was fucked.

On the night when I needed sleep the most, it evaded me.  I lay in bed with my arms aching so badly that I couldn't sleep.  Damn lightening, I cursed at the ceiling.  If our day hadn't been rearranged, I would have had time to recover from the swim and my arms would feel like death right now.  And I would be SLEEPING!

I was uncharacteristically quiet as we prepared for our bike ride on Sunday morning.  I was secretly freaking out about the task set before me.  We arrived at the parking lot of Le Buzz (our starting point) to more bad news.  Due to the overnight hurricane, the road up Mt. Lemmon was closed until the sun had melted the ice enough to make it safe for cars/ bikes to pass.  So we found ourselves drinking more coffee, and eating more breakfast while we waited (patiently??) for the road to re-open.

At 11 AM we were on our way, and I was huffing and puffing along behind my designated rabbit.  All was cool until mile 5 and then I started to wish death would come swiftly.  I made a goal to get to 8 miles.  With each passing mile, my effort level increased.  There was grunting and groaning as I dug into my suitcase of courage.  As mile 8 neared, I began to think that maybe I could hold on till mile 14, Windy Point.  Shortly after that thought crossed my mind we hit a few dips in the climb.  I'm OK with constant pressure on my legs.  But throw in a little decline- like 10-15 seconds worth-- and my legs were screaming.  With each little break in the climb, the girls would gain a little space and I would stand up and do my best to hang on.  Finally, just past mile 10, beginning to weave a little from exhaustion, I cracked.  It was amazing how quickly they disappeared from sight as I was spit off the back.    

Climbing Mt. Lemmon.  Doing my best to hang on!

I spent a few minutes spinning my legs and recovering.  But then fear set in again.  I still had two A group members behind me on the climb.  They could catch me at any time and I would be forced to respond.  Rather than risk a repeat of the first 10 miles, I kept the pressure on and continued to work hard toward the top.  It was not until Palisades at about mile 20 that I was caught by BP.  By that point, it was not much trouble to stay with my teammate for the final mile of the climb.  Just beyond mile 21, there is a descent into Summerhaven where we were regrouping at the Cookie Cabin.

With about 2 miles to go, the SAG van passed us coming out of Summerhaven.  They handed us our winter gear and told us to get warm and wait until they got back to the CC.  They were going to head off any other riders as the conditions on the top were not ideal and anyone who had not made it past Palisades was going to be turned around.

A dense mist covered the roads, at 8000 ft the air was quite cold, and we were frozen by the time we hopped off our bikes.  We stumbled into the CC and sat, almost stunned, shivering by the fire.  A teammate handed us a hot cup of apple cider.  I was happy to have grabbed my bag from the SAG van as I had a complete change of clothes - dry and warm.  I peeled of my sweaty, wet jersey and replaced it with dry layers becoming warmer as the fire heated us through.

Cookie Cabin at the top of Mt. Lemmon.

On one hand, we wanted to stay by the fire and catch a ride back to the bottom.  Being Team HPB this was NOT an option, so we eventually began gearing up for the descent.  BP had raced IM Tahoe with me in 30 degree temps and we kept looking at each other like, you ready?  We began putting our shoes, helmets, gloves back on and when the SAG van arrived back at the top of the mountain, we headed out the door and grabbed our bikes.

Ironically, with all my layers on, I didn't feel cold at all on the way down.  And eventually as we dropped below 5000 feet, I got too warm.  I was proud of my descending skills.  I took Coach's words to heart and really practiced watching where I wanted to go to allow myself to efficiently take turns without having to brake hard on each switch back.  About half way down I suffered a flat on my front tire as I failed to dodge a huge rock that was in my line.  Thankfully I was able to get myself slowed down enough before my bike began to shimmy and I hopped off.  After my fastest tire change ever I was back on the road heading toward Le Buzz.

Once off the bike, we were each assigned a transition run.  My goal was to run strong for the first 2 miles, and then crush it coming back, sub 7.  Again, I wanted to laugh.  Sub 7?  Who did she think I was?

I took off with a group of girls who quickly dropped me.  I didn't worry about the fact that I couldn't keep up, I had to just do my thing.  I ran out through the first two miles and then turned to come back, picking up the pace.  I didn't look at my watch once during this run.  I just ran as hard as I could in the final 2 miles.  After the turn, I passed my teammate heading up the road with Coach Maik.  He nodded toward me and told Maik to run with me on the way back.

It was nice to have company, and Coach Maik kept encouraging me quietly along the way.  Good pace.  Form looks good.  We cheered for each runner headed in the other direction.  Maik's easy loping stride reminded me that I was running with an Ironman Champion.  When I hit the 4 mile mark I slowed to an easy jog for the final minutes back to the car and Maik turned around to run the next camper in.  When I stopped, I reset my Garmin and looked through my splits.  I hit my warm up miles in 8:10 (for both miles!) and mile 3 at 6:56, mile 4 at 7:11.  I was THRILLED.  Who is this girl?  And whose legs are these?  I relayed my splits to Coach and she validated my excitement with high fives.

Celebrating being done with Mt. Lemmon!!

At this point, we had one day left of camp.  A long trail run followed by a technique session in the pool.  I am a runner, specifically a trail runner, so I was really looking forward to Monday and not stressed about it even though my legs were trashed.

The trails were rocky.  Like a good chunk of Pass Mountain if you happen to be from the Valley of the Sun.  My legs were toast, and picking up my feet became more and more painful.  We ran about 7 miles up, over and around the trails to where a SAG car was parked on the other side with fluids and nutrition to refuel on for the run back.  I did a pretty good job of holding on to the group until we stepped off the trail and on to the asphalt for the final two miles (uphill).  At this point, I fell apart.  My legs would not move.  I had no turnover to speak of.  I just had to gut it out and get back to the parking lot where we had started the run.

Trail run!  

I've never been so happy to be finished with a run.  Not even after 50 miles.  I. Was. Done.  I drank my recovery shake and waited for the rest of the crew to finish running.  I was actually looking forward to getting in the water to flush my legs out a bit.

I kept waiting for Coach to pull me aside and tell me all the things that were wrong with my swim stroke.  I am probably crossing over too much with my right arm.  I know I pick my head up too much to breathe.  Not enough rotation.  But she never did.  Instead she hooked up a little torture device to the side of pool and calls us over one by one to take a turn.  With ankles attached to a stretchy cord, you have to swim HARD to avoid being pulled back into the wall.  I cranked my arms with everything I had and waited for my 30 seconds to be up.  Coach grinned from the side of the pool, "THAT'S our swim stroke!!"  YAY!  I was super excited to have a new tool to help me improve my swim.  I promptly went home and ordered the swim cord so my training partner and I can torture ourselves.

Camp totals:
Biked: 180 miles
Ran:  25 miles
Swam:  15900 yds

Camp was so good for me.  I was not rested and relaxed as I headed back to work the next week, but I was filled with a sense of pride in my accomplishments and some new confidence in training.  As expected I learned a few things:

1.  Coach is not going to ask me to do things that she knows I can't do.  Trust.  Don't think.  Don't judge.  Just do.  My coach has been around the block a few times and she knows what she's doing.  If she tells me to do something, it's because she believes that I CAN.

2.  I'm not going to die.  I was pushed outside my comfort zone more often than not over the 5 day weekend.  I didn't keel over, I got stronger.  I have so much room for improvement and my body is responding to the training better with each passing week.

3.  Coach is going to ask me to do things that she knows I can't do.  There will come a time when I can't make the splits, hit the pace, or hang on.  What will happen when I break?  I believe that each one of us had a "breaking point" over the weekend.  I believe this was intentional.  What Coach wants to see is, how will you respond when you are broken?  Will I pitch a fit?  Will I cry?  Will I quit?  Or will I put my head back in the water, choke back tears, and just keep swimming?  My breaking point came in the middle of the 10k swim when I struggled (failed?) to hit the intervals.  I did cry.  (And then I reminded myself that there's no crying in baseball!)  When I couldn't hit the interval anymore on the 20 x 100 free, I swam it straight.  And then when I couldn't hit the interval and missed the send-offs for the 30 x 100 PBB I did the best I could and improvised a new interval.

Camp was completely awesome and I can't wait to go back next year.  I was surrounded by smart, strong, funny, hard-working, type A people that encouraged each other, challenged each other and cheered each other through every workout.  I am so lucky to be a member of Team HPB and I can't wait to represent Team HPB and TriScottsdale in Oceanside in a few short weeks!!  Let's put this training to the test!