Morning: Run - 50 min
Evening: Swim - 4500yds

Gulliver and I headed out on the Bear Creek Trail nice and early this morning. I've found that as long as I wear my old flats my foot doesn't bother me, so that's what I have been doing. There is a section along BCT that goes through a big field of prairie dog burrows and in a not-so-smart decision I let Gull off the leash there, figuring he could use some time to run around like the loose cannon he is. He tore off after the poor little prairie dogs (that have a special place in my heart because I had never seen one until I visited Colorado for the first time) and I am convinced he would have gone right down the burrows after them had a not hollered. Pups will be pups.I got to DU 30 minutes early and got in an extra 1500 yds. Swimming feels so much better now that my form is back to normal. I don't know what I was doing for the past 2 months or so, but I'm pretty sure that the reason I was getting slower was because my form turned into a disaster. That being said, of course it can still be improved (I still don't really know what I am doing in the pool) but at least I am back to where I was in March. My confidence is back after I swam 1:15 mid-workout.

Evening: 5430 Long Course TT

I don't know how it happened, but I PRed on the TT loop by 6 minutes! This brought my average mph up to 21.5...nicht schlecht. This time around I was much more relaxed than previously. I should have known I was on pace for a good ride when a dude decked out in an aero helmet and a full disk wheel passed me on 36 and stayed in sight for awhile. At the time I didn't think anything of it because I figured he was just another Boulder tool, but I guess he really was moving. I didn't have my computer hooked up so I had no idea what my speed was. It wasn't until I passed 15 miles in 42 minutes that I knew I would finish faster than last time.When I finished I felt really good -- way better than last time. I know I could've busted out a solid run if I had to. After I cooled down I practiced mounting and dismounting a few times...I'll have to do that a lot more before the Sprint. So I guess all the work I put in during the winter is starting to pay off now. I imagine it would have earlier had I not thrown in the marathon for kicks. Recovering from the marathon took longer than I thought; even though I felt ok, my training has been not-so-good for the past month with motivation being hard to come by. Now I've turned the corner though. The marathon and my physical and mental recovery are now behind me and I can focus on the summer ahead =)

Morning: Swim - 3000m at DU

My swims have been suffering lately. I can't seem to get going or hold a fast pace for longer than 25 yards. I was definitely faster a few months ago and I don't know why. Do I need to swim more? Less? Is my technique completely wrong? Maybe I'll just get a new bathing suit and see if that helps, all logic says it should.

Yesterday evening Tori, my teammate from BU, came into town and spent the night here. A high school friend and teammate, Aimee, is in town visiting her boyfriend too, so everyone was over last night for an amazing meal prepared by Jordan. He cooked mean buffalo chicken, then we mixed it into a salad and served it up our favorite way: in tortilla cones. Topped it off with some blue cheese and dressing, and mmmmmm. I've been raving about it all day. Definitely a keeper, both Jordan and the recipe =)

Morning:Swim - 2400m at the Gravel Pond
Run - 60 minutes w/ 20 minute tempo

I am still getting used to swimming in a wetsuit, it doesn't feel natural at all. My arms get tired way quicker than when I swim without it. It's definitely something that I just need to get used to, and swims in the pond are the best way to do it. Right after the swim, I went out on my run and headed up toward Waterton Canyon. I started my tempo right at the entrance to Waterton and went up a little past the pipes before I turned around. The last 10 minutes felt a lot better than the first, it was really the first time my legs had actually moved since Boston. Some girl was breathing down my neck for the last 3 minutes or so, but ended her run at the parking lot and I still had a bit more of tempo left. Afterward I was kicking myself for not turning around and talking to her...always good to round up more people to train with! When I got back to Chatfield and picked up my stuff my right foot started hurting again. I hobbled back to the car. What's the deal??

Evening: Run - 40 minutes

I am so glad to be home. Coming down I-70 into the foothills was one of the best sites I've seen in a long time. I feel so lucky to live here. Granted, anything would seem good after Temecula, but this is Paradise. Really. I realize now more than ever that this is the perfect place for me.

Gulliver and I went out for an easy 40 minute jaunt when we got home. I haven't felt my foot in a long time, so it looks like that little injury is finito.

Jordan and I headed to Oceanside this morning to catch some waves. We rented some sweet barges...err softie longboards from a shop a few blocks from the beach. I was knackered from yesterday's activities and after setting a new personal record for time held under by a wave, I decided to spend most of the time on-shore. ...very atypical. I pondered if 10 months in Colorado had turned me into an utter land-lubber. No no, just a bad day.

Jordan, however, had his best day ever riding waves. He'll tell you he got up 5 times, but it was really way more than that. Not only did he get up, but he actually rode them in. Pretty good for someone born in Canada. I'll show him how it's done when we go to NJ in the summer.

We started the drive home in the afternoon, checking into our fine $34.99/night lodging in Mesquite, Nevada around 7pm. If you're from anywhere within 700 miles of a decent-sized city such a low nightly rate means you're going to wake up covered in bug bites, if not harboring a disease. Not in Mesquite though. Sure it's not the nicest place, but I've payed way more to stay in way worse. So next time you find yourself on the lonely roads betweenLas Vegas and Salt Lake remember your favorite smoked wood barbeque flavoring, I know I will.

Xterra West Championships - Temecula, CA

It's important to note that I am writing this race report a week after the actual race, therefore enabling me to paint a much more rosy picture than the wretched desert landscape that actually was the Xterra West Championship.

Moving forward.

My warm-up consisted of the bike ride over there from our campsite. It was just a 10 minute ride, but schlepping a heavy backpack warmed me up plenty. The blazing sun helped a little too, even if it was only 7am. Initially I had planned on doing a short swim before the start, but the excessive line at the Port O Potty thwarted that plan.

The water was perfect for the non-wetsuit swim, and I dove into the fray ready for a battle. I hesitated quite a bit at the start and that cost me a lot. I spent the rest of the swim weaving my way through the masses. My sighting was good, but I didn't push the swim hard enough at all. I got punched in the head at one point and realized I totally love the aquatic battle of a semi-mass start.

My transitions are still a bit spotty, I'm trying to figure out the best way for me to get my stuff together quickly. I got out decently quick though and got my head ready to deal with the challenges the bike course would bring.

The highlight of the bike was the descent that scared the crap out of me on Friday. I walked through a few sections during the practice run and told myself I would hop off in the race rather than risking it. In a race, everything changes though, and that part of the course found me barrelling downhill after two guys ahead of me. I totally forgot about the treacherous section and followed the guys without thinking. I was going off the top of the rock when I realized what was happening. While in mid-air I thought, "I have no choice but to land this perfectly, because my helmet won't do anything if I don't." I did land it and continued on behind them, going through another hairy section without a problem. Then, I bit it. I don't know what happened, but it wasn't bad. I landed and slid into some prickly plants but the whole fall and remount took less than 5 seconds. That would be the first of many falls.

Shortly thereafter I missed the bottle at the aid station and figured there would be another so didn't go back. There wasn't another aid station until 2/3 of the way through the second loop. I only had 1 bottle, but I found the second lap much easier than the first. When I replaced my empty bottle with a Gatorade at the 2nd aid station it stayed with me for about a mile before it bounced out of the cage. I fell a few more times, got stung by a bee, weaved a nice blanket of obscenities, and made my way to T2. I had survived, and it was actually fun.

After feeling so good running on Saturday I was pumped for the run and felt like I would really be able to lay it down. Then, I hit the first hill. Scheisse. I tried to run, then walked. And walked, and walked. Even on the flatter sections I couldn't go. My lack of hydration and fueling had caught up to me. I stopped at the aid station and downed 3 cups of Gatorade, 1 cup of water, and dumped 2 cups over me. Then I kept walking. I convinced myself I would call it quits at the end of the first lap and DNF. I was getting passed left and right and felt like I was doing irreversible damage to my body. Then, at the end of the loop a man slapped an elastic on my wrist and said 1.5 miles to go. Well shoot, anyone can run 1.5 miles. So I kept going, got more Gatorade and water in me and it started to take effect. I was able to run more of the second loop than I had of the first and actually finish the race.

I made a beeline for the lake immediately after crossing. Jordan met me at the line and walked with me to the lake. He had finished in 13th place and had managed to hold 6:59 pace on the run. Nasty. While standing in Vail Lake I swore off Xterras and triathlons forever. That was it. I was done.Will I be there next year? Heck yes, with much improved mountain biking skills and a Camelbak. Watch out.

Morning:
Swim - 600m at the Gravel Pond
Run - 30 minutes

Jordan and I met Sonja and Steve at the pond this morning for our first open water swim of the year. It was about 50' out and really windy. The water was cold (somewhere in the 50s) but it wasn't nearly as bad as I expected. I put on a thick silicone cap, then my goggles, then a regular latex cap on top. Steve gave us earplugs so I popped those in too. I had never thought of it before, but apparently cold water can really effect your equilibrium so it helps to not let it leak into your ears.

Sonja and Steve took off into the water and I followed a few seconds later. I ran right in so I didn't have a chance to rethink the whole thing. The four of us met up at the sandbar and Sonja and Steve kept going while Jordan and I headed back. The wind had picked up and made the water nice and choppy, it was kind of fun. Made it feel more like the ocean...

I did a complete change before the run and then Jordan and I headed out with Gull for a laidback 30. My feet were numb so I couldn't tell if my foot was bothering me. By 28 minutes my feet had thawed and my foot was hurting. Rah roh.

Evening:
Bike - 1 hr at the crit loop - 7x1/2 lap hard 1/2 lap medium
Swim - 3200 yds with Riptide

My first [successful] trip to the crit loop, and now I realize I need to do it a lot more. Long rides are great and all, but workouts like today are what will help me race well.

Felt a bit knackered during the swim and ended up cutting it short (was supposed to be 4700). I've swum a lot this week and my arms are definitely feeling it. That being said, I am happy to announce that for the first time ever I am getting arm muscles. If you look closely enough, they're there.

Morning: Bike - 90 minutes
Evening: Run - 10 minutes

As I rode through Morrison this morning, there were two cowboys riding horses in the middle of town. I'm really not into the whole Western thing, but for whatever reason I thought it was incredibly cool as it is something you would never see in the Northeast. As I got closer to them I realized there was some sort of town festival, complete with a news crew and helicopter, and the cowboys were just rent-a-cowboy's. A little bit of a let-down, but I didn't let it spoil the rest of my ride. Rode up to Idledale and then turned back. I meandered in Bear Creek for a while, checking out Sunday's bike course and stopping to feel the water in Big Soda Lake (it's really not bad!).

In the evening Gulliver and I headed out for another 10 minute jaunt and my foot felt absolutely perfect. I'll take the running easy until the race on Sunday, then next week hopefully get a workout in on Wednesday. I'm not really that concerned with the whole thing. I know the run on Sunday will be uncomfortable, but I can handle discomfort a lot better now than I could in the past. And a 5k? That's it?! Come on! My running shape will come back quickly once I'm back at it for more than 10 minutes at a time, and in the meantime I can focus on swimming and biking! It all works out.

Morning:
Run - 10 minutes with Gulliver
Swim - 2550m with Jordan at Green Mountain

Run felt good. I haven't taken Ibuprofen lately, so I'm glad it's feeling fine without it. Felt a little discomfort at the very end, but it's probably due to focusing on it.

My wetsuit came today! My first big tri purchase (not including my bike which was traded for my computer, straight-up). Ordering from Desoto was one of the best online purchases I've made. I ordered it Sunday night, it shipped Monday and it arrived today. I got 2-day delivery and it only cost $10. They even make you send your exact measurements to them via email before they ship it, just to make sure you selected the right size. Mine fits perfectly; I can't wait to put it to use.

Noon: Bike - 5430 Long Course TT

Hammered as hard as I could and finished in 1:24. Of course I went ahead and google-mapped the route to make sure it came out to 28 miles, which it did (27.9, but if you factor in non-exact tangents, I think I can add on .1). My average speed was 20.0 (actually 19.99), which given the wind and slowing for intersections, I am happy with...for now. Obviously there is still a lot of work to do, but more rides like this will definitely help get me to where I want to be. It's still a big improvement over my pace at Rattlesnake last year, so things are looking up!

Immediately after the ride I didn't know if it was good or not, and was pretty down the whole way back to work. I was totally spent and distraught that I could be so spent by such a slow time! As it turns out it was a good effort, and the pace comes out to over 7 minutes faster than my Rattlesnake bike last year. ...although today I couldn't really imagine running after riding that long and hard.

A race is a totally different story though.

Morning: Bike - 70 minutes

Evening: Swim - DU + add-on 5000yds

Late morning: Swim - 5000m @ Green Mountain

It's definitely not easy swimming 5k on my own, but it needs to be done and in the end it feels pretty good. My arms always felt like they would fall off after 4500, but now they are feeling pretty well secured, which can only mean one thing: low and behold, I am getting stronger!

Early evening: Bike - 1 hour 45 minutes

Put together a new loop and I think it's a keeper. Some good climbs, but nothing crazy. Felt really good, especially on the climbs.

Noon: Bike - ~2 hours from Wash Park out around Cherry Creek Res and back. Rode w/ Jocelyn and Ashley. Gorgeous day, nice ride.