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I'll warn you now, this entry probably has grammatical and spelling mistakes but I want to crank it out now before I start forgetting all of the details. Everything is moving so quickly and the days are blurring together and getting a little fuzzy.
I have to play catch-up so the detail won't be as great as it would have if the TSA didn't steal my laptop adapter. I guess that's a good place to start. I was in the airport and they decided to go through my backpack and when they returned it, unknown to me at the time, my adapter was gone. When I arrived at the hotel room and attempted to connect my laptop, I realized what had happened but it was too late. I had one overnighted to me but I didn't get back online until Tuesday night and I've already been out training for two solid days.
Monday we did a one hundred mile ride up Madera Canyon which ends in a three mile climb at around 12% grade. Gordo lead the charge up the hill in his big ring while I kept looking down to see if I had any more gears left and wondered if I had flatted. :) When we got back to the hotel, I decided to slip in an unscheduled swim at the local YMCA with Jonas Colting and a guy named Max who I'm guessing is probably one of the best swimmers if not the best swimmer in the group. His IM swim PR is 46 minutes and I believe it. Watching him swim was a thing of beauty but it's a little intimidating when the guy in the next lane can do 100 yards for my 50.
Tuesday morning started with a swim at a pool that has a gorgeous mountain back drop. I was a little concerned it would be a masters style swim but we just partnered up with someone of similar speed and set out to perform a bunch of drills. Total yardage was 4200 and when I was done, my partner had a grin on his face because he hammered the snot out of me. After a quick change back at the hotel, we did what was supposed to be a 40 mile ride up and over Gates Pass but it turned out to be 50 miles and fairly windy. Oh yeah, I forgot about the part where my PowerTap head unit fell off on day one. It fell off AGAIN on day two even after using a zip tie to firmly fasten it. Some of the roads out here have quite a few potholes. The display is damaged and I can only read wattage. I wore my Garmin on Tuesday to get heart rate but all it is telling me is that I'm going faster than I should and I'll probably pay for it. Normalized power for the Tuesday ride was 196 and I was taking it easy... seriously.
After the ride we had a quick bite, and I mean QUICK, and then we set out for a trail run in the desert. As we were leaving, it started to rain. I really just wanted to get it done so I jumped out of the van and started the climb up. I never really found any flat sections, it was more up and down but it helped take away the chill from the wind and rain. I started off with two other runners but they stopped for a second and the next time I turned around, they were nowhere to be found. Our run was limited to just 50 minutes so when I arrived at the top of a cliff with nowhere else to go, I looked down at my watch and it was nearly 25 minutes. I turned around and attempted, attempted being the key word, to retrace my steps but after about 15 minutes, the desert started to look the same and I was lost. I ran around a bit trying to find my way but no luck.
A slight panic moved through my body but I quickly snapped out of it and headed for high ground thinking that I could get a better view and that someone would possibly see me. Arriving at the top of the first hill, I saw zilch but as I made my way up to the top of another, I saw a road. It was an unfamiliar road but at least it was civilization. I couldn't find a trail leading down so I decided to work my way around to the other side. Once around the corner, I couldn't see the road or a trail so I backtracked and decided to trail blaze it down the hill. Did I mention that I'm in the desert? You know, the typical desert with cactus? So I'm a little scratched up but it looked worse when I was bleeding. It just makes for a good story now. :)
When I finally made it to the road, I realized I was lost and that I should find a phone and call someone before they started sending out search parties. I saw what appeared to be a resort and made my way towards the entrance. As I was about to enter, I noticed our van off in the distance on a far hill. I started running towards it but I really didn't know exactly how to get there. I flagged a car down and asked and the somewhat scared fellow gave me directions but refused to give me a ride. I don't blame him -- crazed fellow running with bleeding legs.
When I arrived back at the van, I noticed it was empty with the exception of Dr. J., our driver. Dr. J. just laughed at my story and told me that another group got lost as well. I didn't feel so bad. Later on I found out that the other group popped out on the road and decided to run back to the hotel instead.
This morning our ride took us up to the top of Mt. Lemmon - almost. We were informed that the top was closed due to snow so we were only able to go part of the way. That was good enough for me because it was pretty dang cold at the top and the descent was horrible. I froze my butt off the entire way down and it was only after I had arrived at the bottom that I noticed I forgot to put my beanie back on my head. I'm not sure that would've helped much but it would've been better than nothing.
After eating lunch at the starting point, I thought I would be done for the day but I decided to go with Jonas Colting and another speedy guy named Kevin for a run out in the desert. You know the desert, the one that I got lost in yesterday. But I thought today would be different because I was starting off with these two and it wasn't raining. (Note to self: I will get lost in the desert.) I didn't get lost but only because I hung on to the back of their blazing pace for dear life. At one point, I did lose site of them near the turnaround point but I knew they would backtrack so I started running the other way. On the way back in, WE took a wrong turn and then I really didn't know where we were so I put out a HUGE effort to keep them close. It was tough and my quads are going to be smashed tomorrow but I made it back and I swear I'm not going out there again.
Ok, there you have it. My blog is caught up and I won't have to dump out three days worth of training in one entry.
View from the running trail parking lot...
Top of Mt. Lemmon covered in snow...
Windy Point, Mt. Lemmon
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