Survival of the Fittest

After a lighter week of training, mostly recovery, my body is almost back to 'normal' after Coach Bjoern's rather hefty 28 days of home-based training camp. Only broken up by 4 days of lighter training in the middle, it was a mental struggle near the end, really pushing myself beyond (what I had previously assumed were) my limits. It was probably a mental struggle more than anything, because doing a high-volume camp in February, as all you North West-Coasters out there know, the weather here can be pretty brutal, rendering my sugar-cube-self useless outdoors on the bike. Which only means one thing.

Indoor trainer. In the Pain-Cave.

Suffering in the Pain-Cave, stocked with ELOAD and BAJONG

And LOTS of it.

I've become quite acquainted with the trainer this past month, although I was lucky enough for a few of my really long rides to be able to ride outdoors (albeit at times sub-freezing.) I think I've watched enough Home and Garden Network shows that I could now tear down an old house and completely rebuild/renovate it, in a rather timely manner, and keep it under budget. And then rent it for lots of money.

Looking on the positive side, I know this is creating a mental strength that will come in handy this season, helping me focus on those LONG bike portions where I may be riding solo. Based on some little hints and 'nudge-nudge-wink-wink's coming from Bjoern, there's a half (or should I say full) decent potential that I'll be participating in my first ever Ironman this season. No promises, but it very well looks like it could be in the cards. Especially when I'm putting in 35+hr weeks IN FEBRUARY, it lends to the possibility of a full IM.

Another positive of this high volume is that I'll be well set-up for my upcoming 30 day training camp in Tucson. Counting down the days 'till I'm in the sun and heat (20 days to be exact,) I am growing ever more excited! Especially since I'll have the accompaniment of the up-and-coming Pro triathlete Jonna Trexler, I'm sure MANY epic days are coming (with lots of pictures no doubt!) Stay-tuned for the Camp updates.

Some climbing to come.....

This past weekend I finished my training camp with a 5k race, the Dave Reed Classic, put on by the Vancouver Falcons Athletic Club (aka the 'VFAC'ers.) It was an outstanding race, the weather seemed to cooperate VERY well, and I performed to my expectations. Considering my legs were flatter than a road-kill French crepe (I'd almost go as far as saying they were completely PHLAT!) I still managed to run under 16:30, and hold on for an 8th place finish. My Team Ossenbrink Teammates Andrew Powell and Genevieve Caufffope raced as well, and they seemed to have a great time as well. Everyone seemed to be coming off tiring training blocks, so we were one flat team. We may not have been the fastest Team out there, but I give us top points for style, and we were definitely the best looking bunch out there (pictures to come......)

Surprise visit! I got BAJONGED!

 My NEW ENERGY BAR SPONSOR, Jennifer Bajus of BAJONG BAR, came out to the race finish to deliver a NEW Gluten Free version of their Chocolate Peanut Butter bar, which are so exceptionally delicious I could easily live off them.  I'm extremely excited to be working with BAJONG, they will help keep me fueled during long training days to come this year.

Time to go for a run in the sun, finally a beautiful day to stretch the legs. Hopefully everyone is enjoying their late winter training in preparation for the 2012 race season. Stay safe, stay healthy!!

Here's a little motivation I had during this morning's blog post: