Finale

Last week I traveled north to beautiful San Fran. Chris wanted to me to get in a little training with him pre-IMCDA. I love that city, so it didn't take a whole lot of arm twisting. The morning after I got to town fellow AIMP athlete, Rich, treated me to a masters swim sess at the Olympic Club. If you aren't familiar with the OC, it's a swanky prestigious club in the city. I knew the athletes that train there are no joke, but I didn't realize that jumping in the fast lane would be so demoralizing. They flew as I tried to hang on in their wake.

Jordan and Rich, thank you SOOOOO much for hooking me up and making sure my training time in the city kept me on track for CDA in 9 days!
The weekend featured a solid training day at the Silicon Valley long course triathlon. It's a local event that was perfect for my final push for Ironman (1mi swim, 56 bike, 9mi run). I won't get into a ton of details (although entertaining), but let's just say things went wrong wrong and wrong. I was in the lead on the bike until I missed a turn (I wasn't alone. I think about 20ppl missed this turn). Once we made a group decision to roll back I got a flat. Seriously?!?! I decided to jump in the truck with a farmer (and his baby, so I felt totally safe!). He took me back to the course and let me off. I tried to fix the flat but the tire was WAY over glued. Lesson for all- for tubular tires make sure to leave a strip of unglued tire across from the valve. This allows you to get the tire off. I also carry a razor blade and cut it off. But it wasn't my tire or wheel, so I opted not to. Instead I went back to the corner and directed traffic so others didn't miss the turn. Finally I got a ride back to transition. I was famished so instead of heading out for my run I stood at the Cliff tent and downed about 4 bars.

Coach wouldn't let me off that easy and sent me out for a hard run later in the day.I'm pretty confident that the 9mi run off the bike would of been significantly easier than this long run was. I did laps at Chrissy field. The wind was howling, so I had to put my game face on and get 'er done. 1mile warm up then hammer out 9 more. I just about passed out after! The day was exhausting. It was one last deposit in the bank to cap off a solid block of training.
Sunday I went for a cruise ride (wasn't capable of anything more) through Sausalito. Other than fighting my way through tourist traffic over the bridge it was perfect. My legs were fried so I just took in the beautiful scenery, and enjoyed running into several friends from January's coast ride. Missed them, and can't wait for next years adventure.

Then it was off to Berkley to celebrate with Jordan and Rich. One year of blissful marriage for them. Congratulations kids!! A killer concert to complete the weekend.

The rest of my time in SF was pretty mellow. Sunday night I hit a wall and was instructed to sleep sleep and sleep more. Monday I did my best to hammer out a solid lactate test with Craig Upton (if you're in the SF area, he is your man for lactate testing and bike fit!!!!!) This info helped Chris tailor the optimal taper plan for me, and will help me manage my power and race plan for CDA. Thank you Craig!!!

To everyone who helped make this trip possible, thank you. My brother was a real trouper! I just love this city, and am so happy I made the visit. Every chance I get to train with Chris is a treat! We're on the same page and ready to tear it up in Coeur D'Alene. Water and air temps are slowly on the rise. I'm ready for the magical day that awaits me there.