Week One in the MILE HIGH City

My first week here in Boulder has been pretty spectacular. This whole venture materialized largely because of a friendly tug from my friend, and fellow UoM athlete/grad Kay. Months and months ago when we talked about me whether I should come to Boulder she instantly invited me to stay with her family. The Martin's have been beyond amazing in opening their house and their lives to me! Last night Kay and I sat on the couch reminising back to our days as athletes at UofM.  Many of my Cali friends make fun of how crazy I am for the Maize and Blue, but it's connections and friendships like this that remind me how fortunate I am to be part of this amazing alumni network.

I totally found her varsity letter jacket in the closet! 

Yup, we're dorks...and "Proud TO BE a Michigan Wolverine"

I couldn't wait to hit the mountains the first day I was here. My workout called for 40minute hill intervals- a workout that is much more challenging back in SD. Here, I bike 30mins and I have myself a nice 22mile mountain to play on until my hearts content (or flat lined...). I thought maybe I'd ease into things a bit more, but Chris started chiseling away on his plan the second I arrived. I have a renewed sense of focus, and it's been crazy fun! Lots of smiling, laughing, AND... gasping for air. 

When I set out for my day 2 bike interval session I found my bike in a pristine, sparkly condition! God bless those who love maintaining bikes, because as the boys at Nytro know, it's NOT my forte. The Martin basement is a well equipped bike shop, and Bill totally spoiled me with an awesome post Ironman cleaning! (can you count the # of bikes in the background- and that's only the basement bikes! There are more in the garage)

 

One week in, and I now know why people rave about the riding here. Yesterday I went out for a 5 hour ride, and was home in 5hrs and 7mins! 6000+ ft of climbing. NO slouching! The biggest difference in acclimating is a ridiculously elevated HR.  During my hill interval efforts I wasn't sure if I was going to puke or have a heart attack.  My legs felt good and I was nailing my prescribed Quarq power goals, but it HURT! I could hear Chris's voice in my ear urging me on, and reminding me of the goals we've set for ourselves.  Taking in the views helped dissipate some of the pain.

Swimming has been challenging due to the breath control aspect of the sport, so I have yet to really push the pace much. Thursday I joined the open water swim down at the Boulder Res. The water isn't clear, but it IS shark free. Swims there will be crucial for my open water swimming challenged self.

Running has by far been the hardest for me! Hills, O.U.C.H!! Although I've brought my trusty Garmin310 along for the ride, I've been going 100% by feel. Let me tell you, it has yet to feel spectacular! Today I ran 60mins off the bike and finally felt like I'm making progress and seeing paces that somewhat resemble the fact that I can actually run.

Each day I'm noticing improvement both in my training and ability to sleep up here in the beautiful mile high city. I can't wait to see what Coach has in store for me this week... but before we get to that I must congratulate him on another killer race! 2nd overall amateur at Vineman today- and the only person to beat him was 24yrs old. Chris only has a few years on him ;-) but continues to be an unbelievable inspiration to me and the whole AIMP crew.
So, many deposits in the bank this week! Goodnight from BEAUTIFUL Boulder!