Triathlon Bootcamp/San Diego

The past two weeks have absolutely flown by. I'm currently back down in Tucson, training in the desert sun again while Colorado gets buried even deeper in snow. I went back to Durango for a couple weeks of winter training, which served as inspiration for another quick getaway.

I really felt that the first time down here was more of a "blow out the cobwebs" trip. Between the rainy weather, and some of the first true Ironman training days, my fitness and mental energy were not as high as I would have liked. This time has been the complete reverse. My bike strength is back, the weather has been almost perfect. My psyche has been building with each new day of training, so the pieces are coming together for Ironman St. George. Of course I have some other early season goals, but that will be the first big hit out.

The highlight of the past weeks of training was having my roommate join me for a long weekend of training. We dubbed the session "Triathlon Bootcamp," and we flogged each other for four straight days. Big rides, big runs, and some swimming were the order of each day. It was quite telling when Jesse's Garmin 405 would have to be charged each night during the block. Battery life was 7-8 hours.

This past weekend I snuck away to San Diego for a short trip. I was out for a photo shoot with Jelly Belly for Sport Beans, enjoying some beautiful scenery and good company. Between athletes, make-up, photographer and assistants, the advertising agency, and Jelly Belly representative, we had 1o of us on the trails and roads north of San Diego. It's a surprisingly tiring day trying to get just the right look for an advertisement, but it was a lot of fun too. After they finished up with the triathlon shots, they moved on to mountain bike shots with Jeremy Powers, and I went out for a good trail run. I was lucky to stay at the Pearl hotel near Point Loma, complete with beach balls in the pool, a big screen for movies outside, and a fishbowl (with real live fish) in each room. If you can deal with some loud music, it is a funky place with great staff and food.

Now the order of the days here is to build my bike even more, and start honing some speed into the run. I will be heading up north to Phoenix in one week for the Desert Classic Duathlon, so it should be a good test. I raced it last year on tired legs, but still had a good time weaving through the sandy trails lined with cacti. Enjoy your training. Spring is just around the corner...