Camp Tucson 2012

The better part of last week I was fortunate enough to accure some big miles (relatively speaking) in the warmer climate of Tucson, Arizona.  Chuckie V and Angela were gracious enough to share their home with me for five days.  It is a humble abode nestled in a community of fellow professional triathletes on the outskirts of town.  I stayed in the bike room / library, not to be confused with the bike room / CycleOps / massage / SAG (different from SWAG -"We" and "All" are replaced with "Angela") room.

A big congrats to Angela who just got back from her second professional 70.3 win at Panama 70.3.  It was quite interesting to spend a couple days with a pro on top of her game.  I'm sure I only witnessed a glimpse of what the lifestyle and training of someone on top of the sport is like.  In some semblance of perhaps a 'recovery' week she still humbled me in each sport.

This is truly a demanding lifestyle.  After a couple days fulfilling sponsorship obligations (photo shoots, windtunnel testing, etc) it was right back to Tucson and back to the grind.  It's common knowledge that Rinney is a regular reader of this blog so I dont want to give away too many details.  All told Chuckie and Angela are a dedicated, competitive and generous team.  It's easy to root for someone with as much class and character such as theirs.

Day 1- Arrive in Tucson, build bike, head to track for a 6 mile shake out on the track and some trails.
Then it was off to the pool for a swim.

Then is was off to grab some dinner and head to Paul's house.  Paul is a friend of Chuckie's who hosts camps from time to time.  His setup is unreal.  Another friend of their's, "Muddy" was in from San Jose with a group of his athletes for a training camp.  Let's play spot the bike in the picture to the right.  Paul is a former 4:04 high school miler who ran at Arkansas and U of Arizona.  He is now the Schwaggle guy over at Active.com, and rides with and drops pro cyclist wannabes as  a form of entertainment. He whipped up some amazing homemade soup in a 500 (or so) horse power blender.

Day 2- We headed over to Paul's house for a group ride.  It was a bit chilly to start but warmed up quickly, we rode 4:17, on a nice out and back with a loop.  There is always that one asshole with the tri bike in the group ride... this time that clown was me.  There was a good (at least for this flatlander) climb over Gates Pass. Twice. Once out and once back.  Heading south was a nice steady 1-3% grade for about 20 miles out into a slight head wind.  It was nice to spin the legs a bit on the way home on beautiful, virtually carless roads. A good 74 miles in all, followed by an easy 4 mile jog to the track.

After dinner and browsing though a couple books from the triathlon library we called it an early night to bed around 8pm.  

Day 3- Angela arrived home from her Trisports sponsorship gig.  We all met up with her training partner Doug (an iron distance guy who you may be hearing more about pretty soon) and headed to the pool.  I managed 3900 in the set, and Chuckie and I worked on my form in the water and added a couple drills.  Doug unfortunately is not only a pro triathlete... he is also a super hero who single handedly battles the sun and its deadly rays.  He takes it upon himself to protect the human race from the sun day and trains by night (or when its cloudy).                                               

Next it was off to the track to perform a 4mi MAF test.  My Garmin is on the fritz, but was only about 5 seconds off over the course of 4 miles.  The goal here was to hold 145HR for 4 miles.  After the test and a cool down it was back for dinner and discussion.  The TV never went on in five days.  As my college track coach at Iowa says, "give your TV to your enemy".  It was some more reading and bed by 9pm.  

Day 4- 7:30am head for the pool 3000 in the pool for a set of 3000.  Again working on stroke and form.  Then home for breakfast and we headed out to Mt Lemmon for some repeats.  Doug, Angela, and I rode to the base while Chuckie drove up to do some coaching and SAG.  As soon as we hit mile 0 Doug took off like a lean (tall) mountain goat.  My prescribed workout was 3x8mi climb at 145HR.  I tried staying on Angelas wheel as she easily danced her way up.  I gradually fell off the back as my heart rate was consistently in the 150s at this pace.  After 4 months of primarily trainer time I was excited to have kept the rubber down on the descent, even if it meant riding the breaks the whole way my first time down.

3:37 total on the bike, 6210 ft climbed, and a 2.5 mile jog on the mountain trails.

On the way up

Trail run view

Typical evening.  I was able to try out the boots here.

Day 5- 4:07 recovery ride with Angela and Chuckie.  This was a nice longer ride with some easy spinning.  Chuckie was able to check out my position and fit on the bike as well.  We kept the HR low here,  just putting miles in the bank.  65 miles with 2843ft gained and ended going over Gate's Pass.  The trip concluded with a nice 4 mile run, dinner, and some season training planning with Chuckie.  

In the end it was a phenomenal trip.  There is a good chance I learned as much about triathlon in these five days as I have in the past 5 years.  This wouldn't be complete with out thanking Chuckie and Angela for hosting me and allowing me make a mess of the kitchen.  Also thanks to Erin for transporting this poor chump to and from the airport.  Thank you.

A new (old fashion) frontier

One brave soul debates whether or not to actually physically walk DOWN stairs or exert less human powered effort and follow the lazy shuffle onto the automatic magic moving stairs. @ Tucson Airport.

UHOP (Utmost Hour of Power) Day: 

The early half of last week (weak) left me feeling quite weak.  Although my secret weapon is not a rock hammer hidden in the Bible, by Sunday I felt as if I were Andy Dufresne after having crawled 500m to freedom.  A new 1000y PR in the pool as part of a broken 1500, and a 1 hour test on Monday.

The goal Monday was to ride the first half hour at about 95% of 251w, or about 240w then build on that, or at least hang on.  The 15 minute increments are below.

20' warmup

@15' = 239 avg watts, 152 avg HR

@30' = 241 avg watts, 154 avg HR

@45' = 243 avg watts, 156 avg HR

@60' = 246 avg watts, 157 avg HR

= about 98% of my most recent 30' power test (251w) - AVG 3.32 W / KG+bike

A couple tips to staying healthy as we embark on the back half Winter.  A bit OCD? yeah probably.

1- Avoid the public masses (trains, El, cabs, concerts, movie theaters)

2- Sleep in (at least when ever you can)

3- Wear a hoodie on airplanes / dont let weirdos breath and cough on your neck

4- Don't touch anything in public (doors, ATMs, railings, handles, buttons, shopping carts, etc.)

4a- Open doors and flush toilets by kicking or punching them (chuck norris style if possible)

5- Wear a hat when it's cold outside

6- CV's Apple cider vinegar concoction (purified water, 1 lemon, 1 lime, raw bee pollen, honey)

7- Eat well - plant based, organic diet, antioxidant rich foods

8- Drink well - primarily just drink water, smoothies

9- Take a 20-30 minute nap each day

10- Don't live on the south side

11- Wash your hand frequently

12- Sanitize your cell phone (that thing really gets around)

13- Avoid over training (which is my segway to part 2: Injury Free)

14- Dont let people cough on you! Pick the back row (treadmills, computrainer class, plane, etc.)

15- If all else fails, buy into Russell's diet: eat 2 sticks of butter, a dozen cookies, and 8 cups of coffee a day.  He hasn't missed a day of work in 50 years.

Here is Freany practicing #14 to perfection with a little Rev3 Dells course on the tube.

Finally, Check out Starky on the Rev3 Blog Radio tomorrow.

This is what happens at my house when you spill paint in the garage.

This is what happens when you leave your bike unattended at the firehouse.  Complete with pink streamers, pink bottle, pink basket, pink bell, and pink training wheels.

This is what happens every morning commute.

This is what happens when you text and drive.