Warm Weather Training Part II

I have 2 more days here in sunny Florida and the training looks tough...I love it! I've accumulated the largest training volume and intensity during these past 2 weeks that I have ever completed. Two more days of "living to train" and I feel like I can't go back to sacrificing any training days for other activities (work, etc)...so how do I do it? How do any pro triathletes do it? Well, coaching is one way. I really love to coach the two athletes that I have right now...it's great for sustaining "life as a pro" as well. My anticipated high finishes at my races this year can be another way to at least "justify" this goal of living to train and race. Hey, if I train like this, I should improve in my racing therby making it a necessity to "live to train" so that I can improve even further!
The first race for me this season is in a little over a month. California 70.3 on March 29th...always a super-stacked race, but a good one to gauge where I am at this point in the season. Next up is Ironman Brazil on May 25th. Here, I am hoping for a spot on the podium as well as a wicked fast time! Next will be an "altitude training camp" in Boulder late June/early July and a race in Rhode Island on July 13th (Providence 70.3). After Brazil I will have a better idea as to where my season will be going...Canada? Wisconsin? Kona? Time will tell...in the meantime, I am getting the best winter training ever!

This week, Mike sent me my schedule "over the phone" as he got hit by a car on his bike last weekend. As a result,typing for him is no fun right now. Luckily he is "OK" (I say that in qoutes because he did sustain a nasty gash to the face and a broken arm and shoulder, bad enough of course, but LUCKILY nothing worse)...the driver screeched away and no one on the group ride had time to get the lisence plate. A real shame. No mercy for Mike though...he had my weekly workouts ready to go. ;-) The schedule this week included some VO2 Max sessions up Sugarloaf Mtn Rd (see pictures) producing the highest wattage ever! Also, some lower wattage (but painful enough) intervals the very next morning as well as a "tempo run". Already I have completed two hard swim sessions prescribed by Rick Ferriola, along with "Don Rourke's Core", of course. Up next: a hard swim with Wolf tomorrow, followed by a hill repeat run workout and then a ride with one sustained interval equivelent to "comfortably hard". Friday is a 100-mile ride (hoping to ramp up the watts throughout the ride, followed by a 40 minute run off the bike and a recovery swim. Saturday I fly home, but it isn't so bad...George and I head to California to watch the Tour of California and do some great riding on Tuesday! Life is good... :-)

Sugarloaf Mtn. Road