Week 37 Mt Diablo Climb

June 19-25
Swim up to 8400 yards, Bike up to 130 miles, Run 19 miles...and this is a Recovery Week!

Okay so it's a bad sign when you can't remember how to log into your blog to update it. After some searching, I managed to find my username and password to get onto blogger to add a new posting. I guess this ironman training has taken over and interfered with my blogging activities!

Sigh...well somehow with the Ironman event less than 8 weeks away, I feel this need to document the final days of the experience. I'm actually considering going back to add some key memories and photos from the previous months. I know exactly where my blogging ended. It was that trip during the rainy months to Kona where I was so fortunate to train and work from afar while staying in a condo my parents had rented for their vacation. That sure was lucky. Anyway, back to the present and this past weekend's workout.

The Ironteam met in Danville for a coached workout where those of us doing Ironman Canada were slated to do the "easy" workout which consisted of a 76 mile ride touring the "East Bay Alps" and climbing up into Mt Diablo State Park. Those doing Ironman USA which is a month earlier had the "hard" workout or infamous triple brick...I'll give details on this when I am fortunate enough to experience it.

So, the day started out with a blueberry pancake and fried egg sandwich while driving to the workout in the morning. I mention this because I'm not a morning person and learned that this is not a good race day strategy to start a ride full of pancakes. Let's just say I was a little overstuffed and it made for a tiny stomach ache later in the ride. Luckily it wasn't anything to prevent pushing through and seemed to go away with a halt in additional liquids.

Here's a group photo from the ride where I am on the left sporting my new Escape from Alcatraz bike jersey (had to point that out) with Steve, MJ, Scott, Debbie, Megan, and Maritza. We mainly rode together at the same pace. This is at the first ranger station on the top of Mt Diablo at mile 60...we're smiling because it's all downhill and flat from here. Although it was nearly 100 degrees that day with some climbing, I managed to feel great the whole ride and kept a steady pace slightly over 13 mph. The wonders of endurolytes and regular training I suppose!



Oh yeah, did I mention that we passed a 1000 feet sign, then a 2000 feet sign, and kept going until about 2500 feet, but this was nothing compared to our weekend ride at Lake Berryessa a few weeks ago. I'm definitely going to have to share a little about that day...to summarize the ride consisted of 10,000+ feet of climbing. I've realized now there must be a reason the coaches tucked this workout into the training schedule...now anything else just seems easy ; ) It's all relative! I think back about that day of riding and now this ride which might have seemed hard no longer did. The coaches must know a little something about getting us mentally prepared.

So here's a view from Mt Diablo to give some perspective on the location. Our web captain took this one since I forgot my camera. Well, I better get going since I'm off to my evening workout consisting of a 1hr 15min spin class followed by a 5 mile run. No wonder I don't have time to blog!