Day 5-10

Day 5 was our big ride and I will admit I was a little anxious to be heading out with the boys, I hadn't gone over 100km in a long while and I was hoping I wouldn't be dropped off the back, because the amount of heckling after that would be too much! I couldn't get comfortable for the first bit, not sure what it was but I was fidgety. We stopped for a break and then Simon told me to start riding, they would catch me. Great, I felt crummy and I had to ride knowing 4 boys were chasing me down. I worked hard and was happy that they didn't catch me, but they probably waited a bit to long for that. The first 45km of the ride I felt pretty bad, was just feeling off. We got onto the Van Fleet Trail and the boys needed to stop for a pit stop. Simon had said that the trail went on for 40km and that we would stop at the end for fluids and snacks so I kept going while they stopped. It was a beautifully flat trail that was so great to ride on, there were turtles everywhere, they were awesome. We stopped at the one bridge to check out the gator.

The rest of the ride went pretty well, we topped up fluids and met some interesting locals, wow Florida really has some rednecks! I was feeling pretty good and the way back on this ride I held my own with the boys and I was feeling pretty strong. We ended up doing 156km in 5 hours and rewarded ourselves with nice cold beer. I headed over to the VV pool and did a 3000yd swim and the body felt good, I guess my nutrition on the bike worked as I had no cramping. After that we all headed out for dinner, I was dying for a steak and was not disappointed. It was perfect! That night a bunch of people stayed up and had a few beverages since it was rest day the next day. I will admit I had one or two to many, but they tasted good and it was nice to hang out with people and listen to music and just have fun.
Day 6
Not a lot of sleep that night and I was up early and headed off to the pool to swim. I really wanted to get back over to the NTC and although I did not feel like getting in to swim, it still turned out to be a good workout. We did a set that was on pace times and try as I might to get out of doing it, I had made the mistake of coming up with the workout and pace times the day before and then couldn't get out of doing it. The NTC was beautiful and there was only a few of us swimming, it was perfect. After headed to get a coffee and just sat around for a bit recovering. Was feeling the need for a nap but it was hard to get myself moving again. The rest of the day off I spent working with a few of the coaches up at the VV pool and then we had "Special " Olympic Games, which were highly entertaining but a little much with the given heat. It is fun to watch grown adults behave like high school kids, lol!
I went to bed early that night and slept pretty darn good.
Day 7 we all headed to Lake Louisa State Park for a brick workout. I had decided that I wasn't going to be doing the brick workout as I have no need to have a quick transition so I just decided to do loops of the park on my bike and then maybe a run while I was waiting for the open water swim. I was feeling a little on the dehydrated side but still worked hard on the bike, but I will admit I cut a lap out and then instead of running 10km only did 5km, in my defense, I wasn't sandbagging, it was hot and I had forgotten my hat, I know I know, I am a slacker what can I say, lol. It was a good workout, maybe not a long workout but yes I am still training for UMC!
The open water swim session was ok other than the fact that the water was so shallow that all they really could do was dolphin dives and very limited swimming. It was still good and I was able to give some tips on wetsuits and sighting etc. Went back and did a swim at VV pool and was feeling really smooth in the water and then went to an aero dynamics talk by Bob which was pretty interesting!
Day 8 we headed to the orange groves for our run. It was hot already at 8am and I was really looking forward to this run. Today was the hottest day so far here but it was still early. I ended up doing this run with Steve and Dwayne and for the most part this run was at a comfortable pace, I never felt like I was running hard, just the heat was really getting to me. I couldn't believe how hot it was. The first half seemed pretty easy but then the second half I was starting to get annoyed at how many hills there were. I was drinking from my bottle every 2km and it didn't seem like the boys needed anything. At one point I felt like I had goose bumps but when I looked down I didn't see any, it happened again and I realized I was either really dehydrated or getting heat exhaustion or something. I stopped to walk and Steve walked with me, Dwayne kept going saying we would catch him. I so wanted to just sit down and not run anymore but seeing how there was no shade I knew that wasn't an option. I got going again and Steve was really encouraging, we ended up passing Dwayne and all I could think about was the pool, ice, a giant fan, anything that was cold, lol. I ended up finishing the run and feeling really great but man that humidity kicked my butt!! It was a great run and so nice to push hard. We headed up to the bike shop and to this little sub place owned by firemen, which was pretty cool. I spent the afternoon working at the pool with all the athletes, I think I was able to make some big changes for a good handful of the athletes so that was awesome. I eventually got in to do a swim and to be honest my motivation level was pretty low, I think I had gotten to much sun that day. Headed out to find something to eat and found this little Mexican restaurant, it was great but I think I nearly drowned in the margarita glass, one drink and I didn't know if I would be able to walk back!
Day 9 was the last bike ride. We had a few more people come and ride with us and I knew we were going to be doing a challenging ride. Unfortunately I didn't have a great start to the ride, I grabbed my brakes a little to hard to keep from hitting another persons tire as we were stopping and down I went. I was told I looked graceful as I went down so I guess that is the plus side. I think I put my hand out and landed but not sure it really did happen so fast. Luckily I didn't get all cut up or rip my shorts or anything like that. The bike has a few minor scratches on it and really only my pride took a big blow. I got right back up and kept going but my left wrist and elbow were pretty sore. I stayed tough on the ride and felt really strong, but it hurt a lot to hold onto the bars with my left hand. We ended up doing the steep side of Sugarloaf twice on this ride and I loved every second of it. I felt so much stronger climbing it on this ride and wasn't nearly as winded. Plus I was able to take extra rest at the top while waiting for the rest of the riders, which was just some nice alone time. We also did a section that Simon had referred to as the Dragon, man was this road awesome. Just hill after hill, it was so challenging but I felt strong and pushed hard. We took a break and I had Sheri look at my wrist and elbow, she was pretty sure it wasn't a joint so that was good, but it was hurting me and I was trying to not let on how much it hurt. Finished up the ride with another close call, a southern driver not paying attention and almost turned right into me, I managed to go off road into the grass and just missed getting taken out, my heart was racing, I was screaming and Ed and Dwayne who were behind me were screaming too. I pulled in to VV and realized that I had almost been killed, it made me feel a little sick. Ed was heading out to do extra riding but I decided I had 2 mishaps already today that I didn't want to push my luck, lol. I put some ice on the elbow and took some advil and just really wanted to get some sleep but I had to head to the pool and work on the athletes. I had almost everyone come up to get some stroke correction and at the end I jumped in to see how the arm would work, unfortunately it didn't. I couldn't pull at all. I was so ticked off and I felt stupid for having such a dumb crash. Len looked at the arm and said for me to give it 4 days and that it would be better, but still I had wanted to swim every day and had done so and then the last day, well I did 200m of kicking but I am counting it!
We had a final night of drinks while sitting around the oval table, it really was a great night and I had lots of fun!
Day 10, woke up early once again with not a whole lot of sleep and had to get the car packed. My elbow was still pretty sore and straightening it hurt the worst. Didn't head out for any workouts but got everything ready for the ride. We said our goodbyes and Simon loaded our bikes for us! We were on our way by a little after 9am. We were all a little more sun tanned, fit and tired on the way home but we still had a great time.

update

Hi everyone just wanted to do a quick post to update you, the Internet here has been pretty crummy, I tried to do a long post to catch you all up last night, but it went down as I tried to post it, nothing like losing a nice long blog,lol. When I get home I will update you as to how days 5-10 went. All in all it has been a fun camp. I am super pumped with how strong I am feeling on the bike, I was able to learn from 2 really strong riders and they pushed me hard this week (Thanks Sibo and Steve!), I had fun coaching for sure, I think I made a big difference to many of them, I had a good bunch that were really gung-ho and did their challenge and made the effort to incorporate the changes I suggested. The only down side was that I had a crash this morning, 5km into the start of the ride, I had the brakes adjusted on the bike and they are a little more sensitive and one wrong look and to hard of a pull on the brakes and down I went. I brushed it off at the time and had a lot of pain in my hand and elbow, but my pride was more bruised. I ended up having an awesome ride and felt incredibly strong, but the elbow and hand hurt, unfortunately, I can't fully straighten or bend my left arm and there is some good pain, but I have to be thankful that I didn't break anything or do it earlier in the week. Have the final BBQ to head out to, should be an entertaining evening!! See you in a few days!

Day 4

It's been a long one today. Can't believe I am just getting around to this now. Started the day by waking up at 5:45am ate and got ready to head to the NTC (national training center), which was awesome, I have this thing for outside swimming and the pool at NTC is awesome, I was so pumped, there was a huge group of people in the water, but they had it set up to yards so there was plenty of room. Only about 7 of us went this morning and we each ended up getting our own lane, I was pumped, I had the masters guys beside me and they were moving and then Steve from the camp was in the other lane, he is only other fast swimmer here. Len was there to give us a workout (I am not allowed to coach on deck here) and it was great to be the athlete again and have someone give me a swim workout. I felt great in the water and Len gave us the main set of 9x200@3:00 descend 1-9, both Steve and I said 1-9 at the same time, that was going to be a challenge, 1-3 x3 is much easier to do, lol. It turned out to be a great set, I probably started out a bit to easy but I wanted to make sure I actually descended, lol. I got down to 2:19/2:20 for the last one and I never felt that I was working to hard, but maybe I could have gone a little harder, but still I was happy with the set. I also had Steve pushing to keep up with me so I think he enjoyed the workout as well, so it was a good day in the pool.
From the pool we headed out to some little area, Buckhill maybe, not sure, but it had a nice trail road that we ran on, Sheri went over some Chi running drills and then we set out on the road, the way out was warm but some good wind, however once we turned around I felt like I was going to melt into a giant puddle, the heat was intense, and it wasn't even 10:00am. I ended up doing a really strong 10km and felt like I was on fire, I drank almost an entire water bottle in 10km. I ran the last 5km with Lesley and I was dying, I don't enjoy humidity, I would rather run for hours in -25 degree than in this humidity, it sure is tough! (Here are C,L and I after our run all hot and sweaty!!)
After the run we picked up our bikes @ Chez Fraiser (where they had spent the night--the bikes not us!) and we rode to this cute little bakery that supposedly had great sandwiches, but we never got to find out because we rode up just after a tour bus pulled in and the line up for sandwiches was insane. I opted for an apple turnover and coffee instead--great nutrition I know but it was yummy. About half of the group then rode back to VV but I decided to ride back to the van and drive back, I wanted to get another swim in and my girlie area was anxious for a break from the bike seat!
I came back and did another swim workout at the pool here and then we did yoga and a workshop.
The girls took me shopping and I found a couple of cute things for my little girls (who I am missing terribly!!) I think C&L are trying to break me in gently for the big shopping day on Wednesday as they only took me to 2 stores today in 45 minutes, lol. Headed to bed now, tomorrow is big ride day, C&L are going to do their first 3 hour ride and I am headed with the "studs" for 150km, man it's been awhile but I can't wait! (They promised no Sugarloaf, but we shall see....)

Day 3

I got a little sun burnt today. I have been pretty good with the sunscreen so far, but somehow today the shoulders got a little red, I know poor me, but it was a long day out there today and one I wasn't 100% ready for. I had the impression that today was going to be an easier day and we were riding out to Sheri's parents, having a dip in their pool, then driving back and I had some athletes to work with, a yoga session and nutrition workshop. Somehow I missed the part of the morning ride being challenging and 83km. Not sure what I was expecting, but I packed 3 bottles and only 2 gels, plenty for a 8am ride. I again headed out with the "studs" and we picked up 2 new riders, but no other girls decided to come with us. We headed out much the same way we rode yesterday and I was feeling pretty good, we took a small pit stop for some of the boys to water nature and we were given a choice, we could go around or we could do Sugarloaf again, I didn't say a word and was hoping that the around route would win out, I should have known better as they all were up for Sugarloaf, they said we would do the back side(or front side, still not sure) and seeing how we did both yesterday I asked for clarification, once they explained it I said, so we won't be going up the side that makes me run out of gears at the bottom, lol, I didn't find the way we were going to be that bad so I was pumped if they would have made me turn and do the other way well that would have been another story. From there we headed out to Dewey which was a 9km out and 9km back of varying degree of hills, we were to ride on this for as long as we want and some of the groups were going to do technical skills etc. By the time we got to Dewey, our group had split up a bit, I was with 3 of the guys and the rest were behind us. We did the first 18km on the road and I was pretty much out of fluids, I had no gels left and the hills were starting to kick my butt. I was happy to just sit and wait for the other groups to catch up, well the guys put a challenge down, Dwayne shared some fluids with me and Steve promised that we would ride the 9km out strong and spin back easy, only problem with that theory was on the way back we were going into the strong wind and the biggest climb was into a head wind. I of course couldn't be out done by the guys (like I said I am a little type A) so I told them all where they could go (I was smiling though so it was nice!) and took off with them. That 9km hurt but I hung in there and at the turn around I was talking myself into only 9km more, I rode by the boys and told them that I hated them all, lol, they didn't seem to concerned. By the time we had finished we put in 83km, not at all what I had planned for but I certainly was happy with how I did, I am feeling really strong on the bike, all those long rides on the trainer are paying off, Sheri even compliment and told me that I was riding really strong! It made me feel good and I am more confident with my riding for UMC. here is a pic of me and the boys at the end of our 83km
(Dwayne, Ed and Steve.) The rest of the afternoon was spent coaching at the pool, getting groceries, doing yoga, a nutrition workshop and now getting ready for tomorrow. I am going to take a day off from a long bike ride and do 2 swim workouts (Headed to the NTC at 6:30am) and a long run.(should be fun in this heat!!)

Day 2

Another sunny and beautiful day here in Clearmont! Got up at 5:45am and headed out for a solo 13km run, it is a lot warmer here than at home and I could really feel that this morning, but I ran into a beautiful neighbourhood and then found the Orange Grove Trail ( I think that is what it is called) it is a great trail with packed sand(some of the sand is bright orange) I felt pretty good on the run and was glad to get it done before it got really hot!
The athletes went and had some videotaping of their running form done and I hung out and chatted with the hubby and then I headed over to the pool to work on form with the swimmers with Len. It was great to talk to Len who is just a phenomenal athlete/triathlete. I think that all of the swimmers we worked with today enjoyed the changes we made and I loved helping all of them, at the end of the session I had the hugest compliment from Len, he told me that he thinks I am a great coach, the best swim coach he has met, Sheri agreed with him and he continued to compliment me. I was honoured, it means a great deal to hear someone of Len's caliber to give me a compliment that large.
At noon we headed out for a bike ride, we ended up having 3 groups, 1 group was going to do a flatter route, one group was going to go hilly but not super challenging and then the 3rd group(the studs) was going to go challenging and do Sugarloaf (which I had no clue what it was). I had planned on going with group 2 but then at the one section we were waiting to continue and I decided I wanted to ride harder than the second group was going to go, wasn't sure I could keep up with the 3rd group, but I thought what the hell, so Dwayne and I decided why not and took off with the other 4 guys. I think at first the 4 guys were a little annoyed that we were with them but they soon got over that. It was a tough ride, I had this misconception that Florida is flat but not where we are! We had a pretty challenging ride and I am proud to say that I held my own, I worked hard on the hills and loved every second of it. I haven't rode with people in a long time and it was nice to be with some super riders. I ended up surprising the boys , as I ended up keeping ahead of 3 of the guys in the group. Simon told me I was doing awesome and that I was punishing the boys. He took us to Sugarloaf which is a awesome hill, we did it twice, on the way down I reached my top speed of 80.7km/hr, which was insane, I loved every second of it, turning around the hill is so deceiving, I ran out of gears not even half way up the hill, I was stoked, it hurt and was hard but I love being challenged and I reached the top of it and wanted to do it again,lol. The coolest thing, this house at the top of the hill puts out jugs of water on the weekends for all the cyclists out, the sign tells you to help yourself and if the jug is empty to put it in the driveway and they must refill it, how amazing is that. the remainder of the ride had us into the wind or climbing another hill but it was great, I felt pretty strong and in the end we did 68km, it wasn't as long as we had planned but we thought we were going to be late getting back in and the other groups would be waiting for us, but it turns out we beat them all back. Got some fuel in my body and then I headed to the pool for 5pm and I did a short swim in the pool and then we had a yoga session and a workshop. Going to pack it in for the day and have to coach again tomorrow and do some more biking and swimming!

The Drive and Day 1

Well I am going to try this again, I tried to do this earlier but the Internet connection isn't the best. We had a pretty great drive, it didn't seem like it took us 22 hours to get here so I guess that is a good thing, we stopped for dinner at this great little Thai place in Knoxville and it was so nice to sit and have real food. We pulled into Vacation Village at 7:45am today and none of us girls really got a lot of sleep in the van. We got settled into our rooms and had our first yoga class(9:30am) of the camp, I found myself on the edge of dozing off several times, I was feeling pretty beat but so happy to be here, the sun was shinning and it was warm. Noon rolled around and we headed out for a ride, so great to be in shorts and tank tops, the temp was 31 degrees and I was loving it, it was a pretty easy ride and got to meet and chat with some new people which was great. We were going to do an open water swim but the lake was pretty choppy and cold so we decided on a pool swim at the village. I ended up doing 50km today and it was pretty relaxed but so nice to be on my bike! Got back here and my head was pounding, realized I hadn't eaten anything other than a bagel at 7am and a protein bar, I needed food ASAP. After grabbing some food and enjoying the massiveness./greediness at the local Walmart (not impressed) we came back and I got the girls to get in the pool here with me. We were all feeling a little beat but swimming outdoors is just to nice to pass up! I only did 1500m as we had to shower and change for the welcome BBQ, but it was nice to get in and do a workout, I plan on swimming as much as possible. We got weighed in, body fat, metabolic age, visceral fat, etc. It was interesting and then the BBQ was good. There are some really nice people here and it will be a good day. I actually have to work tomorrow, doing some swim video and stroke work with all the athletes, so I am going to get up early and head out for a run. Then I plan on doing the 2+ hour ride with group and then a swim in the pool here. There is a yoga class and a workshop with a sport psychologist. So it looks like it will be a busy day! Here are a few pics so far!!

Florida here I come.

1 sleep left and I will be in Florida!! Ok more like one more sleep and 23 hours of driving and I will be in Florida! So much to look forward to, lol!
The past couple of days have been a bit of a whirlwind, i feel like I am walking around with someone banging a wooden spoon on a pot beside my ears. I have no clue what I am doing or what I am supposed to be doing and then I remember what I was about to do and then I get distracted by something and the cycle starts all over again! But I think I have finally gotten all of my chicks in a row and I am ready to set off! I am pretty excited about the training camp, it will be fun to meet new people, get some awesome training in and work with new athletes to help them become more efficient. I am going to miss the girls like crazy and I feel really sad about leaving them while hubby is away, but they seem pretty excited that Bob is staying with them and I think they are so pumped to have her here that they don't care that I am leaving!
The schedule for the training camp looks pretty jammed packed and I can't wait to get out in the warm weather, get a tan and train my butt off! Plus I am so excited to be swimming outside it is one of my favourite things! I will post lots of pictures and keep you updated with what we did each day! (and cross your fingers that I survive the day "off"---which is going to be our "shopping day" I am so nervous, I don't know if I can survive a full day of shopping!!!)