Ok, it’s not really party time when everyone has just done three 30 hour training weeks in a row. We are slowly cleaning up the mess we’ve made in the rental house and getting ready to fly out tomorrow. Today was out last workout, a 14 mile run with an hour of the fastest pace we could hold. I was finally “chicked†by Kathy Tremblay, who has proven herself as one tough little woman (though it turns out it was Kirsten Sweetland that nearly passed me earlier in the week during the 8:1 workout).
After breakfast we rode for 90 minutes on heavy legs, then piled into the van and went for a hike. Now, I remember going for hikes during hard training camps when I was a collegiate swimmer, but that was different. My legs are much more tired than they ever were as a swimmer, so trying to climb over rocks and weave our way up past a few waterfalls was a difficult task. We were moving quite slowly, but it was still a very nice change of pace from the swim/bike/run of the past few weeks.
Tomorrow I head back to Oahu for another week of hard training (since I showed up late to the camp I decided to just keep this training block going until I leave Hawaii) before I have to deal with winter. From Honolulu I’m headed to Seattle for a few days, then flying to Colorado Springs where I will be for most of the year. I’m a little apprehensive about training at altitude full-time, and about being so far away from my family and friends. But I am hoping that putting my head down and focusing on my training with the support of the Olympic Training Center will help me stay healthy so I can make the next jump in my racing this year. My first race is just six weeks away!!