AZ Camp Day 2

Day 2 was fantastic. The athletes did great on a tough day. It as hot and a bit windy, but the climb up Lemmon was wonderful. Kerri flew up the mountain, Leo ripped my legs off, Steve was his fast-but-humble self, and Carla has her ever-present smile. The clan was a bit toasted from the am run and the afternoon on the Col du Lemmon so we opted for some rest before dinnner rather than the planned core strength session. The athletes found the hotel happy hour during their "rest" time!





Jeff was one of the two daily MVPs for his effort today. He had a tough climb coming from MO, but he held tough. Here's his story...







Day 2 Arizona Tri camp

What a day!!!!!! We started out the day at 7 am with a 1 hr run through one of the local parks. The run was a combination of road and trail. The trail took us across the desert terrain. It was a great way to loosen up the legs from yesterday.

Our big workout for the day was to ride up MT LEMMON. I believed this was planned for later in the week but due to the good weather the ride was moved to today. The temp hit mid 90's. The ride from the base to the top is approximately 28 miles, round trip was 65 miles. It took me almost 3 hours to hit the top with a lot of help from Brian Grasky. It was an incredible ride with fantastic scenery! This was a big treat for me coming from Missouri. This ranks high as one of the most memorable bike rides I have ever had. I have been riding indoors all winter and not acclimated to the heat so I hurt a bit but all I had to do to forget about it was to look at my surroundings.

We arrived back to the hotel and took it easy for awhile and headed out to dinner.

So far the camp has been excellent. We have been blessed with fantastic weather. Our group really seems to get along well and is very supportive of each other. Brian and Eric have been fantastic. I really appreciate their knowledge and support.

Time to get to rested up and see what tomorrow brings.

Jeff



MVP #2 was Rick. He climbed very well despite a bum knee--he not only made the climb, but beat everyone to the bottom afterwards!



Day 2 started off gently enough. Jogging through the Saguaro Park my wife and I, the bad knees pair, were enjoying the wildlife. Obviously, our speed did not startle the family of javelina or the bunnies or the roadrunners. It was a cool morning for Arizona and a mid-summer heat wave to those of us from Alaska.

Not too fooled by the innocent start, I stuffed myself at breakfast, downed some electrolytes, ibuprofen and whatever else I could think of in preparation for Mount Lemmon. I needed it all and some more.

When we got to the base of the mountain there was no fanfare, fans or music. We just started going up.

Cyndie and I paced ourselves and slogged along together, knowing that a 25 mile climb was more than we were used to in our training. We climbed and climbed, were passed by the speedy group and pressed on. I was truly grateful for the break, refuel and recharge at mile 14, the Palisades and even happier to see my fellow campers at the Cookie stop in Summerhaven.

What goes up must come down. In my case what goes up slowly, must come down quickly. Riding that demo Cannondale, a great climber, was a lot of fun on the ride down. I let it out on the long decent and felt great - sweet reward for the trip up.

A group of us met at the bottom and hammered home like a peloton in the tour.

Rick