Tucson Winter Training Camp Day 6

Mt. Lemmon had to come sooner or later, and it came at last on Day 5. But with this camp, Mt. Lemmon wasn’t going to be the only activity of the day, and so the wake up call was the earliest yet for Starbucks and swimsuits.
Compared to the previous day’s endless yardage, this workout was a casual couple grand on the yardage log, though the main set was all sprint work. Sprint work, before Mt. Lemmon??? Well, that was the call to get the blood (and caffeine) flowing. By the end of yesterday’s swim, much of the group had problems moving their arms, but I could tell that this was going to be a different day when everyone was hitting their 50s in the 30-40 second range. Gus was even on my heels here, and that made me begin to think that this might be his breakout day here at camp.
That thought gained a little more traction when Eric told Gus to start in the last, and supposedly strongest, of three waves headed up to Mt. Lemmon. There were a few folks who wanted to start out in the first wave for whatever reason, but Gus accepted his assignment without reservation. He was confident that, in short order, the mountain would be his.
Most of you readers are familiar with the Mt. Lemmon climb, with its scenery and difficulty. This El Nino year has brought much more snow to the mountain. We went from 70s at the base to high 40s at the top, but the plentiful snow sometimes made it a little cooler in the shade and also made the road wet (but not icy) in places, spraying a little water around to make things just a little cooler. There was a little wind from the north this time that made the ascent a little tougher in parts and the descent more white knuckle.
The first story of the camp climb up Mt. Lemmon was a non-story. We had no negative drama. No crashes, no flat tires, no bonks and no chains exploding. It was a solid ride for everyone. But the second story was Gus, whose chain I thought might explode when he roared past me low on the mountain. He might be close to Eric’s equal in challenging for the speed record next year.
After a pleasant trip to the cookie cabin, the ride back to Tucson became just that more enjoyable.
The final day awaits the campers. While we all put it all out there yesterday on Mt. Lemmon, there’s still another run and bike planned for today. Will today bring a glorious ending or will the campers finally run out of gas?
Camper Dan