GEC's High Endurance Ironman Training Camp--Day 3

Any day is a good day in my book when a swim in canceled or replaced with a bike ride. Today the weather forecast called for some afternoon showers and thunderstorms, so we elected to skip the swim and ride earlier. We left near 7am and headed north. The scenery in Flagstaff is amazing--pine and aspen forests, snow on the mountain, open meadows filled with wildlife. We got to ride through all of that and some high desert on the way to the Grand Canyon.

On the way, though, we had to endure 85 miles of pain. We started from the cabin and rode together through town, then we split up a bit. Shawn, Owen, and Luc were off the front, Polita was in the middle, and Angie steady at the end of the train. Bill and I rotated through, then decided to catch the leaders again. We put the hammer down for over 20 miles, and could not catch the train on the front. They were flying. We did what we could and got closer, but could not catch up. It was fun to try, though! Luc, the bike powerhouse, won today's MVP award for riding everyone off his wheel at one point or another.

The group rode steady all day. When we reached the Grand Canyon, we were all relatively close together. As we entered the park, Owen and Polita turned our attention to 4 elk grazing just off the road, then we saw deer grazing near our hotel that evening. We went straight to the rim of the canyon, gazed, awed, and shot photos, then went to the hotel.

After a short break to clean up and get some food in, we walked back to the rim. We couldn't check into the hotel right away, so we had some time to kill. Once we did check in, it was run time. I got some down time since my ankle is still tweaky, but the group ran an hour or so along the Grand Canyon rim. After that ride, I was impressed.

Then, dinner and bed time. Strong day for everyone today. The group meshes well and gets along great. It's great when they do. Shawn is strong here and I expect great things. Angie is steady and will get stronger as the week progresses. Owen and Polita are really showing improvement since we started working together and will have great seasons in front of them. Luc is a joy to have at camp, and although an accomplished cyclist, he's relatively new to triathlon.

Tomorrow, we ride back to Flagstaff, stopping along the way to climb up to the ski area (110 miles, over 5000' climbing), then a short brick run. This will be the mental toughness day.

(I've got some great photos. Check back when i have a good connection and i'll have them posted)

GEC's High Endurance Ironman Training Camp--Day 2 by Owen

Grasky Camp – Day 2

Guest Blogger: Owen

I found out tonight that Brian has a policy of rotating who blogs from camp, and tonight I’m the lucky winner due to my perseverance through some bike “issues”. I brought my Guru on the plane with me on Saturday and all seemed well on assembly. About 30 mins into our bonus Sun AM bike ride to Sedona (camp officially started Sunday PM, but Shawn, Polita, Luc, and I were eager to make the most of our time here), we stopped at an overlook and I took a look at why my front derailleur was rubbing in some gears. Sadly, I realized the front hanger was half broken. We had the bright idea of trying to adjust the clamp over the fracture, but the hanger ended up snapping off completely. Called Brian to see if he had an extra bike just laying around – and luckily he did. At this point, P and I headed back to the cabins to setup Brian’s Kueen K for me to finish the days ride. It’s a nice bike and I got it fitting me pretty fast. Only problem is it had serious shifting problems. Was good for the day, but not great for the big days ahead. As luck would have it, Bill was coming up that day and brought 2 bikes. He was kind enough to lend me his race bike, so 3rd bike in two days! I’m still tweaking, but I think I’ve got it just about dialed in for the big ride to the grand canyon tomorrow. Anyhow, enough about that – what about day 2!?

Breakfast was at 7:30 today, then we were on the road by about 9. We loaded up Bill’s suburban to avoid some road construction and started our ride from Lake Mary. We did the bike from a half iron race in Flagstaff - 2 loops around Mormon Lake and back to Lake Mary. Nice quiet roads, great weather, and good views. We’re all riding power and you can see the impact of the altitude on the power you can sustain, but it seems like the reduced air resistance makes up for it, because we were averaging 20 mph. The group rode well together, tho I could tell Luc was itching to put the hammer down on some of the short climbs :-). Brian was rockin a road bike with Zipps and he really loved those downhills. Back to Lake Mary and we took a few minutes to fuel up and relax before putting on the wetsuits and hitting the water. The water was pretty nice, probably in the low 60s. Did some swimming back and forth along the shore and got out as we heard some thunder (and a few people spotted lightning). Piled in the car and headed back for some down time. Great first full day of camp.

Back for the evening, we had a great home cooked dinner thanks to Jill. Lot’s of time to relax and then we talked swimming with Bill (did I mention that guy can swim!). Tomorrow we get an early start and head to the Grand Canyon. Looking forward to the ride, and I think everyone is excited to run along the rim.

Owen

GEC's High Endurance Ironman Training Camp--Day 2

Day two in the books.

Breakfast was followed by a 50 mile ride around Mormon Lake--rolling hills, scenic pine trees, 80 degree temps, and good company. There were two stop signs on the route, and I think 3 cars passed us all day. No kidding. Perfect. Owen was on a new bike as his broke on the trip up--he had a great attitude about it and just tweaked Bill's TT bike and rode it all day. No complaints to be on a new bike for the week. I'm just glad we had a bike for him. And on it, we had a hard time pulling him back.

One thing I noticed, was that everyone was on PowerTaps today. Nice!

We followed that with a nice swim in Lake Mary. The water as about 62 or so, so very nice with a wetsuit. My Zoot Zenith is perfect--a great wetsuit and kinda cool looking, if I do say so myself. We did sighting drills and straight swimming drills, but mostly just enjoyed the cool water after the ride. Then the people down the beach with the jet skis tried ruining the day by stealing my Zoot sandals. Those are the best sandals I've worn, so I wasn't about to let that go. I got them back. Some people. Grrr.

We had some down time as the thunderstorm rolled over, then Jill made a great pasta with Butternut squash and shrimp for dinner. After that, Bill spoke on the ebbs and flows of swim training for triathletes. Bill's a life-long swimmer and is the first out of the water wherever he goes, so he's definitely one to listen to.

Those here seem to be enjoying the weather, scenery, routes, and training. You guys not here...you're missing out.

Tomorrow: Ride 90mi to the Grand Canyon and run at sunset along the rim. Where else can you do this and call it "training?"

Brian

GEC's High Endurance Ironman Training Camp--Day 1

Year 2 for the GEC High Altitude Ironman Training Camp in Flagstaff, AZ. It's only at 7000 feet--no big deal, right!?!?

We've got a great group:
- Owen and Polita are a couple from Seattle. Their 'A' race is Ironman Canada in Aug. They've been GEC athletes for 1.5 years, and are doing well. Their sense of humor is a great asset to camp.
- Shawn is a friend of theirs from Seattle and is racing IM Canada as well. Shawn's coached by a great friend, Jonser, and is a solid athlete.
- Angie is a repeat athlete for the High Altitude Camp. She had a solid week and season last year, and is looking for the same this year. She's being coached by GEC's Bill Daniell and is aiming for IM Cozumel. Talk about a destination race!
- Luc is our Canadian. He's the oldest athlete but that's not fooling anyone. Strong on the bike, Luc is ready for the long days.
- Add to this our coaches: Bill is a solid triathlete and a world-class swimmer; Jill is the camp cook and hostess; and yours truly tries to hang on and act like i know what I'm doing. I surround myself by good people so they make me look good.

The week will include about 30 hours of training, lots of recovery, and a tens of thousands of calories. We've got great support by Hammer Nutrition, Trisports.com, Genuine Innovations inflation, Zoot multisport wear, Michelin tires and tubes, Dr Hoys pain relief gel, CycleOps and PowerTap, and Zipp wheels.

Tonight was simply a meet and greet and dinner. Holy Cow Shawn can eat. Based on his caloric intake, he's going to be on fire on tomorrow's ride.

The Tour of the Tucson Mountains

One of the local Tucson races is the TTM. Like most tours, the TTM is either a race, a tour, or a fitness challenge depending on your approach to it. My approach? Race. Surprise, surprise.

Equipment: Cannondale System Six, Zipp 808 rear wheel with PowerTap SL+, Zipp 404 front, Zipp Tangente tires. The goal was to make “Platinum.” This allows for a front line starting spot on all subsequent tours and, really, bragging rights. Sub-3hrs for the 72 miles to make Platinum.

Not apparent by its name, the course is mainly flat with a few shallow climbs. It circles the Tucson Mountains on the west side of Tucson from Marana, winding up and over Ajo Way made famous by the Tuesday Shootout ride, out to Ryan Airfield, then north up and through Saguaro National Monument before finishing in Marana again. If you choose to look at something other than the guy you’re drafting, you won’t find a route with more towering and flowering Saguaro Cactus in the world. If you are drafting, don’t look around, please.

I started in the middle after being too much a wimp to stand the cold of getting there any earlier. At the gun, the group moseyed off as I bobbed and weaved more than Rocky to get through the packs of rides and onto the lead pack. In this tour, like any other, if you’re not on the lead pack, you’re out of the race.

For the next 70 miles I sat in the lead pack, moving around here and there to avoid the occasional crash and get around those looking like they’re about to pop off the back. I made it into a good position before the Ajo climb and the turn onto Sandario, the two major breaks to split the field. Looking at my PowerTap files, I was averaging a very sustainable 180-ish watts, with sprints up above 1500+ watts when needed at the corners and accel points. (Yes, that’s approaching 2 horsepower)

Nearing the end, the speed was slowly dialing up. I decided since I’m not a sprinter, I needed a little help, so move out and up toward the front. One more right turn, then 1.5 miles before a left to the finish line. I’m sitting 3rd wheel in the pack with only 2 off the front. All’s good. Just then, a line of others come up the right side, moving me over to the left—slam!—right into a huge pothole. Good thing the Zipp wheels and tires are strong. Rounding the corner, things start to feel squishy, and soon I’m riding on the rim. The pothole had caused a puncture. 1.5 miles; my time is ok for Platinum; I sit up and decide to ride it in on the flat. Being the first real ride on the Zipp’s I’m nervous, but they did fine. No problem. Thanks for making a strong wheel, guys! The Zipp tire is even fine.

I finished 68th out of the 600 or so. Time: 2:47. Platinum. Sweet. I replaced the tube to ride to my car, and found out my spare was flat. Riding it in was a good choice!

Congrats also to GEC athletes Leo (in the main pack, Platinum) and John (3:47, finished) and TriCats Neil (3:05, Gold), Lee, and David.