Southern Paradise

That's it everyone. It's over and done with. The 2006 race season Base 1 work is completed, and I'm now looking forward to kicking the feet up for a week of rest and recovery. My week ended well, with another strong swim on Friday and an hour and a half of easy zone 2 work on the bike in the evening. I should also add that during the bike workout on Friday, my RPE was that of zone 2, but my wattage was up by about 20W from P(z2). All good.

Today tested the mettle just a little bit during the long run. When I left the house this afternoon it was 55 degrees and dry. I knew it was supposed to rain a little bit, so I pulled on an extra layer up top just to keep the core warm in the event of a downpour. An hour into the run, all was fine and dandy... I was on the trails today enjoying the unusually green landscape and taking in the surrounding scents of mud, stream water, bark and melting snow. But suddenly, and without warning, the clouds that had been looming all day finally tore open, their bellies spilling a super-fine mist of freezing rain down on the trails and on me. Over the next 45 minutes, the temperature would drop by about 15 degrees and the wind would pick up by about 10 mph. Indeed, today was a tough 2 hour trail run, as it'd gone from October-like conditions, to February-like conditions right smack-dab in the middle of things. It took a half of an hour soak in the hot bath and an enormous mug of tea to warm myself back up. And now, tonight, it's supposed to drop to 15 degrees. Good miles today, but tough conditions, and I'm definitely ready to rest.

Over the next couple of days I'll be prepping things for Base 2 training which starts in a week. I'll be looking to add more muscular endurance-type workouts into the mix, along with some higher heart rate stuff (LT-centered) and specific trainer work on my tri-bike to get my position dialed in. I'll also look to bump up my weekly ride volume while maintaining my already-established long swims and long runs; This is where my new year's resolution to ride outside more in the late winter months comes in. As usual, I'll also be conducting an LT test later this week to check my latest power values.

The picture at the top of this post was taken in Asheville, NC last April where I joined some old cycling teammates and good friends for some quality pre-season training. Asheville has long-served as my first "test" of every year, and last year I was absolutely thrilled with my personal performance while putting in the miles down there. Asheville training usually happens in April, and my Base 2 and 3 phases have always been where all the hard work begins in preparation for the season. Right now, I have to say that my training has progressed thus far exactly as I'd wanted it to in view of this season's goals (and I'm far beyond where I was last year at this time). I know that the upcoming months of Base 2 and 3 are going to add new challenges, but hang on folks, cause I think it's going to be good.

Thanks for reading.