The past 7 days have comprised one of my biggest swim weeks ever.  All of the guys are tapering for their meet on Sunday, so that left me going about 20,000 of my 35,000 yards solo.  Swim training has its ups and downs, and I’m currently riding high on an upswing which feels exceptionally good after the big rut I was in for most of the winter.  It serves as proof that even when you think you are doing negative work (as in getting slower and slower) it all adds up in the end to make you faster.  About two weeks ago I was struggling through a set of 5 300s, doing the first 2 on the 4:00 before falling back to the 4:10 for the last 3.  I was more than frustrated, I really couldn’t go any faster.  Last night for the last set of my week I went 10×300 on the 4:00, getting about 15 seconds rest for each and feeling really smooth and relaxed.  Swimming that pace for almost double the distance of an ITU swim has me excited…I know I still need to take a lot more time off, but it’s a leap in the right direction and I know I can crank it up a few notches come race time.

This whole week was made easier by knowing that on Saturday I’d get an entire day off of training to rest up and get ready for another solid week before coasting into Mazatlan.  Thursday I hit my only tough patch, Jordan and I were up in the mountains spending the night and I had to get my second swim in at the rec center (the only day I broke it into two swims, which I was regretting!).  I was hungry and the night before I had cooked up some of Mollie’s Mac n’ Cheese and the leftovers were beaconing.  Luckily, Jordan was driving and pulled up to the rec center and booted me out of the car.  4,500 yards later I was devouring the best mac n’ cheese of my life.  Thanks Mollie!

[BTW: Mollie was another teammate of mine at BU and now has a great blog devoted to 3 wonderful things: eating, running, and reading.  Check it out at eatrunread.blogspot.com...but not before a workout.]

Today one of my favorite training partners EVER paid a visit to good old Golden.  Erica and I both ran the 800m at BU.  It’s a lonely distance, we weren’t sprinters and we weren’t distance runners.  Most 800 runners come down from the mile or up from the 400, but we just ran the 8.  Erica is super speedy and she would crank out our 200 repeats, and I was more into the 400 and up repeats, so it worked perfectly.  Until I got mono, then she got mono, then I got injured, and she graduated.  Still though, when we were both “on” it was a beautiful thing, though those days were few and far between (much to the chagrin of our coach…whose patience I can now appreciate.  ..I once argued that it was silly for me to run more than 5 miles in training.  hahahaha!)

Erica, me (+ Marisa!) cheering on Jordan - Marathon Monday 2005. Yes, our shirts read "Jordan is my homeboy"

Erica and her boyfriend, Stephen, started Brooklyn Brew Shop last July and have had a lot of success in selling their compact brewing kits online and at markets in NYC.  They came out to Colorado on a business trip to tour around all of the state’s breweries. It was great to talk with them about the frustrations and triumphs of starting a new company and growing from the ground up.  Who would have thought selling skis and brewing kits could share so many similarities?  I had so much fun showing them our operation and swapping small business secrets and stories, it was sad to see them go and made me realize how much I miss running in an endless amount of 200m loops with her on BU’s indoor track.

It’s also looking like I’ll have a different former teammate from BU joining me in Colorado by mid-summer.  I won’t mention names until it’s official, but I will mention that she is one of the nastiest runners I know and though she doesn’t know it now, she’ll be joining me on Sunday long runs every week.  ;-)

The mystery runner logging some miles with me at Waterton Canyon last year.

Mazatlan is slowly but surely creeping up!  One month from today!  In the past week the excitement has increased tenfold, as I’ve perked up in training, and the whole team was together for Coach Sean’s wedding talking up their past Mazatlan experiences.  I love hearing about the race in past years, with huge breaks that smash apart the swim packs (perfecto!).  It should be good!

After the 1/2 marathon in Austin last month I was ra’ring to go again…I feel like I finally have the run figured out and it’s really coming together this winter.  Right after Austin I was scouting out other running races because I knew I could go faster.  Good thing Jordan talked some sense into me and reminded me there’s two other sports to train for!  That being said, my excitement with my run in Austin was understandable since my swim has been atrocious.  Then I got a new suit a few days ago and realized I have effectively been swimming in a velor jumpsuit for the past 2 months (my old suit was huge and baggy…ugh still so much to learn with this sport.  I’ve learned that if I’m not struggling to get the strap over my shoulder the suit is too big).  No wonder I was working hard and going no where.  Hopefully all of that resistance training will pay off!  =)  The Colorado winter has been kind to us and we’ve been out time trialing it up in Bear Creek Lake Park religiously every Saturday.  I’ve hardly been on the trainer, which means I’m loving riding right now.  That had to change today as we got some snow that will keep me grinding away in the garage over the weekend.

As usual, the winter training has been hard for me to get the hang of.  The volume and consistency are both in uncharted territory, and it’s hard for me to get used to never having any sharpness in my legs (or my brain!).  Luckily I have a good bunch of guys around (Jordan, Sean, and my teammates) to remind me that this is totally normal and eventually I will grow to accept it!  It’s definitely becoming easier to accept it with March approaching fast.  The light at the end of the tunnel!

Obviously I am excited to RACE in Mazatlan (a little redemption is in order), but I am equally excited to chill out afterward…surfboard under my arm during the day, margarita in hand at night =)

[I might be through my anti-triathlon blog phase.  This has been prompted by none other than the Canadian triathlon contingent who have the best blogs going and do a great job keeping it all in perspective even though they are superstars.  Specifically: Kirsten Sweetland, Lauren Campbell, Simon Whitfield]