Rest Day

I can't stand the idea of resting today, but that's what's on the schedule, so that's what I'm stickin' to. the weather is gorgeous and temps are in the 60's. Sun and fun outside and all I can do is think about riding or running outside. It's good though, because my body needs the rest. I woke up groggy and tired this morning which lets me know I'm not yet entirely over the travel. One more day of quality rest and I should be ready to resume normal training.

Today is also a day to take care of some work related stuff. It's great how much you can get done when you don't have a workout/workouts looming. Today will be productive in that regard.

Diet and nutrition also need to get back on track. I spent 10 days eating fabulously healthy food in Spain and I've really blown it since coming back. I'm gonna work hard to keep that a priority starting today.

Ride, 1 hour

Still shelled from the travel and trying to be too productive too soon. I think it would have served me well not to train for a couple days after the flight back and concentrate completely on recovery. As it is, my stomoach is getting better, but still a bit "iffy" at times, and I got a migrane for the first time in months today. Usually, getting a migrane for me is a sign of overextending myself and not resting enough. Tomorrow is a rest day so I'm sure things will start to come together by Tuesday.

On the ride today, I was absolutely amazed to see the results of the Spain trip. While I was still not quite 100% rested, the power I'm putting out on the bike is unreal. I was pushing bigger gears and going faster than I can ever remember. Just crazy...

I'm so excited about my training right now and getting ready to race. This is really going to be a great season and exciting new year!

Run, 30 mins

Not much of a training day today. My body is still readjusting to the travel and I'm feeling a little weak. I'm come to a conclusion: Travel when you're not used to it sucks. That's it, 'nuff said.

On the bright side, my foot is feeling near 100%. I think the only thing that needs to come around as far as it's concerned is my mental state. That is, it's most likely fully healed, only my natural reaction is to baby it and step gingerly as if it's still hurt. I'm sure that time will fix that, and before I know it I'll be running completely normal again. I'm also glad that I had such a big cycling focus this winter as a result of the foot. I think I would have probably tried to run way too much this winter and wound up with some larger issues.

I was planning on doing a little ride today, but as stomach is still acting funny I'm going to skip it. Tomorrow will be a different story. If I'm feeling good it's a green light, but if I feel even the slightest bit sick, I'll wait until next week to get back to some serious riding. Either way, the sun is shining, spring is around the corner, and I'm smiling. Not a bad way to be!

Rest

Didn't have much energy to train today. I've got A LOT on my mind lately, and that coupled with the fact that I ran harder and swam harder than I should have yesterday, made for quite a queesy feeling throughout the day. Travel, in itself, really takes a toll on the body. If it's not respected (i.e. if you're like me and go into "meathead toughguy" mode), it can come back to bite you in the arse.

My stomach is also presenting a bit of a problem lately. While in Spain it was a bit of an issue, and now that I'm back it continues to give me some distress. I imagine from all the travel and stress I'm turning myself inside out right now and that's the root of the problem. Hopefully taking it a bit easy this weekend will prove a remedy.

I'm planning on spinning easy tomorrow and perhaps doing a bit of an easy 3 hour ride on Sunday. After the training camp in the mountians I'm chomping at the bit to get out on the local roads. Either way, it'll have to wait until the body is ready to go. The last thing I want to do right now is make myself sick or overtrain. My eagerness in cases such as this one often presents itself as a liability rather than a strength. I'll have to keep my head on straight to avoid a misstep.

I was thinking today about the phrase "To die without scars." As I thought more and more about it, I realized, quite obviously, that it's not only about physical scars. Scars come emotionally, physically, financially, regretfully, etc. Each has it's own unique way of imprinting itself on the core of who you are. Decisions lead to scars. Whether physical, emotional, rational or irrational, decisions-good and bad-are the direct predesessor. What I'm getting at is that mistakes made by decisions leave scars, but build who we are. Being "made of scars" shows character. It proves that you're not afraid to take chances that in the end may leave you with a deep and fortunate understanding of who you really are. The last thing I want to do is go through life with a clean slate. I want to taste, feel, live, and breath decisions I make. I want them under my fingernails, in my hair, and on my clothes. With every move I make I want to feel alive. I want to bathe in it and accept it for what it is. Anything short of that is to cheat yourself of the short time you have to really live.

Run 1 hour, Swim with coach

Been very productive since arriving home. So far the only good thing about being back (besides seeing my parents and dog) is that I'm still on Spain time. So this morning I shot out of bed at 4am, unpacked my stuff, rebuilt and cleaned my bike, made coffee, and made a great breakfast. I'm in the middle of the day now and seeing clients until I break for the afternoon.

I ran an hour yesterday and felt fantastic. Very easy, just to let the legs out a bit, but good nonetheless. I'm going to run again this afternoon before my swim session with coach Kerry, but only for about 45 mins-again nice and easy. I'm sure I'm more tired than I think and I don't want to dig a hole that'll be tough to get out of once real training resumes again this weekend.

Also gotta look into Visas for a longer stay in Europe:) Hmm.....

Home

So I'm home and I'm bummed. It's amazing the impact one trip can have on your life. The people you meet; the places you go; the things you see; they all play such an incredible impact on what you think and how you percieve things. I know so much more now about myself and what I want from life. This trip has given me the courage to dig deeper and the desire to pursue my goals that much more.

Life's desicions are not something to take lightly, and at the same time something you need to put your heart behind. You only get one shot at this life and you can make of it what you want. You're only cheating yourself if you don't give it everything you've got. Being safe and doing what you "should do" as dictated by others is not always the way to go. I want to let it rip, follow my heart and work hard to create stories I can tell my grandchildren when all I can do is tell stories:).

This trip to Spain was so much more than just a training camp. Sure it was nice to travel, meet FANTASTIC people, and ride some of the most beautiful roads in the world, but more importantly, this trip poured the foundation for what I want from life. I guess sometimes you need to see what's on the "other side of the fence", so to speak:).

So anyway, with all that I'm home and I'm excited about what the next chapter of my life will hold. It's nice to see my folks and play with Lucky Dog, but there's a restlessness underneath it all-a good one:).

The pics are all from Spain. I was busy training most of the time so I didn't get too many. They're still awesome though! Oh, and Mark Cavendish was in front of that Columbia Highroad car. He was just too damned fast to get a pic of! :)

Last Day...I don't wanna go home!!!

Excellent time spent here in Spain! I can't believe it's over already. I've really had a chance to learn from some great pro "roadies" and triathletes-more than I could ever have imagined I would. Life is so simple when you're just training, eating, and recovering. I really can't wait to do this again!

I've also developed a profound respect for professional cyclists. The amount that they suffer and push themselves into the ground is phenomenal. It was a pleasure to be able to try and dig as deep as them this week.

Europe is amazing. I could really see myself being here in the long term. All of the people I met were great and the culture he is incredible. We're really cheated in a lot of ways being so isolated in the States. Don't get me wrong, I love America, but Europe has so much to offer and so many of the things I thought I knew about things here are much, much different than I expected, and in a very good way. I'm so sorry to leave this place and the people I've met behind, but there's no doubt in my mind that I'll be back in the near future.

As I've said in my previous posts about the camp, the terrain is amazing. Getting strong on the bike is not an option, it's just a result. I really don't think you can leave a place like this without seeing immediate results when you get home. I'm just happiest that I didn't completely burn myself out. I'm feeling strong and still in one piece which was my goal from the onset.

Tomorrow will be out last bit of training before heading for the airport for a late afternoon flight. After all the cycling these 10 days (and because my bike will be all packed up and ready to fly), I'm going to run a little. Most likely I'll cut it at the hour mark as my running has really not been consistent in the last 3-4 months because of my injury. Luckily, the weather is crap at home so I'll have plenty of time to get my running legs back when I return.:)

I know I promised pics and vids, but because of the bad internet connections (generally not a bad thing), I'll have to post them after I get home. I've got some cool pics and some other links to pics that were taken by others while we were here. There will be plenty to share I promise!!!