Lake Placid

Up in Lake Placid this weekend for Anne. Have to say that this place is amazing! We're actually staying in the next town over which affords us the opportunity to be "out of the spotlight" so to speak. It's not that being around triathletes is a bad thing, but when you're stuck in the middle of it, especially before such a big event, things tend to get overrun. If I had to see one more person in compression socks or with an Mdot tatoo on their calf I might puke! And I'm not even racing! Again, it's not that being a tri-geek is bad (because I certainly am one!), it's just that too much of anything is enough to make your scream!

As for me, I'm taking this time up here to train, but while slightly changing the pace of things a bit. I don't have a ton on my schedule, but I am taking advantage of the mountainbiking trails while I'm up here. I haven't had much of a chance to ride the trails this summer, and since it's one of my favorite things to do, I figured this weekend, with only about 4 hours of riding would be a great opportunity. I got the green light from my coach (provided I didn't do anything stupid!) so here I am.

Yesterday I was able to get out for about an hour and a half on some of the most technical trails I've ever ridden. Long, rocky ascents and descents-made slick from the recent rains-and tough switchbacks. With my 29er (and rusty skills from not riding all summer) it made for tough goings in the begining, but once I got into my rythm and found my confidence, riding was a lot more enjoyable. Today is a longer 3 hour ride that I'm looking to do on some trails near the Olympic Training Center. From what I've heard from the locals, they're a bit more tame, and mostly on the Cross Country ski trails used in the winter. While I definately love the technical rocky stuff, it'll be nice to do a long ride on some more wide open trails. The scenery is beautiful so I'll try and bring my camera to share some pics.

Back to the Ironman, I'm super excited to watch Anne race on Sunday. I have no doubt that she'll do great and I'm looking forward to running around the course all day finding places to scream encouragement at her!:) Yeah, I'm gonna be "that" guy!:) Also, I'm sure I'm probably going to find myself on the line Monday to sign up for this race for next year. In retrospect, I'd wish I'd signed up for this race last year instead of IM Louisville. I'm sure Louisville will be a blast, but seing the course here as well as the atmosphere, I'd have to say that doing this race is definitely a priority for me. A HUGE priority that is!

That's about all for now. I'm looking forward to getting out on the mountainbike today and then relaxing this evening and drinking some PBR:). Tomorrow is a swim and hour long run, followed by and hour and 45 minute run on Sunday while Anne is out on the bike. Good times!