Greenville cycling: Skyuka Mountain

What you need to know before climbing Skyuka Mountain

Distance: There are two ways to climb to the top of Skyuka. From Skyuka Mountain Road, the climb is 4.27 miles (to the scenic rock point, picture above). From White Oak Mountain Road, the climb is 4.06 miles.

Elevation gain: Start at 1061 feet and finish at 2883 feet (total gain = 1966 feet).

Grade: According to my Garmin, the average grade is ~8% (from both sides). There are several very pitchy segments that range from 11-17%. This is a nasty climb with no relief (recovery sections) from bottom to top.

Road condition: The road condition is poor. There are a few sections that have been paved, which is a real treat. You can expect cracks, bumps, debris, water, trees limbs and bumps as you are climbing and descending.

Scenery: This is a very peaceful climb with views of the mountains tucked beyond the trees. However, you likely won't be enjoying much of it as you'll be focused on the road ahead of you. There is a little bit of everything throughout this climb - waterfalls, a lake, mountains, trees, running water....it's nature at its finest.

Recommended bike/gearing: Road bike! Crazy enough, the first time we climbed Skyuka we were on our tri bikes. The road bike is better for this climb as the descend is extremely technical with fast sections going right into very tight switchbacks. You'll want your "easiest" climbing gears; Semi-compact crank. 52-34 chainset and11-30 (or 28) cassette. Disc brakes and electronic shifting will also make your climbing/descending experience a bit more enjoyable.

Descend: No matter which side you descend from, this is a very technical and dangerous descent. We've never taken any of our group camps (and only one private camper) on this climb for that reason. With the poor road conditions, debris on the road and fast descends going into back to back tight switchbacks, you definitely want to have great bike handling skills for descending when planning this climb.

Climb with a view? While it's our most technical and challenging climb and most dangerous descend, the view at the top makes it all worth it. You actually get two scenic points to enjoy - one on each side of the top of the mountain. The panoramic view is really is breathtaking. Just make sure to go on a clear day so you can really enjoy the view (we've climbed it in the winter and all we got at the top were clouds). On the White Oak Mountain side, you'll see a beautiful waterfall flowing from the mountain. On the Skyuka Road side, there is a lake near the top! Be sure to have your camera ready for this climb.

Traffic: There are several houses spread throughout the mountain, as well as some other lodging facilities. However, I've never found this climb to be busy with traffic - only a few cars may drive by (if any). Because the climb and descend is so technical, the cars are not traveling very fast (albeit, a little faster than what we can do on two wheels).

Difficulty: You've probably gotten the gist that this is a technical and extremely difficult climb with an incredible view. You'll need great fitness, endurance, strength and bike handling skills to feel comfortable and safe on this climb.

Honest feedback: We have never taken any of our group campers on this climb because it's not the best for tri bikes. We've actually only taken one private camper/athlete on this climb. The view at the top is incredible but it's a very challenging climb with a sketchy descend. Be safe and smart.

The 7-hour tour (Hogback Moutain, Skyuka Mountain x2, Saluda Grade, Green River Cove loop)
Date: 6/14/20
Road bike
Riding time: 7:06
Total Miles: 104
Total elevation: ~12,000 feet
Run off the bike: 21 min/2.5 miles/~300 feet

Greenville Cycling: Caesar's Head and Pretty Place

What you need to know before climbing Caesar's Head

Distance: The actual climb from Hwy 11 is 7.83miles.

Elevation gain: Start at 1078 feet and finish at 3228 feet (total gain = 2084 feet).

Grade: According to my Garmin, the average grade is ~5%. There is nothing crazy steep on the climb but there are two or three segments (right after a switchback) where the grade switches to over 8%. Around 5 miles into the climb, there is a short section that is "flat" - which provides a nice change and a great place to actively recover. It doesn't last long as within a few minutes, you are back climbing again.

Road condition: The road condition is ok but not great. There are several bumps and cracks. There are a few smoother sections that have been recently repaved, but it's more bumpy than smooth. While it's fine for climbing, there are some rough patches in the switchbacks - which requires excellent bike handling skills when descending on a switchback.

Scenery: The climb and descend is beautiful. Depending on the season and weather conditions, you'll be able to see different aspects of nature. You are tucked within the trees for most of the climb but as you get closer to the top, you can peak through the trees and see the rolling hills.

Recommended bike/gearing: Road bike or tri bike. We have taken many of our private and group endurance campers up (and down) Caesar's Head - they were all on tri bikes. While it's more fun on a road bike (especially the descend), the climb is very doable for a tri bike (but you will be in the base bars for nearly all of the climb). You'll want your climbing gears; Semi-compact crank. 52-34 chainset and11-30 (or 28) cassette.

Descend: The descend has a few tight switch backs and you can pick up a lot of speed with the longer stretches. The first few miles are a bit more technical, whereas the last few miles are more sweeping. This is one of those descends to know in advance as you'll gain confidence after doing it a few times.

Climb with a view? The view at the top is worth it - on a clear day. Caesar's Head is a well-known scenic point in our area. There's a viewing deck at the top with a beautiful view of Table Rock lake and the mountains. Be careful walking to the viewing deck as the walkway can get slippery with your cleats on (wood) and there is a boulder to walk down at the actually viewing deck.

Traffic: Depending on when you go, the road can get very busy with cars (ex. weekend, late morning). Since Dupont Forest is on the other side of Caesar's Head (popular for MTB and hiking), it can get rather busy with cars, as well as motorcycles, on the weekend and late morning during the week. There are some tighter sections that will require cars to wait until they pass you but there is also room for passing in the turns - with an extra lane for the tighter switchbacks.

Difficulty: I'd rank this as a moderately difficult climb - especially because it is a long climb. You can expect to be climbing for well over 45 minutes. You certainly need good endurance and fitness but if you have great fitness/endurance, you can ride this fairly comfortably and not feel gased at the top. For many, just getting to the top is a huge accomplishment. For most of our campers, they find it challenging but we've never had anyone struggle and not get to the top. There is another option to get to the top. You can climb the backside of Caesar's Head, starting from the North Carolina side. This "climb" is very gentle (~4 miles) and the road condition is much more smooth and no steep sections.

Honest feedback: This is one of our favorite climbs to "show off" when we have visitors (campers or friends in town). It's one of those climbs to check off your bucket list when you are wanting to climb in Greenville. There's even a natural watering hole to fill up your bottle around 2 miles to the top.

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What you need to know before climbing to Pretty Place

Distance: The actual climb from 276 (the descend after Caesar's Head) is 5.09 miles.

Elevation gain: Start at 2068 feet and finish at 3030 feet (total gain = 962 feet).

Grade: I'd call this flat with some rolling hills. There is one steeper section that feels extra steep because everything else is fairly flat or rolling. It's a very controlled climb where you don't really feel like you are climbing.

Road condition: The road condition is good. It's a very open country road with lots of land around you. A few bumps but overall smooth.

Scenery: Picture-taking worthy! It's called pretty place for a reason. It's actually an open-air sanctuary/chapel overlooking the rolling hills of Greenville.

Recommended bike/gearing: Road bike or tri bike. I combined this climb with Caesar's Head as you may as well see Pretty Place since you've already made your way to the top of Caesar's Head. Since you'll be doing this in the middle of a ride (there's no quick or easy way to get here without some climbing), you'll likely have your climbing gears on your bike: Semi-compact crank. 52-34 chainset and11-30 (or 28) cassette.

Descend: It actually feels like you are descending more than you are climbing on the way to Pretty Place and climbing more than descending after you leave Pretty Place. The road is a tight (yet peaceful) two-lane road so depending on traffic, you may need to be extra attentive.

Climb with a view? The view at the top is worth it. It's a well-known scenic point in our area. Make sure to check the website in advance as the chapel is often closed for events.

Traffic: Since it's a one-way in and out type of road (two-lane road), it may get busy. Cars are mostly patient but there isn't a lot of room for cars to pass if there is traffic in the opposite direction.

Difficulty: I'd rank this as an easy climb. However, your legs may be tired after climbing Caesar's head.

Honest feedback: This is another climb to check off your bucket list when you are wanting to climb around Greenville. If you can't bike to Pretty Place (or Caesar's Head), I suggest to drive to these scenic points to enjoy the view. 

Pictures taken on 6/12
Tri bike
Riding time: 5:31
Total Miles: 92.9
Total elevation: ~7900 feet
Run off the bike: 52 min/6.25 miles/~1025 feet
Swim before bike: 3100 meters

Appreciative of the long run

After a very tough 1:45 trainer session on Saturday morning, we ventured out to the Pretty Place Chapel so Karel and his mom could enjoy the beautiful view of the mountains. We then we went back to Triple Falls so they could see the covered bridge and high falls. The weather was a bit chilly compared to the last time we hiked but the trails were so quiet in the afternoon - it made for a peaceful afternoon in nature. We made a quick stop at the Flat Rock Bakery for some fresh bread (and a pepermint brownie - yumo) before heading back home. As always, Campy loved his afternoon adventure and slept the entire car ride home.

On Sunday morning I had my longest training run in a very long time. I still get a bit of apprehension and worry on the day/night before a run. But with a good amount of time spent warming up with strength/mobility before each run, I am gaining more confidence and trust with my body.

My run was not the typical "long run" of going out and running for 95 minutes straight but instead, it included a bit of EZ, hills, tempo, aerobic and intensity. Let's just say it had a bit of everything.

WU: 10 min EZ + 10 min aerobic

Pre set:
3x (15/30/45 sec strong hill running w/ an EZ jog down between)

MS:
30 min aerobic running (holding ~140 HR)

PS:
4 x 2 min tempo (strong) w/ 1 min EZ between

CD:
15 min aerobic running (holding ~140 HR)

While I did find myself "wishing" I was faster during the aerobic running, I had a little self-talk with myself and stopped my negativity and reminded myself how grateful and thankful I am to be running injury free (and feeling so strong and efficient while running).

At the end of the run, while driving to the airport to pick up an athlete who traveled to us for a bike fit + swim assessment, I reminded myself of a recent/timely blog post that I wrote on comparison.

It's often said that comparison is the thief of joy. In other words, social comparison is a big part of how we determine our own level of happiness.

If you find yourself in a daily competition with the achievements of others or a past version of yourself, it's time to direct your energy elsewhere. Start caring about the things and people in life that are meaningful and purposeful to you.

Life is filled with sadness, stress, pain, disappointments, insecurities, anxiety or depression. It doesn't matter who you are, life can be tough. However, this idea that life is far from perfect is far from the picture-perfect life that is often depicted on social media. While you may envy over someone's highlight real, you never know what the behind-the-scene moments look like.

I encourage you to have less comparison to others and more compassion toward yourself.

Although it is inspiring and motivating to see the success stories of others, do not let the triumphs of someone else trump your own personal accomplishments and achievements.

Time-based cycling training

After two weeks of training in Florida, it was nice to be back by the mountains.

On Saturday morning, a small group of friends joined Karel and I for a long ride, which included almost 90 minutes of intervals on a rolling hill loop near Caesar's head mountain.

Warm-up: ~45 minutes (ride to the start of the loop), constant rollers and a few short steep climbs

MS: 6 x 10 minutes at Z3 mid to upper (odd: heavy gear, slower than normal cadence. Even: high cadence, higher than normal cadence) w/ 4 min EZ in between.

Compared to the ride I did the previous Saturday in Florida (picture below) which included a short warm-up on flat roads, a 40-min TT effort on flat roads (drafting behind our friend Shawn and two other strong girls), a group ride (with about 30 riders) on flat roads, followed by a solo steady effort on flat roads (while the rain was falling) and then a cool-down in the pouring rain with puddles all over the ground (on flat roads), this is evidence that the miles just go by a lot slower here in Greenville as we live near the mountains and we ride near (and on) the mountains. 

And I'm ok with that.

At Trimarni, we are time-based, quality training coaches.

99% of our workouts for our athletes are based on time and not by miles/distance covered.

We realize that all races/events are based on distance (and not by who can cover the most distance in a certain amount of time) but we are more focused on what's going on within those miles (process driven) than the total distance covered (outcome focused).

It's very common for athletes to obsess about miles covered, often forcing athletes to cover more distance than they can tolerate due to poor form and fatigue which accumulates over time.

As you can see from my two rides (just 1 week apart), it sure does look like I am a slower athlete here in Greenville. 

But slow is all relative.

(And in all honesty, the route that we rode on Saturday was a fairly "fast" ride. Karel did his own intervals and averaged around 19mph! We typically average around 16.5-17mph when we ride outside and average around 1000 feet each hour. I also didn't show or tell you what my speed was during my main set so once again, it's all about what's happening within the workout not just the outcome).

For my first 2-3 years of endurance training, I was very obsessed with metrics. 

I didn't like the idea of stopping a run at 6.8  miles so I ran until it reached 7 miles. Same went for cycling. I would think, "why finish a ride at 37 miles when you can ride 3 more miles to get to 40."
40 miles sounds so much better than 37, right?

For swim workouts, I would often swim 100-400 more yards just to finish a workout at 3500 instead of 3100.

Or, I would often find myself counting my total weekly miles as if I had this magic number that I needed to reach to validate my fitness improvements or readiness to race.
As you can see from my ride on Saturay, I rode 59.58 miles. Not 60 miles.
I'm pretty sure I will still be prepared for Rev3 Knoxville in 7 weeks even though I didn't hit 60 miles.

Now, I can't even tell you how many miles I run as I rarely look at my watch (or the treadmill) for total distance covered.
When I swim or bike (and run), I stop when my workout when the main set is over and I cool down - that's when I am done.

Although my fitness, skills and endurance has improved considerably over the past 6+ years since I learned how to train smarter as an endurance triathlete, the terrain in Greenville has provided me with a completely new training stress which I absolutely love.

With this training stress comes a different mindset when it comes to bike and run training.

I invite you to consider time-based workouts instead of constantly chasing the miles when you run and bike.

Now you may be thinking that time-based training is not the way to go as your workouts need to be specific to your upcoming distance.

Well, this is a very old-school way of thinking (ex. that you must get in a 100 mile ride or 20 mile run in order to train for an Ironman) and we know that periodization and specificity within workouts can prepare an athlete for the upcoming demands of training.
Furthermore, if a proper warm-up, good economy, great skills, smart execution, great fueling/hydrating and excellent recovery habits are not enforced, the workout stress is not well-tolerated (and consistent training may be difficult to achieve).

Let's consider four types of athletes training for a half ironman distance triathlon.

Athlete A has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is a newer athlete and chooses to ride with a group for his long ride every Saturday. He accumulates 60 miles in 3 hours and 20 minutes.

Athlete B has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is a newer athlete and rides alone on flat terrain and it takes him 3 hours and 50 minutes to accumulate 60 miles. But on this day, it's not windy. When it's windy, it takes him 4 hours to accumulate 60 miles.

Athlete C has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is a newer athlete and rides alone on hilly terrain. It takes him 5 hours to accumulate 60 miles.

Athlete D has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is an advanced athlete and rides alone on hilly terrain. It takes him 4 hours to accumulate 60 miles.

Athlete E has a 60 mile ride on his schedule. He is an advanced athlete and rides alone on flat terrain. It takes hims 3 hours and 25 minutes to accumulate 60 miles.

Who's the fitter athlete? 

Who's the stronger athlete?

Which athlete will be most prepared for race day? 

Hopefully, you struggled to select the correct answer because so many factors come into play when it comes to preparing the body and mind for an upcoming race, especially as it relates to cycling.

In my next blog I will discuss a few helpful tips for getting the most out of your cycling training as you prepare for your upcoming endurance event. 

If you are interested in training with us in Greenville to improve your cycling skills, explore our amazing bike-friendly roads and to enjoy our beautiful mountain views, contact us on our website to inquire about one-on-one training and your own personal private "training camp" experience in Greenville. We offer a variety of private camps from 1-3 days, covering all three disciplines - swim, bike and run. We can make your personalized camp as specific as you need based on your individual strengths and weaknesses.

Brrrrr - weekend training

It's always fun for us to have a friend in town. We absolutely love Greenville and it's special to be able to show off our beautiful area to an out-of-towner.
But when a friend has a similar love for endurance training, it makes for a jam-packed few days, filled with lots of miles, laughs and food.

Not complaining. 

After our friend Lauren and her doggy Jordan arrived from Jacksonville, FL, I made a delicious dinner of lentil soup, roasted potatoes, mixed greens with tzatziki sauce, corn on the cob and protein (tempeh for me, chicken for Karel and Lauren). Dinner was amazing.

Then it was off to watch the documentary Bikes vs Cars at the movie theater, hosted by Bike Walk Greenville

After moving from Jacksonville, FL to Greenville, SC, I can honestly say that I love where we live now....in a very bike friendly community.

 However, after watching the Bikes vs Cars documentary, although it is evident that we are lucky to have so many cycling options as to where to ride (and not to mention the fact that cyclist are respected by cars when asked to share the road), it is acknowledged that we can continue to improve the safety, road conditions, accessibility and awareness for cycling in and around the Greenville community. 

With a large crowd in attendance for the viewing of the documentary (200+ individuals), it is obvious that many people in the community are invested in building an even more bike friendly community.
I'm incredibly thankful for the Bike Walk team for all that they are doing for Greenville, all in an effort to make Greenville a safer, more active and more environmentally healthy community.

After a good night sleep on Thursday evening, it was time to start the training fun with Lauren. 

I woke up at my normal time, 5:45am to get started on some work for the day while waking up my system with water, a cup of coffee and a waffle w/ PB, honey and banana slices (this has been my typical pre-training snack lately).
Around 7;15am, we drove to Furman for our morning swim, which totaled around 4000 yards.

MS:
6 x 100's 85% w/ 3-5 sec rest
400 snorkel, band, buoy, 1 min rest
8 x 75's at 85%, 3-5 sec rest
400 snorkel at 80%, 1 min rest
12 x 50's 90% w/ 3-5 sec rest
500 best effort

Whew. That was exhausting. Time to refuel!

I made scrambled eggs with mixed greens and a little cheese and served that with fresh bread (with an assortment of toppings - jam, honey, butter, nut butter). We also had orange and banana slices.

After letting our breakfast digest for 2 hours, we were about to change into our cycling clothes in anticipation for an outside 2 hour ride. 

Well, mother nature had other plans for us. 

SNOW!!!

So we changed the plans and rode inside for a mid-day trainer ride in our "pain cave."
MS: 4 x 12 minutes w/ 3 min EZ in between
(3 min Z2, 90+ rpm, 1 min Z3+, 65 or less rpm. x 3)

After the trainer ride, it was time to eat....again.
I had a quick glass of milk while preparing lunch and before showering.

I made a large salad with side toppings: chicken, cottage cheese, jasmine rice, quinoa, cheese.
Although a salad wouldn't be my go-to recovery meal, it was nearing 2pm and I was in need of some veggies. Plus, since we went into the bike trainer workout well-fueled, I wasn't too worried about our bodies being completely drained after a 2 hour trainer workout as the workout had a strength endurance focus and it wasn't intense or exhausting.

I was able to get some work done in the afternoon for a few hours and made a quick stop at the grocery store for some food for the weekend. I knew that we would eat the best if food was ready for after our weekend workouts.

We headed to downtown Greenville on Friday evening for dinner and yummed over a delicious dinner from Chicora Alley.
I had the tofu burger which is a marinated slab of tofu on a warm pita, spread with bean hummus.
So good! 

Although the weather was very chilly on Saturday, we were determined to enjoy the Greenville mountains with Lauren. We waited until it warmed-up to the 30's to start the ride so that meant not riding until around 11:30am. 

After waking up without an alarm, around 7am, we felt well rested for an exciting day of exploring.
After a small pre-workout snack (1/2 banana w/ a little smear of PB), we headed out around 8:30am for a 4-mile very easy, conversational pace run around our neighborhood (which is very hilly).
After the run, it was time for a pre-workout meal of eggs, fresh bread and fruit (and some toppings like PB, cheese, butter, etc.). Although the meal was larger than what I would have normally before a long ride, it was very needed considering that we would be out on our bikes all afternoon and our next meal wouldn't come until the evening. 

After letting the meal digest for 2 hours, we bundled up for our ride in 34 degree temps. The sun was shinning which made it much more tolerable. 

We said a quick hello to Mr. Lama and then it was off to Caesar's Head.

Although climbing for 6.5 miles seemed like a great idea while it was happening (as we really warmed up), after taking pictures, we got really cold. Like really, really, really cold.

After a very painfully cold descend, it took a good 20 more minutes of riding to get slightly warm(ish) again.

90 minutes later, we were home after almost 4 hours of riding.

But as cold as we were descending, the views on top of Caesar's head were worth it.
Especially when we could look at our pictures when were nice and warm, sitting by our fire, at home. 

Thanks Clif Bar for fueling our workouts. The mint chocolate bar along with a few Clif gels and water were amazing throughout my ride! 

After the ride, we stuck with our plan to order out at one of my favorite restaurants in Traveler's Rest - Upcounty Provisions. We invited our good friends, Meredith and Lukas over (and their kiddos) and we all enjoyed dinner together (and my mom came over too). It was nice to yum with everyone and not have to go out to eat as we were still warming up from our ride.

Campy was clearly exhausted.
Or drunk.

After an early bedtime, we once again woke-up without an alarm and made it to 7:15am for a great night of sleep. 

After a pre-workout snack of waffle, w/ PB, honey and banana, water and coffee for me, we headed out for a "long" run around 8:45am.

We ran one of my favorite running loops which had no shortage of hills and climbs and great views. It was a great run to share with Lauren and Karel. 9.37 miles later we were home...and with not a peek of the sun, we were still a bit chilly as the temps out were around 23-27 degrees. 

After we came back, Karel was done for the morning and Lauren and I jumped on the trainer for one last bike workout. I only rode an hour and Lauren rode 1 hr and 45 minutes.

Bike trainer workout: 

15 min EZ
Pre set; 4 x 5 minutes Z1/Z2, highest sustainable cadence (~104-108 for me)
4 min EZ
MS: 6xs:
1.5 min build cadence and power from Z2-Z3, 80-100 rpm cadence.
30 sec EZ

Cool down

After our run/bike workout, it was time to eat. Karel made us crepes while we were on the bike trainers so it was nice to walk down to a nice smelling kitchen.
I had Greek yogurt and fruit w/ PB and cacao nib slathered crepes (with cinnamon).

After chillaxing a bit on the couch (while doing work on the computer) and watched Campy destroy his new Valentine's gift (nothing says I love you like ripping the arms and tail off a new bear), around 3pm we headed to the Furman pool for one last workout for the day. 

Swim workout: (2500 yards total)
MS:
2 x 25's
3 x 50's
4 x 75's

5 x 100's
4 x 75's
3 x 50's
2 x 25's
(all with buoy and paddle, 70-75% effort)

As much as I was not excited to swim, it felt good to move through the water with this recovery workout.

After the swim, it was time for grilled pizza. Seeing that I had this meal planned since Friday, I was so excited to get this pizza in my belly, all weekend long!

A big thank you to Karel for standing outside in the freezing cold to grill the homemade individual pizzas. 

Although there wasn't a lot of time to rest and relax, we did watch the Marathon Olympic Trials (DVR'd on Sat) and the indoor track championship on Sun (DVR'd).

As if that wasn't enough training over three days, we managed to have good energy for a 3800 yard swim this morning:

MS:
4 x 50's  kick with fins
200 swim with fins
4 x 50's buoy
300 buoy/snorkel/paddles
4 x 50's buoy/paddles
400 negative split
4 x 50's buoy recovery

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It's a beautiful thing when motivation can stay high with training partners.
Anytime that you ask/want your body to train a lot, train intensely or train at different hours of the day (or two-a-days) you can not neglect proper hydration and fueling (before/during/after workouts).
You can be extremely dedicated to training but if you don't fuel, your body will not reach its full potential.

To think about this another way, wouldn't you like to receive favorable athletic results by doing less work?

Just because a workout is on your schedule, don't assume that just because you check it off your plan for the day that you will gain anything from it.
Proper fueling, hydrating, mobility, sleep, recovery and daily nutrition are essential to maximizing your fitness while helping to keep your body in great health.

Boulder train-cation: day 7 and 8

On Sunday morning, Karel and I drove down to the park and headed out for a 40 minute run before getting on our bikes with Adam and Bill to cycle to Golden, CO to watch stage 7 of the USA Pro cycling challenge. 

I was really looking forward to this ride but after the run, my body was feeling incredibly tired (I wonder why!). Adam, Karel and Bill (the rest of our group drove their bikes to Golden) were riding from Boulder to Golden on semi busy roads (to get out of Boulder) and I was just not comfortable on those roads.

So after about 30 minutes of riding, I decided to head back to the car. It was a bummer to not continue on and join the guys to climb Lookout mountain to watch the tour but my body had enough.....and when I got back to the cabin I just laid on the couch (and watched the race on NBC) for a few hours.

But Karel had a lot of fun and he felt strong riding. I was happy for him. It's great in our athlete-relationship that if one of us has an off day, we can still be happy for the other person who is having a better day.

As the guys were riding to Golden, they linked up with professional cyclist Lucas Euser from United Healthcare. Karel was really excited to ride with Lucas and he said it made the rest of the ride go by really fast.

Karel really enjoyed the climb up Lookout mountain...and after the crowds dissapeared after the pro race went by, Karel enjoyed flying down the descend. 

Here are a few of Karel's pictures from Lookout Mountain while watching the last stage of the Pro cycling challenge. 

Hey - I know these guys! 

Around 4pm, I received a text from Karel to pick him up in the park parking lot so I made my way down the mountain to give Karel a lift so he didn't have to bike up Sunshine Canyon. 

Karel rode back by himself and finished with 4 hours and a little over 70 miles. 

After the group cleaned up, it was time to head downtown for our last dinner together. 

We went to The Med - which was amazing!!!! 

We ordered a few appetizers and ate A LOT of bread (oh so good!) and then it was time for our entrees. 

Karel ordered the chicken Kabobs.  

I ordered the Spinaci - this HIT the spot in my belly!!!

It was a late night on Sunday night but the guys wanted to watch the end of the USA Pro cycling challenge on NBC sports and there was a lot of laughing and chatting going on as well. 

On Monday morning, our group got up early to head to the airport and Karel and I took our time as we had to be out of the cabin by 10am. 

I felt a bit better on Monday morning (compared to Sunday...pizza always does the trick!) so I went for a run...my last workout of our 7-day train-cation. 

5.5 miles at 8,000 feet on top Sunshine Canyon. 

After we loaded up the car, it was time....time for a cinnamon roll!!
I've enjoyed a fresh cinnamon roll a few times this summer (last time after placing overall female amateur at Challenge Williamsburg) and after doing more training within 7-days than I have ever done in my life.....this cinnamon roll from Breadworks tasted amazing!!

As for the rest of our last day in Boulder...

Now that we are out of the cabin, we are enjoying some relaxing. There will be a little shopping, a little more eating and then early to bed before we head back to Greenville to reunite with our furry family (who is currently being spoiled by "grandma"). 

Thanks for following along during our train-cation!!!

Next up...a VERY important race-cation. 

5 weeks from tomorrow we head to Kona, Hawaii for the 2015 IM World Championship on October 10th!!!

Boulder train-cation: day 6

After 4 days of climbing, descending and doing more climbing and descending, we were seeking a "flatter" ride to open-up our legs. We reached out to our friend Laura (who is also training for Kona) who lives in Boulder to see if we could link-up with her for her long ride. She was happy to have us tag along and we were happy to have such a great (and strong) tour-guide. 

The ride was exactly what we needed. Flat with a few rolling hills and one climb to see Carter Lake.....every train-cation ride should include a beautiful view after a climb. 

It was super windy with a lot of headwind and cross wind. Perfect Kona training!!

Karel and I have not trained on flat roads in over 1.5 years so it felt so great to settle into a rhythm and steady cadence.

And when I say great, it was far from easy as I was sitting on Karel's wheel...and he was feeling really good...and riding super strong. 

We finished with 70 miles in around 3.5 hours which made for one fast ride in very windy conditions. 

Thanks Laura for the ride! See you in Kona in a little over a month!

Karel and I quickly made our way back to the cabin (we parked at Centennial Park Trailhead), changed, had a recovery drink and made a to-go meal and we all boarded our van to head to Ft. Collins to watch stage 6 of USA Pro cycling challenge.

It took us a bit longer than planned due to a lot of traffic and road closures but we finally made it to the race venue in time to see the women's finish.

While our group got beers and food at a local restaurant, Karel and I met up with Eric, a Clif Bar contact and he provided us with two VIP passes. Thanks Clif Bar!!!!

Karel enjoyed a beer...or three and we both enjoyed some yummy catered food. 

We met up with our friend again to walk around the "expo" area and then Karel and I made our way back into the VIP area to get our spot as close as possible to the finish. 

The set-up for the stage was incredible - there were big screen projectors everywhere with the commentators pumping-up the crowd. There was a water station to ensure that everyone stayed well-hydrated and in the VIP area, there were several TVs showing live footage. 

I have become quite the professional cycling fan thanks to Karel and prior to his triathlon journey in 2012, I spent many weekends on the sidelines cheering for him at his cat 1 cycling races. 

It was so much fun to share this experience with Karel and the best part.....Roman Kreuziger, a czech cyclist, won the race! 

After the race, we went to the team bus area which was really cool to see the athletes and be so close to the team cars and buses. 

Karel and Taylor Phinney (stage 1 winner).

After waiting around for a while, Karel finally got a picture with Roman. We then made our way back to Boulder after a fun day of cycling and watching cycling.

What a special day for Karel...and go Czech!!! 

                                         

Boulder Train-cation: day 5

Day five of our train-cation included a little cycling and a lot of running.

Karel and I started our morning around 8:00am with a 24 minute run, starting from the park at the base of Sunshine Canyon. We ran down 4th street and made a big loop that included a lot of up and downhills. 

We kept the effort super easy since we had two more workouts on the daily to-do schedule. 

Our friends from our cabin cycled down to the park and we all started our ride toward Flagstaff Trailhead.

The climb to our look-out point was around 3 miles. It included several switchbacks but nothing too steep (except for at the beginning of the climb). It was an absolutely beautiful climb as you could see all of Boulder during the climb. When we got to the top, we enjoyed the view and then it was time to make the descend back to Boulder. 

Karel and I rode back to our car at the park on the base of Sunshine Canyon and the guys continued on with their ride. Karel and I ended up with a little over 1 hour of riding and 1500 feet of climbing. 

We put on our run gear and off we went for our first long run in Boulder. 

We choose a new path, the Boulder Creek Path, which was another amazing trail/road running route. 

Karel and I started the run together with a 40-minute EZ, slower than Ironman-effort pace. Karel ran with a 4-bottle flask and I ran with two bottles. I always tell my athletes to never ration their hydration and to drink frequently during runs but I didn't take my own advice on this run. I didn't realize how far I was running before we ended up at our turn-around and after quickly going through 1 x 10 ounce flask with 80 calories of Clif hydration, I found myself needing to ration my other 10 ounce flask (with Clif hydration) to make it back to a water fountain. 

Karel and I ran a bit up 4-mile canyon before making our turn around. Our next set in our long run main set was 30 minutes at IM effort...then 20 minutes faster than IM effort. 

I really enjoyed the trail and all of the beautiful sights during our run but the way out to our turn-around was tough because it was slightly uphill. I managed to stay with Karel for another 1.5 miles before I let him go to continue on with the set and I choose to run/stop and take pictures and to make sure I didn't risk a health issue by running with so little hydration/calories. 

I enjoyed my stop breaks while still managing to hold sub 8-minute miles on the trail and when I got to a water stop, I decided to just run EZ as the last few miles were not ideal with so little nutrition/hydration. 

I met up with Karel after around 90 minutes of running and we both jogged easily back to the car. 

Here are a few pics from the run:

Karel ended up with 1 hour and 50 minutes of running and I finished with 1:40. Added to our 24 minute run before the bike, we both were exhausted...but in a good way.
The altitude still has an effect on how were are training but we are happy with how we are performing and recovering. But above all, we are having a lot of fun and really enjoying this train-cation. 

On our drive up to our cabin, we made a stop to say hello to a few furry friends that we spotted on the side of the road. I wonder what Mr. Lama would think of all of these friends? 

After a bit of recovery (food, hydration and rest), we all headed out to Avery Brewing for a well-needed post-workout meal. 

You better believe that our group enjoyed this beer list. Karel got two different IPA's and a brisket sandwich with a side of roasted carrots. 

I ordered the veggie tacos - which was amazing!!

This train-cation has been so much fun for me and Karel but even more so, to enjoy food, training, fun and laughs with our friends. 

Our friends/athletes, Kristen and Trent also joined us (we stayed at their house for the first 3 days of our trip - and I love their three furry children). 

After hanging out at the brewery for a bit (what a great vibe!), it was time for Sweet Cow ice cream. 

Karel got the dutch chocolate and berry sorbet and I got the oatmeal cookie and chocolate covered pretzel. 

So good!!!

When we got back to the cabin, I did my daily blogging on my little outdoor table and we enjoyed the cooler air outside before it was time for bed. 

Stay tuned for day 6 of our train-cation. A long, windy, flat ride followed by watching stage 6 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Fort Collins. 

Thanks for following along! 

Boulder train-cation: day 4

Thursday was our big ride day. And by big, I mean BIG! 

Karel and I thought it would be "fun" to finish our ride with a climb back to our cabin on top Sunshine Canyon.....the 6.5 mile descend was a lot of fun to start but it was a little reminder of what's to come at the end of our ride. 

Staying on top of Sunshine Canyon has been a treat for every ride that we do, we start and finish at Centennial Park Trailhead and the drive up and down is absolutely beautiful. 

Thankfully, my descending skills have improved greatly since moving to Greenville so I have felt really confident going down the mountains (but nowhere near Karel's descending skills).  

We waited a few minutes for our friends to get ready and then we were off to Old Stage road to start our ride. 

The ride through Left Hand Canyon was absolutely beautiful. Tall rocky mountains and a flowing creek to the side of the road. 

A few of the guys went a different route and then heading up to Ward and Karel, Adam Baskin and Chris and I started our long climb up to Ward.

The climb was steady. It wasn't steep but it wasn't flat. It kinda felt like a false flat for a good 8 miles or so and then it kicked up before the final push to the town of Ward. 

I found myself settling into a rhythm with the guys and I was able to hang for a mile....and then another mile..and then another mile. 

The guys were averaging around 10-13mph so I did the simple math and I guesstimated that this 10.5 mile climb would take us/them around an hour-ish.

I told myself, one hour of suffering was on the table and I was up for the challenge. The effort was steady but the lack of oxygen was definitely the biggest limiter for me. 

There were several times when I was uncomfortably breathing but I told myself to just hang on. I was constantly playing games with myself (mentally) and just convincing myself that I was ok...when clearly, by my breathing, I was not comfortable.
But, I was hanging on and was determined to make it until I couldn't make it anymore.

I kept an eye on my Garmin 810 and when we were getting close to 50 minutes, I could feel the road pitch-up and I was really having trouble staying on Karel and Adam's wheel (Chris had dropped back around 9 miles into the climb).

I let the guys go but I could still see them in sight and before I knew it, I was at the general store in Ward and I could finally rest my legs on the ground. 

Holy cow. I couldn't believe I just did that. 

Out of everything in the store, a pop-tart sounded the best...and for some reason, it tasted amazing. 

Karel was so proud of me...it took me a bit to gather myself but I finally pulled myself together.

We took a quick bathroom stop....

  

Chilaxed a little in Ward...

And then it was time to climb some more. 

After our stop, we had 5 more miles of climbing and we finally got our reward.....

Brainard Lake.

10,300 elevation. 

And we got a few pictures to prove it! 

What an amazing experience. Here are the stats:
From the bottom of Left Hand Canyon to the Lake: 19 miles, 5400 feet of climbing,
1 hour and 32 minutes of climbing

And what goes up...must come down. Weeeeeeee. 31 miles of descending (with a few rollers).
It took Karel 1 hour and 11 minutes to descend 31 miles.

The wind was a bit sketchy at times as we were descending to the town of Nederland  but the roads were open and the views were breathtaking. 

After we re-grouped before the descent into the town, Karel and I went ahead so that we could get a head start since we had one last climb back to our cabin (the guys had the van parked at the park).

The descend into Boulder was unreal - big rocky mountains.
I just love being on my bike....and being so close to nature. 

I forced myself to keep a positive attitude for our 6.5 mile climb back to the cabin on Sunshine Canyon road but I could tell that my body was tired.
2200 feet of climbing in 6.92 miles and in barely under an hour later, Karel and I were finally done with our BIG ride. 

Just a snapshot of our ride.
Total elevation gain: 13,000!!!
And boy, did we feel it! The scenery is amazing here but I can't wait to get back to my oxygen in Greenville, SC next week! 

After a recovery snack and recovery meal, Karel and I rested as the guys headed to Pearl Street Mall and around 5pm, Karel and I found some energy to get to downtown for some food. 

What a great group!

Karel and I ate at the same restaurant where the guys ate an hour earlier. We all ended up at The Lazy Dog.

I got the hummus plate with a Caesar Salad  and Karel yummed over wings and a local IPA. 

What an amazing day on two wheels. I was so proud of my body and I didn't once forget how far I have come with my cycling skills and my love for riding my bike. 

Stay tuned for day 5 of our train-cation. 50 days until the 2015 IM World Championship and the fun continues with a 3+ hour run/bike/run workout for me and Karel. 

Boulder train-cation: day 3

By Wednesday, Karel and I started to feel more normal with the altitude - although we are both struggling with a bit of altitude insomnia where we struggle to fall asleep and we wake up at least twice throughout the night. 

We have been waking up (without an alarm) around 6:00-6:15am and enjoying the fresh, dry air outside. 

It's been a long time coming since Karel injured his foot in May but, with the help of an amazing PT Kent, Karel is finally back running again. He is up to 14 minute run, 30 sec walk. 

With us staying just 3/4 mile from Wonderland Trailhead, it's so convenient (and beautiful) to run on the trails out there so around 7:30am, we headed out for a 1 hour run.

Karel and I started together while warming up and then after a short break, it was time to get to business. With Karel doing a lot of strength work for his foot and keeping his cardio strong with swimming/cycling, Karel certainly did not slow much over the past 3 months. I tried hard to keep up with Karel as we were running between 7;15-7:45 min/miles for a good 4 miles...up and down the trails. It was a lot of fun and great to enjoy the scenery with Karel. 

After our run, we had breakfast #2 (and a Clif recovery drink) and we rested for an hour before we headed to Scott Carpenter Pool for a 11am long course meter swim.
Our friend/athlete Kristen joined us which was great for us all to workout together. 

We had a tough Kona-prep swim!
400 warm-up
Pre-set (with buoy/paddles): 100, 200, 300, 400 (increasing effort from 75-85%)

MS 2x's:
8 x 100's w/ 10 sec rest @ 90% effort
400 Ironman effort
1 min rest, then repeat MS one more time

Total: 3800 meters

After the swim (workout #2), we were in need of some carbs so off we went to Breadworks to cure our bread cravings. 

Karel got a chicken panini, 3 pastries and a loaf of bread and I got a salty pretzel. YUM!

After our post-workout meal/lunch, we packed up at Kristen's  house and it was time to start part II of our vacation with our Gearlink friends. 

Around 3pm, we made our 6.5 mile trip up Sunshine Canyon to see where we would be staying with our friends.
For the next 5 days, we will stay around 8000 feet up the mountain in this beautiful cabin. 

Our friends just flew in from Clearwater and they were anxious to ride so around 4pm, Karel and I loaded up our car for workout #3. 

We parked at Centennial Park Trailhead (at the base of Sunshine Canyon) and got on our bikes and made our  way to Old Stage Road and then up, and up, and up Lee Hill.
It was a tough ride but beautiful and a lot of fun to ride with our friends.

Although Karel would be in cycling heaven with his road bike (bombing the descends), we both have our triathlon bikes since we are less than 8 weeks out from the IM World Championship and our tri bikes are our primary bikes to train on (lots of muscle memory). 

It was nearing 7pm when we arrived to dinner and we were all ready for food!
We ate at BackCounty Pizza and the food was amazing (although  after 3 workouts for me and Karel, we probably could have eaten pizza at the gas station and said it was amazing too :) 

                             

I got the Nediterranean veggie burger and french fries and the guys got beer and pizza. I know - I passed on pizza but I needed something heavy in my gut and a burger did the trick! 

I proudly cleaned my plate!

We then made our way to Safeway to shop for groceries for the cabin and by 9:30pm, we were back in the cabin with the groceries unloaded and time to relax before bed. 

Stay tuned for the recap of our long, hard, beautiful Thursday ride. 

Boulder train-cation: day 2

On Tuesday morning, we left our house (off Broadway) around 7:30am with my friend, Katie,

to ride for 2.5 hours. Karel and I were excited for our first ride in Boulder.
The ride started on Broadway and then we turned left on to Lee Hill which took us to Old Stage Road. We had a bit of a kicker of a climb for the first few miles and then a nice descend to catch our breath. As for the rest of the ride, it was beautiful and Karel and I really welcomed the many miles of flat roads. We did a big loop and finished back at our house where we are staying.
Because our ride didn't include a lot of climbing, Karel and I really enjoyed being able to settle into a rhythm. We haven't ridden on flat roads in over a year (since moving to Greenville) so our route was a great treat!
Here are a few pics from our ride. Katie took us by all the Boulder triathlon "hot spots". 

After the ride, I went for a 40-minute transition run to and around Wonderland Lake Trailhead. My run called for 40 minutes at IM effort and it felt good to run strong off the bike, even at altitude. I was much more comfortable running today at altitude on Tuesday versus running on Monday. 

After my workout, it was time to eat and then after a short rest, it was time to head to the Training Peaks Headquarters. Here are a few behind-the-scene pics inside Training Peaks. 

The Pain Cave!

After our visit (and chat) with our friends at Training Peaks, Karel and I headed near Pearl Street to do some walking around. 

Karel has a shirt from Endurance Conspiracy  and wanted to visit the Boulder store so we visited the store and bought two shirts. 

I didn't buy this tank but I thought the triathletes would appreciate this top. 

Love my new cycling shirt. 

Karel's new shirt. I don't think he can have too many cycling shirts. 

We visited a coffee shop that happened to have huge loaves of bread...and pretzels! 

After our busy day, we headed back home, ate a late lunch and watched the next stage of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge on Universal Sports. 

I spent the rest of the evening laying around with my furry friend (shhh...Rosie isn't allowed on the couch but we didn't tell her owners who were away at work) and Karel went for an early evening run. 

After dinner-in, we watched the 2014 Ironman World Championship (previously recorded) for a little inspiration as to why we are here having fun and training hard. 

Thanks for following along...stay tuned for day 3 of our train-cation....3 workouts (run, swim, bike) and a full day of training in Boulder, CO. 

Boulder Train-Cation - day 1

Day 1 in Boulder started with a 50-minute run through Wonderland Lake Trailhead.

With this being my first workout in Boulder, I just went by feel to make sure I didn't overdo it with the altitude of ~5400 feet above sea level. 

We are staying at our athlete's house which is just a mile from the trailhead so it was the perfect warm-up before an absolutely wonderful, beautiful run. 

The altitude wasn't too much of an issue but I certainly didn't push it during my run. I did notice that for the same RPE, I was running 30-60 sec per min/mile slower which was just fine by me. I really enjoyed the ups and downs on the trail and if you know me, you know I just love running on hills and trails so this was a very welcomed run. I included a few more frequent walks if I felt short of breath just to make sure that my aerobic run didn't turn into an anaerobic run (regardless of the pace). 

I had 2 x 10 ounce flasks during my run in my Nathan hydration belt - one with water and the other with Clif Hydration. 

Here are a few pics from my run. 

After the run, I had breakfast #2 which consisted of homemade banana bread (thanks Kristen!) and a glass of milk. I didn't want to eat too much as I only had an hour or so before our morning swim at RallySport Boulder. 

An outdoor pool with a view....yes please!!!

My friend Katie invited Karel and I to join her at her masters swim at Rally Sport at 10:30am. 

Did I mention that the swim was coached by Professional triathlete Julie Dibens?

Here's the workout (if I remember correctly):

800 warm-up (150 free, 50 non free)

10 x 100's (first 4, moving 25 of kick, the rest free. Last 6, 3x100 of the first 25 of each 100 being IM order, then freestyle for 75. The repeat). 

600 buoy (300 build, 300 steady/strong)

6 x 100's (25 fast, 75 EZ)

6 x 100's strong

400 paddles/buoy

8 x 25's (15 yards fast, then EZ, 20 yards fast, then EZ, 25 yards fast, then EZ, last 25 EZ. the repeat)

100 cool down

4200 yards total

Once again, the altitude was a factor in that the effort felt a little harder than what we were doing but after around 35-40 minutes of our 1:15 masters workout we felt more normal. 

And since Karel and I have been swimming long course meters all summer, it was fun to swim short course...outside!

Thanks Julie and Katie for welcoming us to Boulder with a great workout! 

After our swim, it was time for lunch. 

Katie took us to Modmarket. Karel got the Wintergreen salad and chicken sandwhich and I got the Superfood salad with tofu. The menu had so many great selections! 

After lunch, Karel and I did some grocery shopping after a little walking around Pearl Street and stopped by Vecchios.

I suppose you can call this a bike shop but for Karel, this was a bike museum filled with all things cycling memorabilia. 

Now you may be thinking that we didn't have a lot of carbs after our swim. Oh don't you worry. We made up for that at Bread Works.

If a place has BREAD in the name, I'm pretty sure we will walk out with something in our hands..or in our belly. 

After a busy day, we had a little furry company while watching Stage 1 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. What an amazing performance by Taylor Phinney! 

As for the rest of the evening, Karel went for a short run in the evening and I took a walk with our athlete/friend Kristen and then we stayed-in for dinner. 

Boulder, CO Train-Cation - travel day

After a challenging 4:15 hr workout on Saturday morning (3:15 interval ride + 1 hour descending pace interval brick run), the rest of the day was devoted to packing, cleaning and preparing for our 9-day trip to Boulder, CO.
Yay - a train-cation!! 

Although Boulder is claimed (for great reason) to be a great place to train if you are a triathlete, especially for us being less than 8 weeks til the IM World Championship, we actually put together this trip a year ago thanks to our Gearlink cycling friends in the Tampa Bay area who have been coming out to CO for the past few years to watch the US Pro Cycling Challenge  and to ride in the mountains of Boulder, CO.

Back in 2006, a few of the Gearlink cycling team members wanted to set-up me and Karel as two single athletes and our first "date" was a group ride on my b-day (5/31).
Since then, we have remained close to several of the Gearlink members who continue to train and race bikes. 

When Karel and I were dating in 2007, we took a trip to Dahlonega, GA to watch the Tour of Georgia and ride our bikes in the mountains. 

This picture was taken just over one year of dating.
Who knew our love of mountains would only get stronger, just like our relationship.
My cycling skills were oh-so-not-good back then. Thank goodness I married a cat 1 cyclist and expert bike mechanic. 

The GA trip was only my second training trip to the mountains (the first one was when Karel and I went to Lake Tahoe to visit my grandpa and we rode our bikes around the entire Lake Tahoe) and since then, Karel and I have wanted to take another trip with our cycling friends to the mountains.
The past few years did not provide us with the opportunity to travel for a train-cation so last year as we were putting together our 2015 race schedule, we decided that this would be the year when we would make the trip out to CO. 

This is Karel's first trip to CO and my first time really seeing Boulder, CO. I have been to several places in CO (including Boulder) but it's always extra special to make memories with Karel while doing what we love....which is exploring nature on two wheels. 

Around 8:30am we made our 2.5 hour drive to ATL to board our direct flight to Denver, CO.
To pass the time, we watched/listened to the LIVE footage of IM MT Tremblant on Ironman.com from my phone. Karel registered to race IMMT next year and I am so excited to travel to Canada to watch him and my athletes race. 

For lunch, we ate at Willy's (in terminal B) which is one of my favorite places for lunch when we travel through ATL. We both got salads and Karel got steak and I got tofu.

With free WiFi at ATL, we continued to watch the LIVE Ironman footage on my iPad. 

Oh, I forgot to mention about traveling with our bikes. So, to make things easier for us with 2 checked bags + a bike case and carry-on luggage, we often park in short term parking (which is a direct walk to the terminal) and check in only our bags and bike case. We then go back to our car (a short walk to the garage across the street) and then drive to economy to park our car for the duration of our travel. This makes it easier than lugging everything all at once and it gives us a little more time to not feel rushed especially since the airlines can be a bit insensitive to athletes who are traveling with a bike case.
Since we are all checked-in by the time we park our car, we do not have to rush or have to struggle with all of our bags and can bring in only our carry-on luggage with our boarding passes to security. 

We did this for our trip to Europe which a big time-saver and stress relief and all went smoothly this go around.

Our 2.5 hour flight to Denver, CO was very smooth and we watched 1/2 of the movie McFarland, USA with Kevin Costner on my iPad with the free GoGo in-flight service on Delta. What a great, inspirational movie about running. We can't wait to finish it on our flight home. 

After getting all of our luggage and taking the shuttle to the rental car area, we picked up our rental car from Dollar and then headed to our athletes' house (Kristen and Trent) in Boulder, CO. We are so thankful to have a few friends in the area to stay with until our Gearlink friends arrive on Wed (where we will be staying in a group house until Monday). 

Although we experienced a little rain coming into Boulder, the mountains were stunning. 

After a quick change, we headed a few minutes down the road to Pearl Street to enjoy a delicious dinner at WestEnd Tavern. We met up with our athletes Lisa and Curt, who just moved to CO and it was so fun to catch up with everyone. 

I ordered the veggie burger (which was SO good) and the arugula salad with pecans, apple slices and goat cheese. Karel got the mushroom burger special and the FishWater double IPA (which he said was SO good). 

After dinner, we walked around Pearl Street. Thankfully the sun came out and it was a beautiful evening. 

I didn't have any room in my belly after dinner but Karel got ice cream from Sweet Cow (which I plan to visit this week when I do have some room in my belly!).

Our travel day is now complete and it's time to officially start our train-cation in Boulder, CO. Excited to make some memories with Karel.
Stay tuned on my Trimarni Facebook page for updates and pictures as well as a few blog posts throughout the week. 

Trimarni Greenville Camp - Day 2 recap

"Every mountain top is within reach if you just keep climbing."

Unless you live by, in, on or near the mountains, it's not every day that you can get on your bike from your front doorstep and ride up and down a mountain. 

Karel and I consider ourselves really lucky in that we can ride from our house and within 10 minutes we can climb Paris Mountain. In less than 2 miles, we are on bike-friendly, country roads with endless options for riding.

Although we do not do the long mountain climbs very often in our training, it is a nice treat to know that we can climb a mountain anytime we want without having to drive our bikes anywhere.
And if you haven't figured it out yet, Karel and I love to climb!

It was a no-brainer that we would give our campers an opportunity to climb a mountain (or two) during camp. Not only would it provide great stress on the body for our campers to climb (without stopping) for up to an hour but it would also force our athletes to dig deep and to discover new possibilities with their fitness. And because what goes up must come down, we wanted to put those who are not comfortable descending into the position where they had to descend in order to come down the mountain and we would be right there to give them the tips, encouragement and support that they needed to conquer any fears.

The morning started early for Karel, Joe and Adam. The dynamic trio (all training for IM Lake Placid) set out for a 92 mile, 7000+ feet elevation gain ride. I have never done this route before but Karel has done it three times. 

(Picture from a previous ride). 

I have never done this route but one of these days I will test my strength (and mental toughness) and try to conquer all that climbing. 

Our amazing SAG Support (Elizabeth, Taylor, Tricia) met the trio out around 36 miles into their ride to restock bottles. 

Oh the things you will see while riding in the country. 

The guys met the SAG after/before a climb so it was a welcome but quick refueling top. Although we don't recommend athletes load up on fluids/foods before a climb, this was the only spot where the SAG could meet the guys and still make it to the Ceaser Head SAG stop for my group. Lots of logistics when it comes to training camps and we could not have done it without our fab SAG crew!

The guys had a great view of Table Rock before climbing Ceaser's Head from the other side of the mountain. 

Karel was super impressed with Adam and Joe - both Floridians who never had this much climbing in one ride. Adam's body had enough at the top of Ceaser's Head which meant he still did around 64 miles of the ride which was incredible. Karel gave him a pep talk and told him to call it a day.
(I remember when I did my longest ride in Greenville last summer  - we did some of the Hincapie Gran Fondo route and after climbing/descending Skyuka Mountain, I told Karel I was done with all that climbing. I had a little breakdown but because we were still around 40 miles from home I had no choice but to continue. Thank goodness for Karel's pep talks because I managed to get myself back on the bike. We all have those days - we are human)

The guys enjoying their well-earned view!

As for our group, we left around 8:30am (the guys left at 7:15am) and we were off to the mountains. Our ride was a planned 4+ hours of riding and 5000 feet of climbing.
I love chasing the mountains!

This is one of my favorite stops for a picture. You are so close to the mountains and the views are incredible. 

My group was amazing!! Everyone stayed strong and focused for the 7 mile climb up to the top of Ceaser's Head. Everyone finished in less than an hour (yes - 60 minutes of climbing!).

What a view!!

I was just so proud of everyone for climbing the unknown mountain. There were bumpy roads and switchbacks and with the temps approaching 100, it was not an easy day to be riding 4+ hours but hey, if it was easy, everyone would be at a Trimarni camp! 

Great job Jim!! Looking strong!

Way to go Alex!!

Yay - time to go back down the mountains- 7 miles descending!!

Our SAG crew having so much fun waiting for us. 

(BTW - Taylor - front of pic - is our awesome Trimarni photographer. You will also see some great pics from Elizabeth - back of pic. Tricia in the middle was our awesome SAG coordinator - she rocked!)

Yes Elizabeth - we climbed from way down there. 

Our SAG crew earning their post SAG meal - yummy Sidewall Pizza from Traveler's Rest.

After we all finished our ride (we all finished around the same time), it was off for a 15-20 minute run. We asked our campers to run comfortable with good form for no more than 15-20 minutes but the last 5-7 minutes were strong. As usual, all campers were required to have a hydration system with them (handheld or belt) for the run WITH a sport drink.
For the ride, we all went through at least 1 bottle of sport drink per hour. I provided the campers with specific fueling suggestions for the long run and run (and pre/post workout) and no one bonked or had GI distress - well done campers!

After a few hours of resting (well more like hanging out and eating) for our campers at the lodge, it was time to clean up and head to downtown Greenville for our camp team dinner at Roost Restaurant.

Those are some awesome bodies!!! 

Welcome to Karel's world - it's always time for a beer. 

We love our beautiful downtown and Falls Park!

Walking on the Liberty Bridge downtown. 

Thanks Roost for accommodating our large group! The service was great!

We were hungry!! I had the tempeh pesto dish....

Karel had steak. 

What a GREAT day 2 of camp!! So proud of our campers. 

Half way through camp and we only gave our campers a teaser of our challenging terrain and what's to come in day 3 and 4 of Trimarni Greenville camp.  

Stay tuned for day 3 recap of camp! 

Mental training - just keep climbing, just keep climbing

When it comes to training for athletic events, there are many different approaches that athletes and coaches use to reach peak performance. When it comes to fueling the human body before, during and after training, there are many different approaches that sport dietitians use to support a body in motion.

But when it comes to the mindsets of top athletes, there is not much that differs among those who know how to use their minds to reach top fitness and perform well on race day. 

Top athletes are mentally strong. They know how to focus on the task at hand, they know how to overcome obstacles quickly and they know that it will be worth it. 

Mental toughness is not reserved for the elite or pro athletes as it has very little to do with speed, pace, watts or finishing times in order to achieve it. Any athlete, of any fitness levels, has the opportunity to be mentally strong in training and racing. 

Although I love showing off our beautiful cycling playground in our new home of Greenville, SC, our new normal includes a lot of climbing. We have found that a typical ride for us includes around 1,000 feet of climbing (at least) per hour of riding. The roads go up and down and with dozens and dozens of training routes for us to enjoy on two wheels, we really have to be mentally prepared for every workout for there is no such thing as an easy ride for us here in Greenville. 

I would like to believe that all triathletes enjoy training. If not, you are in the wrong sport to choose three sports to train for. Maybe not every workout is termed as "fun" but I hope that you are passionate about your sport of choice and enjoy putting in the work so that you can feel and see your body become stronger and faster as you train for improved endurance and fitness. 

When it comes to top athletes who find success in racing, they are 100% engaged in what they are doing, they know where they are going, they trust the plan and they believe in the process. 

Consider how your mind may limit or enhance your performance.

What thoughts go through your head as you train? 

For most age group athletes, we have many thoughts in our mind when we train because frankly, we can not shut off life just because we are training for a race. Perhaps some thoughts are positive, such as thinking of family, your kids, the reason why you are training (ex. raising money for a charity, world or national event), improving your health, etc. but many times, negative thoughts create beliefs. Beliefs that possibly you are too overweight, you are not training enough, you need to push harder and go longer, you are not fit, you are not ready, you are not skilled, you are not cut out for this, you are not good enough......

As an athlete, it is important that you have confidence in yourself but most importantly that you control your thoughts and feelings and keep your mind in the present moment. I have often talked about how my mental coach Gloria has helped me in endurance racing, specifically in the Ironman. She has taught me how to not jump ahead with my thoughts. Why think about how I may feel on the run when I am only on mile 1 of the swim in an Ironman?

Our mind has a powerful influence over our body and many times, we experience this when training for a race. You are starting your main set of your workout and you think there is no way that your body will be able to perform 5 rounds of your main set. By set #3, you can't believe that you only have two more rounds to go! 

Many times, you have thoughts in your mind that have nothing to do with training. 

Random, negative or useless thoughts should be replaced with thoughts that you can use to power your training/racing. 

Why think about the laundry you need to fold when you are performing mile repeaters on the track?
Thinking about that extra cookie or bowl of ice cream you ate last night is going to do no good when you are in the pool, working on your form. 

Although you may not be able to remove some thoughts from your mind like an upcoming work project, school presentation, to-do's with your kids or a family health issue, mental training is a very important part of reaching your full potential as an athlete. 

The past two weekends have been filled with lots of miles on the bike for Karel and me. We absolutely love riding here but it certainly is not easy. 

We are very fortunate that we have no GI issues when we train. There are no nutritional limiters to keep us from feeling "good" (always relative to the day/workout) and thus, we are able to keep our minds focused on the workout as planned.
Additionally, we both are not injured. This is a huge advantage for any athlete for an injury does not allow for mental toughness. You can try as hard as you want to ignore or fight through an injury but nothing feels as good as training with a healthy body and letting the mind control the body. 

Now, having said all of this, even a healthy and well fueled body can suffer. And boy oh boy, did Karel and I suffer two weekends ago. Never had we had to stay so mentally strong as we rode part of the Gran Fondo Hincapie route that took us from our home in Greenville to North Carolina. 

This was our "long" Ironman ride for our season and it turned into one very long ride. 6.5 hours, 105 miles, ~8600 feet of climbing and two very, very, very difficult climbs. 

Our first big climb started around 2:45 into our ride. We had already covered 2100 elevation gain of before the "fun" began. 

There is only 1 climb (Paris Mountain - 2.5 miles) that I can ride on Karel's wheel (if he is not hammering it) so Karel and I do not climb together. 

For 45 minutes and 5.5 miles, I climbed with no one in sight. No cars, no Karel. Just me and my thoughts (and some pretty views and sounds). 

As the temperature dropped from 77 degrees to 70 degrees throughout the climb, I was dripping sweat as I tried to find a comfortable cadence in my smallest gear. 

My average speed was 8.14 mph, the climb started at 920 feet and finished around 2850 feet. That's almost 1700 feet of elevation gained in 45 minutes. 

With every switchback, I kept focused on the road and to be extra careful that when I got out of the saddle (which is a lot since I prefer to climb anything over 4% grade out of the saddle) that my hands didn't slip on my tri base bars. The grade would bounce between 4% and 20%, often around 7-10%

I took advantage of any section that would allow me to sip my bottle and I couldn't help but think to myself "where is the top of this never ending mountain!" 

When I finally got to the top of the mountain, Karel was there waiting for me. I unclipped my right leg and bent over with relief that the climbing was over and happiness that the climb was over. 

We tried to enjoy our view but sadly, we were in the clouds. 

After one of the most difficult climbs I have ever done, it was time to descend down on one of the most difficult descends I have ever done. 

Talk about feeling accomplished when I got to the bottom of the mountain!

Part of the fun with riding in a new area is the discovery of new routes. In races, it is always good to review your course (by biking or driving your course) so you can be mentally prepared. But in training, if you know how hard a climb is, it can be rather hard to want to repeat it. So when we climb a mountain for the first time, both Karel and me have no choice but to stay mentally strong because we have no idea how long we are climbing, where we are going, what's at the top or how difficult the climb will be. 

And so this brings me to climb #2. The most difficult climb I have ever done...after just doing the most difficult climb I have ever done!!

We had 15 minutes (4 miles) to "recover" from Skyuka mountain before we encountered the climb that made me experience my first mental breakdown in Greenville, SC. 

Unlike climbing a mountain, this climb was extremely deceiving. It was simply a two lane open road that just went up and up and up. No switchbacks, no flat parts and absolutely no letting up. 

2.45 miles, average grade 8% (although my Garmin kept showing me 12-13% the entire climb), 19 minutes of climbing and an elevation gain of 1000 feet. 

That's right, we climbed half the distance of our last climb but we went from 976 feet to 1900 feet in less than 20 minutes!

When I could see Karel ahead of me, swerving back and forth on the road, I knew this was one tough climb. 

I was not bonking and I was not in pain but mentally, I was broken. I somehow managed to make myself get to the top of this climb where Karel was waiting for but when I saw the road curve to the left behind some trees with a mountain top in my view, I convinced myself that I was not able to continue. I was done. 

I stopped and had a breakdown. 

Karel told me how exhausted he was and that these two climbs were extremely tough even for him. That gave me even more reason to tell Karel that I was not strong enough for these climbs. 

After spending a few minutes gathering some mental strength, I continued on with Karel and to my surprise, the next climb was not that bad. Perhaps the breakdown helped me out for my body needed to rest and refocus. 

When we stopped to refill our bottles for the last part of our ride, we spent the last 1 hour and 45 minutes of our ride covering only 20 miles and 3400 elevation gain.
Yes, my new normal is averaging 11 mph for 20 miles and staying mentally strong to conquer the climbs in SC (and NC). 

Karel and I both felt amazingly good after our quick stop. Thankfully, we both were not bonking on the climbs but instead, just mentally struggling because of the difficulty of the climb. 

The last two hours and 8 minutes of our ride was quick - 18.5 mph, 40 miles and only around 1400 feet of climbing. 

After spending our Saturday morning (8/9/14) on the bike for 6.5 hours and finishing with a run (10 min with Campy for me and 2 mile run on the track for Karel), I can honestly say that this ride was the hardest training rides of my life. 

However, the physical component of climbing was no more difficult than the mental component. 

Thankfully, we survived to ride another day and mentally we became just a bit more strong. 

(two baby turtles were saved during our ride)