ZenTri Camp Day #4

(Rich got to have his picture taken with me and Emily)

The last day of camp was perfect. I still can't believe how smoothly everything went throughout the entire weekend. As a team, everyone really worked well together. I'm totally stoked for next year.

Day 4 started with a talk called Running by the Numbers with John. It was an excellent way to get everyone mentally warmed up for our long run. From there we all piled into cars and drove to Lick Creek Park (I know what you're thinking... get your mind outta the gutter). We broke off into groups depending on our goals for the run. There was a group running straight through, led by John and Rich, and another group doing the famed Push Run with Brett. I had a hard time deciding what to do so I started with the first group and did the second loop with Brett's group. The run started in a swirvy, narrow trail which was extra fun.

For the second loop with Brett's group we ran for 8 mins, then walked for 2 mins. At the 9 min beep we dropped for 15 push ups (I did 10) and 8 power squats. I have to admit, because running is my strongest discipline I've been a bit of a snob about the run/walk method. I think its great when other people do it but I never allow myself to do it. This is partially because I find it so hard to start running again after a walk break and I'd rather just slow it down for a couple of mins. Now I'm training for IMLP and after spectating for the past couple of years and talking to people about their strategies, I figure I'll walk the aid stations and hills during my race. At the end of each run loop at IMLP there's a bit of a hill as you come back into the downtown area. We watched from there last year and I noticed that the people who walked up that hill made it to the top at around the same pace as the people who ran REALLY SLOWLY. The difference was that the runners were more winded. That was when I decided it was okay to walk. With this in mind, I joined Brett's run/walk group. Brett had us hold onto our running form while we were walking, with our elbows bent and wrists high, while we kept our feet turning over quickly. This actually made it much easier to transition back into running. It also crossed my mind at this point that I should be doing longer runs the way I plan to run the marathon at IMLP. Its gonna be hard for me to run with walk breaks for 13, 16, 18 miles because I know I can easily run those distances without walking. I talked to Brett and John and they both agree that I should train the way I plan to race at IMLP, so I'll just have to be disciplined. Maybe I'll get used to it... maybe I'll enjoy it.

After the long run (2 hours) we all came back to the house for some stretching, led by a guy named Bear. Then Rich, Brett and I prepared a super easy and quick healthy lunch for people. It was choose your own adventure style with vegan, paleo, and just-plain-healthy choices: Rich showed how to make his famous tomato and avocado sandwiches and a vita mix blend, Brett showed some paleo varieties with turkey and lettuce wraps, and I made a healthy salmon salad. That worked out really well and left plenty of room for people to be socializing and wrapping up.

After lunch we all said our goodbye's. It was sad to see everyone go, but I'll admit, I was beat! I plopped down on the couch with a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and gratitude for the weekend. We're already figuring out plans for next year because so many people are asking. I'm REALLY looking forward to it!

And now that camp is over it's time for the after-party. John and I are here for 6 additional days of training camp. I'll blog more about that later but I will say this... I'm 3 days into it and I've never trained this much in my life. Yet, somehow, I feel stronger and more energized than ever. The crazy beautiful weather is definitely helping. I'm working my butt off because John says "Texas is gonna get you ready for Spain and Spain is gonna get you ready for Ironman". I already know he's right.