Heading Home, Again

The past week was an amazing training block. I knew that going to altitude was going to hurt, no matter what I was doing (walking up a flight of stairs or doing repeats on Gold Camp), but I was looking forward to the challenge. I was excited to be training with my teammates again, hanging out in Downtown COS, and eating in the cafeteria.
Okay, the last part is a lie. I was in NOT looking forward to eating in the cafeteria again. I have enjoyed every opportunity at home to cook, bake, sauté, broil, and grill my own meals. But, I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the options available. There were some great quinoa dishes that I might have to recreate at home and the Caribbean Black Bean dish was tasty enough that I went back for seconds (and thirds:).
With that said, I was also looking forward to the challenging workouts that Cliff and Sharon were going to throw at me. Having a coach on deck makes me very accountable…no slacking off, skipping workouts, or delaying the session until I ‘feel like it’. They held nothing back all week and treated me like I never left the Training Center. Cycling repeats up Gold Camp, 400s on the track, running hills at Bear Creek, Sunday morning group rides through the Air Force Academy…and my departing gift this morning was a 2000 meter time-trial in the pool!
Oh my poor little arm muscles! I don’t think they are very happy with me right now…I asked for a lot from them this morning. I asked them to hold 1:12 pace at altitude on a Monday. They gave me everything they had and my legs even kicked in with some help too (no pun intended:). I have always been a ‘clock watcher’ during long swims, figuring out my pace as I’m swimming the never-ending laps. My first glance at the clock was at the 500m wall and I flipped at the six minute mark. My second 500m was also 6:00. The third one was also 6:00.
Now the question I started asking myself was, “Can I hold it for one more 500?” I tried as hard as I could…blood was no longer flowing to my feet…my stroke was around 2/3 of its maximum length…I was breathing in and out of the walls. My last 50 meters was hilarious as I attempted to race the clock to the wall…and I touched at 24:01! A 6:01 for the last 500m…bummer! But it was a 100% effort and I’m more than glad to be sitting in an airplane for the rest of the day!