INDESTRUCTIBLE!

Well, the past 2 days have been great. The weather has cooperated which helps the motivation big time. Wednesday started with a good 5k swim. It was a good mix of some steady work, IM work and speed. I have been working on my position in the water and it is really paying off. Then it was home for a breakfast of waffles, fruit and a great latte with cinnamon. I got on the bike earlier than normal as the wind was supposed to pick up later in the day. If you guessed that I rode into the mountains, then pushed on the flats, give yourself a pat on the back. I took a route I hadn't taken in quite some time. The route goes along some rollers, flats and then up Highway 67. The main reason I don't go up there often is that the cars on that road don't really appreciate bikers. Highway 67 is the main road to Rampart Range Road, where all the motocross and ATV riders go to tear up the National Park. Mixing bike riders with big trucks towing trailer is not a good mix. The last time I went up there a local stopped me to politely tell me it's not such a good idea to riding there. The problem is that it's a GREAT climb! The climb is steep at the top, then it undulates a bit before turning to dirt. It ascends almost 2000 ft. in five miles. The views are great, mountain tops and wide green valleys. I took the risk going up there for two reasons. One, Rampart Range Road is closed to vehicles, so the MX guys aren't going up there and two it was Wednesday and I assumed the traffic would be light. Thankfully the ride up and down was uneventful. Just a handful of cars and no issues. The descent was screaming and I used it to work on my leg speed. Try keeping your watts up at 200, your RPM's at 110+ and your speed at 35 MPH+. It's tough, but will put some snap in your legs and make them burn! I finished with a bit more climbing and then hammered home on the flats. I had a big tailwind and at points I was doing 30 MPH and the legs were a blur. Off the bike I went for my classic 10k hilly loop. I do this loop alot and it tells me quite a bit about where I am fitness wise. To start I went out hard and hoped to hold on. There are some longer climbs and short steep climbs as well. In 6.4 miles it climbs 675 ft. which would be about 2500 ft. for a marathon, not bad. If I can run this loop off the bike in under 45 minutes I'm a happy camper. I did it in 44:15, with some sections into a 20+ MPH wind. The day ended with an hour of yoga and an early bed time.
Today I woke up a bit stiff so I started with half an hour of yoga. Just some nice easy poses to get moving. Then it was on the CT (still NO COMMUNICATION) for 30 minutes to warm up for my hard run. The legs felt good on the ride so I took that as a sign that I was going to have a good run. Again, I went out hard hoping to hold it together for 90 minutes. My first loop was rolling with about 1000 ft. of climbing in 10 miles. Along the way I fell into a rhythm and got into that indestructible mode. Every once in awhile I will be in the middle of a workout and feel like I could do anything. It got in my head that today was a good day to do some extra work. I was feeling strong an invincible Then it was on to my favorite dirt roads to do two loops as fast as possible. I am typically around 10:30 for each 1.6 mile loop. I was right on with the first loop at 10:39 and the second at 10:29. Since I felt strong still I decided to go right to the gym and get in some weight work. I downed a recovery shake, some cereal, and a toaster pastry with jelly. At the gym I did about an hour straight of weights. I mix up my routine and will do front squats, lunges, ball squats and lots of stability and 1 leg exercises. I do them without stopping so it goes something like this: 15 front squats, 12 lunges, 15 step ups, 12 front squats, 12 cable machine hamstring curls, etc. Mix it up for an hour and there you go. Amazingly, I was still feeling great, so when I got home I had another little shake, a bar and got on the bike. The sun was out so I went on a hilly course near home. Another 2000 ft. of climbing in 90 minutes with the majority of the climbing done in a big gear and low cadence to take that weight room strength and turn it into usable bike power. Off the bike it was time for 1 more. I wanted to work on leg speed so I ran a course with a bit of downhill to start. After 30 minutes I ended up back at the dirt loop I did earlier. You guessed it, one more TT around the loop to finish strong. Unbelievably I went through in 10:15, my fastest loop of the day! I cruised home and ate some leftovers from the previous night. If that wasn't enough I ended the day with an hour of yoga. All in all it was 90 minutes of yoga, 2 hours of cycling, 2:15 of running and 1 hour of weights. Almost a 7 hour day under my belt and I feel good. The key is staying with it mentally, focusing on where you are at that one point and good nutrition. Throughout my workouts, and in between, I fueled up with good sources of carbs, protein and recovery oriented shakes.
I hope you know the feeling I had today. Sometimes it all comes together and the day just unfolds perfectly for you. I hope that I feel this good at Wildflower in a few weeks. This weekend I am hoping to get in a HUGE ride and run to really top things off. I'll let you know how it goes