Last weekend it was finally time for the long-awaited Tri-Fest down in Tucson!
I had an absolute blast and loved every minute of it!
(Except for a few seconds in the car after the realization that I had left half of my workout clothes hanging up to dry, including all bras and my swimsuit. No toothbrush, paste, comb, or sunscreen either. Craptastic!)
I was thrilled to meet my teammates and, as expected, they are all awesome and inspiring!
What a fun group of great athletes!
After arriving in T-town late Thursday night, it was time to prepare for the next morning and then hit the pillow! I had heard so much about the famous Mt. Lemmon ride and I could not wait to conquer the mountain myself! Excited is an understatement.
I knew it was not the smart thing to do. Tri-Fest was at a very inconvenient time for me. My big race of the season was only one week away and I was supposed to be tapering. Yet - how could I miss out on this amazing opportunity? Coach M knew that there was no way she could talk me out of this. So she did not even try. We talked on the phone and she mentioned something about taking it easy and not working out more than 3.5 hours a day. It was the first time ever that I can't remember every word she said. I was not really listening...
Decked out in my brand-new TriSports cycling kit, I showed up at the shop. So did about 40 other riders! Wow! Biggest group ride I have been on in a long time! I didn't know a single soul except for my roommate, Amy, that I met last night. Oh wait! There is Bobbi who I used to share a lane with at Masters. And Marty who just moved down here from Flagstaff. I did not feel quite as lonely anymore...
We all rolled through the city to the base of the mountain together. Good times making new friends and riding behind Ironman Champion TJ Tollakson and legend Jimmy Riccitello. How fun is that? I found Amy and we decided to tackle the 25-mile climb together. Both of us wanted to make it to the top without killing ourselves. Yay for great riding partners! The miles flew by and before we knew it we were at the top. It sure helps to live at high elevation.
Leanda Cave on Mt. Lemmon
I am not a huge fan of going downhill but this descent was fantastic! You can't help but have a huge smile on your face when flying down these smooth roads. Navigating through this big city back to the store was somewhat nerve-wrecking and we were glad once we made it home safely and just in time for lunch.
85 miles, 5.5 hours, 7800ft of climbing, and 4500 burnt calories later - I was feeling pretty good.
Was it the smart? NO.
Was it one of the funnest rides ever? YES.
Is Coach going to kill me? MAYBE.
Will this affect Oceanside? POSSIBLY.
Was it worth it? I THINK SO.
Then it was time for a nice little trail run. I didn't want to miss out on exploring beautiful desert trails but I was also not to keen on messing up my taper completely, so I really took it easy and let everyone else run ahead. I may have even walked some of the uphills...
Team dinner that night was fabulous. We got to meet and hear from all of our great teammates, including TJ Tollakson. I actually had something like a 10-minute conversation with this Ironman Champion! Wow. I am impressed by myself. We also learned a lot about how TriSports works and what an amazing company it is. More on that in a later post...
Saturday morning we were in for a treat! After a little photo shoot, all 20 of us were off on our bikes in matching racing kits. 90 minutes later we arrived at a nice outdoor pool and Jaclyn, the sponsorship coordinator and our surrogate mother for the weekend, finally informed us what the 'secret' workout was going to be: a race! 800m swim, 16mi bike, 3mi run. Nobody (at least none of the girls) had intentions of being super competitive until Jaclyn announced that the winner would receive $50 of store credit! That definitely changed things and I struggled for a second with my decision to take it very easy. I sure could use some new running shorts...
The swim felt so good, I did not want it to end. I could've stayed in that pool all day long but after an extra 50 yards, I figured it was time to hop on the bike. I did not necessarily mean to swim extra but I had lost count after 3 laps and figured: the more the better. That way I would already be behind the other girls and wouldn't be tempted to go faster than I wanted to.
Look who took time on a Saturday morning to cheer us on!
TJ Tollakson
Polly and I ended up biking together. If I was not going to race, I wanted to make new friends and chat with teammates. Thank you, Polly, for the entertainment! Then we paraded back trough town to the store where a big expo was going on in full swing and we had the pleasure of rolling through part of it and turning everybody's heads. It feels great to be part of such a wonderful team!
Saturday night was the big party and - wow- did TriSports ever go all out! Fantastic food, fun video clips, lots of (famous) athletes, the best ice cream balls covered in chocolate I have ever had, great entertainment! But -alas- I am not a party girl and so I called it a night pretty early on and went to bed. Yep. I am that boring.
A huge thank you to the TriSports crew for an unforgettable weekend!
It was the best!
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