Still alive and kicking

As I sit here in Nags Head, NC on a very wet and windy Good Friday, secretly thankful that today appears as a rest day on Training Peaks, it occurs to me that it has been waaay too long since I posted to my blog.   The last post was back in early March and it has been a pretty busy time since then.

Overall, I would say that training has been going well.  There has been no recurrance of my calf injury and my swim continues to improve.  My first race of the season (White Lake, NC) is just a month away now and I have a "warm-up" at the Cary 10K road race next weekend.  The calf issue and some typical "winter bugs" slowed things down early in the year, but more recently things have been going well.

I spent a very busy week working in the UK a couple of weeks back.  It featured a lot of early starts and working into the evenings, so it was definitely a light week for training.  I did manage some time on the bike in the gym; a short run around a very fancy golf course and a muddy six mile hike where I managed to get lost in the magnificent Cheshire countryside and ended up getting followed by a large group of about twenty (thankfully friendly) horses!  On the plus side, I did get to stay at this place......



Mottram Hall, Cheshire, UK

 Last weekend was a highlight as I attended Spring Tri Camp hosted by TriStacey and Evolve Multisport.   The Puppeteer and coach Marisa Carter put on a great event held in and around Chapel Hill.  I learned a lot and made some new friends.  Yoga class was interesting, but the highlight of the weekend for me was a great ride in the rain on the Saturday morning.   I don't often get to ride in big groups, so that in itself was fun, but the ride also featured a 10 mile time trial over rolling terrain (~30 mins) and hill repeat work on Borland Road.   Fun!

Trying to look cool at Tri Camp

The weekend also featured a track workout at UNC, a recovery run, two swim sessions at Homestead Aquatic Center and lots of talks and lectures.   Thanks coaches Stacey and Marisa for a great time!

Who said coaches don't have lots of teeth?   Marisa and Stacey looking happy at UNC track. 

Now it's time to really focus over the next four weeks and get ready for "Revenge at White Lake"....    those of you who read about last years escapades will know what I mean....     I'm excited that the season is finally here!