If you have been following my blog you know that I was planning on moving to Winter Park. Before I go into that story let me say this. Moving is hard even if you hire a company but when you actually do a lot of the lifting yourself it is really hard. And to think that in a couple of years we plan on moving back to Boulder. I do not know if my back can take another move.
Winter Park is a relative small ski town with a bit under 1000 residents. I actually live 2 miles away in Fraser which also has fewer than 1000 residents. This whole area has a lot of homes but the majority are usually second homes and the owners are seldom seen unless it is a holiday. The whole area revolves around the Winter Park ski resort. It is very popular with hard core skiers as there is a mountain called Mary Jane with great terrain. I already have my ski pass for next winter. My two year old son Camilo (3 by next winter) will be going to the ski school so dad will be have to get a lot better at skiing soon. Camilo will be kicking his dads butt down the mountain. Camilo is fearless and very athletic. Last week he went to a gymnastics/tumbling class and the teacher gather the kids and said “lets cross the balance beam”. Camilo was already across it before the teacher got to the beam. The teacher had to run as she was afraid he was going to fall off. My daughter Sofia may be able to go to ski school if she can walk steps without hanging on. We are hoping she can but she is only 14 months. She is so big. She weights 25 pounds already. Her size slows her down but Camilo is a good teacher.
Training has been going well even with the move. I managed to get in all the key workouts. I do have some aches and pains. Sometimes my knees, sometimes my back but I’ve been getting massages and have kept them in check for the most part. My bricks have been a highlight. I have been able to run well off the bike. My first few bricks were tough. But now they are hardly an issue. My initial pace during the bricks is faster than when I run fresh. That is an interesting note. However, later in the brick run my heart rate is higher. I attribute that to dehydration. My training hydration is sometimes not that great.
My swimming is going to be challenging for me up here. Not so much because of the altitude but because if I want to swim Masters I have to be at the pool at 5:45 AM. So I will have to swim on my own many times. I did a MarkAllenOnline long swim last week. I did 16x200 in sets of 4 with varied rest. That was tough mentally and physically. A 200 is a tough distance. It is not long to go easy but short enough that you can go fast. Doing 16 really taxed me.
Running is great around here. There are many trails and dirt roads. The only caution is wildlife. Last year during a visit I bumped into a bear that was right in the middle of my running trail. At first I thought it was a dog. I just waited until he wandered off. I also see foxes and moose in many occasions. The picture above is of a moose I spotted last Wednesday.
Road biking is nice but there are only two ways to go. Right or left are the choices. The two rides are great but it will get old. In order to battle this I bought a cyclo cross bike so that I can ride dirt roads. Of course I also have a mountain bike. There are virtually hundreds of trails. I have a 3 to 4 hour mountain bike route from my house that is a lung buster with two creek crossings. The downhill is not bad but I do want to be careful. The last thing I want is a crash. Last year I could not make it to the top of the climb without at least one stop. The climb is relentless. I can not wait to do it as soon as all the snow melts. I am guessing that with my new lighter self, making the top without a stop will be not a problem.
Altitude, clean air and great nature are great plusses for my training. However there are some challenges. It never gets real hot here so I will be going down to Denver/Boulder to get some heat training. The other challenge is recovery. The same lack of oxygen that helps you with extra red blood cells also slows down your muscle rebuilding and recovery. I will have to see how it all goes.
Next week I plan on doing a race. It will be my first real race in a while and it is a duathlon. Without the swim which is normally my strength I will be challenged. I do not have high expectations but I know that if too many old guys beat me it will not be a totally bad thing. I normally use that as motivation.