Z3 Spring Break Tuscon Training Camp

Wake up call for our flight into Tuscon came extra early. We left Tampa at 6:00am which meant we were up at 4:30am to get to the airport on time, that’s 1:30am Tuscon time. It was going to be a long day. I almost got charged by United for my bike, even though I was using the Hen House bag. But luckily I was able to go to a different check in counter where they asked fewer  questions and got everything checked in for free! The flight was pretty laid back, with one really annoying tarmac delay in Houston, but by 10:30am Tuscon time we were on the ground and getting ready to rock! 

Our awesome house for the week

Kelli and Craig picked us up from the airport and took us to where our base would be for the next week. Our house was in the amazing Starr Pass resort area. Even though it had to be shared with everyone from the camp, we easily fit. There wasn’t much time to explore though because we had to quickly get our bikes put together and head out to Saguaro National Park for some hot laps. I dumped out all of my clothes onto the garage floor, got my bike built, changed and fed in record time! 
 

Saguaro National Park, with I think Mt. Lemmon in the background

Saguaro was an amazing quiet place to ride. It was a weird experince to go from being in tropical Florida to riding in the desert in a matter of hours. I took it easy and rode/mentored the youth Z3 girls. We worked on how to keep your momentum through rollers and correct pack riding. I even helped teach how to change a flat. After a quick picnic lunch it was off to the University of Arizona rec center pool, another great outdoor pool location. An easy swim set is exactly what my body needed to stretch out and relax after all the traveling. That night, after the girls left to stay at the Marriot resort down the road, things got pretty quiet as everyone went to bed early to prepare for Mt. Lemmon the next day!

Plenty of energy early on in the climb

We had amazingly calm and clear weather for our Mt. Lemmon ascent. We split the camp up into groups as we started the 21 mile climb. Not everyone was going to the top, but my group was set to kick butt past windy point and all the way up to mile 18! 

Kelli was our sag driver and photographer

We ended up staying together as a group all the way to windy point. It was great to see a whole pack of 20 athletes riding up together. We kept the pace conversational and I had a good time joking around with everyone and playing domestique riding back and forth between the sag cars and the group to make sure everyone was staying well hydrated and fed. 

Group is all together and having fun

The ride up Lemmon is incredible. You start out in a desert; climb through grasslands and into huge forests of firs and cedars. Although the temperature dropped slightly as we climbed, conditions were very pleasant and the cool breeze felt great.

No more cacti at this altitude

After we passed windy point, we decided to push the pace to mile 18. Several of the kids really impressed me with the effort they put out in the final miles of the climb. My legs were still plenty sore from the race and some of the kids put me into the hurt locker. At mile 18 none of the Youth riders were allowed to continue on, but with conditions being so great they also didn’t need much help getting back down the mountain. This allowed us mentors along with other Junior riders to get all the way up to the top and get to the cookie shop at mile 26. I decided to have a bit of fun and put the hurt on whoever wanted to hold my wheel. I rode hard for a few miles but there was a strong headwind and I couldn’t drop everybody until the descent down the other side. We all regrouped at the cookie shop and had our fill of much needed plate sized inch thick delicious giant cookies!

I ate half of it before I realized it was picture worthy....

I was able to put my descent skills to the test and burn it back down the mountain. My arms and neck started to cramp from holding a tuck for so long. But the roads are so smooth and the hairpins so gradual that I didn’t really need to touch the brakes and was able to hold almost 40mph for half an hour! 

Smooth easy flowing roads the whole way

After another quick lunch we were off to the pool again for more swimming, exactly what I needed. Frequency is the key to better technique. After the swim we went back to the house and had dinner. The girls were taken back to the hotel and Kelli and I were left to make sure the boys didn’t burn the house down while the other coaches went out for a ‘coaches meeting.’ I guess Mt. Lemmon wasn’t hard enough because the guys downloaded the Harlem Shake app and got to work having some fun. It was a little tricky to figure out the filming and editing, but it was a lot of fun and well worth it, check out the final cut.

 

The last day was probably the hardest day. We rode out from the house over some really rough roads, over Gates Pass and out to McCain Loop Rd for some time trail efforts. Everyone’s legs were tired but the competitive atmosphere drove lots of the kids to really push themselves on the rollers of McCain Loop Rd. We were very official starting the kids every 30 seconds in legit standing time trial fashion. After standing around for half an hour sending all the kids off I decided to test myself too and rode the 3.65 mile time trial. I turned myself inside out to get through the 10 minute segment. I really didn’t want to let some of the kids beat me somehow! It was a really hard effort on my part, and it’s a really popular training segment for cyclists. A shorter 3.1 mile section of the course is also a Strava segment and my time of 8:32 was good enough for 130^th place overall! The top time was 7:11 and everyone in the top 10 has an average power of 450+ watts! Looks like I’ve got a long way to go until I’m at pro cyclist level.

The whole camp and our flag!

Everyone was feeling pretty shot after the ride and took the downtime opportunity to go and lounge at the Marriott Pool. Kelli and I again played chaperone, but this time we just relaxed in the lazy river and lay on the side of the pool. It was great to finally not be running around. 

Lounging at the pool

But soon it was time for some more productive swimming. This time Kelli was there to capture a lot of cool pictures. Although there was lots of IM swimming and my butterfly stroke is really embarrassing to see, she was still able to get some great shots of everyone at the pool. After the swim set I was able to get some technique advice from a past collegiate swimmer and Kelli. 

Back to work, at least we are still outside

Combined with some frame by frame action shots of me swimming I think I may have finally figured out how my issue in the water and what’s been slowing me down so much. I extend my arm underwater and need to be getting a full reach above water. I really think something clicked in my head today, and I hope this will give me the efficient technique I need to swim fast! 

Need air! I hate fly...

Wednesday morning was the last day of camp. I went on a long early morning run and enjoyed an incredible sunrise. I mixed in some trails and some wild golf cart paths. After some run drills with the group we were off for the pool one final time. This was one of the greatest swims I’ve ever had. I was really able to apply what I had learned from the day before and get in an amazing swim. I was cruising through 100’s at a fast pace but feeling super comfortable doing it. Now it’s just all about building the muscle memory and strength to maintain this. Coming back to the house, most of the kids were gone and I was dead tired. A long nap was much needed and afterwards Kelli and I went on an incredible hike through the hills next to the house. 

Big open desert

There is just something so cool about the desert and cacti.  Although we took a really sketchy short cut that looked like a prime location for scorpions and rattle snakes the only wild life we saw was a small lizard. It was great for Kelli and I to final have some time to hang out and to have a little vacation of our own. 

Kelli found new love

That night we went to Café Poco Casa, a delicious Mexican restaurant in downtown Tuscon. The food was delicious and unlike any Mexican I’ve ever had before. Maybe it was the first real authentic Mexican I’ve ever had, or maybe it was just its own style. Either way, it was a great meal. Back home we got to bed as early as we could because I had to drive Kelli to the airport at 4:40am. 

Kiits Peak in the distance...the ride back on this road was awesome

After getting taking Kelli to the airport and getting some extra sleep afterwards, I wanted to get in one last amazing ride. Especially since the weather in Iowa is supposed to be 20 degrees below normal for the next two weeks.  Sean mentioned that Kitt’s Peak is a great ride and offered to drive us the 30 miles out there and we could just ride back. I really wanted to perform a hard uphill time trial and the 10 miles of 8% grade was a great opportunity to do that. After a few miles of warming up I upped the pace and went at it. My legs were completely thrashed from the previous week of training but I did what I could for as long as I could. I overestimated my ability and popped myself a bit halfway through the climb. I wasn’t going to be beating any Strava segments on this one but it was still great to push myself hard for a long effort like that. The descent down Kitt’s was much riskier than Lemmon. I decided to take it a little easier, the road surface was really rough so getting up to speed in a hairpin just didn’t give me much confidence that my bike would stay glued to the pavement. That being said, the steeper grades and tighter hairpins made for an incredibly fun descent! What was even more amazing was a 20+mph tail wind the whole way home. It’s not often that you can comfortably cruise while being completely geared out at 120rpm! 

The view from the backside of the mountain

After a short brick run and an easy swim later that night, we went back into town to search for some hole in the wall Mexican food to eat. After getting a super cheap filling meal, which would hopefully stay down, it was time for me to get packed and help clean up the house. I’m getting really good a disassembling my bike quickly and efficiently. The morning of my departure I got in one last awesome trail run. It was a great way to see one last sun rise and say goodbye to Tucson.