The Offseason is Officially Over!!
Posted by Samantha Fugate on Monday, March 8, 2010
Well today is Monday and Todd and I are packing up and getting ready to fly back to Michigan. Yes, I am very behind on posting! Here is the quick update: 1 month ago on a ski trip, Todd crashed into a sign and some trees and broke his jaw. That really affected his training (he couldn't train at all) and my training because I took care of him. I also missed about a week of school so I could take care of him. Then, about a week and a half ago, I got a pretty severe respiratory tract infection that required oral steroids. I wasn't able to workout for 8 whole days, including the first week of my training plan for this season! Then on Friday, Todd and I flew to Arizona for TriFest 2010 at TriSports.com!
On Friday night we made it in time to go to Zoot Happy Hour where they introduced the new line for 2010. I have to say, as a Zoot shoe lover, I really love the new shoes! They are extremely light and very comfortable. But so out of my budget! We also learned about the compression clothing that Zoot has. And in the raffle at the end of the night, Todd's ticket got pulled and he very kindly gave it to me, since I paid for his plane ticket : ) So we left Happy Hour with a free pair of compression tights for me, which I have worn all weekend and am pretty fond of. I will be wearing them on the plane ride home today. After Happy Hour, Todd and I grabbed our rental bikes. Luckily for Todd, they couldn't find a bike to fit him so they pulled a Kuota Kebel for him to rid! He fell in love!!
On Saturday, we woke up early... well I guess it is early for Arizona, but it wasn't early for us. We rode across the street to the store and the Mt. Lemmon ride got under way. It was about 17 miles to the base of Mt. Lemmon and we made it there as a giant snaking line of bikers. I have never rode with that many cyclists in my life! Some people turned around at the base, but Todd and I were determined to test our poor cardio systems and climb some mountain. Why come all the way to Arizona and turn around at the base? Some of the guys from TriSports said it was about 5 miles to the turn around point at Molino Basin where the majority of the group would turn around, so we decided to go for it. Wow. I have never experienced anything like that in my life! There is no end to the climb, it just goes straight up! All you can do is put your bike in a low gear and spin, spin, spin. There are no downhills. There are no flats. There is no relenting. Luckily, even though I have been sick, all my Spinervals paid off and I made it to Molino Basin still feeling pretty good. The worst part was the burn in my lungs because the air is a lot thinner! I had a little trouble due to my respiratory tract infection, so I did some coughing, but overall I was super excited about reaching Molino Basin. The descent was a whole other story. I hate descents. Really really hate them. They are scary! Happily, I did not fall and I did not go off a cliff and made it back to the bottom in okay time.
The rest of Saturday, Todd and I spent the day listening to some very interesting seminars. I think we took away a lot of good information, especially about nutrition. We ended up buying a book on nutrition by Bob Seebohar, which I can't wait to read! Then at that days raffle, Todd and I both won! I got a new pair of Asics 2150 running shoes, which is fantastic because my current shoes are too small and have left my feet bleeding after every run. We also won a goody bag with free compression socks and some other great swag, including water bottles, pumps and pain relief creams.
On Sunday, we woke up to see some really beautiful weather! We decided to hit the road and try running. It was a little difficult because there are not very many sidewalks, but we ended up finding a sidewalk and running 4 miles outside. Since that is about the limit for Todd and his poor broken face, I finished up with 3 more miles on the tredmill. Then it was back to the conference! After some interesting talks, Todd and I got to jump in the endless pool! Which was so sweet, I definitely want to get one! There is a little more current to fight to keep good form and it is more of a strength workout, so I really liked it. They also had mirrors on the bottom of the pool, so I got to look at my form. After we got out of the pool we listened to a few more seminars and then met Leanda Cave and Torsten Abel. They were super nice and really great to listen to. There was another raffle, but Todd and my luck had run out, but Lisa Ribes was super nice and grabbed us a Spinerval, and I love Spinervals!!
This morning we woke up to see some sadly yucky weather. But it always makes it easier to leave when the weather is a little on the yucky side. Due to the rain, I did my run inside on the tredmill this morning. But Todd and I did get to enjoy a very delicious free breakfast! Now we are packing up and getting ready to fly back to Michigan, and I definitely have to say that I am super fired up! I am ready to get back and train my butt off and get ready for the season! Nothing like a weekend of triathlon to start the season off with a bang!
On Friday night we made it in time to go to Zoot Happy Hour where they introduced the new line for 2010. I have to say, as a Zoot shoe lover, I really love the new shoes! They are extremely light and very comfortable. But so out of my budget! We also learned about the compression clothing that Zoot has. And in the raffle at the end of the night, Todd's ticket got pulled and he very kindly gave it to me, since I paid for his plane ticket : ) So we left Happy Hour with a free pair of compression tights for me, which I have worn all weekend and am pretty fond of. I will be wearing them on the plane ride home today. After Happy Hour, Todd and I grabbed our rental bikes. Luckily for Todd, they couldn't find a bike to fit him so they pulled a Kuota Kebel for him to rid! He fell in love!!
On Saturday, we woke up early... well I guess it is early for Arizona, but it wasn't early for us. We rode across the street to the store and the Mt. Lemmon ride got under way. It was about 17 miles to the base of Mt. Lemmon and we made it there as a giant snaking line of bikers. I have never rode with that many cyclists in my life! Some people turned around at the base, but Todd and I were determined to test our poor cardio systems and climb some mountain. Why come all the way to Arizona and turn around at the base? Some of the guys from TriSports said it was about 5 miles to the turn around point at Molino Basin where the majority of the group would turn around, so we decided to go for it. Wow. I have never experienced anything like that in my life! There is no end to the climb, it just goes straight up! All you can do is put your bike in a low gear and spin, spin, spin. There are no downhills. There are no flats. There is no relenting. Luckily, even though I have been sick, all my Spinervals paid off and I made it to Molino Basin still feeling pretty good. The worst part was the burn in my lungs because the air is a lot thinner! I had a little trouble due to my respiratory tract infection, so I did some coughing, but overall I was super excited about reaching Molino Basin. The descent was a whole other story. I hate descents. Really really hate them. They are scary! Happily, I did not fall and I did not go off a cliff and made it back to the bottom in okay time.
The rest of Saturday, Todd and I spent the day listening to some very interesting seminars. I think we took away a lot of good information, especially about nutrition. We ended up buying a book on nutrition by Bob Seebohar, which I can't wait to read! Then at that days raffle, Todd and I both won! I got a new pair of Asics 2150 running shoes, which is fantastic because my current shoes are too small and have left my feet bleeding after every run. We also won a goody bag with free compression socks and some other great swag, including water bottles, pumps and pain relief creams.
On Sunday, we woke up to see some really beautiful weather! We decided to hit the road and try running. It was a little difficult because there are not very many sidewalks, but we ended up finding a sidewalk and running 4 miles outside. Since that is about the limit for Todd and his poor broken face, I finished up with 3 more miles on the tredmill. Then it was back to the conference! After some interesting talks, Todd and I got to jump in the endless pool! Which was so sweet, I definitely want to get one! There is a little more current to fight to keep good form and it is more of a strength workout, so I really liked it. They also had mirrors on the bottom of the pool, so I got to look at my form. After we got out of the pool we listened to a few more seminars and then met Leanda Cave and Torsten Abel. They were super nice and really great to listen to. There was another raffle, but Todd and my luck had run out, but Lisa Ribes was super nice and grabbed us a Spinerval, and I love Spinervals!!
This morning we woke up to see some sadly yucky weather. But it always makes it easier to leave when the weather is a little on the yucky side. Due to the rain, I did my run inside on the tredmill this morning. But Todd and I did get to enjoy a very delicious free breakfast! Now we are packing up and getting ready to fly back to Michigan, and I definitely have to say that I am super fired up! I am ready to get back and train my butt off and get ready for the season! Nothing like a weekend of triathlon to start the season off with a bang!
