As is usual at this time of year, a large number of my friends (and my two of my sisters) jet off to various parts of the world on a shoe-string budget. This is the second time I had ventured to Boulder (MY POSTS FROM LAST YEAR ARE HERE) who needs European sightseeing when you can trash your body on a daily basis, go to bed at 8pm, eat like it’s your last meal and wear predominantly lycra for 6 weeks……bliss!
I had intinitally decided to chronicle my visit in diary form, thereby giving the reader a better idea of what I was doing on a daily basis. Then I realized that dedicating 95% of my words to either training/sleeping/eating and/or complaining about coffee wasn’t going to be the most riveting of reads. So I’ll take a thematic approach, I’ll try and spread out some ‘colour’ over the six weeks. Hence there will be no coffee-related rant this week (IT’S COMING!)
The flight
I was already starting this trip from stronger footing than last year, where the preceding night, my sisters 18th, had left me with a pretty feral hangover. Compounding issues was the cheapest fair had me flying to New Zealand, before I landed in LA, spent 6hrs at the airport and then flew to Boulder. The New Zealand to LA flight was not helped by a young baby falling asleep on my lap, with the mother begging me not to move for fear of waking up the baby (and the rest of the airplane) I had a very uncomfortable flight!
Will’s travel tip no.1: Dressing up (nice buttoned-up shirt and kahkis) to try and weasel an upgrade might be a good idea on paper. But bring a change of clothes, otherwise it could be an uncomfortable 25-30hrs.
After the LONG journey towards the back of the plane I was relieved to see that there were no babies in sight, my travel companion was an old woman, who fortunately wasn’t a talker.
Things were all looking good, until the two ladies behind me decided to have a chardonnay-filled party in the sky. Their terrible mundane chat filled our cabin (they were that loud!). 5hrs into the flight this all got too much, the flight attended delivered a very enjoyable smack-down and they were quite for the rest of the flight.
Will’s movie reviews:
Identity Thief: Don’t even bother 0.5stars
The Reader: Not the most uplifting of films (Kate Winslet won an Oscar for her performance), also the very frequent nudity can be a bit awkward when other people look at your screen. Besides that a very moving and challenging film. 4 Stars
Die Hard: Would’ve enjoyed the film more (before I went to sleep, yes during an action film!) if they got rid of all the dialogue and just blew up more cars (if that is possible). 1 star
Master and Commander: A Classic! Never get’s old. 4.5stars
Arrival
After nearly 30hrs of transit it was great to arrive in Boulder. I am staying in the North only a few hundred meters from last year. It is on the gateway to most of the decent climbs in the area (Ward, Peak-to-Peak and Jamestown) and also some great (seemingly never-ending) run trails.
Bronti (my college friend who is coming over for the last month) found our house on Craigslist. It’s owner (Jeanny, who reads my blog!) is an artist and rents out three rooms in her house year-round. For my first few nights we had a John Polson (a pro triathlete from the Gold Coast) his GF, me and two Spanish women over here to meet their first grand-child. The latter couldn’t speak a word of English. As usual I relied on the universal language of smiling, nodding and overt hand gestures as a means of communication. Jeanny has a “respect life” number plate, which suggests that I might steer clear of discussing politics with her. A final member of the household is the cat Barry.
Not only am I allergic to cats, I don’t think I have ever been in close contact with one, being from a family with two dogs. This coming weekend, with the Spanish women gone, John racing in New York and Jeanny on a camping weekend, I have been entrusted with Barney’s well-being. DREAD!!
Training
Unlike Falls Creek, 1709m (the altitude I am sleeping at) is not the highest I get, rather the lowest! Training at altitude carries with it many rewards, but also risks. Namely it is very important to manage fatigue and hydration levels, as it is very easy to dig yourself a hole you can’t get out of. For the first few days, the hours spent between training sessions were lying paralytic in bed. It took me a good five days to really start to feel strong across the whole day, without the need for constant naps (a source of great teasing on any EnduranceTeam camp). Moreover it is very hard not to get carried away with being surrounded in a training mecca. It has been quite a battle not to head to the hills on the bike and do more than what is on my program.
The training routes have remained similar to last year: Swimming at Flatirons, biking North around the hills (still not up any decent ones yet) and running around wonderland trails. Its been pleasing to gradually see the strength return across all three disciplines. Running 5.15/k and going anaerobic holding a (very brief) 1.30 cycle in the pool is not particularly enjoyable.
Will’s Travel tip no.2: Be WARY of the aqua-dancing women. They are vicious if you are in their lane/way/rough vicinity
Today was easily the highlight of the trip so far. Lachie Kerin (who I have raced against, and actually went to school with) arrived yesterday and we headed down to Flatirons to do a swim squad together. Just when we are about to start, 3-time IM World Champion hopped into our lane. It’s not uncommon to see pro’s at swim squad, but Crowie is defiantly a hero of mine. All those early morning and big K’s in the pool have been worth it, just to say that Crowie swam on my feet! Fortunately it was the first swim I was almost back to sea-level performance.
Our main set was: 4x400 on 5.30 straight to 4x150 on 2.05 (1:23.3333333 base). The time cycles were solid, but nothing spectacular for sea-level standards, at altitude I was stoked to make them all. Crowie was wearing a swim-skin which made me feel slightly better about the fact that he was putting 5-10s into me during the 400s (we’ll ignore the fact that I was drowning in lactate and in a state of extreme hypoxic debt…he seemed fine).
Retul Fit
Finally (I appreciating this post is getting near the 1,000 word mark) I was fortunate enough to spend a really fascinating 4hrs with the guys at the Retul headquarters. I have only ever had two proper fits on my bike. Once in 2009 on my road bike and again a year later on my TT. In the intermittent three years, the only changes in my position was me removing a few spacers and tilting my bars down a little.
The fit when through everything, from my strength, flexibility, body dimensions and style of riding. I am fortunate that I have very long arms, which means that my position will necessitate a long and low front end (i.e. looking pro). We made seven changes in total. The upshot being I am now rocking a fully slammed 140mm stem. Not only does it look good, immediately I felt awesome. Much of the knee complaints I had were stemming from my saddle from being too far back. Moreover with a lower front-end, I could tilt my bars higher up, which in turn would put less pressure on my wrists and shoulders.
As with last year, the first week is always the hardest. Settling into new surrounds, doing a mountain of organizing and generally getting into the cycle of training at altitude. With the hard work done I’m looking forward to really getting into all Boulder has to offer.
