Arizona Training

I spent the last few weeks getting in some miles in sunny Arizona. The timing of this trip worked out well, because the weather at home in Knoxville was gross, while I was able to train in good conditions.

During our time in Arizona, Thorsten and I were hosted by a friend of Thor’s dad, Mr. Leblanc. They were training partners in Paris leading up to the 1988 Olympics in swimming. The Leblanc family was incredibly welcoming and made sure Thor and I had everything we needed to perform, from amazing French meals every night to letting us use their hot tub after long days of training.

Thor and I kept ourselves entertained between rides with contests in different fields. I lost in almost all of these, including Mario Kart and speed putt-putt on the backyard green. However, I laid down the law when we got to Wii tennis.

We also did some real competitions at local races one weekend. The first race was a parking lot crit. Thor lapped with another guy a few laps before I did, and then slowed them down so I could make it across after spending twenty minutes solo. The other guy didn’t realize I had lapped as well, so I got away pretty easily and held it to the line while Thor lit up the sprint for second.

The next race was a bigger one and really windy. Thor and I were both feeling fatigued as this was the end of a big training week, and we missed the break that lapped the field. However, I was on the lookout to salvage the best result possible, so when the pack slowed down with maybe six laps to go, I took a flyer with one other guy and snagged fifth place.

While I had a great time in Arizona, I am looking forward to two weeks of training on home roads before leaving for team camp in California. Especially to picking up a fresh Jamis!