That's a Wrap + Why I'm so Sore!

Sunday marked the end of my second 3-week training block/build of 2010. The second was way better than the first. I pushed harder, got that much closer to puking during a few high-intensity workouts and survived a little longer on a couple key rides, runs and brick sessions. As a result, I saw some numbers that made me happy. Except for swimming. It seems that as volume increases with bike/run, and in general, my progress in swimming is plateauing a bit. But, thankfully, I have some new knowledge and ideas to help get results I want in the pool (more on that later).
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Valentine's Day was the icing on the cake for the big training block, and if it hadn't been for the HOT sunny weather and my love of the outdoors, I don't know if I would have stuck to the plan of a.m. long, hilly trail run & p.m. ez/mod 2-hr spin. Part of me just wanted to lounge around and rest.... But there was no way I could miss out on the gorgeous day. So (with El Moro/Crystal Cove still closed) I ran at Whiting Ranch, which just reopened Saturday since the SoCal storm mayhem we had recently. All the mud and trail destruction became a good excuse to make the first 1.5 miles "easy" as not to eat sh*t. At about mile 2, you hit the big hills, Mustard & Dreaded, which are killer hard even at a walking pace. Here's a picture from the base; the actual "top" isn't even in sight:I swear I almost broke down in tears because it hurt so bad "running" up. But once at the top, I rested, chatted with hikers and got inspired to run back down to the base and do a repeat. Crazy, but glad I did. I ended up passing two dude runners who looked very fit and about my age on my 2nd jaunt up; we struck up convo at the top. One is a marathoner-in-training, the other a former competitive cyclist. At that point I was hurting, but I knew more hills were coming. So I asked if they wanted to run with me knowing it would keep me motivated, plus it was their first time on the trail so I could play their torture tour guide. They were all about it. So I ran. They followed. We tackled the next big hill, and I made it up with a HR max of 185. Now that's work, but it felt awesome to crest the top.... I credit the guys for helping me to push; they were like my V-day surprise! In a weird, painful way.
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Then the downhills finally came, with lots of fun and technical single track where good footing is key to not rolling an ankle (learned the hard way last year). The marathoner almost held onto my pace the whole time, but I got an edge in the last couple miles where it flattens out... somehow the speed in my legs turned on--I think it was thoughts of a yummy lunch that awaited.
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All in all... that 9 miles of running--with 2,100 ft of climbing--put me at nearly 30 miles for the week and just about 90 miles within the last 3 weeks. (I'm currently training 14-16 hrs per week.)
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After some refueling and moaning/laying on the floor, I got my butt in gear for the ride. I told myself to just take it ez and not overdo it. After last-minute planning, I got in my intense long-ish and very hilly ride (w 5-mile t-run) on Friday with my boss, who's a freakin stellar athlete.... translate: OUCH for me! That was my "big one" for the week, so Sunday it was just about spinning and enjoying the outdoors some more. Surprisingly, 2 hours in the saddle went by really fast and I felt better after that then when I started.
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But today I feel like I got hit by a truck. That's largely in part due to a full day of Jessi Stensland's MovementU clinic on Saturday. She had us doing tons of AWESOME functional movement exercises that are perfect for dynamic warmups and overall body maintenance aka developing a body that's balanced, resilient to injury, healthy, strong, well-aligned and, most importantly, a performance machine.
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If you haven't heard or seen Jessi's MovementU, I highly recommend attending one/checking it out. It's a full day, but don't think about it as if you're "losing" training hours; rather, you walk away with more knowledge to boost your performance that, in my opinion, beats missing a Saturday's 4-5 hours of sbr-ing. Plus, you're moving and being active the whole day with Jessi, and if you're like me and haven't been doing these functional exercises, then I guarantee you'll be more sore than 4 hours in the saddle leaves you! I swear!!
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Not to mention, she serves some excellent food, too. All homemade by her. How does she do it all?! I have no idea... but I can guess that it's her dedication to an athlete's well-being.

The MU crew (including some of my CSUF Tri Team friends!!)....

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Last but not least... I said on FB/Twitter how I got to spend Valentine's with my one true love, the sunny outdoors. Ha! It's true, though... beautiful days spent outdoors in nature are all I need at this point to keep me happy and sane.