Tahoe Training

'Awesome' is a pretty good word to sum up the training camp in Tahoe. The weather actually turned out to be delightful and the ride around the lake is easily one of my all-time favorites. If given the option to train up there again, I'd accept in a heartbeat.

I wasn't able to make it up Wednesday night as planned, so I went out for the Wednesday Nighter and got in a 6k swim the following morning before driving up. Shortly after arriving, I went out for a run with a fellow pro, Nick Thompson. Simply put, I felt like shit on the run. Four hours in the car + trail mix + elevation = ugliness.

We started the next day with a swim, which left me gasping for air. Essentially, the entire swim felt like a hypoxic breathing set. After that, we ate breakfast and mounted our bikes. Unfortunately, my distress didn't end there. I hadn't been drinking enough, so I enjoyed a rather unpleasant side stitch for the first two hours of the ride. Once I came to my senses and increased my fluid intake, everything started falling together. Despite the discomfort, it was hard not to enjoy myself riding around such a beautiful lake.

After the ride, I had a great run and did more of the same the following day. I decided to leave Saturday night as Sunday's forecast looked terrible. Good thing, because getting home was a breeze and for those that stayed, it was anything but.

It's too bad the weather was so bad that Stage 1 had to be cancelled. Had the Tour started a day or two earlier, they would have had great weather. Regardless, I saw all the big names out on the roads in the days prior.