Training Camp Day 8

The last day of camp :( :( :(

We started off the day with a 7:30am trail run on the Bearclaw Poppy Trail. It was so beautiful. Trail running is one of my favorite workouts - being in nature, not having to worry about your pace but rather just enjoying the scenery while adapting to the changing terrain. The plan was to run aerobic for 45-60min, picking up the last 10min to tempo. We started off as a group but ended up spreading out within 10min. Running solo through the red rocks was kind of magical. The first section of the trail was a bit windy with some short, somewhat sharp climbs and descents. After about ten minutes it became more of a false flat with some longer, more gradual climbs. My legs were burning (and smoked from the week) but I could have cared less. I was having so much fun I could have stayed out there for hours. After thirty five minutes out it was sadly time to turn around. The way back was slightly downhill and I was able to pick up my speed. Coach Lisa ran with me for a couple kilometres and made sure I was pushing the descents (I was a little hesitant to push them too hard with winter long knee injury but it felt perfect). Apparently everyone else struggled to stay on the right path and make it back to the trail head but I found it quite easy to navigate - I was pretty proud of myself considering my sense of direction and spatial awareness is almost non existent. I managed to cover 12km over the sixty minutes.

After the run we headed back to the condos for a quick swim.

500 easy

4x25 fast, 6x50 fast

3x300 aerobic (2 pull, 1 fins)

300 easy

The swim was rough. My body was toast and I struggled fighting the waves. I ended up tucking into the back of my lane and drafting my way through the workout. All I could think about the entire swim was how each lap I finished I was getting that much closer to having a ham and cheese sandwich.

We finished the swim around 11am, which left us with about an hour before we had to leave for Las Vegas. It was a mad dash to shower, pack, clean up the condos and scarf down some lunch.

The drive to Las Vegas was really cool. When I was on the bus heading to St. George it was already pitch black outside so I wasn’t able to see any of the views (that combined with me being super sick and having zero interest in anything other than attempting to not hurl). Once we got to Las Vegas we were able to see the strip as well - might have to put a Las Vegas race on the bucket list.

We got to the airport and I was starting to panic again. I really did not want to get on the plane. Shout out to my ladies - I honestly don’t think I would have been able to have flown if it wasn’t for them. Every step of the way they were there for me, making sure I was ok. Olivia made sure I ate some food, Ella made sure I bought some gingerale, Sara made sure I had gravel, Soph walked me onto the plane and checked on me during the flight. The actual flight went rather smoothly. I started to panic on the take off but was able to keep it together. During the flight, I listened to music, stayed extremely still and basically stared at the same spot on the ceiling for the entire ride. Every time there was turbulence I would death grip the arm rests but I didn’t overly panic. The flight attendant gave us our declarations to fill out and I had to get the gentlemen sitting next to me to help fill mine since reading made me start to feel nauseous. I was so thankful when the plane finally landed - my stomach was ok but I was pretty dizzy. As soon as it was possible, I grabbed my bags and briskly walked into the airport - just in case I needed to make a quick trip to the bathroom. I was still pretty dizzy but I was able to finish off my gingerlale and not throw up! Yay me! This was probably my best flight ever. Customs went smoothly and I was out of the airport within a half hour.

I was stoked to see Miss Sadie - she was pretty excited until she realized I hadn’t brought her back any presents - she spent the rest of the night sulking. It was my little brother’s birthday so we had some cake and then I pretty much went straight to bed.

Today’s 5:30am alarm clock was not pleasant. I am officially back to the grind of balancing work and training. Today I work at the golf course 7-2, coach 2:30-4:00, and work at Sporting Life 6-9. Between 4 and 6 I will be sneaking in a workout.

My next post will most likely be a recap of my first race of the season! In two weeks I will be racing a sprint in Airdrie. I wanted to get in a local, relatively inexpensive/low stakes race before Wasa. Excited to see my winter training pay off!