After our late night on Friday (see YndeCamp day 3), it took us a little longer to get going on Saturday morning. Once again, it was a beautiful sunny day, and we decided to start our training with a 5000m swim at the outdoor pool. We enjoyed a soothing hot tub after the swim to map out the rest of our day. We decided to hit the desert trails for a fun 5.5 mile run. Although I was feeling SO tired and unmotivated to run, we all took off in typical camp formation and before long; I was feeling great and enjoying every minute. I love running in high temps-I felt strong, and could have run forever. We still had a strong bike workout left for the day, but opted to enjoy a few afternoon hours of quality relaxation and refueling before hitting the road.
The planned bike workout was a 10 mile ride to the “Hill” (3.5 miles w/1000 ft of climbing), then do 3 hill repeats, and ride home. The Usery Pass Hill, is a prefect place to do form repeats (3 min high rpm seated, 1 min high rpm standing, 3 min big gear seated, 3min big gear standing (repeat)). I absolutely love this workout,and I felt great out there. I was having one of those awesome training days. Kerry decided to skip one of the repeats to take photos and video of us climbing -- Thanks honey-great job! We finished our last repeat, and took the scenic overlook route home to catch the beautiful sunset. 
I felt like a little kid…out playing on my bike until the sun set. We got home shortly after 7pm and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together. We were coming to the sad realization that our training camp was quickly coming to an end. We mapped out our final day and started packing for the trip home.
I felt like a little kid…out playing on my bike until the sun set. We got home shortly after 7pm and enjoyed a wonderful dinner together. We were coming to the sad realization that our training camp was quickly coming to an end. We mapped out our final day and started packing for the trip home.Sunday (Final Day): We got up early and drove to Tempe Town Lake to catch the energy and excitement of Ironman Arizona. We arrived just in time to hear a powerful rendition of our national anthem, which was followed by Mike Reilly’s always inspirational messages and official Start. That will never get old-Ironman starts are such a powerful and emotional moment in sport.
We stuck around to see a few of our buddies start the bike, then suffered through our final workout of YndeCamp or as it had been renamed; YndeCramp. We did a loop of the run course (9miles), and while having an ‘out of body’ training day on Saturday, my legs (and mental stamina) was nowhere to be found on Sunday…I was officially checked out…and barely survived the run…I just wanted to hang out and watch the race.
We stuck around to watch additional race action before our hunger quickly took over – The boys had been craving In and Out Burger all week, and with one close by, it didn’t take long to get them Double Double combos w/ chocolate shakes-they were in their happy place! Sorry Karl-Wish we could have taken one home for you!
We went back to the condo for a few final hours before heading to the airport. Julie and I opted to maximize sun exposure and laid by the pool for a few hour, whereas the guys decided to "watch" the Masters (check out the photo). It’s hard to believe that we were in beautiful sunny Arizona for 5 days, and this was the first and only time we laid by the pool. We enjoyed yummy snacks, fun conversation, and before long, it was time to head back. We left for the airport around 3pm and that was it-YndeCamp was complete:
12000m of swimming
180 miles of biking
32 miles of running
TONS of fun!!
Thanks to Julie, Erik and Kerry for being such wonderful training buddies and great friends. So many great memories-You guys are awesome!!
180 miles of biking
32 miles of running
TONS of fun!!
Thanks to Julie, Erik and Kerry for being such wonderful training buddies and great friends. So many great memories-You guys are awesome!!
