March Madness 4 Triathletes

I am now in Tuscon Arizona and done with a nice week of recovery training in Victoria, BC. I can't begin to express how HAPPY I am to be training with some of my good buds here in AZ.

I think that my time in NZ (In training) was a bit of solitary confinement. It was really hard to do so much on my own when it was combined with a few of the injuries that I am dealing with. When you are isolated it seems that so many of the negative things are exaggerated. Or at least the way in which you react to them. I can already feel the health beginning just from being around the group.

Today we up to Madera Canyon. On the way out it was myself, Gordo, JD, Jonas and Nick. Nick is my roomie for the came and from North Carolina (friends with Jon Shilt and Dr. J). He got a nice taste today riding with us. He had mentioned that he felt "great to be riding with the big boys". I still feel that way!

The climb to Madera was decent but I think the biggest challenge was how DRY it was out. I don't think it is possible to stay properly hydrated in this weather but will try better tomorrow.

Jonas did his usual first day get in the van. One of the best things about Jonas is that he trains without his ego and is not afraid to make smart decisions. He flew something like 40 hours in the last two days so he knew anything more would be stupid. Something we can all learn from.

JD got in as he is working the camp so on the way back it was just Gordo, Nick and myself. We rode well but got a bit broken up due to a flat. I actually dropped back for a second as I started to get some abductor cramps. I think it was just a sign of dehydration. Normally when you get these as strong as I got them you would think the ride is over. I just slowed down for a bit and got in as much water as I could. I actually recovered from them and got rolling again at a nice pace. I caught up to some of the riders that had gone off early and was very happy to ride in with KP. If you ever need a nice draft he is one great dude to get it from.

When we got back I decided that one of my "things" for the camp would be to get out of my bike clothes as fast as possible and shower up. Monica would be so proud of me :-) No mushrooms! haha....I like to call what I am doing a great example of how to properly execute a true Gordo Byrn "Hey Buddy". You see, you have a nice hard day out on the bike, get in and get cleaned and dressed as quick as possible. Then you sit outside, looking so well groomed, and give everyone that rolls in a "Hey buddy" as if you had been sitting there all day enjoying the sun!

Really looking forward to the rest of this camp and very happy to be back in the states with the Good Guys and CO.

Will keep you posted on how everything is going in the run department and if we can get Dr. J a cortisone injector so we can shoot up my shoulder. We did run for 50min this AM and it felt pretty good.

Cheers,
bdc