Love the Hurt: Camping fun

Nothing better than a good beer around the
campfire with great company!

With this sickness sidelining me for so long - I had a lot of down time. This sinus infection has really been interesting because with the help of some over-the-counter meds I'd be fine and could perform everyday tasks. But when I tried exercising I would instantly start getting that fever feeling and it would sideline me for the next several days. So I took a lot of time off in hopes that it wouldn't come back even worse like it has on me two different occasions now. It's not worth ruining the season just trying to get ready for St. George. Being quite stubborn, I did not want to let go of St. George. I have visualized this race in my head over and over since November. This has been my "A" race and all of my off season work has been geared towards this type of course. What I didn't imagine is being out for the count so long. This A race has now become a C race for me. I took more time off then I did in the off season and it shows. This is my first week back and it really feels like I am starting all over. I know it should come back fast but I also don't want to push it and risk making my sickness worse...Yes, I'm still coughing up green crap. Soooo over it. So St. George is now going to be a fun family get-a-way with friends and team mates. We're going to make a vacation out of it, visit Zion, different parts of Vegas and really enjoy ourselves. The race? Well it's going to be more of a big workout for me now and I'll be sure to treat it that way. There's a good chance I'll be lounging by the pool with a beer in hand most of the time leading up to the race. And I'm OK with that!

Love opening day!!!

With the downtime came some fun non-triathlon related activities. I went to the Padres opening day, worked an EXPO at the convention center for work and went camping with family/friends. Amy and I grew up camping and during our first 5 years of marriage sans kids, we did a lot of it. Since we've had them, we've slowly backed off just because of how hard it is to tent camp with two little ones running around. Only this time, we camped about 15 minutes away from Amy's folks so they were generous enough to loan us their 5th wheel for the weekend. Man, what a difference! Time to start saving some pennies, because camping with a trailer/motorhome with kids was a blast! Cousins everywhere, family, friends, campfires, horseshoes, great weather and great beer made for a really cool weekend. Although I would have to say the highlight of the weekend for me was watching Scarlett ride the first few days on her training wheels only to take them off and ride without them for the first time on the third day! It was one of the most proud moments a dad can have. She's been asking me for the past three months and telling me that she's ready and that she wants them off, but the paranoid dad (me) didn't think she was ready. I learned a lot from this. Never doubt Scarlett! I did a few laps with her running alongside her, but eventually realized she didn't need me anymore....The first of many experiences like this to come....She's getting big waaay too fast and I am so proud of her.

As far as training/racing goes....The gameplan at this point is to slowly add volume/intensity up to St. George. Pretty much the opposite of what you'd do in a typical "Peak" period of a training plan but I need it. I need to get some decent climbing legs in me before I hit this hell-ish course. Just over two weeks to go!

Here's some pics from the weekend: