It was a right decision to go train in my favorite place, Los Alamos, NM. Even though I couldn't run for a while, but I was able to ride the bike and swim and just enjoy my time in this beautiful little town with my friends, I've met through past couple years. There are a few places in the world, which make me calm and help me to get rid of any negative emotions and Los Alamos is one of them. Thanks a lot to Kim and Susie for letting me stay in your houses, it helps us, people who travel a lot, to feel home far away from home.
At the beginning of the camp I felt like I kind of lost my shape, going through all those injuries past couple months. But it never feels great coming to 7 and something thousand feat from the sea level. It took about two weeks to start slowly getting used to the elevation. Last couple years I find myself liking to train with people, it was very helpful to swim with the Masters class 3 times a week in the highest 50 miters swimming pool in North America (Aquatic center). I've had a few Epic workouts ( everything feels Epic on this elevation, by the way): 5 hours bike ride, climbing the mountains, going through scenic view mountain nature and some historical places; I've done also 3 hours 45 min hike-run with My friends Kim and Paul (my longest time spending on my feet before was 3h. 30 min at the Ironman race), we started from 8 something thousand feat and finished somewhere around 12.000 feat. But the most painful always was and is the Time Trial bike ride, organized every week in summer time by Clay: it's just 8 km, but it hurts like hell :) (the dry air, the hit, t
he elevation, and a climb about 4 km long).
As I mentioned before I wasn't running for a last couple months, but I started running last week in Los Alamos and I really wanted to do the race at the end of the camp and I was lucky that Sport Systems was setting the race near Santa Fe and Albuquerque at the Cochiti Lake. I've been at this place before, it's a great aria for training, open water swim and especially for the triathlon race. Thanks to organizers they set me for the race and provided with everything I needed. We arrived to the race site the day before the race, the weather was beautiful. It's a great place for a fishing, kayaking, sailing, hiking and for many other activities.
Swim: The bike course was one loop as a triangle swim. The water was pretty warm, but as long as the swim is wetsuit legal I'll am not going to swim without one. I was lucky enough to get out of the water with my friend Clay and the other guy (the guys I was swimming with the entire course).
Bike: Bike course is taking part partly on the dam, which is pretty much flat and with kind of long uphill close to the end of the bike segment plus one km steep downhill to the transition, which you have to climb going out of transition at the beginning. The whole course feels mostly flat, but not the very fast one, as you are riding at 1700m altitude.
Run: The run course is not complicated, but not the easy one as well. Maybe because I wasn't running much passed few months or it's an altitude or a hit or maybe all together. But I felt like I am not moving anywhere. It's out and back run with one km steep uphill going out of T2 and of course on the way back it's a downhill. And rest of the run course is taking part on the dam.
I think it's could be a great place for a half Ironman distance. This course would be a very challenging, spectacular and enjoyable in the same time.
I would like to thank again the race organizers and especially Angy, the race director and Jason, the race volunteer, who made my trip back home much easier.
