Well now that I have had some time to reflect on my Florida trip and have been back in NJ for a week I have definitely had to push myself to get through this week. Thank goodness it was an easier recovery week as the last few weeks were alot more volume. The trainer has not looked appealing nor the cold windy temps inviting. It's amazing how inspiring a little warm weather is.There are endless different training opportunities in Florida.
I spent alot of time in Orlando, Claremont and a few days in Sarasota. I got to run on the beautiful beaches and through orange tree farms and on endless trails. I got to swim at the spectacular NTC training center where Sara Mclarty has her well known master workouts and plenty of pro's come to swim. I too swam in just about every YMCA in Orlando.I thank Carlos for his guest passes and Mr Mark Russel for letting me use their gyms! It was great having my swim partner and friend Maggie from NJ there for a week to make sure I was working hard in the pool!
The riding was the best! The hilly Claremont rides were amazing with open roads and no traffic lights. The Windermere ride was fun and I enjoyed having good company to ride with. I was thankful to Kevin Lenk who pushed me on my 5 hour ride reminding me to keep good form and push hard on my intervals and my friend Nick who put his bike together and came out for a few rides. I loved the easy 2 hour roadie ride that turned out to be a bit of a hammer session...a BIG breakfast or two was definitely in order after that ride. It was fun to see Patti down there too even if she wanted no part of my hard workouts.
Laura and John came down from NJ too and it was good to get an amazing ride in with them. It was great to see my friends Tom and Christine. Christine, I thank you for that amazing ride we did in Claremont...it was so windy and you hung in there and worked hard and kept that great attitude up all day even when we thought we were lost a few times. I know that you really did not want to swim after that ride yet you found the energy and kept me motivated to get the work done. I too thank you for making sure I was not attacked by pigs,snakes,or scary figures out in the orange fields...you got me through that long run safely.
It was also good to see Nick come out of running retirement, dust of his sneakers and decide to do a short 1hr30 run with me. I tried to warn him that it was a long run with a long interval in the middle. I thought he might turn with Kevin but instead he was in for the long haul...even running up walls and throwing in a few sprints. I was impressed by his speed for sure!
Nick I thank you for letting me crash at your place, eat your food, drinking all your South African tea and eat your cookies and chocolates. Thanks for getting me to drink coffee again after 15 years of no coffee. It was fun to talk about the old days growing up in Durbs and all our old hangs..!
I too enjoyed meeting Paul and the guys from the YMCA runs....you guys are all inspiring! It was great to ride with Danielle and Heather Gollnick too. It was good chatting to another pro women who is in the same position as me as far as training and having a family. Good luck to you all this season! I definitely hope to go back there and train again!
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