Next stop Arizona: Phoenix then Tucson!

On Sunday morning we departed St George and headed to Phoenix. We spent the night in Scottsdale and then spent the next day enjoying the Phoenix Zoo with the kids. Seeing as I had my day on Saturday, Monday was a day set aside for the kids. It is a very nice zoo. It’s quite a bit smaller than the Calgary Zoo but the layout is great for children and ours most definitely enjoyed themselves. 

Ruth and James enjoyed the Camel ride.

After the better part of the day at the zoo we made the short trek to Tucson. The purpose for a stop in Tucson was primarily so I had a couple days to work with my coach, Brian Grasky, and secondly it provided a breather for the kids prior to making the drive to The Wooodlands, TX. It’s a great place to relax and enjoy the warm weather or get in some good training. Of all the cities I had visited in North America Tucson has to be the best for bike lanes…they are everywhere!

Here is a brief run down on the days in Tucson:

Tuesday – light bike ride just to shake the legs out and then a Retul Bike Fit with Brian. I wasn’t anticipating much in the way of adjustments after the Retul Fit and sure enough there was only a minor adjustment to my cleats and a slight increase in my saddle height.  This was the first time seeing the Retul system being used and it was quite impressive. If you are ever in Tucson and are looking for a good fit call Tucson Endurance PerformanceCenter (TEPC).

Post Retul Fit at TEPC

Wednesday – Track workout 12 x 400m (I went out at about 90-95%) Seeing as I was here anyways Brian invited me to his Wednesday morning track workout. It was great to meet some of the other GEC athletes as well as some of the members of the RACETucson Team. I did the workout primarily just to meet some of the other athletes. I was surprised at how responsive my legs were considering I had raced pretty hard on Saturday.  

Following the track workout I did the Mount Lemmon Climb with Brian and Travis. Seeing as I was racing IM Texas in under two weeks the plan was to spin up to Windy Point and keep my power output in check.  I did a “light” climb up to Windy Point and then enjoyed the screaming descent.  

And if that wasn’t enough I did a light Swimming Technique session with Brian at Oro Valley Aquatic Center (a 25yd by 50m outdoor pool). It was awesome to be lap swimming but outdoors something we don’t get to enjoy in Cold Lake. The technique session was very beneficial for me as Brian was able to help correct my stroke a little and provide some good drills to work on.

Thursday – Brick - Swim Session with Brian at Oro Valley Aquatic Center again. The workout was a combination of drills and a good portion in the middle of just swimming. Following the swim we pulled out the bikes and went for an hour ride. The workout was an easy 15minute warm-up and then 45minutes of work at about Ironman pace. And to finish the brick I did a light 9km run while Brian cycled with me and addressed my form.

It’s been a total blast training in Tucson the past few days. Special thanks to Brian Grasky for taking the time out of his schedule to ensure I got to see some of the beautiful sights in Tucson and get some quality training in.

And we are off to The Woodlands!