USA Triathlon National Championships on the Horizon

It's here and it came quick!  We are in the heart of summer and that means that USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships are right around the corner.  Jess and I will be traveling to Milwaukee with a lot of gear to spend the weekend with family in a new city.  I will be racing in both the Olympic and Sprint USA Triathlon Age Group National Championships.  My training has been going well but now is the time to start building the shorter course speed I am lacking coming off of the Boston Marathon in April and Boulder Half Ironman in June.  They both did a good job of beating my aging body up.  Being a physical therapist is certainly helpful in understanding what I need to do to stay healthy but, like all triathletes, the quantity of time spent training can be a difficult undertaking.

Luckily, living in Colorado Springs blesses triathletes in certain ways which is why I am continuing to build confidence in my chances for a great race in Milwaukee.  Pikes Peak Athletics runs the masters program at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center Pool (below) which will be a place I need to pitch a tent at for the next month as I prep for National Championships.  Gaining fitness in the pool is hard for an old runner like me in terms of pacing and speed.  It feels like my heart is fine but my poor arms want to sink to the bottom of the pool like lead.  I imagine the triathletes with pure swimming backgrounds can often feel the same way when running at times.  I have fallen more in love with swimming lately in what it provides, and the people involved in the PPA program are fantastic.  Thank goodness they make it easier for me to show up for a break to my work days, even if it means lunch in my car.

A new piece of my training for the last few months has been an improved indoor cycling experience with Zwift (pictured below).  When it's late in the evening or thunderstorms are rolling in over Pikes Peak, I can simply set up the trainer and plan my workout on a virtual island with a group of similar riders.  Going for the overall lap, mountain, or sprint jerseys is a great way to mix up the type of energy systems you want to tax during a hard ride as they each require very different measured efforts.  While Zwift has been a great tool in increasing my steady state power, we have also been enjoying the great outdoor rides of Colorado this summer despite all the potholes.

A recent ride picture below from the White River National Forest where we found a nice flat bike-way at a comfortable 5,400 feet elevation.  We are hoping the altitude training from Colorado will benefit us greatly as we drop down to a much lower and flatter Milwaukee for the races in August.  Personally, I wouldn't mind a few large hills in the Championships Courses as you can't avoid them for long when riding in Colorado.  

Of course, our original and favorite sport of the triathlon group is running.  Breaking up the triathlons so far this year have been two running races, Sailin' Shoes 10K and Half on the 4th, which have replaced some tempo runs during the week.  We always found running is a great sport to race into shape with as long as we are consistent during the rest of the week.  We also enjoy stopping during our travels to new places (like pictured below at Lake Dillon) where we can explore and break up our drive with a nice 5 miles or so.  It also doesn't hurt to find a few local spots such as Dillon Dam Brewing which we'd highly recommend for the workout re-fueler who loves craft beer that finds themselves out there.

We are looking forward to our trip to Milwaukee and we are excited to meet all of the racers and spectators from across the country who will be convening there.  In the meantime, I promise that I will train hard, and I hope you all do as well.  Let's Race!