bike camp

So I'm at bike camp in Chelan with my tri team.

And as you can see from the above photo, I'm taking my training (and my chicken) very seriously.

In fact, I may or may not have eaten gas station nachos slathered in pump-it-yourself cheese on the drive over.

Dear Coach Mark: I'm a champion.

All joking and terrible eating habits aside, I love it here. The house we're staying in has a gorgeous view of the Columbia River.

(It also has a hot tub, but I have strict rules against posting bikini photos.)

And there are enough PowerBar products to last a lifetime. (Dear PowerBar: Thank you for your sponsorship. The TN athletes salute you. Also, you do not make me feel like I have to poo my pants, and that's a good thing.)

Yesterday I rode just shy of 27 miles -- a fairly easy out-and-back along Lake Chelan to spin out the legs. Been trying to work on keeping a high cadence. And ease into aero position. And drink out of a water bottle without crashing.

After the ride, we had dinner at the house:

All of these veggies = Fantastic poo!

Today it was all about climbing -- 43 hilly miles. I'll admit I was scared. I've barely ridden outside since last summer, and I definitely haven't been climbing any hills. 

But by some great miracle, I powered through and didn't do half bad. In fact, I kept up with the faster group for most of the ride (until I got dropped on the third hill). The whole time I was thinking: Look, guys! I'm a real triathlete! I'm all grown up! (It really is a good thing that Coach Mark doesn't know what happens in my brain.)

The ride was breathtaking -- vineyards, apple orchards, rock formations, tall pines. My favorite part was riding through a tunnel only to burst out onto a joyous descent with a view of Lake Chelan. And the water was so, so blue. I'm not kidding -- I immediately started yelling: "Holy shit, guys! Holy shit, this is amazing!"

I wish I could've taken a photo, but then I probably would've crashed. So you have to look at this lesser photo of another hill instead.

I rode up this. And passed people.

After the ride, I did a 30-minute transition run. As usual, right off the bike, it felt like there was something up my ass and I couldn't run like a normal person. But after a few minutes, everything was fine.

Starting to think that maybe this Ironman thing is not so crazy. Maybe it is actually something I can somehow pull off.

And that is an absolutely insane thought.