We landed in Las Vegas early on Monday morning post Puerto Rico and walked out of the airport and almost froze on the spot! It was freezing for two Aussies fresh out of Summer! All the west of the United States was in the grip of a cold snap and Vegas wasn't an exception. It was the first little blow of the camp as we were banking on Vegas for warm weather and some quality training leading into my next events in Texas and New Orleans.
Luckily were were able to scrap together some warm riding clothing for the first few days till the temperatures warmer up and we could get into the training. Unfortunately I think the travel from Australia to Abu Dhabi to Puerto Rico plus two extremely hard races had taken its toll on my body and I was feeling a little run down. Maybe I had jetlag too? I really wanted to get into some hard training sessions but you have to listen to your body and it didn't want to be pushed (yet). In hindsight trying to race Abu Dhabi and Puerto Rico in consecutive weeks as well as the huge amounts of travel was my undoing. Lesson learned. After 5 easy days I came out the other side and I was feeling significantly better.
I have decided to withdraw from the upcoming US Ironman 70.3 championships in Galverston, Texas and opted to race just the New Orleans Ironman 70.3 before Ironman Texas in May. I guess I have been so eager to get back into racing after almost six months on the sidelines I just realized I may have initially over committed to the early season calendar?! Both Abu Dhabi and San Juan showed great promise in most areas of my racing and with eight weeks till Texas all is on track.
We have enjoyed our time living out at Lake Las Vegas which is far from the hustle and bustle of the strip. I am proud to say we only ventured in there for one dinner in the whole 10 days we have been here! Vegas has actually been a pleasant place to train and I am sure we will come back here for another camp at some point. I can tell you one thing though. The Ironman 70.3 championships is going to be tough!!!
Now it's off to San Diego for some sponsor commitments at the Oceanside Ironman 70.3 and to cheer on some friends. We are looking forward to getting back to San Diego for a few weeks and doing some training on some of my old favorite routes from my first years living in the USA in 2003 & 2004!
Here are some pix from our time training in Vegas
Luckily were were able to scrap together some warm riding clothing for the first few days till the temperatures warmer up and we could get into the training. Unfortunately I think the travel from Australia to Abu Dhabi to Puerto Rico plus two extremely hard races had taken its toll on my body and I was feeling a little run down. Maybe I had jetlag too? I really wanted to get into some hard training sessions but you have to listen to your body and it didn't want to be pushed (yet). In hindsight trying to race Abu Dhabi and Puerto Rico in consecutive weeks as well as the huge amounts of travel was my undoing. Lesson learned. After 5 easy days I came out the other side and I was feeling significantly better.
I have decided to withdraw from the upcoming US Ironman 70.3 championships in Galverston, Texas and opted to race just the New Orleans Ironman 70.3 before Ironman Texas in May. I guess I have been so eager to get back into racing after almost six months on the sidelines I just realized I may have initially over committed to the early season calendar?! Both Abu Dhabi and San Juan showed great promise in most areas of my racing and with eight weeks till Texas all is on track.
We have enjoyed our time living out at Lake Las Vegas which is far from the hustle and bustle of the strip. I am proud to say we only ventured in there for one dinner in the whole 10 days we have been here! Vegas has actually been a pleasant place to train and I am sure we will come back here for another camp at some point. I can tell you one thing though. The Ironman 70.3 championships is going to be tough!!!
Now it's off to San Diego for some sponsor commitments at the Oceanside Ironman 70.3 and to cheer on some friends. We are looking forward to getting back to San Diego for a few weeks and doing some training on some of my old favorite routes from my first years living in the USA in 2003 & 2004!
Here are some pix from our time training in Vegas
We were in search of more warm weather but you can see it snowing on the mountains behind the Las Vegas strip the first day we arrived!
The Henderson pool is a great facility. Back to swimming 25 yards though (I miss 50m pools)
Riding at Lake Mead. Have to work out here in the desert. Lot's of hills and wind!
The Red Rock Canyon loop on the west side of town is another great ride. Very popular with the local cyclists
Running and lot's and lot's of red dirt!
Red Rock loop with our friends Rob & Irene
Highlight of the week had to be our first live Lacrosse game and watching Chandler score his first ever goal!