Day 7- :-(

Well, this is the last day of camp.

I have eaten breakfast and my bags are packed. The only thing left for me is to make it back to Chicago, which is something that does not excite me.

As I write this, I think I will swing by downtown Solvang for a bit to buy a few snacks for the looooooonnnngggggggg wait in the airport.

I cannot help but think of all that I have learned while doing this camp:

- how to dress for rides
- how to pace myself during hard efforts
- nutrition and hydration
- race strategies

My threshold for pain has definitely moved up a bit and I think my training will improve thanks to my newfound toughness.

Also, the idea of "getting away" from it all is something that everyone should consider. I have not had such a carefree week in a long time and because of it, I feel terrific coming in to the week.

Ok, I need to clean up and visit downtown Solvang one more time until I come back next year :-)

Thanks for reading. I hope to have the final batch of pictures up later this week - Justin

Day 6 - The Final Race

Today was the day that I put it all together.

A 78 mile day (25 out, 28 race, 25 in) to cap off an amazing week.

The race itself wasn't so bad. I finished in the upper third out of 65 racers, so that was cool. There are a lot of strong people here and I was glad to leave everything out on the road against them.

The winds made things a bit tricky, especially on the decents.

The scenery was absolutely amazing. We road from Solvang to the Pacific Ocean. Mountains, water, sand: all awesome.

On a sour note, a really nice guy got in to a gnarly crash towards the turnaround. There have been entirely too many crashes this week and some people had to go to the hospital. I am lucky to leave this beautiful place alive and healthy.

I have an awkward tan, my legs feel strong and I had an amazing time. The only crappy thing is that I have to leave tomorrow.

I hope to have more pics up soon - Justin

Day 5: Ow Ow Ow

Yeah, so the ride hurt a lot today.

I blew up too early in the sprint because I misjudged the finish line.

On the other hand, I outclimbed everyone else so that was cool.

After the ride, I went for a massage and I feel loads better.

Tomorrow, we have a 75 mile road race with climbing and sprints. It should be fun because I am the best climber in my group and I think I can hold my own in sprinting if I know where the finish line is located.

More updates to come - Justin

Day 5: The pain is setting in

First off, I want to apologize for a previous post. I just noticed that I spelled "massage" incorrectly.

Anyways, I am going for a long ride today and there are rumors of more races, so that should be fun.

My body hurts, but I just need to hang on for another day and I will be set.

Last night, we went to a western-themed place. I have never eaten so much in my life in such a tacky place, but oh well.

Off to the races - Justin

*NEW PHOTOS*

Day 4 - Rest Day?

Today is supposed to be an easy day after the hell we endured yesterday.

Basically, we did a 20 mile easy ride with a 2K "race". I took second, so the day was not a wash.

Later today, I am going to swim, do functional training and go for a run. The variety of workouts will aid in my recovery and I should be solid for the 100 miler tomorrow.

Not a whole lot went down this morning so I hope to have more later today - Justin

Day 3: Part 2

I had to write this update because it is huge.

Let's start with the message:

I was told to go with Paul because he is better than the meth addict with the sunken eyes.

When I walked over to him, he reminded me of "The Comic Book Guy" from "The Simpsons". He even sounded like him!!!

Anyways, I told him that my quads/hammies/shoulders/lower back were sore.

Everything was fine until he got to my butt.

Once he got there, he exclaimed "wow, this is why your back is sore!!!!!"

For the next 20 minutes, he pounded it like a chef from "Chili's" trying to tenderize a piece of beef. It was really awkward.

After the massage, I came back for dinner.

20 minutes in to dinner, we had a special guest come in: The real winner of the 2006 Tour de France, Floyd Landis!!!!!

We had a short Q&A regarding his situation and the best dialouge of the night was the following exchange:

Wally: Floyd, if you go drinking with Rick tonight and climb Mt. Figueroa tomorrow, do you think I could beat you?

Floyd: First off, I will beat Rick in drinking and then I will beat you up the mountain.

Isn't cycling humor wonderful?

Anyways, he is going to ride with us tomorrow, so that should be fun.

Laters- Justin

Day 3 - Hell of the West

It is now 2:13 pm PST and I am completely spent.

This morning included one of the, if not the hardest climb I have ever done in my life: Mount Figueroa.

Here are some interesting stats about this mountain:

- It is close to 11 miles to the very top.
- It averages a 7% gradient.
- 4100 total feet of climbing.
- It is a category 1 climb (second hardest category)

Basically, it was a sufferfest.

I started out in the middle of the pack and tried to hold a steady effort the entire time. This was done by looking at my power meter and measuring the amount of energy my legs were using. The idea is to hold the same amount of power during this type of workout. This was not accomplished because I literally ran out of gears, so I was putting out 270-300 watts the entire time and recovering when I had the chance.

There was a portion in the climb that was downhill, but unfortunately, I got caught in mud a couple of times and fell over.

I eventually caught up with the rest of the people and stormed to the top to the best of my ability.

(Forgive the amount of details regarding my emotions)

Waiting at the top was Robbie Ventura and several other people, along with sweet, sweet Gatorade. There are times in our lives that we yearn for something so much that we are willing to slay everyone in our way in order to do it. I was yearning pretty bad for Gatorade at this point.

After enjoying my place at the top of the world, I put on my arm and leg warmers and descended down the mountain.

Tale of the tape: 50+ miles, 2010 kJ (500 kCal) burned, 4 hours.

I am going to get a message later tonight and then eat a giant dinner.

Tomorrow, we will go for an easy ride and run, which should feel pretty nice.

On an unrelated note, "Protest the Hero" is an awesome band and you should check them out at some point.

Nap time, so I am out. Check out the new pictures- Justin

Day 2

First off, I apologize for the lack of pictures. This website is not a team player when it comes to uploading pictures, so I have created a Flickr account for your viewing pleasure.

Now for the fun stuff!!!

We started out with a short warm-up ride that was pretty nice. You have no idea how great it feels to be able to walk outside in the sunshine and ride all morning. I put on entirely too much clothing for the ride, which means I overheated for the first portion.

After the warmup, we did a short Time Trial to break in to groups. I was not happy with my performance and it will probably set me back in a weaker group. This was my biggest fear about camp and I hope it works out in the end.

An hour in to the ride and I was ready to go for the rest of the day. I was making long, hard pulls in the group up really steep climbs. If I can warm up properly, I think tomorrow will be nice.

After that, I went with the Triathletes to the pool and swam 2500 yards, which felt amazing. I attended a lecture on training with power and then worked on bike handling drills. There has been zero breaktime today (with the exception of this) and I am loving it.

Tomorrow we are going to climb Mt. Figueroa. This thing will be a beast and will account for several hours of my day.

Anyways, it is dinner time and I am staaaarrrrvvvvviiiinnnnngggggg.

Here is the link for the photo album: http://www.flickr.com/photos/24187388@N04/

Ciao- Justin

Day 1

Wow.

It took a while, but the scenery is spectacular.

Monday was frustrating because my flight from ORD-LAX was delayed for 20 minutes, my flight from LAX-SBA didn't have a captain, so that was delayed for an hour and my ride from SAB-Solvang was stuck in traffic, so I waited for another hour.

After eating and introducing myself to people, I went to bed and slept later than I have in close to a year.

Today, we will ride for about 3 hours, do a 5-mile Time Trial to break in to groups and then I am going to swim.

More updates to come - Justin

Today is the day!!!!

After months and months of waiting, the day has arrived.

It is now 7:10 AM and I am trying to cram as many files on to my iPod as possible.

After a stretch and some core work, I will eat a large breakfast because I don't know if I will have the chance to eat lunch due to the crazy flight schedule.

I don't know what I will do when I arrive in to Solvang. They may have orientation or something, but I would rather go for a run just to open up the legs before tomorrow.

That is about it for now.

The next post you will read will coming from Solvang, California!!!!!


Vaarwel en goed geluk - Justin

1 more day......

I am almost ready to go. Mentally, I have checked out. Physically, I still have a bit of packing to do.

Thanks to my good friend Libby, I have enough Clif Blocks to last for the next 3 years, so yay.

My carry-on bag is assembled.

I have:

- pedals
- helmet
- shoes
- power meter
- camera
- limited toiletries

This way, I can still ride in the event of an airline screw up *knock on wood*


I am exhausted and I want to go to bed or take a nap, but there is still laundry to be done and things to be packed.

Still, it will be worth it in less than 24 hours - Justin

2 days until Camp......

I went all around Chicago today in search of nutrition, hydration and clothing for the forthcoming week.

Once I climb Mt. Figueroa (which will take a while), the winds up top will be pretty nasty and cold. For extra fun, I have to descend from said mountain at speeds close to 40 mph. Due to this, my feet will get cold. Thus, I purchased booties to cover my shoes and wool socks so my feet will be a little warmer.

For some reason, I cannot stand it when my feet are cold. My nose could have frostbite and my fingers could be solid ice, but when it comes to the feet, I need to make sure they are roasty-toasty.
While this proves to be a rather lame post, I promise you that it will get better - Justin

3 days until Solvang.......

Well, at the request of several people, I have decided to chronicle my adventures during my Spring 2008 camp.

Here are the basics:

1. I will be in Solvang, California from February 25-March 2 for my spring camp.

2. Solvang is just north of Santa Barbara, which means I will experience lots of fun climbs.

3. This camp is designed to test my physical and mental limits, both of which will be helpful as I train for Ironman Coeur d'Alene.

4. The weather in Solvang is 35x better than the weather in Chicago and St. Louis


Keep checking for updates as the days go on - Justin