Summertime

One of the greatest things about being on the Foothills Masters Swim Team is the inspiration I get from my teammates. Not only are there super-tough swimmers who push me to perform better at every single workout, there's also a big group of stud triathletes, some crazy cold-water distance fanatics, and unbelievable ultra-runners. The best I can hope for as a coach is to inspire people by yelling at them and repeating technique platitudes over and over until they're forced to perform better...just to get me to shut up. But they all inspire ME just by doing the things they do. On any given day, there's at least one member of the team who is doing something challenging, inspiring, and possibly even fun.

Here's one difference between men and women, though: the women talk about all their plans and dreams during practice...while the guys hold their discussions in the locker room after practice. Since the chicks have already talked about running and kids' functions while they're supposed to be listening to the coach, I can only assume that their locker room chatter is all about girly stuff like makeup and Oprah and high heels, etc. But the manly men on the other side of the wall are discussing what sorts of grueling workouts they'll be doing during the otherwise-wasted interval between swim practices.

On Friday, my buddy Kim talked about riding his bike up to something called "City View". You reach it by riding up Deer Creek Canyon, which is pretty steep in places. He made it sound challenging, but fun, so I started thinking it might be a good way to spend part of Saturday morning. Kim was going to start at about 5:30am, but I decided to see what time I woke up and got around to it.

I hit the road by myself at about 7:30. Kim was probably finished by the time I started up the hill, but it didn't take long for me to realize that I hadn't paid quite enough attention to the directions he gave me. He said that "City View" was a little ways past the fire station...but I discovered that there are multiple fire stations along the route. I took a few wrong turns and engaged in profound head-scratching along the way, but eventually ended up on Highgrade road.

I'd heard the name before, and had always assumed that it acquired the name because the folks who lived there did really well in academics. But after climbing and climbing and climbing without a single flat or downhill section in an hour and a half of riding, I began to suspect that the name of the road might have something to do with its neverending steepness. Ugh.
Oh, I could go on and on about all the cruel people who laughed as they passed me, and all the kind ones who volunteered to call the paramedics for me. But long story short--I never did find City View. As I rode, I did some math...and the inescapable conclusion was that I had bitten off more than I could chew for my first ride of the season. I'm ashamed to say that I turned around before reaching the top of the mountain.

I may not have learned how to get to City View, but I did learn that being drenched in sweat and then riding a 20-minute descent on a cool morning is surefire a recipe for hypothermia.

Next time I'll take a windbreaker.

Oh yes, there will be a next time, my friends. Perhaps even this weekend. In the meantime, I'll listen in the locker room to see if any of the other guys have any good training ideas. I'll let you know. Until then, thanks for the inspiration...and have a great day!