English
Training took a back seat to my recent 2 week holiday in California. As regular Bloggle readers will have heard, most of Team Wiggle eased up slightly to reflect on 2009, refresh and get ready to start the preparation for 2010 and I am no exception. I always try and take a month out at the end of the year where I reduce my training volume and train for fun. I try not to watch the clock too closely or worry about speeds or splits and if I’m being honest I really just exercise so I can keep eating dessert guilt free!
The Dutchman and I started our road trip in LA and stayed with some friends in the Hollywood Hills. I had to resist stalking their next door neighbour who is none other than Patrick Dempsey, perhaps better known as McDreamy from Greys Anatomy. Unfortunately (fortunately for him) I didn’t get to see him, but it didn’t stop me peering out the window at regular intervals. Following a few days in LA we headed to Death Valley where we planned to do a long hike to the top of Telescope Peak, unique in that you can see both the lowest (Death Valley) and highest (Mt Whitney) points in the USA. Things didn’t go to plan and halfway through the hike we had to turn back because it was so cold!
Despite wearing my 2XU tights, dhb Merston long sleeve jersey and several other layers, I was absolutely freezing and really was not having a good time. The weather had changed and we were in the clouds so I couldn’t even say I was cold but enjoying the view. My patience was wearing thin and the Dutchman who is well versed in recognising the signs of a pending meltdown turned us around and we headed back to the warmth of the valley floor. We snapped this picture on the valley floor. Very useful in case you were wondering what those big piles of sand might be.
Next up was Yosemite National Park to see the giant Sequoia trees which blew my mind. They are enormous. You can see the size difference between the tree and this house next to one of them, and that wasn’t even a particularly noteworthy tree as there were others much bigger! Next day we set off on a huge hike which combined 3 trails starting in Yosemite Valley up to Glacier Point which provided fantastic views of Half Dome, along the Panorama trail taking in the spectacular waterfalls and onto the John Muir trail. It was a serious 6.5 hr workout but with regular breaks to take in the scenery.
Next stop was Lake Tahoe where we hiked up from Fallen Leaf Lake past 8 different lakes to loop back around to the start. What had become apparent was that California is an incredibly diverse state and I was beginning to doubt 2 weeks would be any where near close enough to experience it! Leaving Lake Tahoe we hit a snowstorm but luck was with us when a snow plow pulled out in front of me and I got to follow him over the pass and past others who had slid off the road in the icy conditions. Not sure it is standard practise to carry snow chains in a Mustang convertible!
Onto Sonoma in the wine region and due to the lack of hiking we picked up the running to get some exercise in, in addition to walking between wineries of course! After a few relaxing days we then headed across to the coast to drive down Hwy 1. The views really are as good as everyone says! We took 2 days to drive down the Hwy back to LA doing lots of stops to take in as much as possible.
So, back to work, the end of daylight savings and the start of my base training. My focus for the winter is to get stronger and put in a solid base for my running and cycling, but the big goal is to break my swim stroke down and build up better technique, and hopefully as a result increase my speed for 2010!
On a final note, if you are looking for some great lights to make you flash like a Christmas Tree on your bike on these dark evenings, check out the Smart LED front and rear light set that are currently £14 reduced from £35!
Happy training!
Cx