It’s been four days since my girls left and only now have I recovered enough brain cells to report in on the final days of smashfests. I could not be more pleased with both the work we got done and the way all of us were able to bounce back so quickly and come back day after day for another good session; for these reasons, I came away from our mini-camp with a lot of confidence both in my girls’ fitness and my own.
Not to mention, lots of fond memories of a whole lotta fun with my girls! Above is Jennifer crushing our second treadmill speed sess in her Smash pink star compression socks—my fave!
Hill repeats on A-mountain with the girls the day after our epic snow-day, during which we ate snowflakes on the wall during our swim— a Tucson first for me!
Friday I had the pleasure of sharing with my girls one of my most mentally and physically-challenging (and thus key confidence-building) sessions that was one of my go-tos in the Sutto days. It is pretty cool that I have kids who are strong enough in both ways to be able to do this one—what a great, long, morning on the track we had. We got lots of questions from the student athletes, who couldn’t figure out why we were still running after they had finished their team practices when we had been running when they arrived that morning to start.
To “loosen up” after Friday track day, I took the girls on my newly-discovered 140-mile Arivaca loop—the longest ride any of them had ever done!
140 miles with this as the destination . . . . Yep, that’s the “town” of Arivaca.
Highlight: lunch . . .
and the giant cow in the back half of the ride.
It all resulted in this.
And one proud coach. The girls rode like champs all day on a day when their legs should’ve been falling off as a result of Friday’s run. Well, maybe they were, but they didn’t let it show.
Sunday we had to do one more final strength-builder—my fave run on the Gates Pass loop. Okay, I think the girls kind of wanted to kill me and perhaps didn’t appreciate the scenery as much as I had hoped, but they did great. Above is Jennifer coming down the back side of Gates . . .
If I survive today, I should have a couple of easy days coming up, so stay tuned for another update soon!
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
For the record….there was one moment running down Gate’s Pass where Julie and I remarked how gorgeous it was.
…….And then we went back to discussing how we might never make it out of the desert alive.
haaa i see….now the truth comes out!
Oh oh oh, Aravaca road is my favorite, its you and the border patrol. Did you stop at the Gadsen coffee house??!! Love that you can FLY home back to the Cow Palace in about half the time it took you to get there!! SO FUN!
is that THE coffee house in Arivaca?? i wanted to stop there on my first trip and my crew said the service was way too slow and that we had no time for it. do tell! of course i would’ve loved a quad -shot mid-ride but had to settle for a red bull
that looks like so much fun! and it is so beautiful out there.
can you tell me what kind of treadmill you have? are you happy with it?
i actually have yet to invest in a treadmill–moreso because we are trying to figure out where in our house we would put it
working on that….that is my friend doug’s treadmill and it is a woodway. i have logged many, many miles on that thing and can attest that woodways are probably the best treadmills out there. they are quite different–less bouncy and not your traditional treadmill belt–than the normal treadmill though.
Dang it wont let me put a picture of the Gadsen coffee house in but YES its a one man shop. One barista so its no “bucks, but the espresso is worth the wait. They make you take your cleats off when you use the ‘lou to protect the already beat down floor. Its just past marker 3 so its before you drop down into the “town” haha. GO next time:) lots of locals hang out so its sorta fun!
awesome ok i will make sure this happens next time! thanks julia–love the recs!
PS yes woodways are the best.
yes, i have been dreaming about getting a woodway some day. good to get your feedback.
x3 on the Woodway, ran on one in SF last month and it was awesome! Best treadmill I’ve been on.
sounds like the desert version of T’s Epic camp! having flashbacks of her camp now and wishing I was going back this year. I think you and T should combine forces and do a double Epic camp in Lanza.
yesssss???
where can you buy a Woodway Treadmill? Mike and I looked online and can’t find anything but used! I would like to get the home 4Front I think but can’t find them for sale! What Model does Doug have? I know that one has taken a beating over the years… would love one like that!!!!
great Q dana- i will check on the model. and you know what–everyone i know who has a woodway has bought it used online, so that is totally my plan too
i actually have no idea where one finds a new one!
Thanks Hillary, Yes all I saw was used ones available as well! I am going to contact the manufacturer directly and see what they say…. still want to know what model Dougie has when you find out
I’m really intrigued about the track now, did you make them run 26 miles on it?
“just” 30 kms (18.6 miles) on the track –plus plenty of warm up and cooldown