Polka-Dot Jersey Pursuit

The title is a little misleading, but it sounds like there will be some killer hills in Branson, MO waiting on me this fall during the 70.3.  I used to consider myself a respectable climber, however, I currently live in one of the flattest regions in the country!  It also isn't the most convenient to get hill climbing in around here.

I had to drive over an hour to get to Camelback Mountain in Phoenix on Sunday to test out my climbing legs.  There was a nice loop on East Valle Vista Road that had a 2.3-mile loop with about 0.8-miles of climbing.  Only about half of that was "steep" relatively, but required for me to be up out of the saddle.  What I learned is that I need to get my legs back (not all that shocking, but eye opening).  My quads felt the fatigue quicker than they should have.  The steep climbs consisted of a double switch back.  Ordinarily I wouldn't see myself needing to stand up out of the saddle for the first leg before the switch backs began.  I recommend the route because you can easily bounce over to some nice bike-laned roads near Arizona State University.

It looks like my off days are going to have to consist of me driving to Camelback, South Mountain, and north to the Sedona area to get in some long and challenging hill work.  I really miss my hills and mountains back home.  And I really miss my usual riding groups!  You know who you are.

Maybe I have an inner Andy Schleck that I can tap into to conquer some climbing.  "Polka-dot" jersey here I come (I realize that is highly unlikely for me, and I don't think they do that in ironman competitions.  But you get my point.).

Happy Training!  I get my new Specialized Romin Evo Pro black/white saddle on Thursday.  Motivation to work on climbing strength so I don't have to stand.