Boulder Training Camp/Vacation - Day 3

So what do you do after an epic day of riding? You train some more then relax for the rest of the day.

Bolder and I had a nice relaxed breakfast before heading to the pool where we would be swimming after our morning run. We briefly checked on conditions for Ironman CdA as we both had friends we were tracking. It was hard to tear ourselves away from the computers. We gathered our gear together and headed out to the trail head. The paved path ran along Boulder Creek. What a beautiful place to run, walk, bike, skate, take the dogs, kids and family for a great day out.

We started with somewhat heavy legs from the 80+ mile bike ride the day before. Bolder's plan called for a zone 2 run so I was just going to go along for the ride, er.um.run. The cover of the trees was a nice break from the sun. After leaving the paved path we continued on climbing higher along a nice dirt path that was filled with runners, walkers and cyclists. We saw people fishing, rock climbing and even kayaking in the Boulder Creek.

When we finished our run I waded into the cool, flowing waters of the creek to provide some hydro therapy for the legs. The 45 degree water was refreshing to say the least but felt great on the legs. I spent 10 minutes in the water as we talked some more before we headed to the pool for an easy swim.

The city pool we were at was huge. Imagine looking to the other side of the pool 50 yards away. I'm used to swimming in a 20 yard pool. I felt like I was doing an open water swim. I kept waiting for the wall of the pool to approach and it took forever to get there. We did 1500 yards which only took 15 laps. At home that would have been 38 laps. Again it was great to swim outside in the sun.

After we showered and dressed it was time to "strap on the feed bags". Bolder took me to Proto's Pizzeria for some salad and oven baked pizza. It was a fantastic pizza at the coolest little restaurant. Twice I saw people walk in after getting off their bikes. The atmosphere in Boulder is unbelievable.

After polishing off a large pizza we retreated to the HABC to continue our athlete tracking for Ironman CdA. There is nothing worse than two Ironman triathletes parking their asses in front of laptops analyzing the proceedings of the race while we are in beautiful Boulder, Colorado. But hey after the day we had on the bikes yesterday we needed some extra rest for the legs.

We managed to watch the finishes of the top three pros. We especially enjoyed Michael Lovato's little victory dance and interview with Greg Welch. With the pro's finishing we knew there was time before our friends would be finishing....enough time to go out and grab dinner at Jax's Fish House. We had some of the best calamari ever for an appetizer and I followed that with a blackened Catfish that was to die for. The bartender recommended it and I'm glad I took his advice.

We walked around downtown Boulder taking in the sights and bought a couple of t-shirts. The plaza area is home for some local entertainers. We stumbled upon the Zip Code Man. He was asking for zip codes from people visiting Boulder. From only the Zip code he would name the city and sometimes provide restaurant suggestions. With a plastic chain he outlined the United States and asked for more zip codes. He would place each person in their state, including me. After he had about 15 people placed on the outline he then told a story that included each city we represented. So he remembered each persons zip code then named the city. This guy is amazing and a great entertainer.

We finally made our way back to the HABC and continued our Ironman CdA vigil in front of our laptops. I was waiting for Jodi and Bolder was watching several people including IronBenny. We were disappointed with the athlete tracking because with no intermediate run splits we didn't know how people were progressing in the race. I had the live feed on my laptop and was able to hear Jodi's name announced and caught a glimpse of her finishing her first Ironman in 12:37:05. She did awesome and I can't wait to hear the complete write-up.

So that takes us up to me finishing this blog post and heading to bed. Hoping to get in one more ride tomorrow before heading to the airport.

Do I have it in me for one more Game On? I'll let you know tomorrow.