Recovery week done and now we start the real threshold work……12 weeks of it to be precise and that will roll us into the race season hopefully fit and fast.  Our weekly hours in this stage typically drop to between 20-25 for most weeks compared with 25-40 in the base and Ironman specific phases.  As a good friend once said “speed kills” so you have to be careful when you are ramping it up.  But it only takes the body a few sessions to get back into it then I think you can let’er rip, giver shit, get tough!  An even better quote from the same old wise man is:

“It’s not who can train the hardest that wins, it’s who can recover from the hardest training that wins”

Saudi continues to be a great place to be.  I watched Liverpool play Aston Villa last night and much to the cheering delight of my hosts, Liverpool crushed them 5-0.  It was a heck of a way to watch a football match…..perhaps in a different life I would be a footballer.  My new favorite player: Steven Gerrard…….check out this highlight real….all from outside the box….like a cannon!

Super Gerrard!

In Saudi you have to adapt.  We take a great deal for granted in North America.  Riding on the roads over here doesn’t seem to be a common theme.

So we head out of town and into the desert.  It’s not unlike being in Arizona really.  Yesterday we hit up an amazing network of dirt roads out in the middle of nowhere.  It’s hot here right now, mid to high 30′s which is throwing me for a bit of a loop.  We rode just over 2 hours and only had to cross a paved road on one occassion.  The paved road is laden with large trucks carrying sewage to “stink lake”.  Much of Saudi does not have the basic infrastructure, things like sewage and water have to be trucked in and out of town constantly.

We rode 2 hours up and down rocky terrain and I will say that it was a treat to be cruising outside albeit on a rather large mountain bike with road shoes and pedals.  Dina was rockin it!  She even made it up one section I had to unclip on and clumsily stumble up a narly rock road in my bike shoes, real graceful.

Tomorrow we run at the beach house, wicked sweet.

Yesterday marked the conclusion of 2 rather huge weeks and 12 rather big ones.  Base phase done and now we roll into a speed and balanced phase and get ready for the racing season.

This past week we rode and rode and rode and rode culminating with a rather wet ride to Jordan River on Saturday and another rather wet and snowy Mountain bike up Stewart Mountain and various other places with the Sunday breakfast rock and roll mountain bike club.

I got the bad attitude award on Saturday but Steve-o balanced us out with his usual happy and pleasant demeanor despite the Pinneapple express rain and near zero temps.

Time to head east……far east….more updates to come