It's March 3, 2012 and I'm waiting for the temperature to rise as it is freezing A$$ cold.  The windup for IMCalifornia is approaching and the training intensity is increasing.  Doing the intervals and hill repeats have had a major change to my fitness level.  There is a marked difference between my IMAZ fitness and where I am today.  Only time will tell.

Lately,  two big changes to training have occurred.  1--Climbing, hiking and running Thompson Peak at 3921 feet.  A ten mile round trip with 25-35 % grades is helping my legs bigtime.  This week will be week 4 and I will add a wrinkle and go over the top of the McDowells from Golden Eagle to DCRanch via the Bell trail pass. Stand by for exact distance but i'm guessing 9-12 miles.   2--climbing Golden Eagle on the bike @ 18% grade.  It is a beast of a climb and I can barely get up as my heart rate is on the limit. Im hoping by race day however that i can at least climb with feeling blurry.  If not i will have to stop to recover at Cali. 

Next week starts my first race this season with the Desert Duathon, followed by the Mcdowell TT.  i hope these races will give me a sense of where Im at on race day at the end of the month. Several more 50-60 mile rides should sharpen up the legs with the brick workouts. well it is saturday and Im buring daylight so it is time to Saddle UP!