Wacky Weather Week

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Well then. The first week of July has been quite amusing with trying to get training done and avoiding the weather. Welcome to summer in the Rockies! On the 4th, I went up to the Chatfield gravel pond for a good open water swim, and some practice with my wetsuit before Beaver Creek. I was a little worried about getting caught in a thunder storm since the Monday swim time is in the afternoon. The afternoon thunder storms hadn't been too bad yet, so I was hoping to be able to sneak in my swim. When we got to the pond, the air temperature was in the mid 90s, with the water temp in the mid-low 70s. So much for practicing in my wetsuit! I might have considered wearing my wetsuit if either the air or the water temp hadn't been so hot. Into the skin suit I went. And the water was perfect - it was a great day for a swim. I did two laps of the pond, got out and was planning on running. But after bumping into another Xterra athlete, it was more fun to just talk and get the latest gossip on the Xterra races I'd missed.

Come Wednesday and I was happy to not be swimming that day! Had intervals on the MTB planned - with a specific loop and the whole workout set. Then lightening and thunder, with a classic Colorado thunderstorm unleashing hail and buckets of rain. The interval workout turned into a SS workout - I wasn't gonna take my geared bike out into that kind of mud and slop. And we got covered in mud. A few flashes of lightening right overhead as we made our way through Stratton, but the rain soon stopped. The intervals went well, but wrestling with the single speed is pretty different the spinning hard up the hills on my geared bike. I was toast when we finally cruised down Columbine and headed for home.

With all the rain, when I got up for the track workout on Thursday, the air was sticky. We normally don't get that much humidity in Colorado, so it was a bit of a shock. I felt like I was back in Waco or Alabama! Made it through the track workout, but I was feeling like could have used some fins or something to make it easier. I should have known that the monsoon moisture would be moving in - after all the US Women's Open golf championship was in town. And we can run and ride in the rain, but they can't play golf... I would get caught in one of the play stopping thunderstorms while out on my road bike on Friday. Nothing like a ride in the sunshine, pouring rain, with a rainbow over your shoulder! Even if I was on skinny tires, it was one of those classic afternoons in Colorado that make you smile.

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