Costa Rica!!! :)

Well, what can I say..Costa Rica has been fabulous! The first three days were the hardest, leaving me more sore than after most marathons! My lateral quad muscles and glutes were the worst! First of all, we are at the top of a huge cliff with hills ranging from 16-26 % grade!?!?! Walking or running up and down them is a workout in itself, and they are LONG. I literally had a panic attack the first day we had to ride our bikes DOWN the mountain and stopped at the top of one of the big hills because the steepness scared the crap out of me. The next day Adam rode next to me, talked me through it and helped me with where to look ahead, holding the brakes, etc. It was by far one of the scariest, if not THE scariest thing I've ever done in my life! At the bottom at least I was able to smile when Adam said "It wasn't that bad, right?" HAHA...if only he knew I thought I was gonna die the whole time ;)



Anyway, my swimming has improved drastically and today I had a great workout in the ocean with the fastest male swimmer at camp (if you don't count Adam, lol)..I didn't really know how to draft before camp but now I do, and staying on someone's feet definitely helps save some energy! It also keeps me swimming faster and trying to "hold on". I have been testing out a Skinfit speedsuit that I can wear during the entire race and I really love it. It's seamless which is perfect for my sensitive skin! :)



I also had my running form analyzed and now I have some things to work on with that as well. It's always good to find the little imperfections and tweak things because it will make me more efficient and therefore much faster! Adam thinks I should work on running more in flats and shoes with less of a heel, so I will start running in my flats more. I have heard of many runners doing this yet I know for me, I have to do it gradually. I'll also start running barefoot on grass more often.



My biking is going well too, but that is the area I really need to keep spending more time on, get more powerful and overall just stronger, not only on hills but also pushing my pain level and not riding comfortably hard all the time, but really get after it! Adam helped me tweak my seat a bit too so hopefully I'll feel more comfortable on my saddle now.

Well, I am getting VERY excited to race this weekend!! Tomorrow will be a light day and we are traveling to the Rev3 race venue to set up our bikes, go to the athlete meeting, etc. It's going to be a hot and humid race but I can't wait to see how fast I can go since it's been so long since I raced swimbikerun :) Adam and I have talked a lot and we decided it's a great idea for me to race pro in triathlon this year and really go after some big races in July and August and see how well I can do. I am so extremely excited for this year of racing!



Time to cook some dinner and sit on the balcony to relax for the night. I have also been enjoying speaking Spanish while I am here. There are some triathletes from Venezuela here with us so I enjoy practicing with them and they say I speak very well so thank goodness all my years studying it in school paid off :)




Pics: Some pics from the camp so far. Hills going up to the house, the group, view on a ride and my fave cereal in Spanish, lol

Quote: " It is not the place, nor the condition, but the mind alone that can make anyone happy or miserable."- Roger L’Estrange