Billy Goats and Fishes

Day Three of camp was a fun one.  Having done 100x100 several times I know what happens.  Hillary makes it fun and I am sure she gets a kick out of the sensory deprivation hallucinations just as much as I do.  Although seeing some of the “deer in the headlight” looks on the first timers still is cause for some alarm.  Hillary (Aka Julie McCoy cruise director)  had also set up some Active Release Therapy for me so I knew the post swim celebration was not in the cards for me.  Good thing Tim and I got to hit Pico De Gallo on Thursday!  

The day starts with the climb up and over Gates Pass with the McCain loop.  This was strictly a “social ride” but we were still in our groups.  I have heard about the work that Tim had been doing, but as soon as we hit the loop – Quadzilla let us all see the benefits of his work at Vision Quest and solid computrainer sessions.  Still I enjoyed the ride and even though my brain was reminding me of the hit it took on every bump (which are plentiful on Arizona roads).  At the base of the pass on the way back, my friend Susan was unsure of the climb. While it is quite steep, it is really more daunting by look than by feel.  I find that there are those times while riding where the road from a distance is unnerving but once I engage it isn’t nearly as bad as it seemed.  Kind of like life.  So Susan and I tackled it together and after that she was unstoppable.  

We had a short break and then it was off to the pool. Swimming 100x100 is one of those workouts that doesn’t really compute until I am on the back end.  The best way for me to take it on is a section at a time and Hillary always gives us some good sections.  At some point my ability to do math becomes even more impaired that under normal situations.  Last year I had the privilege of leading the lane with Tim and Neal. Poor guys got to witness my inability to add and subtract thus we went on the same interval for most of the swim.  This year Coach took mercy on those at my bidding and just gave us a simple interval.  Still, we all got confused as to where we were at different times so we may or may not have swam a little more that 100x100.  Having never done drugs that caused hallucinations, 3+ hours in the pool gets pretty close I think.  Hillary likes to intensify my experience by dulling the senses while doing the first 30x100 in her lane. The oxygen deprivation from that lane lends to my incoherency on the back end.  

This was an early night because the next day was Mt. Lemmon and more adventures.