Just another day of training

August 8--Just another day of training

It feels like I am finally getting into a routine here in Crete. My training has gotten back to a more regular time schedule and I'm able to start pushing myself a bit more without suffering too much in the heat. Coach Pena arrived last night so he was here to help with today's long workout, 26 kilometers. We've measured out a nice horseshoe loop right in front of the resort. The resort is split by a highway with frontage roads on either side. To get from one side to the other you have to either dodge cars like the game Frogger, or you can take the tunnel under the highway. Conveniently, there is a tunnel 1.5km further down on the frontage road, so we can make a good 3km loop from one resort entrance to the other using the tunnels. This morning Curt and I started at 8am before it got super hot and I managed to get in my longest workout yet. I'm still adjusting to the heat, so my heart rate was particularly high: 170-180 average for over two hours and 26 kilometers. I was also amazed by how much I was able to drink without getting uncomfortable. I was drinking nearly an entire 16 ounce bottle of Hydralyte every 3km. Add to that a PowerGel halfway through the workout, and I was able to maintain my energy and hydration levels pretty well.

As soon as I finished, I walked down to the poolside showers and just stood under the cold water for a minute or two. After some stretching, I took a nice long ice bath in the sports medicine area. The resort staff has been great about helping the US team here by setting up a couple large garbage cans that we can fill with cold water and bags of ice. It's one of the best ways to both recover from a hard workout and cool off from the intense heat.

The afternoon was spent napping, playing on the computer, and posting a few more photos from both Crete and Athens. I added a few shots from the hike on Friday (click here) and put together a virtual tour of the Olympic Racewalk course from the photos that I took when we were in Athens early in the week (click here). For those of you coming to Athens, it will be an early preview of the race course. For those who won't be able to make it, you can have an idea of where I'll be for four hours on the morning of the 27th.

Many of the other track and field athletes have started arriving here in Crete for the final weeks of training. The last few pre-Olympic track meets in Europe are over and people are focusing on the Games now. John Godina, Adam Nelson, Nicole Teeter, and others are now here. Tonight we'll have a big team meeting and I'll get to meet everyone else.