Completing a Successful Recovery Day

I arrived in Mallorca on Monday. I spent the prior days training hard and getting things settled in Girona. The weather had been amazing in Girona until Saturday and Sunday when it got its first hit of the crazy winter weather system that seems to be ravaging most of Europe. I don’t know all the details, but I think it is originating from somewhere in Russia, and the wind currents or pressure systems are funneling it back down to the rest of Europe. Long story short, the beautiful blue, sunny skies and warm temperatures were quickly blunted and turned into snow/rain, wind, and cold. Saturday I was able to complete my training with minimal wetness or complication. Sunday I also completed my full training, but I did have moments of sheer exhaustion from fighting temperatures hovering around freezing, wet roads, and occasionally a couple inches of snow on the road.

Saturday made a funny story for me. I had fallen into my Girona routine, so when I received a message from a friend on Saturday morning asking me to check the weather (he didn’t have working internet at the time), I wondered why. At that moment, I finally looked through my wide open living room windows/sliding doors to see the cloudy/rainy skies. I had come so accustomed to the nice weather that I just figured it would be nice!

Sunday also created a story of its own for me. I had been neglecting to make myself proper training food because I would be leaving soon, so I didn’t want to make it only to have it spoil. I had to have something to eat though for training, so I made myself a couple sandwiches to hopefully get me through the 6 hours: one almond butter and honey, one turkey and cheese, and one piece of Spanish tortilla (egg/potato concoction: delicious!) The first item I decided to eat was the tortilla, but after a few bites, I had an epiphany: why don’t I put the tortilla on the turkey/cheese sandwich? A few moments later (while riding my bike mind you… probably dangerous… sorry Mom), I had an awesome turkey, cheese, tortilla sandwich! I guess it is just the nerdy chef/cook in me that finds this awesome, but I thought I would share anyway.

I didn't dare take a picture while riding in the snow, but here is proof it was there!

So proud of my invention, I took a picture!

So, today is Thursday, and the winter weather pattern has returned to Mallorca. It was here over the weekend, too, dumping snow on the mountains. After two days of solid training, it was good to have recovery today, but the weather outside is nasty. The sea is quite turbulent outside my window, the rain is falling on/off, the winds are whipping, and the temperature has fallen. The weather outlook is not a lot better for the next couple days at least, but hopefully something will break to allow us good training time. More importantly though, I hope it breaks by Sunday for the beginning of Challenge Mallorca. If not by then, I definitely hope by Tuesday because that is my first day of racing, and we are supposed to be racing in the mountains. Two big factors for then would be the uncomfortably cold temps for racing, and the added factor of wetness/ice to the already incredibly slippery roads here in Mallorca. Wish the best for us!

My highlights for the rest day were having a great run this morning where I successfully outran a girl riding a bike. Then I had a good breakfast, which was followed by an impromptu sub-10 minute throwing on my kit to go training. Anyone who has dressed for winter weather riding knows that sub-10 minutes is pretty fast for kitting up! After that, I arrived 30+ minutes early to lunch with Laurent Didier, so we sat and discussed the wonders of life while our stomachs ate away at themselves. After lunch, I spent a little time with Oliver Zaugg comparing his new Bose speaker system to my Jambox. He got inspired by my Jambox at the last camp, so he had to find something similar for himself. He says he bought his in the Barcelona airport on the way home from the last camp! Then Ben King introduced me to some special cracker made only in Mallorca. He found that out while living here with a local in between the camps. Following these revelations, I had a painfully delightful massage where I experienced some of the most tremendous and intense work I have ever had done on my IT bands. To recover from my massage, I decided I had earned the right to lie on my bed and watch Fast and the Furious 4; not the best movie ever but entertaining. And finally it was dinner time. After a cup of tea with Nelson and Tiago, I now present you with this! Hope you enjoyed.

My apartment's view of the sunset over the mountains that treated me a little harshly on Sunday.