Survived the Truscott Big Bike Week
I want to thank Al Truscott for his open invitation to the EN community to bike with him in the Colorado Mountains in Snowmass and Aspen. Since power on the bike is ONE of my many limiters and with IMLT 70.3 4 weeks away, I decided to take Al up on his offer to ride the climbs with him. Christi and I flew in on Tuesday night, August 18th and left the following Tuesday. The Sunday before we flew out, I rode a century ride in Napa Valley with 5500' of elevation gain where the temps hit 107. Did not bike on Monday or Tuesday. First thing Wednesday morning, we left Al's place and he led me through Aspen and up Independence Pass to watch the USA Pro Challenge riders cross. His place is located around 8000' elevation. I usually ride at an elevation with two less zeros! The summit is 12,059'. Take it from a physician, oxygen is good when riding a bike--and I was panting worse than my dog in a northern California summer! We rode over 5,700' of elevation gain. The next day, we headed back up the Pass to watch the race heading to Breckenridge. (BTW: If you ever get the chance to ride up Independence Pass from Aspen, do it! Very beautiful and a good steady climb.) The next day was an FTP ride up one of Al's favorite "hills" known as the Maroon Bells. The next two days were rides of 60 and 40 miles. By the last day, I was hugging Al's wheel while he dragged me along 38 miles of climbing. I also sprinkled in four runs including a brick; although I think Al got a few more runs in while I was looking for the oxygen tanks. I spent most of the evenings in my NormaTec boots and going to bed early trying to recover.
All totaled over 9 days, I biked 7 days for 340 miles; 25 hours of riding; 25,100' of elevation gain; and 1200 TSS of riding and 185 TSS of running.
PS. Al, you were correct. My FTP is higher than my last test. I repeated the test a few days ago and it's now 256--up from 238 prior to Oceanside 70.3 in March. Thus, as you predicted, my W/kg is now 3.3 -- on my way to 3.5 then to 4.0. And I really appreciate the time you took to answer my (sometimes stupid) questions and your guidance on how to continue to improve as a triathlete. That by itself was worth the "price of admission"! And ALSO the kick-in-the-butt when I was losing mental focus during a ride.
For the Rest of the Story: On the fourth day of riding during the 60 mile ride, Al was leading the way until we reached the out-and-back part of the ride--where I couldn't get lost if I tried. At that point he told me to go ahead if I wanted. But instead of going ahead, Al was gradually pulling away. I was turning the cranks, but my watts just weren't there. Mentally I was drained and not focusing on my "One Thing". I told myself that my legs must be fatigued from the four continuous days of climbing at an altitude way higher than I normally train. (aka: mental excuses for poor performance) I said, "It is what it is and I will do better tomorrow." Soon after that conversation with myself, Al pulled over. I thought, "Oh good. Maybe his chain fell off or something and I can catch up." When I pulled up next to him, huffing and puffing, he said, "What are you doing? You should be way ahead of me by now. You should be going 1-2mph faster than me up this hill." 
That kick-in-the-butt was what I needed to mentally refocus and get going. [It reminded me of the scene in Rocky III during the sprinting on sand when Apollo is yelling at Rocky, "There is no tomorrow! There is no tomorrow!] Suddenly, my legs weren't as fatigued and I while riding up that hill I came up with 4 or 5 new "One Things" determined not to let Al catch me! I didn't dare look back to see if he was there; just focused on "keep moving forward". Trust me, I'll remember that exchange the next time I'm riding and I start making an excuse for not giving it my all. And I'll continue to train the "mental" aspect of our sport. Thanks again, Al! Christi and I look forward to seeing you again at IMAZ this year and maybe in 2017 or 2018 we can ride Kona together.
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Right now I'm driving (actually, Cheryl is at the wheel) back home to Gig Harbor, passing through the desolate Snake River plains outside of Mountain Hom, ID.
Good luck in Tahoe. Don't let yourself down.
I want in on this once I have some coin left over from kid's colleges. Put me on for 2021, ok?
Great efforts & results Bob, looking forward to seeing that 4.0!