Mammoth, Arizona is a small quaint town north of Tucson. It was once a bustling mining town but with the closing of the mines, Mammoth has a ghost town feel. From the old man who sells ammunition on the side of the road to the small Mexican cantinas and tortilla factory, Mammoth has a lot of culture. Highway 77 North, also known as Oracle Road, passes through the town of Oracle then Mammoth. The ride to Mammoth begins at an elevation of 2500 feet in Tucson and climbs gradually over 40 miles to the elevation of 4500 feet in Oracle then drops down to 2200 feet over the last 12 miles to Mammoth. This pyramid elevation ride is nice since it has both a gradual false flat climb and nice 12 mile 5% grade climb out of Mammoth on the way back to Tucson.

Wednesday I had a friend from Seattle, Jeff Crosby, in town to train with me. Jeff and I headed out to Mammoth early in the morning and made great time on the way out. We stopped at the Circle K in Mammoth and refueled then started on the 12 mile 5% grade climb back towards Oracle. We had just crested the top of the hill when we rode through a huge swarm of bees. I found myself swatting and flinching like a scared little girl. Truth is, I was scared. The bees were thick and there must have been a thousand of them. I even took my helmet off to make sure I got all of them off of me. I guess there is a first time for everything. It was a warm day, about 92 degrees farenheit, and we had to make an additional stop on the ride home to keep the fuel level topped off.  We made it back home after 103 miles of riding in 5:15 of riding and 5:48 of total accumulated time including stoplights and pit stops for fuel. My average power was 203 watts and my normalized power was 226 watts. While one of the best things about Mammoth is the food at Cassandras or Las Michocanas, I was short on time this week to get to swim practice by 3:45 PM after taking Jeff to the airport. If you get the chance, stop and enjoy a breakfast burrito or some enchiladas while making the trek to Mammoth.

I dropped Jeff off at the airport at 3 then went to Hillenbrand Aquatic Center for FORD practice. I went through the regular dry land routine which included 3 sets of 10 pull-ups, med ball tosses, abs, bridges, and stretch cords. I was in the water at 4:30 and we had a monster main set of 6x500 yards on 6:00 descending 1-3 then 4-6 followed by a 300 easy then 6x200 yards odds easy even hard on 3:00 followed by a 300 easy, then finished the main set with 6x100 yards on 1:30 best average with fins and paddles and 300 cool down. This was a monster set of 5700 yards and the total yardage for the practice was 7800. That makes one Mammoth day.

For those interested in my wattage on the intervals up Mt. Lemmon this week:

SRM #1:

Duration:                15:01

Work:                     331 kJ

TSS:                       26 (intensity factor 1.019)

Norm Power:          367

VI:                           1

Pw:HR:                   8.85%

Pa:HR:                   7.27%

Distance:               3.588 mi

Elevation Gain:      909 ft

Elevation Loss:      0 ft

Grade:                    4.8 %  (909 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power:                    271       523       367       watts

Heart Rate:            109       161       151       bpm

Cadence:               68         106       88         rpm

Speed:                    9.8        19.9      14.3      mph

Pace                       3:01      6:09      4:11      min/mi

Altitude:                  2949     3858     3396     ft

Crank Torque:       246       552       355       lb-in

Temperature:         84.2      89.6      86.8      Fahrenheit

SRM #2:

Duration:                15:01

Work:                     331 kJ

TSS:                       26 (intensity factor 1.019)

Norm Power:          367

VI:                           1

Pw:HR:                   6.21%

Pa:HR:                   5.37%

Distance:               3.633 mi

Elevation Gain:      925 ft

Elevation Loss:      0 ft

Grade:                    4.9 %  (932 ft)

Min Max Avg

Power:                    301       546       367       watts

Heart Rate:            129       172       163       bpm

Cadence:               75         106       86         rpm

Speed:                    9.8        22.9      14.5      mph

Pace                       2:37      6:07      4:08      min/mi

Altitude:                  4003     4928     4443     ft

Crank Torque:       275       486       362       lb-in

Temperature:         80.6      87.8      85.3      Fahrenheit

Work Hard,

TJ