Sunday, March 28, 2010

*yawn*

After a nice ride in the sunshine (and wind) this morning (sorry, I forgot the camera), I figured there was no better way to wrap up a recovery week (and Hell Week at work) than a spa day. 

I had never been to a spa until I was 30 years old and on my pre-wedding bachelorette trip to Phoenix with my college roommate.  Lucky for me, she took me to the Willow Stream spa at the Fairmont Scottsdale.  Unlucky for me, no facility I’ve been to has ever compared!

Example of just one nice feature: the outdoor waterfall pool.  Each waterfall has a different intensity for shoulder massages.001

I spent an hour reading in the sunshine at the rooftop pool with this view before my massage and facial.  (Sorry the photos aren’t better, I really wasn’t sure about the etiquette of toting a camera around a spa so I had to be stealth.)

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My treatments were very nice and I came home to find that Jeff had even come up with a creative way to exercise the dogs to spare me another walk today (he borrowed a friend’s dog for them to play with).  The downside of all this relaxation is I’ve been walking around in a fog all evening!  I need to remind myself that I often end “rest week” more tired than I started – it’s the natural process of the body healing and recovering and it doesn’t always feel good (much like a taper!).  I have no doubt that come Monday morning, I’ll be rested and eager to tear through my workouts. 

Tomorrow is the beginning of a couple hard weeks of work before my 1st triathlon of the year.  Vineman Showdown, I have a bone to pick with you after last year (bike mechanical) – grudge match, it’s on!

Training totals for March 22-28:
Swim: 6900 yards
Bike: 29.0 miles
Run: 9.9 miles
Strength: 30 mins of TRX
Total time: 7.4 hours

6 comments:

Kathleen said...

What a great way to end the week. It looks so inviting!

ShirleyPerly said...

Sounds lovely!

I too end up feeling more tired after a rest week. Good to know it's not just me.

Runner Leana said...

A spa day...what a great way to end rest week. Love it! May have to take a cue from you at some point!

Kim said...

um, i want to go to the spa. ASAP please! you deserve every minute of that - you have been working your tail off!

Maria said...

It sounds like a great weekend, way to treat yourself!

Sherry said...

Spa?? What is that?? Oh, we girls really do need to pamper ourselves more often. It can't always be about chain grease and salt. :o) Those waterfalls look beautiful... and a good read sounds amazing to me right now! Glad you had a great rest week!