Winter training

I feel judged by people when they find out my Ironman race takes place late June. That means: Winter Training.

Living in Colorado, people may be under the impression that I'm mostly snowed in and have to train in front of a TV for 3 or 4 months. Fortunately, that is not the case. Here are some Colorado weather facts.

Each year, Colorado receives:

- 300 days of sunshine. December has the lowest average hours of sunshine in one month and that is 195 hours (considering days are 8-9hrs long... 195 is a decent number!)

- more than 300 inches of snow at the mountain resorts

- 33 percent of humidity

Denver's average temperatures in the winter (December, January and February) are highs in the 40's and lows in the teens and up to maybe 20. In the summer, (June, July, August) our highs are in the 80's and lows in the mid to high 50's.

Record highs in the winter have been 79 degrees in December, 76 in January and 76 in February. Record lows in the summer have been 30 degrees in June, 42 in July and 40 in August. Record high in March has been 84 degrees!! WHOA!

Now you can sleep peacefully knowing that I will not freeze to death during training this season. Actually, I am enjoying Colorado weather at its best.

These are some pictures taken during long (60 mile) bike ride on Saturday, March 10th, 2012. Not too shabby for winter...