Year #4 as part of the Dare2Tri Development Team started off with a respite from the cold. In the past, the Elite camp has been in Chicago. Not surprisingly, this means treadmill running and lots of COLD. So it was nice to have it at the Lakeshore Foundation in Alabama.
Before I go on with camp #4, I want to go back to camp #1. The header photo for this blog is the jacket that was part of the 2016 Team gear. At that point, I didn’t realize that Triathlon gear wasn’t cut the same as normal clothes and that you usually (well, make that almost always…) need to size up to get the same fit. So when I received the jacket, it wouldn’t fit and has sat in my closet for 3 years. This year it will fit really well and get used pre-race in several races to keep warm!
Day 1 started off with a bike build, ‘paced’ running including sprints and a bike workout (including a bit of off-roading). Even though it was warm, it was really windy and a little rainy, so I was glad to have the L/S bike top to use. I also had an opportunity to play with the Apple watch during the run.
The afternoon consisted of strength, swim and yoga. Because of the group size, this meant circle swimming. This is not one of my most favorite things; simply because I’m swimming ‘blind’ and then having to find an opposite wall. I say ‘blind’ because very rarely am I able to make out markers on the bottom of pools like this where it goes from say 3.5 ft (shallow) to 10+ (deep). But it all worked out without too much issue.
Day 2 was the same format as Day 1, with T2 practice instead of strength. The run was on an outdoor track (mile straight and then relays) and we were able to find a ‘closed’ road path to bike on. I was able to negative split throughout the T2 practice and found a couple of things to help as the race season starts. The afternoon swim was an OWS simulation, with several lane lines having been removed.
Day 3 was a recovery day, with just run and swim sessions put in. Even though the IT band behind my left knee was hurting, I was able to get a decent amount of work in. Even if it’s not perfect, you should never waste a session — you can never get it back.
It was a great camp and I hope that the Elite camp will continue to be in warmer weather so we can bike and run outdoors in Feb.! Thank you to everyone at Lakeshore for their help and hospitality throughout the weekend!
