The past three weeks were spent down in Tucson, Arizona. The first two weeks of the trip consisted of a training camp run by my coach, Cliff English, and the last week was spent hosting the fifth annual Endurance Corner Tucson Camp. The pro camp (Cliff's) was a nice change of pace from training at home in Boulder. I was pleased with how training was rolling at home, but getting into a training camp environment is a great way to get that extra few percent out yourself and your training. The combination of good weather, good training partners and good coaching led to a very effective two weeks. Some of the workouts were similar to what we did during the 2011 camp and it was nice to see the progress from a years worth of work with Cliff.
Immediately following Cliff's camp I went to work putting things together for the EC Camp. I made some changes to this year's camp including a new hotel location and a new weekly schedule with more formal sessions and coaching. The athletes attending our camp had the following schedule:
Monday:
8:00 a.m. Swim with 1k TT + aerobic main set, followed by an easy 10K (50 min) run
3:00 p.m. Long warm u; then a 9K false flat Time Trial into a blasting headwind (headwind unintended!)
Tuesday:
7:00 a.m. 10K run with a summit of A Mtn (long climb)
10:00 a.m. 100 mile ride with 13 mile climb in the middle to Madera Canyon
Wednesday:
8:00 a.m. Long swim; 4-6K depending on speed with strength focus
10: a.m. Run Drills and dynamic warm up instructions followed by short fartlek run
3:00 p.m. 40K easy ride
Thursday:
9:00 a.m. Mount Lemmon (21 mile climb)
Friday:
8:00 a.m. Pace change swim; aerobic maintenance; 2.5-4.5K depending on speed
11:00 a.m. 90 minute run with one hour main set including IM pace+ work.
Saturday: 105 Mile ride to Kitt Peak with 12 mile climb in the middle.
The camp was a lot of fun and the changes seemed to all yield positive feedback. We will continue to make improvements going into 2013 so that we can ensure a great environment for athletes to train and learn.
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I'm settling back into Boulder and looking forward to another 2 week block before my first triathlon of the season: US Pro Champs 70.3 (Galveston) on April 1. In the weeks leading up, I'll be racing a 5K and a 1650 swim in a Masters competition. I was hoping to have a triathlon race under my belt before Galveston, but its just not going to happen. Hopefully these two events will serve up a nice shock to the system before the season begins.
-j