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June 20, 2005
1. BREAKING NEWS! Spinervals is Official Sponsor of Ironman UK 2. Camp Report: Lake Placid Training Camp 2005 3. Catching Up //////////////////////////////////////////////// BREAKING NEWS! 17 June 2005: IRONMAN UK gets in a spin with Spinervals! The IRONMAN UK Triathlon is pleased to announce that they have teamed up with Active Sports and Spinervals to provide each IRONMAN UK athlete with a complete Spinervals DVD training program (17.99 value) in their Athlete Registration bag. The deal sees Spinervals become the "Official DVD Trainer of IRONMAN UK" and allies the UK's toughest triathlon with the toughest and most demanding series of DVD Trainers on the market. For more info, visit here: http://www.ironmanuk.com/newsview.asp?id=630 =========================== CAMP REPORT: LAKE PLACID 2005 (Please note that the full camp report and photos will be posted to www.coachtroy.com this week in the NOTEBOOK section.) This was our 6th year conducting the Lake Placid Training camp and it was an event to remember, as always. Read on for a brief summary of the day's events. Tuesday - Day 1 Travel day. Everyone, including athletes and camp staff (Sean, Dan and Marilyn from TriSpeed), traveled from their homes to Placid. From my home just south of the PA line in Maryland, the trip is around 500 miles and takes from 8-9 hours depending on traffic, stops, etc. North of Albany on the drive up I saw signs saying that part of I-87 (the Northway to Montreal) was washed out due to a mudslide and that there would be a detour on route 9. Well, there happens to be several route 9's, including 9N. I took 9N by mistake and added another 40 miles to my trip. It was scenic but I could have done without the extra hour in the car. Once arriving at Placid around 4 pm, I noticed that the lights were out everywhere. Apparently due to the torrential rains, the main powerline feed from Saratoga had snapped and the power to the small town of Lake Placid (and surrounding areas) had been out all day. All stores in town were closed and I was thinking to myself that this was a strange way to start a camp! The athletes met for orientation around 7 pm and we discussed our training focus for the week and did introductions. The group was wide ranging in terms of abilities and origination as some people traveled from as far away as Calgary Canada. Everyone was very nice and the group dynamic seemed to be very positive. After our meeting , everyone went searching for a place to have dinner. In town, all restaurants were closed even though the power had just returned so we fortunately were able to find a small cafe serving pizza and beer just outside of Placid. Getting a full stomach was important because we had our first day of training, a 112 mile ride over the Ironman course, planned for 8am the next morning. Wednesday - Day 2 At 7:45 am, we all met in the lobby and got ready to roll out on our ride. Typical of Lake Placid weather, it was overcast and there was a looming chance of rain. We had 6 people signed up for the 5-day program. For the first loop of the bike, everyone stayed together for the most part, feeling each other out and establishing the pecking order. At orientation, I make a point to stress to everyone that this course is VERY difficult and if you go too hard the first day, you'll be 'toast' on days 4 and 5. Well, ego's tend to rule on group bike rides and a few people rode outside their limits as early as the first 56 mile loop. I thought to myself, " I warned 'em!". After that awesome 112 mile ride, which took between 6 hrs 30 min and 7 hrs 30 min for the group, everyone went out on a 2.5 mile run brick around the lake. At 5 pm we met for a training lecture on pacing and race day nutrition and then everyone moseyed on down to the Lake Placid Pub where we all had a tasty dinner and draft brews to celebrate the end of our first day at camp. Thursday - Day 3 Today, our training program had us do one loop of the marathon course (13.1 miles) after a 30 min swim in Mirror Lake and followed by an easy 1 hr bike ride to loosen the legs. The run course is challenging with rolling hills and incredibly scenic. One of the most inspiring moments on the run is heading back in and seeing the ski jump used for training by U.S. Olympians. A tough 13 miler, especially after a day of riding a tough 112 miles! The water temperature was around 70deg. so that was actually nice. It was the first time I'd been in the water since doing Ironman Arizona so I'm hoping it will be the beginning of my swim training program in preparation for IM Lake Placid at the end of July. (Disclaimer: Just because I dislike swimming and do it as little as possible doesn't mean that you can skip your swim workouts.) Our bike after the run really helped to keep the legs loose in preparation for Friday's workout. After another lecture in which we discussed the bike course, training and strategy, we hosted a dinner for everyone which was literally inhaled by the hungry, calorie depleted athletes. 3-days down and 3 to go! Friday - Day 4 Friday our schedule had us ride the bike loop in the opposite direction in the morning and swim in the afternoon. The weekend campers were then arriving at around 6pm for orientation so it was to be a busy day. After 2 days of solid training in the hills of Placid, our legs were feeling tired and our bodies worn....all good stuff for IM preparation. The morning started with a steady cold rain as we headed out onto the bike at 9am. Uhh...cold and rainy on the bike... this is paying the price! While the first 35 miles or so of the bike heading in the opposite direction are mostly rolling and downhill, the last 20 miles have an upward pitch. In fact, the climb from Keene back to Placid is very very difficult and we all suffered. I rode 'tempo' up the hill with Sean Galegher, a very strong rider, and we both marveled at how Tour De France riders do that day after day for 3-weeks straight! After that wet and cold ride, I got back to the hotel room and took a nice hot shower in preparation for our afternoon swim. More wetness...great :) It wasn't too bad however and I was pleased to have swam twice in two days, a record for me! At 6pm, the weekend campers checked in and we had an orientation. Another nice group of people, the dynamic seemed to be very positive and after grabbing some dinner, everyone got some rest in preparation for a hard weekend of training. Saturday - Day 5 Saturday was again a 112 mile bike over the Lake Placid IM course. For the 5-day campers, it was to be a huge challenge as our legs were very noodlely after the previous 3-days of hard training. The weekend campers had fresher legs but by the end of the ride, that would change. Some of the 5-day campers who failed to heed my warning of not going too hard were now paying the price for their indiscretions on day one and day two. "I told you so." was coming to my mind. The ride started in drizzle and cold temps in the upper 50's, again...typical for Lake Placid. The decent from town into Keene was very foggy too, making visibility limited and riding a bit sketchy with the cars blowing by us but nothing bad happened and we all made it to the bottom with no problems. At the end of the first loop, Sean and I decided to do some paceline work and took 1 minute pulls for most of the second loop. We reeled in lots of other IM athletes out there training and we finished the second loop almost 30 minutes faster than the first loop and then did our quick 2.5 mile run around the lake. Sean had brought some money on the run so before heading back to the hotel, we stopped at the Lake Placid Brewery for a beer and a burger...perfect post workout nutrition for the starving Ironman athlete (carbs, protein and fats in the perfect ratios! :) Our lecture that evening was again about training and building your aerobic capacity for longer endurance events like Ironman. After the lecture, we hosted everyone for dinner and enjoyed the evening of conversation with all of the campers. Sunday - Day 6 The last day of camp started with a 7:30 am swim in Mirror Lake. It was my 3rd swim of the camp and I almost think I like swimming again! Nah, just kidding :) After the swim, we headed out on our 13 mile run at 9am. Colin F., a weekend camper and a 29 year old stud who I've coached for a couple years now took the run out at a steady sub 7 min / mile clip. Colin is a very strong runner and has tremendous potential for producing elite age group level results so I knew it was going to be a tough run, especially on my worn legs. Another weekend camper from Canada named Bob also went with us and I was impressed with his strength on the run. As is common with group runs involving competitive athletes, the testosterone started flowing and the pace gradually picked up. While I enjoy this spirited type of effort, I was also keenly aware that my legs were toasty from the previous 4days of training and wasn't sure how hard I wanted to push myself so I sat in on Colin's shoulder while he set the pace. As the run progressed and we reached about mile 7, I could hear some labored breathing among my running partners and sensed a change in stride so I decided to run some tempo. Lifting my pace to a sub 5:30 mile, I dropped 'em and ran the rest of the workout on my own. It was a great way to finish the camp with a solid run and I gained a lot of respect for my running partners that day, Colin and Bob from Calgary. After the run, we all said good-bye to one another and everyone started their journey homeward. Mine took about 8 hours and I arrived home late at night. While driving and having time to reflect on the camp and that type of steady high volume training over a 5-day training block, I was reminded of how good that is in preparing for key long distance events. Over the couse of 5 days (one was half a day), we complete the following training: 31 miles of running 90 minutes of swimming ....around 23- 25 hours of total training. Thanks goes out to Sean, Dan and Marilyn of TriSpeed (tri-speed.com) for their support and help with the camp. Their technical and vehicle support out on the routes were greatly appreciated. Visit www.spinervals.com soon for information about our 2006 Summer Training camp in Lake Placid NY and remember to view some photos later this week at www.coachtroy.com Train safe and train smart, Coach Troy |