Trimarni endurance camp reflections - day 4
Marni Sumbal, MS, RD
When an athlete lacks mental toughness, it's easy to give up, give in or give less. We see this a lot when athletes train alone.
But in a group setting, athletes are willing to do just a little bit more than what they would do alone.
Regardless of talent, a mentally tough athlete has what it takes to get through a tough workout.
Day 4 of camp was all about attitude and every camper brought a great mindset to the last day of training at camp.
After three challenging, exhausting and long days of training, our campers arrived to Lake Jocassee around 8:30am for one last workout. A 1-hour open water swim workout followed by a 90-minute hilly run.
At Trimarni, we have a special group of athletes. We feel incredibly lucky that our athletes/campers bring great can-do attitudes to every workout as this fosters a positive, ego-free, supportive environment. When you feel good about yourself, you think, act and train in a way that is good for everyone.
But in a group setting, athletes are willing to do just a little bit more than what they would do alone.
Regardless of talent, a mentally tough athlete has what it takes to get through a tough workout.
Day 4 of camp was all about attitude and every camper brought a great mindset to the last day of training at camp.
After three challenging, exhausting and long days of training, our campers arrived to Lake Jocassee around 8:30am for one last workout. A 1-hour open water swim workout followed by a 90-minute hilly run.
At Trimarni, we have a special group of athletes. We feel incredibly lucky that our athletes/campers bring great can-do attitudes to every workout as this fosters a positive, ego-free, supportive environment. When you feel good about yourself, you think, act and train in a way that is good for everyone.
Instead of doing things the way that they have always been done, our campers opened their minds to new ways of training over all 4.5 day of camp.
Instead of simply asking our campers to swim for 60 minutes, we gave them a swim workout. There were no excuses or reasons for not being able to do the swim workout but instead, everyone gave their best effort - even though we could see the exhaustion in their eyes.
And this is why a group training camp is so beneficial. When you think you don't have it in you, others bring the best out of you.
And this is why a group training camp is so beneficial. When you think you don't have it in you, others bring the best out of you.
It's always amazing to see how a group environment provides an immediate source of energy. Our campers were extremely mentally strong and welcomed the opportunity to challenge and push themselves beyond their comfort zone.
With a beautiful backdrop to our open water swim, we all gathered in the water after a dynamic warm-up to start the open water swim workout.
Warm-up:
10 minutes out, 10 minutes back - easy swimming
Then 10 minutes out (easy), 10 minutes back build effort.
Pre-set:
4 x (10 strokes fast, 10 strokes easy, 20 strokes fast, 20 strokes easy, 30 strokes fast, 30 strokes easy),
Warm-up:
10 minutes out, 10 minutes back - easy swimming
Then 10 minutes out (easy), 10 minutes back build effort.
Pre-set:
4 x (10 strokes fast, 10 strokes easy, 20 strokes fast, 20 strokes easy, 30 strokes fast, 30 strokes easy),
Main set 3x's
~150-200 yards out (Joey was our "buoy" in the kayak)
#1: Endurance effort, 85%
#2: Build to strong
#3: Strong
~150-200 yards out (Joey was our "buoy" in the kayak)
#1: Endurance effort, 85%
#2: Build to strong
#3: Strong
The water was a little choppy and the open water swim workout was not easy on the last day of camp but our athletes did not complain. Knowing that the open water environment is not familiar for most athletes, we encouraged our campers to not get frustrated and fight the water but instead, focus on good swimming technique, with great confidence.
After the swim, we got ready for the run. At Lake Jocassee, there are no flat roads so we told our campers that this would be a very hilly run (about 250-300 feet of climbing for every 30 minutes of running). With the very last workout of the 4.5 day camp being a long run, we wanted to add some specificity to the run to keep our campers focused and engaged.
Although we had covered a lot of miles on the bike, we purposely did not overload our campers with running miles to ensure that we could minimize the fatigue and tissue breakdown throughout camp. This approach makes for quality training and to reduce risk for injury as our campers could keep good form during every run. Additionally, at our camps, every camper is required to bring sport nutrition/fluids with them when running, for all run workouts - either in a hydration belt or backpack. This keeps our athletes "healthy" when accumulating training stress and makes for productive training sessions and quick recovery.
Run workout
90 minutes as 3 x 30 minutes
15 minutes out, 15 minutes back on rolling terrain
Loop 1: Conversational pace, smooth and easy
Loop 2: Steady effort
Loop 3: Strong effort
Although we had covered a lot of miles on the bike, we purposely did not overload our campers with running miles to ensure that we could minimize the fatigue and tissue breakdown throughout camp. This approach makes for quality training and to reduce risk for injury as our campers could keep good form during every run. Additionally, at our camps, every camper is required to bring sport nutrition/fluids with them when running, for all run workouts - either in a hydration belt or backpack. This keeps our athletes "healthy" when accumulating training stress and makes for productive training sessions and quick recovery.
Run workout
90 minutes as 3 x 30 minutes
15 minutes out, 15 minutes back on rolling terrain
Loop 1: Conversational pace, smooth and easy
Loop 2: Steady effort
Loop 3: Strong effort
We had our campers loop back at the picnic tables where additional sport nutrition/water was available for refilling flasks. Our campers treated this workout like a race so the nutrition stops were quick, just like at an aid station (or special needs) on race day.
It was so awesome to see our athletes work together. Although some athletes opted to run alone, there was no shortage of cheers and high fives from the athletes on the run course. Plus, our photographer Joey captured some great pics of us running! Here are a few pics of our campers in action.
Joe and Karel
Justine
Celeste
Heidi and Kevin
Thomas
Elizabeth, Danielle and Sandra
Tim and Meredith
Jim
Pat
Michaela
Katja and Kathleen
Although the camp experience is just as exhausting for us coaches as it is for our campers, we absolutely love putting on training camps, especially in beautiful Greenville, SC. It's incredible to see our campers stretch their physical limits, step outside a comfort zone, embrace fear and bond with like-minded individuals. Our job is extremely rewarding and we love helping athletes develop fitness and skills to improve athletic capabilities, while having fun and maintaining pure enjoyment for the sport of triathlon.
Total camp stats:
2.5 hours of swimming
12-14 hours of cycling
2.5-3 hours of running
Over 17 hours of training in 4.5 days!
And over 14,000 feet of elevation gain on the bike and over 1000 feet on the long run!
Every camp reminds us how much we love the sport of triathlon and why this sport is so special.
Inspiring people doing incredible things with the human body.
Stretching comfort zones, pushing limits and overcoming fear.
You will never know what you are capable of achieving until you try.
Thank you campers for making our 2017 Trimarni endurance camp extra special!
And a special thanks to Joey for being our SAG/photographer and assistant coach Joe for your watchful eye, great mechanic skills and support. Also thank you to Thomas for being our"route guide" so that we could spend more one on one time with our campers.
And thank you to the following companies who provided swag to our campers:
XTERRA WETSUITS - wetsuit bag and hanger
cheribundi - refuel
Veronica's Health Crunch - yummy crunch
Mg12 - The Power of Magnesium - magne sport balm, roll on and salts
BOCO Gear - camp hats
OOBE - camp shirts
TeamHOTSHOT - Hot Shot 'drink'
CLIF Bar - Sport nutrition
Infinit Nutrition - Bike nutrition
Beauty Counter - sunscreen