Triathlon Ireland High Performance Training Camp, Aguilas, Spain, December 2011

I met Chris Jones at the TI Awards night in Dublin, he was giving me some tips on power extension over long distance. His record is more with short course athletes but he clearly had knowledge on longer distance discipline and has helped the likes of Chrissie Wellington. He asked if I was interested in training with the squad on the upcoming camp. I was concerned that the short distance pace would not suit a long distance athlete and my swimming was too far behind, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity! I was looking forward to getting away from the cold weather to train solidly for 10days, and when the details came though it was exciting as I knew I’d be training with some very fast people. Apart from the main ITU squad, there were some junior athletes and also single discipline athletes. The following athletes attended the camp:

Athletes:

Elite Triathlon: Gavin Noble, Conor Murphy, Bryan Keane and Aileen Morrison (Bryan in rehab from bike accident)

Junior Triathlon: Con Doherty, Aaron O’Brien

Cycling: Phillip Deignan, Caroline Ryan, Jack Wilson

Track athletes: Darren McBrearty, Thomas Chamney

Coaching team:

Performance Director - Chris Jones – mainly triathlon, but also looking after single discipline sports for the Olympics.

Cycling - Tommy Evans who also helps out with the run and swim coaching.

Junior Squad - Elena Maslova.

Physio/conditioning - Deirdre Burrell.  I got to see why the others call her Magic Hands! she had worked me out within seconds by just looking at me, and the treatment was quite unique.

Aguilas and the Camp:

The town of Aguilas is a perfect training ground, on the southern coast of Spain where the temperature in December is close to 20c. The hotel we stayed in was well located by the beach for open water swimming and had many run options on and off road. It was 5mins drive from two swimming pools and the cycling was fantastic with quiet roads and lots of scenic climbs. The hotel itself was great and the food spot on, a buffet style with lots of variety – though they probably didn’t know what hit them when a bunch of athletes turned up!

Before heading out there, Alan didn’t set me exact sessions to do as we decided this would not work on a camp with mixed distance athletes, instead he set me a few rules on maximum HR (or at least rules on how often I was allowed to break my HR caps! ;-)

Day 1 started in the pool, I was regularly swimming sub 5:55 for 400s in the week before, but now I was in with people who swim sub 4:40! the nearest person to me was a 17mins 1500m swimmer...

Chris was understanding as I had warned him about my swimming so he put me in a separate lane and modified the sets slightly to get me through them. He noticed I was lying on my left arm too long and needed to up my cadence. The guys were swimming over 6k some mornings but I covered a shorter distance. The bike sessions we mostly did as a group but running was more optional and left to suit the individual athlete. When the coaches would be off with some guys testing, the others would do their own run for example.

When out on the bike and on the runs I was more comfortable and glad to leave behind the isolation of the pool. I was room sharing with Conor Murphy, a sound lad from Portadown who is aiming for 2014 Commonwealth Games and Rio 2016. We train for different race distances but were both trying to work the camp as aerobic so we did most sessions together.

The bike sessions were predominantly aerobic and when some of the guys were riding the hills I tried to avoid getting caught up in it. We did go at it at times but mostly within the 10% rule Alan had set me (mostly!). Tommy Evans was always there telling us what each session was for, imparting lots of technical advice and knowledge, but also to keep us  in line - namely for me to stop riding close in the pack and to stop descending like an eegit! Tommy is a former RAS winner and Olympian so no shortage of experience.

The following is a log of the sessions done. NP is Normalised power, TSS is Training Stress Score. If you’re not familiar with these terms have a read of this: http://www.endurancecorner.com/wko_definitions

Totals for the week:

	week1(3days)	week2	Totals for 10days
hrs	13.7	27	40.7hrs
TSS	895	1761	2656TSS

More details for the geeks, summarised from my Training Peaks log:

	swim	bike	run	cross
09/12/2012	fast sets, mixed swim/pull. 90mins	steady, few efforts above aerobic, 2hrs45, NP 214W, 169TSS	steady run off bike, no hr monitor used. 25mins	30mins core/stretch
10/12/2012	400s/300s/200s with 50s in between of s/d/s. 90mins	short ride with CP values - Tommy had us test   - cp0.5/4/20. Total ride 1hr49, NP 262W, 170TSS.	easy/steady coastal run. 1hr, mixed terrain, 80TSS
11/12/2012	pool closed	4hrs, 3 climbs. Mainly aerobic, few climbs above 80% hr. NP 235W, 303TSS	no run	30mins core/stretch
12/12/2012	main set mixed 300s & 600s, 90mins	no ride	“Steady” long run, 11miles normalised pace 6mins/mile. 75mins, 1223ft climbing. 150TSS!
13/12/2012	wu, mixed intro, ms 3*800, 90mins	long ride hilly, 4hrs, 3600ft climbs, NP227, 290TSS	Track, drills and circuits: wu/drills, 4*500/200 on/off track, ccts, 4*400/100, ccts, 4*300/100, ccts, 4*200/100, ccts, cd. 1hr42, 149TSS.
14/12/2012	wu, 40*50, various pace, 80mins	short ride including 15min intervals at 80%. 145TSS, NP233W. 1hr57.	no run	30mins core/stretch
15/12/2012	recovery set 80mins (didn't feel like recovery to me!)	longish ride, fairly pacey, NP 248W, 266TSS, 4400ft climbs, 3hr10.	no run
16/12/2012	no swimming for me, the guys went to pool.	easy bike with short sprints (8*10secs) 1hr30	easy long run - same route as on 12th - but 15mins slower! 90mins, 114TSS.	30mins core/stretch
17/12/2012	open water swim with wetsuits - got dropped even with fins on!	easy spin on bike	no run
18/12/2012	pool closed	long bike aerobic, 2 climbs, 4hrs, 3750ft climbs, NP 233W, 300TSS.	45mins steady run, few climbs, 45TSS	30mins core/stretch
19/12/2012	1k wu, 2*400, 3*50, 2*300, 3*50, 2*100, 3*50, 400 cd. 1hr	travel	travel

During a track/drills session, I noticed a big difference in balance on the single leg exercises where Gavin and Conor were very stable, but I was all over the place. I do a fair bit of core and strength work but this made me realise I have a lot more to do to get that imbalance corrected!

As an athlete and a fan of the sport, it was an exciting place to be, there was always something going on. The coaches had a busy time running around between sessions and dealing with various athletes. There was a support vehicle on most rides and there were various types of testing going on throughout the camp. It was great to see how these guys operate and learn how they do things. It was well organised and rare that anyone was late for a session, us lads here could learn a few things ;-) The athletes were knowledgeable about their sport and their competitors as you’d expect and although they seemed to be just getting on with it and having fun, they each had a steely determination that I’ve only seen in a handful of my competitors and training partners. This is what I think separates them from the most of us, regardless of talent. I was explaining to Aileen Morrison about my issues with racing in the heat, she said it was most likely in my head and I needed to stop lying to myself, I'll be studying that one for homework!

After the 10 days I felt great, a bit tired but not overly so, as the last few days were less intense and lower in volume. Probably the best shape I’ve ever been in this close to Christmas and certainly in a better place than I was this time last year! I write this after returning to work, with an immediate rise in stress levels - I’d swap for a month in Spain anytime! The 10days camp left me with ½ day annual leave until April so it will be cold weather and early starts from now til then unfortunately. At least when I’m stuck in my concrete office I can still be inspired by the experience.

The session I remember most from the camp was a run out along the coastal trails on multi-terrain that ended on top of a small mountain. It started out as a long steady run, but I soon realised I was going to have to work outside my comfort zone to stay with the pack as Gavin set the pace. As the run developed I got in to it better, the scenery was great and the pain of such an effort suppressed by the beauty of our surroundings. I tried a short burst at the end to test max HR but couldn’t get it up at all, perhaps too tired or low in energy. I thought this might not be popular with the coach but it was just one wee session! ;-)http://connect.garmin.com/activity/134356984