2015 Scottsdale Camp!
It seems like just yesterday I was sitting on my couch, legs in the recovery boots, shantini in hand with a smile on my face thinking about last year's camp. Just like the rest of life, it's flying by oh so fast. This past weekend I led a group of amazing athletes through a 4 day training camp where we trained ~19hours including 200+miles on the bike with 15000ft of elevation gain, 5500yards of swimming (OWS included) and 25miles of running (2 runs).
What is most impressive about this camp were the athletes attending it. I had athletes ranging from their first year in triathlon to 25 years of experience, as well as uber talented Kona and amateur title holders. Even more impressive than those stats was the GRIT these athletes showed. Executing a long weekend of training in RECORD AZ heat was mentally and physically challenging and each and every one of them nailed it and exceeded my expectations.
The weekend started out with some serious travel obstacles which had my brain spinning with problem solving before we even began camp. There were a few athletes that had to miss out on some workouts, but they made up for it by making the subsequent workouts COUNT.
Pre-Camp --
I reached out to some sponsors and asked for support at camp. I work with w few companies who's products I really believe in. They are my go-to products and have been key in my training and racing success over the past years. I was able to put together a nice little schwag bag for each athlete, and can't thank these amazing companies enough!
Planet Sun -- Hands down the best sunscreen I've ever used. I use it head to toe, no breakouts, no sunburns, and the white zinc color is mild. Essential for how much time we spend outside.
Osmo Nutrition -- I've raved about this line of hydration for over a year now. If you haven't tried it, you have no idea what you are missing out on, especially as a female athlete --
womenarenotsmallmen!
Recovery e21 -- Again, a product I have been using for years. I started out on their ambassador team in 2011 and have used the product ever since. Aside from being "salt" pills, they have 21 total mineral including magnesium which is essential for us as athletes. The pills also contain a micro algae (organic) used as a natural anti-inflammatory.
BeetElite -- Everyone knows I'm a huge beet juice fan! This product was introduced to me last year, and I immediately felt the positive affect of using it before racing and or hard training.
I also had some fun TeamBSC trucker hats made for the weekend! Fun stuff. If you have ANY questions at all about the above products or would like a discount code, please reach out to me!
While camp kicked off Thursday evening with a social run and dinner out, it officially started Friday with our biggest day of the weekend. Being that it was HOT out (turns out we hit 100degrees), we had to start pretty early to not overheat and dig any holes on day one. The ride was a gradual climb of about 28 miles up into north Scottsdale before descending 14 miles into one of our reservoir lakes. We had ideal conditions for this. Not too warm yet, little to no wind and minimal traffic! We had fantastic SAG support from my husband and BSC friend Tracy watching our bikes while we did an open water swim. The water was PERFECT and many people got to squeeze into their wetsuits for the first time all season -- always a good idea to do before racing!
Everyone cruised up the 14 mile hill at their own pace before regrouping at the top for a nice 28 mile descend home! We finished the day with about 5.5 hours on the bike, 85 miles, 45min swim and 5500 ft of elevation gain. SOLID day indeed.
Day 2 included one of my absolute favorite riding loops and "9 mile hill." Like the last 2 camps this fun ride gives athletes an opportunity to either cruise ride OR burn a few matches. We immediately broke into 2 groups, with my crazy fast friend Emily leading a few athletes into Fountain hills at a pretty zippy pace. Being the coach (as well as carefully picking my efforts) I held back and let my body really wake up before picking my poison where I would have some fun on the bike! I had my husband helping to keep the group together so that we could let the athletes that wanted to ride hard split off from anyone else. This was HUGE for me as I was able to relax and ride hard for a bit and worry less about logistics as he was there to hold the troops together.
Everyone had their turn to throw down on the bike and it was so much fun to watch! I picked my section on the 8 miles of rollers. I grabbed on to Emily's wheel and did everything I could to not drop off. I finished that section I'm pretty sure in PR time, and may or may not have thrown up in my mouth a little bit. I just LOVED it.
We had a nice 4 mile run off the bike with goal of negative splitting the run. It was super cool to watch everyone nail their fastest mile in the end, even if they started out a bit too fast! A quick lunch to refuel and we were off to the pool for a solid 3k set.
Look at this colorful and FIT group -- loving our token make athlete, Scott!
Sunday was our epic Mnt Lemmon climb in Tucson. A very early start for everyone as the drive is 2hours. I don't have a whole lot to say about this day, other than the fact that everyone absolutely NAILED this climb. Everyone did amazing, including FIVE first timers. While I wasn't planning on calling out any athlete in particular, I can't help but rave about two of them on this day. One is my athlete Heather who has only been training for one year. She absolutely killed this ride, not one complaint and had fun on the descend as well. I can't even contemplate what she has accomplished in her first year, and can't wait to see how she grows as an athlete. Additionally, veteran TeamBSC member Scott finished off 3 days of solid riding climbing up a mountain less than 1 year after his second back surgery. Honestly, not many people would even attempt what he's doing, and I think that in itself speaks worlds of this guy!
And finally, we have the last day of camp, the long run. I hesitated picking the course for this year because it's challenging, but also a bit confusing with turns. In the end I just couldn't change the route as it's just too gorgeous to not share with these athletes. The route was 14.5 miles (with 20mile option) with rolling terrain through Paradise Valley. Logistically it's hard to manage, but I had enough people that new the turns we all ended up ok! Shane finished up his sherpa duties by following around making sure everyone made the turns, and no one was lost. Aside from one of our water stops vanishing (thankful we had a golf course to save many!) everyone had a solid run with a couple of breakthrough efforts!
We followed up the long run with a Pita Jungle catered lunch and presentation buy one of the most incredibly motivating women I've ever heard speak. Jenne has a gift of really getting to the point of mental strength and motivation that so many of us struggle with. I know I personally, will carry her lessons with me throughout each and every day as I work and dream to reach my goals! Please check out her website and her new climbing adventure programs!
There were tears, there were smiles, there was a whole lot of laughter. Endless amounts of Osmo, potato chips, pickles, e21 and cola were consumed. I'm so incredibly happy and blessed to be able lead and train with these amazing athletes. I am also incredibly happy to have the hard work banked in my road to Ironman account, and relax and share stories with a few people back at my house over Shane's famous shanetinis!
Stay tuned for details about next year's camp. Plans are already in the works to make it a bigger and more exciting event you won't want to miss!!
What is most impressive about this camp were the athletes attending it. I had athletes ranging from their first year in triathlon to 25 years of experience, as well as uber talented Kona and amateur title holders. Even more impressive than those stats was the GRIT these athletes showed. Executing a long weekend of training in RECORD AZ heat was mentally and physically challenging and each and every one of them nailed it and exceeded my expectations.
The weekend started out with some serious travel obstacles which had my brain spinning with problem solving before we even began camp. There were a few athletes that had to miss out on some workouts, but they made up for it by making the subsequent workouts COUNT.
Pre-Camp --
I reached out to some sponsors and asked for support at camp. I work with w few companies who's products I really believe in. They are my go-to products and have been key in my training and racing success over the past years. I was able to put together a nice little schwag bag for each athlete, and can't thank these amazing companies enough!
Planet Sun -- Hands down the best sunscreen I've ever used. I use it head to toe, no breakouts, no sunburns, and the white zinc color is mild. Essential for how much time we spend outside.
Osmo Nutrition -- I've raved about this line of hydration for over a year now. If you haven't tried it, you have no idea what you are missing out on, especially as a female athlete --
womenarenotsmallmen!
Recovery e21 -- Again, a product I have been using for years. I started out on their ambassador team in 2011 and have used the product ever since. Aside from being "salt" pills, they have 21 total mineral including magnesium which is essential for us as athletes. The pills also contain a micro algae (organic) used as a natural anti-inflammatory.
BeetElite -- Everyone knows I'm a huge beet juice fan! This product was introduced to me last year, and I immediately felt the positive affect of using it before racing and or hard training.
I also had some fun TeamBSC trucker hats made for the weekend! Fun stuff. If you have ANY questions at all about the above products or would like a discount code, please reach out to me!
While camp kicked off Thursday evening with a social run and dinner out, it officially started Friday with our biggest day of the weekend. Being that it was HOT out (turns out we hit 100degrees), we had to start pretty early to not overheat and dig any holes on day one. The ride was a gradual climb of about 28 miles up into north Scottsdale before descending 14 miles into one of our reservoir lakes. We had ideal conditions for this. Not too warm yet, little to no wind and minimal traffic! We had fantastic SAG support from my husband and BSC friend Tracy watching our bikes while we did an open water swim. The water was PERFECT and many people got to squeeze into their wetsuits for the first time all season -- always a good idea to do before racing!
Everyone cruised up the 14 mile hill at their own pace before regrouping at the top for a nice 28 mile descend home! We finished the day with about 5.5 hours on the bike, 85 miles, 45min swim and 5500 ft of elevation gain. SOLID day indeed.
Day 2 included one of my absolute favorite riding loops and "9 mile hill." Like the last 2 camps this fun ride gives athletes an opportunity to either cruise ride OR burn a few matches. We immediately broke into 2 groups, with my crazy fast friend Emily leading a few athletes into Fountain hills at a pretty zippy pace. Being the coach (as well as carefully picking my efforts) I held back and let my body really wake up before picking my poison where I would have some fun on the bike! I had my husband helping to keep the group together so that we could let the athletes that wanted to ride hard split off from anyone else. This was HUGE for me as I was able to relax and ride hard for a bit and worry less about logistics as he was there to hold the troops together.
Everyone had their turn to throw down on the bike and it was so much fun to watch! I picked my section on the 8 miles of rollers. I grabbed on to Emily's wheel and did everything I could to not drop off. I finished that section I'm pretty sure in PR time, and may or may not have thrown up in my mouth a little bit. I just LOVED it.
We had a nice 4 mile run off the bike with goal of negative splitting the run. It was super cool to watch everyone nail their fastest mile in the end, even if they started out a bit too fast! A quick lunch to refuel and we were off to the pool for a solid 3k set.
Look at this colorful and FIT group -- loving our token make athlete, Scott!
Sunday was our epic Mnt Lemmon climb in Tucson. A very early start for everyone as the drive is 2hours. I don't have a whole lot to say about this day, other than the fact that everyone absolutely NAILED this climb. Everyone did amazing, including FIVE first timers. While I wasn't planning on calling out any athlete in particular, I can't help but rave about two of them on this day. One is my athlete Heather who has only been training for one year. She absolutely killed this ride, not one complaint and had fun on the descend as well. I can't even contemplate what she has accomplished in her first year, and can't wait to see how she grows as an athlete. Additionally, veteran TeamBSC member Scott finished off 3 days of solid riding climbing up a mountain less than 1 year after his second back surgery. Honestly, not many people would even attempt what he's doing, and I think that in itself speaks worlds of this guy!
And finally, we have the last day of camp, the long run. I hesitated picking the course for this year because it's challenging, but also a bit confusing with turns. In the end I just couldn't change the route as it's just too gorgeous to not share with these athletes. The route was 14.5 miles (with 20mile option) with rolling terrain through Paradise Valley. Logistically it's hard to manage, but I had enough people that new the turns we all ended up ok! Shane finished up his sherpa duties by following around making sure everyone made the turns, and no one was lost. Aside from one of our water stops vanishing (thankful we had a golf course to save many!) everyone had a solid run with a couple of breakthrough efforts!
We followed up the long run with a Pita Jungle catered lunch and presentation buy one of the most incredibly motivating women I've ever heard speak. Jenne has a gift of really getting to the point of mental strength and motivation that so many of us struggle with. I know I personally, will carry her lessons with me throughout each and every day as I work and dream to reach my goals! Please check out her website and her new climbing adventure programs!
There were tears, there were smiles, there was a whole lot of laughter. Endless amounts of Osmo, potato chips, pickles, e21 and cola were consumed. I'm so incredibly happy and blessed to be able lead and train with these amazing athletes. I am also incredibly happy to have the hard work banked in my road to Ironman account, and relax and share stories with a few people back at my house over Shane's famous shanetinis!
Stay tuned for details about next year's camp. Plans are already in the works to make it a bigger and more exciting event you won't want to miss!!
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