19 QUESTIONS

With a tip of the cap to the originators:

TRAINING UPDATE

We've had a good start to the camp, adapting to the heat and the dry climate (apologies to everyone stuck in the snow). We rode up Mt Lemmon for 75' on Saturday, with some pretty spectacular blow-ups in the boys group (see Alexander's "I'm gonna champ it" approach in the previous post). The athletes made it up to 12-14 miles (it's 25 miles to Summerhaven at the top, with most of the climbing complete by 22 miles), with NTC athlete Kerry Spearing dropping off of the lead group at 5 miles, and slicing through the remains of the group at 13 miles. A good lesson in pacing was learned by all.

Swims have been good but not great, and running has been a challenge - we seem to end up on tough terrain with major elevation changes, and rocky terrain.

With a recovery day on Monday, we are set up for great training through the rest of the week.

A quick summary of Day 2, 3 & 4:


DAY 2: SATURDAY MARCH 8th
8:30AM: 2.5hr ride, with 75' climbing up Mt Lemmon (to Mile 12-14 for group)
11:00AM: 30' run off bike for PATCO athletes
3:30PM: 60' Heat Protocol for PATCO athletes
3:30PM: 45-60' Trail Run for everyone else

DAY 3: SUNDAY MARCH 9th
8:30AM: 60-80' long run to Seven Falls Canyon with Quebec squad
12:30PM: OYO Swim at Udall (25yds) MS:8/6/4 x 100 on 1:30 aerobic
3:30PM: 60' Heat Protocol for PATCO athletes
3:30PM: 60' Recovery Ride for everyone else

DAY 4: MONDAY MARCH 10th
7:00AM: 3.5k recovery/drill swim at Fort Lowell (50m long course)
PM: Downtown visit with Stefan and Linda

Other news:
- 5 athletes have fallen in the trails (John fell twice)....we're still looking for that flat trail in the National Park, but it may not exist (Ang's note: a few cuts and scrapes, but everyone is ok)
- approximately 57 episodes of 'Friends' have been watched
- allowing the boys to run together is a sure fire way to make sure a base run turns into a tempo run
- all athletes have prepared a dinner (and washed dishes)....meals have included: Fajitas, Chicken Parmesian (Ang's note: top notch), Omlettes and Spinach & Orange salad
- athletes are planning a 'dinner party' tomorrow night
- Alexandra Timms, age 5 months, has learned how to roll from her back to her front
- Dorelle was photographed for Triathlete Magazine during Saturday's run - probably after she fell and was covered in bruises, scrapes and a bit of blood
- Pro-Triathletes sighted so far: Peter Reid, Sam McGlone, Kathy Tremblay, David-James Tache
- Stefan Timms is a legend, coaching all bike and run workouts by biking and running the sessions with the atheltes
- Nick McGraw won Settlers of Catan in his first game (edit: Matt Vierula took the rookie win, Nick McGraw had played before, but was no match for the dreaded Longest Road/Victory Point finishing move off Vierula)

IN A MILE YOU'LL BE FEELING FINE...

TUCSON DAY 1

Quick updates:

DAY 0: THURSDAY MARCH 6th
4PM: Nine athletes arrived in Tucson for the OAT Winter Camp
6PM: 30' Base Run around 49ers Golf Course with coach Stefan Timms
11PM: Coach jay johnson arrives

DAY 1: FRIDAY MARCH 7th
8:30AM: 90' Base Ride, out and back on Old Spanish Trail
12:30PM: 40-60' Base Run in Saguaro National Park (a little more than base effort for some, and John & Alexander take a tumble on the trails - no major damage)
3:30PM: 3-4k Swim, short course yards, main set: 12x50@0:50 (1 fast, 1 easy), 2x300fr, 2x300pull, 600p/pull....a few tired bodies due to the heat, and some 'harder-than-base' efforts on the first day of camp

Other News:
-U23 National Champion Kerry Spearing (NTC) joins us for the camp
-Ian Donald learns to edit video on a MacBook


Tomorrow we preview Mt Lemmon with some of the Quebec Team.

BRING IT ON

FLOCASTS

For those who haven't been to the Flocast site, it's definitely worth a visit. They cover running, swimming and wrestling - primarily in North America - with short videos of interviews and workouts, blogs and a few other features. They sometimes post user videos, like this one submitted by Reid Coolsaet. Maybe we can convince them to add triathlon to their coverage. In the meantime, here's a 15x100 on 1:00 set for your viewing pleasure....it's only yards, but it's still pretty good. Hook'em Horns.

TALENT THAT WORKS...