“Training Camp!” what was I thinking?

What to expect!

You did it, instead of going on a ‘typical’ holiday you decided to do something healthier and signed yourself up for a week of triathlon training. Some of your friends think you are totally mad and wonder why you don’t want to simply laze on a beach somewhere, others think it is an interesting idea and those who are into sport themselves think it is awesome! It is awesome and you’ll love it.

Before you go you decide you better get a bit fitter and thinner so you look as if you are a real athlete and are meant to be there. Ah… there are the doubts – the doubts that make us think we need to be super fit before we go on a camp! We start to panic and wonder if we’ll be able to keep up with everyone else, what if we’re the slowest, or the fastest? What if we’re the only one or the only female or male? How many hours a day will we train – will we manage it all without being totally exhausted!? Are the others going to be
super slim and sleek athletes?

What was I thinking?!?…..

Breathe (through your nose is best – see later article….), calm down and don’t panic – all will be fine! Well, it should be depending on where you have chosen to go of course!!! Joking aside, your camp experience will be fabulous, you will get to hang out with others who will talk about triathlons forever and a day, train at a pace that suits you but also pushes you that bit out of your comfort zone and have plenty of recovery to be ready for the next day. Depending on the set up, you might be the only person – a big YAY, it means you will get some individual attention from the main coach and be able to ask everything and anything! You may be with others who are faster than you – great, it means you get pushed that little bit and you get faster! You may be with people slower than you – great, they’ll remind you how far you’ve come and you can share your experiences with them, and then there will be those who are similar to you – great, you’ll be able to compete a bit in some sessions, but not all of them, remember it is training not racing. You get the idea, whatever the situation it will be a positive experience !

Food Glorious Food…

So now you don’t need to worry about the other athletes, what else – the food of course! Camps are normally great at serving you good heathy food and plenty of it – so be warned you may end up gaining weight if you’re not careful. At home we get used to our daily routine of training and meals and hopefully our weight remains stable most of the time. All of a sudden you are on a camp, often training more than you are used to so more than likely you will feel hungrier than usual. The good news is that you will need to eat more with the extra training (unless you are trying to lose weight!) so you can enjoy the extras without feeling too guilty. So enjoy the food provided, including the desserts – just keep yourself from over-indulging too much!

Camps are a truly amazing experience, you have nothing to loose and lots to gain by taking part in as much as possible, talking to people heaps, questioning, taking notes, picking up healthy recipes, training tips, guidance and much much more.

So hope to see you here soon!