2016 Trimarni Greenville camp wrap-up

It was only 26 months ago when Karel and I moved to Greenville, SC after spending the last 10 years (for me, 14 for Karel) in Florida.

Not one day has passed since May 2014 where we regretted this decision to trade the beach for the mountains.

With freedom to move anywhere in the USA, we picked Greenville because it offered us so much - affordable living, support of local farming, mountains, lakes, state parks, friendly people, bike-friendly roads, a fun triathlon community, an awesome, award-winning downtown and a small town feel, close to many big cities.

After our first summer in Greenville, it was a no-brainer that we needed to make the effort to make sure that other athletes could benefit from our hidden gem of a training playground.

It was only a matter of time before we started offering private training camps and group training camps so that other athletes could experience what it's like to ride on very bike-friendly roads (we don't have bike lanes or shoulders on the majority of our routes - we literally share the road with the cars), train on challenging terrain to get stronger and to improve skills. While we feel Greenville is one of the best places to ride a bike, not to mention to improve your bike handling skills and cycling strength and power, Greenville has no shortage of spectacular views which will leave you oohing and ahhing, no matter where you train.

We have hundreds of cycling routes - we never have to repeat the same route.

We just wrapped up our 5th Trimarni training camp and 2nd Greenville training camp.

We had a specific agenda for this recent Greenville training camp as it was extremely endurance focused. We carefully selected the Trimarni athletes who reached out to us to attend this camp as it was not a camp for every triathlete.

While we feel Greenville is the perfect place to improve fitness and skills, it's isn't until you come and train with us in Greenville, that you will learn that our terrain is extremely challenging - requiring a special type of resilience and mental strength in order to adapt to the training stress that you are given in Greenville. Sure you can do all your training on the trail and on flat roads but a strong athlete makes a great athlete.
But don't let this scare you away from coming to Greenville to train as our terrain helps athletes build confidence and there's no boring training session in Greenville.

Above all, our training camps are for athletes who want to learn and improve.

While we may have specific criteria for our campers at some of our training camps for safety reasons, our private training camps provide the perfect opportunity for athletes who want one-on-one attention, without ever feeling like your current level of fitness is too slow or not fast enough.
We are all about the athlete and catering to your needs.

We give a lot of feedback throughout our camps and specific instructions that are applicable and appropriate for training and racing.

And because our terrain is very challenging, sport nutrition education is never overlooked.
Knowing how much energy is needed to train where we live, I don't give suggestions for fueling but my sport nutrition advice is mandatory as I know what my athletes need, even if they think they need less.
We have had 5 Trimarni training camps and with each camp, I give our campers specific instructions on how to eat before a workout, how to fuel/hydrate during and how to recover and eat after every workout.

We have had a perfect success rate in all 5 camps - no GI issues, no bonking, no health-threatening dehydration issues and no nutritional catastrophes.
Sure, some athletes have an off-day or something may not go right but we have never had an athlete have to pull out of a workout or stop camp because of a nutrition related issue that could not be tweaked or fixed.

While I realize that sport nutrition is hard to master and there is never a perfect strategy that works for every workout, our campers understand that in order to have the energy to complete a workout and to recover well, following sound nutritional guidance is imperative to their success at camp.
Proper fueling and hydrating also keeps the body healthy and well and our camps are not weight loss camps - our campers are here to perform, not to burn calories.

I am very appreciative of our campers/athletes who come to camp with an open mind and are willing and ready to try new things as it relates to skills and nutrition.
We challenge our athletes to step outside their comfort zone as we know that in a group environment, they are more willing to try new things and to not give up.

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Every year, when I start planning a Trimarni camp (often 8-10 months in advance), I feel overwhelmed with the amount of planning that is needed to ensure that our campers have a great camp experience.
This includes carefully planning the camp training itinerary, selecting the run/bike routes, the swim venues, swim/bike/run workouts, where our campers will stay, what swag they will receive, the SAG support, the sport nutrition that will be offered, making sure our athletes recover well and above all, making sure our campers enjoy their time at camp with great support from their fellow teammates/campers but also that they stay safe.

Although it takes a lot of work, Karel and I absolutely love the camp environment and experience of having so many like-minded individuals training together

While our campers have busy lives with work, family, kids and other responsibilities, we love giving our athletes an opportunity to check out of life and to just train without anything else on their mind.

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We had 16 campers who accomplished 18 hours of training (2.5 hours of swimming, 10.5 hours of cycling and 5 hours of running) over 4 days.

We are exhausted, sore, tired and mentally drained.

But it was all worth it.

We could not be more proud of our campers as they gained confidence on challenging terrain, improved skills and fitness but most of all, there was a common bond as they all supported each other, made memories and demonstrated what it means to be part of a team.

Stay tuned as we will be sharing the dates of our future training camps for 2017.

Here's a quick recap of our camp with pictures:

Day 1:

AM:

30 min EZ conversational pace run

3 hour bike

30 min EZ run with last 8-10 min build to race pace effort

PM:

90 min long course swim at Westside Aquatic center

Day 2:

AM:

76 mile/~5:20 bike with ~7700 feet of climbing (including the notorious, extremely hard to climb, Howard Gap)

10-20 min T-run

PM:

20-40 min EZ form focused run (5 min run/30 sec walk)

Day 3:

AM:

1 hour open water swim at Lake Jocassee (warm-up, pre-set and race-specific MS)

90 min - 2 hour hilly run (3-4 x 15-20 min out, 15-20 min back)

PM:

Team dinner at Lazy Goat

Day 4:

1 hour steady run (4 miles on rolling hills, finish the run on Swamp Rabbit Trail)

2.5 hour bike - steady/strong efforts

Every evening we had a recap of the day and discussion for the next day's workouts as well as nutrition/hydration planning. Campy always paid close attention.

Morning run around lake Furman.

First day of camp - campers are filled with energy!

First bike ride on our bike-friendly roads. 2 loops of a 10-mile course to practice climbing, descending and proper execution of how to navigate hills with the right gears and cadence.

One-on-one work with a camper

Cooling off with a late afternoon swim.

Campers divided into lanes based on swim fitness. Each lane had a specific workout based on their own swim abilities. All lanes had a race-specific main set with sighting and swimming next to each other to simulate the race environment. All swimmers are required to use an ankle strap, buoy, snorkel and paddles.

Cycling to North Carolina.

Heading to Howard's Gap.

It isn't until you complete this climb that you will understand its difficulty.

SAG stop.

Plenty of beautiful views to enjoy for ~5 hours

Grateful for awesome SAG support.

There's no easy riding in Greenville but you'll finish every workout feel so proud of yourself that you conquered our terrain.

Hello furry friends!

We always feel inspired by our campers - no slacking for us!

Group training brings out the best in one another.

Suffering with smiles.

It's easier to get out the door with others. No excuses - our campers made things happen.

Our camps are dog friendly :)

Exhausted but having fun!

All smiles.

Mountain views all the way to Lake Jocassee.

Thank you New Wave buoys for your perfectly sized, easy to see, brightly colored buoys (and swim caps).

What a great group of triathletes who are willing to step outside their comfort zone.

All set!

What a beautiful day for swimming in beautiful water. You can't help but be happy training here!

There was a lot of neon in the open water.

Thank you Jackie for the Kayak support.

Race pace efforts - 30 minutes of 1 min take-out speed, followed by 4 min strong swimming. Rest as needed in between each set of 5 minutes.

Gaining confidence in the open water.

Loving the New Wave buoys and swim caps (and my new TYR Special ops 2.0 goggles which have been amazing to swim with in open water).

Dynamic stretching and group talk before the run.

Off they go!

90 minutes to 2 hours of running - you are either going up or down.

Karel finished off the last 30 minutes of the long run on his mountain bike to support the athletes as they stayed mentally and physically strong for their 5th run in 2.5 days.

Well said Coca Cola.

We are so lucky to live here.

Cooling off after an open water swim + long run.

This group cleaned up nicely for our team dinner at the Lazy Goat.

My sidekick - what an awesome coach, person, best friend, business partner and training partner.

Team dinner - there was a lot of nibbling, grazing and sharing.

There was a lot of yumming.

Yum.....real food.

One last day of training - our campers surprised us as they performed amazingly well, despite this being this 6th run in 4 days.

Yay for running on hills!

Keeping each other motivated and inspired.

Teamwork!

Group work!

Yay for running happy.

Building confidence.

Having fun.

Thumbs up - loving it!

Mental toughness

Looking good ladies!

All of our campers are required to wear hydration belts/packs when they run so that they can always stay well hydrated and fueled.

Working together.

When the opportunity comes about and you are healthy and feeling strong, don't let your mind limit you. Rise to the occasion and don't be afraid to fail.