I took this picture on Friday evening while driving to dinner at Restaurant 17 with our athlete and private camper Jim.
While driving, I wanted to capture this moment because I just can't get over where we live. If it's not obvious, I just love Greenville, SC and everything that we can see and do. The living is affordable, we have endless options for local foods, there are countless restaurants that take pride in supporting local farms/farmers, our roads are bike friendly (seriously - we often have to wave to cars to pass us as they will just patiently ride behind us until we give them the ok to pass), people are so nice, we have the BEST downtown and we have endless mountain and nature views.
This picture just reminds me how great it is to live close to the mountains and how lucky we are to call Greenville our home.
And because we love Greenville so much, we want you to enjoy it with us!
If you are interested in training with us, send us an email. Our private training camps are a great way for you or you and your spouse/friends to experience some unbelievable training terrain and beautiful scenery.
Our private training camps are ideal for all ages and fitness levels. We take pride in catering to your individual needs. Above all, we want to help you become a better, smarter and stronger athlete but we are mindful of your personal developmental processes. We will give you the most appropriate advice, at this time in your journey, that will help take your fitness to that next level.
Although our group camps provide the perfect mix of challenging workouts, fun and socializing, our private camps give you the individual attention that you need to improve your skills, form, confidence, mental strength, nutrition or any other area to help you reach your goals.
For Karel and myself, we love coaching our athletes. Coaching is extremely rewarding and we load our athletes with education every single week (check-in emails are emailed every Sun/Mon throughout the entire year). But the best way to coach an athlete is to see the athlete in action. This way, we can focus on specific areas that we feel are of concern or improvement.
Some of key areas that we discuss at our private camps:
Swimming - how to hold the body in the water, changing old swimming habits to learn a more appropriate style of swimming that will transfer well to open water, how to love swim training, how to use swim toys more efficiently and much more.
Cycling - (with Karel's expertise and lifetime of cycling experience, athletes will gain so much from riding with Karel) - how to change gears, how to descend/climb, how to ride on rolling hills, how to ride in turns or bumpy terrain, when to stand, sit or stay aero, how to ride in side or head wind, bike fit/position, how to ride more comfortable on the bike, how to ride with more power, how to race smart to still have the legs to run off the bike, what are the best tires and wheels for the athlete, how to ride safer and more confident and so much more.
Running - discussing common running myths for triathletes, learning how to run like a triathlete (not a "runner"), how to run more efficiently, how to run on hills (up and down), how to incorporate walking into running, how to pace better in training and racing, how to stay comfortable running longer distances, how to love running off the bike and much more.
And in addition to all the topics discussed above, I cover daily and sport nutrition in great detail.
When I work with athletes, I am very focused on how athletes fuel so that they can maximize performance. Sport nutrition can be complicated and I try to make it simple.
Far too often I see athletes not bringing the right (or enough) fuel when we train and it shows during a workout. Although our workouts may be challenging at times, I can see how comfortable (or not) an athlete is with his/her fueling. Many times, athletes are slowing down because they are not fueling adequately and this delays improvements in fitness.
This is important because we try to provide the best training environment for the athlete at our camps and we are focused on the best execution possible. When athletes train alone, it's easy to get by and not realize that your nutrition strategy (or lack thereof) is not helping you improve. You are simply getting more comfortable with a given effort but not making the necessary physiological changes that are needed to take fitness to that next level.
Far too many athletes don't realize that they can perform better, more efficiently and go longer if sport nutrition was better planned and executed. Some athletes are scared of sport nutrition and I am here to educate on the best way to fuel to ensure that sport nutrition is used properly.
That is my job as a sport dietitian, to help the athlete learn how to fuel smarter to train harder (and recover faster). I can't tell you how many athletes have told me that their nutrition strategy is just fine....until we train together. I can see all the little limiters that are not helping the athlete get to the next level. When athletes don't feel comfortable grabbing bottles while cycling, bringing or consuming nutrition while running, have complicated fueling strategies (that are difficult to replicate or execute in training and racing), are not fueling "enough" or not eating well before or after workouts, the athlete is not adapting well to training stress.
I never want my athlete leaving our camp without an improvement in fueling and daily eating.
Oh, and did I mention that when you come and visit us, I prepare all recovery snacks/drinks and we make sure to visit a few of the many great restaurants in Greenville. And we do not rush you after the end of the workout. We spend as much time needed talking about your needs, concerns and goals as an athlete and what changes need to be made to ensure great health and progress as an athlete.
We can help arrange lodging, travel and anything else you need. And our private campers have the opportunity to be RETUL fit (or refit) by Karel.
We take care of all the routes and workouts so all you have to do is show-up and do what you love to do - TRAIN!
Since our private camps are customized to your fitness level, all you need to do is contact us and we will start planning your perfect camp environment.
Here are a few pictures from 3 great days of one on one training.
Thursday:
3.5 hour interval ride (3500+ feet of climbing, specific focus)
40 min T-run (hilly run with short walk breaks)
Friday:
90-minute interval run (specific main set)
90 minute T-bike (specific focus)
1 hour swim
Dinner at Hotel Domestique
Saturday:
4.5 hour ride (6500+ feet of climbing)
15 min T-run
Dinner at Tupelo Honey
