The time finally came. The last day of camp. Surprisingly, our campers were a bit giddy and full of energy. Over the past 4.5 days, we never had the TV on and had little discussion of what was going in the outside world. I feel this really helped with the moral of camp as everyone was positive and encouraging - and staying passionate and dedicated to their swim/bike/run workouts.
Our last day of camp started at the Clay trail around 8am. We specifically selected the trail for the Sunday run as we had planned for it to be the day after the race (softer surface = easier on the legs). But since we worked our campers pretty hard on Saturday, everyone enjoyed the run workout on the clay trail.
We gave the campers a specific run workout with varying speeds and it was awesome to see everyone supporting one another. We kept with an out and back segment on the trail so that we could all cheer for one another.
After a dynamic warm-up, we spent 30 minutes warming up (15 min EZ then 15 min good form running) and then got into the main set which was:
1 min strong/1 min smooth
2 min strong/1 min smooth
3 min strong/3 min smooth
4 min strong/4 min smooth
5 min strong/4 min smooth
And then back down the pyramid.
The Clay trail includes some rollers so it was a great workout to keep everyone focused. Once the fog lifted near the end of our warm-up, the sun peeped out and it became rather warm. Our campers were well hydrated and fueled as we always require our athletes/campers to bring fuel/hydration with them when they run (belt/band/backpack).
After the run, we made our way to the NTC for the last workout of the camp. Because we had 30 minutes of free time between the run and our scheduled swim (reserved lanes), I put the campers through a 20 minute strength session - no equipment needed. We were all sweating by the end - just in time for their swim workout.
Although an endurance swim, our campers were extremely tired. But everyone worked hard and there were no complainers or excuses being made.
After the 90-minute swim workout, it was time for the final chat of the camp and the final good byes. It was sad to see everyone go but we were so happy that our camp was a huge success! Friendships were made, memories were created and a lot of fitness was gained over 4.5 days.
Karel and I mustered up some energy for a swim soon after the campers left and it was a struggle to complete the set (the same workout we gave to our campers - ha!). We even modified it because we were so tired.
After the swim, it was time to head back to the resort and before crashing from mental exhaustion, I devoured a few slices of leftover pizza, enjoyed a few handfuls of Cheeze-it's and started the packing from all the camp "stuff" - as well as a big pile of sweaty workout clothes that were in serious need of washing. All that was left in the house was Kathleen and Don and me and Karel. It was a very quiet night and I really missed all of our campers!
Because the public health situation was progressing near the end of camp, our coaching duties were in full effect on Sunday evening through Monday as we had a lot of workout modifications to make (ex. closed pools/gyms) for our athletes. Let's just say that we slept really well after our 9.5 hour drive back home on Monday as we were completely exhausted.
Thanks for following us along throughout camp - I hope it helped you maintain some good motivation with your training/exercise routine during this time. Don't give up on yourself! Change the plan but never change the goals.
We hope to see you at a future Trimarni camp!