IronEdge All Women's Tri Camp

IronEdge All Women's Triathlon Camp

February 5 - 8, 2009

Lakewood Ranch, FL

FRONT ROW (L to R): Me, Coach Jen Harrison, Coach Elizabeth Fedofsky Waterstraat, Coach & 5x Ironman Champion Heather Gollnick, Aimee, Kate and Sondra; BACK ROW (L to R): Melissa, Jennifer, Courtney, Molly, Ann, Kristen, Rachelle, Coach Monica Murphy, Cheryl and Holly

I am spoiled! I just spent the last 4 days with some of the most amazing athletes I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. There was so much education, training and FUN packed into those days that I don't even know where to begin. I will attempt to at least highlight the training that took place, but it's going to be way too difficult to capture in words the electricity surrounding the training. I suppose I could equate it to a 4-day slumber party where instead of eating pizza and watching chick-flicks for hours on end, we swam, ran and cycled. *Although there was definitely A LOT of chocolate eating going on*

DAY 1
Sondra and I made our way up to Sarasota a bit early so that she could get have her bike fit adjusted. After a brief check-in at the hotel, we headed over to Village Bikes to meet the other campers. The first thing we noticed was how tall everyone was! I'm nearly 5'6" and I felt like a midget amongst many of these amazing ladies! They are all legs... and so nice! Most of the campers were seasoned triathlon veterans with years of experience under their belts; while Sondra and I were out-and-out newbies with a whole 6 to 10 months of tri specific training to go on. This dichotomy was a bit intimidating to begin with, but as the evening moved on we realized that we were going to learn a great deal from all of these women without any pressure to 'perform' at a certain level. We were definitely part of the team. After learning about massage/stretching techniques, nutrition and the all too important 'mental game', we fell into bed and were excited about the days to come.

Getting ready for Friday's AM run in COLD Florida weather!

DAY 2
Florida was in the midst of a freeze during the first 2 days of camp. Brrr! I think it was about 35F! We started out with a short 30 minute run and I received some one-on-one time with Heather. She had us all count our running cadence and I discovered that I was anywhere from 96 to 102... in other words, lots of short, quick strides. Heather encouraged me to begin to stride it out... reaching for 90 foot strikes per minute and to also focus on really using my hamstrings to propel myself forward. Kristen told me that her coach (Jen Harrison) tells her to think of it like 'pawing' the ground. I LOVED that! Totally got it!

Jen C. and Courtney having their gait analysis performed at Fit2Run

After the short run, we all met back at Fit2Run for gait analysis and running drills. I've had my gait analyzed at Fit2Run in the past, but I decided to hop on a treadmill again for a reanalysis. I learned that I still overpronate just slightly with my right foot; left foot is still neutral. The run drills were fun. Lots of skipping and jumping around on one foot. My left side is weaker than my right side. I also managed to jack up my calves again during the run drills. There's something about skipping that obviously doesn't agree with me. It's probably more like I actually need to incorporate these drills so that my calves get used to it. Anyway, the calf thing would come back to haunt on me on Saturday.

Lining up in front on Village Bike before our first group ride

Following a quick change in cycling attire, we were off for our first ride of the weekend. Some of us did a 30-mile loop, some did a 60. I opted for the 30. We lost poor Sondra nearly midway as she got caught between two packs of riders and didn't see the first pack make a turn. I was quite worried about her, but she found her way back to us. The wind was kicking pretty good out in Lakewood Ranch, but what a pretty place to ride. I kept my effort fairly easy to moderate... constantly thinking about how tri camp was going to affect my performance at the half marathon next weekend.

Heather Gollnick coaching Sondra and I at the pool

After cycling, it was off to Lakewood Ranch YMCA for swimming drills and to get taped. I learned from Heather that I have good body rotation in the water but that I'm getting most of my rotation from my kick and not from my core. My kick is rather wide and I need to concentrate on relaxing my legs and developing a smaller, more powerful kick. Heather set me up with lots of kick-based pool drills. No wonder why I've always hated kick drills... they are SO hard when you have an ineffective kick to begin with. I'm planning to change all that!

DAY 3
The third day of camp began with a wonderful trail run at Oscar Scherer State Park. I've never been here before, but I will definitely be going back. I'm discovering that I really, REALLY love to run trails. It's a shame that trail running isn't all that big in FL. After an easy 5 mile run, it was off to the pool for 5 of us and off to the CHILLY Gulf of Mexico for the rest. Sondra and I chose to head back to the YMCA with Heather, Elizabeth, Kristen, Holly and Courtney. I LOVED this part of camp. Lots of tips and tricks regarding OWS, beach starts, deep water starts, etc... I even got to draft off of Heather's famous bubbles! How many folks can say that they've drafted off of a pro like Heather? I feel so LUCKY!

Time for another ride

Following the swim session (and a great lunch from First Watch), it was time to ride again! This time I tried to hang with the 'big girls' and did what I would consider to be a hard ride for me. I learned how to ride with a pace line (FUN) and realized that cycling can be a lot of fun. After finishing up the 30 mile loop and feeling quite proud of my accomplishment since it took all of my effort to hang on the very back of the FAST group, I opted for a massage with William. My calves were killing me from the drills the day before and I was getting more and more worried about the half marathon that I had trained so hard for.

With Sondra and Heather at a rest stop

William is a saint... a talented saint. I think I reaped the benefits of being the only camper to stay behind on the second half of the bike ride as I received LOTS of cool info. on stretching, etc... from William. He rubbed my calves down well to the point where I was at least able to walk pain free.

Saturday evening was pancakes and PJs at Village Bikes. Lots of rockin' jammies were worn. Unfortunately, I sleep in workout pants and a t-shirt, so I didn't look much different than I normally do! LOL! I LOVED seeing these super fit women eat chocolate pancakes! :o)

Seasoned tri vets riding their 'REAL' bikes!

DAY 4

Time flies when you're having fun. Where did four days go to? We had a long run opportunity on Sunday morning and Heather suggested to Sondra and I that we only run for about 45 minutes since we have the 1/2 marry coming up. We ran for a bit with Kristen and Holly and eventually met up with Melissa. It was just beautiful out. Sondra had some one-on-one time with Heather & Jennifer Harrison regarding her run and received some of the best advice she could have possibly received-- run slower to get faster.

With Kristen after the AM run

After a quick refuel, it was time for some outdoor strength training with stability balls, BOSU balls and fitness bands. We did a lot of the same sort of exercises that we do with Jason at the gym, but Heather also showed up some really cool tri specific strength training moves.

Push-ups on the BOSU

Swim specific movement with power cords

Our favorite! Clean and presses on the BOSU!

Tricep dips with the stability ball = LOVE! I know, I'm a freak!

Core! Love!

Saying goodbye is always hard, but all good things come to an end. After 4 days of hard work, Sondra, Scott, Jeff and I hit Luna's Pizza for some pie and calzones. I slept for most of the drive home and then for another 3 hours once I got home. I hit the sack like a rock last night as well... and this morning, I'm still pooped AND unfortunately, I'm still coughing from the cold that won't quit.

I've added lots of URL's to my bloglist this morning and I miss all of my new friends already.

I can't thank everyone enough for all of the words of encouragement, training tips and support that I received during the 4 days of camp. I wrote on Elizabeth's blog that when we arrived at camp, Sondra and I felt like 'Little Fish' in a very big pond. However, we left with the confidence of SHARKS! I learned so much over the past four days that I'm afraid if I don't write it all down that I might forget it. So, that will probably be the subject of my next blog post.

HUGS to all of you ladies... and may you all have an amazing 2009!

*Special thanks to Heather, Molly and Melissa who are responsible for all of the pictures that you see above.*