# Triathlon Training Camps: Planning & Executing the Perfect Training Week| Ep 532

An episode of [Oxygenaddict Triathlon Podcast](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/951501034), 26 Mar 2025, 30 min.

Audio: https://anchor.fm/s/ea99f7d8/podcast/play/100344078/https%3A%2F%2Fd3ctxlq1ktw2nl.cloudfront.net%2Fstaging%2F2025-2-25%2F974acc30-c5c0-0ee5-fdb1-c96ec18328a6.m4a

If you're heading off on a training camp, you need to listen to this week's episode. Coach Rob talks through how to organise your training to ensure you make the most of teh opportunity to significantly increase swim, bike & run volume, without putting yourself at risk of overtraining or injury, More specifically: The importance of bike volume... Managing intensity... The structure of training weeks... When, where and how to incorporate run training... Optimal nutrition &, hydration throughout the week... How best to rest & recover during the week... Maximising the absorbtion of the increased training load once you return home. * * * * * * * * SPONSORS * * * * * * * * Like what you heard in this show? Join hundreds of other age group triathletes making the most of their limited training time, training with Team OxygenAddict! http://team.oxygenaddict.com - The most comprehensive triathlon coaching program for busy age groupers. Book an application call to see if you'd be a good fit for Team Oxygenaddict for the coming season here: https://team.oxygenaddict.com/consultation-call/ * * * * * * * * * * * * precisionfuelandhydration.com Precision Fuel & Hydration help athletes personalise their hydration and fuelling strategies for training and racing. Use the free Fuel & Hydration Planner to get a personalised race nutrition plan for your next event. And then book a free 20-minute video consultation with a member of the PF&H Athlete Support Team to refine your strategy. Listeners get 15% off their first order of fuel and electrolytes with Precision Fuel & Hydration. Simply click this link and the discount will be auto-applied at the checkout. * * * * * * * * * * * * Watch on youtube Listen on Spotify Listen on Apple Podcasts

## Transcript

[0:04] Hello and welcome to the Oxygen Addict Triathlon podcast.
[0:07] We're brought to you every week by our sponsors, Precision Fuel
[0:09] and hydration.com. You can use the code Oxygen fuel
[0:13] 25 for 15% off your first order. That's oxygen fuel and the
[0:17] numbers 25. That's a new code this week.
[0:20] So word is that might work again if you've already ordered using
[0:23] an old code. So Philly boots, everybody,
[0:26] Great company, highly recommend that stuff.
[0:28] So welcome to the show everybody.
[0:30] I'm your host coach Rob Willoughby from Team Oxygen
[0:32] Addicts and every week bring you an episode of this podcast to
[0:35] help motivate and inspire you. On this week's episode and we'll
[0:38] be talking about preparing for triathlon training camp.
[0:41] I know a lot of you are thinking about going out on training
[0:44] camps are organised by companies.
[0:46] A lot of you are going out and doing your own training camps
[0:48] either abroad or at home. So I've got a tonne of
[0:51] information here that I've gathered through the last 20 odd
[0:54] years of doing these kind of camps myself and organising them
[0:57] for our athletes. So I hope it's really useful for
[1:00] us. 2 quick things you could do for us to help us before we
[1:03] start, please, if you like the episode, please consider
[1:06] following us on Spotify or Upper Podcast.
[1:08] Consider leaving us a five star review if you think that's
[1:10] appropriate and you enjoy it. And also if you're looking for
[1:14] coaching for Ironman or 70.3 triathlon this year, please get
[1:17] in touch with us. There's a link in the show notes
[1:19] to book a membership call. We can have a chat with you and
[1:22] find out about your background and your details and how we can
[1:25] best help you out prepare for your 70.3 or Iron Man this year.
[1:29] We've currently got a special offer on of a nine month season
[1:32] long membership and a massive saving compared to either our
[1:36] usually monthly price or our annual membership price.
[1:38] So get in contact with us for details of that if you're
[1:41] interested. OK, so moving on to details of
[1:45] this week's show, then let's talk training camps.
[1:47] So my aim by the end of this episode is that if you're going
[1:53] away and organising your own camp, you'll have a really
[1:55] thorough idea of how to make the best use of your time.
[1:59] And if you're going away in an organised training camp, you'll
[2:01] have some tips and tricks that you can help to fit in and, and
[2:05] work around the way another person's camp might well be
[2:09] organised. And I think the first thing to
[2:11] start with here is, is to think about what is the triathlon
[2:15] training camp and why do you go on them?
[2:17] So it's a really great opportunity to go away and get a
[2:22] period of higher volume training in in an environment where you
[2:26] can recover more fully and there are less things to think about
[2:29] than there would be usually at home.
[2:32] And honestly, I think the biggest difference between most
[2:34] age groupers and most pro triathletes isn't in the desire
[2:39] to do training. It's in the ability to recover
[2:42] from the training that they do. And honestly, a large part of
[2:45] the ability to recover from the training you do is the other
[2:48] things that you have to do around your training.
[2:51] So most people have got jobs they've got to do.
[2:53] Most people have got families they've got to attend to.
[2:56] Most people have got or manner of jobs around the house and the
[2:59] garden that they have to do. And, and that's great.
[3:02] That's life. That's what gives us all full
[3:04] filling and, and big lives essentially.
[3:07] But it's very difficult to fit in a period of high volume
[3:11] training and still get those jobs done.
[3:14] As anybody will know who's tried to train for an Iron Man where
[3:16] they've, they've decided, well, do you know, I'll get it really
[3:18] early. I'll go out and do my ride at
[3:20] 4:30 or five in the morning on a Sunday.
[3:23] I'll be back by 11:00 and then I can help out around the house.
[3:27] I can mow the lawn or whatever. The chances are you get back and
[3:31] it isn't actually the training that's the challenge.
[3:34] It's the recovery from the training when you've already
[3:36] committed to mowing the lawn and painting the fence or whatever.
[3:40] So I really believe one of the big benefits is the extra time
[3:44] you've got to rest and relax. That's the biggest bonus and
[3:49] benefit from it. Another really good thing, I
[3:53] think that comes from it is if you've, if you go into a
[3:56] training camp where you're staying in a hotel and the food
[3:59] is organised again, that's another thing taking off your
[4:01] plate, if you're, pardon the pun, having food available 3 or
[4:06] 4 times a day. It's amazing how much you don't
[4:11] realise the preparing of food, the eating of food and the
[4:14] tidying away of the, you know, the pots and pans afterwards has
[4:18] a massive impact on you and the level of tiredness you've got.
[4:21] And one of the big things we often see with our athletes when
[4:23] we do our training camps is the fact that they can get up and do
[4:27] a swim, go straight from the pool.
[4:29] The hotel that the hotel we use, the pool is the other side of
[4:33] the restaurant to their room. So they literally get out of the
[4:36] pool, get dry, go straight into breakfast and have food and
[4:39] they're eating within 5 minutes of finishing the swim set, then
[4:43] go back to their room, get changed, relax, change into bike
[4:46] kit and get ready to go for for a ride.
[4:49] So the fact you've got the pool right there, you've got your
[4:51] bike stashed in the garage under the hotel, someone's prepared
[4:54] your food for you is a massive, massive bonus.
[4:59] And the last tip I would say here about the introduction to
[5:02] training camps is having people with you, teammates, other
[5:05] people who have a similar ability or slightly stronger
[5:08] than you or or even better in some cases, people who are not
[5:11] stronger than you but are more motivated or as motivated as
[5:15] you. The camaraderie and the
[5:16] motivation that come from training with others is massive
[5:19] and you can definitely get through and absorb more training
[5:23] when you're in an environment where you've made a commitment
[5:25] to meet other people at a certain time and and someone has
[5:28] already decided for you the training you're going to do that
[5:31] day. I think that's a real big part
[5:33] of it. OK, Part 2 then.
[5:36] I think the primary focus if you training week should be on bike
[5:40] volume. So let's talk about why training
[5:43] camps are often bike focused. You'll often have heard me say
[5:47] there's a big crossover of fitness that bleeds over from
[5:50] the bike into the run and to a lesser extent the swim.
[5:54] And I think the opportunity to get away, especially somewhere
[5:57] that's got maybe a better climate than where you live,
[6:00] means you can get more bike training done.
[6:03] You can get a bigger volume of training done and still absorb
[6:06] that training. And that's why I think that the
[6:09] bike volume should be the focus. We'll still have you swimming.
[6:12] We'll still have you doing some running, but the ability to to
[6:17] ride if you're away for seven days, the ability to ride for
[6:20] six of those days is amazing. The fact you can ride
[6:24] back-to-back days now usually at home, it wouldn't be possible or
[6:27] it'd be much more difficult, let's say that.
[6:29] And it's certainly much more difficult to absorb that volume.
[6:32] But we've seen year in, year out with our camps, if an athlete
[6:37] comes along and the highly motivated, if we structure the
[6:39] the weak, right, they'll be able to ride six days out of the
[6:43] seven and the 7th day is the day we're going home.
[6:45] So 6 back-to-back days of riding.
[6:48] We'll talk a little bit later on about how to structure that.
[6:51] But it is definitely possible even from people who are coming
[6:54] from a relatively low volume, perhaps three times a week
[6:58] cycling background to come in and cycle 6 days in a row and
[7:02] safely absorb it and safely do it without picking up niggles
[7:07] and injuries. Part of the key to this is just
[7:11] making sure that you keep a lid on the amount of intensity that
[7:16] you do during the rides and you're very clear about what
[7:20] you're there to aim to do. And so again, the aim of these
[7:23] rides is to collect essentially zone 2 aerobic volume training.
[7:28] If you can keep yourself in that zone, you can handle much, much
[7:32] more volume than if you even slightly and frequently pop out
[7:35] of the zone and end up doing harder efforts than you mean to,
[7:38] or push on uphills or Sprint with people uphills.
[7:41] That will massively reduce the amount of volume you can handle.
[7:45] Which leads us on to .3, the trap of doing too much
[7:48] intensity. So one of the big positives of
[7:53] the camp, as we've said, is the camera doing the motivation.
[7:56] One of the the flips of this, the drawback can be sometimes
[8:00] group rides can unintentionally get athletes to push a bit too
[8:04] hard than they'd ideally like to.
[8:06] Now, that's not often on a ride that's flat or rolling even, but
[8:10] it does tend to happen when you go out into the hills.
[8:14] Naturally the groups are going to separate out on the hills,
[8:16] and if the groups are managed well, your ride leaders are
[8:18] going to be telling you which ride leads at the front, who's
[8:22] at the back, what to expect, what kind of effort to do
[8:25] yourself going up the hill. If you can control your own
[8:29] intensity and not get too caught up with competing with other
[8:31] people, you're going a long way there to be able to manage your
[8:36] intensity today so you can train again tomorrow.
[8:38] And again, you'll hear me saying this a lot.
[8:41] A large part of the focus of the training is going to be training
[8:44] today, but also having one eye on tomorrow and making sure that
[8:47] you're not too tired to train tomorrow.
[8:49] Because the bigger picture there is we want you making the most
[8:52] of those six days of training while you're away.
[8:55] So be super careful of doing a bit more intensity than you plan
[8:58] to do on the hills or on climbs, because going that bit too hard
[9:05] on the hills can really derail your whole week.
[9:08] Now. Been a way in the past with
[9:10] groups of highly motivated, very competitive age groupers where
[9:16] the camp has sort of almost unwittingly descended into
[9:19] everyday having some kind of challenge, whether it's a hill
[9:24] climb, a hill Sprint, run intervals on the hills.
[9:27] And eventually what happens is everybody ends up cooking
[9:31] themselves with intensity without really meaning to and
[9:33] not making the most of the week. So again, just be super aware of
[9:38] that trap of doing too much intensity #4 Let's talk about
[9:42] how to structure your training week.
[9:46] I think you have to build in a lower volume recovery day,
[9:50] recovery ride in the middle of the week.
[9:52] So typically if we're looking at riding six days, we'll look to
[9:56] ride either 2 days and have a lower recovery, lower intensity
[10:00] day. We'll look to ride 3 days and
[10:02] have a lower, lower intensity recovery day.
[10:05] But planning that lighter day in the middle of the week can
[10:08] really help athletes bounce back and finish the rest of the week
[10:12] strong. So typically we will schedule
[10:15] our lighter day for the third or fourth day of the week, and it
[10:19] will be not much more than a very, very easy 5055% of FTP
[10:27] coffee ride. So it might be 45 minutes out,
[10:30] go to the Cafe, get a cake and a coffee, and then 45 minutes back
[10:34] enjoying time out in the sunshine.
[10:36] Hopefully the weather plays ball.
[10:39] But it's almost worth thinking of that ride as a free massage
[10:44] for your legs, using the activity to flush blood, free
[10:47] muscles, help your muscles recover, not pushing at all or
[10:51] getting caught up and going too hard on that day.
[10:55] That can really then help athletes focus on the last
[10:59] couple of days of the of the week.
[11:01] Typically we'll have two really long, long rides in the training
[11:05] camp and we'll have one of them on the the third day if our
[11:09] recovery day is the 4th day, and usually one of our longest rides
[11:14] on the last day of the camp. So we we kind of build up the
[11:18] fitness for that ride during the week, which is an interesting
[11:21] point in itself. Physiology textbooks tell us
[11:24] that we shouldn't really feel or notice the difference in a
[11:28] fitness change in a week. That's absolutely true in terms
[11:32] of Physiology textbooks, you'll find all of them saying that you
[11:35] should feel a negligible change in fitness in a week.
[11:39] But everybody who comes on a focused training camp finds that
[11:42] they can ride themselves fitter across a period of six days.
[11:46] And what can initially look like an extremely challenging ride at
[11:52] the end of the week and people are worried about not being able
[11:54] to complete it. The training that they do within
[11:57] that week definitely gets them to the position where they're
[12:00] comfortable and confident they're going to be able to do
[12:02] that big ride. So maybe partly it's mentally,
[12:04] I'm sure partly it's mentally actually, but I'm sure that
[12:07] there's a physical aspect of it as well.
[12:09] So we've been away before to Majorca.
[12:12] We've sometimes done the Majorca 312 Sporty Fried, which is
[12:17] between 100 and 200 miles depending on which option you
[12:20] choose. Everybody is nervous at the
[12:22] start of the week that they don't have the fitness to be
[12:25] able to complete it. Everybody to this day has been
[12:28] able to complete the event they've chosen to do, despite
[12:31] how convinced they may have been at the start of the week they
[12:34] weren't going to be able to get through it.
[12:36] So again, the idea here is we're building up to a a really big
[12:41] long ride at the end of the week.
[12:43] And I think it's really good for you athletes who are building up
[12:46] to an Iron Man to think about aiming to ride between 160 and
[12:51] 180 K on the last day of your camp.
[12:53] If you structure your week correctly and you put a long
[12:56] ride on day three of your camp, say, that might be in the range
[12:59] of 120 to 140K. If you then recover from that
[13:03] properly the day after, you'll bounce back and you'll be able
[13:07] to do those extra 20 to 40 KS on the last day of your training
[13:12] camp. I think that's the way to
[13:16] approach this. Similarly, if you're a 70.3
[13:18] athlete and you're coming into this a little bit light on
[13:20] volume, doing a 2, two and a half hour ride halfway through
[13:24] the week and then aiming to do a 3 1/2 to 4 hour ride at the end
[13:28] of the week, getting that longer than usual ride in while you're
[13:32] away would be really, really beneficial going forward.
[13:36] And often in the situation room where the the camp might take
[13:39] place in late winter or early spring, athletes have not had
[13:43] the chance to get outside and ride consistently at the
[13:46] weekends and might not have had chance to do many long rides at
[13:50] all. At this point, it can be a real
[13:53] boost to an athlete's confidence if they come home from a camp in
[13:56] February or March having ticked off a Fryman athletes 160 to
[14:01] 180. For a 70.3 athlete, 80 to 100K
[14:06] of riding. To know that you've been able to
[14:08] do that earlier in the season at your camp gives you confidence.
[14:11] You can go out and do that when you get the weather opportunity
[14:15] window to do it at home as well. OK, let's talk about our
[14:19] approach to running on a training camp.
[14:22] And very much here I want you with the idea that less is more.
[14:27] I am a, I'm a big believer that we need to keep you running
[14:32] during a training camp, especially those athletes who
[14:35] are at the more competitive end of their age groups, let's say.
[14:40] But the key here is to keep the run short and frequent.
[14:44] So typically I look for an athlete to run three times
[14:47] during the week while they're away.
[14:49] And it will only be in a specific case where a race is
[14:53] approaching where we have an athlete do a long ride, sorry,
[14:57] where we have an athlete do a long run as part of their
[15:00] training camp away. And the reason is that's where
[15:04] the risk of big fatigue and the risk of injury is going to come
[15:08] in is from doing too much running when you're really
[15:10] tired. The overload on this training
[15:12] camp is going to come from the extra bike volume that you're
[15:15] doing. So if we just keep the running
[15:17] ticking over, if we just get 320 minute runs or 20 to 30 minute
[15:23] runs done, that will be enough to ensure that you still feel
[15:26] when you get back that you've kept that run durability up
[15:30] without necessarily doing a long run and, and having that risk of
[15:35] trying to run long when you're really, really fatigued.
[15:38] Again, the caveat here is if an athlete has got a long event
[15:44] coming up where they they specifically need to do a long
[15:47] run, we'll look as a way to fit that in as part of the training
[15:50] camp. Often the best way to do that is
[15:53] to do it midweek just before the rest day so that you really can
[15:57] recover before going. Occasionally we've experimented
[16:01] with athletes doing this on the very last day of the camp.
[16:04] Sometimes we'll use this if an athlete has got the race
[16:07] simulation weekend would usually be planned at the week where
[16:12] they've got their training camp. We'll sometimes do this on the
[16:15] very last morning of the camp and have them get up really
[16:17] early and do that run before everyone heads off.
[16:20] Often the logistics of that make that quite challenging with
[16:23] people needing to get to airports and have transfers and
[16:26] things like that, so bear that in mind.
[16:29] But as a general rule, I'd advise you to be really careful
[16:32] with the running volume. Keep those runs to 320 to 30
[16:35] minute runs and unless you have got a very specific reason for
[16:41] doing a very long run or fast intervals, avoid doing them at
[16:45] the week when you're doing a massive overload on your bike
[16:49] training. Right at this point I'd like to
[16:51] take a little break for a sponsor shout out.
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[17:24] you know how much carbohydrate, how much electrolyte, how much
[17:28] fluid you need every hour. You can then go and get that
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[17:33] They don't push their own products on you, but I think
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[17:44] clearly with how many milligrammes of sodium, and you
[17:46] can then really work out how much you've taken.
[17:49] You can track this in your training because I'm a believer
[17:52] that at Iron Man level, it is as important to get your fueling
[17:57] right on race day as it is to get your training right in the
[18:01] lead up to it. And you have to practise that
[18:03] fuelling to know the strategy in training in order for you to be
[18:07] confident of what you're going to do on race day.
[18:09] You want to try nothing new on race day.
[18:11] You want to make sure you've practised this as part of your
[18:13] long ride or long run. So head over to
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[18:29] OK, back into our training camp then strategy for swimming on
[18:33] training camps. If you have got this right, your
[18:38] hotel will have a pool, a 25 or A50 metre pool with lanes and
[18:43] you can go and you can, you can get use the opportunity to swim
[18:46] every day. And I'm a big believer here that
[18:49] short frequent sessions can really move your swimming
[18:53] through a plateau. On our swim camps we usually
[18:56] plan in 3 or 4 formal swim sessions where we'll either have
[19:02] swim fitness training going on with the coaches telling you
[19:05] what to do, or we'll have technique sessions where the
[19:08] coaches are advising you what you need to do differently in
[19:11] your swim form. And sometimes we'll get the
[19:14] phones out and we'll video people and give you some quick
[19:16] feedback On poolside. It's worth taking the
[19:19] opportunity to swim every day that you're away.
[19:23] Like I've said in our camp, the pool is open at 7:00 AM.
[19:26] People can jump in, there's always lanes there available to
[19:28] swim in. Even if you're just going to
[19:30] jump in and swim 5 by 100 before breakfast, the opportunity to
[19:35] swim 6 days in a row can be fantastic as long as you
[19:39] approach it sensibly. So the idea of of little and
[19:43] often can really help an athlete overcome swim plateau.
[19:46] And we've had instances where athletes actually they're
[19:49] working on something specific. Often it comes down to practise
[19:52] in the uncode drill and they'll jump in the pool twice a day,
[19:55] even if it's only for 10 minutes.
[19:57] Practise the uncode drill, try and get that feeling of the hip
[20:00] snap against the foot kick timing against the catch.
[20:04] That can really help. So there's not really any added
[20:07] training fatigue on top of you as you do that, but there's a
[20:11] great opportunity for skill acquisition.
[20:16] So I think it's a great opportunity to do that.
[20:19] The thing to be aware of is we, we really often when we go away,
[20:23] we try and schedule our swims very first thing in the morning.
[20:26] Because often we found athletes who if they're swimming later in
[20:29] the afternoon after they've already run or after they're
[20:32] already done a big bike ride, cramp can often be the
[20:35] challenge. And that doesn't come down to
[20:37] much more than muscles cramp. Partly, they think down to
[20:43] possible electrolyte imbalance. Often it's down to fatigue
[20:47] causing it. And so if you were already very
[20:49] fatigued from a run or a ride, the chances are that's what's
[20:52] causing the cramp right now. And obviously to make the
[20:55] argument that as you get fitter, that should happen less.
[20:58] It's been our direct experience. It happens to athletes more when
[21:01] you're away on training camp and probably no surprise, right,
[21:04] because of the volume of running and less running, but more
[21:08] cycling certainly at that point. So that's definitely something
[21:13] to consider. OK, Next up, let's talk about
[21:17] recovery and nutrition on camp. So I've already talked a little
[21:22] bit about this. It's really important on a
[21:24] training camp that you focus on fuelling well and you don't
[21:29] focus on trying to restrict calories.
[21:32] You'll have a whole variety of food options available in a
[21:35] hotel. I think what's really important
[21:37] is you, you take in the idea that you can't get fitter and
[21:41] restrict calories at the same time.
[21:44] I'd I'd like to set the challenge to our athletes and
[21:46] say I'd like to see you come back from camp a couple of
[21:49] pounds heavier than you arrived. Because then we know everybody's
[21:53] really well fuelled and no one's going to have a problem with
[21:55] being under fuelled and trying to do the workouts like that.
[21:59] So if you've got all of those options in front of you, make
[22:02] sure you're fuelling yourself really, really well before and
[22:05] after each of the sessions. The hotel we stay out in,
[22:08] Majorca, has this great option that I've never seen anywhere
[22:11] else. We're on half board, so
[22:14] breakfast and dinner are included.
[22:15] But in the middle of the afternoon at 3:00, the back of
[22:19] the kitchen opens up and they put a massive station of pasta
[22:22] out. So 5 or 6 different kinds of
[22:24] pasta, 5 or 6 different kinds of sauces, cheese, garlic bread.
[22:29] And so very often our riders come back in from the ride, park
[22:32] the bikes in the bike garage, go straight to the restaurant in
[22:35] the cycling kit, still have a plate of pasta and fuel up and
[22:40] then 3 or 4 hours later it's dinner time as well.
[22:42] So it's a fantastic opportunity to to load up back with calories
[22:46] post dried hydration and electrolytes can be a big
[22:52] challenge, especially if you're away training in a place where
[22:55] it's much, much warmer than you used to.
[22:57] So have an idea of what you need to take in per hour and a well
[23:02] run training camp is going to it's going to direct you to go
[23:06] and get more water every couple of hours.
[23:07] I'll take you to a, either a gas station or they'll take you to a
[23:11] cafe where you'll have the opportunity to restock with
[23:13] water, but take with you the electrolyte sachets.
[23:17] So we, we get all our athletes to take the precision hydration,
[23:21] either sachets or tablets with them.
[23:23] So they've got those and they can maintain their electrolyte
[23:25] balance. But know before you go how much
[23:30] you need to have per hour and then keep track of how much
[23:33] you're going for a pee. And that'll be a really good
[23:36] learning experience for you of, well, it's 25° today.
[23:40] Usually at home, I would be drinking 500 mils an hour.
[23:43] It looks now like I'm drinking 1000 mils an hour.
[23:46] You don't have to go to a laboratory to learn about the
[23:49] ways that you can help your body in these situations.
[23:53] And the last thing on recovery here is the training camp is
[23:57] really good for teaching you the value of sleep and downtime
[24:00] between sessions. So getting to bed early and
[24:03] getting an extra hour of sleep can make a real difference.
[24:07] Getting a nap in the afternoon can make a real difference as
[24:11] well. So often when we get back from
[24:12] our eyes, I'll say to the athletes to go back for an
[24:14] hour's Kip. If we're meeting up for a run or
[24:17] an open water swim later on, I'll direct people to go and try
[24:21] and have an afternoon nap because those can be so, so
[24:24] valuable. And again, it's the opportunity
[24:26] that you have while you're away on camp that you probably
[24:29] wouldn't get when you're at home.
[24:31] We've all got the opportunity. We've got bed at home but nobody
[24:34] ever goes and gets in and has a nap at home.
[24:36] They'll go and paint the fence or do the gardening right?
[24:38] So take the opportunity to get that extra recovery and trying
[24:42] to live like a pro triathlete .8.
[24:46] I've got my list. Here is the the mental and
[24:48] social aspect of camp and the big item here is the boost and
[24:52] motivation you're going to get from training with like minded
[24:55] athletes. You'll probably find there's
[24:57] athletes there that you look up to and you aspire toward their
[25:00] performances. Learning to copy them a little
[25:02] bit can be really, really beneficial to you.
[25:06] Using them to learn to push yourself at times when you might
[25:09] be feeling fatigued and learning how to hold yourself back and
[25:13] and use discipline so that you're sticking to your own
[25:16] power and heart rate targets can be really valuable as well.
[25:19] But it's a great opportunity to learn how to manage expectations
[25:23] and to avoid comparing yourself. And the most successful athletes
[25:26] are 70.3 and Iron Man. They, my coach told me this
[25:30] years ago, is to go out and practise getting dropped on
[25:33] these rides. Someone's riding away from you
[25:35] on a hill, let them ride away from you on the hill.
[25:38] That's the, that's the thing that you need to get in your
[25:40] head because the feedback that you're going to get on race day
[25:45] is going to be incorrect from the athletes that are around
[25:48] you. People are going to power past
[25:51] you on the bike and it's naturally brain is going to say
[25:54] race this person, keep up with this person.
[25:56] I'm not letting them go by me. That's natural human nature,
[25:59] especially for a Type A personality.
[26:02] But if you train your mind in training, this athlete is
[26:07] stronger than me right now and is riding away from me right
[26:10] now, you'll almost certainly find that later on the day
[26:13] you'll ride away from that person as well.
[26:15] So practising the discipline of sticking to your own power
[26:19] targets can be invaluable. My last point here is on
[26:24] returning home and absorbing the training.
[26:27] So I think this is as important as the training camp itself.
[26:31] The real gains in your fitness are going to come depending on
[26:34] how you managed to recover from the camp and how you managed to
[26:37] absorb the training. If you don't recover and absorb
[26:41] this training, you may as well not have done it in the first
[26:43] place. So plan to have at least two
[26:46] really easy days post training camp.
[26:49] Plan to make sure that you reduce the amount of life stress
[26:53] as much as you possibly can getting back from the camp.
[26:56] Plan to have that extra hour of sleep if you possibly can,
[26:59] because you'll probably find that as the adrenaline of the
[27:01] camp wears off, you find that you need more recovery and rest
[27:05] time when you get back. Now, that's easier said than
[27:09] done if you're coming back to a job that you've been away from,
[27:12] a family that you've been away from.
[27:14] So it will take some planning, but plan that in.
[27:18] How are you going to transition to smoothly get back into
[27:20] structured training if you can't plan to smoothly transition back
[27:24] into work life and into family life.
[27:27] And so I'd advise you to look at your work calendar and try and
[27:31] not cram loads in the day you get back.
[27:34] Try and look at what's going on with the family and try and not
[27:36] plan to, I don't know, make a grand gesture and take everybody
[27:40] out for dinner the first day that you get back.
[27:43] Instead, plan for trying to be in bed early for the couple of
[27:46] nights when you get in so that you can be fully recovered and,
[27:50] and help your family understand that that's probably how you're
[27:52] going to react to the camp. And then they they know what's
[27:55] going to be happening when you get back as well.
[27:58] So final thoughts and takeaways here.
[28:01] Then I'd really encourage all of you, if you're considering a
[28:05] training camp and you've never been, go for it.
[28:08] It's one of the most fantastic experiences that you can have.
[28:11] If you're unsure of how to do it, there are these days loads
[28:14] of different options out there for rearranged training camps
[28:18] with reputable companies. Even if you just get to go away
[28:22] on holiday somewhere warm and you and you rent a bike while
[28:25] you're away, it can be a little taste of how training while
[28:29] you're away can be really, really effective and how you can
[28:32] end up with a huge fitness boost when they're approached
[28:35] correctly. So hope this episode has been
[28:39] has been useful for you today. If you are getting away in a
[28:43] training camp this year, I wish you all the best If you're
[28:45] coming away with us, if you're one of our coached athletes and
[28:47] you're coming away on one of our training camps this year, all of
[28:51] the things that we've talked about here, we'll go into in
[28:53] detail with you while we're away.
[28:55] Your training will all be planned in a way that it's going
[28:58] to help you make most best use of the time while you're away.
[29:03] And all you've got to do is turn up with your kit and plan for
[29:07] the week of your life essentially.
[29:09] To wrap up this week's episode, it was some discount codes and
[29:13] deals for you. Over at
[29:14] precisionfuelandhydration.com. You can use the code Oxygen Fuel
[29:18] 25 for 15% off your first order of electrolytic carbohydrates.
[29:23] And over at teamoxygenaddict.com.
[29:24] If you're thinking about getting triathlon coaching, there's
[29:26] probably never been a better time.
[29:28] I think we've got the most comprehensive triathlon coaching
[29:31] programme that's specifically designed for busy age groupers
[29:34] and if you're looking for coaching for Iron Man or 70.3
[29:37] triathlon this year, that's what we specialised in.
[29:40] We've currently got a special offer on of a seasonal longer
[29:43] membership at a massive saving versus our usual monthly
[29:46] coaching price. It's actually even cheaper than
[29:48] our usual annual coaching price, which is the best offer we've
[29:52] ever had on, so please get in contact with us to find out the
[29:55] details of that. If you're interested, there's a
[29:57] link in the show notes to book a membership call with us and see
[30:00] if you'd be a good fit for joining the team.
[30:02] Remember, there's links in the show notes so you don't have to
[30:05] remember them. And until next week, have a
[30:07] great safe training and racing week.
[30:09] I'm coach Rob Wilby and you've been listening to the Oxygen
[30:12] Addict Triathlon Podcast.

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