Hi guys,
Hope you’ve all had a great March.
Apologies for the delay in getting last month’s newsletter out but some of the team and I have just spent the last week sunning ourselves at the Club La Santa resort in Lanzarote. Tough gig I know but this was our first training camp since covid hit and it was one to remember. The sun shone, the wind barely blew (well apart from one day!) and we had a fabulous group of like-minded individuals training together. It really was a privilege to spend time with you all and to see you get stronger day by day.
The highlight for me happened on the final big ride of the week when I had the privilege to watch one of the most extraordinary displays of bike handling skills I’ve ever seen. To see ‘The Pocket Rocket’ Vicki Hill who only weighs 52kgs ride her bike at a near 45-degree angle for well over an hour in wind that could topple an elephant was quite simply astonishing. What made it even more rewarding was knowing how terrified Vicki used to be of the wind when I first started coaching her. Multiple visits to Lanzarote ensued to overcome this fear so she could ride the wind better at the Ironman World Champs in Hawaii. Clearly, she has made huge progress and that’s all down to the fact she was prepared to meet this weakness head on. This says everything about her and her character. She rode the wind like a pro that day as did many others, but when you consider her starting point it was like watching a completely different bike rider.
Many people have asked me what we do on camp, so I have decided to give you an outline below. There is a skill and an art to running a great training camp and it’s something that many get very wrong each year. This is largely down to the fact that many people go away, train way too hard then end up getting injured or sick when they get back. A good training camp is one that stretches you enough but doesn’t dig you into hole that can take many weeks or months to get out of. It’s a fine line to walk but when done correctly the fitness boost you can get in just one week can be huge. It’s a no brainer, if you want to move to another level a well-timed camp can give you everything you need.
Key principles of Team Nagi Camps:
- Start easy and gently build from day to day
- Allow the body time to acclimatise to heat and overcome travel fatigue.
- Focus on frequency, volume and strength NOT high intensity
- Tailor the sessions to each athlete’s age, ability, injury history as much as feasible & don’t expect everyone to do the same sessions
- Be careful with the unfamiliar and be very careful how you add it in
- Prioritise sleep and resting in between sessions
- Focus on getting your nutrition and hydration in both before, during and after sessions
- Smile & have fun living and training like a pro
Below is the template for what we did across the entire week.
Day 1
50m Pool swim: (8am)
- 40 x 50m on 15 ri easy (50m pool familiarisation/ blow off the travel cobwebs)
Bike: (11.30am)
- 42km easy heat acclimatisation ride ride (1500ft of climbing)
Run: (5pm)
- 6km easy
Recovery swim 50m pool: (6pm)
- 10 x 50m on 20 ri (super easy to help loosen up)
Day 2
50m Pool swim: (8am)
- 30 x 50m on 15 ri wetsuit familiarisation warm up incorporating open water skills practice – sighting, drafting, group swimming
- Main endurance set: 100/200/300/400m on 20 ri easy
- Speed set: 6 x 50m on 20 ri as (1 fast / 1 easy x 3)
Bike: (11.30am)
- 67km easy ride (2900ft of climbing)
Recovery swim 50m pool: (6pm)
- 10 x 50m on 20 ri (super easy to help loosen up)
Day 3
Trail run: (8am)
- 2 hours total run time as (1 hour out -1 hour back, easy pace)
Open water swim: (3pm)
- 1 hour total focussing on wetsuit familiarisation, sighting skills, point to point swimming & swimming different courses to test the ability to swim in a straight line. Swim exit and wetsuit stripping practice.
Recovery swim 50m pool: (6pm)
- 10 x 50m on 20 ri (super easy to help loosen up)
Day 4
Bike: (9am)
- 90km easy hilly ride (4000ft of climbing)
Recovery swim 50m pool: (6pm)
- 10 x 50m on 20 ri (super easy to help loosen up)
Day 5
Open water swim: (9am)
- 3km long easy continuous swim on a 3 loop course
Run session: 3pm
- 3 different options 1-2 hours: A track run, run around Club La Santa loop, Trail run
Recovery swim 50m pool: (6pm)
- 10 x 50m on 20 ri (super easy to help loosen up)
Day 6
Bike: (9am)
- 90km easy hilly ride (5500ft of climbing)
Recovery swim 50m pool: (6pm)
- 10 x 50m on 20 ri (super easy to help loosen up)
Day 7
Triathlon simulation day (8am)
- 1900m wetsuit pool swim / 32km hilly bike / 9km run
Recovery swim 50m pool: (6pm)
- 10 x 50m on 20 ri (super easy to help loosen up)
Total training hours for the week: 25
Should anyone be interested in attending one of my camps please feel free to email me. I will hopefully be running one later this year in October and then March-April time next year.
Looking forward the next one already!