The Garbett/Whitworth Lanzarote Triathlon Training Camp 2018
I was really excited about heading to Lanzarote this year. It's been 9 years since I was last on the island! I was also excited to meet some new like-minded people and to spend some time with my coach Sophie Whitworth who was co-running the training camp.
We stayed at Hotel Costa Calero the food was abundant and delicious (perfect for refuelling triathletes) it has 4 pools, we were spoilt for choice. We swam in the 40m salt water pool and every day after swimming we enjoyed some time in the Thalasso Spa. It was such a luxurios way to end the day! I highly recommend this hotel.
At the meeting on the first day we were asked to write 3 things we wanted to achieve from the camp. Mine were:
Okay onto the meaty bit, The Training.....
Did I achieve what I hoped to in Lanzarote, absolutely Yes!
Swimming - I swam every day in my wetsuit (the pool was about 20 degrees) I'm very happy swimming in open water without a wetsuit but in races I've not felt like I am swimming well. I made sure I had enough lubrication and glide and that seemed to make a huge difference. Every day was an opportunity to improve how I felt and it worked! By the end of the camp I was loving swimming in it and I felt just as powerful in the water as I normally do. It was a huge breakthrough for me. Now I know exactly what to do with my wetsuit to ensure I have my best swim in it. Very happy and confident this year will be better for getting this sorted out now.
Cycling - I've always loved riding my bike (in the sun and warmth, especially!) since I started doing triathlon in 2006. So I was pretty relaxed and looking forward to some nice rides. It's never easy riding in Lanzarote, the wind really tests you!!! The last time I was here I rode the Ironman course with my friend Lou, it was pretty epic for me back in 2009! I remembered most of the roads eventually and we were all tested in the winds, as usual!
I rode in a small group with Sara, Erica, Phil and sometimes Juliet. We would be led by either Sophie or Toby and we certainly got to know one another really well. A highlight was probably our epic 6.5hr ride where we were all achieving new personal bests on the bike. Not a single one of us had ridden that long but we all did it and certainly earned our post ride G&T!
Running - I've written before about the past 2 years with injury and how in 2017 I finally started running pain free with the help of Sophie and Laurence at Henley Practice.
I did achieve my goal of running pain free on the camp!
It's also the first time in recent memory I've been on a training camp and been able to do all the run sessions!
We stayed at Hotel Costa Calero the food was abundant and delicious (perfect for refuelling triathletes) it has 4 pools, we were spoilt for choice. We swam in the 40m salt water pool and every day after swimming we enjoyed some time in the Thalasso Spa. It was such a luxurios way to end the day! I highly recommend this hotel.
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| Team Garbett & Whitworth pre run |
At the meeting on the first day we were asked to write 3 things we wanted to achieve from the camp. Mine were:
- Understand how to swim as well in my wetsuit as I feel without it
- To enjoy riding my bike in the sun and tough conditions of Lanzarote
- To enjoy running pain free
Okay onto the meaty bit, The Training.....
- I completed my biggest week of training EVER 23 hours & 30 minutes of Yoga!
- I swam 11,600m
- 1 rode my bike 294km
- 1 ran 34km
Did I achieve what I hoped to in Lanzarote, absolutely Yes!
Swimming - I swam every day in my wetsuit (the pool was about 20 degrees) I'm very happy swimming in open water without a wetsuit but in races I've not felt like I am swimming well. I made sure I had enough lubrication and glide and that seemed to make a huge difference. Every day was an opportunity to improve how I felt and it worked! By the end of the camp I was loving swimming in it and I felt just as powerful in the water as I normally do. It was a huge breakthrough for me. Now I know exactly what to do with my wetsuit to ensure I have my best swim in it. Very happy and confident this year will be better for getting this sorted out now.
Cycling - I've always loved riding my bike (in the sun and warmth, especially!) since I started doing triathlon in 2006. So I was pretty relaxed and looking forward to some nice rides. It's never easy riding in Lanzarote, the wind really tests you!!! The last time I was here I rode the Ironman course with my friend Lou, it was pretty epic for me back in 2009! I remembered most of the roads eventually and we were all tested in the winds, as usual!
I rode in a small group with Sara, Erica, Phil and sometimes Juliet. We would be led by either Sophie or Toby and we certainly got to know one another really well. A highlight was probably our epic 6.5hr ride where we were all achieving new personal bests on the bike. Not a single one of us had ridden that long but we all did it and certainly earned our post ride G&T!
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| My cycling crew with Coach Toby |
Running - I've written before about the past 2 years with injury and how in 2017 I finally started running pain free with the help of Sophie and Laurence at Henley Practice.
I did achieve my goal of running pain free on the camp!
It's also the first time in recent memory I've been on a training camp and been able to do all the run sessions!
- I ran 5 days out of 7 and didn't miss any of the planned run sessions
- I ran 4 days in a row (that's not happened in about 10 years!)
- I completed my longest run 10k in 4 years!!!
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| Post run choccie milkshakes in Puerto Del Carmen |
I have come home with no injuries or niggles, just a tired body, goals achieved!
Between sessions and in the evenings I did some sort of maintenance whether it was stretching, foam rolling or using the massage balls and I think that definitely makes a big difference when you are doing more hours than you normally would.
We were very fortunate to have 2 Yoga teachers on the camp! Dee's session was a truly wonderful experience. If you live near Sunbury-on-Thames, please check her out Dee
I met some really lovely people who I hope to see again soon either at races or just to do some training and chatting!!! I love being around people who aren't afraid to challenge themselves and it just spurs me on to do my best and I certainly felt like that around everyone on the camp.
Exceptional coaching from Sophie, Toby, Mike and Martyn certainly meant we all improved our skill level as well as pushing us all to achieve all we could in 7 days.
So next year I'll know it's going to be epic but fun and I'll be ready. Fancy joining us?
http://tobygarbett.com/lanzarote-fitness-camp-2018/
Well done, some big boxes ticked there :-) (You forgot to mention that you picked the perfect week to be out of the UK, it was freezing here!)
ReplyDeleteThanks H. We really couldn’t believe our luck at missing Armageddon 😳
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