Testimonials

Training Camp: Day 3

Well, this was the final day with our tri team and it was a great one to say the least! We started the day with 6:05am hemoglobin testing. I brought down a hemoglobin analyzer and took a bit of blood from the athletes so we can monitor their drop from altitude. Then onto the pool for a 7am practice where I did more fluid balance testing and I have to say, every single member of the team improved their hydration status since I have been testing them and showing them the amount of fluid they lose and need during a swim workout.

Then it was back to the hotel and out to the store to get all of the food for the team dinner. We split into 5 teams of 2 athletes and I chose five recipes from the cookbook I made them. After whizzing through the grocery store, it was back to the hotel to get suited up ready to assist in their combo workout. My role was on the mountain bike and as the team did their bike workout, I was scoping out a good (and safe) run route for them to do their run-off. They transitioned at the vehicles and I led them off on the hilly out and back run. For those of you who have not had the opportunity to see elite triathletes train, they make their aerobic runs off the bike look like there is no effort being spent at all. It is simply amazing and a pleasure to watch!

After spending 4 hours in the Arizona sun on the mountain bike, it was back to the vehicles to get back to the hotel to prepare them for the dinner festivities. After I partitioned each team's ingredients, I sent them to their respective kitchens and they had 45 minutes to prepare and cook their meals. I roamed around to every room to check the progress and was pleasantly surprised that each team was having a great time!

We all sat down to dinner, enjoyed each other's company and ended the night on a great note of sharing friendship, stories and food. I have to say that this was a fantastic bunch of athletes. In fact, my biggest success story was with one athlete who did not like to cook and his comment to the group was that although he was dreading the cooking portion of the day, he had a great time and he didn't realize that cooking healthy, performance foods was so easy. That solidified why I do what I do!

I will end this post with one of my mantra's: "Simple is sustainable". Remember, make it too complex and it's difficult to implement.

Until next time...

Coach Bob
coachbob@fuel4mance.com