Nothing says training camp in the Woodlands Texas like waking up in the dark in the heat. That’s right, one of the things that surprises participants most about this race is how dark it is even right up until 7 o’clock. Which is why I was not surprised to find, at my 6 AM wake-up call, that there was no light to be found in the March sky here in Texas.

This is the first day of our 2016 Texas for a specific training camp and it promised to be a fantastic one with both the swim and the bike on the agenda.

After years of doing this training camp on site we finally found facility that would host us from workout. Many thanks to the generous folks over at hot swimming who were able to accommodate us for early morning some techniques session.

We used our our 75 minutes to work on some technique and improve general body position in the water. While I know most of our athletes here at the camp, this is an opportunity for me to get more in tune with the specific nuances of there sport specific ability. In other words, I might know who you are and what you’ve done but I don’t how you do it. Training camp setting is a perfect opportunity for me to do just that.

I was able to take multiple videos during the swim workout and then use that as a real-time feedback for athletes to continue working on in this session. I’ve also provided video feedback as a take away so that campers will be able to continue focusing on core elements of the some stroke using these video clips as a reminder.

After this when it was time for a quick breakfast and then prepare for a bike ride. The goal today was to ride the full course with the exception of some of the early miles. This is a bit because riding on Woodlands Parkway is by no means a safe experience. In fact there are several parts of the Ironman Texas bicycle course that our relatively unsafe but none more so than right here in town.

Heading outside to get ready for the ride to meet up with SAG, wielded by warm temperatures and slight the hazy low cloud cover situation. This is perfect for racing even with a minimal wind. Experienced campers knew that the wind would find us by the time we got out to Richards Texas – roughly the halfway point of the day.

Our goal was to ride together and to use intermittent breaks as an opportunity to break down the course and get everyone up to speed on the best way to ride. Our number one goal as coaches inside Endurance Nation is to make you as smart as you are fast and strong. The training camp setting is a perfect opportunity for you to calibrate your fitness on the course of your choice using our knowledge and experience.

As we progressed through the course the sun was able to break through the clouds for a solid hour today significantly raising temperatures. We were able to provide coverage with our support vehicles such that no one was left alone and even the single flat tire we had (Ironman Texas training camp by course record?) Was a non-issue.

All day we continued to hammer home the need for proper nutrition and pacing. We also reminded athletes of how important it was to stay focused and keep positive mental attitude through the critically hard 15 miles from mile 62 my 75. Paragraph despite some’s confession closer to town writers were able to stay safe and finish strongly. A few brave souls headed out for a quick transition run making for the cherry on top of a very long training day. Day one lecture – lessons learned in core strategies

No day at an Endurance Nation training camp is complete without a coach lecture. The first lecture is focused on lessons learned from what I’ve seen on the course. Specifically, athlete set up on the bike, athlete bike handling skills, course execution, nutrition, and general lessons learned. In our desire to get you smart as you can be as quickly as possible, these dynamic feedback sessions or extremely helpful breaking through misconceptions and helping you set new positive habits in motion.

Open discussions with fellow campers is also an opportunity to engage questions that might not otherwise ask. This helps us accelerate our understanding and approach as a whole making us more likely to be successful over the short-term in the next few days of camp as well as through race day performance.

Everyone survived the lecture and quickly hopped into our cars for dinner before resting up for day two!

More soon….learn more about Endurance Nation training camps online here.