Lanzarote has become one of my favourite destinations for a triathlon training camp.
Fantastic weather, great facilities, delicious food and an opportunity to fully focus on good quality training with no distractions.
What do we actually do on a training camp?
Join me for 24-hours, jumping in at day 6, I'll take you through my training, nutrition and recovery.
Training Camp Day 6
7:00am - Training Session 1.
Session: 45-minute endurance run (zone 2)
Nutrition: 1 x banana before the run
We were staying at the Barcelo Active resort in Costa Teguise, from the hotel reception you can access a short gravel path which takes you to the seafront. Here you will find yourself on a traffic-free, foot path following the coastline. I run out and back, perfect for someone with no sense of direction!
9:00am - Breakfast
The Barcelo breakfast buffet provides a huge selection of options, fresh food and lots of it. During a training camp I am expending a lot of calories so I make it a priority to fuel my body sufficiently. With one training session already complete and another two to go, getting the calories in is critical.
My typical choices would be:
Large bowl of porridge (sometimes two!) with banana, sultanas and cinnamon
2 or 3 chunky slices of wholemeal bread with honey
11:00am - Coffee Stop
I'm not a professional athlete, I also work, training in Lanzarote is a "holiday" so we always make sure we include some down-time and enjoy the area.
Our favorite coffee stop in Costa Teguise is the Bon Bon Cafe, it's a short ride from our hotel, and today we opted for a cappuccino and slice of carrot cake.
12:30pm - Training Session 2.
Session: Threshold Swim: 75mins - 4200m
Main Set:
3 x 300m threshold - 25s rest
100m easy - 15s rest
2 x 300m threshold - 25s rest
100m easy - 15s rest
1 x 300m threshold - 25s rest
100m easy - 15s rest
1 x 300m threshold - 25s rest
The biggest down side of the Barcelo resort, in my opinion, is the swimming pool. Despite having a fantastic 50m outdoor pool on site, there is an additional fee to use the facility and it is also available for use by non-guests of the hotel, including many local sports teams. This means at times the pool can get very busy, you need to be smart, check the timetable, and plan your swims accordingly. I found early mornings and lunch times were the best bet!
02:00pm - Supermarket Lunch
Following the swim we head back to our hotel room for a supermarket lunch. Our room has a balcony overlooking the sea so we sit back and watch the world go by.
Chocolate protein shake post hard swim
Large wholemeal chicken baguette
Apple
Half a malt loaf
Cold can of Fanta
02:30pm - Nap Time!
The key to managing the additional training load on a training camp is to rest between sessions. The rooms at the Barcelo resort are spacious, comfortable and relaxing, unlike Rob, who can sleep anywhere, I struggle to nap in the day. I relax by climbing into bed and listening to a podcast instead.
Favorite podcasts (bit of a theme!):
Triathlon Mockery
That Triathlon Life
RedBull Just Ride
The Triathlon Hour
Geraint Thomas Cycling Club
Scientific Triathlon
05:30pm - Training Session 3.
Session: 45-minute run with 6 x 2min hill efforts
Nutrition: 1 x bowl of muesli 1-hour before and protein shake afterwards
This session was tough and required a lot of motivation to get out the door. Six days into training camp my legs were starting to feel it and these hard efforts were a challenge. With Rob accompanying me on the bike I had a bit of extra motivation to push through, after all, when you hit the run on an XTERRA your legs are trashed anyway!
07:00pm - Dinner
The hotel was pretty busy while we were staying at the Barcelo and if you didn't get down to the buffet early you would be queueing for a seat. Like breakfast, there was always plenty of choice, lots of healthy options and the food was fresh.
Following a big day of training, and with 3 more days still to go, I always ensure I eat plenty at dinner, choosing high quality carbohydrates to replenish my energy stores, proteins to facilitate muscle repair and fresh fruits and vegetables to ensure my body has the nutrients it needs.
Typically my dinner would consist of:
A large plate of salad with wholegrains
A large plate of paella / curry / random concoction of what was on offer that night!
Fresh fruit and yogurt
08:00pm - Relax!
Another fantastic day complete, feet up, TV on, we chill for a couple of hours before getting an early night ready to do it all again tomorrow!
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