The second Endurance Corner Tucson Camp has come and gone and I felt it was a great success. We had a wide range of abilities at the camp, but everybody stepped up and made it happen for themselves. All of the athletes extended themselves, but none of them buried themselves. Perfect.

A quick recap of the days since last post:

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Wednesday: Oro Valley Day

Athletes ran in the morning and were then transported to the Oro Valley Pool where they were given the swim set of:

5 x 500
4 x 400
3 x 300
2 x 200
1 x 100

Gordo cracked the whip on me and made me swim:
400 easy
60 x 100 on a 1:30,25,20,15 pattern
200 easy
200 IM
200 easy

Both sets proved to be challenging, but achievable. Once again, we had several athletes say that this was the longest swim of their lives so far. Pretty cool to see what people are capable of in a group atmosphere.

After swimming the crew had lunch in the park and then headed out for a solid 50 mile ride back home which finished with a summit over the east side of Gates Pass.

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Thursday was the key run day of the week. This camp is primarily focused on cycling and swimming since we feel those are safe ways to overload yourself aerobically, but we still believe in maintaining a long run (even if shortened).

We headed out to the east side of town to run the Cactus Forrest Trail; a rolling trail with great views on either side. Most of the folks opted for one loop of11 miles, but several logged 2:30+ out there in the morning sun.

After running we had a shake out swim and then an afternoon off to regroup.

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Friday was an easier day for the campers aside from the morning swim. I’m pretty sure we doubled the lifetime volume of butterfly for several of the campers.

After finishing the day’s workout the camp decided it would be a good idea to race Gordo and I (I had a 10 sec head start) in a 400 IM where they each served a 50 yard leg (8 x 50) on two teams. Given the fact that I have never done a 400 IM I tapered for the event by showing up late and only warming up for 500 yards. The campers put together a strong team and beat us both. Good on them.

This particular moment of the camp made me very happy. When you see everyone get excited over friendly competition it really brings you back to the core of sport. Its a “race you to the flagpole” type of moment. Quite special.

The campers rode and ran easily after swimming and then lounged for the afternoon. Before dinner we had the pleasure of listening to a presentation by Robbie Ventura about time trialing, triathlon, cycling, pro racing, announcing for Versus (formerly OLN), and many, many other things.

Robbie is a true professional; from his time as a pro bike racer to his time now as a coach and founder of Vision Quest Coaching in the Chicago area. I want to publicly thank him for taking the time out of his busy schedule to head down to the EC Camp to present and train a little (he is racing Ironman Canada). Thanks Robbie!

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Saturday: Kitt Peak Day.

Big Day. 20 miles flat; 20 miles false flat; 12.1 mile climb @7-8%, descend, 40 miles home the same way with less than favorable winds.

The day opened up with a solid handful of flats along the Ajo highway, but Mat and I were keeping up with everyone and swapping out wheels as fast as we could. Things kept rolling and soon enough the campers were approaching the base of the climb. Robbie was leading a solid group of athletes with Gordo soling a few minutes back. It had the excitement of a bike race and everyone was quickly filling bottles at the aid station in order to hold their gap.

Things became much tighter at the top, but Robbie showed everyone a thing or two with a MONSTER descent. Then it became a chase to catch Robbie with a group trailing behind. Unfotunately a flat ended his attack, but I know everyone had a lot of fun working to make up ground.

The second group of riders summited successfully and then regrouped at the bottom for the return trip. From there they worked together in style cruising home in a pack along the Ajo Highway

A big day and a successful day for all.

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I am going to send out a second public thank you to all the campers, coaches, and the amazing support crew for helping us make this such a special camp.

We are working to finalize dates for next year and we will be adding a second camp in a different location which we will announce in the near future.

I hope familiar and new faces can make the venture next year. We all had a fantastic time.

Until next year.

Thanks,

JD

Endurance Corner is back in the desert Southwest helping another group of athletes “live the dream.” Its the morning of Day Four of the EC Tucson Camp and everyone has excelled when given their challenges on Days 1-3. Once again, we have the privilege to work with competent, driven athletes that understand the ‘work’ component of success. No one here wants a shortcut.

Day One was the same as the last round for those following along. The route headed South to Madera Canyon and back. It essentially breaks down into 60K of flat(ter) riding, 7 miles of gradual climbing, and 3 miles of rock star, rough road, steep grade climbing to 5400 feet. Then you turn around and do everything in reverse order. In our case, the final 60K also included a tailwind so everyone rocked it back home (Ryan more than anyone). After riding most athletes headed to the pool for shake out swim before hitting dinner at the Endurance Corner Headquarter (ECHQ).

Day Two started early with a swim at Archer Pool at 6:00 a.m. (Jonas would not have approved of such an early time). The main set of the day was:

500, 5 x 100
400, 4 x 100
300, 3 x 100
200, 2 x 100
100, 1 x 100

Gordo saw my swim time at Playtri and said “enough of that young man” and slapped a 1:15 base on the distance intervals and 1:20 on the 100s and told me to get to work. I made it.

After swimming the group had breakfast and headed (in a car) across town to Udall Park to get ready for a ride up Mt Lemmon. We all rolled out together and had a mandatory regroup at the Mile 0 Marker of Mt Lemmon Hwy. Everyone proceeded to get their mojo together and then attacked the 21 mile climb summiting at 8000 feet. All the campers summited with style and returned down to Udall park for a quick transition run (in this case, quick also means “fast” as some folks were definitely getting after it). After regrouping we headed back to the mainland of Tucson for another stellar dinner at the ECHQ.

Day three served as a regroup day for some; a shorter day for others. The crew headed to the pool for another early swim and then it was back to the hotel for a 9:00 a.m. rollout. About half the folks headed out on a 40 mile route which included several handicapped ‘races’ along the way. Our group took a mellow venture up and over Gates Pass, returning via Ajo and Mission road. The afternoon was a bit of a lounge fest at the ECHQ, but everyone still got out for a pre-dinner run.

Today we are headed to Oro Valley for a BIG swim (the ‘biggest’ in the case of some). It looks like its going to be another stellar day here with plenty of sunshine for everybody (KP would approve).

Until then,

JD

Friends,

Many of you have not heard from me in quite some time as I have been off the racing radar for over five months. My offseason passed nicely and I have been building into the season ever since the new year in January. This past weekend provided my first opportunity to get a glimpse of my race form. Ahmed Zaher and his crew at Playtri (www.playtri.com) put together a great Half Ironman last year so I felt it would be a good choice again for an early season marker.

The race takes place in Irving, Texas on an urban circuit very closely situated to the Golf Course used in the Byron Nelson PGA event. Race morning was clear and cool, but the wind was already starting to pick up. Last year’s event was no stranger to wind and I expected little else this year. It is simply too hard to avoid on the Northern Plains of Texas.

The swim start was too quick for me to latch on to any feet and I ended up cruising along solo for the most part. I definitely lacked the ‘hurry up’ for the swim start and found myself FIVE minutes down on Brandon Marsh and James Cotter who exited in just over 22 minutes. I knew Marsh was a great swimmer, but thatwas a bit ridiculous of me to give up time like that.

Nevertheless, I thought I could work to chip away at their lead and after that you never know what could happen. The course suited me well with more technical turns and lots of wind so I did my best to take as much time out of the leaders as I possibly could. Around mile 40 I got a split of just over two minutes and so I kept things rolling.

I managed to come off the bike around 2:30 down on Marsh and Cotter, but considering their run skills I was not holding my breath on a comeback. I settled into my own tempo and made sure I was running quickly enough to hold off a fast-paced Brent Poulsen. I held my position running a 1:21:31 and finished up in4:07:xx.

I was satisfied with my day and my effort. I am glad I had the chance to go up against some quicker guys as it gives me a better understanding of where I stand at this point in the season.

Until next time,

JD

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I’m pretty sure I picked one of the better weekends to leave Boulder.

I’m headed down to Texas this evening to race the Playtri Half Ironman on Sunday in Irving. I’ll be speaking at the expo around 3:00 on Saturday if you happen to be around. It should be a fairly informal session so if you want to come by and chat please do so.

Off to the races,

JD

My folks came from Crested Butte to visit me this past weekend and they told me that Crested Butte had received 399 inches of snow as of last Friday. I just checked the onthesnow.com report and CB received 8 inches yesterday; bumping them over the 400 mark.

Apparently even the hardcore of the hardcore are priming for summer and have had enough of this winter.

Its amazing how there can be such discrepancies from season to season. Last year the resort barely had enough coverage to make to closing ski weekend and this year they could keep it rolling to Memorial Day from the looks of things.

Its snowing in Boulder today as well. That is somehwhat annoying, but fortunately I will be racing in Texas this weekend (www.playtri.com) so my training will be on the lighter side. I’m looking to get a good snapshot of my fitness this weekend so I’ll be incorporating plenty of rest and recovery all week long. I am probably going to need it after my three day crash course in (hard) training over the weekend. Sometimes I need a strong push to get my body and mind ready for the demands of racing again. I’ve been on the sidelines for almost six months so my race readiness might not be in line with my actual fitness. I guess we’ll see.

More in a couple days,

JD

I apologize for a lack of correspondence via blogging for the second half of the Endurance Corner Tucson Camp. I was busy making sure everyone was logging 30+ hour weeks and recovering well. I am confident that everyone got a nice overload from the training camp and can go back to their respective areas of the country with a slighlty higher level of fitness and a recharged passion for training and racing. It cannot be easy for some to go from sunny Arizona back to winter (I drove through snow coming into Boulder yesterday afternoon), but maybe spring will be just around the corner and the training can step up a notch.

Now that the first (of two) camp has passed I have had a little bit of time to reflect upon the athletes, the camp, AZ, etc.

I think the athletes that attended the camp probably do not give themselves nearly enough credit. The speed of the athletes encompassed a rather wide range, but the fitness to maintain their speed was a constant among them all. As Mat and I sagged the final ride (100+ mile Kitt Peak ride; including the summit) we mentioned that everyone finished, not only the day’s workout, but the entire week, strong. It can be a dauntly task to ask an athlete who is accustomed to low double digit weekly volume to knock out 30-40 hours of training, but they all rose to the occassion.

One of the catalysts behind the execution of said volume was the cooking support that we had. More than half the campers mentioned to Brooke and Russ that they had “never eaten so healthy before.” Its amazing what you can do with your body when it is properly nourished and its unfortunate that so many of us can overlook this. I think many folks see food and exercise as cancelling one another out (”exercise to eat”), but as athletes we need to keep a better perspective. Quality nutrition nourishes and fuels us for the demands we repeatedly place upon ourselves. Investing in better food choices in an investment in yourself (in life and athletics).

Additionally, it shouldn’t be assumed that healthy food cannot be tasty as well. B+R assured us all of that!

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April is finally here and hopefully so is the wamer weather. I’ll be kicking off the season in less that two weeks at the Playtri Half Ironman in Irving, Texas (April 13). I raced this race last year and finished second to Todd Gerlach of Austin, Texas. I found it to be an exciting early season race so I’ll be returning for another round. I hope to see some of you there.

All the best,

JD