By Rebecca Roozen
Feb. 9, 2007 -- If you've never attended a camp beyond the age of 12, I suggest you try it. As the Multisports.com Triathlon Camp staff members have repeated at least five times in the last 24 hours, "Your check is cashed; you can do whatever you want." Not that any of these eager-type A's are going to waste their bucks flying from Houston, Minneapolis or Boston to skip the training or lectures for the Wild Animal Park. But, they could if they wanted to.
There's an itinerary. And, yes, we've been following it. However, the way the staff conducts these sessions and lectures makes me think that when the sun goes down, Coach Paul Huddle and company aren't really sleeping but directing an open-mic night at the nearest comedy club.
Last night triathlon legend Paula Newby-Fraser introduced the talented and diverse staff before the first lecture. Supposedly, Jimmy Riccitello, who's the head ref at a lot of races, will accept a Benjamin or two to clear your penalties. Pretty sure Huddle garbled something about narcotics, too.
After the intros, Danny Abshire took the Sandcastle conference room spotlight. The Aspen ski bum turned god of orthotics (and Newton running shoes) claims his free-bird public speaking tactics correlate with his hometown; people in Boulder are "out there" and we weren't to be alarmed that he was too. The lecture title on the camp schedule said, "Bio-mechanical performance and injury prevention." Danny took a simple approach to a heavy subject. "Listen to your body. We are machines!" He referenced Paula's smart sense and body awareness numerous times. If it hurts, stop and figure it out before you push yourself and end up injured.
Morning trainingI met up with Triathlete publisher John Duke and five others for our first morning ride and headed north up the 101. It was an easy hour ride. A nice warm-up for the swim that followed at the Encinitas YMCA. Roch had us do some catch-ups and other drills focusing on body positioning in the pool. Then Welchy incorrectly identified me as a "Triathlete magazine freeloader" in my swim-video analysis intro. (I work hard for the Oakleys he graciously bestows on me.) Hux (the YMCA master's coach) taped a few lengths of my freestyle, and apparently, I've got the right technique, but I don't rotate my hips enough. Tomorrow I'm going to work on not swimming so "flat."
From the Y, we hit the coast again, this time heading south on our bikes. Duke led us on an 80-minute ride to Del Mar and then back to the Best Western headquarters for lunch.
Tonight, Ironman world champ Michellie Jones takes the stage. Curious about her wise words of advice? Check back to the tri-camp blog tomorrow.