Endurance Corner Camp Update

Things are going strong with the Boulder Camp.  Day 3 started with a beautiful open water swim session with the Boulder Masters Club at the Boulder Reservoir.  From there is was onto the bike for a ride up to Jamestown and beyond to what the locals refer to as "Super James."  Although not as long as the Ward loop we did the day before it was steeper, especially the "super" part.  We had an interesting presentation by Marilyn MacDonald on descending skills then it was time to put them into practice as we rode back down to the "Rez" for an OTB run, by which time the temperature was reaching 90*.  The rest of the day was a time to recover, my Compex machine was put to very good use.

Wednesday - Day 4 was a day to learn and do a bit of recovery.  We started the day meeting Greg and Laura Bennett who showed us the finer points of capturing free speed by improving our transition skills.  I picked up some points I am looking forward to trying soon.  After that we migrated to a local running track for a very informative session with running coach Bobby McGee.  I am a big fan of Bobby's and really enjoyed spending time learning more from him about running form and technique.  The final formal learning session explored the basics and benefits of bike training with a power meter presented by Coach Gordo and Alan Couzens; took a lot of notes.  We ended the day with a talk by Craig "Crowie" Alexander (Champion #6 we have had a chance to meet)

Thursday - Day 5 started with a swim session at the Flatirons Athletic Club led by Monica Byrn, Gordo's very talented wife.  I definitely noticed the thin air during the workout.  After that we had the pleasure of listening to American Olympian and 70.3 World Champion (#7) Matty Reed discuss his career and training.  After that is was off for another challenging ride, this time up Flagstaff Mountain with its steep climbs and gorgeous views of Boulder below.

Endurance Corner Boulder Camp - Day 1 & 2

Days 1&2 of the Endurance Corner Boulder Camp are in the books.  After driving to Boulder on Sunday and meeting up with Arch Fuston, my good friend and training partner for the week it was off to Gordo's house to meet up with the other campers.  Couple of familar faces from last summer's camp as well as many others.  Real mix of ages, abilities and experience levels though I am certainly pushing the experience level and age averages higher.  We all had the opportunity to listen to a wonderful presentation by IM World Champion Chrissie Wellington.  I thought I liked her before but after listening to her speak and then sitting near her at the dining room table I like her even more!

Monday's main event was a ride from Boulder up to Ward then down to Lyons and back to Boulder.  This is a very common local ride here but for the athletes coming from the coast (Arch) or the flat (me) it presented plenty of challenges and great views.  Very glad I changed to a larger rear cassette during the last mile of the climb and really enjoyed riding the Cervelo.  One of the highlights was descending down Hwy 7 at the back of a 12 rider pace line at 45 mph - big fun!  Total ride was 58 miles with 5967' of elevation gain topping out at 9303'.

In the evening we again gathered at Gordo's for another great presentation, this time by running coach Bobby McGee.  Bobby was one of the highlights for me from last year and he was awesome again.  His discussion of good running form (as well as a lot of other topics) was very enlightening and I took lots of notes.