A 12 day training camp was just what I needed to kick start my fitness and Lanzarote was the perfect location for it. Before I left I had just started swimming after my mountain bike crash and had built up to 2.5k of easy swimming. I still wasn't running but had some treatment on my foot at Body Limits (www.body-limits.co.uk) in Milton Keynes when I arrived back after Christmas in Ireland which helped to speed up the healing.
The plan was to get healthy, focus on the bike, swim as much as felt comfortable and start some easy running to gradually build up to an hour by the end of the 12 days. I seemed to be able to build the swimming back up quite quickly and was doing proper sets within 3 days of arriving in Lanzarote. I did an 8 minute run on the first day but was still left with a lot of pain and stiffness afterwards. The following day we swam at a pool where it water overlapped side of the pool. I did a fast tumble turn and smacked the heel of my 'good' foot off the edge of the concrete wall. This left me unable to walk on my heel for about 4 days and I had to tip toe around obviously meaning that my plan to begin running was delayed for a few more days. I think that this was definitely a blessing in disguise. It allowed me to rest my injured foot for much longer than I would have had I not hurt my other heel. It also made me focus more on biking and swimming which might not be such a bad thing. I decided that I should accept that I was injured for a reason and I just wasn't meant to be running yet. When I felt ready I began to run, starting with very slow short runs. I haven't quite made it up to an hour but I am pleased with the progress and I hope it continues. As someone who loves to run it can be very difficult to hold back but I am going to be disciplined this time and not rush it!
For the duration of out camp we stayed at the new Tri-Sports Lanzarote Villa, a new training camp location for triathletes (with its own 25m pool!) and were looked after amazingly well. Debs and Daz renovated the villa themselves and got it finished just in time for our arrival. The four of us were the first guests at the Villa (Lucy Gossage, Tamsin Lewis, Liam Dolan and myself). We were cooked for and tended to for the whole trip which made life so easy for us. We really couldn't believe how lucky we were. Staying in a luxury villa with killer views, getting all our meals provided (the food was absolutely amazing!) and being driven to wherever we needed to go. It was totally perfect and so nice to have each other to train with. Liam kept our morning 'faffing' to a minimum (and the pace up on the bike), Lucy kept us entertained with her ability to chat for England (and her ability to train with a constant smile) and Tamsin made dinner look like an eating competition (and provided some killer swim sets). We trained well, rested well and ate vast amounts of healthy home cooked food prepared by Debs. The trip has definitely helped to get me back on my feet and I now feel like I can get on with some proper training at last!
I would definitely recommend having a look at the Tri-Sports Lanzarote website to anyone who is thinking of planning a training camp (www.trisportslanzarote.com). I will be back there soon :)
The plan was to get healthy, focus on the bike, swim as much as felt comfortable and start some easy running to gradually build up to an hour by the end of the 12 days. I seemed to be able to build the swimming back up quite quickly and was doing proper sets within 3 days of arriving in Lanzarote. I did an 8 minute run on the first day but was still left with a lot of pain and stiffness afterwards. The following day we swam at a pool where it water overlapped side of the pool. I did a fast tumble turn and smacked the heel of my 'good' foot off the edge of the concrete wall. This left me unable to walk on my heel for about 4 days and I had to tip toe around obviously meaning that my plan to begin running was delayed for a few more days. I think that this was definitely a blessing in disguise. It allowed me to rest my injured foot for much longer than I would have had I not hurt my other heel. It also made me focus more on biking and swimming which might not be such a bad thing. I decided that I should accept that I was injured for a reason and I just wasn't meant to be running yet. When I felt ready I began to run, starting with very slow short runs. I haven't quite made it up to an hour but I am pleased with the progress and I hope it continues. As someone who loves to run it can be very difficult to hold back but I am going to be disciplined this time and not rush it!
For the duration of out camp we stayed at the new Tri-Sports Lanzarote Villa, a new training camp location for triathletes (with its own 25m pool!) and were looked after amazingly well. Debs and Daz renovated the villa themselves and got it finished just in time for our arrival. The four of us were the first guests at the Villa (Lucy Gossage, Tamsin Lewis, Liam Dolan and myself). We were cooked for and tended to for the whole trip which made life so easy for us. We really couldn't believe how lucky we were. Staying in a luxury villa with killer views, getting all our meals provided (the food was absolutely amazing!) and being driven to wherever we needed to go. It was totally perfect and so nice to have each other to train with. Liam kept our morning 'faffing' to a minimum (and the pace up on the bike), Lucy kept us entertained with her ability to chat for England (and her ability to train with a constant smile) and Tamsin made dinner look like an eating competition (and provided some killer swim sets). We trained well, rested well and ate vast amounts of healthy home cooked food prepared by Debs. The trip has definitely helped to get me back on my feet and I now feel like I can get on with some proper training at last!
I would definitely recommend having a look at the Tri-Sports Lanzarote website to anyone who is thinking of planning a training camp (www.trisportslanzarote.com). I will be back there soon :)
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