Mark Allen Online Training Camp

What can I say? This past weekend went by like a blur, but boy did I have fun! I would have to say that having been a triathlete for many years now there is still so much to learn about the science of this sport, especially Ironman. As many of you already know, I've been on the Mark Allen Online Elite team now for just about six months and although very challenging, I've been enjoying every moment. I've met coach Luis Vargas twice before, but the real advantage I thought of the camp is really getting to know Luis better and understanding the reasons for we train the way we do.

The camp kicked off in Boulder Colorado at Colorado MultiSports. We all got measured for bike fits and Luis also went over the history of bike fitting and the science behind getting the most power out of the way you ride. Overall I guess my position is good, but my numbers were a little outside the FIST standard. Basically I'm in a very aggressive position with my knees positioned forward of the pedals, but as Luis said, there's nothing wrong with my position as long as I can handle the extra stress from the aggressive aero position. While at Colorado MultiSports I got to meet all of the people at the camp including my MAO teammates Barb, Ally and Heidi.

During the second day of camp Coach Luis gave us more lectures on Heart Rate training, nutrition and other tri related stuff. Then we were all video taped while running and later our running strides were analyzed by Danny Abshire, co-founder of Newton Running. As the afternoon approached Coach Luis put us in the pool for a really good 1:15 workout and really had us focus on swimming stroke and efficiency. After the swim we headed out for my favorite part of the camp. A 3 1/2 hour bike ride in Boulder! Actually the camp folks rode for about two hours and my team mate Barb and I added on a little extra. The ride included a awesome ride up to Jamestown where you ride along a creek off of the mountain and I believe climb up to around 7,000 feet. I noticed the elevation a little bit as my heart rate was about 5-10 beats higher than normal but then again that could have just been my excitement of riding in Boulder. It was amazing to see how many cyclists were outside riding. I mean we are talking hundreds! Back in Pittsburgh I'm lucky to see one biker out on the roads. It was as if I was meant to be living in Boulder. The town was just so alive and fit. I visualized how awesome it would be if I were to live and work here in the city of Boulder (of which Barb was really trying hard to convince Jen and I to move to Denver / Boulder).....it may have worked. :)

After the ride, we headed to Newton Running and as I mentioned above, we got our stride analyzed. As I already sort of knew, my feet roll a little inward when I run. The folks at Newton running were so nice and gave me some things to try out. They actually took my shoes and added a slight lift under my big toe and told me to try it out. They really went out of their way to help everyone out. We spent a couple hours there, and I could have easily spent a couple more. Having worn Newtons for 2 years I've noticed that my running has improved and I feel less beat up after a long run. I have a feeling that the slight modifications might even help me out even further.

Sunday morning was just as exciting as Saturday. We were up early at coach Luis again gave us more lecture talk about race nutrition and strategy. Everyone had great questions and Luis had even better answers. I guess that's one reason why Luis and Mark are such great coaches. After breakfast we headed to the Boulder Reservoir for run. I had to run for 2:10 so I sort of did my own thing and ran three loops around the reservoir. I managed to get in around 16 miles...maybe slightly over. I felt a little tired towards the beginning of the run, but as time went on, I really felt strong towards the end.

After the run it was back to Rally's Gym where Luis videotaped our swim technique with an underwater camera. This was actually the first time I had someone look at my stroke and seeing how I swim, hopefully I can make some adjustments to help make me faster. From the side my "pull" looks really good thus the reason why Luis said I can keep up with all of the fast swimmers in a big race. He said that if he were to guess, I'm putting out similar power to my teammate Ally who is a Collegiate swimmer. On the flip side when you watch me from the front it's just plain bad with a capital "B". I have a slight cross over and after I breathe I move my head way too much causing my whole body to wiggle like a snake. This obviously causes more drag in the water and causes me to swim slower than I should be swimming. Also, I swim with my head too low and I never noticed this before until I saw myself on film. I'm really excited to go back to the pool to work on these changes.

So it's Monday morning and I'm flying to Seattle for work and then I'll be heading to Eagleman 70.3 for another shot at a Kona spot. This is by far the best I have ever felt and if I nail my taper this week I have good vibes that things will go well. As for the taper, I'm not doing a "full" taper and I hope that that doesn't affect how I perform. I keep telling myself that I still have to think of the big picture and IM Lake Placid is my main focus and best chance for Kona. But then again, I may get lucky and walk away with something special.

If you haven't already gotten enough of reading about the MAO camp, you can check out Barb's post at http://www.running-blogs.com/barb/ and I'm sure Beth will have a post up shortly at http://www.running-blogs.com/beth/ .

And as always, if you're looking for the best coaching the world has to offer, please visit MAO online at http://www.markallenonline.com/ .