Blackwater Triathlon Club Spring Training Camp 2019
It’s spring time in Ireland and as the Triathlon seasonrapidly approaches it was time for the annual Blackwater Triathlon Club Springtraining camp. Following several successful years in Killarney we decided tochange the venue for 2019 and over the weekend of the 12th to the 14th of Aprilmore than thirty club members travelled to the University of Limerick Sportscampus. While there they were put through their paces by the crew from Nextlevel coaching, head coach Aaron O’Brien, swim coach Ethan O’Brien, and cyclecoaches Darren Dunne and James Quilligan. For one of our new members, Michelle Kearney, thiswas her first experience of a training camp and the weekend was an opportunityto improve her triathlon skills while also meeting other club members. Michellehas shared her experience of the weekend with us:
It was an amazing opportunity as a beginner triathleteto take part in a 3 day training camp with Blackwater Triathlon Club. As anewbie I was nervous about doing the training camp. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to keep upand I didn’t really know that many people from the club. I took the leap andsigned up and it was one of the best decisions I ever made! There was no needfor me to feel nervous or anxious. The other members of the club were lovely,it was a brilliant opportunity to get to meet other club members and at the endof the day we all had the same goal in mind! We all want to compete in triathlons!
The camp was based around the Sports campus at TheUniversity of Limerick. We all gathered in the Sports Arena on Friday eveningto meet our coaches and they briefed us on what we would be doing over thethree days. They emphasised that the weekend would be an opportunity for us toask any questions, to identify our individual weaknesses and to hopefully improveon techniques for each discipline. There were over 30 BTC members at the campfor the weekend and we were split in to three groups, based on ability andexperience. As a beginner I went into Group 3. We then began training properwith a swim in the UL 50m pool. It was amazing. Our instructor had us warmingup swimming lengths with fins on our feet. This was a new experience for me asI had never swum with fins on before. We were given different drills topractice and the coaches were just observing us as we swam. They then gave usappropriate feedback at the end of each drill on how to make us tweak our swimtechnique. Before we knew it we had done over 17 lengths of the50m pool. This was what furthest that I had ever swum in the pool, a reallygood start to the weekend for me. After the pool sessions we all checked intothe Castletroy Hotel which was going to be our home for the next 3 days. Themembers then regrouped In the bar to catch up and get to know everyone.
Day 2 started off with fuelling at the breakfastbuffet! We had a long day of training and it was important to fuel the body. By 9amwe were on the bikes. We stayed in our Groups again and each group had adedicated instructor to lead the group on this morning cycle. It was abeautiful morning to see the countryside and we spent 2.5 hours on the bike,working on technique and group riding. At this stage it was time to rest andrefuel again before our second pool session. I took the opportunity to have anhour in bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out for the count. Allthis exercise is tiring. At 1pm we gathered at the pool again for another hourof high quality swim coaching. The UL Sports arena is an amazing facility,especially the 50m pool. Again we practiced different drills which wouldbenefit our swimming technique.
After the pool we only had 30 minutes to dress, refueland get ourselves onto the running track. At this stage the energy levels werestarting to fade, plus running is not my strongest discipline. The weather hadturned and the rain started to fall, I stayed with group 3 for a couple ofdrills but by now I just had no energy left, so I took myself off to the coffeeshop which overlooked the running track and watched the other club memberstrain in the rain. That evening we all went out for dinner as a club. Itwas lovely to meet everyone on a social level to get to know people better.
On the Sunday morning we were due to go out on thebikes again, but the weather had taken a turn for the worse and it was justunsafe to go out on the road. This was unfortunate but plans were changedquickly and we took to the UL Sports arena spinning room where the instructorput us through a high intensity spinning session. Following the spinning class it was time tohead back to the pool for the last time for another excellent coaching session,before heading home, tired but happy.
The weekend was fantastic not just on a training levelbut on a personal level. It was great to meet the other members of the club andput faces to the names. Everyone made everyone feel welcome over the 3 days. Soif you are a beginner like I am and you are looking at joining - it will be theone of the best decisions you make!
Well done to Michelle and everyone who took part in thecamp this year. It’s definitely worth considering for 2020, no matter whatlevel of triathlete you happen to be.