November 18, 2009

Rekon Rap

Well, the St George Recon Camp is a wrap and it has far, far, far exceeded my expectations. I really just wanted to check out the course and see if it was something I wanted to spend the next few months training for but what I got was way beyond just a course preview. The insight and inspiration that Merilyn, Chris, KP and Gordo provided and what I learned from the other athletes goes light years beyond a single course or race. I would highly recommend attending an Endurance Corner camp in the future. Someday....if I ever get SUPER fit I may try my luck at an Epic Camp.


I have a list of notes and course details I will pass along in another post. . .I still need to download all my nerd files and charts but one thing is for sure...It is going to be a long day at the office! Right now I am packing to fly to San Jose for some Cisco training this week. Unpack, repack, repeat.

What I wanted to get out was some lessons learned and goals achieved from the camp. There is a growing list of it and I have yet to absorb all of the advice and training but here are some highlights.

My goals for the the camp were pretty simple. I wanted to have some fun, meet new people, get some good multi-sport training in and decide if this is the type of training and racing that I would enjoy. I was sure to learn along the way but again my expectations were far exceeded at every goal. I had so much "fun" I am still glowing. The people I met have inspired me for life and I kicked my own arsh with some good training. I love it! This made my decision about jumping into IM training a no brainer. Its on!!


A lot of what I learned is what Sean has been telling me for over a year now and in some ways I feel like "i knew that" but the practical application was...and is going to be the key. Hearing it from multiple coaches and then going out and doing it was what it was all about. Things like starting slow and (being able to) finishing strong cannot be over emphasized and although I knew it before I got to see just how good it felt when I started implementing some of these lessons. I will have a bike course review posted but I have to say that I have never used my power meter like I should until this weekend. My riding has forever changed.

Completing an Ironman is hard...I like that BUT the biggest thing I learned this week is that it is "hard" in a way that I did not expect. It is more about self control, proper pacing and preparing your body and mind to just be durable and go the distance. Just like adventure racing it is not how fast you can go but how little you slow down. It will be a fun challenge I am looking forward to sharing with everyone in our weeks, months and years of training ahead.

3 comments:

jameson said...

sounds like a rad trip. i can't wait to follow along with your "epic" training and get in some long days on the bikes with all you crazy people training for Utah. good times ahead for sure.

sean.clancy said...

We've got The Endurance Enclave up here in OC now. Standby for Lifetime Best Fitness in 2010! It's going to be a blast getting there over the winter broseph!

Cheers, Mate!

Ryan Weeger said...

that first photo is awesome! and i hope you still decide to bag st. george...its triathlon for peets sake! :)