Hi All,
As relative newbies to Pulse Joe and I have been bullied into writing up the training camp report, so here goes...

Apr 5th 10 Pulsers landed into Girona Airport and were ably escorted by Rich and Greg, our coaches for the week, to Amelie les Bains the picturesque Sancture-Sportif's training camp venue.The team quickly assumed roles and responsibilities!

Rachel (Le Patron) kept everyone in check at all times and thankfully had laptop on hand to ensure no-one had facebook withdrawl symptoms. Thrives on little sleep and seems to get stronger with sleep deprivation; David (Captain and Chief Motivator) inspired the team to perform both on and off the training field and frequently experienced emotionally-charged moments following a strong team performance. Can dig deep into reserves to get on the bike and race 10km's when most mortals would sleep off the hangover in bed;

Kathy (Head Supervisor)... had her hands full keeping David in line and keeping the party atmosphere alive when the energy bursts from the afternoons gel's had long vanished in the evening.  Didn't miss a session unlike some (no names);

Donal (Food and Beverages)... a.k.a Shark man (don't feel too intimidated by his new swim attire...), went to great lengths to avoid beer consumption but was caught out every time.  Has acquired a taste for fortified wine but not before breakfast. Brought high cadence to a whole new level on the 18km team time trial, a sight probably never to be witnessed again...;

Alison (President of Social Events)... Outshone us all with her impressive velo, some machine for one machine, and went the extra mile to mingle with the locals of Amelie les Bains.  Her rather cunning tactic of being the only rose drinker resulted in the biggest hangover every morning. An athlete whose dedication to her coach is unrivalled.

Barry (Health & Safety... & Education): Downhiller extraordinaire, managed to over & under-take cars and gave new meaning to the term "vanishing point".  Kept a close eye on any shifts in team dynamics and proved to be a strong team player bringing the ladies home in the BAS team time trial!..;

Sonia (Quelle Francophone)... Provided a steady, almost always accurate translation, which greatly improved after several vino's.  Possesses a rather unique talent of holding her beer bottle upright while sleeping;

Mark (Chief of Sick Bay) ... Suffered in silence with a recurring knee complaint, which was due to his ankle or his hip or was it both
However, played a vital role in setting the beer consumption levels for the pelton to follow.  A.K.A "Orange" Mark had a unique but impressive pre-swim warm up routine which he frequently lapsed into... on the bike... and in the pub (as captured on film);

Joe (New Product Development)... frequently used the team as a soundboard for his ideas on new training devices... also frequently
spotted eating the road on the run;

Aoife (La Petite Columbian)... partial to challenges especially those that involve racing up hills, preferably the long steep variety.
Suspect she may have 3 sets of lungs or lived at altitude, has no appreciation for heart rate zones;

 

Greg (COACH IRONMAN)... showed the endurance expected of an ironman who hasn't cycled in months. It's the pace that kills not the distance...always willing to train himself into the ground on and off the field. We hope he made that flight.  See you next year

Rich (CHEF de Club Sancture Sportif)... there are cooks and there are chefs.  Rich falls into the latter category.  Can twice as many French people really only eat half as much as ten Pulsers?

So what exactly did we get up to???...........

By far the most important aspect of the week was eating.  Rich and Michelle prepared an amazing array of food and drink daily which was promptly devoured in seconds.  The brown nutty bread rolls proved to be a hot favourite.  Rich expressed concern over the sizeable quantities of food consumed but at the end of the day it kept us all momentarily happy and content.

The second most popular activity was the twice weekly blitz trip to Decathlon.  As the week went on there was some serious style emerging on the bike (all thanks go to B-twin).  Another hot favourite was the black hooded Kalenji jacket as modelled by Greg, Donal, Barry and Mark... Maybe next time Joe.

Friday marked a visit to the thermal baths for some much needed relaxation.  Michelle had kindly booked massages for some in various beauticians around the village.  The massage technique varied greatly with some enjoying a light, relaxing light rub while others endured a more intense intimate Chinese massage technique.  Unfortunately Donal appeared to be worst affected & is now scarred for life following this experience.

Then came the eagerly awaited wine tasting event which proved a big hit. We downed several bottles of white and red vino, a few bottles of beer, some port, again... Alison hogged the rose and Sonia used her sisters wedding as an excuse to hide her serious penchant for champagne purchasing 5 bottles in total.  Following dinner that evening the team split in half... 5 members returned home to bed and the other 5 moved on to a late bar to drink and party with the locals "Amelie les Bains" style, returning at the utterly disgraceful hour of 4 in the morning. Thankfully all lungs just about remained intact and not a projectile vomit was in sight later that morning... (well done Dave!).

Finally... oh yes... a little bit about the training... the week comprised of 30 hours training: 5 bike rides (2-3 hours), Prats de Mollo
Team Time Trial, 4 runs which included a killer track session (20 400's!), 1 aerobic brick session, 3 swims (2 pool based, 1 open water), all of which culminated in the final Montbolo Handicap on Saturday afternoon. Mark managed to really push the boat out & emerged from sick bay for about 3 sessions. Rich and Greg passed on invaluable tips on technique and skills across all disciplines.  Rich took an underwater video of everyone's swimming technique which was later analysed in detail.  Everyone benefited hugely
from this session and consequently Donal is now seriously worried.

Rich also prepared a collage style video of everyone's running technique which was also closely analysed in detail.  Everyone is now on track (ha ha) to mastering a serious run technique.

Now... as we're fully armed with cores of steel, high elbows, constant kicking, perfect cadence, climbing and descending skills, light tans, a few extra kg's but more importantly new wardrobes... we are set for a cracking triathlon season.

Thanks to the team for a brilliant week of training and fun and a big thankyou also to Rich, Michelle, Sam and Greg for looking after us so well and not losing anyone on the mountains!!
A bientot,
Lynch&Lynch