I've spent the last four weeks in San Diego, CA and have had an incredible experience training with The Triathlon Squad under coach Paulo Sousa. I came out for the camp just knowing that it was going to be a really good opportunity to experience a squad environment and to dedicate a solid month to working hard. I know now that this environment is what I want and need in order to be at the level that I want to perform at. What most impressed me about the squad when I first got here is that everyone shows up for each session each day (not always knowing what exactly is in store for us) ready to put a solid effort in the bank, so to speak. It's nice being a part of a group because it adds that extra element of competition to hard work outs and adds camaraderie to every session. Not only that, but having Paulo at all of our work outs adds another element of structure and performance. I've improved and gotten a lot stronger in just three weeks of being with the squad and a big part of the improvements are from being motivated by people on the squad and having a great coach present. I really could not be happier that I came out for camp and know that this is the best thing I can be doing to achieve my goals.
I will continue to blog throughout the season as I have races and more training camps coming up. One of the things I have learned from the others on the squad is that they approach their races from a tactical standpoint and have the ability to think through strategy and the small things that lead to a successful race, because they already have the confidence in their fitness from all the hard work in training. That is something that plan to do this season. I know that in the two ITU races that I did earlier this season, I went into the races sort of blindly wondering if I was going to be at the level of my competition, and wasn't in the right mindset to be able to get fired up for the race. Racing is so mental and I think having confidence in your fitness is what separates an ok race from a great race. We will see.
So I am going back to Richmond after this last week of camp and will race the Columbia triathlon which is a non draft race. Then I will be back for the next camp in St George, Utah. June 2nd is my next ITU race and there is one more spot left on the U23 worlds team that will be up for grabs at that race. I really want that spot and use that as motivation during training. I think about it every day. Photos from The Triathlon Squad training camp in San Diego (Poway) coming soon.
