Earlier this Summer, Fluid Pro Triathlete Chris Foster was able to train alongside some of the top athletes in the sport at the Elite Development Camp put on by USA Triathlon. This is a story of his time there and how grueling, yet pleasing training can get.
This is what Chris had to say.
Earlier this summer, I had the privilege of being invited to the Elite Development Camp being put on by USA Triathlon. I was one of roughly 15 to 20 athletes who would be living and training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. The training center is a compound of sorts, set in the middle of the sprawling town of Colorado Springs. Located at 6,000 feet and with a backdrop of nearby Pike's Peak (14,000 feet), it's a nice area where it seems to rain almost every day at 2pm on the dot.
Earlier this summer, I had the privilege of being invited to the Elite Development Camp being put on by USA Triathlon. I was one of roughly 15 to 20 athletes who would be living and training at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, CO. The training center is a compound of sorts, set in the middle of the sprawling town of Colorado Springs. Located at 6,000 feet and with a backdrop of nearby Pike's Peak (14,000 feet), it's a nice area where it seems to rain almost every day at 2pm on the dot.
We're staying in college-style dorms (three to a room...ouch) with a college-style dining hall. One of the best things about being here is unlimited food at almost any time of the day. It certainly makes training and (most importantly) recovering easier. The layout is a lot like a college campus as well: the pool, dining hall, dorms, gym, coaches offices, and everything else one could ever need to train and recover is all less than a quarter mile away. The cool thing about everything being all together on one campus is that we get to come into contact with lots of other athletes. I've seen the Hamm brothers (gymnastics), Shalane Flanagan (track), and numerous other Olympians. It's not uncommon to see pictures of Gold Medalists on the wall, then see that same person at the salad bar next to me.
More than just the food, facilities, and Olympians, the training out here has been great. I've been able to do some swims with the National Resident Team (or at least be in the pool with them working out at the same time...haha) and train with a bunch of other ITU pros staying here. On Friday, I was able to get some blood lactate testing done at the Olympic Performance Testing Lab and learned some valuable information for my training.
It's been a hard week--adjusting to the altitude, riding in 99 degree weather, and doing it all with the top ITU pros in the country. Through all the working out, I will admit I have been able to recover and bounce back thanks to the *entire jug* of Fluid that I brought and have been leaning on heavily. There is no doubt that when I get back to Los Angeles, I will be rested, recovered, and ready to jumpstart my training and my season!
Chris
Chris
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