News
Report: La Santa Training Camp, Jan 2010
In January 2010 Man Tri held their first official winter training camp, with twenty four people of all abilities jetting off to Club la Santa, Lanzarote. The idea was simple: get away from the snow and ice, do loads of training and drink lots of beer. All three goals were easily achieved, and the camp was generally hailed as a resounding success.
More photos from the camp can be found on the MTC Flickr Group
La Santa boasts some of the best training facilities in the world, challenging terrain, and more daily activities and events you could ever complete. The official Man Tri training programme included around twenty hours of training, with some people doing less, and others doing substantially more.
The training programme was designed to provide an even mix of swimming, cycling and running, with the weekly La Santa duathlon, triathlon and 10k also used as quality sessions. We were offered four hours of pool time every day, but opted to have six sessions during the week (all in a 50m outdoor pool). Run training also included a quality track session, and a steady-paced half marathon. As some people were using the camp as a recce for Ironman Lanzarote this May, the bike rides often turned into epic adventures initiated by Skip.
During the events Man Tri dominated almost everything, even though most were treating them as tempo sessions, not races. It was great to see so many Man Tri members getting stuck in and enjoying the experience.
Not everything involved swimming, cycling and running. There were a couple of core conditioning sessions in the gym, a volleyball competition (with far too much testosterone), and a bombing display for the surrounding Germans from Andy F.
As beer is a key component of any successful training camp, happy hour proved to be suitably popular. Within five minutes of the evening swims finishing, the serious athletes were to be found rehydrating in the sports bar.
It is sad to think so many people have not yet experienced the Club la Santa song or witnessed a Green Team show. Hopefully this camp has opened peoples' eyes to the entertainment possibilities only Club la Santa can provide.
Hard training + sun + beer + good people = a great week. This camp is to be repeated annually, and hopefully next year will include many more club members. And remember girls, good effort!
Highlights:
- The Green Team show
- The bombing competition
- Happy hour (every night)
- The strange old Danish man who looked like Robinson Crusoe
- The volleyball competition
- Simon the Incredible Strongman
- Setting off before dawn on a suicidal bike ride
- Danish girls
- The view from Mirador del Rio
- The training camp T-shirts
Low points:
- Rob Harper's hairy legs (to be urgently addressed at the next committee meeting)
- Skip's bombing
- Badly poured pints
- Compression tights at dinner
- Danish handball fans crowding the bar
- Gels