Triathlon spring training camp at Mallorca
Rider diary, by Matthias Knossalla – For my first training camp this year I decided to travel to the beautiful island of Mallorca. I always prefer staying in the north of Mallorca, because you find everything you need there.
The Tramuntana mountains for example are only 20 kilometers away. One of my season highlights will be the Ironman Mallorca in September, so staying in Can Picafort (only 10 minutes away from the swim start) was a logical decision.
Triathlon training camps are something special, if you have chosen a hotel which is well known for its good sporting facilities: Countless athletes in “Finisher Shirts” everywhere. You can even spot them at dinner. Please don’t wear them all the time!
At most days we started our training at 07:00 a.m. with a short swim session, followed by a quick shower and the traditional sprint to the breakfast table. Being first is a huge honor. If you train 35 hours a week, it is important to get in all the calories you need. So try to maximize the total amount of calories. In the first three days we were riding on flat terrain in endurance pace at 230-240 watts. Later that week we included some threshold intervals at the famous climb up to “Randa Cura”.
When riding more than 1000 kilometers in 10 days, you should choose a comfortable bib short. I prefer Castelli’s Progetto X2 Air seat pad that comes with the Body Paint 2.0 Bib Short and the Free Aero Race Bib Short for example. My strict training routine was “eased” with a small fun race with training mates at the velodrome in Sineu.
Unfortunately the pool was a bit cold, so I decided to put on my wetsuit for all swim sessions.
After 60 minutes without the wetsuit you get so dizzy that you forget your surname ;-)
In terms of running in training camps, I prefer to cut the length of my long runs a little bit.
This time of the year, you usually focus on working on your bike base and need not stress your body with additional long runs. I shortened my runs and mixed them with some hill repeats or sprints.
If you do two to four trainings sessions a day, fast recovery is the key. Everybody has his own little secret:
Many triathletes do a really good job in working on their strength and power all winter long, but hang up during training camps because they “don’t have a gym or the time”….try to be creative!
Even if “you`re getting an unfair advantage”, the most important thing for fast recovery during a training camp is a good night’s sleep. So try to get 8 to 9 hours a day and don’t forget your earplugs if you have a three man bedroom. ;-)
I arrived in Germany pretty tired, so I will use this week for recovery and reduce the my training to 15 hours. Big things are ahead! ;-) Take care and try to make the best of your early season training camps!
Greetings from Mallorca,
Matthias