Team Timex Camp 2006

So I’m sitting in the Phoenix airport, getting ready to head home from the Team Timex 2006 “training camp.” It wasn’t really a training camp in the traditional sense of triathlon training; rather it was a chance to train all of the athletes on the products we will be representing. There were a lot of sponsors in the house, and those that weren’t able to be there still sent some amazing stuff. Folks were there from Ironman Cycling Gloves, Spenco Medical, Profile Design, Gatorade, Ironman Active Wear, Quintana Roo, Bontrager, and Timex. The folks from Fuel Belt were nice enough to send a huge array of gear including some really nice backpacks, trail-running hydration packs, and various other accessories.

The first day, Monday April 10th, was a bit hectic as I flew in really early, then discovered my bike had not arrived with me. Most of the team arrived by early evening, and we had a nice dinner at the hotel and did some mingling. My bike arrived later that night, much to my relief.

Tuesday was a full day of training, with a lot of great presentations on nutrition, hydration, and other things to help us really do well this season.

Wednesday my vacation came to an end as I got up early to go swim, getting back to it after two days off. It was a full day, culminating with some photo shoots on the bike and run.

This morning, it was pack and get ready to go. I got up early to do a quick ride and run. Carefree, Arizona sits at about 2,500 ft., which wasn’t really an issue until I started my ride. I guess I am really sensitive to altitude, because my heart-rate was through the roof. The route I biked, up Cave Creek Road, was pretty awesome, eventually leaving civilization to ride several miles through Tonto National Forest. I really wished I’d brought my camera, but I didn’t know it would be so amazing… Out on the run, I tested out my new Timex GPS system, which works really well out in the desert. Unfortunately, all it did today was tell me that I was running really slowly… But it was a lot of fun to know my speed on the run in real time.

Afterwards, I packed up my bike, which still makes me a bit nervous since it’s my first all carbon frame. Then it was time to head to the airport; we loaded up the truck as the temperature soared to 95 degrees before it was even noon.

The team is a really great group of people, and I’m looking forward to hanging out and racing with them this year. Our first big party, I mean race, will be at the Florida 70.3 race, where it seems about half the team is racing. I’m looking forward to it!