www.ironmanbobby.com put out another video podcast about Strong Like Bull.
Pic: The return of “Milo”. Milo was the name we gave to a cute and tiny puppy who ran with me 2 years ago. All grown up now but still just as sweet! Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
A few days have passed since the end of Strong Like Bull 2010 and we wanted to thank everyone that helped make it the best year yet and share with you some of the memories that were captured. We also wanted to give you all of the information about 2011.
First off here is some great stuff from 2010:
Bobby or www.ironmanbobby.com took over 800 pictures of the second session and put together the top ones here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48157819@N03/sets/72157623569297012/
He also did a video podcast of one of the days we had here: http://www.ironmanbobby.com/frontpage/2010/2/24/spain-day-2.html
Christine Lynch took a ton of photos too and posted them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/christinelynch.hhc/SLB2010?authkey=Gv1sRgCPj36rHIpOPjKg&feat=directlink#slideshow/5444792976643193490
Also my blog entries for the camps can be found here: http://johnhirsch.org/?p=1765
2010 was a really awesome year!!!
2011:
The dates for the camps are:
Camp 1: Tuesday 2/9/2011 – Thursday 2/18/2011
Camp 2: Saturday 2/19/2011 – Monday 2/28/201
The Price is the same again this year and we are offering incentives for early sign up.
The price is $925 if you sign up by April 1st, 2010.
The price is $1025 if you sign up by October 1st 2010.
If there are still spots the price is 1125 if you sign up after October 1st 2010.
To sign up email info@stronglikebulltraining.com or email me hyctn [at] aol [dot] com
Again we are including 2 free days to anyone tough enough to do both camps!
There will be one change for 2011. After several years wit Idle Breaks we will not be back with them in 2011. They requested a price increase that would have required us to raise our rates 40%. We are committed to keeping this camp affortable and feel we can provide equal or higher value without a price increase.
To that end we have rented a popular facility in Trabuco used by other teams and camps called Cortijo del Nava. Cortijo Del Nava is a fantastic cortijo with central heating, larger rooms, a paved driveway and located only minutes from the center of Trabuco which offers a proper plaza, cafes, shops and allows athletes a chance to unwind in an unthentic Spainish town. Cortijo del Nava will have owners on site to look after our needs. To get a tour of Strong Like Bull’s new digs check the slide show here:
http://skydrive.live.com/playe.aspx?path=/photomail/{fe96293b-6027-4af2-ae7d-06292dca8a7f}&image=F0D05497CE5ABEC6!302&imagehi=F0D05497CE5ABEC6!300&CID=-1094281698472182074
We also hired health counselor and triathlete Christine Lynch of www.liveandeatbetter.com to oversee the cooking and dietary needs of the athletes. She will be providing 3 meals a day to fuel and power your training and aid in your recovery. She will again be teaching yoga classes as well.
We have rented vans and will be able to provide all transportation within Spain including airport pick up and drop off. All rides will also be guided as well as supported with a sag vehicle. We will also continue use the swim center we have been using and provide transportation to and from there as well for the triathletes.
We have started a Face Book page for SLB here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Strong-Like-Bull-Training-Camps/10150100230460103
We also updated www.stronglikebulltraining.com and you should check there for updates throughout the year as well.
We can not wait to make 2011 amazing and really hope you are there!!!
Sean and John
(pic: Top female roadie Sam taking a break and enjoying the view after climbing to the top of a 14th century monastery.)
Here is the coverage of Strong Like Bull From www.Xtri.com
Dispatch# 3
(pic: me on top of the 11k Zaff climb. Simply sublime riding.)
Chillin’ in the groves.
“Feeling like I just lost my mind. One step ahead, and yet one step behind.” -Dismay
Oh man, last three days were BRUTAL. Pro roadie Dylan McNicolas was so beat at the cafe stop 1 cafe con leche turned into 4. We got so wayward because we had 3 hard days in a row. The first was a run and then a CP 20 all out power test on a 7k climb of switchbacks. That was followed up a hard tempo day of 5 hours on the bike with serious climbing (7000 feet) plus a sick swim with fast intervals, and then came SICK SATURDAY.
A nice 10k run with 5k tempo because I was running with short course stand out Eric. Watch for that kid, some day you will see him in the elite ranks. Then the goal was a long ride of 5 hours with steady climbing. The ride formed a pyramid. 3k in The Quarry, then 5k up El Romel, then 15k up El Torcal and lastly a 17% grade climb called Peurto Del Barco aka Amellia Pukes Hill, because its so steep that one day an SLB athlete puked going up it (and just kept going). Christine Lynch aka the Holistic Guru rocked it and said to me during the ride: “You know whats awesome about Spain, every day you do the longest hardest climb of your life.” She is right. She has been keeping an AWESOME blog about the camp here www.holisticguru.blogspot.com
For daily coverage of Strong Like Bull go to www.xtri.com
Check back here for weekend BONUS coverage.
Wow it is so freaking awesome to be in Spain again for Strong Like Bull. We got 14 athletes, a record, for the first session and its by far the strongest group we have ever put together in terms of palmares and talent. We have 4 pros, 4 World Champion vets, several strong Ironmen and some serious bike racers.
The first day is mostly travel, jet lag, unpacking, bike building, and a light workout and mostly catching up with old friends who I missed and am excited to see and to train with again. The vibe at each camp is a different as the people who make it. I was expecting this to be a throw down, but interestingly all the people here have enough experience to be patient and their calmness is really helpful to me because I need to train here differently than years past (see previous post).
Nevertheless, there was work to be done. So we did a nice 25 minute run in the am then rode 3 hours, then a second 25 minute run and an hour of yoga and core. Paula Newbie Frasier is quoted as having said “respect the travel” and I agree I could feel it in the legs and REALLY was happy for the yoga which undid much of the travel. When you have 3 weeks to kill yourself no need to do it on day 1. I love training in Spain because an easy day is still 5 hours.
The dinner conversation was the highlight of the day. So much experience and knowledge, you couldn’t help but learn as people covered every topic you could ever want to know about swimming biking and running. For those of you have come here before, Andy, the training center director put in a ton of improvements funded by the fact that the training center has doubled its business in the last year. Washing and drying machines, serious heat for the hot tub (too HOT), a new hanging out cabin with a flat screen TV and a resident pro who was added to the staff. Ann from the UK is a top Ironman with a 7th place at Ironman Japan last year. So for rides, make that 5 pros.
Me and one of the other pros had a really serious talk today about being pro. I know this sounds sappy, but I train so much solo that having people I can talk to and share the highs and lows of a lifestyle with is really awesome on a whole different level and makes this time here special. But I think that’s true for everyone here. Most people are outsiders if they are triathletes. Most people are freaks to their families, co-workers, and neighbors. But when you put 14 people together that share your passion you realize that any passion for nearly anything, even something as arbitrary as sport, is reason enough to flail yourself against the mountains.
paz y amor!
“She is a dirty girl. Covered in tattoos..its a dirty world.” -Dope
I crushed Texas. Everything was big and I went big with 10 solid days and a 40 hour week. The smart move would have been a recovery week. But I kept pushing thinking I could train till the Spain taper. I was wrong. There is a difference between knowing the path and walking the path and my misstep got me a nasty cold for my trouble. Lucky for me a super healthy diet and some rest has gotten me right as rain for spain as my nose is now drained.
Nevertheless me and my coach Jim Ortel (www.blockislandsport.com) were able to get me understand I am not as fit as I had been this time of year. In years past I had 3 months of training prior to Spain. This year I have 1 because of the long season of 2009. There is no rush however as I am peaking 2 months later then normal. So since my schedule has shifted my thinking must as well. Sadly I am not able to hold back and in Spain when you have every resource (chef, sag wagon, amazing weather, mountains, training partners, massage, bike wrench, yoga instructor, etc) to train, its hard to be restrained. More then one athlete has washed up on the shored of spain only to leave too much of themselves on the mountains and returned wasted. In 2007 that was me. I undid all the hard work I had done by getting bronchitis and missed all of march and april.
When I see on twitter the SLB athletes trash talking I worry they are going to trash themselves. When SLB becomes a compition those who compete normally lose; as its too much too soon and the result is doom. Be patient or you will be a patient.
So I have decided to set objective rules for myself this year.
1) No more the 30-35 hours total per week. (That’s a 12.5-25 percent decrease from the 3 x 40 hours here last year).
2) 1 day off per week.
3) I am skipping most of the camp contests for the 4 ITT’s and will instead use them to encourage others who have more training in them and maybe do a lead out or two.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a time to slay at SLB. And last year was the right mix of fitness and timing to have the best training maybe of my life. But this year if I don’t come humble, I will be humbled and crumbled.
Also this is the first year where I could afford to not push it. Every year prior I was working full time. This was the only time where I could focus and train like a pro. That’s not the case anymore. This isn’t the only camp I have this year. I got texas, slb and several of my own solo ones where I can train big. So I feel some of the pressure is off. To be honest I am hoping with the lack of pressure at SLB this year I can really enjoy it, soak it in, and not feel like I need to be destroying myself every second of everyday.
(Pic: cleaned out some stuff and found my old snowboard and a faultline tee shirt. Ahhhh, my youth. )
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“Its all I want to do, this is what lives inside me. ” -Slayer
Following up on the Zen Triathlon Base and Nutrition Camp co-found Christine Lynch launched a challenge of sorts: 1 week where you post on twitter whatcha ate, ideally with pics. The theory was simple: share good healthy food choices, be held accountable by bad choices (even only to yourself) and get ideas, inspiration and recipes from others.
After a 1 week more then 50 people joined in cooking up simple, healthy master-peaces.
Check it out at www.holisticguru.blogspot.com and www.liveandeatbetter.com OR on twitter by seaching for #i8this It will be going through Sunday.
Pic: Christine aka the holisticguru who’s brain child is #i8this. Here is her cooking up some tasty grub while wearing her new gear for the Spain training camp from Champion Systems (hat) and Hammer (gloves and arm warmers).
Come run this Saturday Feb 6 at 9 AM to and meet and run with STEVEN RYAN, ELITE RUNNER and member of Team Continuum! We are thrilled to announce Steven Ryan – top 15 American runner for NY, top 25 elite category finisher in NYC Marathon and other major competitive events and Olympic hopeful – will be on hand this year to run with and help our team athletes (beginner, intermediate, and elite) along with Coach John Hirsch and phsyical therapist Jason Klein. He is looking forward to meeting you, answering questions, and helping his team in any way he can. Steven will run with Team Continuum in the NYC Half Marathon and represent TC as an elite runner in the Boston Marathon and the Boston to Big Sur Marathon Challenge ( 2 marathons, 5 days, 3,000 miles apart).Team Continuum’s outstanding training staff accommodates athletes at all levels of proficiency and is a membership benefit Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T
