Noosa Triathlon Camps - Through a "Campers'
Eyes
Article written and
supplied by Peter Degnian, Toowoomba
Queensland
I arrived in Noosa on Tuesday in time
to have my bike checked at the local
bike shop, sort out my gear and find
my bearings around the area. Tuesday
evening was a great way to connect
with a few mates I had brought with
me and stash away some quality carbs
in preparation for the next five days.
The camp kicked off with registration
and check-in at 6.30 on Wednesday
morning. Unusually for the Sunshine
Coast it had rained heavily the previous
night and continued with sporadic
showers and overcast skies for most
of that day. Qu’estquec’est
as the French would say. A quick meet
and greet with friends from previous
camps and soon-to-be new friends and
we were off.
A hardy bunch of almost thirty camp
participants, along with coach Nick
Croft, the lovely Jess and our ride
marshals Greg and Jules, rolled out
at 7.00 sharp for a 140 km ride to
commence proceedings. We left suburbia
behind and were soon riding through
the lush hinterland enjoying spectacular
views and rolling terrain up to the
picturesque village of Kin Kin. So
far the weather had not been kind
to us and bikes and riders were beginning
to settle in to the slightly trying
conditions. Smiles broke out though
as we paused briefly to refuel on
the first of many batches of home-baked
muffins, which were to magically appear
from the support vehicle, driven by
the eternally cheerful and enthusiastic
Bardie, throughout the rides during
the camp.
Sadly we had to leave the muffins
unfinished and proceed back to Noosa
via Pomona and Cooroy townships and
the aptly-named Sunrise Road. There
was a little spill for a couple of
riders on the slippery descent of
the Cooroy hill but the wet surface
and damp conditions meant only a graze
to the unlucky, and just a hint of
a grin perhaps to some in the group.
Everyone soldiered on back to Noosa,
where some took the option of shortening
the ride and running off the bike
at that point, while the ambitious
amongst us headed into the brisk SE
wind for a charge down to Coolum and
return to round out the 140 km for
the morning, followed, off course,
by our run off the bike.
Everyone dispersed to their accommodation
to lick wounds, wash bikes and eat.
No time for too much rest as we were
due at the Noosa Aquatic Centre for
a recovery swim followed by an introduction
to Deep Water running. Many of the
camp attendees found DWR a new and
strange experience, but all agreed
that the benefits of simulated running
activity in a non-weight bearing environment
were self-evident, if just a little
tedious after a while.
Good news after that though with
a scrumptious and nutritious barbeque
dinner and the handing out of camp
gear including the camp riding jersey
and commemorative camp shirt, vouchers
for discounted equipment from the
camp sponsors and plenty of goodies
to take away from the camp. A quick
nod to the main sponsor of the camp,
Le CycloSportif, which is the premier
bike shop in the Noosa area and were
very generous suppliers of discounted
equipment, free mechanical advice
and assistance and, in the case of
Greg, co-owner of the business and
one of our ride marshals, encouragement
and riding tips during the morning
ride.
Dinner was nicely rounded off with,
dare I say it, more home baking. This
time chocolate brownies which melted
on the palate. We seemed to be eating
our way to Ironman but I heard no
complaints, nor did anyone miss out
on a second helping when offered.
The day was not yet done though,
a Nutrition seminar with Gary Slater
was to follow before we could lay
weary heads to the pillow. Gary is
a sports nutritionist with a wealth
of experience working with elite athletes
across a variety of disciplines and
gave us a very detailed overview of
the nutrition and hydration strategies
available to us in preparation for,
and during, our Ironman race. Despite
an early start and a solid workload
for the first day not one person was
ready to leave before hearing every
thing that Gary had to say on the
topic. We came away with evidence-based
information and the tools to devise
our own individual race plan for nutrition
and hydration.
Day two commenced with a long run
of two and a half hours duration.
We were ready and willing at 5.30
in the morning and jogged off with
Jess to navigate our way through two
laps of a 12 km course through the
‘burbs and into the Noosa National
Park, emerging to quickly refuel and
drink before going around again. It
was a little damp underfoot but the
light showers were quite refreshing
and the trails through the Park provided
a compliant surfacefor tired legs.
After an enormous group breakfast
of cereal, fruit, toast and juice
we charged off to shower and change
for the next session, a seminar with
another leading sports guidance professional,
psychologist Lisa Fraser. A practicing
sports psychologist and academic,
Lisa has worked with athletes in swimming,
tennis and surf endurance as well
as our own sport and has a deep understanding
of the powerful potential of mental
training to positively influence the
performance of athletes competing
in ultra endurance events such as
Ironman. Once again we came away with
worksheets and handouts to allow us
to practice the techniques for training
the mind as we prepare for and race
our goal events.
Never a dull moment though as we
were straight back on the bike for
an easy roll out through Tewantin
to Boreen Point and return to flush
out our legs from the morning run,
and give us an appetite for lunch.
Add another 50 km to the logbook for
that day.
A nutritious lunch, and a quick nap
for some, saw the group of happy campers
down at Noosa main beach for an open
water swim skills session run by Nick,
with Jess and Jan demonstrating some
techniques for us to practice. The
water was delightful and what a spectacular
venue for a training session. The
late lunching holiday crowd were entertained
by our antics as we swam with eyes
closed, porpoised off the beach, swam
around buoys and generally had a fun
time while practicing these skills
and knocking out a two and a half
km swim session in a very low stress
environment. We washed off the salt
and headed back over to the Noosa
Lions Park for a discussion on hydration
and nutritional recovery from training
with Duncan Inkster from PureSportNutrition.
Duncan has been involved with triathlon
for many years as a professional athlete,
coach and training director for Triathlon
Queensland and is passionate about
the opportunity to bring PureSportproducts
to Australian athletes. These products
represent the cutting edge of research
into hydration and nutrition for training
and recovery, having been developed
in close concert with the US Olympic
swim team in their preparation for
the Beijing games. Seemed to work
for Michael Phelps, anyway.
That wrapped the day and we were
left to our own devices that evening
to dine at our choice of the many
eateries in and near Noosa, and then
to prepare ourselves for the next
day’s long ride.
Now I was really looking forward
to this ride. This is my third Ironman
distance camp with Nick and Jess and
I had ridden the course in those previous
instances. Both times I was carrying
injuries of some sort and had struggled
a bit with the distance. Not this
time, I was feeling as fresh as a
daisy for this one.
An early start saw us congregate
at 5.00 then we were split into three
groups based on the strength shown
so far in the camp. Our group got
a head start and Jess steered us out
along Sunrise Road, living up to it’s
name on this particular morning, The
sun was just peeking over the horizon
as we spun up and down the rollers
along Sunrise Road and in to Cooroy.
More rolling hills out the other side
as we made our way to the water (
and muffin ) stop at 45 km. We had
increased our lead on the other two
groups due to their mild misfortune
so only paused to fill bottles, mouths
and pockets and headed out to the
Mary Valley Way up to Gympie. This
country is just beautiful, there is
no other way to describe it, lush
green valleys punctuated by stands
of eucalypt forest with flowing creeks
and gullies teeming with wildlife.
What a way to train.
Soon enough we were motoring into
Gympie courtesy of a little tail wind
pushing up the valley and launching
ourselves at the Tramcar Bakery for
coffee and refreshments. We had maintained
the advantage and were back on our
bikes as the next group arrived to
take our places at the tables. Now
the fun was about to start with nearly
40 km to Kin Kin but from the other
side this time. We would push into
a light headwind up and over two small
ranges, traversing a short section
of gravel road being re-surfaced,
and arriving at Kin Kin still with
a lead of ten minutes.
The second group rolled in again
as we were leaving and we bid them
good day but knew we were going to
have to work over the climbs in the
next section through to Boreen Point.
The weather this morning was brilliant;
the wind had dropped by now and the
sun was starting to build into late
Summer intensity. It was warm but
this is the Sunshine Coast after all.
The fast guys from the chasing group
blew by us on the penultimate climb
and promised to leave some crumbs
for us at Boreen Point. Fortune favours
the brave so we took up the chase
and enjoyed the flowing descent off
the last climb of the day and, lo
and behold, somebody had punctured
in the fast group. It was head down
and backside up for us as we pushed
the last five km into the town and,
yes, the muffins were ours. Time for
cold drinks and fresh muffins while
we waited for the three groups to
join up before the last blast back
in to Noosa along McKinnon Drive.
We dispersed at the Lions Park with
180 km in our legs and spent the afternoon
relaxing and rehydrating. Then it
was off to our fantastic sponsor Le
CycloSportif for Friday evening drinks
and nibbles and some super special
deals on bike and run gear before
heading down to Hastings Street for
a beautiful meal at the laid-back
Café le Monde before calling
it a night.
Saturday morning saw the entire group
assembled at Main Beach again for
a long ocean swim out to Tea Tree
Beach in the Noosa National Park and
return for a distance of about four
km. We were shepherded by some volunteers
from the local Surf Life-saving Club
on paddle skis and a jet ski and had
what can only be described as a brilliant
swim. Conditions were calm, the sun
was shining and the water was the
perfect temperature. A real confidence
building session for those inexperienced
in open water environments and a solid
training hitout for the better swimmersamongst
us.
Swimming in the ocean certainly gives
you an appetite. We devoured a hearty
breakfast and kitted up to be back
at the Lions Park venue for a bike
clinic with the guys from Echelon
Sports. Chris had the latest Zippwheelsets
there for us to ogle and, for a lucky
few, to test ride as we headed out
for a light spin to the base of Gyndier
Drive. On the way back into town the
guys with demo wheels let it rip to
see just what the wheels felt like.
The cheesy grins faded a little when
the wheels had to go back to their
rightful owner but it would surprise
me if there wasn’t some hard
bargaining with spouses over the necessity
for a new wheelset come race day.
Next up was a light session of Iyengar
Yoga to stretch our limbs and backs
which were starting to feel the accumulated
load of the last three and a half
days. A light lunch followed then
we reconvened for a recovery session
with Cory and Dirk from BodySpanner.
What a great little device for inflicting
pain on our tired muscles. I guess
we could expect a little tenderness
after what we had been doing to ourselves.
The group was meeting later that evening
for dinner so we had the remainder
of the afternoon to prepare our bodies,
minds and equipment for the grand
finale to the camp. Yep, tomorrow
we race a half ironman distance triathlon.
Dinner, again, was delicious and
healthy and it was obvious how well
everyone had bonded during the camp.
There was a very supportive atmosphere
as some contemplated the longest distance
they had yet raced while everybody
knew that it would be a challenge
to back up after all the training.
However it would be a great opportunity
to implement the things that we had
learned and practiced and, for those
of us racing at Port Macquarie on
May 1, a good guide to our preparation
thus far.
Sunday dawned bright and clear as
the local tri club volunteers erected
bike racks and generally got the show
on the road. This was a local club
event and the camp contingent swelled
the ranks to about eighty participants.
Without going into every detail of
the race I will say that the warm
conditions made it a great test on
the day. Several camp participants
PB’ed over the distance and
some completed their first attempt
at the distance. Well done indeed
to all.
The entire camp assembled for lunch
to celebrate the achievement, enjoy
Nick and Jess’ hospitality again
and to exchange contact details for
the next time we might meet at a race,
or organize to train together, or
perhaps even to return for another
Noosa Tricamps Ironman distance camp.
This was my third Ironman distance
camp and I can honestly say I enjoyed
every minute of the experience. It
is a huge workload with plenty of
activity designed to present content
that is relevant, current and real
world. Every attendee left brimful
of personal confidence after tackling
and completing a challenging and thought-provoking
endeavor.
The camp staff are all vastly experienced
and successful athletes themselves
and just really genuine people. Head
coach Nick Croft has been there and
done that in every aspect of triathlon
over much of the last three decades.
To be able to train with, and absorb
knowledge and advice from anyone with
such a wealth of experience is a privilege
and well worth the cost of the camp
fee. Jess makes sure it all happens
and is never without a broad smile.
Considering the training, support,
meals, venue, free stuff and the home-baked
muffins it is fantastic value in my
opinion. Get on it, people.
Peter Degnian, Toowoomba Queensland
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