The Triathlon squad just finished up our second full day of the Las Cruces, NM camp. We've done some swimming, we've done some riding, and we've done some running. I'll let Coach Paulo Sousa (@pstriathlon) give out the details of workouts, but let's just say, every training session has a purpose. Nothing junk here.Swims have all been at the NMSU pool here in town. The complex was built a few years back, with a full Olympic pool outside and a six lane 25 yard pool inside. Our training sessions have all been in the outdoor pool; the girls team had a monopoly on the warmer indoor pool. Sessions have been very focused on specificity. I race IMs and 70.3s so I need to be ready for those distances and at those intesities. See, a purpose.
The rides have been fun as well. Yesterday was a bit more of getting to know each other, but today's put us in the pain cave a few times. The roads here are surprisingly smooth for how many big trucks and tractors I expected. Plus, you get many types of roads. Most of the races we do are rolling at worst. Very rarely do we have races where a climb is more than 10 min. Las Cruces' roads are mostly rolling. You can stick by the Rio Grande for a false flat either direction, or you can head to the hills for some short, moderate climbs.
Of the three disciplines of triathlon, running has been my (and Coach Paulo's) focus for the last 9 weeks and the trend is continuing here at camp. Runs by the river and up the hills by town have been great. Zn2 is where we butter our bread, so I need to know my pace and I stick it there. When it's time to ramp it up, Coach says go, and we go.
Finally, Las Cruces is right at 4000 ft. altitude. It is not painfully high, but I am sure we will benefit from it. I'll let you know in two weeks when I return to sea level.
