Pace Camp

March 24-25 was the Triathlon Pace Camp.  This was the second of the three triathlon camps conducted by Mid-Atlantic Multisports.  March weather in Pennsylvania is usually cold but we had some 80 degree weather leading up to the camp.  Unfortunately it was only 50 degrees and rainy for the camp weekend.  I don't like bike rides in the rain so I opted for the 30 mile bike ride and luckily there was only a slight shower during the bike ride.  I really need to get outside and ride more, it's so much better then riding the indoor trainer. 

  

After lunch we had a drill to establish our base heart rate by running for 30 minutes.  I've been running 8 minute miles in practice so I opted to just hold that pace for 30 minutes.  After running we went to the pool to figure out our swim pace.  I'm not sure I like the idea of swimming when I'm tired but that was our schedule.  I already knew my swim pace so I didn't have any issues holding that pace for the drill.

 

On Sunday morning I started camp with a 5 mile run.  The discussion before the run was "what is the cut-off temp for wearing running tights?"  Most people agreed it was around 50 degrees and since it was only 48 degrees I opted to wear running tights.  We were suposed to run at a slower pace but I still ran an 8:30 pace on tired legs.  My group went to the pool next while the other group had an indoor bike ride on the trainers to determine their base heart rate.  The swim session wasn't difficult but riding the bike on the indoor trainer was tiring.

After our sessions we ate lunch, discussed the use of heart rate values for training and wrapped up the pace camp.  I learned a lot at this camp and recommend everyone attend the camp next year. 

Valley Forge Park

I found out there is a 5 mile race in Valley Forge Park on April 22, 2012 called the Valley Forge Revolutionary Run.  The race is run on the outer loop of Valley Forge park and it has an uphill finish just to make it interesting.  I decided I would run the loop every weekend until race day.  March 11 was the first day I ran the loop and I finished with an 8:08 pace.  I know I should slow down for training but maybe this is my new training pace and my race pace will be faster.  I can only hope.