BASE Performance - The Art of Recovery BASE Performance - The Art of Recovery

The Art of Recovery

It’s that time of year again. Spring is happening everywhere. And with spring comes better weather and the itch to get outside to ride or run long miles. It’s also race season. Time to plan your race and race your plan. A lot of people think going hard and training 7 days a week is a sure fire way to success. But that really isn’t the case. What is the least thought of aspect of training? You might be surprised (or not) to find that it is recovery.

Recovery is a cornerstone to any good training plan. Without it, athletes would just run their bodies to the ground. Injuries would be rampant. Focus would be lost. Motivation would be lacking. It might seem counterproductive to the beginner athlete, but proper recovery will actually improve your race times and get you to that goal. Let’s break down what recovery means and what happens during that time.


To begin with, recovery is not the same for every athlete. Someone training for a 5K will have a shorter recovery times than someone training for an Ironman. Every training session an athlete has results in the breaking down of muscle fibers. It is during recovery that these small muscle tears repair themselves and grow bigger and stronger. In addition, there are various types of recovery. Active
recovery could be a 15-20 minute walk in the afternoon after your long run on Sunday morning. Long term recovery is built into your workout plan. For example, you might do a build for 4 weeks during
Ironman training but then do a recovery week where your training load is significantly less. Passive recovery are days where you literally do nothing except maybe take a nap on the couch while golf is playing in the background.


Keep in mind that recovery is not just about sleeping. An example: you go for a tempo run for about 3-4 miles. You feel good, had a great workout. At the end of the workout, you should take some time to
stretch and ease your body into the “rest and digest” mode or your parasympathetic systems. Doing some long, easy stretches and
possibly lying in shivasana (or corpse pose, literally the best yoga pose ever) for 5 minutes will give your body the cues it needs to start to calm down.

An often overlooked aspect of recovery are your nutritional needs. Keep in mind that when you increase your training load, your nutritional needs also increase. Consuming the right foods after workouts helps speed the recovery process. Downing a dozen cookies and a glass of milk might seem like a good idea if you feel you are crashing after a long run or ride, but there are better options. Maybe step away from the Chips Ahoy and try some greek yogurt with granola and berries or
throw on some chocolate chips for that cookie fix. Or use some BASE greens and make yourself a smoothie!


It is also imperative that you listen to your body. Not the “oh I don’t feel like running today” voice in your head that will derail you from your goals. Watch for signs of over training and needing an actual rest day. Some of the those sign are: feelings of fatigue beyond normal tiredness, lack of motivation or desire for your chosen sport, decrease in performance, elevated heart rate during the night, general aches and pains. When these symptoms hit, it’s time to take a rest day.


Remember that rest makes you stronger. It will help you maximize your fitness and athletic goals. It rejuvenates your cardiovascular and muscular systems to take on more load. It also prevents burnout. So take that nap. Try implementing a yin yoga class into your training weeks. Or maybe even take a leisurely bike ride with your kids or spouse. Your body, and your training, will thank you.





BASE CAMP BOULDER 2021

Boulder CO - 6/10-6/13

Camp Cost: $150
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

$150 REGISTRATION FEE 3/30 - 4/15

$175 REGISTRATION FEE 4/16 - 5/1

$200 REGISTRATION FEE 5/2 - 6/1

Registration has a hard stop close on June 1, 2021.
Includes: Group led training sessions. 1 BASE Hydro, 1 BASE Camp T-Shirt. 

As of this today, we are swimming open water Thursday night at stroke and stride event, and Saturday in the pool, which is an additional $15 / person

WEDNESDAY

  • 3:00 - 6:00 Check in, welcome at Home BASE  -  6880 Winchester Circle, Boulder CO 80301
  • If you do not want to travel with product (Hydro, Bars, Salt) you can purchase it from us here and not pay shipping
  • For those who will be here on Wednesday, some of us will be training during the day, just message Matt

THURSDAY

    • 9:00 - BIG RIDE wheels down from Home BASE at 9:00
      • Group 1 - 4 hours, climb to top of Ward, Peak to Peak, down to Lyons and back to Home BASE.
      • There is 2 stops to refill bottles along the way and buy food.
      • Click HERE for the Strava Map Route
      • Group 2 - Approx. 3 hours. Home BASE out to Carter Lake, loop, and back.
      • There is only 1 stop for bottles along the way, and that is at the turnaround, Mile 25
      • Click HERE for the Strava Map Route
    • 5:00 - OFFICIAL CAMP ENDS FOR THE DAY
    • 5:30pm - Head to Boulder Rez for Stroke and Stride: 1mile swim / 5k run. CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
    • 7:30 - optional group dinner at Protos Pizza Gunbarrel - RSVP here.

      FRIDAY

        • 9:00 - 12:00 - Group Ride
          • Group 1 - Relatively Flattish - 40 miles.  Nothing hard.
          • Group 2 - Relatively Flattish - 30 mile loop.  Nothing hard. No drop ride. 
        • 3:00 - 4:30 - Run from Home BASE - out to Boulder Rez, around the Rez. 8 miles
        • 5:00 - OFFICIAL CAMP ENDS FOR THE DAY
        • 6:00 -  optional group dinner at RAYBACK COLLECTIVE BOULDER - RSVP here.

        SATURDAY

          • 8:00 - 1:00 - Group Ride
            • Group 1 - 5 hours up to Horsetooth - 2-3 stops
            • Group 2 - 5 hours in the flats - 2 -3 stops
            • Group 3 - 3 hours in the flats - 1-2 stops
          • 2:00 - 3:00 - SWIM at Rally Sport Boulder - RSVP HERE
            • Swim is $15 / person for the pool rental
          • 5:00 - OFFICIAL CAMP ENDS FOR THE DAY
          • 5:30 - Optional group outing to TOP GOLF -  RSVP here.

          SUNDAY

          • 9:00 - 11:00 - Trail Run Out and Back - You Choose your time -
            • Leave From Home BASE 
          • 12:00  - 5:00 - Sit on the beach at Boulder Reservoir

          GEAR YOU WILL NEED TO BRING

          SWIM: GOGGLES. SUIT. WETSUIT. TOWEL. PULL BUOY.  PADDLES

          BIKE: BE PREPARED FOR ALL TYPES OF WEATHER. NO TELLING WHAT THE DAY WILL BRING

          RUN: BE PREPARED FOR ALL TYPES OF WEATHER. NO TELLING WHAT THE DAY WILL BRING

          BIKE FITTING WITH RYAN. Info coming soon.

          BIKE STORAGE. ALL RIDES START AND END FROM HOME BASE. IF YOU WANT TO LEAVE YOUR BIKES AT THE HOME BASE, YOU CAN DO SO. YOU DO NOT NEED TO TRANSPORT YOUR BIKE AROUND.

          ===================¬

          We are trying to provide these camps to our BASE team members basically free of charge, but in doing so we have to prevent everyone signing up and canceling at the last minute. Hence the reason for a small fee, but you will receive product upon arrival. We need to provide accurate numbers to the people who are helping us with the camps.  If you register and at the last minute you cannot attend, you will NOT receive a refund on your payment or the product as we will have had to use the money to secure non refundable lane space in the pools.

          This camp will be a big big mileage camp which will build on strength. It will not be technique based. We will never do anything harder than a Zone 2 effort. Except for some sprints in the pool. We will do a LOT of climbing in the Rocky Mountains.

          We will start & Stop all of our rides and runs in BOULDER From Home BASE 

          We highly recommend groups sharing houses together.

          Swim:  We are only able to have one swim, which is Saturday 2:00 - 3:00
          We will be putting in 2,500 - 3,500 yards per swim workout. 

          Bike:

          • Thursday - we will be riding 2-3 hours 
          • Friday - 90 minutes to 2 hours - out on the Ironman Boulder bike course, group ride, nothing hard.
          • Saturday - 4-5 hours - lots of the Ironman Boulder bike course, some climbing. We will group ride out to Carter lake.
          • Sunday - no riding

          Run:

          • Thursday - we will run 20-30 minutes off the bike. All flat trail.
          • Friday - we will run 45-60 minutes off the bike. All trail
          • Saturday - w we will run 15-25 minutes off the bike - flat, easy, trail
          • Sunday - we will run 90 minutes to 2.5 hours after the swim - flat, easy, no climbing.

          Campers should arrive Wednesday at any time so they are prepared to go Thursday morning at 8 AM. We will do team dinners every night.

          The focus of the camp is to train hard in the morning, have fun in the afternoon / evening and get to know other people.

           

          3 comments

          • John Bergeron

            Ditto, How does lodging work. Do we camp, get rooms somewhere, cabins? Need a few more deets.

          • Michael Gallego

            Where can we stay? And will the dinners be plant based friendly too?

          • Richard Lawrence

            How does lodging work for this camp?

          Leave a comment

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