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 FLORIDA 2020

Clermont Florida-2/27/20-3/01/20

"Base Camp was just what my soul needed this week. I can’t say it any better then Bret! This is my tribe, this is my family, this is MY TEAM!


Thank you to all my Teamies who made it such an amazing camp, and to Matt, Lauralee, Jay, Rachel and all of you behind the scenes that do what you do to bring this big crazy family together! And to Bret for the 🌮 truck! #tacosarelife"

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Before I get started, the two most important things about BASE Camp Florida.

  1. In 2019 Lauralee could not attend, only flat LL could attend, as Finn was only 3 weeks old. Sooooo, she is going to be joining us this year.
  2. Finn will be joining us as well, and I will be pulling him on the bike in his cart behind my bike up and down Sugarloaf and all of the rides, and pushing him in his jogging stroller.

This is a FUN FOCUSED camp where you get to meet and spend time with your other BASE Teammates. This is a social camp for people who like to drink wine, have fun, and train a little. This is not an ego camp go crush the person next to you. Except when we are doing some sets in the pool. Then it's game on.

Event details and schedule

Camp Cost:

  • $120 - register by December 31, 2019
  • $150 - register January 1 - January 31, 2020
  • $200 - register February 1 - February  10, 2020
  • No registrations after February 10 - we have to ship all items to camp
  • Camp is ONLY for BASE team members and Partner Teams

Includes: Group led training sessions. 1 BASE Camp T-Shirt. 1 bag of BASE Hydro. Swim lane reservation.

We are trying to provide these camps to our BASE team members as economically as possible, but in doing so we have to prevent everyone signing up and canceling at the last minute. Hence the reason for a small fee. We need to provide accurate numbers to the pool in order for us to have lane reservations. The National Training Center which is hosting our swim workouts charges $15 / camper per day. Hence that is where the bulk of your registration money is applied. We are also bringing in coaches to assist and help. 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. You DO have the ability to transfer your registration to someone else if you are not able to attend. I set this up in Active so that you can do it.

 

We are sorry but there are NO discounts. The pool charges us the full amount. We are not able to tell them "well we only had 96 swimmers in the water today and not 100, so can we get a $15 / person discount"

 

This camp will be a ZONE 1 effort camp where we have fun and get in some fun mileage. We will be swimming for 90 minutes each of the 4 days. We will never do anything harder than a Zone 2 effort. Except for some sprints in the pool. We will do some climbing at Sugar Loaf mountain. It's a big hill.

 

If you go to Air BNB, you will see a lot of homes for rent about 10 minutes away from the NTC. This is where we should all stay, in the same neighborhood.

Most workouts will be at or start / finish at the National Triathlon Training Center (NTC)

The address is:

1935 Don Wickham Drive. Clermont, FL 34711

You will fly into Orlando International Airport. It is about a 30 minute drive. You will want to leave Clermont 3 hours before your flight on Sunday. Due to Disney, you want to get to the airport no less than 2 hours early. Trust me.

Training Schedule: All workouts are optional, below is what is scheduled. NOTHING HARD. ALL FUN.

    • Wednesday
      • 6:00 pm - welcome party / packet pickup at Home BASE
    • Thursday
      • 7:00 - Arrive at pool
      • 7:15 - 7:30 - run drills session from Coaches
      • 7:30 - 8:00 - EASY group 3 ish mile run. Meet at NTC (Pool)
      • 8:15 - 9:45 - Swim
      • 10:00 - 12:00 - Break - lunch on your own.  Meet other people.  Restaurants all around
      • 12:00 - 2:00 - Bike. Nothing too hard. Just fun group ride. Flat.
      • 6:00 - dinner as a group at Home BASE, Catered $20 / person 
      • 7:00 - BASE Professional Triathlete Panel

    • Friday
      • 8:00 - 9:30 - Swim.
      • 10:00 - 12:00 -  Break - lunch on your own.  Meet other people.  Restaurants all around
      • 12:00 - 3:00 - Bike / Run Workout with hills for bike. A hill, multiple times.

      • 6:00 - dinner as a group at Home BASE, Catered, $20 / person
      • 7:00 - Quintana Roo will speak about aerodynamics on the bike
    • Saturday
      • 8:00 - Bike: however long you would like to ride. We will be split into groups. Meet at Waterfront Park.  330 3rd St, Clermont, FL 34711
      • ALL RIDES ARE ON WEST ORANGE TRAIL, OUT AND BACK
      • Group 1 - 2 Hours out, 2 Hours Back
      • Group 2 - 1.5 Hours out, 1.5 Hours Back
      • Group 3 - 1 Hour Out, 1 Hour Back
      • Group 4 - Follow Meehan to the Restaurant, get food, hang out, Ride Back

 

      • 5:00 - dinner as a group at Home BASE, Catered, $20 / person
      • 7:00 - recap of how the camp is going so far.
  • Sunday
    • 8:00 - Run: However long you would like to run. We will do this at Famous Clermont Clay Trail (10 mile loop or out and back)

    • 11:00 - 12:30 - swim, optional at the pool
    • 1:00 - 5:00 - hang out at the beach at the lake with paddle boards

    • 6:00 - group dinner at Carraba's for those of you who are still in town
    • 7:00 - recap of the weekends events

Swim:
We will be putting in 2,500 - 3,500 yards per swim workout. Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. - you are not required to go this far. Most of our sets will be 25's, 50's and a few 100's. You will be in a lane with people of your speed. We have 21 lanes reserved. So we will not be crowded.

Bike:

  • We will Ride Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We will not ride Sunday.
  • Ride leaders will lead their speed groups. Within the group, it is a NO DROP RIDE. Period. Meaning, if someone in your group get's a flat, the ENTIRE GROUP STOPS TO HELP. There will be one hammer group, but that is it. These are social rides to get to know one another.

Run: Our runs will never be hard. No track. No speedwork. Fun social runs. Friday will be exciting and different, but we will never race each other running.

 

Campers should arrive Wednesday at any time so they are prepared to go Thursday morning at 7:30 AM. We will do team dinners every night.

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

 

Partners such as Quintana Roo and Normatec will be providing us with demonstrations.

Accommodations:

If you look at the image below, I HIGHLY recommend that you rent a house with a group of friends. It will save you a ton of money and be a lot more fun. Starting on Wednesday December 12th, we will start an online type house bid on the Team Facebook Page. Matt will rent a house, and then the first people to pay him via paypal will get into that house. We keep doing this until everyone has a room in a house unless you want to do a hotel.

There are a few homes remaining which are close. Do NOT go all the way down to Disney. These homes here will book fast.

We will have each house outfitted with 2 sets of Normatec boots so you can recover each night.

BIKE RENTAL

Quintana Roo will be on site with Bike Rentals. I Highly recommend this. If you fly, it will cost you $300 round trip to bring your bike. Plus you will have to pack it and put it together. QR will rent you one for $250 for the entire time. It will be ready by the time you get there. If after camp you decide to purchase a brand new QR, you will receive an additional $250 credit on top of your BASE Team Deal Discount.

Email sam.voigt@americanbicyclegroup.com  if you want to rent a QR.

What you will need:

Swim: Swim Paddles, Buoy, Goggles, BASE Cap.

Bike: Bike, Helmet, Sunglasses, Sunblock, Shoes

Run: Running Shoes, Run Gear, Sun Block

Nutrition: You will only be provided with one bag of Hydro. I recommend you bring your own training food such as BASE Bars.

 

FAQ'S

  • How do I get into a group house with others?
  • Starting on Wednesday December 5th, Matt will be on the BASE Team Facebook page and will post houses he rents and then will open up the rooms which you will pay via paypal to him

  • How do I pay for Team Dinners
  • Thursday, Friday and Saturday we will have team dinners at Home BASE. These are $20 each. You will paypal this to matt at a later date
  • What is Home BASE For camp
  • We are still locking the location down
  • How will I receive my BASE Box before camp?
  • If you are attending camp, we will give you your BASE Box and accessories at Camp Checkin on Wednesday and Thursday.

  • Code of Conduct
  • We are all adults. This is a fun camp. In 2019, we had a blast. Some people drank very little, some people drank a lot. Please do not do anything that will get anyone in trouble. Unless you're a twin, then you can hop a fence

BELOW ARE SOME STATS FROM 2019 FLORIDA CAMP

 

2 comments

  • Terri Friel

    I’ve attended the camp twice in the last two years and am signed up this year. Despite being totally diverse and accepting of all types, ages and abilities, you can find a way to be challenged and push yourself at this camp. You’ll also make some really good friends, have a good time and feel like you really accomplished something when you’re done. Every day is doable (I’m 62 and not elite or Team USA) and you’ll learn a lot about yourself and improve your athletic ability. I stayed in my own home in FL the first year (winterhaven, 40 min drive) and stayed in a group house last year. I really enjoyed the group house because you spend time with your fellow athletes after hours and get to know them. My house is open this year so I’ll be staying in my own house again this year and I’m kinda sad, despite the savings it presents. Since the camp, I’ve raced at several venues where my friends from the house were there which makes it awesome. I often have no sherpa or connections at races because I love to go to new venues often (did Dun Laughaire Ireland 70.3 this August) so it’s really nice to know a few folks there. Sign up. You won’t regret it. You’ll have a good time. We all get together a couple of times for dinner and talks so you’ll have a chance to see the whole team. I’m in the photo above where we are all sitting at the whirlpool. Hope to see you there! Terri

  • Holly Osborn

    3rd year team member & 1st time at camp. So excited to meet team members face to face, cuddle Finn, and do some fun workouts!!!!

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