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#531 - Training Camp Myths BUSTED!
102 Plays19 days ago
In this week’s episode of Grit2Greatness Endurance, we dive into Training Camp Myth Busters, tackling the most common misconceptions athletes have about camps—from fears of not being “fast enough” to worrying about getting dropped. We also highlight upcoming announcements including March’s free hydration & nutrition webinar, plus our regular Grit2Greatness training opportunities. This episode features the Fun Segment “Training Camp Confessions,” along with insights from coaches Rich, April, and Lauren. Show Sponsor: Vespa Power. Ask A Coach Sponsor: Vespa Power.
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Transcript
00:00:17
Rich
All
Introduction to Episode 531
00:00:17
Rich
right. And welcome to episode 531 of the Grit to Greatness Endurance Podcast. We're your hosts, coaches, Rich Soares, April Spilde and Lauren Brown. And we are on a mission to help endurance athletes train smarter, race stronger, and build the grit it takes to achieve greatness.
00:00:34
Rich
That's right. We're full strength. Welcome back, Coach April. We're glad that you're back with us.
00:00:38
Lauren Brown
Awesome.
00:00:39
Rich
We've missed you last week, but Hope Pool School was awesome.
00:00:40
April
I missed you guys too.
00:00:42
Rich
Yeah.
00:00:43
April
Yeah. missed you guys on deck.
00:00:44
Rich
Congrats on a good
00:00:45
April
Yeah. And, uh, thank you for that. We had three athletes, Kevin, Elizabeth and Greg, and they all just kicked butt. They, they represented team G to G well.
00:00:58
Lauren Brown
awesome
00:00:58
Rich
Awesome. Yeah. Awesome. Well, we are super proud of all of them. And just the fact that we had another successful pool school. So congrats to you as well. And all the other coaches, it was, I heard that, uh, did so great. What was the average improvement?
00:01:16
April
It was close to 15% again. It was like 14.8. Yeah.
00:01:19
Lauren Brown
Holy smokes.
00:01:20
April
With eight people.
00:01:22
Rich
At, at 7,000 feet.
00:01:22
Lauren Brown
That's amazing.
00:01:25
April
yeah
00:01:26
Rich
At 7,000 feet.
00:01:29
Rich
Don't forget that. All right.
00:01:30
April
no
00:01:30
Rich
Well, awesome.
Debunking Training Camp Myths
00:01:31
Rich
Well, guys, we have a great episode today. This is going to be one of those conversations that can genuinely change how you train and race. It is packed with insights that aren't just helpful.
00:01:43
Rich
What am I saying? What we are going to be doing in this episode is we are going to be busting the biggest myths about training camps that keep athletes stuck in and on the sidelines. You know, things thinking like I'm not fast enough for a training camp or training camps are just for elite athletes or I'll just get dropped on the ride or the run whatever.
00:02:03
Rich
It's too expensive. All of those things are myths. We are going to bust them all open and we can't wait for you to join us in this conversation.
00:02:14
Rich
Coach Lauren and Coach April, you guys ready to get gritty and bust some myths?
00:02:20
Lauren Brown
Always ready.
00:02:22
April
Rich, when I saw the vibe here, I was like, this speaks to the nerd in me. Thank you. Good sir.
00:02:29
Rich
Yeah, I was just like, I'm like, I i know that, you know, April's just going to love this, this theme. So myth busting. guys like Mythbusters?
00:02:38
April
Myth of busting.
00:02:39
Rich
You ever watch Mythbusters?
00:02:40
Lauren Brown
I used to watch that a lot. Yes.
00:02:43
Rich
Does you have a favorite episode?
00:02:43
Lauren Brown
Great show. Hmm.
00:02:46
April
No, I don't.
00:02:47
Lauren Brown
I can't remember off the top my head a favorite episode.
00:02:48
April
I don't.
00:02:50
Lauren Brown
It was definitely like a period of time though where I was always watching that.
00:02:54
Rich
Yeah, yeah, it was always fun. just the Just the engineering that went into some of these, like, it was a pretty expensive, it to be a pretty expensive set, you know?
00:03:04
April
Oh, no kidding, right?
00:03:06
Lauren Brown
I never thought about that part of it.
00:03:09
Rich
sure it was pretty, I mean, they're blowing a lot of stuff up. yeah They can't be cheap.
00:03:12
Lauren Brown
Yeah, yeah.
00:03:12
April
Yeah.
00:03:14
Rich
Well, anyway, well, let's roll into it with our announcements.
New Events Page and Upcoming Events
00:03:19
Rich
I'm hand it off to Coach April.
00:03:21
April
Yes, we are super excited to share with you all that we have an events page. So if you haven't checked out our website recently over at grit to greatness, endurance.com, we have a new events calendar where you can see all the things in one place that we have going on in grit to greatness land. First up is, our next velocity event, which is Saturday,
00:03:50
April
March 7th, we have coach riches stairway to heaven, sir. You've got to explain a little bit more behind that. Just a little sneak peek of, uh, this claim for a Saturday's ride.
00:04:05
Rich
I'm just trying to make a stairway sound appealing because got to tell you, if you see the workout that we're going to do, the the stair up the grade ladder and the stair down the grade ladder, the heaven will be on the on the way down, I think, is my guess.
00:04:20
April
a I love it.
00:04:21
Rich
So it is a stairway to heaven, but you got to go to hell first.
00:04:26
April
You got to climb the hill. I love it.
00:04:28
Lauren Brown
I think we're down to heaven.
00:04:30
April
Yeah, that is, that is a way to play it. That is good. So please
Weekly Group Rides and Offer Details
00:04:34
April
check that out. You can join us for these group rides every week with our coaches, coach, rich Lauren and myself.
00:04:41
April
You can also give a two week free trial a chance. We want to share that with you and want you to check it out. So we have three live classes per week right now. We have Saturdays at 8 a.m. Mountain Time, 90 Minutes with Coach Rich.
00:04:56
April
And then we have Tuesdays at 6 a.m. Mountain Time. That is 60 minutes with Coach Lauren. Her ride style is focused on triathlon or getting an arrow.
00:05:07
April
And then if you like to get really gritty, you can join me Thursdays at 6 a.m.
00:05:08
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:05:13
April
Mountain Time, 60 minutes of mountain bike focused riding. We just did one called the Dirt Whisperer last week. It was cowboy country music themed.
00:05:24
April
I did not get the chance to get a cowboy hat, but I promise if I do one of these again, it's it's definitely going down because it was it was a whole vibe. So you can join now monthly all access to three live classes per week plus replays.
00:05:35
Rich
I love that.
00:05:40
April
We are starting with $79 a month. Grit to greatness ambassadors. We want you to talk to your coach about a discount and you can subscribe. We have the link here in our show notes, as well as go to our events page over to you, Lauren.
Grit to Greatness Gear and Free Webinar Announcement
00:05:55
Lauren Brown
All right, i'm gonna I'm gonna throw one extra announcement in there. If anybody's watching this on our YouTube channel, I'm rocking our grit to greatness run tee and our store, our Zoot store is open. The link is, be maybe in the show notes. It's definitely in an hour link in our bio on Instagram. So check it out. There is a lot of great grit to greatness gear. It's a lot of G's right there.
00:06:23
Lauren Brown
so wear your green. And that store is open until March fifteenth so definitely check it out because you want to look like one of the cool kids on the race course. rocking our gear.
00:06:34
Lauren Brown
Next announcement on March 24th, we're hosting our free webinar. We have a webinar the third Tuesday, typically the third Tuesday of the month. And this month's topic is on one of the most underrated performance makers in endurance racing, hydration and nutrition.
00:06:56
Lauren Brown
Some might call that the fourth leg of the sport, right? So We'll teach you how to determine your sweat rate across different temperatures and intensities, how to figure out the sodium concentration of your sweat, and how to replace those electrolytes effectively on race day.
00:07:13
Lauren Brown
Plus, we're going to break down your carbohydrate needs and introduce the concept of metabolic flexibility. So if you want to take the guesswork out of fueling, mark your calendars for March 24th and join our webinar.
00:07:30
Rich
Do you guys ever see the the Martian, the movie, The Martian?
00:07:35
Lauren Brown
no
00:07:35
April
I haven't and I'm like kicking myself because I know it's a good movie. Matt Damon.
00:07:40
Rich
Matt Damon, yeah, yeah. So he's a botanist who is stuck on Mars.
00:07:41
April
Yep.
00:07:45
Rich
is you know I won't i't do the whole spoiler or alert, but he he figures out, you know well, I'm a scientist, so I'm gonna science the shit out of this.
00:07:54
Rich
We're gonna science the shit out of nutrition.
00:07:58
April
Yes.
00:07:58
Lauren Brown
I didn't know where that was going.
00:07:59
Rich
So we're bringing the, yeah, no the the the green grit to greatness gear, you know, was the just the nice, found you know, that that was the appetizer.
00:07:59
Lauren Brown
I was like green.
00:08:00
Lauren Brown
I'm thinking green.
00:08:11
Rich
That was awesome.
00:08:11
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:08:12
April
but
00:08:12
Rich
Well done. Well done.
00:08:14
Rich
Yeah, no, please join us. It's gonna be, yeah I really enjoy this topic. I think we're gonna all learn something. and yeah, if you were at our team meeting, you had homework and you're gonna show up with how to, you're gonna show up with some information that we can use to calculate your sweat rate. If you weren't at our team meeting, here's the teaser show of the webinar. All right.
00:08:39
Rich
Awesome.
Benefits of Training Camps for All Athletes
00:08:40
Rich
Anything else, guys? We get to roll into the main set here, if you will.
00:08:44
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:08:45
Rich
All right.
00:08:46
April
Let's roll.
00:08:47
Rich
Let's roll. So our question of the week this week is... from the athlete's perspective here i've always thought training camps were really for really fast or advanced athletes i'm a middle of the pack at best and i'm scared i'll get dropped or hold everyone back how do i know if a camp is actually right for my level and what should i what should i look for so i don't end up in over my head so today folks we are going to take you on an ins inside inside a real triathlon training camp
00:09:21
Rich
and busting the biggest myths that keep athletes from saying yes to a game-changing experience. We hear the same fears over and over again. I'm not fast enough, I'll get dropped, I'm not ready, i'll it'll be a suffer fest. It's too intimidating.
00:09:37
Rich
So today, pulling these myths apart, using real examples, and we're also gonna use this to talk a little bit about the 2026 Boulder Triathlon Training Camp that we're going to have right here, June 25th to the 27th, because we want you to know how it is geared to welcoming athletes of all abilities.
00:09:57
Rich
And actually, probably the you know the the the less you know that you are an elite, probably the more you're going to get out of it, frankly, in terms of social connection and what you're going. I mean, your learning curve is just going to be amazing. So if you've ever wondered whether a camp is right for your level, your goals or your season, this episode is going to give you the clarity and confidence. And by the end, you might just start picturing yourself out there at the res with us or out there on the bike path or on the run trails and Bobby McGee can't wait for you to see us in June.
00:10:34
Rich
I'm going to hand it off to coach April to go to myth number one.
00:10:39
April
I love this rich. I think that was such a great way to lead into how powerful training camps can be, especially with the mindset of growth. Right? So we are going to talk about our first myth, which I have said to myself in the past, when I was learning all about triathlon and before I became a coach, was things that would go through my head as far as doubts, right?
00:11:15
April
We are here to support one another for everyone to have a fun and safe and successful time, which is exactly why your camp opens with our swim mecham mechanics and open water skills workshop at the Boulder Reservoir. So we are going to take our first day, which I'm so excited about because the reservoir is a great place to spend time and learn these mechanics, but also have this beautiful backdrop.
00:11:41
April
Athletes are going to start with controlled coach-led swim sessions, meeting you right where you are. You're going to get individualized cues and corrections.
00:11:50
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:11:50
April
Speed is not a part of the equation. And our open water swim workshop includes how to effectively turn around buoys. This was actually my favorite thing of our camp last year, Rich, was learning how to do different buoy turns and do that together as a group. It was so much fun how to properly site.
00:12:10
April
and get comfortable building drills at your own pace. We also have a transition clinic and this is for all levels. Again, we can all learn how to better be more efficient at our transition skills and everybody starts as a beginner at some point. So I guarantee you're going to learn something new regardless of where you are at in your triathlon journey. This day, especially as intentionally designed to make sure every athlete feels successful.
00:12:40
Lauren Brown
And I want to go back real quick to the comment you made about the backdrop, because i just posted photos on our Instagram and Facebook from last year's training camp. And I had to put a comment in there of like, this view should make you just want to join because it looks like it was Photoshopped. And I promise you all it wasn't, it's actually the view.
00:13:06
Lauren Brown
So like go over to our Instagram at G2G endurance and look at the post because it's stunning.
00:13:14
April
I'll give a photo shout out cred to thank you, Lauren.
00:13:15
Lauren Brown
said
00:13:17
April
That was Peter that took those photos too. So thank you for that saying that I'm going to share that with him.
00:13:23
Lauren Brown
Oh, Peter. amazing job. i like beautiful. So onto myth number two, but I did have to just shout that out because i was like, man, I cannot wait to be there. So, all right. So myth number two is that camps are only for elites or super fit athletes.
00:13:57
Lauren Brown
And when you come to our training camp, you're going to be immersed in bike handling skills, right? You're going to have riding formations, descending techniques, benefit newer athletes the most. And I'm going to say descending techniques,
00:14:15
Lauren Brown
benefit newer athletes, they benefit every single athlete. The more that you get exposed to it whether it's descending, whether it's riding in a pack, if it's riding with wind, all of these things, you will become stronger when you do them over and over again. And what better way to do it than when you are surrounded by coaches and other athletes who you are learning alongside.
00:14:43
Lauren Brown
You're also going to experience climbing or a climbing workshop, which is instruction first, not a test. So it's not who can climb the fastest, who can pump out the most power. It's again, this is all about skill development, not racing while we are in the camp.
00:15:03
Lauren Brown
There's also going to be sack support and coach floaters to ensure that nobody rides alone. So don't worry about that either. These are skills, again, even advanced athletes wish they learned sooner.
00:15:18
Rich
Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah, these are if these are gold. You guys are you guys are killing it. Myth number three, a camp is just a suffer fest of huge mileage. Well, you know, some camps might be, not this one.
00:15:33
Rich
And, you know, I'll even say, you know, last week's, or sorry, last year's camp was sort of centered around preparing folks for Boulder 70.3. That is not what we're actually going for here. are we will have We will have group rides,
Training Camp Structure and Focus
00:15:47
Rich
we will have group runs, but we aren't trying to lay down massive mileage. This is going to be a lot more skill focused. Our longest rides might be 90 minutes to two hours, not three and a half hours to four, you know followed by a 40 minute run. That's not what we're going for at this time. So, yeah, it's going to be structured. it' And each day is going to you know include some you racing rehearsal-type workouts as well. But the bigger focus is going to be around technique, pacing, fueling, not just how much you can endure. endure The hydration and nutrition that we're going talking about in the webinar, we're going to be applying that.
00:16:28
Rich
You know, you're going to be really being conscious about your fueling and hydration when we are out there training and making sure that it's personalized to you. And then every day we'll close with some coaching tips and discussion to debrief, reset, and make sure that you've got the key takeaways that we intended for you to have. This is not just value on the day. This is going to be value to take away.
00:16:53
April
Beautifully said, and it leads us to busting the myth on number four here. I'll get dropped. Listen, we are very conscious of making sure that everybody is supported and that everybody has a great day, great couple of days. So let me put that to rest. You are not going to get dropped. You will not be alone. We're going to make sure that we have groups based on our, where we're at.
00:17:22
April
So pace and also the route itself, making sure that you're seated in where, uh, is going to make the most sense. I'll tell you last year we did team grit and team great.
00:17:34
April
And I was part of team grit and us ladies had a blast. While the team great also did have a great time too. They were riding up high grade, but we did a couple loops around Chatfield and it was just a lot of fun.
00:17:46
April
We got to hang out together. Everybody stayed together. we even bunny hopped a rattlesnake cause snakes seem to follow me around for some reason, but yeah, anyway.
00:17:57
Rich
you had the skill.
00:17:58
April
I did. i learned the skill from jumping water bottles in the parking lot at Chatfield and literally had to do the same thing on the road. So it matters. And we will make sure you are you are taken care of here. So again, we have our swim groups by comfort level, bike groups by pace and route.
00:18:21
April
run groups by target race pace and our coaches will be positioned throughout these sessions. The entire layout will prevent any feeling or, actuality of being alone.
00:18:29
Rich
Thank
00:18:32
April
So we've got you covered.
00:18:34
Lauren Brown
Sweet. This leads us to myth number five, which speaks to my heart because this lends itself to the idea of community making camps not intimidating, right? So myth number five is that camps are intimidating and I totally get it. I know that feeling can kind of suck if you think you're going into a situation where you don't know anyone and Maybe you're not really experienced. And again, going back to what we were saying earlier about like having doubts so it can make it feel intimidating. Maybe you're traveling to a new location, but
00:19:12
Lauren Brown
You are traveling to us and we are so excited to welcome athletes and right now, right? Come on guys, probably gonna go in for a hug.
00:19:24
Lauren Brown
You're gonna be like family by time you leave. But so maybe myth number five is that camps are intimidating and the truth is that Our camp intentionally builds community right from the start, right on day one. So every athlete's going come in you'll get a welcome kit. There's going to be social time each day where You'll get to interact with each other, with other athletes, with coaches, with our special guests. So there will be a special guest on day one.
00:19:54
Lauren Brown
You're going to have an opportunity for coaching Q and a So absolutely ask questions if you have them, if you prefer to sit and listen to other people's questions and answers, that's absolutely okay.
00:20:06
Lauren Brown
And we will have friendly transition competitions and guided practice because At the end of the day, it is still fun sometimes to throw in a little friendly competition. And by that point, everyone's going to, again, be like, we're going to be one big happy family by then. So it's going to be tons of fun. And the vibe, again, it is connection, not comparison.
00:20:30
Rich
Yeah, I love that. now You know, I had this flashback, April, about Max doing the magic trick in the parking lot. And we were just all like, we've got to actually, we have to post that.
00:20:42
Rich
That should be a reel that we put out there because that was like such a moment.
00:20:42
April
Yes.
00:20:47
Rich
I will. Oh yeah. And, and just the, the surprise on one of the campers faces when they like realize what was happening, it was like, it's priceless. It's like the best.
00:21:00
Rich
but you know, this whole intimidating kind conversation also made me think, uh, so I did a San Sego camp. San Sego, if you don't know, is Craig Alexander Crowey's company, you Craig Alexander, professional Ironman world champion.
00:21:15
Rich
has this camp in Boulder and I attend and we have a pool day. And one of the things that we're going to do is learn how to draft.
00:21:24
Rich
And he was a coach. He was not participating. i mean he was actually participating in the rides and stuff like that. And I expected like if he did participate in this, he was going to get in like the lane with the fastest people He didn't. and He jumped in our lane and I had to follow Craig Alexander in a drafting.
00:21:44
Rich
The poor guy had to stop mid length to put his feet down to wait for me.
00:21:49
Rich
Talk about intimidating. So listen, you know we've all been there, Don. We've always felt, yeah everyone's like trying to compare themselves to somebody else. The reason I mentioned this is you just gotta let that stuff go. It's not important, just enjoy it. and I mean, I learned so much in that camp, was so worthwhile. That little moment of, oh my gosh, what's happening here? Turned out to be a great learning experience. So don't let these things scare you, they should just inspire you.
00:22:17
Rich
I won't know what to do in transitions is myth number six. Hey, maybe you don't know what to do in transitions. Great. That means you're in the perfect spot for us because we're going to teach you how to set up your transition. We're going to teach you how to execute that perfect exit from the water to getting on the bike in the least amount of time. We're going to take all of the unnecessary steps out of it.
00:22:41
Rich
all of the junk that's in your transitionary that doesn't need to be there. I'm going to be there just, we're going to be there just throwing stuff out that you don't need. I'm just kidding. We're going to make it really simple for you. Make it really easy. Make it lots of fun we're going to do the same thing on the bike to run transition and how to get off on a run on the right foot at the right pace on race day. So again, myth number six, I won't know what to do in transition.
00:23:11
Rich
You may not know now, but busted you will when you're done.
00:23:14
April
And you're going to have the biggest smile on your face because the efficiency that you gain and the confidence too. So that's, that's that growth mindset, right? Maybe I don't know now, but I will, and it's going to make me a better athlete.
00:23:27
April
And that leads us to myth number seven. You might have this belief that you need to be in peak shape before camp. and that's wrong. We don't want you to feel like you have to be at this level of perfection or this maxim that you put up in in your mind that this is who shows up to these things as they got to look this way, sound in this way, act this way. No, we want you coming as you are. You're going to be very much welcome in our space. Our goals are to build community and to help, have fun
00:23:57
April
And, and build confidence. So camps really do build fitness and we don't need you to show up already polished. We want you to come in with that growth mindset. Day one will be focused on technique and comfort.
00:24:12
April
Day two will be skills and strengths and day three will be all about efficiency and race readiness. So this progression is really focusing on meeting all of our athletes where they are and helping you move forward.
00:24:26
Lauren Brown
And it's so important to think about too that every athlete attending has a different race calendar. everyone's going to be at different points, right?
00:24:32
April
That's right.
00:24:33
Lauren Brown
Like you have different things that you're focusing on. So we would never expect everyone to show up and be at peak condition or at the beginning of their season. It's like we're all meeting the athletes where they're at.
00:24:42
April
our own journeys. Mm-hmm.
00:24:44
Lauren Brown
Yep. So it's beautiful. Myth number eight, I'm worried I'll get injured. So the truth is your camp, our camp prioritizes mechanics, mobility, and controlled skill building, right? So again, you're not coming into this, going into a race or going all out and training hard. It's about mechanics, moving your body properly, and learning the things that you need to help you execute better in training and in racing.
00:25:17
Lauren Brown
So you'll experience on on day three, for example, when we're focusing on run, run mechanics workshop, there'll be run gait analysis. descending practical, so safe form, not focusing just on speed, and then mobility sessions built into warm-ups, which that is, i think, one of the most underutilized things that runners do is not focus on mobility during their warm-up and getting their nervous system, their neuromuscular system ready for the work ahead. so
00:25:53
Lauren Brown
super important. Athletes are going to leave more durable than when they arrived.
00:26:00
Rich
Love that. Yeah. You know, and you know, we, if you do have something that you're worried about getting injured, right, maybe you do, you're coming with a pre-existing condition, not to sound all, you know, insurance-like on you. You know, if you have a, if you have something that you're worried about, let us know when you get there. You know, we'll make sure that you sign the waiver.
00:26:37
Rich
Myth number nine. camps are just expensive vacations. Listen, if you're gonna go and sign up for a camp and in Hawaii and you're gonna be at one of those luxury hotels and all of that, yes, it's going to be an expensive vacation.
00:26:52
Rich
That is not what we are offering. you know we We really want this to be an affordable affordable thing that like it makes sense. like This is a reasonable investment for what you will get what you'll take away from this. And what I mean by that is, you know think about any other opportunity that you would have to really you know carve it. like What would you pay to carve everything else out, block everything out,
00:27:20
Rich
And just do adult recess for a few days here where you are really just investing in yourself. Think about the return on that time. Like what other, like name a single day that you could get that much out of it in terms of social connection.
00:27:38
Rich
expert instruction from multiple Ironman certified, you Ironman, you just certified coaches, you know, all of the other experience and and certifications that we're bringing from USA triathlon and, and, and other places.
00:27:53
Rich
Where are you going to get that, that degree of training and that like, really like, I mean, think about like, this is gonna be an awesome training block, the bump that you're gonna get from this.
00:28:04
Rich
You know, yeah it's it's almost almost not, you almost can't compare it to really any other kind of you know training week that you could possibly have because because so much will come together.
00:28:16
Rich
Coaching with experts, you know, mechanical, mechanic announce, you know, your analysis of your run and run form and and swim form, nutrition and support and race strategy, rehearsals that, you honestly will help you know prevent costs or race day mistakes, costly race day mistakes.
00:28:35
Rich
And then obviously, you know getting all of your questions answered and all of the other personal things that you you need to personalize takeaways that you need to have for you and your needs.
00:28:46
Rich
So ROI is amazing. It's not, you know, we're not going to take you to Hawaii and in charge you $3,000. In fact, we're even going to try to get some reduced housing by getting some, some at least one or two houses so that we can keep the cost down so you're not paying for expensive hotels.
00:29:04
Lauren Brown
All right. Myth number 10.
00:29:05
Rich
Oh.
00:29:06
Lauren Brown
I was going, I was thinking of going in order and I'm like,
Community Building Through Past Camps
00:29:09
Lauren Brown
that's me guys. Sorry. All right. Myth number 10. Final myth that we are going to cover is I'll feel out of place. And again, this is what I was touching on a little bit before that your camp closes with community, not just training. So this is invaluable from a training perspective, but how awesome that you are building relationships with people,
00:29:35
Lauren Brown
that also after the camp you can cheer them on at their races too. Like that's also going to be a fun butterfly effect from this. There's going to be coaching q and a there will be social time, and then we will also wrap up with camp awards, which is just going to fun and encouraging and a way to really tie the entire weekend up with a nice bow and Hopefully we get to see some of you guys listening to this there and meet in person.
00:30:08
Rich
Awesome. Guys, that was great.
00:30:09
April
Love that.
00:30:10
Rich
What a fun, you know, myth busting episode. The only thing I wish we had is like some, like a really expensive set where we could have like, you know, done all this stuff, you know, and like blow up.
00:30:19
April
Blown up a couple things.
00:30:21
Rich
Yeah. Yeah. That'd be great.
00:30:23
April
i I'll add in here real quick to that. i think I think our camp last year was one of the most important things that happened for us to solidify grit to greatness, endurance in our team as as a community and really gave us a lot of that foundation to show like we care and we want everyone to have a good time.
00:30:34
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:30:45
April
We want everyone to learn.
Camp Awards and Recognition Focus
00:30:46
April
I know I learned as a coach A lot of wonderful things from that experience. So this also leveled us up as well. So we're excited for what 2026 is going deliver. And I will add with the awards.
00:31:00
April
These awards are not for the fastest, strongest sports. smartest, smoothest swimmer, cyclist or runner, right? These are words are focused around highlighting the athletes who showed the most encouragement or the most supportive who were the best team players. So we want to put that out there too, that we're not competing for time here. We are literally acknowledging those who helped with making this an unforgettable experience.
00:31:29
Rich
Yeah, showing those showing those grit values.
00:31:33
Lauren Brown
Mm-hmm.
00:31:33
April
Grit values. Exactly. You love that rich. Okay. We did a ton of myth busting together and I'm going to peel back the onion a little bit because these myths didn't just come out of nowhere. Right. I guarantee that one of us, if not all of us have experienced this going into a training camp. So we're going now into our fun segment on training camp confessions. Okay.
00:32:00
April
This is where we are going to, i'm going to ask you all a question and you're going to give me an honest yes or no. And if it it's a yes, please do give me a little bit more of a backstory of what happened.
00:32:11
Lauren Brown
Ready.
00:32:13
April
Are you guys okay with that?
00:32:15
Rich
Totally, totally, totally.
00:32:16
April
Game faces are on. Let's do this. Okay. All right. Confession number one. I pretended I knew the route on the bike and then i got lost.
00:32:27
April
Has this happened to you?
00:32:30
Rich
Yes, on a race, took the wrong turn and realized it about two miles later. And I'm like, are you kidding me? And this is sprint distance.
00:32:41
Rich
I'll never make that up, you know? So it's, yeah, I've done it. It, it, yeah. Pay attention.
00:32:46
Lauren Brown
I've made wrong turns on a bike course at a race, yes.
00:32:47
Rich
Yeah.
00:32:51
Lauren Brown
I was going say, I'm like, no, i have, but I've definitely went past the turns and been yelled at like, no wrong way I've actually went the wrong way on the run even because I was like distracted by my family and I was trying to tell them something and everyone's like, you're going the wrong way. And I'm like, what?
00:33:07
Lauren Brown
You're going the wrong way. this that eagle man it was like, oh my God.
00:33:13
April
Oh, it's such a feeling.
00:33:13
Lauren Brown
so yeah.
00:33:14
April
Oh, that happened to me at my first triathlon, uh, first ever sprint.
00:33:15
Lauren Brown
Yeah. I know you're like,
00:33:20
April
And I went the wrong way so far that I got halfway through cause I was a back of the Packer and there wasn't a lot of support either. so I didn't know it until I had the leader.
00:33:33
April
literally meet me halfway and be like, oh no. So I ended up having to DNF my first sprint triathlon because I went that far off course.
00:33:45
April
So yeah.
00:33:45
Rich
course,
00:33:47
April
Confession mistake learning.
00:33:50
Rich
yeah it happens to the best of us. Yep. Yep.
00:33:52
Lauren Brown
Yeah, well, it happened to all three of us, so getting lost.
00:33:55
April
Love that. All right. Confession number two. I showed up to swim without something critical like goggles or a swim cap.
00:34:06
Lauren Brown
I was at, this was at a sprint try and I ended up getting it, but I was literally at the start line. I was like, don't know my goggles. And then I ran back to my car. This is how flustered I was when I first started racing. I went back to my car and my car was parked on a main road. My passenger side where I was originally getting all my stuff, everything was just wide open.
00:34:25
Lauren Brown
The door was just completely open. i'm like, I didn't even shut my car door.
00:34:26
April
Oh,
00:34:30
Rich
That's something I would do.
00:34:31
Lauren Brown
It's like, that happened to me twice.
00:34:31
Rich
Totally.
00:34:32
April
same.
00:34:33
Lauren Brown
Another time when I was at a race, I got back to my car and the whole trunk was like, and I had a hatchback. The whole trunk of my Jeep was just open. I was like, what is wrong? I am like, i need to calm down race morning.
00:34:46
Rich
All right.
00:34:46
Lauren Brown
So yeah, I did get to the swim start without my goggles.
00:34:50
Rich
It's gonna be your job, April, to supervise Lauren when she's here in Colorado. just
00:34:54
April
yeah
00:34:55
Rich
Okay.
00:34:57
April
Got it.
00:34:57
Lauren Brown
Shut the doors.
00:34:58
Rich
Just teasing. I'm just teasing. now've I've done that too.
00:35:01
April
I make the same mistakes.
00:35:02
Rich
but boulder
00:35:02
April
Yeah.
00:35:03
Lauren Brown
Okay.
00:35:03
Rich
Boulder 70.3, I'm walking up to the to the transition area with my bag on my back, and I'm talking to somebody, and all of a sudden, it just occurred to me, and my mouth went dry.
00:35:17
Rich
did not pack a pair of goggles. I don't like, how did I like miss that? Like, but but then like, how does it just all of a sudden occur to me as I'm walking into the transition area?
00:35:29
April
Hmm.
00:35:30
Rich
Fortunately, somebody was there, you know, who said, hey, I don't know how bad these leak, but you're welcome to use them.
00:35:36
Lauren Brown
And that
00:35:37
Rich
You know, it worked. I made it work. So thank you to who that, whoever that was.
00:35:43
April
Oh yeah. I am trying to think, I don't think I've forgotten goggles or swim cap. I'm trying to think if I far forgot really anything critical.
00:35:53
April
I know that I have been guilty of the, uh, one of the things I'm going ask later on, which I'll go into more, but I, I haven't missed things, but I'll talk about later what I have done.
00:36:06
Rich
Okay. okay
00:36:08
April
okay.
00:36:08
April
Actually I'll skip to that one so we can get to it. Okay. So confession, I have packed way too much for my camper race.
00:36:19
Lauren Brown
I've never really worried that I was over packed with like that. I was like, oh my God, I have too much stuff. But I mean, I've packed like multiple wetsuits, garbage bags in case it rains, even though rains on the forecast. And like, but don't think anything out of the ordinary, like not like three helmets or something. I've brought two helmets before though.
00:36:39
Rich
I think I've, I've packed, packed gear and maybe used half of it sometimes.
00:36:46
April
m
00:36:47
Rich
I mean, I just, I'm an overpacker and I'm like, I'll get to the end of the vacation. like, well, didn't use that or that or that or that or that or that or that.
00:36:53
Lauren Brown
Thank you.
00:36:55
Rich
I guess I just fold them right back up and just put them back in the bag.
00:36:58
April
Yes. Okay. Let me clarify here. i think it's good to be prepared, but I will say i have over packed at a transition. So I've been one of those people that had way too much crap going on under my bike that I didn't need, but because of anxiety or stress or the unknown kept it there and be like, Oh, this just made a total mess. Yeah. So I've thankfully gotten much, much better at that. But I have been one of those people that will take everything in the kitchen sink to the venue.
00:37:31
April
All right.
00:37:31
Rich
You're one of those big, big beach blankets, right?
00:37:34
April
Yeah, no, I've gotten so much better though, rich.
00:37:34
Rich
Yeah. Yeah.
00:37:37
April
I think, uh, learning from you, honestly, over, our, our four races that we did last year, I've, I've gotten so much better at scaling down to what I actually need.
00:37:50
April
So I'm really proud of that. So I have you to thank for that.
00:37:54
Rich
Well, that's good. i you know, I, had a, I had a, went through my garage to get all, know, find all, you know, like how how much crap do I really have anymore? And I found at one point I bought a small little inflatable pool that you could put water in for your feet and you have it in your transition area. I never, ever, like when I got that thing in the mail, I actually looked at it and blew it up. I'm like,
00:38:22
Rich
am I really going to be that guy?
00:38:27
Rich
was pretty funny.
00:38:28
April
I hope you kept that though because that's a treasure.
00:38:31
Rich
Yeah. yeah
00:38:35
April
All right. I got two more for you guys here. Okay. Confession. This'll be number four. i have tried to look strong on the bike climb and then completely blew up.
00:38:46
Lauren Brown
I don't know that I've ever like really blown up. I think I'm more just like, I'm so nervous about the downhill. So I'm just like really grateful when I'm climbing.
00:38:57
April
Oh,
00:38:58
Rich
This has happened to me plenty of times. Same camp, San Sego camp, riding up left-hand canyon toward, behind. I'm actually riding with Crowey and a couple other guys, and I'm like, huh, I'm actually keeping up with Crowey.
00:39:13
Rich
Little did I realize he was in like zone 0.5, you know? And like, after like five miles, all of a sudden it was just like, he just rode away.
00:39:23
Rich
And I'm like, there's just nothing I could do about it. i was just like, he was just gone. I'm like, okay.
00:39:27
Lauren Brown
Bye.
00:39:30
April
oh That's a humble pie. That's I totally understand that, that feeling. I'm trying to think if I've blown up in a group, I haven't blown up in a group, but I've definitely blown up on some, on some mountain bike races. and it's not fun, not fun, especially when you have to try and descend after,
00:39:50
April
getting blown up. It's like, uh, it's, it's takes all your mental focus. last one for y'all. And this one, this one is a bit emotional, mental right now. So confession number five, I compared myself to another athlete and regretted it.
00:40:05
Lauren Brown
I don't know that I've ever like done that regretted it. I mean, I will say I've been i've been swayed by another athlete when I was didn't have the intention of doing it. So like I was doing a sprint.
00:40:17
Lauren Brown
race last year for fun. I was like, this is going my like low key. I'm not really like, this is a C race. And, but it was race I do all the time. So it's a race that I know the course. I swim there all the time. And one of the girls that I'm always like this back and forth, like I beat her at Jersey state. And then at this race, I guess I was in second place and she was in third and like, she came up behind me. She's like, let's go get first place. I was like,
00:40:41
Lauren Brown
a I really don't want to. And I, I tried to stay with her, but I was like, not happening, not happening at all. i was like, you just, you go get her.
00:40:53
Lauren Brown
I'm just going to stay right. I try. I mean, I picked it up a little bit, but then I was like, no, I just, I don't, I don't have that in me right now.
00:41:00
Rich
I've got your six. I'll be back here. Yeah. yeah
00:41:02
Lauren Brown
Yeah. and that's like That's when was like, you know what? by You're going really fast. Yeah.
00:41:11
Rich
Yeah. Yeah. So I'm trying trying to trying to keep up somebody who you're you you can't. It's not a winning situation. I got to tell you.
00:41:19
Lauren Brown
past me right now, but I'm not going to, there's no way.
00:41:22
Rich
You know, it's pretty funny. This is actually pretty pretty relevant because a couple weeks ago we had Bill Plotk on the show and Bill was talking about our first encounter, how we first met, and that was at Ironman Cozumel in 2011.
00:41:36
Rich
And he says that he saw me at the airport or, at you know, in Cozumel and he was kind of sizing me up and I didn't confess this at the time, but I was sizing him up too. And you know the truth is, you guys want to know how this really went down? We should have talked about this.
00:41:54
Rich
This guy had more mechanicals than i can imagine, and he still beat me.
00:41:56
April
Oh,
00:41:59
Rich
So, you know.
00:41:59
April
oh.
00:42:01
Rich
you he was He was definitely a a Kona qualifier level athlete. He's a pretty fast runner. He was a good so cyclist and I could not keep up with Bill back then.
00:42:13
Rich
So that's my confession.
00:42:16
April
Rich, thank you for sharing that. I didn't know the other side of the story. i hope Bill listens to this.
00:42:20
Rich
Yeah. Well, Bill, I think Bill does. you big
00:42:22
April
Okay, good.
00:42:22
Rich
yeah Bill knows he beat me.
00:42:23
April
Okay, good.
00:42:24
Rich
Bill knows how many, how many mechanicals he had. Yeah. this guy I mean, honestly, it was crazy.
00:42:29
April
You know,
00:42:31
Rich
I can't believe like a a cleat that came off and then a crank that wasn't working and i breaks.
00:42:36
April
Oh, you know what though?
00:42:40
Rich
I
00:42:40
Lauren Brown
Wow. Like what could go wrong?
00:42:41
April
You were the, you were the competition he was looking forward to kick him in the butt to go hard.
00:42:48
Rich
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, if it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have done so well.
00:42:51
April
Exactly. i'm I'm dead serious. I believe that I got to beat this other guy. or love that.
00:42:59
Rich
That's right, Bill. Yeah, youre you' wi it was all because of me, Bill. Sorry.
00:43:02
April
Yeah. Yeah. You can thank me later. I'll throw mine in here real quick. I think that my, when I did my first 70.3, it was in Galveston and I definitely had a lot of this going on imposter syndrome, whatever you want to call it, comparing myself and asking if I was ready for this, or i don't look like a lot of these folks, whatever you want to call it. Right.
00:43:24
April
So when I was on my way up to the pier where you jump off into the, uh, into the bay, One, my mom and my sister were like walking alongside me because they had the VIP and it was really cool because they helped keep me centered. Right. And then I just told myself, you know what, April, who cares? You're here. You train for this.
00:43:46
April
And i was like, i'm goingnna have a blast. So I decided to do cannonball off the pier. Just, and and the minute that i got in the water, I was just like, we're going, let's go. And it just, all of that went away and it felt amazing. So that would be my challenge for when you're dealing with comparing yourself is look for an opportunity of one, either finding that gratitude, like, Hey, I made it. I'm here. I'm thankful to be here.
00:44:11
April
or look for an opportunity to have some fun, laugh at yourself, laugh at the situation, what it is, right.
00:44:14
Lauren Brown
That's awesome. Yeah.
00:44:16
April
And find something to find joy. So I wanted to share that because that actually really did change the whole outlook of that race is just like, okay, I got a picture of it.
00:44:26
April
Jump of me jumping off the, doing a cannonball too. And it was just a blast. So yeah.
00:44:31
Lauren Brown
awesome
00:44:33
Rich
The next time I get anxious, I'm just gonna think of doing a cannonball.
00:44:37
April
I love that rich, please, please, please. So if you are listening, yeah, it's going to happen.
00:44:42
Rich
Expect a cannonball during the camp.
00:44:46
April
We love swimming. We're going to cannonball, right?
00:44:48
Lauren Brown
Yeah.
00:44:50
April
So if you're listening and thinking, yeah, come to the camp.
00:44:51
Lauren Brown
Come to the camp.
00:44:53
April
Wow. I've done half of these things. Congratulations. You are officially qualified to attend a training camp because the truth is camps aren't about perfection.
00:45:05
April
We're here to learn, laugh and get a little better together.
00:45:09
Rich
That's awesome. Guys, camp is going to be amazing. Please bring all of your vulnerabilities and fears and hopes and dreams. We're going to really rock your world. And all of our sponsors are coming out of the woodwork to help support this.
00:45:24
Rich
Speaking of our fabulous sponsors, we are going to have plenty of Vespa on tap, not on tap, but in pouches. our and And let's give a shout out to this amazing company and that product.
00:45:37
Rich
Vespa Power Endurance helps you tap into steady clean energy so that you can stay strong, focused and in the zone longer. Vespa is not a fuel. it is a power, it is a liquid, but it is a metabolic catalyst that helps shift your body from burning sugar to burning fat. And you are going to feel the difference when you are in that fat burning zone and that, you know, kind of that fat burning mode.
00:46:00
Rich
you You just think more clearly. You have, you know, you're going to be able to get further with less, you know, gels and other carbohydrates. And people just, you know report feeling more focused and confident when they are using Vespa. Just, you know, I haven't found an exception to this yet, right? So we've got we've got a great deal here.
00:46:22
Rich
you can get 15% off of any order using our code G2GVespa15. There's a link here in the show notes. Use that and and you'll thank us later. We will also have plenty, like I said, i at the camp. So you don't have to bring your own, just bring yourself and we'll take care of you.
00:46:42
Rich
Guys, what a great episode. I so enjoyed myth busting with you. Listeners, thanks for spending time with us today on the Grit Greatness Endurance Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please follow us and leave a rating and a review on Apple Podcasts and YouTube. It helps us reach more athletes just like you. Stay gritty, train smart, keep chasing greatness, and we will see you when?
00:47:10
Rich
we will see you next week.