BYL training camp

This is the 5th BYL camp organized, but the first ever that I've attended.

To be honest, after clocking two rides over 70km each and a long run just over 29km, I wasn't sure how my legs will pull up for another weekend of big training. But I was looking forward to the fun in Busselton.

And I wasn't disappointed.

Our first session was a swim at the Busselton jetty. We did a few practice swim starts and a short run up the beach. I tried out my new wetsuit Orca Apex 2, which I got for a steal from the clearance section of the Orca website. It felt a bit hot inside, but it will definitely make me feel a lot more comfortable when I get to the bike. Plus, with sleeves, it's meant to make me swim faster than my old sleeveless one... but that has yet to be tested.

Then, onto the ride for a lap of the race bike course. We were asked to do a couple of race efforts at Ironman pace but I'm pretty sure many in the group did faster than that! I had trouble keeping up but we re-grouped after each set.

In the afternoon, we did a 20km run in the trails of Cowaramup. It was probably a mistake to start off with the fast guns in the likes of Bill, Tom and Steve. I found myself slowing down to a jog just after 35 minutes but managed to finish in one piece.

The next day, we did a long ride from Busselton to Margaret River, via Dunsborough. Really glad that I was riding in good company, I barely did any work and they pulled me through most of the ride. Thanks guys! We rode for just over 5 hours, and because I drafted most of the ride, my legs were pretty fresh for the 20 minute brick run after.

Our camp ended with a fun game of ultimate frisbee, which I managed to score a goal... surprising myself more than anyone else! In between all these sessions, we shared plenty of laughs and had loads of fun.

Many thanks to Bill and Ray for their time and organizing this camp. Zoe and Tegan, who did the pilates and stretch sessions in between our big workouts. Though it was excrutiatingly painful, it definitely helped me recover quicker. And it was just great to have everyone there, great company! Thank you all!

*Photos taken from the BYL Facebook page*