Contributed by Joshua Stephens
If you’ve ever done a work retreat or a training camp, and you think you know what they’re all about, know you’re already wrong. TTL BASE CAMP takes the general premise of training camp and turns it up to 11, but not just on the training side. In fact, the training and how much of it you want to do is arguably the side dish for camp. The camaraderie, the energy, the mind melds, and the joy seem like the focus. That’s not to say you wont train; I logged just shy of 30 hours from Monday - Sunday, and others did closer to 18, but it was always ‘make your own adventure’ as long as you kept the mood high. In short terms, you’re going to laugh and smile ten times as much as you train and when you go back to your normal schedule at the end of camp, the sights and the people you spent the week with will occupy your mind for weeks to come. Here’s how…
I flew in with my wife (who helped support the camp some but was not an athlete participant) Monday morning from the east coast, landing at the Las Vegas strip mid-morning giving us enough time for a grocery run, check out the area around Lake Las Vegas, and reassemble my bike before hopping on the saddle for an easy spin and brick run to make sure everything was ready for the official start of camp Tuesday afternoon. Not only did I get to further explore the little community around our hotel (The Westin Lake Las Vegas Resort and Spa), but I met two other campers out doing bike assembly checks and one of our camp media photographers, all of which had the same high level of excitement to get started the next day as I did, on top of being extremely friendly.
Those guys set the tone that continued the rest of the week with the other 40 or so athletes and support staff. Sometime triathletes are depicted as these type A, rigid people who micromanage every thing about their day, and that’s certainly a percentage of us. But what these new faces showed me in the first five minutes after meeting them was that even with the level of discipline the sport demands, they were prioritizing the feeling and the journey coming in the next six days, not just their sleep score, TSS, or HRV.
The rest of the week was full of training, eating, good conversations, bright sunshine, and beautiful sights. A quick look at the schedule is below, and certainly put some fatigue into my body, but the experiences during those days is what is still floating around in my memory. Meeting people who you might compete against later in the year or in seasons to come, but outside of race weekend, puts a whole new spin on the interactions. You tend to make friends instead of just sizing them up and trying to stay ahead of them on the race course. You ask questions unrelated *gasp* to triathlon, and get to know the person, not just the racer. And you develop friendships and memories that will last as long as your finisher medals, but hold more sentiment.
For a first camp TTL has ever put on, they knocked it completely out of the park. 9.5/10, and only taking that 0.5 away because I’ve wanted to go back and do it again every day since. Call it a nostalgia tax. Absolutely fantastic execution and support all week by the TTL team. Great time for the athletes, and plenty for any spouses/parters to do in the area as well. Go for the training boost, the views, and the sunshine, but pack light, because you’ll be going home with the experiences and an extra suitcase worth of good vibes.
TTL BASE CAMP, we’ll see you again next year. Rumor has it we’ll see other TTL Camp iterations pop up soon. *wink*
Tuesday - Hoover Dam ride & brick run; goodie bag pickup & social
Wednesday - Red Rocks trail ‘run’ (hike/climb); interval swim; team dinner
Thursday - Valley of Fire ride (+ extra brick run); live podcast; open water swim/plunge
Friday - Lake Mead ride; interval run; recovery swim; Las Vegas Strip exploration (ie. ice cream!!)
Saturday - Boulder City ride; endurance swim; coffee social; return ride; sunset jog
Sunday - Long run on rail trail
Comments
Thank you for this perspective. I would love to be a part of this in the future. You did an amazing job organizing a camp that created memories and friendships !