Trek/K-Swiss Team Camp: Day Three

A recap of the third day at the Trek/K-Swiss team camp from Kona, Hawaii. Get an inside glance on the athletes’ workouts and the rest of days activities. See a photo gallery from the day at the bottom of the page.

The first scheduled activity was a group swim at 8 a.m., but several of the athletes got out early for a workout before the camp’s activities kicked off. Julie Dibens did a hard run. She started with a 30-35 minute warm up, continuously building her pace. From there, she went into the gym at the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and Bungalows to jump on the treadmill for her main set. She did six times of three minutes hard, two minutes easy at about her 10km pace. For Dibens, that was 10.5 miles an hour, or about 5:45 miles. She strode through the workout without a hitch in her gate. She never looked bothered by the effort.

Her coach Mat Steinmetz had her perform the workout on a treadmill rather than the road because it is easier on her joints after a strenuous week of running on the roads in Kona. “Using the treadmill is a good tool for her to log extra low-impact miles and lessen the pounding of the road,” Steinmetz said. “She has a history of foot and lower leg injuries. She’s had everything, IT band, she’s had surgery on her knee and feet. She has good form on the treadmill and it’s pretty safe for her to open it up on the treadmill. With this method and based on last year’s experience, we’ve been able to safely improve her run training substantially.” After the workout, Dibens said she has been battling a cold for three or four weeks and she is finally starting to shake the bug, although she isn’t 100% just yet.

Joe Gambles was also at the gym using the treadmill. He simply jogged easy to loosen up his legs and then did a strengthening routine and used a foam roller to massage his calves and IT bands. He talked about his disappointing race at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon last year. Gambles said he, “came into the race a little over done” and struggled as a result. This year, he backed off his total training volume from about 30 hours a week to 20-25 hours a week, while upping the intensity slightly and hopes that will help him race strong over the 200km bike course.

While those two were in the gym, Chris Lieto and Paul Matthews went out for a sunrise swim in the ocean. Matthews was a little anxious after sharks had been spotted earlier in the week, but said he loved getting out into the ocean and that, “Chris got me back safe.”

The group organized a little later and headed down the street to a state park beach for a swim and relay race. Things got off to a slow start, however, when a man in an SUV with U.S. Government license plates rolled up and told us the beach was temporarily closed because they had found a bomb. The ordinance was removed and the team strolled down to the beach for the relay. After a few laps around the beach, the team anchored by Fraser Cartmell came away with the win and the athletes headed into the crystal clear water for a trip around the bay. Again, Paul Matthews pulled the bunch and this journalist was quickly dropped.

Back at the hotel, athletes granted interviews, and highlights include Matt Lieto’s transformation from obesity to the pro starting line, Chris Lieto’s experiences riding off the front of the Hawaii Ironman World Championship and Lesley Paterson explaining a film she has in production with Daniel Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame) attached to the project. Check back to CompetitorTV.com for all the interviews.

After the media sessions, some athletes squeezed another workout into the schedule. Fraser Cartmell went for a ride. Chris Lieto has spent the winter living and training in Kona and his family has made the trip with him. They came to the Mauna Lani in the afternoon to hang out with the athletes and swim in the bay. The final day concluded with another hearty meal and a surprise for Chris’ seven-year-old son, a Trek road bike. The appropriate way for this camp focused on team unity to conclude.