Heading to Europe
Next weekend, I’m heading out of Austin to do my final Ironman Arizona preparation work in Europe. I’ll be spending a total of three weeks training there, with the first week in Germany and the following two weeks in Mallorca, Spain. Then I’ll come back to Austin in the end of March and begin tapering for Arizona.
I am very excited for this trip. Many German cyclists and triathletes train in Mallorca during March and April to escape the spring weather in Germany. The weather here in Austin is currently perfect, so why go anywhere else? For me, this is a chance to ride new roads and run new trails. I spend so much time training in Austin, sometimes it’s nice to have a change of scenery. It gets you excited to get out on your bike and to put on your running shoes.
One of the biggest advantages of training camps is that you get out of your normal routine and away from usual distractions. In training camps, you exist to train, eat, sleep, and rest. There are no other priorities. Yes, we’ll do a few fun things while we’re there, but our priority is to exist to train. My cell phone won’t work, I probably won’t check email more than once or twice, so it’ll be easy to focus on getting the work done.
I’m traveling with my friend and fellow triathlete Richie Cunningham. We’ll stay the first week in Darmstadt, just outside of Frankfurt. This is where Richie lived and trained off-and-on for many years. Then we’ll fly to the Spanish island of Mallorca in the Mediterranean. Mallorca is a cyclist’s/triathlete’s paradise. Our hotel has a 25 meter swimming pool where we can do our swim workouts. There will be a large German triathlete/cycling tourist group there as well with organized swim workouts at certain times. We’ll bring our wetsuits in case we get a chance to jump in the Mediterranean for some open-water swimming. We have a breakfast and dinner buffet each day in the hotel so you never have to think about cooking. There is a running track about a mile from the hotel and plenty of isolated rural roads ideal for running. Then there are hundreds of miles of cycling friendly roads winding through the island. You can stay in the southern portion of the island if you want rolling terrain, or if you want mountains, its mountain range begins about an hour’s bike ride from our hotel where you can suffer up twenty mile long switch-backed climbs. If you get hungry on a ride, you stop in a small village for an espresso and pastries. It’s going to be great.
If I can find an internet connection, I’m hoping to post some pictures and a couple updates to the site. If not, I will for sure make some postings when I return in the end of March. Check my website for more details, www.patrickevoe.com
Pat