Athletics Ireland Junior Endurance Camp Day 1

*Written by Louise Shanahan & Stephen Cotter 

At 7:00am the athletes took their resting heart rate, filled out their daily monitoring sheet and got out of bed ready for their first day at the camp in Alfa Mar. After a solid hour of study from the 6th years the remainder of the athletes were dragged out of bed. The accommodation was described as "cosy" and after half an hour of making porridge room 100 realised their stove wasn't working. After a quick team meeting we headed off on the trails of the nearby nature reserve. The 800m athletes quickly realised they preferred the track, but on returning to the cross country course where the European Cross Country Championships was held in 2009 they came into their own with some drills and strides. A local farmer was kind enough to "donate" some of his oranges which went a long way in rehydrating the athletes in the 25 degree heat. 

Strength & Conditioning Session

The day was ours after the run with many enjoying a quick dip in our own personal oversized ice-bath (the pool). After a more successful attempt at lunch (eggs and fruit salad) and a trip to the physio for the more crippled members of the group, we headed off for a team strength and conditioning session. We were soon dyed a lovely shade of pink (due to the over heating track rather than a lack of sun cream) and after the smaller members of the group struggled to get over some hurdles we inspected our new found tan lines. The only solution was a quick dip in the even icier ice bath and a shower to regain feeling in our toes. 

Our final challenge of the day was to produce a healthy nutritious dinner. Using vegetables we didn't know existed and hobs that thankfully had decided to work (you have to turn it on). At approximately 9 o'clock, 3 hours after our challenge began we (Rhona) served up some beautiful Vegetable Tagine from Derval O'Rourkes cook book.  

Motivational Team Meeting

At 10:00pm we had a motivational team meeting. We enjoyed a quick laugh at Louise's lack of voice and a competitive game of pool before heading off to bed excited for day 2 of the camp.