Set out on Friday evening was the theme of the camp, “Accountability and Ownership” whereby each individual athlete were expected to take on these responsibilities. Not only did each present a workshop on their experiences as an athlete and college student in “The Irish College System” and “The American Scholarship System” respectively, but they also acted as mentors to the athletes as they were once former members of the Munster camp which brought with them an understanding of what lay ahead for the camp members at local, national and international level.
Athletes, P.J. Galvin (Physiotherapist) and Evan Lynch (Nutritionist) were welcomed to the camp. They both gave a very inter-active, comprehensive and in-depth presentations on “Prehab and Injury Prevention” and “Nutrition, Fuelling and Recovery” respectively. Delivering valuable information and professional advice that related very much with the requirements of athletes.
There was a strong emphasis with athletes working together in groups throughout the camp. For each training session, the athletes were taken through a warm-up consisting of drills, stretching and pick-ups, while the warm-down contained stride-outs, stretching and hurdle mobility. Friday evening saw the athletes doing a short controlled aerobic run along the sand dunes. Saturday’s sessions, along Banna Strand, were aimed to improve aerobic endurance from working underneath or just above their anaerobic threshold. Sessions varied between groups based on age and experience. Early Sunday morning session consisted of a long run along the sand dunes and beach, varying in time depending on age and ability. The emphasis was on finding the correct aerobic training zone, while the pace was easy to help recovery and improve strength. Once athletes had re-fuelled after training on Saturday and Sunday they went to the pool for recovery.
A common message running through all the workshops and training was the importance of “Sleep and Recovery”. The camp was very informative and catered for the athletes’ needs. It also, provided many aspects of the preparatory phase of winter training with an eye to future goals for the up and coming cross-country season.
Great praise must be given to the athletes attending the camp. As a group they mixed very well and were good humoured and a pleasure to work with. We wish all our athletes the best of luck in the Cross-Country season ahead. We wish to thank everyone involved in any way in making this camp possible and so successful.