The Triathlon Ireland High Performance Squad will be travelling to the Sierra Nevada in Spain for an intensive 3 week high altitude training camp from the 16th January to 6th February.
Attending the camp will be Ireland’s number one triathlete Aileen Morrison who, currently ranked 11th in the world and Ireland’s top male, Gavin Noble, currently ranked 41st on the Olympic Ranking with the top 55 to qualify will also be attending and looking to give the start of his 2012 season a boost in order to secure qualification.
They will be joined by Conor Murphy, the 2010 Age Group European & World Champion and professional cyclist Caroline Ryan.
The team will be supported by High Performance Director Chris Jones, Lead Cycling Coach Tommy Evans along with Physiologist, Physiotherapist and Strength & Conditioning support.
This camp will obviously be extremely important in the athlete’s preparation for the 2012 season and London Olympics. Irelands top male who has his eyes set on an Olympic berth is looking for “aerobic and strength gains which will help me throughout the rest of the season”.
Training at altitude can put extra stress on athletes but Noble knows “if you get it right there are many benefits”. “We have the support of SINI physiologist’s who will monitor things like weight, bloods and hydration and of course we will be taking direction from Chris and Tommy who are both experienced in that environment.”
The squad will average almost 30 hours training a week over the 3 weeks they will spend at altitude with an average day consisting of a 5-6k morning swim, 90mins on the bike, a short gym session followed by a 1 hour run. “There’s a 45km climb up to the resort which I imagine I’ll get to know pretty well on the bike” jokes Noble.
Morrison and Noble are likely to kick off their 2012 season at the end of March.
