Training Day with “Macca”and Pete in Oz over summer 2011

Another exclusive training day was recently put together by the team at BPM-Sport.com who have developed a niche training experience for Age Group athletes in Australia and Asia and Australian Triathlete managed to get our spies there to see how the day unfolded.

Following their Phuket camp with Mirinda “Rinny” Carfrae straight after her win in Kona late last year, BPM-Sport.com managed to lock in our very own 2010 Men’s Kona Champion to join athletes on his only Australia training camp over summer, and Sydney was lucky enough to play host. Macca was joined by none other than the fastest runner in Kona last year, 2 x top 10 finisher, Pete Jacobs.

On a blue sky summer’s day, participants joined Macca and PJ in Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches, for an early morning ride up the coast and into the hills of Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park for some strength work on the bike. A mid ride briefing was provided from the man that put his biking prowess to great use in Kona, advising athletes what to focus on when cycling with particular attention on how to best build bike strength. “This is one of the key sets you should have in your training skeleton each week” Macca told the eager participants as he went into specifics….note that PJ was noting down each point with careful attention! It was then time for some over geared hill repeats in the beautiful National Park to put Macca’s advice into action.  

Back to Manly and it was time for everyone to head into the Pacific for some open water swimming and a well earned cooling off. One of the event sponsors, Northside Runners had arranged for everyone to trial wetsuits from TYR, 2XU and Erox. Some of the group took up the offer “so we can somehow keep up with PJ”.  With everyone ready, it was time for a swim from Manly Beach to Shelley Beach, and that was just the warm up. Next up was some tips on open water swimming including; practicing deep water starts, buoy roundings , entries and exits and of course finding who best to draft off and how….in the case of Macca he opened up to the group how he managed to find PJ at the start of Kona as he was “the best person to swim off and guaranteed myself a good set up in the swim”. Pete’s response to the group being, “well I’d prefer to have an Aussie like Macca drafting me than some other Muppet” which resulted in plenty of laughs.

With the swim set finished it was time for the group to share a casual lunch with two of triathlons greatest athletes and relax in the shade as they prepared for the afternoon sessions. As everyone tucked into the food, laughter and joking could be heard from the two pro’s that have obviously developed a great rapport with each other. One of the participants on the camp told us “I just couldn’t believe how relaxed they both were with us. It was like they were just one of us and not these heroes of the sport. I just kept on laughing as they sledged each other and happily took the sledging we were also dishing out. You imagine the pro’s as serious people but these guys are two jokers, it’s hilarious.”

Nicole Gallagher from BPM-Sport.com told AT “Our goal is to let people live the dream and hang out with the pro’s for a day or in some cases live with them for a few days. We don’t just want them to show up for a chat, but have them there from start to finish engaging with all of the age groupers that come along. We’ve held several camps with these two guys together now and everyone just loves them. We have PJ who is very technical and precise which people love and then there is Macca who is just, well, he’s Macca! You know you’ll get plenty of laughs, great inside stories and some incredible tips from him. Put the two together and they are a brilliant combination.”

After lunch it was time for some more relaxation and a chat from Shotz Nutrition who made a presentation to the group about all things nutrition with an emphasis on training and racing in the heat of Australia and ensuring adequate hydration throughout. Plenty of questions and myths were covered with even the pro’s asking questions and learning a few new things. Soon it was time for the roles to be reversed and it was Q&A time for Macca and PJ. The questions were firing away about anything and everything from the participants including how best to prepare for your first ironman to what to do when things go terribly wrong!

Close to two hours of nonstop questioning passed before it was time for everyone to hit the track. Who better to get run tips from than the man that posted the fastest run split in Kona this past year, Pete Jacobs. Supported by his trusty side kick Macca, who we might remind you isn’t too shabby himself on the run, everyone was put through their paces. Athletes learnt the tips that PJ has used to change his run in the past 2-3 years as they were taken through specific drills and technique sessions that both Pete and Macca have used themselves over the years, with things such as Zombies and Lawn Bowls on the list!

As the day was drawing to a close, participants were given the option of attending one of 2 sessions. Option 1 looked at the importance of transitions with TA coaches and Pete taking the group through some tricks and tips to speed up transition times and have athletes in and out quicker and easier, regardless of the race they are completing. People were reminded of the attention to detail used by some of the pro’s such as Macca who even went to the extent of taping his helmet straps open to speed up his transition and escape the dramas he’s experienced in the past.

While some of the group worked on their transition skills others had the opportunity to join Macca and the team from Altitude Training Systems who talked about the benefits of altitude training before participants were afforded the opportunity to try out their mobile training studio. Even PJ jumped on board and did some work “at altitude” as everyone was learning more from the ATS instructor.

With all sessions completed, it was time for the BPM-Sport.com camp tradition….. “Camp awards”. Thanks to the generosity of the event sponsors, PJ and Macca handed out the prizes while the laughs continued to roll. Camp attendees received prizes thanks to the generosity of Trix-Gear.com, Northside Runners, Shotz Nutrition, us here at Australian Triathlete Magazine and for one lucky attendee, Macca’s very own signature Under Armour sunglasses as worn by him across the finish line in Kona! Nice one Macca.

As the sun set it was time for Macca to return to the Shire for more writing on his soon to be released book and for Pete it was a short stroll home to put the feet up in preparation for “a 20k run in the morning at race pace if anyone wants to come along”…at his race pace, there weren’t any takers! As for the attendees it was “one of those dream days” that they are sure to brag about for some time.

We’d like to thank Macca, PJ and the BPM-Sport.com team for giving Australian Triathlete an inside glimpse into the training day and look forward to hearing about their upcoming events in future editions.

Unfortunately due to the floods in Queensland that occurred over January, the BPM-Sport.com training day that was scheduled for 26^th January with Belinda and Justin Granger and Annabel Luxford was cancelled. BPM-Sport.com and the Pro athletes, hope to welcome you to a training day later in 2011 and trust that those affected by the floods are recovering from the disaster. BPM-Sport.com generously donated a percentage of the day camp revenues towards the Queensland Flood Relief Appeal.

As seen in the Australian Triathlete Magazine – Issue 18.5 April/May 2011