I signed up to Steve Trew's training camp late last year as I thought it would be a great way to start off my 2008 season. My friend Stelios told me about the camp having already been away with Steve on a couple of his Italy camps and raving about how good they had been (even the camp where he had food poisoning and broke his collar bone, but that's another story!). Back in November last year the plan was to spend the winter months working on my core stability, so the camp would be an ideal kick start to 2008. The reality was a winter spent eating and drinking all the wrong things and doing no training. As the weekend approached I started to wish that I hadn't signed up for the camp and on the drive up to Stoke Mandeville on the Friday night I was already thinking of excuses to get me out of some of the sessions.

Friday night

The Olympic Village was a grand name for what I would call a Travel Lodge with lots of pictures of athletes on the wall. The accommodation was very clean and tidy and the staff all seemed very friendly. The hotel is situated next door to The Guttman Centre and the Stoke Mandeville Stadium. The Stadium is the National Centre for Wheelchair Sports so all the hotel rooms were designed with wheelchairs in mind and had plenty of space.

Since taking up triathlon, I have found myself staying in on Friday and Saturday nights more and more and going to bed early. This Friday was no exception and after a walk around the complex and a quick bite to eat I was all tucked up in bed getting ready for an early morning start.

Saturday

After a long week at work even making it across the car park to be at poolside for 8am turned out to be difficult. Luckily I wasn't too late and my morning started with a 400 metre warm up in the 25 metre pool. There were good numbers on the course and with the lanes set up it was roughly three to a lane, so plenty of room to learn technique. The lanes were split equally with Steve Trew looking after one group and Dan Bullock from Swim For Tri looking after the other. I have been given lots of swim advice from lots of different sources, but I am always amazed that I seem to learn something new each time. Today was no exception and it was great to have coaching from two very experienced coaches who worked well in making everyone feel like an individual, even though they were looking after a number of people. I was impressed that both Steve and Dan seemed to know everyone's name straight away and the first training session was good fun with plenty of hard work. It didn't take long for my lack of training over winter to show up and I was being lapped regularly on the drills we did.

After the swim we all headed off for breakfast which was the first real chance to meet some of the other people on the course. Breakfast was a good selection of cereals and fruit and the opportunity of a full English breakfast for those who felt up for it (I declined as I was already suffering from my bad eating habits over Christmas!). The group was made up of a good mix of ages and abilities, some people were training for their first triathlon while others were planning to represent Great Britain at the worlds, so there was plenty to talk about around the breakfast table.

After breakfast it was off to the seminar room for the first of many lectures on triathlon technique. I have heard a lot about Steve Trew but it's only when he starts to talk that you start to realise how much this guy knows about triathlon. The first lecture was very much based around swim technique, reinforcing some of the drills we had been doing in the pool before. Both Steve and Dan have recently launched their own videos so we got to watch some of Dan's DVD on swim technique with commentary from Steve.

Next was the run, and after my poor performance in the pool earlier I wasn't looking forward to it. The weather was still cold, but the sun was making an appearance as we headed over to the run track. After the warm-up Steve took us through some running technique, which for me, was worth the training camp fee alone. I have not spent much time on a running track before, the majority of my running events have been on the road and I didn't really think track running would help. The first thing I noticed (as obvious as it sounds) is how useful a track is for knowing exactly how quickly you have covered a particular distance. I always imagined running tracks would be most used by short distance runners and that going round and round a track would be no use for road running.

After Steve had given us some good running technique drills and a few short sprints we then began the main set. I did say there were all sorts of abilities on the course and during the running technique session it was clear one guy was used to the track, it turned out he was a decathlete who had broken his back pole vaulting. On the road to recovery and not being able to pole vault again, he had taken up triathlon to keep him busy (this is all came out when Steve asked him what his 400 metre time was, I am sure he said forty-eight seconds!).

After the run it was time for lunch, a choice of sandwiches and paninis or jacket potato and salad, once again plenty to eat to re-fuel for the afternoon session.

The afternoon session started with a talk from the guest speaker, Annie Emmerson. For those of you that don't know, Annie actually works for Tri247 so for me it was good to actually spend some time finding out more about her (we don't get much time for general chit chat at work!). Annie talked us through life as a pro and some of her successful (and not so successful!) races. Annie and Steve knew each other from way back, so there were lots of stories involving the two of them. Whilst Annie's talk was taking place Steve had arranged for Tim Jones, a sports massage therapist, to see to anyone that needed assistance after the morning sessions.

Annie finished her talk off with a Q&A session and then we were all off to the pool for the final practical of the day. Having survived the early morning swim and the track torture I was really not looking forward to this and was contemplating telling Steve that I should miss the swim and take some photos etc. Unluckily for me, Tim, had already offered to take some pictures, so a swim it was.

The afternoon swim was once again more emphasis on technique, but after a morning swim and the DVD session it was actually a lot easier to pull it all together. I find the more tired I am, the more my swim improves, as I try much harder to get through the water with less energy. I was still lapped a number of times, but not as many as in the morning! When the session had finished we had a bit of time before the pool was going to be used again, so Steve took the opportunity to show us how a professional does it; Dan Bullock then had the pool to himself to show us a few laps (and yes he does make it look easy). We watched him first from poolside and then we all got in the pool and watched him swim from under the water. I was getting worried that Steve might ask me to swim a few lengths to show everyone how not to do it, so I tried to keep my head down while all this was going on.

To finish the day off we all went back to the seminar room for a sum up of the day and some motivational speeches from Steve. I haven't set a race plan for this year yet, but Steve really did get me thinking about what I could do and what I should aim for.

Most people were not staying overnight but there was a good group of us who were, so we arranged to head into Aylesbury and find somewhere to have dinner. We ended up in a nice Thai restaurant above a very dodgy looking pub. The day was already special as it was Dan Bullock's birthday (21st Dan?) so we all took the opportunity to sing Happy Birthday to him in the restaurant, including the other diners!. After dinner it was back to the hotel for an early night as we had to be on poolside for 8am the following day.

Sunday

I suspected the Sunday swim set wouldn't be another technique session and I was proved right. After a quick warm up we did a few lengths of technique and then into the main set; a pyramid session with thirty second rests.

Throughout all of the above, the goal was to try and keep the stroke count as consistent as possible, which seemed easy enough to start but by the three minute swim I was already struggling. I have never done a pyramid set in the pool before and I thought it was brilliant, it's not only a great way to practice your technique, but also a great way of building your fitness. And yes, before anyone asks, I got lapped a number of times.

Breakfast was similar to Saturday, although I did notice a few more people going for the cooked breakfast option, which was probably well deserved! The first lecture today was going to be based around the mental approach to training/competition but due to some technical difficulties (the hotel had taken away the overhead projector!) that wasn't going to be possible. Steve, ever the professional, was not phased (well not with us, but I am sure a couple of the hotel staff had some questions to answer) and went through some of the running techniques and cycles skills from his DVD.

After a quick break it was time for the last practical session of the course which was cycling based on a turbo. It took a little while for everyone to find some space and set up their turbos, but soon the room was a hum of flywheels and heating up nicely. Again, I have used my turbo a fair amount, but never really for a hard session, more just to build some time up on the bike. The session started with a run through on technique and a few tests to get everyone's cadence. What was really interesting was pedaling with one foot and increasing the resistant to help find your dead spot. We were soon into one of Steve's well know pyramid sessions, but this time on the bike, I don't think I have ever put that much effort into a turbo before!. About half way through there was a bang from a corner of the room and someone had actually managed to blow their turbo up, luckily no one was seriously injured although a few were hit with bits of plastic!.

After the turbo session we had a quick break, which allowed Steve to find out what had happened to his projector before the last session of the weekend, which was about our mental approach to training and competition. What makes Steve's camps invaluable in my opinion, is that he not only knows his stuff, but he has been there and done it! It's one thing to tell you the theory of a positive mental attitude, but when he reinforces it with examples from his experience with world-class athletes, it makes all the difference. I know it wasn't planned like this, but to end the weekend with what I felt was a very motivational seminar, was a great idea. We had worked hard over the weekend and it was nice to just take time and think, what am I going to do now and how things are going to be different when I leave here? I for one, felt very positive that I had picked up some great technique, coupled with some good tips and advice and a general feeling that I could do anything I really wanted to do, within reason I might add, not sure that I will make the Olympic team in 2012 on my 40th birthday.

One thing I wasn't prepared for was the teddy. Yes, I did say 'teddy'. Those of you that have been on a Steve Trew camp before will know what I am talking about, but for those of you that are new (like me) then it is customary for Steve to offer everyone a memento of the weekend. In the past I believe Steve has given out trolls, but this year we had a choice of teddies. I went for one who looked like he had running shoes on and he currently lives in my kitchen, overseeing what I eat from the fridge.

To find out more about Steve Trew's training camps, Dan Bullock and Tim Jones please feel free to contact them direct:

Steve Trew is on 0208 886 5175 or trew@personalbest.demon.co.uk
Dan Bullock is on 0207 650 7880 or email info@swimfortri.com
Tim Jones is on 01923 679433 or timbojo41@tiscali.co.uk