Brandon Marsh’s

Here we are after 4 complete weeks in Krabi for our first Team TBB training camp.  We actually only have 1 week to go, after that we hop on a plane to China for Ironman China.  It has been a great experience…culturally and for triathlon.  My blogs have kind of been cultural so far.

But, I got a set of questions from a friend and fellow athlete that would make a good blog:

“I’ve been reading your blog.  You don’t talk much about the other athletes.  What is it like to train with the other pros?  Does it make you push harder than you normally would?  Are you still using your Quarq or does everyone use the exact same equipment?  Are you seeing how the others conduct themselves…food, habits, ect and changing some of yours to match?”

Actually, TeamTBB training camp is kind of like the movie “Fight Club”.  The first rule of Fight Club is that you DO NOT talk about Fight Club.  The second rule of Fight Club is that you DO NOT talk about Fight Club.  To some extent I would say that is true.  But, Sutto mentioned before we came out to camp that is was not going to be 100% triathlon training or the same type of training that we will do at home.  It is meant to allow him, as a coach, to see us work and operate and find out what our strengths and weaknesses are.  And, he definitely has an eye and mind for that.  So, regarding the training…it is somewhat like I have blogged at brandonmarsh.com before.  It really comes down to hard work.  Yeah, some sessions are not like any I have done before, but in the end you work hard.  And a good part of being successful as an athlete is to believe in your program…sometimes I think that athletes would do better even if they stick with a “bad” training program and believe in it rather than changing up theirs all the time!!

Here we go one at a time:

1.  What is it like to train with the other pros and does it make you push harder?  We have only had close to a full squad here for a little over a week as people come in and out.  For the most part we swim as a group even though we may use different equipment on the same sets.  The boys usually train together and then girls might train together.  Some athletes have done workouts on their own for a lot of the camp.

Training with other athletes will make you push harder, but at the same time, there are times when we are given instructions to NOT go hard or hit a certain pace, etc.  One of the best things that comes from training with other athletes is that once you do the workouts with others, you know what you are capable of doing and can do it on your own.  The other main benefit to having other athletes to train with is the accountability factor.  If you are running with the guys at 6:30am, then you know that they are going to be there waiting on you…so no sleeping in.

2.  Am I still using my Quarq (powermeter) or do we all use the same equipment?  We use a fair amount of sponsored equipment…bikes, shoes, handlebars, saddles, helmets, speedsuits, race wheels eventually.  But, some folks use different components.  And, regarding the sponsored equipment, obviously some athletes run in different shoes or ride in a different style of shoes of the same brank.  We also will had some choice of which race wheelset to ride, so some will be on deeper or shallower wheels or clinchers instead of tubulars.

I did not bring my powermeter for a couple of reasons.  The main one was not wanting to deal with downloading, watching numbers, etc and the fact that the Garmin is expensive, and I did not want to lose it.  The second reason is that historically Doc has not had athletes use them.  It can be argued both ways depending on the thoughts, but in some respects in a pro race…especially 70.3…it does not matter what the powermeter says on race day, you have to be with the front guys.  And, I knew that I was going to be so tired at times that I would not want to know what power I was NOT putting out…I just focused on the effort for that workout.

3. Have I changed some of my habits to match the other athletes like food, other habits, etc.?  The main thing that I have tried to look at are the way that our more successful teammates conduct themselves since several of them have been professional, or full time, athletes for a few years and have done well.  They tend to approach workouts as a job in that they start the first one pretty early, get to them on time, and make them count.  And, we are typically done by about 530 or so in the evening.  Making them count does not mean they are all “hard”.  The hardest workouts have been the easy rides because sometimes I would just rather not ride than spin around for 1.5 hours, but in this case it is helping the legs recover for the next session.

Regarding diet and food.  It seems that Coke is the preferred long ride fuel for many of my teammates.  That is one habit that I have not tried to adopt.  But, definitely, we have been eating a little differently than at home since our training volume is more and we are away from some of the conveniences of home…no protein smoothies here or almond milk.  But, we have tried to continue to eat “real” foods and minimize the junk food.  Diet is quite individual, and Doc has made recommendations based on individual body comp, etc.  But, no diet has not really changed much other than the fact that we are in a different country so have adapted that way.

So, quite long here at 1002 words according to wordpress, but there you go…some training specific questions.  I will post a few pictures again in the next couple of days.

So, I posted some first and second impressions and another blog or two.  Today wraps up 3 FULL weeks of training.  The 48 steps that we take up to the rooftop to cook our meals have become a challenge.  Sutto said today “when you are dead you are dead” meaning, when you are as tired as we are, you need to rest a bit…so maybe tomorrow is an easier day.

Anyhoo, 3 weeks is about enough time to settle in, get your bearings, and really kind of figure things out.  This is the first time that I have been in one place for that length of time besides home.  There are definitely some contrasts between attitudes and life here in Thailand when compared to those in the US…and these are generalizations, so yes, it is not always the case, but more often than not it is…

- Out on long rides, we are typically greeted by the “beep beep” of a horn followed by a scooter with smiling faces and a wave.  Or the “beep beep” of a horn followed by the pass of a passenger car or truck or a large truck carrying logs or Palm Fruit.  In the US we are greeted with a blaring horn, someone shouting get off the road, and many times a single finger salute.

- Amy and I live near a school at home.  Daily we see kids walking to school, torn jeans, messy shirts, and generally pretty unkept looking.  Here, kids come out of what would amount to shacks at home wearing crisp clean uniforms.  It was the same in Jamaica when I visited for work years ago.  Kids came out of shacks dressed like they were going to church, but instead it was school.

- People here seem very happy.  A quick hi or wave generally gets you a smile in return.  For a very poor country, happiness seems everywhere.  Now I know why a friend of mine from Vietnam says that we always look angry…we do not smile enough.

Those are kind of my third impressions, and ones that I will definitely take home with me.

Today wraps up the 2nd full week that I have been in Krabi, Thailand for the Team TBB training camp.  Actually, Monday will mark 3 weeks in Asia, and 2.5 in Thailand, but we kind of had a few days to settle in…so today closed the 2nd full week.  It is actually my first ever training camp for triathlon, and the first time that I have been around other professional triathletes from around the world for more than a day or two.  Sutto has challenged us with more than just workouts…

Be a Pro.  Coming from the corporate world for almost 10 years of my life, it is an interesting transition to being a true professional triathlete.  Team TBB has the goal of providing professional triathletes a way to be just that, professional triathletes.  There are other goals of the team, but “being a pro” is one of the first challenges that Sutto gave us.  It goes beyond the workouts.  Sutto challenged us to change our way of thinking to that of a professional in every sense of the word.

- It is seldom that you can just show up to work in the corporate world whenever you want.  Same with our workouts…get up and get to work.  Some sessions are on our own, relatively.  Others are with a group.  Oddly enough, people are seldom late to the group sessions.  Sutto has challenged us to make the on your own sessions the same way, get up early and get going.

- Know your numbers.  Want to run a 4:00, 3:30, 3:15, 3:00, 2:45, or whatever marathon?  What pace is that for a 400 repeat, a 1k repeat, a 1 mile repeat?  Can you do it in training…if not, a re-think might be in order.  What does it take to ride a 4:40, 4:50, 5:00, 5:30, or whatever for the 112 mile (or 180k) bike leg.  Honestly, it is easier to figure using the metric system in this case!!

- Certainly not last, but another example is that you have to enjoy it.  It certainly is NOT easy, nor glamorous, or highly lucrative.  It is hard, very hard, and if you do not wake up each day looking forward to the challenge, then it is time to do somehting else.  As someone who has been on both sides…the corporate side longer than the professional athlete side…I can say that this is true in both cases.

I blogged before on BrandonMarsh.com that I seldom make New Year’s resolutions.  But, one un-written resolution this year was to “Be a Pro”.  Committing to racing with TeamTBB and coming to camp was just one of the many steps in moving that direction!

I took this video a couple of days ago.  The days kind of run together.  I posted that breakfast, lunch, and dinner all look similar.  Generally rice or noodles with some meat and token chopped veggies.  Sometimes spicey, sometimes not.  Mostly chicken…all parts…and pork…all parts too.  I have had fish 2 times, it was very salty and fishy.

But, sometimes you get something that you just are not sure of what it is.  This is one of those times!!

Well, it has been about 5 days or so here in Krabi, Thailand.  We have done the big loop on the bike, a few runs, a few swims, a trip to the beach, a few trips to the grocery store, and just some random things as well.  A few things about Krabi…

- breakfast, lunch, and dinner can be found at one of the many little food stands along the side of the road.  A lot of it kind of looks the same…the food that is.  I had a curry this evening that just about set my mouth on fire, but it was good.

- apparently, eggs need no refrigeration.  I may have posted that about singapore too.

- we get a lot of “hellos” while running or cycling…usually I give a wave to them.  And a lot of smiles by passers by on scooters.

- the 2 big grocery stores are kind of like a super super Wal-Mart for those in the US.  2 stories with a food court, grocery, housewares, beauty salon, cinema, and more.

- there are more, but that will do for now.

We went to Ao Nang (I think) yesterday.  It is a resort type area.  I personally am glad we are staying where we are.  I shot a little video to post.

I will have to up my game with some pictures based on some of the other blogs.  But, trying to figure out just what to take to a training camp half way across the globe is tricky.  Believe or not, in my 20 seasons of racing, I have never gone to a training camp.  I have done an extended road trip with my bikes, but packing a car is different than packing for a flight.

So, if my packing for this camp goes as it has for other trips longer than a few days via plane it will go like this….

7 days before leaving I will lay out most of what I need.

6 days before leaving I will look through my stuff and take out something that I probably will not need.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 days before we leave I will do the same thing so that my pile is quite smaller than it started.

Then, about 4 days into the trip, I will look at Amy and ask if she has a shirt I can borrow because I did not pack enough.