Andrea Hewitt, Sophie Corbidge, Kris Gemmell, Ryan Sissons, Dylan McNeice along with coaches Laurent Vidal and Greg Fraine all attended the Tri NZ High Performance camp at Snow Farm in the Cardrona Valley near Wanaka.
The Snow Farm is approximately 35km from Wanaka and includes a 13km gravel road up the side of a mountain while accommodation is at an altitude of 1540m.
The lodge itself is huge, the facility is mainly for cross country skiing, and is also used extensively by car tyre manufacturers to test their products in winter conditions. All the major tyre makers have buildings up on the top of the mountain as well as huge flat areas where they test car performance.
Altitude training is a key initiative for the HP program. Living and training at the high altitude adds a training effect, with the lack of oxygen stimulating increases in red blood cell production which has a positive effect on performance.
The Snow Farm is a great location as the athletes are able to live and run at altitude, but also train at a lower altitude for any higher intensity session they are required to do.
Swimming is done in the local 25m pool in Wanaka or in the lakes in the region.
Biking is usually down on the flat lands, except for the bold athletes who choose to include the famous Crown Range climb in their sessions. Bike sessions are also done at altitude on wind trainers or on the 100kms of mountain bike trails.
Runs are mostly done at altitude but the great bonus with any run in the region is the spectacular views.
Training days range from four to eight hours for a long day and at least three sessions completed each day.
It is a great facility that will hopefully positively impact on the performance of our athletes as they build towards London Olympics 2012.
The next camp is planned for February 21 to March 11.
