Are you ready for the summer?

"Are you ready for the summer? Are you ready for the good times?" stolen right out of the movie "Meatballs". Meatballs starring Bill Murray is all about summer camp. It is one of my favorite comedy movies. It comes to mind as I get ready for Lake Placid camp next week. So do many other memorable experiences. I love camp. I have since I was a kid. This will be like my tenth Tri-Camp. It has been an incredible experience every time.

My first tri camp however was quite unforgettable. It was 1996 and I finally decided that I was going to do my 1st triathlon. I was living In Louisville,Kentucky and triathlon was pretty small. I did not have coach and only a few people that I could ask for guidance. So I bought Triathlete magazine, and started reading. I remembered Dave Scott's name from watching Ironman on television. So I bought his book. I figured if he could win that race he must know something. Then I found out he was having a camp in Copper Mountain Colorado. It sounded fun,challenging and I knew I had a great deal to learn.

All I can say is at that time, I knew how to swim in a pool. I had been running on a regular basis.I had just bought a really cool "tri" bike with stuff on it that I did not know how to use. I had been trying to ride it and had fallen off more times than I could remember. I remember riding in the grass in my back yard so that when I clipped out I would not get as much road rash. You get the picture.

Anyway on to camp. I arrived at camp, not knowing how to put my bike together - Dave Scott did that for me. I remember the first day they did bike fit.They were talking about position and angles, all I knew was to sit and pedal. I was so green. I could not ride in my aero bars.I had pedal cages on my bike, not regular clip in pedals. Dave Scott had a so much fun with me. I was the joke of camp but in a good way. By the time I left, I could ride in my aero bars and stay upright. I put on my real pedals when I got home. I learned more in those 5 days then I could ever read about. I came home did my 1st race, it went great and I was hooked.

For more camp updates this week from LP, stayed tuned...