The UC Riverside High-Altitude Training Camp Experience by Danielle Evans
Five weeks in Mammoth. At first just the thought of this amount of time seemed almost frightening; with no family, no friends, no trips to the mall and no jobs to report to, one might struggle with enduring such limitations for five whole weeks. Then you come to realize that the experience of training in Mammoth is very rewarding and offers ideal conditions for the ultimate level of training. So then the thought of five weeks in Mammoth becomes exciting. Without distractions one can focus on training, nutrition and recovery, which are the essential elements to running: these are exactly what we need to have a promising season this year.
On Friday, August 24, 2007, we just finished a full week in Mammoth and changes are already evident. As a member of the UC Riverside Women’s Cross Country team, I am able to closely witness events and experiences that our team goes through. On Friday, all of the women met outside of our condos at 7:30 a.m. We all ran through the cozy Mammoth town to the local park, Shady Rest. At the park we went through the drills and exercises with Assistant Coach Nate Browne. During the drills I began to realize that the relationship between each of the girls had changed. There was a strong bond among the team that was manifested through words of support and encouragement.
One of the drills that we do is called “bounding.” And I must say that this is a difficult drill to master at first. Well, as some of the freshmen of our team attempted to bound across the grass field and struggled a bit, all of the girls offered up their cheers of: “Good job ladies!” “Here, I’ll show you” and “Nice work, no worries.” Just then I knew that this Mammoth trip has created a close-knit relationship among the women as an entire team. The closeness of the team is seen even in the extracurricular activities. For example, Friday evening, after out routinely team dinner, we decided to have some fun and test our musical skills. We divided into two teams and battled for the title “So You Think You Can Dance?...Prove It!” The living room of our Condo #9 was filled with so many emotions that night: nervousness, excitement, humor and finally approval as applauds and cheers rang throughout the condo. Shortly after the dance contest it was time for bed, because we had a long run ahead of us in the morning.
At 7 a.m. sharp on Saturday morning we loaded into the Suburbans and were off to Horseshoe Lake, where we would begin our endurance run. As a solid group of runners we rounded Horseshoe Lake and then the beautiful Lake Mary and made our way down to Mammoth Rock. After a brief water break just before Mammoth Rock we were at it again. We passed the Rock and ran down through the luscious meadow to Sherwin’s Road. After five miles, we reached the end of the infamous road and began to run alongside the Highway 395. Finally, we had completed our 17 mile run and we all felt like warriors to have conquered such a run. We then returned to our temporary homes, which welcomed us all with cozy arms. There we ate and napped so we could begin our recovery from such a journey. Saturday evening after our pool workouts we came together once again for a delicious dinner. We then stretched out to watch a movie and relax before turning in for the night; we all knew that another week of intense training, excitement and fun lay before us. With each day of running, whether it be the thresholds, mile repeats or recovery runs, each athlete can see improvement and the great benefits that are attained by training in high altitude. It is a tremendous bonus that this rewarding place is a true beauty.
At the end of the second week, we began our trip to Reno, Nevada, for our first race of the season. What we thought would be a sweet 2-3 hour ride turned completely sour. Since it was Friday, August 31, we soon found ourselves trapped in the massive stampede of travelers on their way to Nevada to enjoy the Labor Day Holiday. With stop-and-go-bumper-to-bumper-traffic, we thought we would never make it to the race. Finally, just over five hours later we arrived at a park just around the corner from University of Nevada, Reno. As each girl stepped out of the Suburban, she let out a sigh of relief and gazed around to inspect her new battlefield. It was about 6 p.m., a mere hour before the men’s race. Our race was to commence at 8:30 sharp. During our warm up we made an effort to observe the course and take note as to where there was rough footing or dips and holes in the grass. Excitement filled the air and each girl was ready to take on the adventure of this night race under the bright stars. Anxious for the race to start, we each did our personal time of stretching. After a few strides at the starting line, the gun went off. The race started off very slow. We rounded the first mile mark in the 6:20’s. Not worried, our women stayed together as a strong, single unit. Our teamwork enabled us to maintain a strong pack throughout the entire race. Just past two miles the two solid lines of light blue and dark blue jerseys began to blur as UC Riverside runners intertwined with UCLA runners. The battle began as elbows clashed and the course made sharp turns back and forth. At last the final straight away into the Finish chute. With 50 meters to go, Nevada led the race. Then the sprint began. Cristina Olivas, the first girl from UC Riverside, was in second place as she turned on the gears and sprinted up the last stretch, past the Nevada runner and into the finish line to secure a mighty victory. UC Riverside’s entire pack of runners finished strong in first, third, fourth, fifth and eighth. With these finishes UC Riverside won the meet on the women’s side and went home with great expectations for the future. It is the very beginning of our season and while our first race was satisfying, we know that there is lot of work to be done and many races ahead of us.
The ride back to Mammoth from Reno took less than half of the time spent to get there. Early Saturday morning we arrived back in Mammoth and retired in our cozy condos ready for three more weeks of training in high altitude.
