Finding my Balance Point in Joshua Tree…

After the Keyesville Classic, I continued my journey south to the town of Joshua Tree, California. This funky little spot sits just outside Joshua Tree National Park and about 45 minutes north of Palm Springs. It was the site of the 2009 Balance Point Racing spring training camp.

BPR is a group of dedicated athletes from Canada–most hailing from the Okanogan Region of British Columbia. They compete in many different disiplines of endurance competition, but those in attendance were either triatletes or cyclists.

http://www.balancepointracing.com/

We stayed in two adjacent vacation homes with comfortable beds for each of us. Joerg for Magic Places (bike tours) catered, shuttled, and looked after our every need. I hope to join him soon on one of his “real” trips, because he did such an awesome job!

http://www.magicplaces.ca/

Coach Andrew spent time each day helping us determine our training plans as well as teaching us more about the FaCT Canada training system. The FaCT system fundamentally differs from conventional (old school) methods because it doesn’t base training intensities on max heart rate, lactate thresholds, or VO2.

Instead, effective training is accomplished by knowing one’s “balance point” or the HR at which lactate is stable in the blood. This means the body is producing and using lactate at relatively the same rate.

We did performance testing–both to learn about ourselves and effectively administer the tests. The rest of our time was spent training and the weather was simply beautiful all week long. It was great to collaborate with the other athletes regardless of their age, category, or disipline because the FaCT system works or everyone willing to use it!

In the end, I probably left camp with “more questions than answers” and likely more hours of training than I really needed. However, learning more about the FaCT system after 5 years of “using” the test in training inspired me to “think outside the box” again. It reminded me of my days working in manufacturing when it was so easy to accept limiters and road blocks as the status quo rather than diligently seeking continual improvement.

Hopefully my newly rekndled desire to dig deeper into my body and find different ways to improve my fitness will equate to even more success throughout the rest of my cycling career!