Tales from Training Camp

Good afternoon, Disaboomers! Alejandro Albor has been having problems blogging in Beijing, so yesterday I (a Disaboom employee) had the opportunity to speak with him as he regaled me with tales of training camp in Colorado Springs and his adventures in Beijing so far.

First up is Alejandro’s experience at training camp in Colorado Springs. He arrived at Colorado Springs on August 19th, only to have to immediately fly back home on the 20th to Sacramento to take care of a few pressing issues. He returned to Colorado Springs on the 23rd, though, ready to train! Unfortunately, ever since getting hit by a van in June, Alejandro has had issues with his left shoulder. With the help of the training center medical staff, he was able to manage the injury/pain at a functional level.

All the days the cycling team spent at the training center were fairly monotonous: Get up at 6 am, eat breakfast at 7, be ready for a bike ride at 8 and ride for 2 to 3 hours. The beneficial aspect of training in Colorado Springs is the high altitude, which is toted to increase red blood cell counts in athletes and improve their performance overall. Alejandro said that the athletes always come to Colorado before competitions outside the U.S.

On one of the last days of training, the cycling team went on a ride at Black Forest (named for the multitude of pines in the forest). At one point during the ride, the team was going downhill at 35 mph. The cyclist who was leading the pack made a sharp left 90 degree turn, and Alejandro wasn’t able to maneuver the same turn. He flipped his bike and landed on his right (his good!) shoulder and hit his head (luckily, he was wearing a helmet). After immediately visiting the training center’s medical team, Alejandro was relieved to find out that while he was in pain, his injury only amounted to a bone bruise.

The next few days involved short training rides and packing, and on September 3rd the team was Beijing-bound!