Last weekend, we had our training camp in Fayetteville, Texas. It started off with waking up at 4:30 a.m. and making our way to the IM Fields to meet up with the rest of my teammates. Still dark outside (yes, it was THAT early), it was such a great feeling to be surrounded by the Texas 4000 spirit from the rest of the 2010 riders.

We arrived in Fayetteville to be be greeted by some AMAZING coaches. These individuals are so unique, yet they all have one thing in common - their love for cycling. Their patience and coaching that weekend is something that I will never forget. We started our training camp off with a two-hour skills clinic. I was in the 'no experience' group. We learned clip-in, clip-out techniques, emergency-braking, dodging obstacles, and pointing out hazardous obstacles on the road. We then ate lunch, and that was followed by a 2.5 hour ride. WHOA. MAJOR EYE-OPENER. It was a lot harder than I expected. My right leg has been hurting me for the past month or so, so going uphill was quite a challenge. But...I did it! Haha, I also got a flat during that first ride! I was going downhill and I wondered why my entire bike was shaking, and I glanced down and saw a flat in my front tire. One of the coaches, Tim, taught me how to change a flat - and now, I think I could do it on my own! =)

That evening, we had dinner, and no joke, by 9 p.m. almost our entire team was nodding off. We were just THAT tired! I definitely went to bed early that day. The next morning, we woke up early again to eat a good breakfast and get our bikes checked by the coaches for any problems we had the previous day. Then, we went out for another 2.5 hour ride. This time, Kevin, one of the coaches, said that we really needed to build that team spirit and cohesiveness, so we needed to be supportive of our teammates. Again, my leg was hurting throughout this ride...but my teammates in the 'no experience' group were so amazing. They were so supportive and encouraging. At times, when I felt like quitting, I really felt motivated by them.

Also, I would realllllly like to thank Tim, Alice, and Brad (our group 1 coaches). You guys were so amazing and SO helpful, and I can't thank you enough for your encouragement and everything you taught us.

I can truly say that this training camp was a great experience, and even though I felt it was hard at times, I KNOW what I need to work on now.

And most importantly, I learned that no matter how hard it gets from time to time...it's ALL worth it in the end.