Training camp in Benalmadena,
Costa del Sol, Spain
This year, I did my training camp with a good friend and triathlete Karl Verstappen. We went to hotel Triton, in Benalmadena (close to Torremolinos). We chose this hotel because we wanted to go somewhere zith good
weather, and with a rectangular swimming pool of at least 25m. Fortunately, it came true, the pool is a bit longer, approx 33m (well, I counter three lengths for 100m, just to make the counting easy).
The surroundings are great for cycling. There are many mountains in the area, so it is great for climbing. The descents are quite nice too, although a bit too steep for me at times. I never was a hero downhill, and
in fact, using a triathlon bike with pretty agressive low positioning of the handlebars doesn't really help. Still, it was great fun, and made it interesting to go riding together, as I took the lead when the roads
were going up, but was way back when the roads tilted in the other direction.
Don't come this way if you want to ride flat roads. They simply don't exist. The roads which come closest are running very near the coast and are crowded with cars (though I must say, I felt quite safe there, the
drivers stay well clear of cyclists, something I really had not expected, but it was great). The other kind of roads which are close to flat are highways, but they are slightly forbidden for cyclist (though... - but
I would not recommend it and didn't like it).
To run you can use the promenade to and in Torremolinos. This gives you a stretch of about 6 km out and back, and a few hundred meters in the other direction. The pool was empty most of the time, not surprising as
the pool is not heated, making it pretty cold at the end of March, easily fixed by my dear old wetsuit.
In short, we had a good training camp. Not that I trained that much. I needed to relax as much as to train, so the total training hours were not massive. My only comment about the camp was the food. They did serve us
ample vegetables at the buffet (even shrimps and smoked salmon always, bublies at breakfast etc), but there were days when you could not eat rice or pasta or somthing else which is rich in carbohydrates. Anyway, if
you are interested in a stay at hotel Triton, you can always contact my travel agent.
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