Road to 70.3: Joshua Tree Training Weekend
Supported by Audi we set out to Joshua Tree for a weekend of training in the high desert. Hitting a couple of long rides on the bike, a recovery track workout, some movement and breathwork – the weekend was an adventure and meaningful connection.
There were challenges navigating the rural area with an EV Audi, one rider having his first experience with a full bonk, and training in a group with some strangers and first timers with breathwork and longer rides. It also turns out the park is not as flat as it seems and included a lot of climbing over the 58 miles. Follow along the Road to 70.3 for upcoming episodes and future Training Camp Weekend sessions this summer.
The weekend included a session of Wim Hof breathwork, meditation and proprioception exercises which added an interesting and dynamic aspect to the weekend aside from the running and cycling. As a group we connected over working through injury, how to incorporate mobility and the importance of a yoga practice.
Our evening track workout included about 5km of recovery slow pace laps followed by a set of 100m pick ups to flush out the days miles, which was set to a beautiful desert sunset at a local high school, we just had to hop the fence.
Special thank you to Asics, Reigning Champ, Maurten and District Vision
“It turns out Joshua Tree National Park isn’t as flat as we all thought. Over 58 miles we ended up climbing over 4000 feet.”
Audi supplied us with their EV eTron SUV which allowed us to pack up two bicycles, all the food and supplies for the weekend as well as a 2-year old pitbull. It was a challenge to find EV charging in the desert and provided an added and unexpected element of adventure to the weekend across the rural terrain.
Our second day of riding was a bit lighter, only riding 25 miles with much less climbing.
We all made sure to bring enough water and Maurten gels on this one…