2XU Training Camp- Day 1- Tar & Beach Volleyball

On Day 1 we had the morning off for those who travelled across the world (Australia, Hong Kong, Norway, Sweden, UK) to try to acclimatize to the new time zone. I made the most of my morning by getting up at 6 am and hitting the beach for a relaxing beach side-walk.

My walk was a little spoiled when I went to rinse of my feet and realized that my right foot was covered in tar!!! I had to walk a mile and a half back to my hotel with a sticky foot ruining my flip-flops.

That's a huge chunk of tar — That’s a huge chunk of tar

While walking I noticed signs up saying to stop Hermosa Oil and I can say whole heartedly I agreed!

So when I got back to my room I was able to scrub most of it off my foot with soap, hot water and a cloth. But when I looked down I realized it was all over the tub! Efforts to scrub it off didn’t work and I full on panicked thinking I had ruined it and would have to pay $7000 for a new beautiful hotel tub.

I ran down the hallway panicked and found a maid and asked her to come with me quickly. She didn’t speak much English so she didn’t know what it was I wanted but she came and when I showed her the tub she smiled and said “No problem” and came back with a solution that wiped the tar right off. Phew!! She then ask for my foot and got on her knees and scrubbed the remaining tar off my feet! It was the best service I have ever received and so sweet that I couldn’t stop thanking her. I didn’t mention this incident to any of my team mates because I felt kinda foolish. Ha ha!

So after this ordeal I needed to calm down so I rented a beach cruiser and went on a lovely hour-long ride up to Manhattan Beach and back.

Then came the first part of our camp where we sat down with Jeff and discussed the natural planes of movement. This was my first mind blown moment and I plan to dedicate a post to it but basically I have always wondered why my distance running stride is so bad and it’s because of my improper alignment. I stick my butt out and hunch my shoulders which limits my range of motion making it difficult to widen my stride.

What I loved most about Jeff is that the first thing he said is that he will never talk in absolutes. He says there is never one thing that must be done the same way at all times because everyone’s bodies and goals are different. I really respect that approach because how often do you hear “If you want to achieve A you must do B.” Not always the case. But that’s another post!

Learning to warm up while working on alignment

After that session we began our intro to Beach Volleyball with US pro players Lauren Fendrick & Brook Sweat (how suiting is her last name). I totally geeked out being in the presence of these elite athletes as they showed us the basics and let us team up and begin playing.

Brook Sweat shows us how it's done — Brook Sweat shows us how it’s done

Beach volleyball was such a blast! No one had a background in volleyball so it was equally challenging for all of us and it was such a great way to bond us all together quickly as a team as we laughed and ran around the hot sand. I learned that I am a pretty good serve, but suck at everything else! Ha ha!

When beach volleyball was over, Jeff made us stand in the ocean to talk about recovery and I was delighted to see that the water was warm! Maybe it’s because I swim in lakes and rivers all summer long and they’re pretty much always cold.

That was our easy 1st day and we wrapped it up with dinner at the Chart House, this STUNNING hotel that is decked out in glass art decor and the group room is on the beach, almost jutting out over the river.