Bend to Boulder: This is Altitude Training Camp
Volée
project-little-wing
BY: JESS BARNARD
I recently had to explain the concept of my team and professional running to someone who knows absolutely nothing about it. I laughed because it seemed so strange to explain. I live in this world where women’s running is everything. Max HR, afternoon doubles, puff booting, rogas vs. mac rogas, tempo tummy… all just normal conversation. This person asked, “so what’s the point of the team? You all just want to beat each other?” And I said, “no, we’re just a group of women who train together, push each other appropriately and genuinely want each other to succeed.”
Left to right: me, Collier Lawrence, Mel Lawrence...and Daniel!
That’s our group. A group of people who all want to succeed and who want each other to succeed as well. Watching Mel and Collier compete — I feel like a giddy little school girl. Aside from being borderline obsessed with them as people, I see their every day and I am a part of it. I know exactly how hard they work and I love seeing it all pay off in races… And we haven’t even gotten into track season yet! We always joke about all of the completely absurd things I will be screaming at them during the Olympic Trials.
Here’s a preview:
“YOUR A$$ LOOKS FANTASTIC IN THOSE BUNS!”
“YOU JUST MADE THAT WATER PIT YOUR B!T$%!”
“GDV! GDV! YOU PACKED THAT SH!T! USE IT!”
I’m vulgar, but they like it.
This is #camphighandtight2016, so we’re here in Boulder working on our GDV. Nothing like a little less oxygen to assist in that. Working our asses off, but at the same time… having a damn good time doing it (if you follow us on IG or Snapchat we make that pretty clear). The excitement of outdoor season is steadily creeping in. Actually, it’s pretty much here. And If you read Lauren’s blog, she’s right about the magic. This team generates magic. Lauren Fleshman generates magic. And under her wings we are just wingardium leviosa-ing our minds, bodies and spirits. Not sure if that even makes sense, but I’ll take any opportunity to drop a HP reference. Muggles gon’ hate.
Our time here has flown by. With only about a week of Boulder left we prepare ourselves for what’s to come. The smell of spring and outdoor track. The feeling of accomplishment when those goals we wrote down on a piece of paper last fall become our reality. The taste of our opponents blood. Okay, that last one made it weird. But really, we've got some major vibes happening. We'll be bringing that #camphighandtight2016 momentum allllll the way through this outdoor season.
- Jess Barnard
MORE STORIES
Reflecting on the Year of the Underbird
This past August, we launched our Year of the Underbird program: an open application for aspiring Olympic Trials marathoners, with a promise to select 5 women for a 6 month contract encompassing a stipend, gear, storytelling, and community support. As we reach the end of our flight with our selected athletes, we invited each of them to share a few reflections on their past 6 months as teammates.
Black History Month: Celebrating Our Athletes
We are honored to support five exceptional Black women athletes challenging norms in the running industry: athletes, advocates, and powerful voices in the sport. We invited each of them to reflect on their journeys through sport: how their identity has affected their development, and how they hope to impact the rising generation of athletes. Hear from Madie Boreman, Kendra Coleman, Brenna Detra, Carmen Pelar Graves, and Ari Hendrix-Roach.
Learn, Grow, Pass It On: Increasing Access to Adaptive Sports
Paralympian, pushrim athlete, and Oiselle Haute Volée, Jenna Fesemyer, continues to pave the way and inspire the next generation of wheelchair athletes. She is committed to increasing access to adaptive sports, including access to equipment and training resources, and recently co-hosted a wheelchair clinic for young athletes in Columbus, Ohio.