been there, done that: 10 training camp tips.

I realize it’s that time of year again. 

World Race Training Camp.

It’s the first one that has happened since I came home 5 months ago today and while the inside of my head has been a mess these days, I thought I’d take a moment and focus some energy on you guys: the newbie racers.

Good heavens, get yourselves ready.

I remember heading to training camp; I was stoked because I was getting to meet a group of people I’d been skyping with for months and start the next part of the world race journey. If you’re anything like me you’ve read blogs, and had many a discussion on what training camp is actually going to be like.

While you are at TC it won’t feel like you are getting prepared to travel.

That’s because you’re not. (unless you go to Mozambique than it is preparing you to travel, but that’s another story)

You’re getting prepared to LIVE.

 

So here are my ten tips. Some serious, some ridiculous sounding, some you should carry to the race, and some you shouldn’t  (mainly for health and sanity reasons

But here they are:

 

1. DON’T get 8 hours of sleep every night while at training camp.
   1. Now this is NOT something for the race (well, some months you can get away with it) BUT this week is a week for a lot of things and sleeping 8 hours every night is NOT one of them. I’m not saying not to sleep; I’m saying don’t make it a priority. Had I made getting more than 6 hours of sleep a night I would have missed out on walking through the campground with Alyssa talking, or sitting on hammocks discussing Clay Aiken with Chellis. And your notes MIGHT take a beating from a lack of sleep,I can tell in my journal when I was tried because my handwriting goes off the page.(this chellis and I. bonded over RFKC and Clay Aiken.)
2. Don’t shower (everyday).
   1. This is also a tip not to carry onto the race. Because showering is hygienic and cleanliness helps keep you healthy. I showered once the week of TC and washed my hair in the sink in the bathroom surrounded by probably every other girl the night we went out with our teams. This is another “time” issue to me. You don’t have a lot of time to start a base friendship with this new family. Moments that become memories are important and that extra time makes all the difference (on that note I carried my deodorant, travel face wash, toothbrush/paste and baby wipes in my backpack.)
3. Bring snacks (to share).
   1. You are NOT going to starve on the race. You will have snacks. But the key here? Bring a snack to share. There’s a picture of 3 or 4 girls from my squad digging biscoff out of a jar with coffee stirrers. Community.
4. Speak UP.
   1. This means so many things. Speak up to the people around you, speak up if you have an idea, speak up if you hear from the Lord, speak up if you get asked a question. The leadership, your squad, the people around you can’t read minds and they don’t know everything about you. I’ll never forget a night we had to cook for ourselves with pregiven ingredients. I thought about not saying anything, not saying I could cook and had I not spoken up I would have lost a favorite memory.(Daniel and I cooking together for what would be the first of many times)
5. TRUST.
   1. I’m not saying to trust with abandon, because I know that it isn’t possible. But I am saying maybe, just maybe allow yourself to trust more than you normal would. Know that these people, the leadership of your squad, your coaches, your trainers? They are FOR YOU. This what I wrote about in my post training camp blog.
6. CRY.
   1. I don’t care if you cry alone in the bathroom, but I know that EVERYONE will need to cry at some point at training camp. I myself cried in front of my alumni squad leader Tiffany (also something that became a theme of my race). But, tears are cathartic, therapeutic and needed. It’s not weak, or wimpy. Amidst all the new information, prayers, worship and emotional fruit basket upset of training camp, you will need to cry.(Tiff. Alumni SQL. A dear heart with whom I have cried and laughed with a lot)
7. Laugh
   1. Not EVERYTHING has to be SO SERIOUS. The WR is an intense year of life and Training camp is something to prepare you for it ,but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun and laugh. The world race is not a break from life, it’s putting your life in a new place, and doing life from that place. So LAUGH.(even fake laugh is ok, like Team V in Romania)
8. Have fun
   1. I will never forget one of the afternoons where we had a break and all of Nsquad ended up in our camp out space playing ridiculous games. Mind you, this is also where we made a squad wide rule we would never play pato, pato, gonzo again. Having fun is an important way to build friendship, and even though for the most part we have to jump into the deep end with our teams and squads we still need a simple place to found our friendship.
9. Make Memories    
   1. Take pictures  (but leave your iPhone on airplane mode). Write things down. Make memories. THIS is where it all begins. When I was at final debrief the crew of us he began at training camp went and got coffee together and we looked to where we began at training camp. We were just a group of girls who ate a lot of dessert and crammed in a car together. But those memories were are base. And from there we saw where we had come.
10. Have expectations
    1. Didn’t see that coming did you?! I say this because let’s just be real we ALL have expectations. It’s ingrained in us. But when we have them and they are not met, we see what we think is important. But I believe, when you walk away from training camp and into the race you will begin to actually see and realize what is important.

 

So there it is, nothing really new or mind blowing.

Have fun, cry, have good soul conversations and also ones about red headed pop stars. Because that my friend, is truly where friendship lies.

(to check out where I’m going AFTER the race, and where I’m writing go to: A Wind Like This)