BOULDER, Colo. — Pick about any day of the year in Boulder and you'll see a lot of people running and riding bikes, an attitude toward exercise that USA Triathlon head coach Ian O’Brian says makes Boulder great for training.
"If you drive out here on a Saturday morning you will see thousands of people riding and staying healthy,” said O’Brian. “That puts you in an environment surrounded by people who are looking out for themselves and looking forward.”
It’s one reason O’Brian and his team trained in Boulder and the surrounding area before the Olympics in Tokyo. The other is the high elevation.
“The altitude we are at is a sweet zone to get benefits of increasing red blood cell count and hematocrit levels," said O’Brian.
The team set up their training camp at Rally Sport in Boulder where they could swim and work out. USA Triathlete Matt McElroy says they were right next to other elite athletes, including Olympians from other countries.
“You go to Rally Sport where we train. You see ironman athletes, you see world champions, you see everything,” said McElroy.
Because it doesn’t get too hot in Boulder, but gets very hot and humid in Tokyo, the team swam in a heated pool and rode stationary bikes in a room with the temperature turned up and humidifiers on full blast.
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