“It was tough, always tougher at altitude,” panted Ablett.
Joined by his midfield accomplice Karmichael Hunt, Campbell Brown and rookie forward Josh Hall, the skipper and his three GC SUNS team mates turned in their first long-distance runs for the 2014 Pre-Season, a task made much harder at high altitude.
With only four Gold Coasters to set the pace, the High Performance unit called in the cavalry – as senior coach Guy McKenna changed in to 2XU training apparel for the endurance time-trial.
While attempted to hold his own against the elite pack, unsurprisingly, it was the 2013 Brownlow Medallist who crossed the line first, putting in a solid time alongside his fellow team mates.
“It was alright, a tad bit slower than last year, but with only four guys today it was hard to set the pace,” Ablett said.
“We probably were too slow out of the gate, but picked it up after the first lap.”
“We normally have a few guys at the front that helps drag out the rest of the group, but we had to back up after a tough conditioning session yesterday.”
With the 2km time trials specifically designed to test the player’s physical and mental capabilities, McKenna said not even Ablett’s supernatural abilities did not allow the star captain to escape from the fatigue-induced distance.
“The 2km run, at altitude no matter how good you are technically and physically, prepares you for what these boys have to go through,” he said.
Ablett echoed McKenna’s sentiments, but backed it up by saying the playing group were there to gain the maximum benefit of training at altitude.
“Without a doubt I think it is a mixture of both physical and mental toughness,” he said.
“It is quite a mind battle. But the whole reason we are over here on this came is to get conditioning, get fit, and test the boys out mentally and no doubt that happens here on this camp.”
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