Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Epic Camp DAY 2

Epic Camp Day 2 (Okay it is really day 4 and I need to catch up)


I am not sure how people are doing it but the lodge looks like a college library with 15 page papers due in the AM. I have about enough energy to walk to the kitchen, get some snacks that I shouldn't be eating and then walk back to my couch for a nap. This is assuming that I am not on my bike, on a run or in the pool....


So anyway I kindly gave away the Yellow Jersey to Mr. Molina on day 2. I was able to wear it for day 1 since I finished second last year to Mike Montgomery and he didn't come to the camp this year because he is still sitting on a couch recovering from last year! As I reflect on day 2 on day 4 I feel very happy with my decision to be sane this year. Although watching all the campers that are seeing yellow right now makes me very very sleepy.


At the start of day 2 we were up early as usual and headed off to the pool. It was a 2,600 warm up and then the dreaded 400 IM. I was soooo not looking forward to that because under normal circumstances I would go home and take a nap after but today we were going to ride 240K and then run. My strategy for the 400 IM was to use the LEAST amount of energy as possible. I think it took me over 10 min to do LOL! Mine was no where as fun to watch as Paul Westwood. Not only was his fly the most entertaining thing I have ever seen but he backed the performance up with an even more entertaining breast stroke! Alas we all got it done and got back to get ready for our ride.


We stayed together as a group for the first two hours with Clive powering us through. It took me about 2 hours to fully wake up. Somehow I did wake up and the fun began. Mark P and I realized that since we were both not going for points that we could be the fukwits of the camp and ride harder during sections that didn't count and see who we could get to blow a bit of their wad before a climb or what not.


Initially Albert "got bored" and started riding a bit off the front. At this point we had all separated a bit and it was Beaven, Molina, Gordo, Mark, Clive and myself being towed along by Albert. Albert does this you see. He doesn't say anything and just decides that he's hungry or something and wants to get to lunch faster.


That situation of course stirs Mark up. I knew exactly what was going to happen and was simply just waiting for it. Mark takes off and I jump on his wheel. We trade off a bit and see that Molina and Bevan are trying to get on with G right back off them. clive cramped or something and Albert....well, Albert has a brain.


Mark gives the word to try and drop them and we start smacking it with 30 second pulls. We are clearly going for the "first to lunch points" which don't exist but you get the best pick of the grub :-) we did drop them but then got foiled with a one way bridge. That sucked because Bevan and molina timed it right and rode right past us we were at a stand still. Gordo, of course, was able to jump on the back of a truck and bridge back up.....It was a hammer fest but it was good for me because it sparked my interest in this whole thing again. This is the shit I like about these camps. And now that Mark and I have teamed up a bit, we have our own game to play.


After lunch we had a bunch of climbing to do. I knew that I wouldn't be easy for me as my climbing legs are somewhere in never land. I held my own though in the bits before the hills. We smacked it again until the next aide station but I got dropped in the hills. Charlsey and I ended up riding into the aide station together. The front group that smacked the climbing went off for the rest of the ride and I decided to hang a bit longer and wait for Mark that apparently BLEW BIG TIME in the hills. He actually ended up at a gas station 100 meters away from the aide station buying coke and water LOL....I guess he just couldn't make it.


We rolled easy with some of the other guys and started to get the next 90K done. Little did any of us know that it would be the HARDEST 90K of our lives due to heat, hills and wind. When we got out of the hills we were hit with the most intense wind I have ever ridden in. It was bad going up but just went to a level I have never seen on the flat. Elliot and I were rididng together as the 3 guys we had on the wheel dropped off. It took Elliot and I about 10 years to cross this one section of flat. I have never been so desperate in my entire life!


Finishing that ride was very good for my mind. It was the hardest ride I have EVER done and got me back into the groove of loving this shit. I was going to run for 15 min off the bike but when I got into tekapo I just said "I think I will take a shower instead". I have to remember that even though the plan is to run as frequently as possible I do have to understand that I haven't seen how the foot responds to this kind of riding with the minimal running. I would be able to get my run in for the Aquathon at the end of the next day.....

I took a sleeping pill that night and retreated back to the room for some quiet time. When you are in the wind like that all day smacking it for hours on end quiet time is essential.


Everything seems good on the camp so far. Maybe tomorrow I will have the energy to catch up on the last two days as they have been pretty massive.


For more hit up www.ironmantalk.com or www.epiccamp.com

cheers,
bdc

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Epic Camp- Junior Year

EPIC CAMP DAY 1

* For more quality stuff direct from the camp check out the Ironman Talk Pod Cast at www.ironmantalk.com or go to Epiccamp.com and don't forget to check out Endurance Corner!


I figured that Epic Camp would be a great way for me to get back to the blog scene. I have been off since Kona and know that my website is down. Long story...trying to get it sorted. Until then I will keep this updated.


I think that this Epic Camp might be the hardest camp I have attended yet but for reasons that may not be obvious. The first is that it is going to be some REALLY LONG riding and I am not in the usual shape I have been in at this time of year. Since I did Hawaii I took a decent amount of time off from training and feel the effects to say the least. However, I do think that I am stronger, in general, than I ever have been. The second reason is that I have purposely taken myself out of the points completion. That was a hard thing for me to do. I like being competitive and I know that beating people (or trying to) is a huge motivator for me. I know there are plenty of Zen reasons to do this sport but when it comes down to it, I just want to try and kick your ass.

When we got to the pool this AM for the traditional 2K Time Trial in the pool there was already a sense of things being "off" for me. For one thing the pool at QEII has been short course forever now and that bugs because I actually loose time with my text book flip turns. And since I wasn't going for points there was a part of me that thought "well maybe I can just focus on my form or something.." Of course Gordo would disagree with that when he found out that I took it out in a 1:12 LOL. I have no sense of pace in the pool (Goal #1 for the year).


Not to focus on the negative aspect of the AM I decided that I might try getting a better push off the wall on my turns. JD gets on me about that in Boulder because I almost NEVER make it to the flags LOL...It was hard to do this today as well because I had Mr. Tobby Radcliff sitting on my feet the entire time typing his race report. To think he got to be 5 seconds faster than me because he sat on my feet the whole way! SHAME ON HIM LOL...I'm just jealous because I didn't pick a better lane. My whole plan was to go over to Gordo's lane and sit on his feet and try to stay on them. I think I could have. Maybe I will get my shot later in the camp?


Once we got back for some grub and changed up we headed out for the ride. It was a 180K ride to Akoroa and back. It's a hard ride as it has 2 decent climbs and rollers after the first climb and right before the second climb. As if that wasn't hard enough Epic throws in two KOM point races and then a 30K (turned out to be 42K) Time Trial on the bike at the end.


As we rolled out I came close to going down twice so I decided I would pull back and not sit in the bunch. It would give me some time to see how the new guys I don't know ride. But then I thought that maybe I would just do the entire camp like that. No drafting for 8 days. And then I got pissy because I realized that I was having that conversation because I wasn't in the points game.


When we got to our first re group at the base of the hill I decide to commit Epic Camp suicide and leave early for the climb so I was REALLY going to be out of the points race. Mark P just got off a plane and was driven to where we were and left early as well so we had a moment to catch up. Little did anyone know that he would SMASH everyone on the TT later in the day. Just got off a plane from the states.....that is a stud.

Once I got to the top I just kept going and was the first person to the lunch stop in Akoroa and then decided "screw this" I am not going for points on the second climb why not just leave now and go back. My stomach wasn't feeling that great and I wanted to try not eating too much real food on the rides so I packed up some Gels and hit the road again.


My climb up the other side was minimal to say the least. I don't feel like I have any climbing legs at all and thought I needed a larger cassette on the back. Apparently it is not the cassette and I need some larger quads LOL....


Once back to Little River where the TT would begin I decided that I would do it because I need some form of competition to stir up my mood and bring some excitement to me for the camp. Plus, a hard ride on the bike wasn't breaking my rules for and "injury free camp".


I took off setting my pace for a 33K Ride. We weren't sure how long it was going to be. Long story short it was 42K and I blew my wad and ended up with abductor cramps and having to soft pedal the last 3K or so. Not a big mood lifter. It was really windy and I felt like sheep pooh.

I had a big moment of diarrhea before the TT and just felt bonked on calories so maybe that was what it was. IT wasn't the best way to kick off a camp but luckily when I got back Bevan and Eliot went for our 50 min run and that felt pretty good and was filled with some nice laughs.


I'm sure things will come round and I will gain things on this camp that I haven't gotten from the last two. I am feeling a quiet camp is in the works for me. Not feeling that social for some reason and all these long rides give me plenty of time to think about all the other non triathlon related stuff going on in my world. Which brings me to my mini camp goal which is to try and switch conversations to something other than triathlon as much as possible. I know it is a triathlon camp but DUDE there is only so much that can be said. JFT.


Do something good for yourself tomorrow.

bdc