Trains, Travels

A week has passed since camp finished. I left Invercargill with plans for very active recovery and also the hints of the camp cold. Those hints became the real thing and my recovery was less active than planned! An interesting mixture of fatigue, illness and some post event blues. I’m relieved I’m not the only one experiencing the latter.

I’m fortunate to very rarely get ill. When I do it frustrates me immensely. The cold was mild not much more than a blocked nose yet it acted as a perfect excuse to do less than planned. I suppose it did interrupt my sleep a little, but it didn’t make me skip the swim session after going to see Avatar. Neither did the street magician I watched for twenty minutes (though he was good).

The first time I went to the pool after Epic it struck me how unfit I felt . I splashed my way through a lazy set of lengths without much plan. Actually completing any distance seemed an achievement in itself. I looked at other swimmers and was convinced they were in much better shape than me. Some of them were at least faster swimmers. I’ve ridden the length of the country and I’m the weakest person in the pool!

Biding my time seemed the best idea. No point rushing things. The potential to do more harm than good is always there. That same instinct that drives me to greater fitness can as easily push me to breaking point. I was carefully reminded of this on Saturday when I headed to the gym.

Wellington was putting on some of its best wind and rain so being outside didn’t appeal. Instead the plan was an easy run in the gym and some core work. For some reason I thought it would be the perfect time to break in my new racing flats. Twenty minutes on a treadmill and my calves and ankles were locking up. Not the gentle return to form I wanted. I smartened up for a moment and called my run short.

Epic Camp has left me heavy. Too heavy to put my tired legs through any kind of running on lightly cushioned shoes. It’s not unusual for campers to gain weight. The sheer abundance of food available and a metabolism working overtime are a lethal combination. As I’ve seen after races I’m particularly good at piling on the pounds. I’ve come away a little too round for my liking. Not the lean image of an athlete I have in my head.

On Sunday I headed out for my first ride since camp. I was inauspiciously dropped within the first 10km. I knew I’d be riding easy, but hadn’t expected to have to ride quite so easily. These weren’t the legs that got me from one end of the country to another.

Two hundred watts acted as a barrier if crossed muscles and tendons protested sharply. Attempts to put mind over matter were short lived. I accepted the kind of ride I was going to have and enjoyed the sights of the bay. My ego was boosted ever so slightly by casual riders out for leisurely trips along Oriental Parade. Then dashed when a heavy weight cyclist with stick legs cruised by me.

I skipped the roads for the pedestrianised docks. A rough plan had formed to have a coffee and perhaps some cake. It never fully manifested as I couldn’t pick a place that really appealed. My weakness and current body image issues combined to make me question the wisdom of cake anyway.

Instead I returned to the road and the route home. Shortly reaching the highway and ahead the cyclist with the stick legs. Without trying I soon caught him and passed. He sat in my draft as I pushed into the headwind. This wasn’t the hard pulls on the front I’d been doing at Christmas, but at least I was strong enough to give someone a tow.

I got home and reminded myself to be patient. Rushing recovery doesn’t really work. I’m sure I’ve made that mistake once or twice last year. Hard to say for sure, but large breaks after Ironman UK and Kona didn’t seem to do too much harm.

Then today. Exactly one week after camp finished and things are starting to turn round. I didn’t do as much as I might have liked. Then again I realise now what I’d like and what I can manage aren’t exactly the same. What I did felt good. It’s starting to feel like I’m an athlete again.

A longer session at the pool 4.5km in a little under ninety minutes. Then a lazy afternoon as I was overcome by a massive sense of fatigue. As I was starting to worry that for all the good of the swim I still wasn’t up to much I came round. Finally an easy thirty minutes of running. Everything felt good only a little tightness here or there. I started to feel like a runner again all be it a heavy one!

As the week progresses I’ll see how I go. Trying a little more each day, but never pushing myself too hard. I’m hoping that come the weekend I’ll really be starting to feel my former self. Then one final build, three weeks to get myself ready for Taupo. Or maybe four if I feel strong and don’t want to taper so much.

I have an image of the athlete I need to be in my head, I know how to get there and just need to bide my time.

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I’m back in Wellington which after a weekend of foul weather has turned on the sunshine for me. I felt a slight inkling to go out on the bike on such a lovely day. After 15 days of riding it felt wrong not to be sitting on a saddle. Fortunately it’s still in the bag so there wasn’t really an option. Tomorrow maybe, but for now I went for a nice, easy swim.

My third time at Epic Camp is over. Once again I managed to complete the camp minimums and throw in a little bit extra for a few more points. I’m waiting to see if I did enough to retain sixth place once the KOM points are factored in. Whilst I enjoy getting a little involved in the points game the main point of camp is the training.

Before I left for Auckland I set myself some goals for the camp. I have to admit to mixed success with these. If I’m disappointed with any of them it’s how quickly I cracked on the nutrition side. I turned to sugars early in the camp and didn’t turn back! I think in the second week my eating habits were a little more controlled and structured, but still nothing like the paleo for athletes plan.

I can check off camp completion from the list without problem. I didn’t run every day though. I didn’t run on the easy day, nor on one other day when I might have. I did run a lot mind you, not to the level of some on the camp, but a reasonable amount considering everything else going on. I’ve handled much bigger running loads in the past, but considering how much running I’d done in the couple of weeks before the camp and all the other training I’m not too disappointed. It does mean I won’t be scoring highly in Gordo’s run game of course!

I swam a lot, missing one or two optional swims in the second week of camp. I was particularly pleased to actually get a 6K swim in and do a reasonable number of the swim sets this time. I finished with a good 7 or 8km more swimming than camp minimums at least. I also picked up run bonuses from doing one 25km run (on day one too) and a day with a couple of 10K runs in.

Did I test my limits though? The straight up answer is yes. I’ve never done training like that. I’ll admit I’m suffering a little from that feeling that perhaps I could have done more. Just like finishing a race and thinking how you could have gone faster. Perhaps I could, but what I did pushed me. I think if I take anything away it’s that I worked myself too hard on the North island and struggled more on the South.

The first eight days were comparable with previous eight day camps for me. I finished feeling a lot less fatigued or worn down. From then on though it became an increasing struggle to maintain the level of performance. It’s not to say I didn’t have some good riding on the South island I just had better riding on the North. In fact much of my South island riding would have made perfectly acceptable long training rides outside of camp.

It’s amazing to see how some people coped with the long camp. Particularly impressive were those who got stronger as the camp went on or who maintained their level of performance. In some cases this may have been down to more sensible pacing over the camp. In others it speaks of superb recovery. Something to work towards.

For those interested in the hours and kilometres my logs say I did this:

Slightly less hours than I anticipated for the distances involved. Still far more than I’ve ever done in a two week period. There was a lot of steady riding, but very little really easy riding. Similarly there were only a couple of days I’d say my run pace really suffered. Swimming didn’t vary that much over camp which is to say I was about as slow as normal!

If I look at my performance management chart a couple of points stick out. Firstly the overall affect of camp is an all new high for my CTL. Not really surprising the aim now is to recover without too much loss in that fitness. Secondly the rest day gave a nice break and recovery to my TSB. From that point on I didn’t sink too much lower. This also relates to the ‘easier’ nature of the South island. I said I didn’t ride as well and overall stress was lower. I spent a lot more time hiding myself in the packs.

It’s a big start to the year ahead. I’ve pushed up my swim, bike and run beyond last year’s figures already. My aim now is to build on this and work towards bettering on my 2009 performances. It’s going to take some focus and careful work from here on. Recover from camp above anything else.

I’ve some minor goals in the process. I aim to ride over 3,000km in January. I’m well on my way there and good active recovery will help for the next week. It’ll set me up to log more distance on the bike than last year. I’d like to hit 25,000km for a year. Similarly I’ll aim for higher figures for both swim and run. I just haven’t come up with targets for those yet! Maybe 800km swimming and 3000km of running. Don’t hold me to those yet.

Each time I’ve done Epic Camp I’ve gone in a little nervous as to how I’ll cope. My fitness has proved to be up to the test and I’ve managed to push a little and test myself. I come into camp a better athlete than before and I leave seeing how much more there is to do. Lee commented me over the final dinner how he could see the camps being addictive. They really are. I know I’ll be back in the future to test those limits again.

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The final day, just 190km to ride to Bluff and the job is done. It was a weird sensation to be that close to the finish. We all went through the morning routine knowing it’d be the last time. Up early, bags packed and out by the vans, breakfast and then get the bikes ready. I wanted to get out on the road as early as possible so I could cruise through the day.

Rob Q, Lee and I set off as a group about 20 minutes ahead of the main pack. Once Lee got over some initial excitement on the first little hill of the day we stuck to the cruisey pace. The morning breeze was chilly and we’d left wrapped in layers. Less than an hour in they were already coming off. Things were looking good for the promised fine day.

Our pace was easy enough that a couple of riders caught us by the first aid station. This was definitely a easy day, but I was enjoying the ride and the chance to chat a bit. The clouds were starting to burn off and the scenery was spectacular once again. Even the daunting profile chart was proving to be misleading with the worst of the hills being quite manageable. My expectations after day 14 were for a much tougher day.

Wind is a big factor in New Zealand riding, it’s why I mention it so often. The camp had got lucky and there were strong Easterlies today. Once we were riding the bottom of the island the wind was on our back. We may have been cruising, but we weren’t going slow for sure. By lunch the whole camp was ahead of schedule.

After days of cold, gray skies it was nice to relax in the sun for our break. It was probably the most leisurely lunch of the whole camp. All together everyone excited to be within 60km of the finish. From this point on we’d be riding as a group. The plan was to reach the end of the island together.

Once again those tailwinds helped us make great time as we rode two abreast down the coastal roads. I chatted with Tara about the trip and plans for the year ahead and time flew by. Soon we were on Bluff road and the town was in sight. Unfortunately the road turned to give us a headwind, but I was sat in the bunch so it wasn’t so bad.

A small group of brave cyclist wanted to ride up Bluff Hill. Significantly steep to the point that elites in the tour of the Southlands suffer. I chose to wait at the bottom with the rest of the group. So close to finishing it was quite surreal to be relaxing in the sun. The riders returned with stories of their struggles and Douglas’s back flip. It sounded fun, but I knew my legs just weren’t up to it anymore – they were about ready to go on strike.

Regrouped we took the last two kilometres to the end of the road at a leisurely pace. There was the end of the road, the trip was over. It’s hard to describe the feelings pleasure at the achievement, a little disappointment it was over, relief too! That was it, the job was done. I can now say I’ve ridden the length of an entire country. I threw in a little swimming and running to add to the challenge too.

That wasn’t quite the end. A quick changeover into run kit and the majority of the group headed off on the running trails to run round the hill. That transformed into running over the hill at the far viewing point. Initial thoughts that it meant a shorter run were dispelled once I realise how steep the trail was. We climbed for ages. My calves were burning as we slowly ran our way to the top.

From the summit it was a very cautious run down the road a few of the guys had ridden up. It was as steep as they claimed. I was in no doubt I would have had to stop before the top if I’d tried. I think we all gained a lot of respect for those who did it after 15 days of riding.

At the bottom the van was waiting to shuttle us back to the hotel. I sat in the back thinking over the two weeks and all that I’d done. I’ve nothing profound to offer. Not now at least. It’s been an amazing experience, but I’ll save that for another time.

Finally some thanks. Thanks to John, Scott and Gordo for organising these camps. Particularly to John for all the work he does whilst still doing all the training. Massive thanks to Super Dave and the support crew. None of this would happend without their work. Of course, thanks to all the other Epic Campers for being great company and helping me get through. Hopefully I’ll be back on another camp in the future.

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