Trains, Travels

The penultimate day of training and whilst I’ll be sad for camp to end, my body is crying for it to be over! With under 400km to the end of the island I’ll be getting myself there somehow. Of course the last two days are some tough ones with plenty of Kiwi rollers in our way. On the other hand it looks like the weather has turned in our favour.

Once again it was an early start. Straight up and ready for the bike as the plan was to hold an Aquathon at Port Chalmers. You could sense the lack of enthusiasm for this over breakfast. Still my day bag had my wetsuit and run kit in ready for the event.

We rolled out at around 7:30 and the bunch rode very friendly for the first 50km. Nothing too hard at all even for my excessively tired legs. Somehow they keep going though there’s a lot more strain involved in keeping up the pace. At least in the group the time passed quickly and we were soon off the highway and onto more scenic coastal roads.

The views were once again spectacular and the terrain a little more lumpy. Climbing is really starting to take a little more out of me now. There was a KOM planned at a nasty little spike just before Dunedin. I’ve come to accept that I can’t do much in the KOM competition now so don’t worry about it. Despite that the lure of a little competition makes me push harder even if it’s for the final placings.

With a few of the guys riding ahead of the mandatory regroup at least I wasn’t quite last on points! It was a tough climb, but merely a preamble to what was to come. The reward for a climb is a nice fast descent. The roads were a little twisty for my taste and i took is easy till I met the group the other side.

Good news the aquathon was cancelled due to the cold. I don’t think anyone was too disappointed to see it go. We rolled friendly into Dunedin to visit the bike shop for a couple of repairs. It was also suggested I needed new shorts. Unfortunately most of the pairs I’ve brought with me have thinned to the point anyone on my wheel sees far more than they want. I’d managed to pick a particularly bad pair for today. The worst most people had ever seen!

Nick acted as the local guide through Dunedin and used it as an opportunity to show off a particularly vicious climb. It was out of the saddle grinding nearly the whole way. I started to wish I had a 27 on the back just for that little bit easier gearing. it proved I could still raise my heart rate though.

Lunch came a bit later in Brighton. A nice beach about 10K south of Dunedin. The climbing had really taken it’s toll on my legs and I made the decision then that I’d drop off the group. It didn’t more than a few kilometres of riding before I followed my plan. I teamed up with Lee for the remaining 60K with an aim of riding easy.

The final big climb of the day made that easier said than done. The road turned up once more and there was plenty of grinding to be done. It was a particularly cruel climb combining very steep sections which gave the impression of summiting the climb. Once you got there you’d find a small dip and then more ascent. I was wondering how many more I could take by the fifth of sixth time. Eventually it came to an end and a fantastic descent followed. Spectacular views over lakes and valleys. Lee and I agreed it looks a lot like the lakes back home.

The final section was along the highway once more. It seemed a little quieter round here than some of the past few days. We shared turns on the front. I wasn’t feeling that great so would secretly hope Lee would happily pull me along the remaining 40K! Halfway through that was a final drinks stop with some tasty flapjack on offer too. A bit of light refuelling and I perked up.

Just a few more hills remained between us and the motel. Mercifully they were no where near as steep as the previous ones. We kept a comfortable pace all the way to Balclutha. Arriving a little too late for it to be worth me heading to the pool. I’d not have time for a points swim and with all my swim and run done I was happy to call it a day.

One more day to go. 190km of riding with plenty more hills in the way. It’s going to be a tough one. No KOM to worry about and the final section will be ridden as a group. I’m sure the fact I’m so close to finishing will give me the motivation to get me through the day. After all that’s gone another 190km is nothing!

Somehow I dragged myself out of bed this morning to get a 10K run in before my swim. It was a hard effort for a very average run. Fatigue is a common theme for all of us on camp by now. Two more days to go and they seem daunting!

So 10K of running finishing at the pool in Geraldine. Unfortunately my swim bag hadn’t turned up so I had to swim in my shorts and borrow some goggles. Last night I’d contemplated doing a second 6K swim for the bonus points involved. This morning that plan was gone. I figured I was probably ahead enough on points to hold 6th place and a 6K swim would mean a minimal breakfast.

Four hundred metres medley is an Epic Camp tradition. Every one I’ve done has had it. For most of us it’s a comedy event there are few medley swimmers here. I swam out the 2.6K I needed to get a 3K swim once my IM was done. After watching a couple of rounds of the IM it was my go. It’s been a while since I’ve done much swimming other than front crawl. This was definitely about survival not performance!

Swim and run done it was just another 150K day on the bike to get through. I rolled with the A group today. Fortunately things were pretty friendly for the first 50K or so. Nobody pushed the pace too hard. Winds were good and we made excellent time. Once the aid station was gone it was a different story.

Petro went to the front and put the hammer down. He pulled us along at a hard pace for the next 20K. I was seriously reaching my limit and considering a tactical withdrawal from the bunch! At this point Steven went to the front and eased back the pace a little. I think everyone in the group breathed a sigh of relief.

Steven kept things going strongly, just slightly more manageable for me. With 30K till lunch I figured I should be able to stick in. The kilometres flew by and we reached the 100K lunch point in under 3 hours. Pretty good going. Not that I could claim much contribution to that, I’d sat in all day.

I wasn’t sure how things would go after lunch, but figured I’d stick with the train as best I could. As it was a combination of Steven and John pulled us through to Oamaru at a decent pace again. I was certainly feeling the effort especially after the break had let blood pool in my legs.

I figured after Oamaru I’d drop off and go at my own pace to the motel. It’d only be 30K so not too far to be left on your own. Despite those thoughts an overall easing of pace in the group kept me with them. I wasn’t having to work as hard as earlier in the day and I’d get to the end quicker. It was certainly a little bit harder than what I’d do left on my own, but manageable.

The last 30K down the coastal road made the ride. There was spectacular views down the beaches or over the fields. The terrain rolled with the odd little hill, but nothing too severe. Enough to tax my aching legs, but not to stop me. Time and distance passed quickly and we rolled into Waianakarua having average 33kph. Not too bad even if I’d spent all day sitting in.

Not having to run or swim once there was a nice feeling. Just relax, clean up and think how close I am to the end. There’s two tough days ahead. 180km of biking tomorrow with a KOM and an aquathon. I’m not sure anyone’s looking forward to that! It may involve a lot of athletes hobbling for 7K. There are plenty of tired legs out there and some very sore ones too.

Yet another early start to the day. Up before six ready to have a quick breakfast before heading off to run the Godley Head loop in Christchurch. Increasingly with the runs and swims the number of campers turning up for each event is shrinking. A small group of us got in the vans and headed over to Scott’s house for the start of the run.

I’d been warned the route was challenging and it didn’t disappoint. The first thirty minutes were spent running up trails into the hills. My calves and ankles ached like mad from the start and I was seriously questioning the wisdom of opting for this run.

When it eventually reached a single lane road I found my legs and picked up the pace. The views over Christchurch and the ocean were spectacular. Well worth the discomfort of running up there. The road winds round the hills before you return to the trails for a long descent back to the beach front. There’s just one last large hill in the way before you reach the start.

It’s tough going, taking me 1:45 to complete just over 18.5km. Then another 6 minutes to join Steven in tacking on a further 1.5km to reach 20K for an extra point. At least that last 1.5K could be done on the flat so didn’t kill the legs quite so much.

Everyone done we headed home for a quick breakfast before the 150km ride. Whilst the morning’s weather had been fine and sunny the forecast didn’t look good for the trip ahead. Already the temperature was dropping and the wind was picking up. By the time we rolled out of the motel it was obvious we were heading into some nasty conditions.

The route from Christchurch to Geraldine is essentially flat. This should have been the easiest ride of the camp. Instead we faced nasty headwinds and soon rain. The group stayed together with the ride neutralised till we passed New Zealand’s longest bridge at about 55K. I don’t think anyone was too disappointed to have the pace kept down.

In the nasty conditions we had one accident with Pete going down and knocking Nick off too. Nick was fine, but Pete had to visit the doctor once the ride was over. Hopefully it won’t prove too serious and he’ll have no trouble riding the rest of the country. With bad weather and increasingly tired athletes accidents are always a risk.

Once we were across the bridge and off the highway everyone was free to ride how they wanted. John and Dave C time trialled off the front of the bunch. The rest of us choose to work together until lunch. We established a neatly rotating pace line that helped everyone along. It made the time pass quickly in such miserable weather.

We arrived at lunch together all cold and wet. It was a remarkably quick affair, more time spent on adding layers of clothing than eating. Then back on the road to try and get warm again. I caught up with Dave L and as we were chatting Clas came by pulling a train. We tried to jump on, but neither of us had the power to do it.

Neither of us felt our best so we worked together taking short turns on the front to keep the pace up. Not my best effort by far mostly I just wanted to get to the next hotel. I was having fantasies about the hot shower I’d have when I got there! Just keeping things going and slowly making our way to Geraldine was the focus. I was counting down the Ks on my bike computer from about 40K out.

Once we arrived that was my day done. I heard some had gone to the pool, but it seemed a little late for me to try and fit that in too. So unfortunately it was my first day on camp without a swim for points. Also means I miss out on the bonus 3 points for swim, bike and run on the day. I’m fine for overall camp minimums, but it feels a little like I missed out.

I’ll aim to get a 6K swim in tomorrow to make up for it. They’ll be bonus points for that anyway and I can throw a run in too. We’ll also have the entertainment of the 400m IM at the pool. Always good for a laugh, very few of us are talented medley swimmers!