Trains, Travels

I woke at 6:00 this morning and the temptation to sleep in an skip the morning run and swim was massive. The bed was so warm and the weather looked cold out there. However I came into camp with the objective of getting a swim and a run in everyday the option was available. Besides the run today was to the pool and back so not much much than 4km.

The morning swim group seems to be shrinking a little. We jogged down to the Kaikoura pool at a leisurely pace that felt far harder than it should. as the pool is open air and not that well heated everyone opted to swim in their wetsuits. Having only medley or fly sets left to do for swim points I opted to just cruise through 3km. I didn’t fancy my chances at fly in a wetsuit.

After yesterdays leisurely breakfast things felt much more rushed this morning. Lots to do and not enough time. I wolfed down the usual mix of eggs, toast and yoghurt and got all my bags ready. We rolled out of the holiday park around 9:30 and headed south towards the KOM of the day.

With a mandatory regroup before the climb there weren’t any attacks before we reached the mountains. Once we were at the bottom though people went for it. As with the day before my legs didn’t have enough in them to follow. I pushed as hard as I could to make up a few places on the first part of the climb. I then lost them on the descent before the main climb. My biggest weak point in descending is hairpins and three or four of them slowed me down.

I never regained that much ground on the main climb. I did manage to catch up with Dave L right near the top and put in a surge past him to beat him. He hadn’t realised that was the finish so hadn’t tried to defend his position. Given our overall placing in the field I don’t think either of us were that fussed. Frankly I was happy to have that bit over, hopefully things would be easier now.

After a short drinks stop the group set out quick and I never managed to get back on. Tara came storming past and I commented how it reminded me of the TT we’d done in the other direction last year. She was soon vanishing up the road whilst I struggled to keep working. With about 15km to go Jo caught me and encouraged me to work with her to catch Tara.

I was starting to lose it a bit mentally. My back was sore which was unusual and I was feeling a little sorry for myself. Jo helped get me back on top of things and we worked hard till we met Tara again. With only about 10km remained the three of us kept the pace up till the aid station. Jo offered me some Nurofen there which I happily accepted.

I made sure I got on the group out of the aid station. Not wanting to be on my own out there. The next 60km were a battle to stay on. I got blown out the back a couple of times but managed to work back on. In the last 30km or so I stuck to the group very well. Taking some real effort to keep in there. Just short of the lunch stop I started to feel light headed and eventually dropped off with only a couple of kilometres to go. At that point I didn’t care, I could get to lunch.

I was pretty glad for that break even if it was cold and wet. It didn’t last too long before the main group set off for a final 45km into Christchurch. The pace was supposed to be friendly to ensure people found there way into town. It was less friendly than expected and about 15km in I was off the back again. I resigned myself to making my own way in and settled into a steady ride.

A little while late I caught up with Petro and then the group as they’d stopped. Whilst most of them hammered off Dave L was going at a more reasonable pace. I settled in on his wheel and just stayed there until we got to the motel. I just didn’t feel up to more work on the front if the body was up for it the mind certainly wasn’t

Here I am back at the Camelot Motel with it’s unusual castle theme. Familiar from last years Epic Camp, though when I was here then I was still feeling fresh. I’m pretty tired now, the body is definitely suffering and it’s taking more of a push to keep going. I wondered what it would be like to go beyond the previous 8 days of camp, guess I’m learning. It’s tough and tiring and I’m not alone in feeling it.

Only four more days to get through though. I’ve got the minimums done for running and swimming so anything there now is extra. Just got to get myself to the end of this island in one piece.

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Tough work out there today.

The least desirable winds for the rest of this trip are Southerlies. I’ve checked the forecast and that’s what we’ve got till Invercargill. We all got a taster of Kiwi sea breezes today. The bike stage was only 125km, shorter than most of the days we’ve done. A KOM at the start to get people going and then a further 100km straight into the wind.

Before the biking began a group of us went to the pool in Blenheim to get a 3K swim in. Some went for the medley 3K set for a point. I wasn’t really feeling up for that and opted to swim easy, but throw in the 1K band set. If you’re not familiar it’s a straight 1K swim with the legs tied by a band so you can’t kick. It tests your body position and works your shoulders hard.

I’d been considering running first and swimming in the afternoon once we’d got to Kaikoura. Potentially I could get my second 6K swim in for bonus points. Turns out I was wise to swim first thing as the pool here is closed. an important lesson I’ve learnt from past camps is if there’s an opportunity to do some training take it just in case. Plans have a habit of going wrong and you could miss out on the minimums.

After the swim and breakfast we all rolled out of Blenheim together. We rode easy to the edge of town and then people made their moves for the KOM. This is when I discover my legs aren’t going to play today. I try to go with the jump, but can’t catch onto a wheel and am slipping back pretty quickly. Once on the hill I can’t make any ground. Ultimately I decide I’m not going to have a position in the KOM and just to get over the hill.

Once over the top it was mostly downhill all the way to a drinks stop at Seddon. Here I picked up Nick and Pete and pulled them along all the way to the aid station at 70km. The wind had really picked up and the going was tough. I was feeling pretty driven though. If I wasn’t able to climb or put in big spikes of power I’d certainly ride hard into a headwind.

The three of us pulled into the aid station just as the larger bunch ahead of us were ready to leave. Nick managed a quick turn around and got himself into that group. Both Pete and myself failed to catch the end of the bunch and were on our own.

I powered along for a couple of minutes not making any ground on them before I gave up easing the pace to let Lee and Rob Q catch up with me. I wanted company for another 60K of that wind. I hadn’t realised Pete was also behind or I’d have waited for him to join us.

Lee was clearly suffering a fair bit and Rob and I took turns on the front to pull us all home. Having the occasional break from the wind was a real relief. The coastline in the region is spectacular, but it wasn’t a day to appreciate the scenery. Whilst grinding into the wind I watched my bike computer log the distance and counted down the kilometres to go. Every 5K I got nearer to the end was a big relief.

Once it was 10K to go I was on the front and not planning to stop until I reached the Kaikoura. Not that I was pushing that hard by now. My legs were feeling the last 4 hours of work and my pace had definitely dropped. The pull of home was strong though and it wasn’t too long till Rob, Lee and I rolled into town.

Plans for a 25km run following the bike were long gone from my mind. The main aim was to get my basic 10K run in and to rest up ready for another big day tomorrow. Better to give things a break than over do it on the first day of the second week. There’s still a lot of distance to ride to the bottom of this island.

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Rest Day! All points were neutralised today, there’s nothing for running or swimming. All we had to do was get up, get ourselves on the Interislander ferry and ride 28km from Picton to our motel in Blenheim. After eight days of near enough eight hours training a day it was just an hours spinning.

I thought I might fit a short run or swim in to keep the body moving, but I can’t build up the enthusiasm for it. I’m enjoying having so little to do for a day and trying to recharge myself for the final six days.

It’s been a big trip so far. Eight days of solid Epic Camp training puts me at a point I’ve only been a couple of times before. Normally I’d be about to take an easy week to recover from it too. This time I’m going to be pushing on for another six days of hard work. I’m digging a deeper hole than I’ve ever dug before.

One week in and the Performance Management Chart is looking like this (Epic Camp fortnight highlighted with cyan).

CTL around 165 and TSB around -110! Like I say, I’ve been that low two or three times, always at the end of Epic Camps and always followed with an easy week. How I’m going to hold up to six more days of similar intensity to the week that’s gone when I’m already that far gone is going to be interesting.

The short ride today felt okay, though the legs had stiffened up a little from sitting around on the ferry. a massage in a little while will hopefully help loosen things up and tomorrow I’ll get back into things.

I’m finding that my power is largely capped now. I’m able to ride a lot around the 70-75% intensity level, but going higher takes more effort both physically and mentally. I saw it on the climb in the Rimutakas yesterday, the body wasn’t willing to give that little bit more up the hill.

Given that I’m feeling surprisingly good really and still feel able to take on the challenge. I’m still making plans for getting in swim, bike and run every day. Hopefully getting a few more of the bonuses open to me. There’s one more 6K swim and one more 25K run bonus open to me. I’m almost there on camp minimums for swim and run, it’s all about those few extra points. I want back into the top 5!

Tomorrow’s ride is a comparatively short 125km. There should be a swim and a run of some sort. I may look into the longer run then if I feel up to it.

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