EC 2007 day 10 (Dave C's blog)

Three things stick in my mind about today.

First, the dramatic drop in the temperature of Lake Wanaka since we did the swim y/day. A group of us went down at 6:30am to swim. I was first in, squealed like a stuck pig, and didn't have the courage to stick my face in the water until I'd been swimming for a good 3-4 minutes. F@#* it was cold. I was a little worried I'd become soft but, thankfully, the others had similar experiences. I finished my swim, ran to a hot shower, put on 3 layers, downed 2 cups of coffee, and was still shivering. When we get back to Wanaka just before the race, I'm buying up every piece of neoprene on offer.

Secondly, the gentle but very annoying headwind that hit us as we climbed the Crown Range Rd (from the Wanaka side). Probably wouldn't have been an issue under normal circumstances, but day 10 at Epic is a different story. Some great scenery on the ride, especially as we decended the other side of the Crown Range. Ride data - 126 km, 4:35, 196w AP, 221w NP, h/r 126 bpm. I simply don't have top-end power any more. When we hit a decent hill, I struggle to hold the wheel in front.

Thirdly, the beautiful turquoise colour of the Clyde River as I did my 10k run along a shaded riverside track in Alexandra (consistently the hottest place in the country (and one of the coldest in winter)). Yet another zen moment.

On the weather front, this continues to be a camp of two halves. Another great day. The West Coast monsoon conditions now seem like a distant memory.

The team is holding together pretty well. As apparently happens every time, junk food is becoming more prevalent. And there's a fair bit of inane dribble coming out of some people's mouths. I, myself, seem to have taken to the occasional unprovoked outburst of the EC motto in an unconvincing German accent ("zair iz no ezi vay").