EC 2007 day 12 (Dave C's blog)

I'm going to keep this one short and sweet 'coz I've got a lot of crap to take care of before tomorrow's race (not that it's going to be a race for me).

I'm happy to say that I've officially completed EC. Bike from Alexandra to Wanaka (90kms), 10km run & 3km swim. I've achieved my main goals at EC by getting through all the sessions (and by no means has everyone done that) and remaining uninjured. It's been a great experience to be part of this team. As I knew would be the case, I was certainly one of the slower guys here, but was never made to feel second rate. I've learned a lot and, at the risk of spouting cliches, have pushed out the boundaries of what I'm capable of.

I'm looking forward to having a few beers with the guys after the race tomorrow. We have a team dinner tomorrow night and then everyone heads off on their own separate way on Sunday. Talk is now on about ECNZ '08...

EC 2007 day 11 (Dave C's blog)

Activities day at EC. Good news and bad news.

The good news was no epic bike, run or swim. The bad news is I had to face my two betes noire - 400m IM and 200m kicking. I have never done 25m, let alone 100m, of butterfly. And I positively suck at kicking. My 10 year old son destroys me in kicking races (and has done so for several years).

Anyway, like every other epic challenge, these two had to be faced one at a time. Somehow, I got through them. I'm pretty sure I set a new slowest time at EC for the kicking. But, thankfully, there were one or two others equally out of their depth (so to speak) at butterfly.

There were 10 events in all spread over the day. In contrast to the past 10 days, they could all be classified as fast-twitch events. For example, 1km TT, 1 mile run, press ups (have to mention here Bevan's new EC record of 100), standing jump and the stone throw. We finished with the particularly sadistic wall squat (back against wall with thighs parallel to the ground). It was, literally, last man standing (or, at least, squatting). Take a bow Clive.

Overall winner of the day was Mark P - showing great consistency over the course of the decathlon.

The day only served to remind me that I really am tired. The fall-off in power over the 1km TT was scary. But all to be expected of course.

BTW, we had a good Q&A session last night led by Scott and Gordo. Great opportunity for us to put our questions to two of the best minds in the business. Interesting also to talk about what we should expect and do, on the training front, over the coming season given what we've been through.

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").

EC 2007 day 9 (Dave C's blog)

Officially, today was a "recovery" day. The mandatory sessions were (1) the 3.8km swim-the-course race that is part of the build-up for Saturday, (2) a 60km bike, and (3) a 10km run. I opted for a 2:00 run for a few extra points and the (rare) chance to enjoy running in sunshine. Actually, more than just sunshine - it was bloody hot today. Not that anyone's complaining. So, anyway, 5:30 on "recovery" day.

My swim on the course was disappointing - 1:07. Partly explained by some accumulated fatigue, but a number of the guys did PBs. So I guess I was just slow.

We biked another part of the race course - out to the Treble Cone access road and back through town to Albert Town. Nice ride but, to use the word that seems to have cropped up all too often on camp, "undulating". This won't be a fast bike course on Saturday. 5:00 would be a very respectable time for a pro.

My run took in most of the run course. Mostly on a track, very scenic as it follows the Lake around to Albert Town. Again, it won't be a fast run on Saturday.

We're off to Alexandra tomorrow, via the Crown Range. A pity 'coz the general consensus is we like Wanaka, and our accommodation is great. In fact, sitting back this afternoon after my run, sipping on a cold beer, feet up watching the cricket, and hoovering down a mountain of nacho chips with Molina's special guacamole, I almost convinced myself I was having the sort of holiday normal people enjoy. But very little normality around here I assure you.

EC 2007 days 7 & 8 (Dave C's blog)

Day 7

First week at EC is over. Looking back over the log is a bit scary. Just over 50 hours in total -6.5 hours swimming, 7.5 hours running and an eye-watering 36.5 hours on the bike. Around 1,050km riding. WAY over twice my previous max. weekly bike volume. Still well short of Mike M though, who has done around 1,000 miles!

At what cost? Well, the body sure is hurting. They say that, in week two, the battle is as much mental as physical. I think I’m just starting to see the changeover. But I’m in good company. In fact, a couple of the lads have been injured and have missed the odd day or two.

If I had to put a number on it, I’d say today was at least 30% harder for me than yesterday (hopefully not the start of a trend). We did a nice 3k swim, point-to-point, in a nearby lake. With a southerly supposedly on the way, we wanted to get going on the bike early, to avoid a head wind into Haast. For me, it was pretty much a 160k TT.

The hills started soon after Franz Josef, and that broke up the group. The first 70 minutes was all hills and that sure took its toll on me. Having to sustain 300-350w efforts on shelled legs is tough going. The best decision I made all day was to put my ego aside, not try to stay with the group I was with, and do the ride at my own pace. Mentally, that made the ride tougher but, physically, it was the right thing to do. Stats for my ride – 5:42, 191w AP, 214w NP, h/r 124 bpm. Still a solid ride given the last 6 days.

My 10k brick run was not what you would call a quality session. But I got through it ok. My goals for the remainder of the camp are (1) to complete all the sessions, (2) not to nuke myself trying to hang on to the rockstars, and (3) to retain my sense of humour.

Day 8

EC has really altered your sense of perspective when a 5:30 ride and 750m/5k aquathon seems like an easy day. But today seemed (relatively) easy.

For a start, we finally left the We(s)t Coast and bid adieu to the sandflies that have bugged us (pun intended) for the last few days. Once again, it was raining when we left Haast but, by the time we got over the Pass, the sun came out. KOM points were on the line for the climb over the pass. Bevan took the honours there. Scott D and I decided to opt out of the madness and took time to take in some great scenery during the day. There were times when we were TTing on long, straight sections of well-sealed road, tailwind assisting, 50+ kph, sun on our backs and I thought to myself "this is more like it". We got to ride a section of Saturday's Quelle Challenge race towards the end of the ride. Ride stats - 5:24, 160km, 189w AP, 211w NP, h/r 125 (very similar to y/day).

The aquathon was part of the build-up for the race. The EC team dominated, with Gordo taking line honours. Lake was a heck of a lot warmer than expected. I can leave behind the neoprene cap on Saturday.

A beer after the race, pizza for dinner at our motel overlooking the Lake, massage. Suddenly EC has become, dare I say it, almost enjoyable. But if there's one thing I've learned in the last week it's that you never know how the next day at EC will treat you.

EC 2007 day 6 (Dave C's blog)

Officially shelled today. Decided to do the run in the morning, then swim. Both were pretty sedate.

After breakfast, we headed off on the bike in several groups. Mine was the last group - with Brandon, Bevan, Scott D and Mike M. All considerably stronger bikers than me. Struggled to get any power out of the legs on the hills. But, in the true EC spirit of comaraderie, the lads stayed with me. Thanks in particular to Scott for his encouragement in what was a tough day for me.

In true West Coast style, and consistent with the whole Kiwi "summer" so far, we had torrential rain all the way to Franz Joseph (quote from Molina, who's just returned from his run, "Now I know how Noah felt when he built his ark"). Got to the motel soaked and cold, but managed to find the motivation to tack on another few kms to get to 150 for the day. A number of the lads went for a run up to the glacier. Looking forward to my massage after dinner - go easy on me John.

I've made it half way through the camp now (well, not quite if you count the Wanaka race next Saturday). I'm on track for my goal of 50 hours for the week. Just need 7 hours tomorrow. Hopefully the weather clears up by then. This really is a beautiful part of the country, but you just can't see anything at the moment.

EC 2007 days 4 & 5 (Dave C's blog)

Day 4

The day began with a 3k swim - two laps around the "island" in the lake (actually more like a clump of half-submerged dead trees). Being a 1:03 IM swimmer certainly places me well back in any swimming events at the camp. However, on the return leg on lap 1, Scott M (on the out leg of lap 2) rightly saw the threat of an impending surge from me. In what can only be described as a cowardly and deliberate act of sabotage, he took me out. My rhythm was shattered and I finished 14th.

Given yesterday's mammoth bike, the rest of today was "at our leisure". But such is the points system at EC and the atmosphere of healthy competition, that everyone pushed themself fairly hard. I did a 90k ride with a couple of others, and backed it up with a 2 hour run - something that would have been inconceivable only a week ago. It's fair to say that EC is living up to its reputation as creating an environment for people to challenge their limits.

Weather still pretty crappy. Intermittent heavy rain.

Four days into the camp and I've already exceeded my biggest week ever.

The battle for the yellow jersey is currently a two-horse race between Brandon and Mike M. The off-the-course battle is almost more interesting than the on-the-course one. Worth the price of admission alone. Very entertaining.

Day 5

A second entry to be checked in the new dictionary I'm getting for John - "much distance". Context? At the morning's briefing, John tells us the route to Hokitika is to be changed "but it won't add much distance". Anyway, to cut a long story short, a 70k ride becomes a 100k ride and some of us run a little short on food and drink.

But I've got a little ahead of things. The day started with a 3k/12k aquathon. (I'm getting a little sick of these events favouring the stronger swimmers!) Quite a fun event, although the combined effect of all our biking and my 2 hour run yesterday took their toll towards the end of the run.

Then the real fun started. The group headed out on the bike together, everyone behaving themselves. Then, a couple of the rockstars got a little crazy. Next thing I know, I'm staring down at the SRM repeatedly seeing 350-400w surges. That's writing cheques my body can't cash. Thankfully, 3 others saw things the same way and we rolled into Hokitika at a more sedate (although still solid) pace. That brought up 100k for the day, so we refueled and headed out for the extra 20k to get another bonus point.

Relatively speaking - a rest day at EC. Just the 6 hours.

The body is holding up ok. One thing I've found is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to elevate my heart rate and that my h/r for a given level is intensity is WAY lower than when I'm rested. Sure sign I'm pretty shelled.

EC 2007 day 3 (Dave C's blog)

Two religious experiences in one day. That's more than I've had in the last decade. Bear with me while I describe them (this blog is as much a record for me as it is sharing my experience). First, just after the decent of Lewis Pass, I found myself in the unfamiliar position at the head of my group, TTing through a canopy of native forest, nice tailwind behind me. It was raining, but completely silent. No traffic, no other person as far as the eye could see. Very serene.

The second experience, at the other end of the day, was similar. I'd just done my run and walked down to the lake (Brunner) to cool down the legs. I was standing waist deep, looking out across the lake to the hills in the background shrouded by low cloud. Again, complete silence. After you live in a city for long enough, you realise how peaceful silence can be.

Right, got that off my chest. Now, in between these zen moments was 230kms of biking and a 50min. run. (Oh, by the way, correction to y/day's post. On a count-back, it was Brandon in yellow, not Mike).

As it turned out, all but 4 of us opted to leave early with Gordo. It was pissing down, and continued to do so for the first 5 hours of the bike. 8 degrees (celsius) at the start of the ride. The group stayed together pretty well and Gordo, Clive and Albert drove the train for much of the time. We were lucky, no wind. So, while we got soaked, we made pretty good time. Just had short stops along the way so we didn't get cold. Worthy of mention was the curried mince pie in Reefton and the hot chips in Springs Junction. I'm now starting to understand how people actually put weight on during this camp. Something I thought would have been impossible a week ago.

For the data geeks (I'm one of them), 7:42, 185w AP, 211w NP, h/r 113 (seemed a lot harder than that).

As for the rockstars, it was all over pretty quickly. Mike M attacked at 10km and then proceeded to do a 220km TT. Brandon still in yellow though, by half a point.

Big day at the office. Let's see how the body shapes up tomorrow.

EC 2007 days 1 & 2 (Dave C's blog)

I bet there’s a bunch of you out there just like me. Reasonable triathletes, but by no means fast. Done a few IM, caught the bug, want to go faster. Kona aspirations, but may never make it. Read a few Epic Camp blogs over the years and thought “no way” (but that’s what you said when you first heard about IM). But always wondered how you’d get on. Could I handle a 50 hour training week? Would I end up riding solo for 1,500km?

Well, I decided bugger it, I’ll find out. So here I am. A lab rat for everyone who’s ever thought they were, at best, right at the edge of EC eligibility. I’ll let the rock stars compete for their jerseys, put my head down and see what happens over the next 2 weeks. I’ll try to update this blog every day or two as I go along, so those of you with sadistic tendencies can feast off our communal suffering (or at least mine). If I don’t post a blog, I’m either too shelled or we’re laid up in deepest, darkest West Coast without internet access.

Quick profile of me – a Kiwi (a rarity on this camp), 39 years old, lawyer, 6’2”, 81kg. Latecomer to tri.s – midlife crisis, no S/B/R background, but decided I wanted to do an IM. Classic A-type stuff. Done 3 IM (NZ twice, Lanzarote once). Goals for ’07 are IMNZ and IM Brazil. I’m probably in 5:30 biking shape right now. Biggest training week ever was 30 hours (in 2005).

Day one

Two time trials on first day! 60 minute run, followed by 60 swim, including 2k TT. I had the misfortune to be in the same lane as Molina. He lapped me so many times I got dizzy.

Then on the bike and headed north for 110km until Cheviot. The rock stars were sorting each other out in front and I was looking down at the SRM at the back of the pack seeing numbers that were bordering suicidal for me - 280-300w, h/r high 160s. Gordo's advice that "if you choose to take your heart rate over 150 during this camp, you better have a good reason for it" had to be put aside for now. Thankfully, sense prevailed ultimately and things settled down. Then 2nd TT for the day - 70km to Kaikoura. Described as "undulating" by John. Someone needs to get that boy a new dictionary. 2:27 for me - a relatively leisurely pace after the morning. Bevan cleaned up the TT in about 2:00 flat.

I think I ate my bodyweight in gels, bananas and Em's powercookies today (the cookies, by the way, rock).

Day two

Started with a swim at the Kaikoura pool. Got a rush of early morning blood to the head and decided to do 6km (for an extra point) - my longest swim ever by 2km. Not too bad actually, although I was slightly humbled by the fact that, in a wetsuit, I wasn't appreciably faster than Mike M sans wetsuit and with a band. But two points is two points.

Rolled out after b/fast on more "undulating terrain". I must have dropped my chain at least 5 times and had to light a lot of matches to catch up to the main group. Some stirling work was done on the front by Gordo, Bevan, John & Mike. Got to Hanmer and headed out for a 10km run with Scott M, Gordo and Toby. We lost Gordo en route (something about a nature appreciation stop), but Scott led us through a great trail run.

The nutters, of course, didn't stop there. Mike M is king of the nutters at the moment (and yellow jersey holder). Capped off his 6km swim & 140km bike with a 2:30 run. Nice.

There's a fair bit of apprehension about tomorrow's ride. 230km over Lewis Pass to Moana. Gordo is leading the early group (us slower guys) at 7:30am. Others leave at 9. Could be facing 9 hours on the bike. Where is a 12/27 cassette when you want one? Weather forecast not too flash either. Bring it on!

Probably no internet access at Moana, so will post again after that.