Epilogue

All good things take time...

Its now 5 days since epic camp finished and I am finally writing my epilogue. Not to be confused as slack, just that real life has hit me with a bang since getting home. New jobs for me and Ingrid, starting Zac in daycare - and picking him up mid morning when he has lost the plot, filling out oodles of paperwork, setting up home office, r-discovering the 24hr/day joys of being a Dad - oh and bugger all training.

For the 15 days I was on Epic Camp, I truly thought about very little else. Sure I missed my family, but other things like work, bills, household chores and the other million and one things that occupy your mind on a daily basis just fade away. That is definitely the beauty of it. Writing today, I realise now, will be a very different view from what i might have said on the flight home. Being able to focus solely on training was a privilege and an insight into the lives of a very select few. Whereas the full timers and pros on the camp no doubt went back to a recovery week, followed by more of the same, I returned to my life. Do I wish it were different. Interestingly, no. I love training. I love the way it makes me feel, I love the way it makes me look and I love being outside. But I also love my job, my family and my life. One of the things I thought about a bit as people would argue the finer points of a KOM or aquathon challenge was that it is a very selfish way of life. Not that I am a socialist - in fact far from it, but every now and then I get the chance to make a difference in someones life - even saving a few in the process. I think I would miss that as a fulltime athlete.

Epic camp certainly challenged me as an athlete. It was no secret I was fairly conservative over the two weeks. Could I have pushed the limits a bit more. Absolutely, but the risk was always fear of not completing! Would I do it differently next time. Yes. Now I know I can complete it, I would like to challenge myself. I am never going to compete for the yellow jersey, or even the red one, but I could lay it on the line a few more times. One thing I would change if I did it again was my prep. having done an IM in the First week of December, I had two weeks of taper into that, followed by 4 weeks after a disappointing race with very little structured training in it. A small part of that was the depressed mindset I developed after Busso but largely it was due to us moving when we got back and the resulting commuting I needed to do - with little opportunity to train. That saw me arrive at Epic camp with 6 weeks of no real training or long rides behind me - not a good thing. Ideally Epic camp IMHO would be preceeded by a decent base period with a good 6 weeks of long riding and running with maybe a rest week before camp. I think that would see me firing from the start a lot better.

What have I gained from Epic camp;

1) 2.5KG - I had hoped to lose weight, instead I am pushing 80kg for the first time in nearly a year

2) Some new mates and hopefully a contact or two overseas. It would be great to be at an international race in a couple of years time and see someone I know.

3) Provisional membership of Coyote Racing - pending manning up and doing some real cycle racing.

4) An appreciation of what it means to truly be an elite athlete. As good as Lordy and Petro were, when it came to the crunch - Clas is a world apart!

5) The knowledge that I can train at a higher intensity than I do now. Over the next few years I will be severely time limited - intensity will become my friend (and enemy)

The big question - will I do it again.

The answer is YES. I don't think I would sign up for another NZ camp - esp one of the 8-10 day camps in NZ, whilst a great way to gain fitness, I would constantly compare it to EC10. However John tells me that next year should see a return to France in June/July. I have already discussed it with Ingrid and its provisionally approved. I would like to have a go at Roth next winter and this could be the way to get myself up for it.

If anyone wants to ask me q's about Epic Camp - or what it was like to be a MOP athlete at a high end training camp feel free to contact me - legendontour@gmail.com

RobQ - Wrap and Blog link

I've been back in the UK for a few days now - totally shelled from jetlag and have come down with the inevitable head cold. My head however is still buzzing from 15 days of amazing adventure, ups, downs and every type of emotion in between.

It was a real pleasure to share it with ~35 amazing people in such a beautiful country. An experience that will stay with me for a long time (lets hope the fitness stays for a while too!)

Despite trying to blog in two places everyday - the logisitics got the better of me. I did blog everyday though at my own site. Have a gander at:

http://epictalesfromnz.blogspot.com/

See you at the races!

RobQ

Epic Pro,Mid & Epilogue: a lazy guy's report (finally)

When asked by Johnny pre-camp who wanted to blog throughout the Length of NZ adventure I said yeah, great. Now two days post-camp I finally have the energy and motivation to start typing! So only a summary follows but hopefully I can convey a bit of the emotion of what was one of the most memorable exploits of my lengthy time on this planet. Dot point format to stop me waffling too much . . . yeah, sure it will

- The evening before I flew to NZ to start the adventure I went for a cruisy run along one of the goat tracks by the Yarra river near home in Melbourne, passing by the Abbotsford brewery and sniffing the yeast and hops in the air for the last time for a few weeks. All I was thinking was "what the hell did I get myself into this for?" Last minute nerves I guess, settled by a beer after I got home.

- Rendezvous was in Auckland the next day and I was picked up upon landing by a couple of Kiwi classics named 'Turps' and 'Dwanny'. I was keen to head to a pub like the 0ne in the fight scene from the film 'Once were Warriors' and down a long-neck or two, but lacking in both sizeable 'guns' or facial tattoos decided I may not fit in and didn't bother suggesting it to the boys.

- Later that day and the next morning got to meet the other victims as they flew/drove in from all points. A three hour flight from Melb was easy compared to some of the guys who came from as far as UK and Sweden. A reminder though of what a special experience this was going to be, given the lengths (literally) people were going to be part of Epic Camp Length of NZ. There was a variety of ages, sexes (well, two) and nationalities, but really we were all the same - crazy endurance junkies who's idea of a good holiday is swimming 27kms, biking 2300kms and running 107kms down an entire country. I felt at home with the team immediately.

- Once we got underway the days flew by, although as I'm not the most organised person I struggled for a few days with the daily routine: get up, get dressed, pack bags, eat breakfast, brush teeth, prepare digestive system for more food (AKA doing some paperwork, laying some cable, etc. etc.) This meant I was leaving each morning with the late group, or A-grade/scratch bunch as it was called. A bit of a laugh as I knew I was lacking the class of the top athletes on the camp (professional triathletes, Hawaii Ironman and Ultraman champions, national Ironman record holders) but I love a challenge and was not scared about being dropped and riding alone - especially as the support crew provided awesome back up.

- By the end of the first week and heading to Wellington to complete the North Island leg of the trip, we were all getting in a groove with the routine. After being very conservative in my efforts for the first few days due to a horror run of illness leading up the camp (thanks for the solid advice Johnno, Scott and Gordo), I really felt my strength and fitness build. This is not what I expected - I had only done a couple of BIG training days back-to-back in the twelve years I've been training for triathlon. Now I was into day eight of big training which was a whole new frontier for me and surprisingly the body was holding up well. This was the main attraction of this trip - an experiment as to how I would cope physically (and emotionally) with such a massive training volume for 15 days straight. I have had some modest success as an amateur triathlete by training 'smart', focussing on technique and strength in order to minimise training volume. Two reasons for this: 1/ I have had a lot of lower leg injuries so don't like to run much, and 2/ I, like most Age Groupers, struggle to balance Ironman training with a full-time job which demands a high degree of focus. So what better environment to test myself with 'epic' volume than surrounded by some of the most experienced people in the world when it comes to big volume training - and that includes the other campers.

- The ferry crossing from Nth to Sth Islands was a welcome relief for all, one thing Epic wasn't providing (apart from mercy) was much time to chill. I reckon most of my 'chilling' was done in the saddle, although not when I was doing my best to hang onto Lordy's wheel being brought back to the group more than once (thanks again buddy) or sitting on the rivet to get to the day's lunch stop with the scratch bunch. PO'B was talking up the 'classic ferry pies' prior to the crossing - apparently a meat pie served in pea soup (also an Adelaide delicacy known in Oz as a 'pie floater'). Only disappointment of the trip was there was none to be had - Pete was maybe recalling a ferry trip in the '50's (-;

- Generally, the riding in both islands of NZ was awesome, nearly every day had a big variety of terrain and some classic climbs and descents. A big thumbs up to Johnno for selecting the route. An interesting dynamic formed during the trip where two divisions formed: the fast climbers and the fast descenders. Scotty was probably the one guy who had a foot in each group but generally there was a distinct separation. This was a good thing for keeping bunches together, for someone like me who is a bit of a slug up hills I usually had an opportunity to catch up down the other side. And for some reason, the camber and consistency of the bends in NZ roads are perfect for fast, safe bombing. In Oz, you never know when a road is going to tighten mid turn and off-camber bends are all too common. In NZ it was lots of fun.

- I am a real advocate for stretching and massage for maximising recovery and I'm sure a big reason for being able to hold the body together for 15 days was nightly stretching of my problem areas (ITBs, calfs, quads, hammys, the list goes on) and the excellent standard of massage therapists we had on the trip. Russel, Suzie and Janet were top class and really were a major component of me getting stronger as the camp progressed. A sincere thanks guys.

- It was great sharing this experience with a cross-section of nationalities. I am probably a bit more aware of the cultural differences being a Brit who has lived in Oz for 42 years (with a dad from Mooroopna and a mum from London) but what was really reinforced during the camp was that no matter where we came from or what we did for a living we were very, very similar - or we wouldn't be here doing this stuff! And no matter where you came from, the Steinlagers were very popular post-ride. What a sponsorship coup!!!

- So we all made it to Bluff, way down south (except for you Randy, hope everything is ok, we all gave a thought to you when it was over). Epic LONZ gave me a small taste of what it must be to ride in a grand tour like the Tour de France. Backing up day after day, eating all meals with your team, trying to shove in as many calories as possible to fuel the next stage, releasing your frustrations to the masseur, it felt like I was in the movie 'Overcoming'. And definitely the highlight was the final stage with a relaxed atmosphere the whole 185kms to Bluff, just like the run into the Champs-Élysées but without the frenetic build up to the final sprint. We also got champagne - just had to wait till we got off the bikes though. I think Johnno was worried about a mass pile-up if the glasses were handed around as we rode (-;

But in reality those protour cyclists are all a bit soft - I am yet to see any get up early for a pre-stage 3km swim or jump of the bike after 7 hours and throw on the run shorts and shoes for some bonus points . . .

Peace and respect

Hilly

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Epilogue Tara

Epilogue

I am now back home in Toronto and am pretty wiped! Not only did I cycle the length of New Zealand (like that isn't enough), and bike and run some, but I have also just had 30 hours of travel, an 18 hour time change to deal with and a full day of massage clients my first day back! Phew!

It is hard to believe it is all over. It is strange to go from such huge intensity to recovery but important so our bodies can benefit from all the mileage in a positive way. It is amazing to think back to the 15 days of experiences and "good times" we all shared together.

I feel lucky because I plan to coach EPIC WOMAN in Arizona in April (10-17), hopefully with Scott too so I get to do it all over again in a few months. I hope that the interest from other strong female campers will be there and we can make this dream come true. Let me know if you are interested!

Here are some of my thoughts that come to mind post Epic:

Epic is a great place to meet new and reunite with amazing friends.

Epic Camp week is a great time to learn from others.

Epic is a great way to train with like-minded crazies who help you to push your limits to a whole new level.

Epic Camp is unique in that you can focus solely on eating, sleeping and training.

When you think you can't do it, you can and will.

It is important to know your body and listen to it to prevent injury.

NZ is an beautiful country but has a lot of chip seal/bumpy roads.

NZ can be hot, cold, and wet and windy. Don't forget booties and options for all weather conditions! Don't forget to put on your sunscreen.

You will never go hungry at Epic. You will probably gain weight!

At Epic you will see some great competition and impressive results from great athletes.

I will be surprised if I don't have any cavities at the dentist next week from eating so many jelly beans.

Epic support crew rock. Epic wouldn't be possible without them and words can't express just how amazing they were!

I can't wait to see the movie about Epic Camp New Zealand 2010 by Stormy Dog Productions!!

It will be hard to top the feeling of accomplishment from cycling the length of NZ in 15 days!

Scott Molina, my coach, has so much experience and stories to share, keeps me laughing, and is one hell of an athlete!

Gordo is also a wealth of information and offers deep insight that makes you think. He can also find that one last surge and finish strong even when he says he is a 20min hard effort away from complete collapse!

Johnny N has the best organization and leadership skills of anyone I know! He sure can climb too.

Steven Lord isn't human - not only has he won 3 for 3 yellow jerseys but he does so with a smile on his face at all times, no matter what!

Jo C is a fighter and is going to kick butt in her first year racing as a pro.

Clas is the strongest climber I have ever seen. And to think running is his strength!!!!!

Petro is so determined that when he decides to go for something, never gives up.

Dave C is one strong dude with no body fat. Despite running a million miles every day, he was still strong on the bike and able to pull day after day after day.

Dave L and Charlsey are my protectors. They are both very thoughtful and amazing athletes!

Pete made me work hard on the KOMs and gives a good massage!

Rob H has the steadiest wheel! He looks like a roadie.

Rob Q drinks a lot of coke :) and seemed to get stronger as the camp progressed - I can't wait to see his result at IM Lanzarote.

Russ has a great hairdo and swam 6K for the first time at Epic (he has done three)!

Douglas is one of the greatest and funniest guys I know. He makes me laugh and you would never know the speedster is going to turn 50!

Big E is just a little guy (not!). He sure can climb on BOTH the bike (with broken cranks to boot) AND on the run despite being 6 feet 8 inches tall!

Rip would take the shirt off his back for you because he is a great guy and he finished Epic strong once he learned how the game worked and got rid of his aero wheels that were a bit challenging in the winds of NZ.

Daniel can descend at a sick pace and pull you up to a pack when you need a bridge!

Roger is tough and may have the best strength to weight ratio!

Lee knows his limits but when he wants to, can give it to you!

Nick showed us his power with his million watt reading.

Blanco is one fit dude with great bike mechanic skills and protects Jordan sweetly and impressively.

Jordan never gives up! Love it!

Randy, we missed you!

THANKS FELLOW EPIC-ers for the great memories!
Tara

Tour of NZ 2010 Epic Epi-logue

Tour of NZ 2010 Epic Epilogue:

The start of this trip seemed like ages ago. I often have thought that life at Epic Camp comes to a standstill….slowwww….motion! Things that you did just that morning seem like a lifetime ago. Things that were a week ago, you can hardly remember. Some lasting memories I will have of this trip are the following:

Pre-Camp: Auckland. Hanging with the Ripster. Staying up to see the New Years fireworks over the tower with some folks I will be spending a lot of time with over the coming weeks.

Day 1 Triathlon. Run-Bike-Swim-Cramp. Running to lands end and feeling the race beginning as everyone hurried up the hill to run 15k NOT for time. Racing 10k flat out (FOR TIME) on not very gentle (not) Kiwi rollers….a total ass kicker of a 10k in just about 44 minutes!
-Getting clipped at the ankle running downhill by Blanco, almost laying it out HARD Pete Rose style in the first 15 miles of the camp.
-Cramping simultaneously with Gordo pushing off the wall with 200m to go in 1500m pool swim race at the end of the day. Never cramped so bad anywhere anytime.

Day 2 Mega swim day to put me in the red jersey. 6k swim with 200 fly, 3000 IM continuous and 1000 band only.

Day 3 total shutdown/detonation. It has happened before and the body did the same again. The 20 minute stand-down Gordo ordered when I was barely able to get 200 watts through the legs. I was a quivering shaking pool of a mess. The quote from the cashier at grocery to Gordo, ‘you look a heck of a lot better than your mate!’

Day 4 Gear trouble begins. Final 30k with two gears one being a 12. Riding in broken with Douglas and Big E.

Day 5 Broken. First 90k with two gears stuck in my 15 and big chaining. The absolute low of any day 5 epic camps, and I have had some pretty low day 5s. I was prepared for it to be bad but the gear issues over two days had me completely demoralized.

Cheeseburgers at Burger King with Gordo, two cheeseburger runs in one day had me feeling a lot better.

Day 6 Rolling out in miserable rain and only 6 of us did optional tack-on doing KOM up to Whakapapa hill where it turned more pleasant and nice.

Day 7 10 x 200s on 2:45 on the G-Lordy train in the pool. Winning the cheeseburger bet with Molina for making the 200s set. Feeling a little more normal with no racing and stopping for coffee and rolling in with Steady Wheel Rob Hill. Eating Pizza Hut pizza with Molina in the hotel room.

Day 8 Gail Force wind warnings with KOM up a nasty climb outside of Wellington. Riding back into civilization, Wellington, and having a great night’s sleep in a big comfy hotel bed!

Day 9 Waffles for breakfast!! Ferry Ride and a legit rest day. Felt almost normal for a day.

Day 10 Going Nordic. I absolutely drilled myself to the base of the climb on the Lordster train. Was torched through rest of the climb having to sprint at the top to get by Jo (average HR 177 for 19 minutes) feeling like an absolutely worked mess for the next 100k of the ride. NAP. Running up to Seal Colony lookout point with G.

Wheezing in bed all night (Dr. Nic telling me I am f'cked) from the hard effort on the bike thinking I was about to be sick and ruined for the rest of the camp.

Day 11 Biggest day Ever. 4k run/3k swimming/181k biking/25k running. Running circles in the park in Christchurch with Lordy, getting lost and having to call for directions. John Ellis and Bevan saw me running aimlessly lost.

Day 12 25k Godley Head Trail run on Molina’s home course. Beautiful stunning scenery. Riding in driving rain with Southerlies in our face all day. Getting off bike and heading out for 6k swim…Tara espress-swim train, and then wandering 3k back through town eating Subway all night in bed.

Day 13 Swimming 6k straight and first 3k with running shorts on and lost and found kids goggles. Timed 400 IM in 6:05 after swimming 3k with paddles and running shorts. Swimming 12k in less than 12 hours!

Day 14 Completely torched for first 50k of the day leading up to KOM….thinking I was going to be dead last in KOM and Aquathon and losing the red jersey on the final day of competition. Nice cruising ride after doing ok in KOM…rallied once the gun went off. Game time I was on!

Day 15 Final day riding into Bluff seeing the end of the country. Riding up to the top of Bluff Hill 18-25 percent grades. Photos with the Epic crew at the tip, and then running back up to the top of Bluff Hill. Jo carrying her bike up. Running down with G laughing (fatigue intoxication) all the way back down what we biked up!!!



Epic Camp. No other experience out there comes close…even Ironman. It seems a lot simpler on paper, and riding intensity is so much higher than expected unless you are a 4:30 IM biker.

Comment by Jeff who commented on my blog….
There's three times in a man's life when he has a right to yell at the moon: when he marries, when his children come, and... and when he finishes a job he had to be crazy to start". Red River (1948)

Once I obtained the red jersey, this quote summarizes my thoughts. I was losing it on many occasions, and yelling at the moon is rather appropriate. A memory (s) for a lifetime….

Thanks to all for helping me get through (so many of you played a BIG role to get me through a very mental/physical challenge for me!). A special thanks to the G-man for keeping a close eye on me!

BTW, I stepped on the scale getting off the plane at home. Weighed in at 181 lbs…9 lbs heavier than when I stepped onto the plane pre-camp. It must be muscle mass! ;)

Train safe and be well….cheers!!

Day 15, Heading to Bluff--Last Day of Living the Dream

January 17, 2010 Day 15, Heading to Bluff—Last Day of Living the Dream

Today was no different than any other, other than I have the routine down pat now! Finally after 15 days of packing, gearing up, eating breakfast, sun-screening up, filling bottles, pockets with food, and being ready to roll out ON TIME or be left behind, it was routine. A routine which now seems normal and I savored it knowing that it will be coming to an end. Our group was ready to roll 15 minutes early as nobody wanted to be left behind, and I thought I might have messed up the roll time, but I was ready to go with a few minutes to spare. I rarely was much earlier than that, on any given day as I would always have another bite to eat if time permitted.

We had our nice leisurely rollout, and as always the first 1 hour was hard on me. Gordo joked it is because of the 6 pancakes I had for breakfast, and 4 pieces of Nutella on toast. I just think it is the old diesel engine takes a while to get going. After an hour we started hitting some rollers and from 50k-100k we were going to hit some big rollers. I took a flyer off the front to ride at my own tempo after being dropped on the first big climb. E and I bridged back up at 40k plus an hour, and I told him to jump on as I ramped up for the pass…the all too fun Epic Camp ‘fly-by’. He was yelling he could not burn those matches that early on, but I like the game of burning matches on the very edge, and at 1 hour into it I pegged it at 280-300 watts for the next rolling section of 10k up to the first drink stop. I like to test myself at these camps and pushing it out of my comfort zone or the comfort of the group is one of the games I play with myself. After 110 hour s of training, it might not be the most prudent of decisions, but I have a whole heck of a lot of time to recover, and if I don’t try, then I won’t know. So I hit it steady up to the second big climb and rolled up nice and easy to the first stop and waited. Everyone came up shortly, and we all rolled out together. It might have been a mistake, as I should have banked my hard earned gap, and kept it rolling and let everyone catch me on the next few set of climbs, but I rolled out the back on the hills rather quickly and proceeded to enjoy a most leisurely ride on my own. The next 50k went by quick, as I listened to the nature around me through the beautiful Kiwi rollers. The sun was shining now, and the temperature was rising. It was actually one of the few times, I could actually just ride, and not worry about completing anything in any specific time, and there was no rush for anything. I just rode…

I rolled up to the next drink stop to see Eric and Rip, and thought cool. I had my buddy’s that I started with the trip to ride with at the end of the trip, and we all rolled out together. After nearly 50k of just cruising, E and I started ramping it up. Rip was gone, and it was good to ride with my buddy Eric as we have not done much of that this trip. It felt like any other thousands of miles we have ridden together, but today, we were both feeling pretty solid at the same time. Plus we had gentle flats with small risers, and one heck of a tail-wind. We started rolled about 50k an hour as I did the math thinking lunch would be there in about 45 minutes. We hit it harder making it up some solid ground QUICKLY. We rode well together, and upon approaching a group of riders, I decided we needed to do the classic Epic fly by. I play by the ‘Claus-rules’ now, and that if you leave early before the scheduled daily roll-out, you get ‘No Mercy’. It is just one of those unwritten rules at Epic that I think folks figure out over time. Plus there is virtually no mercy at any point in camp anyway; this is just one of those things. As I ramped up to 400 watts, we approached fast, and I was waiting for the look back and jump on but it never came. Over the years, if I had fast guys behind me, that is one train I always looked for, especially Zoolander Jonas Colting, or Claus.

We kept rolling hard into lunch to regroup for our final 50k roll in to Bluff. Apparently we had made up a lot of ground with that last solid session of riding. With another 50k of rather solid tailwinds it was easy street from here on out. We all made great time together. It was a perfect way to the end the camp, essentially 100k of solid tailwinds, nice sunny skies, and our group really riding friendly together. I have enjoyed this camp immensely with some of the greatest folks to train with. I enjoyed playing the game in the end although I might have hated it along the way, and I had pushed myself beyond anything I though ever possible!

We rolled into Bluff, and a few of us took the one last challenge of the camp, to ride up Bluff Hill upon Molina’s insistence. I was willing to try and it was a blast. 18-25 percent grades after 115 hours of quad pounding training, I made it to the top. Douglas went head over backwards when he did a wheelie at the steepest part of the turn, and I just could not muster the power to get up without a short little walk. But at the top we all took amazing pictures and congratulated each other, to enjoy the scorcher downhill back to regroup. We then rode the final couple Ks to the end of the country. Taking some more great shots and a congratulatory bottle of bubbly we had but one more challenge…..running to lands end around the corner on a track. It started out along the ocean, but quickly started heading up, up, and up. It was not long before I realized we were going back up to the top of Bluff hill yet AGAIN, and this time on foot. It would not be Epic if we did not have one repeated challenge after another and this was a classic. Run up another 1000 feet after riding up it. It was mostly walking after a while for me, and that was not the tough part. The tough part was going back down. Quad pounding down all the way back into town, and our waiting van ride back to Invercargill.

We all did our final packing of our bikes and gear and met up for our final celebration dinner, where we scarfed down our final great meal together. Then off to the hotel to relive stories and relax and say our goodbyes. I will miss my Epic team-mates, and thanks to all the for the great memories and special thanks to the great crew, Dave Dwan, and the founding crazies of Epic, Gordo, Scott, and John. It was a great experience like no other!

190k bike—6 hrs 45 mins
7.5k run—1 hour

TOTALS for camp:
Swim -50k
Bike-2380k/1500 miles
Run-170k/106 miles
Total Hours of camp—116 hours

Until we meet again….Cheers!

Day 14 Oamarua to Balcutltha, Truth Be Told

Saturday, January 16, 2010 Day 14 Oamarua to Balcultha, Truth be told

This camp was the hardest thing I have ever done hands down. It was not the day-to-day training but competing for the red jersey day in and day out, that made this absolutely the hardest thing ever for me. Thanks to David Craig to pushing me to my absolute limit, he is an impressive strong human being. I wanted to fold every day of this camp, but could not show that weakness to DC. In fact, I made it a point to stay away from DC in fear of him seeing through to my weaknesses (most likely was pretty obvious anyway), and probably was a bit aloof to him in order to stay in the game. If he only knew I was so close to the edge mentally and physically, he probably would have been able to capitalize on it. Congrats to my friend David for reaching to new levels as well (250k of running in 15 days with all we have done….impressive!)….I know I certainly did reach far beyond anything I thought possible thanks to him being so darn tough!

I had no intention on racing down this country. In fact, I had laughed at Rip on the way here as he kept telling people he was in a race down the country, and I said it is not a race but a training camp. Little did I know I would be the one racing down the country and get sucked in so quickly!! I have never in 3 other camps ever worn a jersey, and did not even know what it felt like, but after a couple days of wearing it I did not want to give it back! It was more of a fear of giving up, which I wanted to do so many times, with gear problems, stomach issues, major psychological and physical limits that I was bumping up against. In breaking through these barriers helped me to keep going, and holding onto the jersey became a special thing for me. Here I was doing something I loved with some great people and great like-minded friends, and I suspect it might be the last for a while, at least competing for a jersey, so I did not want to give up. It would have been easier, and very likely a lot more fun, but the memories of ‘playing the game’ will last so much longer I suspect. In looking back down the road those are the memories I will carry. The extra long runs, or swims or getting up early in the dark and pushing the limits of my endurance.

The day was to be the last day of competition, and I severely suspected I was about to lose the game on the last day. Last night I took some night time cold medicine to help me sleep…big mistake. I had the best night sleep of my camp, yet when I got on the bike, I was absolutely wrecked. I was doing everything in my power to stay with the group. Gordo said it was the easiest rollout he has done at the front of the whole camp, and everyone else was saying that it was so nice and easy AND fun! Not for me…I was on the rivet as we say at camp from the get go. I kept getting slung off the back and there was Lordy a couple times to bring me back up. I could not sit in…I was miserable and had a KOM to do and an aquathon. Could be the biggest complete blow on the final day of Epic Camp anyone has ever seen!! Even Molina said if I blew so bad in the aquathon, I did not deserve the jersey, and my body I thought was shutting down completely right then and there on the last day of competition. I was VERY worried…

We stopped at the aid stop at 50k, and I hit some coke and got off the bike. The KOM was to start 15k up the road after another regroup at the base of the climb. The minute I got on the bike, and race time was approaching, my mind and body snapped too. It has snapped too so many times at this camp, I am completely amazed. I like to say I am a ‘gamer’ when it comes right down to race time, I can toe the line and get it done. I hope it happens again. We regrouped at the base of the KOM as I gingerly got over every roller up to it knowing nobody was going anywhere. Charlesey yanked his gear cable and was stuck in his 14, not unlike a couple days I had, and he was walking his bike on a couple of the hills. Just an obstacle he knew he had to get through…and he did. I could feel his pain though as I was there just last week.

The next neutralized rollout was to the turn, where we all made off the main road, the game was on. It did not start with a bang, yet when TGV Lordy ramped up and went by I got the early jump and went with him. It was not exactly my strategy today, but given the opportunity on a flatter road to gain ground is always is the best strategy for me. The minute it kicks to steep, I become at the disadvantage with all these strong riders. I was going to moderate my pace early on today and mark my man, David Craig…it did not take long for him to go by and I dug deep to stay with him, and at the very least in site not too lose to many spots, and perhaps some points. The usual crew was around, with Jo and Tara trading spots with me on the steep sections. I had my Garmin on and was watching the elevation and keeping DC and Gordo in site as we got to very friendly Petro-friendly section…slight rise into wind. I was able to bridge back up to Jo before the next steep climb, and attached to her wheel ½ way up, when she looked back and shook her head (I am not sure why), but I felt it was time to gap her. I said sorry as I know she was not happy the last time I nipped her at the line, but what goes on in competition stays in competition, and it was nothing personal just making sure I could keep the red jersey. After gapping her it flattened very nicely and I was able to go aero and cruise it in just maintaining my spacing at 300 watts. For the climb I averaged about 350 watts for 19 minutes…I will take that on day 14 of this crazy hard camp! I had saved a good bit for the aquathon but given the weather and water temps it was cancelled which nobody was too broken up about!

After a great descent, some quick photos, we regrouped at the base of the hill. I am sort of forgetting the next section, but I remember struggling through the hills, until Lordy came through with a steady pull, my favorite kind of pull with little accelerations up the hills, and we rolled off the front, motoring pretty strongly into lunch. Getting a great lunch in me and about FIVE pieces of cake in me, I figured I was set. Everyone else has noticed my excessive eating issues, (yes I am powerless over food, step 1), and yet I keep maintaining I have not been eating any more than I need, but perhaps that is not true!? No place to find myself low on fuel, and I have made every attempt to insure that, quite successfully I might add!

After lunch we hit some nasty, ridiculous hills, where I had two choices: 1. completely blow myself up trying to stay with the little climber guys, or 2. Just ride with my limits. I chose #2. My time was to come and E and I were rolling over the hills together, and after a great descent, I decided it was time to fire up the Petro engine, and see what I could do to motor back up to the group. We had stopped at the base of the hill for a few minutes so they must have been a hell of a ways up the road, when I told E to be ready as I was ready to roll HARD! I have not been able to do that much on the camp, as I have always been ‘playing the game’, and could not afford to detonate myself. Today was ok as all the racing was done, with no aquathon to save up for! But I did not detonate, in fact, I probably had the best pull in two years, drilling it back up to the group for 20 minutes at average power of 320 watts…I saw 45-50k per hour steady on the flats for most of the time. We rolled up on the group pretty fast once they came into site and E was right on my wheel, just like we have done so many thousands of miles before. I was actually kind of proud of myself. Lordy and a few other campers can do that at will at any point the group is up the road, yet I have never been able to do that and this was one time, that I actually did!

Another quick aid stop and the final 25k or so into town, and I was still feeling it pretty solid, so I hammered a bit more, before Lordy and I shut it down to roll into town leisurely. Enough for one day as I am pretty darn close to the edge anyway, probably a smart thing to do. After a quick shower, Lordy, Blanco, Jo and Jordan and I ran down to the pool. We had 45 minutes to finish 3k. I got in and the water was about 85 degrees and I almost got out. I could not swim to save my life either. After about 1k straight warm up, the TGV-hydrofoil (Lordy), went by and I got on the train motivated to get done before the time was up. We must have cranked that last 2k in about 28 minutes, and I stopped and 30 seconds later they rang the bell for everyone to get out…timing is everything!!

Run back to the hotel, a great relaxing dinner chatting with E (have not gotten to do nearly enough of that this camp), Tara, and others. Sorry I have not been as social this camp as in others, but I have been so close to the edge, still am, that I am barely holding myself together to get through the day. My apologies if I have offended anyone, or said anything I should not have…it is a crazy thing, this fatigue and what it does to mind and body.

I have enjoyed this camp, although at times I have said I hated the game, and what was going on during the day, but at the end of the day, it has been a great experience I will never forget….Thanks all for sharing it with me!

Bike 190k in 6:43 with 7k feet of climbing. 19 mins at 350 watts and another 19 mins at 319 watts
Run 3k
Swim 3k in about 45 mins

Total 8:15
Total 108:15

Dave Langley - Bluff Ho!!! Day 15 & Epilogue

I have to admit I am sitting in my lounge room writing this final day's blog and wrap up as I was unable to borrow a computer yesterday and it seemed that I may have been speaking another language from the blank look on the face of the hotel receptionist when I asked for directions to the local Ivercargill 'Internet cafe'. Although I was that tired I was probably slurring my words so I think we both subtly agreed to discuss the beautiful weather instead.

Beautiful weather is exactly what we were blessed with on the ride into Invercargill and the Bluff. This whole camp has been blessed with fantastic NZ conditions. Even the wet and cold day's didn't seem so bad (in hindsight of course). Reading the local paper we could have experienced some of the worst weather in years had we been scheduled to arrive a week earlier. The tailwind on the run into Bluff was phenomenal. I was sitting 3rd wheel in the group when the call came that we were doing about 41-44kmh with an average wattage of about 90. Now that's easy riding! After Day 14's hills on the ride through to Balclutha it was well deserved. I could not have imagined what it would have been like if the conditions were different!

It is safe to day that I am sufficiently shagged after 15 days of solid exercise. Approximately 120 hours of swim, run & riding does that and I only did the camp minimums. I was in absolute awe of guys like Lordy, Petro and Dave Craig who pushed themselves both physically and mentally to the next level. A good dose of fear of failure kept me from doing anything that may have jeopardised my ability to complete the camp but these guys were not afraid of that, maybe there is a lesson in that for me - if and or when I attempt another EPIC Camp.

I have definitely left this camp in a great mental state; hopefully I won't fall to deep into a post camp depression. Reality hits hard when you get back to your 'real' life and realise that you have to look after the other facets of your life like preparing dinner, washing up, ironing etc that has been the last thing on your mind during the camp. On that note I must once again thank the entire coaching and support staff that worked tirelessly to ensure this camp went off without a hitch (well from my perspective it did). A normal EPIC camp is a massive logistical exercise let alone this 15 day point to point version! So thanks to Dave Dwan and John Newsom and all the support crew who joined us at various stages along the way to assist us acheive some massive personal and athletic goals.

I am glad that the documetary crew was there as in the years to come when I am boring people with my adventures I will be able to prove it!! Can't wait to see the footage as it all seems like such a blur at the moment, I am so happy that all the photos and lots of people kept blogs as they will keep me motivated in the seasons to come.

Finally thanks to all my fellow campers. One of the special things about the camp is that it brings together people from all different backgrounds but with common goals. I have met some fantastic people and hope to see them again someday. Thanks everybody.

Cheers, Dave Langley

Day 15

I am at home now. Absolutely shattered. My head cold has got a little worse and I am wanting for my bed. But I am still smiling when I think of the whole camp riding around the last corner at Bluff and reaching the end of the road at the bottom of New Zealand and Lordy cracking the champage, it was a perfect last day.

The day started on the cool side but as we cycled into the Catlins the sun came out and the tailwind got stronger. I have heard this is a beautiful part of New Zealand and I think we saw it at its best. Some good hills to ride but riding through native bush with some magic sea views was memorable. 180km done some of us decided to follow Molina and ride up Bluff Hill. I have head it was an incredibly steep climb. It was and I only just managed to keep going on the steepest section with my 39 25 gearing. The view at the top was brilliant out to Stewart Island.

We finished Epic Camp with a run around Bluff Hill. But in true Epic Camp style and the there is no easy way motto John decided to take the better track that went straight back up over the top of Bluff. A very cool run but bloody steep and hard at times. So two summits of Bluff hill and my Epic camp was complete.

I will summarise the camp in a day or two and mention all those people that helped us all cope and make it through this Epic journey. I am so pleased I took on the challenge and so pleased I made it the length of NZ. Now I need a rest!

jo c - epic day 15

with 190kkm of riding remaining to the south tip of the island, the day plan was ride 'as you feel' until lunch, where we would regroup and ride together into Bluff. a chilly start and a few of us began the ride hard just in order to get warm - myself, dave an douglas soon up the road out of town. when steven blasted past, david upped his pace too - that left douglas and i. something/someone had clearly put a bee in Douglas's bonnet that morning and he had a real stop on -finally enjoying the kind of terrain that suited his strength as a rider, ripping it on the frequent rollers and tearing down the other side. i was having a great time chasing him - this is also my sort of riding. we had a few chances to chat along the way, which was great. doulas is not a big noise type, but a real sound character who i've enjoyed getting to know a little on our last 3 epic camps and at races in between.
pretty soon the sun popped out and the day really started hotting up. when class, gordo, scott caught us i was on the verge of cooking in my warm long sleeve jersey and happy to let douglas go do his thing and ride with these guys who were cracking along at a nice pace.
a lot of layers of clothing came of at the drink station and from there our group of seven - me and 6 strong boys - followed the main road to invacagill with a ripping tailwind. we were riding uphills at 28mph! tailwinds, scenery, sunshine and a great mood. what a glorious day to finish the camp on. we've ridden some great roads these last 2 weeks, but this was a riding experience i'll remember for a while. a nice lone leisurely lunch whilst everyone rolled in for the final 30km which we'd ride all together. a group of happy campers bikes and bodies just about holding together for the final pat of the journey. just one more optional little challenge - bluff hill. its about 3km straight up at 15-20% - and looked a lot worse form a distance as we approached the town! It was literally just about manageable of race gearing, but worth it for the views and sense of completion that it gave the half dozen or so of us that made it up that road.

after that stunt , we regrouped and rode the final mile of our Epic journey to Bluff point together, slowly into the wind - i was sure that like me, no one really wanted he trip to be over, savouring the experience rolling through the dingy town that is Bluff!
champagne ( cold!) was cracked at the point, lots of photographs and then everyone headed out for a nice little jog on the track around the head - me on my TT bike - and found ourselves back up the top of Bluff hill!

a great evening in the lone star restaurant, plenty of beverages and knowing that we'd not be getting on the bikes the next day. The epic team have done a great job of getting us from there to here, and even back again. a totally fantasitic experience, which wodl not have been possible without john and dave's organisation, gordo and scott's inspriation and the rest of teh team looking after our nutrition, muscular and technical needs. not to mention teh group of wonderful athletes that i shared the ride with. thanks guys x

Steven - Day 15

It's over. All Epic Camps have been amazing but this was something special. Everyone rode the length of the country and it's great to be part of a group where everyone feels success. Going point to point is a massive logistical task and I am in awe of John Newsom and Big Dave for co-ordinating such an enormous task so seamlessly. There may have been alsorts of headaches in the background but as a camper I didn't see any sign of it which is testament to the incredible job they did. The support crew throughout were top class. Always smiling, never seeming to be down, nothing too much trouble and with a talent for making you feel special. This makes the training we do easy !
The final day started cold with the promise of superb weather. The early pace in the bunch was not brisk enough to keep me warm so I rode off the front at a pace that warmed me up. From then my pace was dictated by my internal temperature. I was really enjoying just riding on my own (probably the first time all camp) and looking at the scenery. The odd occasion made me think of Scotland and reminded me of the little solo camps I would do. The terrain was just to my liking and made for great riding - fast flats (tail wind), steady climbs with some quick descents. Being left alone with my thoughts was really nice as I mulled over such an awesome camp. I'd achieved so much more than I'd hoped. I knew I was riding well but hadn't realised just how strong I had got. It took a group like this to push me for me to appreciate what I was able to do. A very nice feeling made even better by not really feeling my cycling dropped off through the camp at all. As for running... it feels like a turning point in my recovery from injury. Until now I'd not done more than 35k in a week yet I've covered 224k of running in this camp with no ill effects. I promise I'll be taking some time off from running to give my foot a fighting chance.
I continued pushing on till lunch but before then Douglas came by me like a bullet. This terrain clearly suited him ! Lunch was lovely and relaxed everyone becoming demob happy.
We cruised together to Bluff with about half of us heading up Bluff Hill. With only a 39 x 23 I was still giving it a shot but as we hit the really steep corner near the end I was only just turning the cranks and realised I couldn't make it and pulled the pin before I fell. Douglas cut inside me and was going great guns till he did a backwards roll with his bike and was reduced to walking. Big E powered up by us and was impressive to watch. Clas got the prestige of hitting the top minutes ahead of anyone else.
We regrouped, headed to the end of the road and congratulated each other. All very pleased. Only a little run round the end of the Island. A couple of sips of champagne didn't help that and then finding we were running back to the top of Bluff Hill made for an appropriate end to the camp - 2,400km of riding sandwiched between hard runs to start and finish.
Coming away with yellow was an enormous dollop of gravy on top of an already fantastic camp. This time I think I played the game a little wiser. Having such a big lead in the last few days allowed me to ease off and only do the minimums. I did well in most competitions and rode fast most of the time (not tacking on on the bike contributed to this and made the riding a lot more fun!). All this probably means that for once I won't have the biggest volume numbers. David Craig cranked out 250k on the bike and I know both Jo and Petro did bigger swimming volume than me.
Here are my numbers
Swim: 43.3k at a pace of 1:37 per 100 (that includes rest)
Bike: 2,395km at a pace of 30.7 km/h
Run: 224km at a pace of 5:33 per KM
Hours: 110.4
The end of camp dinner was great fun as always. Dave Dwan did a great job of awarding prices to most campers for various things. Mirror for Rip to put on his bike, brush for Russ's mohican ! My little nephew will be chuffed with my prize - a little toy lion as apparently I hide my competitive side with a smile. It turns out no one has won three yellows before and I was given a set of Hed Wheels as a prize. I was stunned ! Even now I can't quite believe it.
This was a trip of a lifetime and I met so many great people many of whom I hope will become lifelong friends.

Finally ... I posted dual blogs for most of the camp and managed to write slightly differently on each. So if you want another doze go to:
Epic Camp Day 1
Thats the first post and just follow through the next 15.

Land's End

Despite the collective view at camp that I might not make it to Bluff, I rode the last 185km yesterday and was able to say that I have pedalled the length of a country! Holy cow! A not so short country at that... To the left is a picture of Team Blanco at the lookout point at Land's End in Bluff, NZ. I can't tell you how happy I was to get off my bike and know that I had covered the length of NZ... seemingly against all odds since I almost *quit* on several occasions... including once before I ever left San Francisco! Of course, I couldn't have done it without Rich, so I owe him a ton... first for getting me into this camp... and a debt of gratitude for dragging me through it! At the post-camp celebration dinner, I was unsurprised to learn that we won the *Joined at the Hip* prize of a bungy cord, since we spent so much time together... what can I say? He's a keeper, so that bungy cord will come in handy!

Over the past 15 days, I have biked 1,430 miles, run 65miles and swum 26,000 yards which is about 16 miles. That is far and above more than I have ever done in twice as much time.

Nutrition

I touched on this in an earlier post but after two weeks, I think a follow up could be interesting. I think I was eating more than twice the quantity of what I would normally eat. A hearty breakfast of cereal, yoghurt, fruit as well as a couple of slices of toast w/ PB and Nutella seemed to get me through the first couple of hours of riding and then I would probably eat a bar every 90 minutes or so (Pro Bars pack ~400 cals). I also drank BASE amino nutrition for the first few hours of each day but then would refill at aid stations with water and High Five. Lunch would usually be a wrap filled to the gills with whatever was on offer... hummus, turkey, ham, cheese, tomatoes, carrots... all washed down with diet coke. High five recovery drink... or preferably chocolate milk when I got off the bike and maybe a few salty chips depending whether there was a post bike swim or run. Dinner was usually about an hour or 90mins after the end of exercise each day. I would pile my plate high each night, focusing on lots of vegetables and lean protein... however, I almost always had dessert :) I'm thinking that I have added a few lbs over the last two weeks... but the metabolism will kick in during the next week or so!

Fitness
My SRM stopped working after the first few days, so I did most of the riding on heart rate. I rarely saw anything above 145bpm after the first couple of days. For the most part I was riding in the range of 115-125bpm on the flats, rising to 135-140bpm on climbs, occasionally hitting 145bpm on those super steep climbs after Dunedin on day 14. I might have tolerated higher heart rate zones but my leg muscles just burned so much and were locked up so tightly that I just couldn't exert any pressure on the pedals. As I rest over the next week or so, I'll be interested to see how I feel and how I perform on the bike. For comparison, I usually ride an Ironman with my heart rate in the 150-155bpm range, so I was only just in zone 1 for most of my riding... surviving?

Nick - Day 15

We made it!!

A cold and cloudy morning greeted us in Balclutha as we took to the roads for the final time. The support crew had really laid it on for breakfast and we were treated to pancakes as well as the normal superb buffet we always get. I am going to miss the big breakfasts, but there is no way I could eat like this if I was not exercising for 6+ hrs a day.

The ride profile suggested there would be a few decent climbs early on, and we were not surprised, although the biggest climb wasn't quite the 250m we had expected. It was still a relief to see the drinks van at the top. Coming down the other side in my usual nana style (I have to learn to descend a little faster as I constantly get dropped) I lost the front bunch, but got picked up by John, Pete and Tara. We rode together for the next 100km to lunch and with a decent side/tail wind and beautiful Catlins scenery. I had feared the last day would be a real struggle as my legs ached like nothing else, but with a bit of conversation to pass the time and favorable conditions, I was sweet. Thats been the thing about epic camp, its the camaraderie and competition that enables the massive volumes to be completed. I could manage a few days like this on my own, but never a week let alone two as mentally I would lose it.

Anyway, following a compulsory regroup for lunch, we rode the last 50km as a bunch into Bluff. The last 10km were into a stiff headwind and it seemed to take an age to get there. We had a brief stop while the mountain goats had a crack at climbing the famed Bluff Hill, which they all managed one way or another, before hitting the bottom of the South. The champagne flowed and photos were snapped, but we weren't finished. John had spied a running track around Bluff hill, so on with the runners and away we went. Half way round the original plan was changed and we climbed the hill. It was a lung buster and a leg buster, but a great way to finish a great camp.

Epilogue to follow...

Quince

The last day ...

Jordan and I rose with the support crew to get a head start on the long rolling scenic southern highway. Suzi set the day straight when she emerged from the kitchen with an enormous stack of hotcakes. Awesome ... I mean jaw dropping, I could ride back up to Cape Reinga awesome.

The roads were cold and quiet leaving Balclutha, but gradually warmed to the NZ soundtrack of sheep baying and birdsong. I will miss my time amongst the sheep. The rollercoaster ride cut through forest and water offering up highlight reel views at every turn. Bruce was working the aid wagon today and he picked some winners.

J and I were rolling comfortably to 90k when the Lord of the Yellow pushed by. Jordan winked and said she see me at lunch sending me up the road to catch up on the morning news. I have come to believe that all great riders have a "cold" gene as I heard the old refrain, "well I was just so cold that I had to leave the group to warm myself." Sweet.
After a quick stop to strip off the morning gear, we set out to enjoy the next 45k to lunch. Doug came by me on a steady climb and I ended up TTing with him the remainder of the ride. My legs were so good, it was very satisfying to end the camp on such form. As we topped a roller, the Invercargill smelt tower and Bluff Hill came into view. It was here when Doug offerred up the quote of the day, "you know Keith Richards called Invercargill the asshole of the world." Well he definitely missed this weather ... glorious.
At Land's End (end of the road), we toasted the support crew and the Epic Founders with some bubbly.
Then, of course, ran up and over Bluff Hill. Epic.

Fitness:
185km scenic southland tour to Bluff
7.5km run from the end of the road, up and over Bluff Hill, back into town.

Done. Out.

Blanco

Epic Camp Day 15

Today really couldn't have gone better, even if we had scripted it ourselves.

The tone was set right from the outset, where breakfast reached new heights of excellence. I managed to find room for pancakes with bananas and maple syrup, bacon and scrambled eggs, toasted fruit bread and peanut butter, and muesli with yoghurt. I should add that I preceded breakfast with a 10km run, leaving me with just 4km to go to reach my 250km goal (knowing we had a 7km run at Bluff).

We rolled out early (7:30), as today was potentially a long one. The pace was leisurely. I hadn't intended to go off in front of the group, but it just happened that way. I'm glad it did because I really enjoyed the solo part of today's ride through some spectacular Catlins scenery, while knowing that we would regroup at lunch and share each others' company for the last 55km to Bluff.

There were some solid climbs in that first stretch, but nothing like the severity of what we faced yesterday - 5% as opposed to 10%+. After a couple of weeks of lots of "noise", it was nice to have some quiet time - no traffic, no chatter, just birds and native bush.

One particular moment that sticks in my mind was the start of a descent from a longish climb, when I rounded the corner of the summit and, in front of me, was a jaw-dropping stunning whitesand beach - totally deserted. I had to stop, take it all in for a moment, and snap a few shots.

I didn't stop at the first aid station, prefering to roll on to lunch and continue to ride solo. At this stage, the day turned from cool and overcast to fine and warm, with a brisk easterly (tailwind!). Biking along at 40-50k on the rolling terrain, down on the bars, I could almost pretend I was a decent cyclist.

Lunch was long and leisurely as we had to wait for some of the slower cyclists to come in. Not that anyone minded. Bruce had found a great spot for us to chill out and work on our tans while we waited.

The post-lunch ride to Bluff was ridiculously easy, given our tailwind. I was sitting in the bunch, pretty much freewheeling, and getting carted along at 40-45kph. There had been a fair bit of banter among the group over the last few days about who would attempt Bluff Hill when we arrived. This is a hill that the pros struggle to climb during the Tour of Southland (3km at an average of 18%), so it would certainly test those of us that tried it, after 2,500km in our legs. I chickened out. I just didn't think I would make it with the gearing I had (might've been different if I'd had my compact). But around half of us tried, and most made it up. Credit must go to Douglas, who found such a steep section of the final corner that he went over backwards. Cracked his helmet (but was unhurt), got back on somehow, and completed the climb.

Then, the big moment we had all worked so hard for over the last 15 days. We arrived at the end of the road. Spirits were obviously pretty high - we popped a few bottles of bubbles and took the obligatory photo underneath the signposts. (Funny incident - we met up with a couple who were at Cape Reinga on the day we started this trip. They had driven to Bluff in the time we had biked to it.)

But EC had one more demand to make of us - we had a 7km run, which was supposed to be around the base of Bluff Hill (Foveaux Track), but "modified" by John to take us to the top of Bluff Hill (about a 300m climb) and then down the steep road some of us had biked up. Cheers John, the quads really enjoyed that.

Back to Invercargill, bikes packed up, then our final dinner together. Lone Star is known for its huge meals, and did not disappoint. The atmosphere was celebratory and relaxed (in the sense that no one was worrying about weather forecasts, hill profiles or swim sets for tomorrow). There were few formalities, but one was the confirming of the four camp jerseys. The red (Petro), yellow (Steve) and polka dot (Clas) had already been determined. Only the green was up for grabs. Gordo described it as going to the person who most embodies the spirit of EC. I was stoked when it was awarded to me. I've certainly pushed myself harder on this camp than ever before, and to get that recognition was great.

Of course none of what we achieved would've been possible without the awesome job done by John (in particular), Gordo, Scott and the support crew (particularly Dave D). There were a thousand things that could've potentially gone wrong on such a logistically-tough tour. But things ran like clockwork, so the team could just focus on training, eating and recovering. A truly slick operation. Many thanks guys.

Now, back to reality.

185km ride, 206w AP, 221w NP (for 4:15 to lunch - 132/152w for 1:32 to Bluff), 1,846m total ascent.

Day 15 - Balclutha to Bluff

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 on my blog.

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.

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 15 Tara

Day 15: Balclutha to Bluff

FINAL DAY!

Totals:

Bike: 183k
Run: 7k up Bluff Hill with 1000 feet of ascent to finish Epic Camp in EPIC STYLE!

OMG Epic Camp NZ 2010 is DONE. Wow wow wow wow wow!

Camp Totals:

100 hours and 40 minutes of training in 15 days.
Swim: 40k
Bike: 2295k
Run: 138k

This was EPIC for sure and a huge accomplishment! Woo hoo!
It is hard to believe it is over...We just cycled from the tip of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island in New Zealand and added in some pretty decent swimming and running to boot! :)

Today started as a 'normal Epic day' - packed my bags, put my night bag and day bags in the appropriate spots, ate a million calories at the 6:30am breakfast, got my bike ready and rolled out at 7:30am. However, today ended in a very different way: It was the last ride and run we will do at Epic Camp NZ 2010. And it was surprisingly emotional for me as we approached the bottom of the South Island. For 14 days I was focused on getting through that day of training. I was just taking it one day at a time, even though the original goal was to cycle the length of the country. On day 1-3 I was worried that I might not be able to complete the camp because I was so sore and anxious that I had a serious glute injury. I recovered well and kept going but I have to say that early on in the camp, the idea that we had to do this for 15 days was daunting. Fifteen days is a lot of days to train at with such intensity and with this amount of volume. But today, on day 15, it felt like it was not that long ago that we started this amazing journey and hard to believe it was about to come to an end.

Day 1 was hot and sunny, Days 2-14 were cold and often rainy (with a couple short exceptions like our amazing trail run in Christchurch) but Day 15 finished just like Day 1: hot and sunny! It was a perfect day. It was beautiful weather (aside from starting out cold which prompted me to apply WAY too many layers like my Zoot arm warmers on my lower legs leaving me soaking wet in sweat with fogged up glasses at the top of the first big climb), the scenery was gorgeous - perfect Kiwi rolling green hills with sheep galore and a sweet ocean view, the ride was friendly FOR REAL as opposed to the 'friendly' rides where we would hammer off the front, and the champagne at the end of the ride with congratulatory hugs all around with many photo ops was a great celebration of an amazing accomplishment.

Before most of us ran up Bluff Hill to complete the camp, a few brave campers rode up Bluff Hill which has an average grade of 18% and a max grade of about 25%. Some made it, some didn't make it riding (but rather pushing their bikes) to the top. Douglas made it on two feet rather than two wheels AFTER he attempted one last power stroke on the steepest part of the climb, only to topple over backwards, landing on his head, still attached to his bike. Helmet was crushed but not a scuff or bruise can be seen. AMAZING! All Douglas was concerned with, was the fact that he has to replace his $300 helmet. Too bad the film crew didn't get this on camera!

The run up Bluff Hill was STEEP but a very beautiful trail with quite a few stairs to help ascend the 1000 feet in 7k. However, the run down the road the brave ones cycled up was somewhat hard on the knees and toes as they were jammed into the toe boxes of our shoes. What a perfect way to end Epic Camp with a nice challenging run.

Dinner tonight was a blast. This was an amazing group of campers and the stories will be told for years to come. I can't wait to see the movie that is made showing our adventure.

Thank you Scott Molina, Johnny N and Gordo and all the support crew (especially Davey Dwan) for putting on such a perfect camp. All we had to do was eat, sleep, swim, run and cycle the length of New Zealand! GOOD TIMES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Epilogue to follow...but for now I have to sleep (for about a week) and I have a plane to catch back to Toronto tomorrow! Plus, I want my 5 bonus points for blogging every day :)
Tara

steven - day 14

We're nearing the end and it's just getting better and better. Todays scenery was superb ... pity the water must be so cold.
I'd not felt well in the night and was slightly concerned. I held back early and perked up enough to cover all of Gordo's early attacks on the KOM. He gave John and Clas a warning as I started to accelerate for what was sure to be the decisive move (;0)) but they covered. When John jumped again Gordo had been dropped and I wasn't able to cover it. Was happy that Scott stayed on my wheel as my main aim was for him to not beat me by more than one. He pulled away and I managed to get 4th.
Going down to Dunedin I felt pretty dizzy on the bike and held back from the group. Wasn't sure whether it was being ill or lack of food. After eating a tonne at lunch it became clear it was the latter.
I had a little blast on the way back and then Petro had a massive blast. I was hanging on his wheel thinking you can't let him go. Eventually he eased on a hill and I made my excuses that I would just cruise. He decided to as well and we rolled in together.
We then had a made dash to teh pool and got in with only 48 minutes of pool time. I got going and bashed out a 3k swim in 43 minutes. Petro had 4 more lengths and managed to finish about a minute before the buzzer went to clear the pool. Only with the Epic Camp format would we have headed out and we were both quite pleased with ourselves that we'd managed a decent session.
This evenings meal was great fun. Everyone is starting to relax a little and hanging out a bit more chatting. Really enjoyed it.

Nick - Day 14

The highs and the lows

The thing I have noticed about epic camp, and been told by others, is that some days you are on fire and others you feel like your cycling with one leg. Today was one of the low points. I slept poorly last night and my legs ached. When woke this am (at 0500 - and hr before I needed to, I was already dreading the day).

It was a cool, chilly morning in Wainakarua when we made it out to breakkie, but like they have all camp, the crew had laid out a magnificent feast including Daves specialty eggs inside bread. I started the day with two cycling jerseys on and by morning tea, I had only just warmed up enough to take the summer one off. My quads were sore, tight and never felt great. The first 50 km saw us cruising down SH1 in pretty much a solid line before we turned off and rolled through Karitane. It was really just Johns way of softening us up for what was to come. Once back on the main rd we turned off and climbed up over the hill to Port Chalmers, which was a KOM. I had nothing!! It was all I could manage to get over the damn thing.

Then it was up to me to navigate through Dunedin. I must confess I haven't actually lived here for 10 years, and I only had a rough idea where I was going. I had no trouble getting to Sth Dunedin, but then had to get up the St Clair hill. I missed the turn, but remembered there was a beauty of a climb from St Clair up to Corstephine via my old rd Earls rd. I thought about stopping everyone in front of my house for scenic purposes, but looking at the huffing and puffing going on there was a very real chance I would get lynched.

The cruise down to Blackhead beach and onto Brighton was enjoyable, but I had a nagging feeling my detour in Sth Dunedin might have caused the lunch stop to be missed. I was bloody relieved to find we hadn't.

After lunch the standard hammerfest started, and I realised pretty quick I had nothing to give. We had another steep climb from Taieri mouth over to Waihola and it was one of those climbs that just keeps going and going. On more than one occasion I swore at the hills. Today was the first day i had resorted to Coke in my drink bottles and it wasn't giving me the boost I had hoped for. The only solace was passing Eric, Petro and Rip who were finding the hills even harder than me. Having claimed the KOM earlier in the day, Johnnie either had nothing left, or didn't acre, cos he was going even slower than me.

The last 40km into Balclutha was deceptively rolling. I am so close to the end, but equally my body is so close to breaking. I have never done anything remotely resembling this before and I am now in a state of constant fatigue. All I can think about is getting back to The Sunshine Coast and lying around playing with Zac and Ingrid. I think it will be a long time before I leave them for two weeks again.

Day 14

I woke up feeling a bit under par. The camp cold had been threatening for a day or two and my throat was a little sore. Once I got moving and took some drugs and more importantly had a bowl Latte I was feeling pretty good about life and the fact we only had two days for camp completion. The Mill House that we stayed in was very impressive. The original old stone building renovated into accommodation and restaurant. The day was cool but not threatening rain and promised a tail wind. The plan was 180km total from Waianakarua to Balclutha with a stop in Dunedin to do an aquathon. Reports were coming out of Dunedin, via a friend of Nicks, that the harbor water temp was only 14 degrees. This info along with the cool wind and the fact that a number of campers including Gordo were starting to get sick put paid to the open water aquathon idea. A very good call in hindsight.

The first 50 km of riding was great. Tailwind and a good draft. I was sitting behind Big E and experienced the much talk about draft from the 6ft 8inch Eric. His is a very good bike rider so I enjoyed following his wheel. A better view than he had as he was behind Russell who’s cycling shorts had seen better days, wearing a bit thin, not a good look.

We headed towards the KOM for the day the Hill before Port Charmers. It was a really tough climb with some very steep sections. I felt good and gave it a nudge. By half way the usual suspects were up the road. I hung on to Jo’s wheel for a while until Tara came passed as well as the machine David Craig and Petro. They rode away so I concentrated on keeping as good a pace as possible to avoid getting caught by Dave Langley who was in sight but still far enough away to hold off. The views at the top once again did not disappoint. On the way down Petro, Tara and DC stopped to take a photo with the sea views behind. I joined them so will get them sent to me so I can post up on line to show you what we saw. Then it was on through to Dunedin. We had our tour leader Nick who lived here and went to med school at Otago. A stop in town at the bike shop for Charlseys bike repair. His de railer cable broke so was climbing the hill in a 14. Despite being an unbelievable cyclist he had to run 2k up the hill so was keen to get it repaired.

Out of town we took the coast road but not before climbing another bloody steep and long hill. He headed towards Brighton on the coast road for lunch stop at the 115km mark. The ride along the coast was once again fantastic. Riding with sea views, beaches and headlands makes it’s so much more enjoyable. This was turning out to be one of the best rides for me on camp. A total contrast to the coromandel but just as spectacular.

The pace as always was solid. It seems if its not Lordy its DC or one of the other strong riders willing to keep the pace strong at all times, that’s 35-40km an hour depending on the wind. Of course it’s always your choice to stay on or drop back to your own pace.

After another great lunch provided by the support crew who do everything for us. We headed towards Balclutha. We were warned about some hills but once again as previously today they where some of the hardest hills we have climbed all tour. The climb from the coast at the Taieri Mouth was very steep and went on for a long time with lots of drops down and just when you thought the next steep rise was the top it would descend again only to climb once more. We then had a fast decent down to join the main highway. Then towards Milton. Rob Hill and I had been talking about a coffee stop and Milton gave us the opportunity. With a strong tail wind and around 20k to go we stopped at the only café open. It was perfect. Couches and really nice coffee. So good we had two rounds before we could extract ourselves and re mount the bikes. A hilly but nice ride due to the tailwind into Balcutha.

A lot of the group are feeling pretty tired. I had a really enjoyable day and feel tired but upbeat and really happy about getting through with now only 1 day to go to reach Bluff. Time for dinner so until day 15 of Epic Camp

Green Jersey ride

Having been awarded the Green jersey yesterday, I got to wear it today during our most spectacular ride yet in this country. Blanco and I left 25mins ahead of the main group but then never saw them all day long. I'll designate this ride, the *Cyclo-touring* ride since for me, today was all about enjoying the scenic views, the Kiwi ambience and spending a day with my best friend. We paused to take photos, found a sweet cafe serving a flat white for Blanco, a chai for me and some tasty sweet and savory muffins. To top it all, they were playing some stellar tunes.

At this point, let's face it, for me Epic Camp is not about fitness, it's more about the *end goal*, making it to the southernmost point of the South Island. I am severely tired from riding 1500 mi, swimming 25k and running about 100k. My bike fitness feels like it's going backwards... though running feels great... go figure! However, I could not have done it without the love and patience of my partner, so today's stunning ride is dedicated to him.

It was one very cool ride along NZ's scenic Southern Highway... bay vistas, white sand beaches and rolling green hills. Short steep climbs and hills that went downhill dead straight. I hit my slowest and fastest speeds of camp today! 4.4mph and 46mph!

jo c - day 14

southy-south part of the island proving to be just as pretty as expected some fab coastal veiws as we coasted via Duneton down to Bathclatha, with the additional benefit of nice tailwind to take the sting out of the ever deepening rollers. great view of Russell's arse - the life of a roaming full-time triathlete is hard on the cycling kit, jagged - take note. that was one of the less subtle things that will be lodged in my memory after the past 14 days sitting in our chain-gangs. I'm sure that we could all identify one another by bike, bottles, kit, calves by now. got me thinking how strange it will be tomorrow evening, when it's all over. the rhythm of the camp now seems totally natural, and i feel that i could continue indefinitely - certainly without the additional, and significant load of running in the mix, it is possible to recover on the run - yesterday's moderate riding (HR did not exceed 140 all day) and a good night sleep and i felt great this morning. well up for the KOM. kind tailed off a little after lunch, which came just about too late to save me from a hunger induced grump but the legs were good, even if the mood was not.
day dreaming about winning the lottery and employing our support crew full time and riding around the world Epic Styleee. between 2 crew changes (save for super dave d who's lead the troop from day 1 and will be driving us home once it's all over too) these guys have been looking after us for 2 weeks, and still it seems nothing is too much trouble. each of them seems to makes me feel as if they're bestowing some special favoritism towards me with additional kindnesses and that is some skill, when i'm sure that they are making each if the 24 feel the same. big up.
so, we've had a sampler of tomorrow's landscape - with the challenge of bluff hill thrown into eh mix. its gonna be a tough ride and finger crossed i'll find some way of getting to the end of the island be it walk, limp, or ride the track.

ride 195km
swim 2.6km

Day 14 - Waianakarua to Balclutha

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!

Day 14 Dave Langley Waianakourana to Balclutha

Hills, Hills, Hills and then just for good measure some more hills. Today has been some of the toughest riding of the camp luckily I had some decent legs so I could at least enjoy the scenery and that fact that it was the second last day and I was still able to function at a reasonable level. Must be all the pills, natural of course! It feels weird to be in Balclutha. It was freezing to start of the day and I had all the gear on. The route today was so much more scenic than some to the riding we;ve done to date and it was most appreciated by all. (I have had to type this so many times as I am so tired spelling is horrendous). Needless to say I am enjoying a Steinlager watching and hoping the Easterly winds persist throughout tomorrow to get us to the Bluff in good shape. There is so much talk about Bluff hill and who will have the balls to attempt it. I know I don't. When I hear that professional riders get off and walk it during the Tour of Southland I believe I can let it pass.

Hope to get more time for a better blog tommorrow after we are done......can't believe it is so close...yet so far (about 190km to go and a 7km run)

Day 13 Dave Langley Geraldine to Wainankourna

I have to keep this short because I am once again borrowing a laptop to blog and Rob Q is waiting patiently next to me so he can get his done! We started the day with the traditional EPIC Camp 400IM event which as predicted was hilarious. My first 50m fly was superb everything else is a painful lung bursting blur. I was so happy to finish, for an average free style swimmer the other strokes are just punishment. It was a balmy 15dC when we left on the bike but I must admit I am getting used to the temps. Unfortuneatley we had to go down the main highway again for the majority of the ride but the last 60 km was spectacular along the coast road. We followed Rob Q GPS exactly even down a closed road that had been severly eroded by the ocean (someone is bound to post a photo) a tru epis adventure. Must leave it there onto Day 14.

Catorce

Penultimate day here on the south island and the riding was magnificent. J and I rolled early from the Mill House after leaving a latte bowl and a BBQ stuffed to the gills with bacon and sausage, we embarked on the 190km journey towards Balclutha (by way of Dunedin). The south island support crew consisting of Janet, Suzie, Bruce, and Paul are killing it. Thanks for the all day support guys.

The route consisted of some really nice climbs with breathtaking coastal and valley views at every turn. The endless white sand beaches were deserted (and this on a summer sunny Saturday ... ok maybe on the chilly side). On our way down the Mt Cargill climb (5mi, 1100ft) into Port Chalmers, I grabbed a quick photo of my trusty rig adjacent to a port memorial anchor (the sweeping right hander which followed the stop was one not to be missed). The fitness plan of the day called for an aquathon at the Port Chalmers Yacht Club, so we rolled over there (cold cold cold) and then headed straight back into town for coffee and treats at the Port Royale cafe (really nice ambiance with some grooving tunes to boot). Refreshed and ready to roll we jammed through the beautiful Dunedin city center and up and over to the beach roads up to the Taieri Mouth River. From there, the road tilted to the sky in an endless string of risers (4mi, 1100ft). My self snapshot above is from the top, I was tempted to run across the green fields singing, "the hills are alive," but with all the "gun club" signs around, I thought better of it.

The descent was fast and furious and at first the run in to the hotel was a breeze. But this is Epic Camp, and the last 10k was pretty tough with eight stingers before the well worn signs lead us to the recovery suite!

Janet hooked me up with a quick massage, then J and I ran to the pool and back to cap off the last swim/bike/run day.

Fitness:

190km stellar ride on the south island

6km run (to/from Balclutha Public Pool)

2.5km swim behind the Lord of the Mark train (felt great in the water).

Blanco

Epic Camp Day 14

After the last couple of days, we'd almost forgotten what a hill was. We soon reacquainted ourselves.

It was cold when we rolled out at 7.30 and, having learnt my lesson a couple of days earlier, I was determined not to suffer again. The pace was very sociable, probably the easiest on camp so far, for the initial hour or two. But that changed quickly because we had our last KOM climb after 50km or so. My strategy, as always (well, not so much a strategy as my only option), was to maintain an even tempo up the climb. This meant I had to let a big group go. But I hauled in quite a few of them about half way up. About 2 km to go, I passed Gordo but knew he was on my wheel just biding his time. Sure enough, about 200m from the summit, he just put it into the next gear and trounced me. I don't have that next gear.

Poor old Charlesy had a broken gear cable and was left to climb the KOM with a 39/14. Needless to say he walked most of it (as would any of us).

The descent from the KOM into Port Chalmers was one of the day's highlights. Nick (ex-local boy) guided us through Dunedin and then up a cruel climb out of town. He later admitted (although I hope he was joking) that there are easier routes out of town, but he wanted us to experience this one. If that's true, I said I would be petitioning the other camp members to have his points for the day forfeited.

Lunch was at a great beachside stop south of Dunedin. But it was immediately followed by another SOB climb that just seemed to go on and on - kicking up to 16% in places. For Rip, this was the last straw, and he got off and walked part. Can't blame him at all, the same thought had crossed my mind. You'd think that, on the second to last day, the topography would be kinder to us. Somehow I had this mental picture of a gradual descent into Bluff. Looking at tomorrow's profile, that's clearly wrong.

There was a final aid station about 25km out from Balclutha, but Clas, Tara and I couldn't see the point in stopping so close to home, so we rocked on. Nice tail winds, but not the "dead flat" terrain I heard Nick promise.

Final order of the day for me was to tack on a 15km run. I did - along the banks of the Clyde River. Nice to run on a soft surface for a change. So that leaves me with 14km to run tomorrow to reach my 250km goal. Might need an early start given we've got a big ride.

Strange to think we're on the eve of camp completion. It seemed like an enormous challenge at the outset (and it is). But it's amazing how, with the right support and company (and we've got both), you can make steady and surprisingly quick progress. Cape Reinga really does seem like yesterday. All that said, I'm looking forward to enjoying a cold beer or three tomorrow, safe in the knowledge that I won't be hopping on my bike the next day.

185km ride, 6:23, 185w AP, 224w NP, 2,452m total ascent (2nd highest of trip I think).

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 14 Tara

Day 14: Waianakarua to Balclutha

Totals:

Bike: 188k
Swim: None!
Run: None!

Day 14 down, one day to go! Tomorrow will be a tough ride with all the climbing but with one last ride and a 7k-ish run to the very bottom of the South Island, it will be a fun and rewarding day...Points are now set so there won't be any insane 25k run or 6k swim tack-ons! Petro has nearly killed himself going for the red jersey and I am now confident he WILL survive :)

Today was a bike from Waianakarua through Dunedin to Balclutha. We were supposed to have an aquathon in the harbour in Dunedin but due to cold water conditions and for the "safety of the camp" (as Johnny N stated) it was canceled. There was also a KOM today just before Port Chalmers and we didn't know that the aquathon was canceled until our regrouping, just before we set off for the KOM. Up until that point, I had been worrying about how cold I may get, especially after experiencing hypothermia at Ironman Arizona this past November. Phew, I sure was relieved! There wasn't time to do another aquathon at the pool upon our arrival in Balclutha so today was the first day that I opted not to do the swim, bike, AND run option. All I did was the bike! It did feel kind of wrong, but I got over it quickly and enjoyed the extra time to relax and get a massage from Janet.

Yesterday I tweaked my groin in the 400IM swim race and a massage with Janet COMPLETELY fixed my pain. Janet and Suzy are the two massage therapists with us in the South Island and I wish they could come and live in Toronto :) They are AMAZING!

Today's ride was the hardest ride for me so far. I guess that makes sense considering I have trained almost 94 hours in the last 14 days! But also, this ride had 7080 feet of ascent. It was HILLY!

During the KOM, I started fast out of the blocks but about half way up I really wasn't feeling the love and in the end I finished behind that strong-climbing Jo girl. I knew the next person behind me was pretty far back so I enjoyed a bit less pressure as I finished the tough climb. This was the last KOM and most important, I did finish in front of that awesome Pete dude :)

Nick (who grew up in Dunedin) was our tour guide/leader and took us up a VERY steep and LONG climb out of Dunedin because 'it was more fun'. It was a 'pleasant' surprise. I sure am glad that wasn't the KOM. OR the next climb! Or the next million climbs we did before finally arriving at our accommodation...
With so many climbs, there were also many fast descents and I hit 75.7kms/hr (don't worry it was safe Mom!) which paled in comparison to other campers who went almost 90kms/hr.

There have been quite a lot of mechanical issues on this camp, which isn't too much of a surprise given the rough New Zealand chip seal road surfaces and the number of miles we have been riding, but touch wood, my bike has been perfect...No flats, no broken cables, no broken cranks, no broken spokes (these have all happened on this camp). I am riding Shimano Dura Ace TUBELESS wheels and they have been awesome. They are so durable but at the same time, they are light and fast to get me to the end of these rides with kick butt average speeds!!

After the lunch break, we rode pretty friendly to the last drink stop but it was only 30k from the finish and DC and Claus rode on by. I had two full bottles so I once again caught the DC train home. I think I have looked at David Craig's wheel and butt more than anything on this camp, all while going at a good clip. Even better this time, was being third wheel behind superman Claus whose draft was sweet (DC really is about 3% body fat so when he is on his P3C in full aero position, as Scott commented, he is 'like a knife turned sideways'. But I love riding behind DC because he is strong and consistent and as a result 40kms/hr has never felt so easy. Thanks David Craig the cycling machine!

Hanging out after dinner sharing stories was fun tonight - in particular Dr. Big E's crazy ER stories. "Good times!"

One more sleep and one more ride and run and EPIC CAMP NZ 2010 will be completed...Final day blog (got to get those bonus 5 points - although it is fun to blog anyway) and then an Epilogue to follow...

Tara

Steven - Day 13

Today was the big Epic Camp tradition of the 400IM. A minor competition so 3 points were up for grabs with it dropping by a quarter per position. It was a little disappointing that a number of campers didn’t do the race. They’ve missed out on classic Epic Camp. We’re 12 days in and still people are willing to race hard even for the minor placings. It’s funny to see accomplished athletes race hard at something we’re all pretty amateurish at. Some nearly drown just doing the 100m Fly at the start.
Scott and I managed to put on a great race in the first heat. I’ve just watched it on all on Rips camera ... good viewing. Here’s the text version. Scott went off hard and must have been a body length up after 25m fly. I kept calm and stuck to my guns of steady fly. Gordo went with Scott and blew big time. Come the backstroke I was 10 - 15m down on Scott. I worked the back and did some great turns and probably closed it to a body length. Then the breaststroke. In my swimming days this was my weakness but in this crowd it’s a strength. I managed to gain about a body length lead and held it for the win. I kicked hard down the last length and was regretting it with 10m to go but in hindsight it was a good idea. I did 5:55. Scott 5:57. Next heat Nick did 6:01 and in the final heat John N did 5:57 !! Pleased to bag 3 points.
The ride today was awesome. A John Newsom perfect pull to the first aid station. Then out of the aid station Petro hit it hard. I kept thinking this can't last long... then 10k went by, then 20k. I'd moved up on the inside to give Jo some shelter from the crosswind and allow her to get back on Russ's wheel who was hugging the white line so close Jo could almost have been on the front for the draft she was getting. See the look on Jo's face at the work she was doing a few times was enough for me and I headed to the front asked Petro if he wanted a break and the proceeded to try and ease it up a little.
I was worried he would suss me out if I eased up too much so I just took it down a notch initially and slowly over the next 10k tried to ease it off a little more. Hard but friendly was what I was aiming at - no surging over hills - hoping to keep everyone together. I pulled the next 30k to lunch and was pleased to see everyone there... well everyone except Petro who i guess had had a minor detonation and rolled in 5 minutes later. That's what 6k swimming last night and 6k this morning can go to a guy !
After lunch I pulled us to Omaru and then we all road two up along the fantastic coast road chatting and enjoying the scenery. Possibly one of the most enjoyable rides.
For me I decided to chill and sample the other side of camp life and sat shooting the breeze with the troops over a couple of beers. Very enjoyable. Perhaps one day I'll do a camp, just do the minimums, and really enjoy the social side !

jo c - day 13

a brighter morning and the promise of some fun at the pool with the traditional epic 400IM race. we had an hour of free swim time so i used this last opportunity to get my 1000m bands only swim done. i managed it a lot better than last year, which pleased me. still took a while tho!
there was some close racing action in the 400IM - not for me though having almost drowned doing the butterfly i did race to finish not last with some fast freestyle at the end.
back on the bikes and trundled out of town. there was a lot of talk about how tired each was feeling and were going to go at their own, steady pace today - a flat ride with no competitions. Ha~! had me fooled. the pace soon picked up thanks to Tara and David (who, admittedly had not uttered any words about fatigue) and it became a question of just hanging in the bunch, which before long had turned into a splinter group off the front. strangely my heart rate was not registering very high intensity, but my legs sure were. Still, it was manageable. A very quick stop at the drink station at 50km - so quick that they did one whilst i was down the road in the loo. i was not sure what the hurry was at the time, but since David is currently out running 20k whilst the rest of us kick back at the hotel, it figures! in any case - it wasn't long before the next group , which contained steven, scott, john, class and petro arrived giving me the option of company. i was relieved to see that Russell and Rob were hanging in there and so i should be able to stick with them too. Th pace started a little hot, and got hotter and hotter as Petro gnashed away along long flat stretch of highway ahead of him. But once Scott pointed out the 'comfy' spot to ride (to the right of the rider in front) and steven took the front in attempt to prevent petro detonating himself( failed!) and me in the process (succeeded). From then on we rode together nicely averaging about 22mph - riding just outside my comfort zone, but worth it for the benefit of the group's pace. We also picked up a couple of guys who'd been blasted out the back of the DC's rocket mission. weird muffins at lunch, a few laughs and a glimpse of the first pack before they hurried off along their way.
our group held together as before, with Eric and Richard joining us, until we turned onto the coast road Oamaru. This turned out to be a very scenic, rolling country road - and the pace really eased off to enable the group to roll along, chatting and enjoying the sea air and scenery for the last 30km or so. A real contrast to yesterday's ride - and this lovely landscape suggests some real scenic treats on the southy-south part of our journey.

Day 13 - Geraldine to Waianakarua

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.

Epic Camp Day 13

We're at the Mill House at Waianakarua (about 20m south of Oamaru), I've just had a massive dinner (capped off with three huge servings of sticky date pud) and a great massage from Janet, and am sttarting to feel human again. Big day, even by EC standards. Let's go back.

It's becoming a habit to run 10k first thing, and today was no exception. Only difference is I had a 6k swim to follow. To make that even more difficult, (1) Rob and I had to repeat our 3k IM set as the last one was deemed "non-continuous" by the powers that be, and (2) I had to do my 400m IM after 90 minutes 0f "warming up. Well, I made damn sure the 3k IM set this time did not have me touching the bottom of the pool at any stage. As for the 400m IM, well, let's just say that after the 100 fly there was a country mile between me and just about everyone else. Still, I did it and am proud of my effort in the pool today.

The ride today was "only" 150km and the profile wass pretty flat. I decided I needed to spend some time during the day at about HIM effort, just to stretch the legs, and chose the period after the first stop up until lunch to do it (about 50k). It was fun up front cruising along at 36-38kph, only disrupted by those bloody ripple strips that we've all come to loathe.

Post-lunch, the plan was to take it a bit easier for the last 50km, and we did. The Coastal Road just south of Oamaru provided comic relief for the day. Rob, our GPS guru, lead us along a route that, according to Garmin at least, was a "road". We ignored the slight technicality of a sign saying "road closed". We soon came to appreciate the reason for the sign as we passed parts of the coastal road where slips had eaten the road all the way to the middle painted line. We also had to dismount on occasion and drag our bikes over big mounds of dirt that blocked this "road". But the great coastal scenery more than made up for this slight inconvenience.

I had planned to tack on a run, but was waiting to see how the legs felt before deciding how long. They felt good, so 20k it was - back along that same coastal road. I was running well considering the accumulated fatigue I've built up. Did thge 20k in 1:35, which included a couple of decent hills. My goal is now to rack up 250k of running for the camp (my biggest total for a 2 week period, on top of my biggest bike and swim totals - ouch!).

146k ride, 4:28, 195w AP, 215w NP, 657m total ascent.

Nick - Day 13

My chance to shine - and I wasn't up to the task!!

Today saw the Epic Camp 400m Individual Medley Champs. A camp tradition according to John - dating back to the original epic camps. Gordo can even remember the fastest times that have been swum and even where they were swum.

The Geraldine pool is no olympic facility, but it was suitably decked out with Backstroke flags, starting blocks and pool lifeguards. Plus the film crew had gone the whole nine yards with water levels cameras and the usual big ones panning the lanes. Pete and I did an intro and then we were off. Steve and Molina duelled the first heat and finished in 5.55 and 5.57 respectively. I was in the second heat and unfortunately had no one to push me. Nonetheless I gave it pretty much everything I had and I haven't hurt like that in a while. 6.01 wasn't good enough though. Finally the last heat saw John go it alone as well, but he went one better and equalled Scotts 5.57. I had hoped this could be a chance for me to maybe burgle an extra point or two, but 400IM is a race of fitness and mine just isn't quite up to the elite level of some of these guys.

After breakfast, we rolled out of Geraldine and headed to Oamaru. The first 50km was a pretty fast paced ride led by big DC. Drinks were pretty quick and we continued on our way. About 10km in I suddenly realised I had been on a wheel for three days straight and I was in danger of letting the South Island pass me by. So I pulled the pin and dropped out of the pace line to ride by myself for a couple of hrs. Rob Q decided to join me and we rolled pretty well until he was hobbled by hayfever and dropped back. Following lunch I hopped on the big boys train and after traversing the Waitaki river, headed to Oamaru. Its here that I realised I have driven this road probably a hundred times back in the nineties, but never taken the scenic route and never really looked around. At Oamaru we hung a left and headed down the Coastal rd through Kakanui and onto Wainakarua. It was a stunning piece of road and I realised it was the reason I originally wanted to do this trip. As well as challenging myself in the epic camp environment, I wanted to see NZ. Now that I don't live here, I think I appreciate it even more when I come back for holidays. Its cold as hell - as this 2nd week has proven - but with that comes scenery and wilderness second to none.

We finished the day drinking beers out the front of a fantastic B&B here at Wainakarua. Now that the points comp is all but decided, its great that some of the players on the camp can enjoy a beer or two with us. Steve Lord has a great sense of humor and when he is not pounding out the kms he is an easy guy to talk to. Bring on Balclutha - I have a nagging feeling there might be quite a crowd there to see me.

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 13 Tara

Day 13 Geraldine to Wainakarua

Totals:

Run: 10k
Swim: 3k with 400IM
Bike: 150k

I set out at 7am with Steven and Petro for an easy 10k run and this has got to be a record for the slowest 10k run ever in just over an hour! We ended our run at the pool.

Upon our arrival at the pool Petro, Russell, Rob H and I found that our swim bags didn't make it to the pool with the first van drop off. Just as I was about to swim in my underwear and sports bra, we asked the pool folks if we could borrow suits, caps and goggles from the lost and found. There was quite the selection but it was mostly kids stuff. I put on a suit that had '12 year old' written on the label but then had comments from the boys that it looked good :) The 400IM got done but I sure wasn't speedy and I was left behind in the fast heat! It was a close race between Scott and Steven which made it exciting for the spectators.

The ride was pretty boring scenery-wise for the first 100k with a quick drink stop at 50k and lunch at 100k. And while I did some pulling (as did a few others), my train was a bit slower than the DC love train and so we all latched on!! The first 100k average speed was 34.4k/hr and ended at 32.8k an hour because the last 20k was so beautiful that we all slowed down for photo ops and views along the old coastal road. Nice!

We even had an "Epic adventure" as we followed Rob Q's GPS along a closed (eroding) road with a little cyclocross and off roading in there too! 'Good times!!'

The wind ended up being much more favourable and with a tiny bit of sun, I was actually warm most of the day!

It is hard to believe that there are only 2 days left...probably a good thing but it will be sad when it is all over.

Tara

Day 13 Geraldine to Oamaru--Almost There

Friday, January 15th, Day 13 Geraldine to Oamaru—Almost There

Today started with a nice run with Lordy and Tara. I have banged out 60k in the last 3 days and I am feeling ok surprisingly! It was not fast and most likely not pretty but it was done in just over an hour. We finished up at the pool, and although Tara and I had put our swim bags in the van the van was gone back to breakfast and was not returning for an hour. So, it was either sit or figure out a solution. I am surprised I was able to figure anything out in my state, but I asked the pool guard if there was a lost and found and some extra goggles. I had running shorts on and figured those would do since they could be tied. We scrounged through the goggles and I found a couple of kids pairs, one that worked ok, but was about to snap at the nose. It worked well enough although my eye sockets were aching when I was done. Tara scored a very snazzy looking suit; I wonder if she kept it? It looked good straight out of the lost and found!

My drag suit, running shorts, did the trick and I swam just shy of 3k when my bag showed up. It felt great to put a suit on and I felt immediately faster. The goggles were not cutting into my eyes and I could actually see again, so the next 3k should be a snap. Before I could finish my 6k for the day though we had to swim a 400 IM for time. I was lined up in the first heat with Lordy, Molina, G and Tara.

I had swum nearly 10k in the last 12 hours so I was interested to see the fatigue in the race. The minute I was up on the blocks I felt the rush of racing and I was ready to go. We were off. I focused the fly on stretching it out and just rolling through the first 75. I worked the last 25 to get in and rolled onto my back for the backstroke. My worst and least favorite stroke I just tried to relax and get through it. I assessed my position after that and noticed a bit back of Lordy and Molina, so I worked the breast hard to close the gap, not getting close enough and they pulled away on the free. I ended up in 6:05, and took a short breather before I resumed my 6k swim. I got through it completing 12k in 12 hours and my 4rth 6k swim of the camp. It has become meditative in the water swimming that far.

A quick return to the hotel and transfer to the bike. Not a lot of time to eat, and we rolled out about 6 strong as most folks either left early or just a few minutes early. G spun out easy and our small group was led out through the rollers by Johnno. I suffered on the short bursts seeing 400 watt surges to keep with the group and get over the hills. Sometimes it easier to set your own pace and I decided to do that shortly after our first break. I pegged 300 watts for the next 20k and when Lordy came by to take over I was ready to relax. I spun into lunch and had a leisurely lunch and Gordo and I spun out for the remainder of the ride about 50k to socialize and enjoy the scenery. We had a great coastal section a lot like California without all the people…plenty of place KJ to have a nice secluded picnic ;)!

I rolled into the accommodations at 5 and felt like I had a whole lot of time to kill. Nice to be done before dinner and not having to rush around!

10k run in 1 hour
6k swim with 400 IM in 6:05
150k bike with 20k at 300 watts—4:45
Total 7:45

trece

Nice swim center Geraldine! Jordan knocked out a 6k effort. I managed 5k in addition to the 400m IM event. I like the long IM event as the key is pacing ... bummer about not having any technique though.

Back on the bikes for another coast ride to the Omaru area. Our destination, the Mill House, took us along some sweet roads winding along the surf zone before turning east to our beautiful accomodations.

Fitness:
Swim: 5400m (400m IM + 1000m band swim, no buoy, no paddles, basically dragging my toenails and laughing at myself)
Ride: 150km

Blanco

My longest ever swim

Having missed out on some *super secret swim options*, I found myself with 9k+ of swimming left to do with only 2 swim sessions left... So it was time to go *big* in the pool. I needed the better part of two hours to complete a 6k swim but I got it done. 1k straight swim, 3x400, 4x300, 6x200, 12x100 and finally a 200 warm down. I was very tired by the end.

But, no time to pat myself on the back. I ran/walked back to the hotel having missed the van ride from the pool then hopped straight onto the bike for 150k of riding. I did most of the ride solo, though Blanco hung off my back wheel for the final few kms... The most memorable kms since we finally detoured from SH1 and followed a coastal road offering spectacular views of corn fields against a bi-color ocean backdrop. Magnificent. Why didn't we take photos?

After a good nights sleep I was on the footpath with my bags at 6:30am waiting for the van to pick me up to head to Sumner. It was a nice morning for the planed run up Capt Thomas track, out to Godley Head and return along the Boulder bay coastal track. This is one of the best runs in Christchurch and with the sun out it was spectacular. 18km done it was straight to coffee culture for my coffee fix.

We departed at 10:45 for Geraldine with the knowledge of a southerly front heading towards us. It hit us a couple of hours into the ride and made it tough riding conditions. Unfortunately in the blustery conditions the bunch was surging a little. One of these surges caused some breaking and I was not quick enough to avoid running up the back of Nicks bike. Nearly managed to hold it up but failed and ended up on the deck. The hard chip on the road edge took a few gauges out of my knee but otherwise I was ok. The rest of the ride was cold and wet up to the lunch stop. After lunch Clas decided to warm things up and got a train going. We covered the last 50k in good time and got to Geraldine sometime around 4pm.

Super Dave organised a trip to the doc for me to get checked out. The amusing part of this was Scott the camera man came to film the whole process (not a lot of other exciting events happened today) . Pleased to say it wasn't bad, just a clean up and a bandage. I am not supposed to swim for a day, but we have pool games tomorrow. The classic Epic camp 400IM and I do not want to miss out now I have come so far.

I am feeling good after today. Defiantly got over the fatigue I had in Kaikoura. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 12 Tara

Day 12: Christchurch to Geraldine

Totals:

Run: 18k trail run
Bike: 150k
Swim: 3k

The run today started and finished at the Molina homestead. The trail run was amazing. I have run this run (or at least various parts) in the past with Scott and it really is spectacular. The views were incredible and the weather was perfect (not for long...)! Of course I was particularly careful running on the trail because it brought back memories of me tripping and fully rupturing my hamstring tendon last year on a trail run at Epic. At one point I stopped to go to the loo and I had to up my pace (on the road section) to catch the four blokes I was running with and surprisingly the intensity and pace increase felt good. Who knew that could happen on Day 12 at Epic!? Not me!
Fortunately I had Dave Langley (my protector) with me on the trail run and near me later on the ride about the time when Pete took a tumble after touching a wheel. Fortunately Pete 'fell well' and despite wiping out on a pretty rough road surface, is ok. Good thing, because there is still one KOM left to race against Pete :)

The ride today was WET, COLD and WINDY. The first 60k were friendly (for real this time), only it meant that my heart rate stayed low and so I was cold. I was relieved when we finally turned off the main highway (where Pete had his tumble) and after we all worked well together in a nice echelon, lunch finally came. At this stop everyone proceeded to apply every layer they had in their day bags. There are two things I forgot coming to this camp and I needed both of them today. One thing I forgot is my PRO booties and the other item is my GIRO cycling gloves. Charlsey has lent me a pair of his gloves for the camp which has been great, but my full fingered GIRO gloves would have been nice today. Clas saved the day and lent me his toe covers. I owe him a favour for sure!

After the lunch stop, I rode a few minutes in my aero position which was a relief but had to catch the fast group in an echelon-ing train as it came by! I circled for a long time with the group but my hands were sore (it is much harder to grip my TT handle bars then a road bike bars, especially when my hands are cold). My hands felt like they were slipping a bit with my non-grippy cycling gloves so I dropped back with Petro and rode my aero bars off the back of the pack. Much better! And much safer!

It was fun having everyone work together and in these conditions it made the ride much more tolerable. But I did get a bit of a low energy sense from the group tonight at dinner. I think people are really starting to fatigue and today's conditions didn't help. So much for summer in New Zealand! My SRM temperature read 12 degrees and I can assure you with the wind and wet conditions it was much colder than that!

After the ride, Gordo, Lord Lordy, Petro and I went to do a swim. Gordo, Steven and I swam 3k and Petro swam 6k!!! He is going for the red jersey and I am very impressed. I did my best to help him through a couple kms and was pleasantly surprised that I felt fast in the pool (for the first time during this camp).

Dinner was almost all gone by the time we returned from the pool but the ice cream and carrot cake (my fave) were perfect. Oh, and so was that beer and cup of tea :)

Ok, I need to sleep to rest up for a 400IM tomorrow (yah, right!)...I am sure there will be some good laughs at the pool tomorrow watching us campers attempting butterfly on Day 13 of the camp!!

Tara

Steven - Day 12

Godley Head loop - Awesome. This may well become part of my weekly schedule when i get back to Christchurch. My legs weren't working initially but after about 20 minutes they warmed up and it felt like my old fell running days - not fast but at least it felt relaxed and not like hard work.
The forecast southerly arrived as we left which made the ultra friendly ride to the Rakaia bridge rather cold.
After the that more or less the whole group worked together in a big chaingang which was good fun and great feeling of being in this together. Jo had a mechanical so i stopped to pull her back to the group. It warmed me up.
As we started out after lunch I noticed I had a puncture. Gordo offered to wait but I said I was happy for them to go and I'd TT up. I thought that meant they wouldn't go hard till I got on. Oh how wrong was I. Unbeknown to me Clas did a massive pull initially to warm up. I headed off just going steady. First caught Jo and she wanted to be on her own. I could see various riders ahead and kept thinking it must be Gordo and Scott. Each time it wasn't and I realised I'd have to start to push a little more.
I came by Rob and he jumped on my wheel. Then Lee and Rob - no idea whether they got on. Rob pulled round and did a turn on the front. I thought "we'll catch them super quick now!" I did my next turn and then never saw Rob again. I was now TTing hard and finally I saw the front group. They were a mere 100m off for so long it was demoralising. When I caught them I found them in a well organised chaingang. I sat in at the back for a few turns and then jumped in. It was great fun and they were shifting. Made me realise I'd done well to catch them at all. It was great fun working hard in a small group like that and Geraldine arrived long before I expected.
Headed straight to the pool with Gordo, Tara and Petro for 3k swim. Petro did well to churn out a 6k. I decided against it guessing I was far enough ahead on the points for it not to matter.

Day 12 - Christchurch to Geraldine

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!

Nick - Day 12

The day of the echelon

Today dawned crisp and clear, but oh how things changed by the afternoon. This mornings main event was a run from Molinas house. Coffee club was followed by a van ride through the burbs out to Sumner beach. I hadn't been in these parts for around 5 years, so it was a good chance to sit up front and have John talk me through Chch. Its a city I have never lived in, but spent a fair amount of time over the years, especially whilst in the army.

The run started from Molinas house and we were joined by his wife Erin. Its a pretty special day when you get led into the hills for a run by two Ironman World Champions. We wound our way up Evans pass, and then out around Godleys head. I was feeling okay, not flash, but surprisingly not completely drilled 12 days into this crazy adventure. I think my body has found that zone where I am able to knock these sort of runs out by starting at a very managaeable pace, and just putting one foot in front of the other. It was a breathtaking run, and the weather was crisp and perfectly clear. A truly spectacular way to start the day. It wasn't until we got back to the motel and Charlsey reminded me that a 2 hr, 18k hill run would normally be followed by a leisurely breakfast and feeling pretty good about yourself for the rest of the day. This however, is no normal week, and we had a 150km ride to Geraldine.

The course map said "Dead Flat Day" - easy even, but the weather had other ideas. A cold, southerly front was on its way up the country and we could see it coming. John had told us we would be riding "friendly" to Rakaia. By the time we had finished riding the back roads and found our way onto the main highway at Burnham the wind had kicked up. DC and Big E swapped some pretty big turns on the front until Gordo decided to dial the pace back. At 40km we had a drink stop and everybody hit their gear bags and put on pretty much every piece of clothing they had as the rain started to fall. I decided to swap my summer shorts for my winter 3/4 tights and spent about 3 mins pretty much starkers on the side of the road - bib shorts are warm, but not necessarily the easiest thing to get on and off.

Shortly after the stop we had only our second incident of the trip. With the paceline intermittently bunching and stretching the brakes suddenly went on and I was forced to put mine on. Unfortunately Pete O'Brien had nowhere to go and went into the back of my bike. Nurse Dave was called int action to administer some first aid to Petes knee and we were rolling again.

After riding in a line over the Rakaia bridge with Dave Dwan blocking the road from the rear to protect us, we turned off at Thompsons Track. I must admit to feeling a little desperate at this point. I was cold, my feet were numb and we still had 80km to go into a bitterly cold southerly. Gordo worked some magic though. Dave Craig and John had TT'd off the front, so Gordo encouraged everyone to get into a rolling paceline. It may not have been the fastest thing ever happening with 20 odd people in it, but it meant that we all got a turn out of the wind and kept us moving. Lunch appeared at 100km and the support guys deserve a medal. Normally we have to assemble our own rolls, but with numb hands and numb brains that would have been a task too much. Pre-assembled rolls were devoured in minutes.

It was a pretty quick lunch before we headed off. I got a 30second head start with Pete, and my quads were ice cold. I could barely turn them over. Tara headed off in the distance and I just couldn't catch her. But then a blur appeared and Clas was hammering with Molina, Gordo and Petro. Pete yelled at me to catch on and catch on I did. Thats the difference this week. Last week I wouldn't have managed it, but today I hung on for dear life and sure enough about 10km down the road Clas was obviously warmed up and slowed enough to allow a group of 8 of us to echelon at 35-38km/hr into the finish in Geraldine. A very satisfying day.

Day 12 Now we are rollin'!!

Thursday, January 14, 2010 Day 12 Now we are rollin’ !

Today started with a drive over to Molina’s home town, Sumner. He wanted to show off his local running route, and boy was it a doozie. I just completed 25k less than 12 hours prior, and an additional 4k that morning, so this was going to be a true test of how the body holds up to running….nearly 50k of running in 24 hours!!

The route was to be straight up from Sumner, into Godley Head, back down to sea level and back up a couple more times, consisting of about 2k of climbing. It was going to test me to the limit. I handled the first up pretty good but had to let the fresher legs go, to enjoy the serenity of the vast open spaces on my own. I was pretty blown on some of the downhills, and in order not to crash and burn, and fall off a cliff, I proceed very cautiously. I hate to go missing as there was nobody and nothing out there and since I was pulling up the rear, nobody to see me go over! I finished the hilly loop, and added a 1.5k to get to an even 20k for the points competition, and then we headed back for a quick turn to head out on the bikes.

A good Southerly (which is a headwind) was forecasted with rain. I had every piece of winter gear I own either on me or in my day bag in case things turned sour. We headed out of town for the first 50k as a group, until the longest bridge in NZ before anybody was allowed to turn on the jets. It was nice to roll as a group for a change, which gives a lot of different positions in the peloton to choose from. Sitting in a group was a great help with the wind and rain today, and given my 30k of running my legs liked the relief.

The rain hit hard just before lunch and I put two layers on my legs, and had a good 4 plus layers, with warm caps and the like for my head. That was not enough when not moving but seemed to be ok when we were riding. There was no standing around today, and we banged out the 150k in 5:15 ride time. Most of that speed was in second half of the ride. Upon arrival, there was little time to waste as Lordy, G, Tara and I headed over to the pool, where Tara paced me for 3k, and then I banged out an additional 3k to get in 6k mostly with paddles which got me my swim-bike-run bonus of the day. It was a solid day of about 9 ½ hours of training. Something I find hard to do in an entire week when I am at home!!

25k hilly trail run with 2k feet of climbing—2:20 mins
150k bike with Southerlies and rain—5:15
6k swim mostly paddles in 1:35
Total 9:10

Total for Camp: 92 hr 10 mins

The ledge...

You'd think after 11 days and with just 4 days left, quitting this epic adventure would no longer be on my mind. It's been on my mind every single day of camp. My partner and I have variously talked one another to *step back from the ledge* at some point during each day's sessions. Today was probably the closest I came to asking to get in the van and end the pain...

My day got off to a less than auspicious beginning, after being left behind at the start of a trail run from Scott Molina's place. Thankfully the wonderful views more than compensated my anger and frustration of being forgotten and getting lost on the trails. I ended up doing a 20k out and back run with a decent chunk of it on pavement as I zig-zagged my way through the Sumner streets (suburb of Christchurch).

After the run we got on the bikes and had 150k of riding to our evening lodging in Geraldine. A flat ride but we were heading directly into the eye of a NZ southerly storm. Wind and rain in the face! The weather wasn't a big deal to me, having trained during the San Francisco wet season, but I was having knee pain, presumably from all the big gear riding yesterday and today's 20k run. The pain was most severe if I was trying to manage the surges and slowdowns of the group. Scott Molina stepped in to offer a most steady wheel so I could stay with the group through the most precarious aspects of today's ride, in particular the narrow Rakaia bridge.

Blanco talked me back from the ledge a couple of times today... After the Rakaia bridge, I preferred to ride steady and push my own wind but Blanco stuck by my side as he had been doing the entire ride... and that's despite my miserable outlook! We teamed up with Rob Q for the final 35k of the ride. Rob kindly treated us to mocha/flat white and huge slices of carrot cake in Mayfield's only cafe, as we warmed up by the fire before the final approach to Geraldine.

I got it done... with much help from Blanco.

Day 12 Dave Langley Christchurch to Geraldine

This morning was a fantastic 18km run around Godley Head loop just outside of Christchurch near Sumner. We started at Molina's house and ran up into the hills. The views were fantastic one of the better runs we've done on EPIC camp.

As we headed back for breakfast the weather report came in that a nasty southerly change was coming through, not the news I wanted but NZ weather has been good to us so far, so I suppose we were due. So after my morning ritual of popping pills (CoEQ10, multi, Magnesium etc) copious coffee and extraordinary amounts of toast and eggs I prepared my day bag for the worst.

Well it wasn't quite as bad as forecast but I went from cold to frozen pretty quickly. I just couldn't warm up and my legs were toast from the morning run so getting moving was nearly impossible. We also had another crash today with Pete clipping the wheel of Nick which managed to put him down heavily on the deck.

You can tell the fatigue is really starting to kick in lots of people walking around in a daze, comparing injuries and a few grumpy remarks but overall the morale is still very good. Overall I am pretty shattered but you just have to keep moving forward because you have no other choice.

Events day tomorrow with 400IM and probably 200m kick with some sprints as well should be hilarious.

jo c - day 12

the camp schedule was an early morning run in teh port hills - over on eof my favourite routes. of course i was not able to participate in this, so used the time to get an appointment with a sports doc at the QE2 centre. I figured that there'd be time to fit in a 6km swim at the pool there before my 8.30 appointment, and attending the regular squad session woudl be a good way of getting through the bulk o that distance. found that, despite being a little tired, i was swimming well - having swum every day bar one on the camp, and with 2 weeks of daily swimming prior to that may be paying off. set included 600 mixed w'up> 6 x 150/2.30> 600pull/6 x 100/1:45> 400pull> 600 mixed easy> 6 x 200(paddles)/3:30>1km straight free>100 mixed c'down and passed quickly.
Brief but thorough consult with the sports doctor who fairly confidently ruled out stress fracture and assessed that the trouble is with a nerve that runs from under foot, up calf, thigh, gluts and attached to base of spine. explains the hot spots that i experience in my butt - though i thought that the amount of cycling may also explain that to an extent! he referred me foe some chiropractic adjustments, which if i were to hang on a little while, i could get there and then. It was getting a little tight for the scheduled bike departure for geraldine, but i thought worthwhile. It was - after some manipulation to my lower back, pelvis, rear of knee and foot i was actually able to bear weight on the foot without discomfort for the first time in 2 weeks. a programme of chiro treatments will follow this camp.

A bit of a mad dash to get across town and back to the hotel, pack up and be on bikes in time for the 10.30 start of our ride south. The rest of the crew had enjoyed he run in the hills and had had the best weather of the day...dark clouds were rolling in from the south...and i've learned that in ChCh that usually means wet and cold stuff from the sky follows shortly.

we rode 'friendly' all along the highway 1 as far as raikoroa bridge - the longest bridge in NZ. it was a miserable couple of hours of wet, cold riding a long unstable chain in a very narrow shoulder as double-hitch lorrys (sorry, trucks) full of sheep's arses pelted by, wafting us sideways with their gusts and spray. it was a relief to get to teh bridge - it was pretty long - as once safely across, the group split a bit and people were free to ride off at their own pace a bit more, and warm up. Th e majority of the group stuck together though, and Gordo got a bit of a through and in rotation going which jollied things up for a while. Although this enabled us to roll along at a faster speed than i could manage alone and at a much lower work-rate, i found it quite stressful - feeling tired today and with strange feelings in my glutes after the adjustments i was cold, not comfortable holding a constant position on the bike and wished to be able to turn my thoughts away from the wheel in front. At lunch everyone put on ALL their warm clothing ate yummy sandwiches that the ever thoughtful support crew had pre-assembeld for us. when the others set off - i hung back a little in order to ride solo - more relaxed and also working a little harder to keep warm. Both Steven and Rip offered me a wheel when they came by, but i preferred my own company, and some tunes. But 20 min later, Big Eric's offer of a wheel was too tempting to resist, and he kindly gave me a draft the final 35km into Geraldine. for the 'easiest' ride of teh camp so far, that felt damn hard.
(and who'd have thought that ice cream would go down sooooo well at supper time?)

Epic Camp Day 12

The theme for today was cold.

But the day started well. Very well in fact. We took the van to Scott's place at Sumner Beach and did a run up into the hills (Godley Head), looping back to Scott's place. It was a beautiful morning and the scenery from the ridges, while perhaps shaded by that at Kaikoura a couple of days ago, was nonetheless impressive. Scott said he did this run every week for about 10 years. I can see why.

I ran with Rich most of the way. As well as being good company, he's a good runner and leaves me for dead on the downhills - a legacy of his Xterra experience no doubt. We did the loop in 1:35 (17.7km), which wasn't too shabby given the hills and the last 11 days. We tacked on the extra to get to 20km.

Then back for the standard massive feeding frenzy of breakfast. Just about then, ominous signs were developing that our beautiful day was to be short-lived. Sure enough, just as we rolled out, the skies blackened and the wind turned southerly. Soon there was rain. Stupidly, I didn't bring enough clothes for the ride, even though we knew what we would be facing. Given that the first 50km to the Rakaia Bridge was "speed controlled" while we got out of the city, I began to freeze in the bunch. I just wasn't putting out enough effort to warm myself up. Then there was a little clash of wheels at the back and Pete and Nick went down. Pete cut his leg open a bit, but seems to be ok after being patched up in Geraldine.

The only highlight during this miserable period was sitting behind Big E (Eric) as he lead the train. As bad as the conditions were, I had to smile as I tucked in behind a 6'8" guy sitting up on his road bike. That's as good as it gets!

It was great when the speed restrictions were lifted after Rakaia, as it gave me a chance to generate some body heat. John and I went off the front and pulled into lunch ahead of the others. We had a quick turnaround and then headed off for the final haul to Geraldine. John opted for a more leisurely pace, while I still needed to go harder to stay warm. It was actually quite a pleasurable ride - going at my own pace, iPod playing, and thoughts wandering all over the place without having to concentrate on a wheel ahead.

And what better welcome to Geraldine than warm chicken soup and toast. After that, a tack-on 10k run (30 for the day) and a shower, I almost felt human again. But I've learnt my lesson from today - be better prepared for the conditions!

147km, 5:10, 195w AP (but about 170w for 1st 2 hours, 230w for last 3 hours), 215w NP, 377m total ascent (flattest day so far, but crappiest conditions!).

doce

Oh the flat stages are always always the rough ones ...

The day started with a glorious trail run in Molina's Christchurch backyard. A technical ascent up up to a ridge line road lead us to some killer views of Scarborough Reserve and Thomas' Mistake. The singletrack leading down to and along the bluffs was a welcome surprise. David and I ran steady all morning and enjoyed the sunshine and Pacific views while taking care off our footing to avoid an inpromptu swim.

Back in town, J and I loaded up on N Zed bagel sandwiches and hit to road to Geraldine.

First quote of the day goes to Doug:
Mark P is ready ... just make sure he has his Nutella.

The weather turned south as we headed towards the longest bridge in New Zealand. Peter couldn't stand the anticipation and crashed into the bush.

Second quote of the day:
Klas: It's deep.

Onward we went into the cold and rain. Rob, J, and I stopped for some slabs of Carrot Cake accompanied by even bigger dollops of whipped cream in Mayfield (20miles from the finish line). The innkeeper had a fire going an stoked it on high for us. So nice.

The last section flew by as Q and I cycled through the km's.

Fitness:
20km trail run
150km rain ride

Blanco

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 11 Tara

Day 11: Kaikoura to Chirstchurch

Totals:

Run: 4k (2k run to and from the pool)
Swim: 3k
Bike: 181k

The day started with a jog to and from the Kaikoura pool. I was expecting it to be miserable and freezing cold based on the reports, but soon realized the neoprene booties I put on were not necessary! I wasn't feeling the love in the pool and so it was good that I joined in a 2k set on a 1:30 pace time with Daniel and Johnny N. It made the swim go by faster.

Headwinds were predicted but we got lucky today! As we set out on the bike, the winds were not so bad and the rain held off aside from a few sprinkles at lunch. It wasn't however, very balmy and it was the first time I have ever heard Johnny N make audible shivering noises!

There was a KOM today and I kind of missed the 'regroup' which didn't matter too much except that I thought it was the kind of regroup that I could unload some fluid but instead I did yet another KOM with two full water bottles...One day I will learn! At the briefing, Dave (our support extraordinaire), said he would try to make it to the top before us if he could. Sure enough I saw Dave parked at the side of the road and the film crew were there as well as I came to the top of the climb. So I assumed that was the end of the KOM. But Dave made a mistake: There was a HUGE descent and second climb which was the final KOM. We were told that there was a descent and a second climb, but it wasn't clear to me that it was such a huge descent (you know how roads wind and go down and then up, all while climbing - that is what I was expecting, not a full descent). Instead of continuing to hammer to the next climb, I spun easy after I went over the top. Douglas came by and I could see him chatting with Jo up ahead which looked to me like they were taking it easy too. But right at the top of the "real" KOM, Nick came sprinting past me with about 1 meter to go. Ha, here I am spinning my legs and Nick comes sprinting by. I still thought Nick was incorrect about the top of the climb until I got to the aid station when Dave told me he had made a mistake. So I lost a few positions on this KOM (unless the committee rules otherwise)! Even if I am SOL, 'Sh$t happens' and I can't say it was a waste of an effort, because once again, the intensity was great! Good times!

I was a bit slower rolling out after the aid station and rode about 20k on my own. It was nice to be solo and in my aero bars riding easy, but it was also nice when Jo and Russell caught me and we rode to lunch together.

The rest of the ride was supposed to be 'friendly' and while it was certainly friendly :), we were rolling at a good clip so I would say that it was fast and friendly. Scott, Pete, Jo and I took a pull each, but then we all caught the David Craig train again for most of the way home. I think we were going at about 40k/hr. That train is the one you want to catch to finish a ride sooner rather than later! The 181k ride only took 5:28 (with some slow solo riding factored in there too).

Tomorrow is a big trail run in Christchurch, starting from Molina's house. I will be doing the run, but doing it VERY carefully... No swim tomorrow but we ride to Geraldine.

Wow, 11 days down and 4 to go. THAT is unbelievable!

Tara

Steven - Day 11

Another solid day at Epic. Gordo reckons he's seeing signs that I'm getting tired. He heard me curse my favourite gear on the KOM climb since it's not bedding with my new chain. Thats the gear I wanted and I wasn't happy. I nearly apologised to those around me. The heat was on on the climb so I decided to save my energy. I stuck with Johns repeated attacks and soon it was just the four of us (john, scott, clas and me). When Clas went I didn't follow. John eventually bridged up leaving me with Scott. Scott on your wheel on a KOM is a worrying thing. A cunning competitor. On the decent I did pop a couple of bottles to try and delay him ! He made his move and bridged up. I was happy to roll over without too much effort. Scott managed to beat John to the top !
The ride through to lunch was pretty solid with various people taking pulls and keeping the pace up. I did my bit but later on Gordo stopped me coming through telling me I could have my fun after lunch we should get everyone there together. Then John pulled through and ramped it up.
At lunch I established that my plans for tomorrow may not work and that if I got back quick I could get my 25k run done. I missed the first group heading off and had to TT 10k to catch them so i decided just to go straight by and TT all the way home. Ended with 182k in 5:20 .. not too shabby.
More or less straight out for 25k round and round Hagley Park.

Day 11- Epic heads to Hometown Christchurch

I woke this morning with a solid headache and some apprehension on how the day would shape up. After yesterdays tough ride into the wind I was respectful of the days planed 180km ride to Christchurch. Before the ride we had a 2k jog down to the local outdoor pool for our standard 3k swim session. The air was chilly and it was easy to see why. The mountain range surrounding Kaikoura had a topping of snow. The call had been made to wear wetsuits for the swim as it was thought the pool temp would be pretty cold. The pool was located next to the sea and allowed for a spectacular view of the snow capped mountains. There was a number of photos taken. Some of the boys trying to look like swim suit models, but couldn't really pull it off. Check out the photos on the epic camp web page. As it turned out the temp was OK and the wetsuit made for a very pleasant swim. We jogged back for breakfast and the usual routine of packing bags, bike gear on, bottles filled and ready to roll.

The days ride had a KOM in the first 20km and then a straight ride to Christchurch. You will have to read the other blogs to find out what happened at the front end of the KOM. As we left the coast line and headed inland the climb started. I didn't stay with the front bunch for long and tried just riding solid on the climb as I was still fatigued from yesterday and knew I could not go a lot faster. I ended the climb just behind Russell and Dave L then rolled to the drink stop. From there once we all got on the train lead by Daniel it was a fast trip to our first stop at Cheviot. Dan & Kaye had to leave the camp today to run their Newton expo at the Wanaka Ironman. So sad to see him and Kaye go. They were both fantastic on the camp, adding value in many respects and always fun to be around. Thanks for your hard work Kaye and your company and back wheel Dan.

The rest of the ride in was great and we arrived in ahead of schedule. I am having a night at home in my own bed which will be nice. We run Godley head in the morning from Scott's place in Sumner so will be familiar territory and enjoyable run if the legs are not to tired.

On reflection its been an amazing 11 days. We have gone so far, done some much and been through some beautiful country since we left Kaitia. We have 4 big days of riding left to complete the journey. Not to mention the odd run and swim. Also there is some real competion still alive for the red jersey with Dave & Petro going hard. Petro currently holds it but with Dave's ability to just run as far as he needs with no obvious negative effect its not an easy job. Dave went out for a 25km run after the ride today and I think Mark P was going to match him. It will be an interesting battle to watch over the next few days.

The body feels better tonight, still tired but much better, what a difference a day can make. Looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 11, Kaikoura to Christchurch. Big Day

January 14, 2010 Day 11 Kaikoura to Christchurch. Big Day

To summarize, I knocked out the biggest day at Epic than I ever have. It started with an easy 2k run down to the pool. It was outdoor and cold so we could all don are wetsuits for our 3k swim. It made for easy going in the pool today. Nothing fancy just got the 3k done, and then cruised home the easy 2k.

The ride was beautiful coastal, very 17 mile Drive, Pebble Beach, CA. I enjoyed some of the scenery today before we had to turn inland. Another KOM was on the line and there was a bunch of folks here to contest. Not too many early riders. It ramped up hard as usual per Lordy Lordy, and I was with the lead bunch. I did not feel I had great legs so settled into my own rhythm. A few passed me and then I passed a few back and ended up 9th on the KOM. I felt a lot better than yesterday and rolled down to the drink stop. We rolled as a group and it was steady from the start. Steady all the way to lunch. After lunch it was steady into Christchurch, and I dropped off the lead pack and spun in with David, Russ, and Johnno. Lordy and I had discussed a long run today for our bonus points, as today looks to be the last day we would have time for getting it in. It was long. 25k long and it took 2 ½ hours, but I got it done in beautiful Christchurch park. A good day all in all…

Run-4k
Swim-3k
Bike-181k in 5:28
Run off bike—25k—2:30 mins
Total hours today. 9 hr 20 minutes

Once

Jordan has decided to ride the country with only two gears.

After the early KOM this morning leaving Kaikura towards Christchurch, she merged with the DMac Express and we beat feet towards Cheviot. Sadly, DMac bid us farewell (man you are a pulling machine), along with Mair, Kay, and Al (may you go north with the wind behind you). Mair and Kay were awesome and I will never forget their efforts to get us to Bluff.

Back to the singlespeeder in training story ... we are zooming south on the Oh Lordy Here We Come train and on a small riser Jordan's right shifter goes south again. She is beyond belief, but after setting her up in a medium gear we make our way to lunch and then on to tonight's lodging.

The mechanic found the original cable head lodged in the shifter mechanism from a few days back! Now she is all set with a new shifter.

Fitness:
5km run to a from the Kaikura pool
3km wetsuit swim (snow capped mountains in the offing)
180km ride

Date night out in Christchurch.

Blanco

you have got to be kidding me...

This day could not have been any worse... Not only did I wake up in a foul, grumpy mood, but the day proceeded to get worse. It started with a pre-swim breakfast of toast and almond butter than a 2.5k run to the pool. A wetsuit swim, no less. 102 laps of a 33m pool allowed me to chalk up a 3.4k swim for the day. Run back, a bowl of cereal w/ banana and I hit the road solo so I could crest the early climbs before the A team. All was going well until 90k into the ride, my rear gear lever jammed up. I was left riding the remaining 90k in just two gears.

I finally made it to the motel in Christchurch, in time for a quick run. I was excited to end the day, clean up and head for dinner but all I got was a freezing cold shower, since the hot water had been used already. Darn...

Day 11 Dave Langley Kaikora to Christchurch

It was freezing last night, coming from a very hot and balmy Brisbane anything under 25 to me is considered cold. My feeling cold was justified early this morning when we woke up to snow covered mountains and a cool southerly still blowing hard, which had me worried about the exposed 190k to Christchurch. We ran down to the pool, and it was an open air pool! But much to our surprise it was a nice 23C and in wetsuits the 3k cruised by. Some great photos were taken of us in the pool with the snow in the background. Love NZ summers.

As I nursed myself back to the motel I was trying very hard to firstly stay awake and secondly trying to mentally prepare myself for what could have been a terrible ride. But as it turned out the winds were mild and the pace was on.... after a very ordinary day yesterday I was back my legs felt great and I managed to stay with the pack for the entire day we averaged 32 high approx 5hr 22min ride time for 185km.

I took the opportunity not to do an extra run this afternoon as we have a 20km trail run in the morning before the trip to Geraldine.

I must also say that I am feeling ok mentally and physically although the short term memory is going and some other strange habits are forming such as making sure I have the same gloves on everyday which means they haven't been washed yet, they can stand up themselves! I am dealing with some minor tendonitis in my right foot and my troublesome neck still gives me grief every day. At this stage the drugs are working but I have not had to take any anti inflamatory durgs since day 2. Which my wife will be pleased with.

Day 10 Dave Langley - Blenheim to Kaikoura

Firstly I should finalise yesterdays (Day 9) Cook Strait crossing. My fears were unfounded as one of the calmest ferry crossings in weeks presented itself to us. I had taken all the sea sick tablets I could and I even had our resident Emergency Doc Big Eric lined up to give me some anti nausea medication that he carries for some reason? He told me they give it to Cancer patients to help during chemo, a bit of overkill I thought but for anyone who gets chronic sea sickness you know as well as I do that you would take just about anything! After the ferry we had a short 30km ride into Blenheim and the rest of the day was totally neutralised so every one took advantage of the lay day. Laying off the caffeine products for a day also helps you sleep strangely enough as well!

At the start of day 10 we were all ready early to get underway. Early 6am swim before we all headed out on the bikes and after about 15km it was on everyone was at maximum to get to the start of the KOM. This would come back to haunt a few people later in the day, me included. Lactic acid in the legs just didn’t go away. I wondered how I was going to get the 10k run in with legs of jelly.

Today was also our first proper day of southerly head winds with that cold nip that made your sweaty jersey just plain uncomfortable. At the first chance I was into the day bag for fresh clothes. Tomorrow is hug again with approx 190km into Christchurch. If we have southerly winds again it will be a long long day!

Day 11 - Kaikoura to Christchurch

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.

Nick - Day 11

I stayed the course with the big boys!

Today saw us roll from Kaikoura through the Chch. 180km of initially rolling then fast and flat terrain. But before all that we had to brave the dreaded Kaikoura outdoor pool. John had warned us it would be a wetsuit swim and the run down was certainly chilly. But it was a pleasant surprise and was definately above twenty. No one was stupid enough to try it without a wetsuit, as the snow on the hills behind Kaikoura was a reminder this is not the warmest part of the world. A quick 3km was done - I did a descending set with Blanco and Pete, and the time fair flew by.

After Bfast we rolled out. Again, my desire to swim (and run to the pool and back to get my bonus point) saw me miss the early group and man up to fight with the big boys. The first 25km was warmup pace to the bottom of the KOM. My knee felt sore, but doable, so I decided to give a little of myself and work hard up the climb. I have basically opted out of all the climbs except the Rimutakas, instead saving myself to just complete each day. I couldn't hack the pace of the main contenders, but I found myself in the no mans land behind them and in front of the guys just getting over. It was a double hill, and a few guys and gals hadn't listened closely, as I overtook Tara with 10m to go on the 2nd climb.

After that, it was a freight train to morning tea, courtesy of Dan's last day, then a pretty quick stop at Cheviot as the weather was closing in and we were all getting cold. Back on the road, and I somehow wound up 2nd wheel behind Steven Lord. Man that guy can ride hard. after 30 km I was about to pull the pin, and was urging myself just to go 1 more kilometre when Gordo took over and slowed the pace down. I am guessing i wasn't the only one hurting.

Lunch at Amberly was again pretty quick, as the temp barely got to 15 I reckon. The last 55km was supposedly friendly riding, but that lasted all of about 1km, before Molina laid some serious speed down, before he handed over to David Craig. We fair whistled into Chch. I hung in the whole way and even earned the praise of Molina, who duly noted I was starting to resemble a cyclist. It was the first day I have sat in with the big boys the whole way. No turns on the front, but its a start.

Another flat day to Geraldine tomorrow, but first a coastal 16km run. The fun just keeps on coming.

jo c - day 11

after a massive 12hr sleep yesterday i'm up bright and early ready for my swim in the 'closed because of weather' pool. we were anticipating a freezing and ice-cream headaches...but were informed on arrival that it was a balmy 22 degrees. very pleasant, verging on too warm in the wetsuit. no complaints from me on that score though - it was a leisurely 3 x40 lengths as swim/paddles/swim in the 33.3m(?) pool for me.
the headache was ensured by a hefty clash with the van door as i loaded bags for the trip to the pool, leaving me in a happily concussed state as i cruised up and down the lane.
today's ride 190km to christchurch, and again a KOM early in the ride. great! i enjoyed the sharp start to our ride yesterday and am well up for it again today. the general terrain for this section is more rolling and therefor not only less exposed to the winds but less psychologically challenging too! We all rolled together in one long line to tehe start of the climb - a cheeky double humper with support and film crew parked at the first 'false' summit to fool any poor suckers ( like me!) into thinking that they were done, when in fact they had to hold off all the big fellas with drop-bars on the following descent before a smaller climb to the REAL top. huh. luckily i only lost 1 place, and to be fair - even if i were still racing the descent i would have lost it anyway - i suck down hills. Douglas almost past me too, but i began to get suspicious of the work he was putting in and decided to act on the safe side and catch him again before the top....

we had a re-group for fluid exchange after the hill, and in the process of deciding my on-bike snack, i got left behind by the group. bummer. since my adrenaline was still pumping a little and legs warm, i rode my TT bars at a steady -mod effort, seeing Russell and Tara up the road in the distance, but also off the back of the pack. i could see that Tara was pulling away from Russ, and reckoned that i'd be able to reel him in if i kept up the effort. it took a while, but in the end (with a little assistance from the tail vehicle for the last 500m or so!) i caught him and persuaded him to catch Tara who by now was a speck in the distance - but still visible. we rode 2uTT with short hard turns for another 5km or so , gradually making progress. it was hard to believe how long it took the two of us to get her - i was working just about as hard as i could when i was on front, and presumably she did even not know hat she was being chased!! 3 of us worked rotation for the short ride remaining to the 70km aid stop. the first 2hrs of eh day were pretty decent effort for me , and by that point my head and neck were killing me (i put it down to the conflict with the van door earlier), and i felt a wee bit sick. We re-grouped after drinks and bars - and i found myself eating the jelly bean sweets, but only the black ones - and rolled as a line along the shoulder/in the gutter. me, glued to Steven's wheel with gordo /john on the front. a solid but not painful effort if you're on a steady wheel. Lunch at about 130km....great spread and i did my usual of eating too much for my tummy to contain when the pace hotted up after lunch. we'd agreed to ride friendly, and i considered the pace a little faster than friendly, and that throwing up on my colleagues may not be very friendly either, so dropped out of the line and rode in easy on my own. i knew this road into christchurch pretty well, and made slight detour to our temporary ChCh home to pick up a couple of things before checking into our hotel.

Epic Camp Day 11

EC is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're going to get. From having felt so good yesterday, I felt decidedly average for the first half of today.

I rolled out of bed at 6 and headed off for a 10k run before we were due to meet up and run to the Kaikoura Pool. The pool is not what you would call tropical - so wetsuits were the order of the day. Great news for swimmers of my (in)ability. We did our 3k then headed back for breakfast. Toasted fruit bread and peanut butter continues to be my morning salvation, but scrambled eggs and baked beans is a close second. Needless to say that, at EC, I have both (in large quantities), together with a couple of bowls of muesli with yoghurt and bananas. I'd love to know what my caloric intake is at the moment. Gotta be way above 6,000.

After breakfast, we hit the road and, before we knew it, we were in the KOM climb and all hell had broken loose. I had Roger snapping at my heels as always, but managed to shake him loose. Somewhat optimistically, I had Gordo and Rich in my sights but ran out of real estate and lung/quad capacity. I think I finished about 6th.

Once we re-grouped, we made fast progress south, with the train being driven hard and fast by Daniel, Gordo, John and Steve. We motored through Cheviot (pitstop) and Amberley (lunch) averaging 36+kph. Meanwhile, I was suffering like a dog in the pack, trying to do as little work as possible. The inevitable 300w+ surges were hard going. For the first time on camp, I said to myself "you're shelled".

But it's amazing what a good lunch will do for you and, for the rest of the ride to Christchurch, I started to perk up. I even managed to contribute some pulls into the city (I was wearing the green jersey as a result of yesterday's efforts, so felt that I should at least be doing my share of the work).

I knew that, if I sat down after we arrived, that would be curtains for the day's training. So I put my running gear on and went out for my second 10k of the day (giving me a total of 25 for the day). I ran with Steve, who is still out there doing 25km. Pretty impressive given he ran 40km yesterday and rode strongly today. The guy is a machine and thoroughly deserves to be in yellow. It'll take a strong man to stop him winning his (and my) age group at Ironman NZ.

Fish and chips for dinner and everyone is very excited!

178km ride, 5:19, 190w AP, 222w NP, 1,238 total ascent.

Day 10 – Kaikoura

Today started with a walk down to the pool for a 6am start to our swim session. I decided it would good morning to knock off the 3k medley set. This consisted of 100m medley then 150mm free x 12 to give 3k total. All for just 1 bonus point. That done it was back to breakfast and then ready for the relatively short 130k ride to Kaikoura. We rolled out easy through town. A kom was only 15km from the start. The first attack was started by Nic showing power not seen to date (1003 watts). I chased and got on. Steve lord burst past with Clas and Petro on his wheel. I ended up in the break. We got to the bottom of the climb and I dropped off as the pace had been to hot. Petro lasted a little longer than me but was left on the lower slope but hung on for 6th. My pace was slow and the main bunch passed me. This was the start of a tough day for me. Apparently at the top clas took the KOM with Steve second. I was passed by Dan just before the summit. Needless to say my competion with Tara on the KOMs was dealt a blow as she finished a number of places ahead of me. I rolled on down to the drink stop. I was feeling empty with not extra energy in the legs. Lucky for me Nick and Russell waited and I sat on for the ride to the next aid station. The main group was still there when we arrived. They had been there for a while so headed off not long after we arrived. I ended up missing the train and had a long 70k ride into the strong southerly wind on my own. At under 20k and hour it took a long time to get to Kiakoura but the spectacular coast line, sea and seals made it a little easier. The cravings for a steak and cheese pie become strong towards the end of the 5 :30 hr ride. After days of carbs something savory is very attractive. I had to stop at the café over the road for said pie and ice chocolate.

Some recovery drink and an hours rest then it was off for the 10km run to the seal colony. I joined Russell and had a nice run feeling surprisingly ok. After more rest then dinner. Everyone had a tougher day than expected due to the wind.

Tomorrow we head to Christchurch and home for me. I am hoping I feel better and can enjoy the ride home.

steven - day 10

Simple day
4:55 first 10k run
Quick toast and coffee
3k swim
10k run
Quick breakfast
130k bike
Quick lunch
20k run
Leisurely dinner ;o)
The highlight has to be the KOM. I had ever intention of hitting it hard from the start and TT to the climb hopefully gapping everyone. Though my expectation was best case it would be just Clas and I. After the last KOM I had some issues to get over by hammering.
Others had a similar idea. Nick and Pete headed off. Nick apparently had a CP5 of 1,003 watts as he did that break !! I initially followed but when everyone moved with me I quickly decided to let them go and bridge a little later. Then Clas went so I followed. He got on quick. I TT"d across and did max effort as I went by hoping they wouldn't latch on. Petro, Clas and Pete did and we TT'd away. I tried to get us to work together and we did a couple of rounds of a chaingang but it was slower than me on the front so I just got to the front and hammered. My assumption was Clas would stick but the others would fade on the climb. After 5 minutes or so I had real doubts about my ability to maintain it. We hit a small rise and Clas give me a little push and then shove over the top to keep my momentum. Once we hit the climb we soon dropped Petro and Pete. Clas kept telling me to keep the pressure on. It helped. Then with about 1k to go he jumped me, I had nothing and he got about 50m and stayed there. Was very pleased to see his discomfort at the top. I was breathing as hard as I could and collapsed over my bike. Happy that I'd achieved what I wanted - 2nd in the KOM (i never thought I'd beat Clas!).
That 15 - 20 minutes is the hardest exercise I've done in any of the Epic Camps I've attended.

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 10 Tara

Day 10: Blenheim to Kaikoura

Totals:

Run: 20k (2 x 10k)
Swim: 3k
Bike: 129k

I decided to get up really early and run with the Madman Lordy Lord this morning. He was talking about running pre swim, post swim AND post ride, and I certainly thought about it, but settled for a run pre swim and a second run post ride. I even thought about attempting a 25k run post ride but decided that would be silliness! My glute has been feeling back to normal, but surely a 35k run day with a 3k swim and a 129k bike in there could make some part of me (not necessarily my glute) grumpy and there are still five days to go!

Waking up at 4:45am was a weeeeee bit early, but the run was really lovely and I was thankful that I brought my Fuel Belt headlamp to guide Steven and I along the path along the river. Fortunately Steve saw a chain running between the posts he was about to run through at the last minute and I didn't have to administer some serious first aid. After the easy day yesterday, my run felt really easy and much peppier than any other run on this camp thus far. My second run was not quite so peppy, but beautiful and the body felt ok!

We walked to the pool before breakfast for the 3k swim and then set off on the WINDY ride to Kaikoura with a KOM positioned early on in the ride.

We rode out of town as a group and waited at a corner for Jordan and Blanco to pull up because they were left behind and we did realize that we left a few minutes earlier than what was planned. David Craig and I were shivering because we were so cold and so it felt great to get going. There was a lot of excitement in the group as we all tried to judge when the break would go to start the KOM climb. There was a bit of position changes and pulls by various people and as usual Clas demolished the climb. Apparently the film crew could hear him breathing before he rounded the corner so you know the guy is working hard out there.

I thought the climb was about 3k long and the top around 16k but it was much shorter and sooner than that. Usually the predicted 'kiwi miles' are longer than expected but not this time. I made the rookie mistake of carrying two full bottles of fluid on my bike but it was a good intensity climb anyway and I felt relieved when the pressure of the KOM was over.

At the beginning of the ride after the drink stop at the bottom of the KOM (which I didn't need because both my bottles were full), David Craig, Scott and I did some pulls. But the rest of the ride for me was attached to the David Craig 'love train' and man, was THAT some pull. The guy pulled about 6 of us all the way into Kaikoura, no joke! David got the green jersey for that stint and he certainly deserves it. Before the aid station I was last wheel and that was hard. There was a lot of surging to stay on with the wind so after the aid station I got into the perfect third wheel position. Sweet!

Running off the bike warmed me up because we got a bit wet right at the end of the ride and I had become a little bit cold. Running along the ocean to the seal colony really is a beautiful run.

After a late lunch, Douglas and I walked into town for a lukewarm latte. It was nice to be done early to have this opportunity and I heard that many people had 3 hour power naps. I think that the wind really saps your energy and I know I will sleep well tonight!

At dinner I experienced a bit of my delirious intoxication when we watched the 30s clip about Epic Camp that was shown on TV tonight. When I saw the clip of Day 1's swim cramp fest, watching Rip doubled over in a full body cramp, I laughed so hard I was crying. Man, this movie is going to be good!

Tomorrow is going to be a tough 190k ride with headwinds predicted again as we make our way to Christchurch. First is a wee run to and from the COLD pool where I WILL be wearing my wetsuit so I don't go hypothermic! Good times!

The support crew have been awesome. I don't eat red meat and they think of everything. I even get a special chicken schnitzel or tonight was seriously almost an entire chicken cooked especially for me. Russell the massage therapist and Turps left a couple days ago and tomorrow we lose Kay and Mair (my roomie) and camper Daniel. They will all be sadly missed!!

The minimum requirements to complete the camp (and get the camp completion bonus points), aside from riding the length of New Zealand are 27k of swimming and 105k of running. Good news is that I have done the swim and almost all of the run requirements.

My TOTALS TO DATE are as follows:

Swim: 31k
Bike: 1443k
Run: 99k

Total training time: 66:12

Tara

Diez

To whatever god David Craig prayed to last night with a request to spare our party from strong southerlies as we made our way to Kaikoura ... please forgive him whatever ill will he must have caused you to so completely disregard his prayer. He is a good man and will wear the green jersey tomorrow with pride.

The winds were brisk.

Fortunately, the scenery continues to amaze. As the sheep numbers dwindled towards the coast, the seal colony population more than maintained the animal density we've come to expect. If you are able to imagine what it might be like to have to ride along 101 south along the NorCal coast, then you have a sense of our ride today. It was classic that the closest brush with autos came from a police patrol unit ... great example.

Fitness:
3.5km swim (point set made up of 12x250m: 100m IM, 150m free, continuous for 3k) 500m cool down.
130km coastal trek down SR1
10km run with a couple pf speedy km's for good measure.

Blanco

Day 10 Blenheim to Kaikoura

January 12th, 2010 Day 10 Blenheim to Kaikoura

I woke from a good night’s sleep and we ran down to the local pool, where I banged out a 3k set with no goals or sets aside from saving energy for the day. A quick transition and Lordy who had ran in the dark before swimming ran again with me. We headed down a nice riverfront path and had a very nice conversation getting to know him a lot better. I am usually sitting on his wheel, barely able to breathe so this was a nice change of pace that enabled me to learn a little about him. Oxford, mathematics and a speedy sister who swims better than him.

After the run, I got a little bit of breakfast down, and I was primed for the KOM. Perhaps a little too primed as the two light days had me feeling ready to red-line. Upon the city limits sign, attacks started happening and when Clas went up the road, we had to cover that and the Lordster went. I got gapped but had help with the E-machine who did a massive pull to bridge up closer. Lee was there but was gassed already so I had to give er’ to get on the train. Peter was hanging on and the 4 of us were a good bit up the road, when the Lordster made the most massive pull to the base of the climb I had seen yet at this Epic.

I was feeling pretty worked by the time I got there as the surges and steady accelerations were emptying my tank quickly. I hung on for a portion before I had to back off and try and find my rhythm. I eventually started to fade, when Johnno and Molina who were in the next group up, went by me I could nothing to respond. Jo, and DC got me with just a little to go and I when I saw the line, I went Nordic to sprint back past Jo. In review of my power file I averaged about 330 watts for 19 minutes with an average HR at 177! I was pretty worked. The aid station could not come quickly enough and I needed to refuel in a big way to make the next 60k. The winds were steady and I was happy I had company. Big E was feeling good today and did a heck of a lot of work. It is good to see the E-machine back into his form. Eventually we reached Kaikoura and I had some food which helped a lot, and a mighty nice nap.

Later Gordo and I ran out to the point for another 10k run, and ran up to the lookout. It is a pretty sweet spot, although it did not feel that good on my quads walking up the big cliff. It talks about how this area is ‘Life on the Edge’ and I felt it was very appropriate given the circumstances of the day, and the camp in itself.

10k run
3k swim
128k bike
10k run
HOURS 7 ½ HOURS

jo c - day 10

day 10 started with a pool swim - 3 lanes booked and i hopped in with some of the guys who were doing a IM mix set...not a lot of space for the fly, and i'm not alone in having an 'undirected' back stroke either. but, as triathletes. we're used to a little bit of clashing in the water, and got through it. i felt for Russ who was swimming bands only each time the 3 of us 'flew' up the lane past him!

onto bikes after a pretty leisurely breakfast, making our way down the H1 to Kaikora. The ride started with excitement, as the race to the bottom of the climb that was today's KOM competition would start as soon as we were clear of city limits. It was short climb, nice gradient - not steep enough for lowest gears. i am pretty keen to place well in this comp, since its the only one that i can really participate in, and with my additional climb up to Whakakpapa i am actually quite well placed. so i needed to get to the bottom in a good position - it was exciting riding with some hard efforts following surges. I dont have the power to pile on the speed, but these surges were typically followed by easier spells allowing me to claim position back. I rode strong up the hill, pushing heartrate up to 175 - thanks to a rest day and good massage that is possible again! Cold air made it hard on the lungs, but it was a great feeling. I passed a few guys but was disappointed when both DC and MP pipped me at the very top - i thought there was more to come!!

i kept effort up to the drink refill stop, and then tried to stick with the 'fast' group on the road. There were strong headwinds ,and with the rolling terrain i soon found that i was unable to hold rear wheel, and with relief dropped back to ride alone. Steven did a good job of trying to tow me back to the group, but in our pursuit it was clear that the pace that Daniel was setting on the descents was too hot for me, so he left me too it. Luckily i was not riding alone for too long, since a the next bunch was not far behind, and i rode with those guys - which included Big Eric, who was happy to expose his large surface area to the winds on front for large chunks of the ride!

we arrived in kaikoura early afternoon - to find that the out door pool was closed - apparently weather conditions (it is a bit cold and grey, i suppose) so, for me, that called an end to training for the day. nutritious lunch and a massage and afternoon nap is a nice way to spend the afternoon, and good prep for 190km into that wind as we make our way to Christchurch ( home!) tomorrow.

Nick - Day 10

The end of the Golden Weather

The real start of the Sth Island journey began today, and it hit us with a bang! A stiff southerly breeze and chilly temperatures greeted us this morning in Blenheim. Fortunately the pool was indoors and I knocked out a pretty ugly 3km session. As part of an effort to prevent the swims getting boring, Scott Molina has created certain sets that score extra points. 1, 2 and 3 point sets are progressively harder to get. Today saw me lead a lane of 8 going for 100m IM, 150m free continuous x 12 for a total of 3KM. Things were going ok for the first 150m or so till I started lapping the back person, and from then on it was just plain chaos. But I got it done, got 3km further to camp completion (I think I am around 22km - goal 27).

After breakfast we began the trip from Blenheim to Kaikoura. From the minute I stepped outside, I was so glad I decided to bring my winter gear for this trip. Haven't used it in the 2 years I have been in Brisbane, but life would have been miserable today without it. We started with an easy group roll out of town, with the knowledge there was a KOM at about the 8km mark. I made a pre-meditated decision to go of the front of the bunch and see how far I could get. Sure enough I got the jump, but lasted about 2-3 minutes before the bunch reacted and a couple of the big guns went after me. As they flew by, I had a crack at getting on them, but massive cramp in both my quads saw me drop not only off their breakaway, but also the main bunch as they flew by. However, it was fun, and I achieved a lifetime best of 1003 watts for 5 sec max power, first time I have achieved over 1000 watts.

I spun easy up the climb, as was fortunately joined by Russell Cox who dragged my sorry arse into the first drink stop at 25km, then did a great turn for the next 45km to get me and Pete O'B to the morning tea stop. The wind really picked up and I was glad of both the company and the pace setting. I had a really quick break before jumping on the freight train being led by big E into Kaikoura for the next 60 km.

We arrived cold, slightly wet, glad to be alive after some pretty scary truck passes and glad of a hot soup and roll. I was pretty shattered, and had my first nana nap of the camp this afternoon for 90 minutes. I finished the day with a 10km jog with Molina down to the seal colony and back. Having spent a fair bit of my teenage years idolising him in the Tri mags, it was a real honour to run with him and talk tri shit. He knows everyone, everything and is just so relaxed about it all.

So, 5 days to go, including a really big one tomorrow. The weather forecast is apparently better, but 190km of rolling hills after a run/swim/run in the morning will not be easy. At least my body felt a little better today, voltaren is a wonderful drug.

Truck back...

A morning swim of 3.5k and then back to breakfast... dealing with some personal issues, I missed the train of bikes leaving at 8:45am so I was looking forward to a 130k solo ride until, that is, Blanco came back for me. Yay! I was not feeling great, so we decided that we would just enjoy the scenery and ride at a leisurely pace for the day... except that we didn't realize that it was a KOM day. Oops! Not that Blanco is counting points either, but he loves racin' so he was bummed to miss it.

The scenery was great as we rode down SH1 from Blenheim to Kaikoura, passing by black sand beaches, seal colonies, surf spots and even a snow-capped mountain range! The road was not so great as there was minimal shoulder and a constant stream of 18 wheelers moving their wares from the Picton port in the direction of Christchurch. "Truck back" was my continuous refrain as I sat on Blanco's wheel to maximize my shelter from the strong southerly wind.

Arriving in Kaikoura, we had a quick bite to eat before lacing up the running shoes and heading along the shoreline to visit a seal colony. I had a great run... my riding may not be the speediest right now but it's nice to know that I can get off the bike and punch out a 10k at 7:45-8:00 min/mi pace. I'm not running the most volume at camp but I am trying to maintain some run form and avert the Ironman shuffle!

It's worthwhile to mention the support crew here at EPiC Camp... they've been fabulous, quick to provide anything we need and always there to watch out for you. Mare and Kay came to my rescue when I was dealing with my personal issues this morning, and I wouldn't have made the stage without them!

Day 10 - Blenheim to Kaikoura

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.

Day 10 – Blenheim to Kaikoura – 128km

Lee's blog is across at the following link;

www.leewingatenz2010.blogspot.com

Epic Camp Day 10

Today was the most fun I've had on EC so far. And that's not to say it was an easy day. Quite the contrary. But a number of milestones today.

First off, the swim in Blenheim. Rob Q and I decided to do the IM set (12x (150 free + 100 IM)), and Jo joined us part way through. While there were a few inevitable clashes of limbs during the butterfly leg, given the narrow lanes, it actually went pretty well. My butterfly is certainly far from textbook, but I managed to get through 12x25m. In fact, I was so revved up that I convinced Rob (who is a far better exponent of the stroke than me) to tack on the 200m fly at the end, for another bonus point. Rob gratiously agreed to do it at my speed - to provide moral support. My plan was to go out slow and finish slower - and that's pretty much what happened. I would definitely have failed in a 50m pool, but a 25m pool gave me just enough push-off to get through. I was knackered at the end of that.

Breakfast, then hit the road to Kaikoura. It was cold to start with (8 degrees I saw when we went swimming), but a KOM about 10kms out warmed us all up. Many of us (me included) were surprised at the shortness of the climb. We expected it to continue further when, all of a sudden, you round a bend, see the summit, then think "shit, I better sprint now". Anyway, Clas again proved he is too strong. Steven was a well-deserved second. I was just ahead of Mark P (and not sure who was ahead of me).

For about the next 110kms we all battled into an annoying southerly all the way down the Kaikoura coastline. About time we faced a constant headwind I suppose - we've been pretty lucky so far. I was feeling good, so was happy to do my share of pulling. In fact, as it happened, with a combination of my group being happy with my pace and me being happy to spend some time getting reacquainted with my tri bike, I was on the front for about 90km or so. Rolling terrain, but generally good roads. It was a very satisfying ride for me and produced my best numbers on camp so far.

After lunch at Kaikoura, a run was always on the cards. The only question was how long. I am so pleased I opted for the 25km option over 10km, because it gave me the chance to have one of the most spectacular runs I have ever done. I ran from the motel to the Seal Colony, then up to an observation deck and along a ridge heading south and looking over the coastline. It was blustery up top but, as I say, spectacular. I wish the rest of the team (particularly the overseas guys) could've experienced it. I then dropped down to South Bay, continued a bit, and turned around. Great way to cap off a great day.

127km, 4:18, 231w AP, 245w NP, 1,147m total ascent.

Nick - Day 9 - Rest Day

I am world famous!!!

The highlight of the camp so far - I have just been interviewed by Bevan for IM talk!!

Otherwise today has been great. A well needed rest day, and a chance to collect my thoughts ahead of a few challenging days in the South Island.

A sleep in this morning - didn't get out of bed till 0730. Even at home, with an 18 month old awake at 0600 every morning, i NEVER get a sleep in like that.

A very social breakfast at the Ibis Hotel in Wellington. The highlight of the day was Petro discovering a waffle maker, keenly pouring two cups of mix in, to which I added another two and watching as it erupted out the side of the machine. The attendant rushed over to keenly point out to the sign that clearly stated "One cup of mix at a time". I was hiding behind the breakfast bar!!

The ferry trip across was about as smooth as it gets, much to the delight of our Foreign visitors. A few nervous moments at the start of the trip as a gorilla in an orange jumpsuit threatened to secure our bike to the wall of the ferry with the trailer hitches hanging on the wall. When big E started using Bunjie cords to carefully secure them - the gorilla asked if he was a member of the Seafarers union, cos if he wasn't he clearly didn't know what he was doing!! Not sure what happened, but the guy came up on the deck about 30 mins later and sheepishly apologised to John.

Easy bike into Blenheim, and a cruisy afternoon. My Right knee has developed moderately sore Patella tendonitis, so I have started regular anti-inflammatories and losec. I also had a pretty severe, but effective massage this afternoon. My ITB's are really tight with all this riding and the pain I experienced this afternoon was pretty severe, but if I want to ride again tomorrow it has to be endured.

So here we are at the top of the South. I am confident I can do it, I reckon I am stronger, I just hope my body hangs in there.

Nick

Nueve

Ferry transfer to another state route ride ... not a whole lot of side roads out here ... but no shortage of cursing, honking, and bird waving locals. Lovin' it.

Luckily, Blenheim is home to our recovery beverage of choice (Marlborough wine). After a picture perfect run along the Taylor River Trail, we hit Raupo and indulged in some local bistro fare.

Looking forward to riding highway 1 to Half Moon Bay tomorrow, as that is one of my favorite rides back in California. There is also promise of more good running tracks ...

Blanco

Day 9 - Epic Goes South Island

Today was officially a shut down rest day with no points on offer. So the minimum for the day was to make the Ferry Crossing across cook straight and bike from Picton to Blenheim. This was a very much needed rest day for me as I was still feeling a bit shattered today. I think most of the others also appreciated it as well. Even though it was supposed to be an easy spin to Blenheim I found myself once again aboard the Dan McDonald express. We had rolled off the hill out of Picton to find Dan up the road in his familiar position low on his bars outputting mega watts. Lee in true green jersey fashion pushed hard to close the gap with encouragement from Clas sitting on his wheel along with a few of us following. 45km an hour plus meant that the group reduced to just Dan, Clas, myself and Scott with the others showing common sense and letting the express train go, or maybe they just blew! It made the short trip even shorter and 49 min latter we where in Blenheim pulling into our motel accommodation for the night.

I had a special treat waiting for me. My two girls Alex and Charlotte come over from their holiday in the sounds to see me. It was so nice to see them and give them a big hug. Also to catch up on some real life. After 8 days of total immersion in Epic camp lifestyle it was good to get a dose of reality and remember the life we left 9 days ago.

The South Island, mainland of New Zealand is now laid out before us starting with Kaikoura tomorrow. Hoping the rest day will have the energy levels up and the body willing.

To check out all my daily blogs go to epicpete.blogspot.com

South Island here we come

Today was essentially a travel day but I got up early and ran 10k while searching for a Starbucks in Wellington! My first run in a couple of days since my hamstring had been bothering me so this was a great day to test it out without the worry of a big ride afterwards. Then we headed to the ferry for 3hrs of chill time... Blanco and I managed to spend the entire trip time trying to get past level 64 on *Blocked* (iPhone app).

Once off the boat, I was gung-ho to get to Blenheim and have a leisurely afternoon so I had Blanco sit on my wheel and I dragged the both of us the short 28km to the hotel. We spied a trail along the river so within 5mins we had switched to run gear and headed out on the trail for a nice 10km run. My first double run day and apparently none of it counts. Hilarious... but I'm not counting points. I'm counting fitness for my race season :) Blanco still has a spring in his step... mine showed up around the 6km mark... after starting at 6+min kms, we dragged it down to sub-5min kms by the end. That feels fast after 800mi of riding!

A quick massage, shower and change and we went shopping before heading to dinner. We bought Blanco a very fine Merino-Possum jumper (aka sweater to US readers).

Guiltily, we decided to skip EPiC Camp dinner in favor of some local delicacies... I was mainly focused on the Marlborough region Sauvignon Blancs but we figured we should seek out some local food to accompany the vino. We found some "Green-lidded mussels".

Another pic from dinner... fine dining in Blenheim :0)

jo c - day 9

today is a mid-camp compulsory day off. that is to say, those who really want to ( and jordan and richard are out now!) can run or swim, but it will not 'count' towards their point score, or camp completion totals. most of us are taking advantage of the break and doing a little re grouping prior to a week of rumbling, rolling and racing the length of the south island.
a few belgian beers went down last night, care of Mr Molina, and it was nice to spend a few hours relaxing after dinner knowing that there was not a rush for breakfast, swim, ride the following morning. Scott is certainly the camp social captain, and he also managed to score sponsorship deal with Steinlager in the form of a trailer load of bottles that appear, chilled, each afternoon at the end of the ride! Despite my post-chirstmas resolutions to lay off the beers during and after the camp, I've certainly enjoyed having 1 or 2 each evening. i'm sure that its not helping my recovery, but the tone of this camp is a lot more relaxed than previous 8 - day camps and i'm enjoying it immensely, albeit in a different way.
I took the 3hr ferry trip as an opportunity to get a bit of time alone - asleep on the floor of the observation lounge. now, THAT's a good indicator of how tired i am, since i'm a pretty fussy sleeper usually. we spun from the port at Picton to Blenham, about an hour easy ride. then i had a great massage and gave the bike a bit of TLC (she deserves it!) before getting into bed in front the tv with a cup of tea for an hour or so.
so, no excuses tomorrow :o)

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 9 Tara

Day 9: Rest Day - Ferry from Wellington to Picton and Bike from Picton to Blenheim

Totals:
Bike: 28k
Swim: None!
Run: None!

Today has been nice and relaxed day and has allowed us to have a little recharge but it also feels very wrong ONLY cycling an easy 28k! After 8 days of such intensity it is almost harder to go so easy. Strange really. But I have enjoyed my day 'off'.

We woke up later to have breakfast before a short bike to the ferry that took us across the Cook Straight. The ferry ride was about 3.5 hours and we got lucky that the conditions were so calm! Yesterday the winds were much stronger and looking at the ocean had me worried that it would be quite a sickening crossing.

It was nice to chill out and chat with everyone in such a relaxed atmosphere but all the intensity will be back full-on again tomorrow, I am sure! The wee break came at a good time.

It is great to know we have successfully completed the length of one island and I am looking forward to starting the length of island #2 tomorrow.

Until then,
Good night!
Tara

Day 9 -Wellington to Belnheim (mostly by ferry)

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 (there's a little more detail and a chart on my blog).

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.

Day 10 Ferry Ride/Rest Day

January 11, 2010 Day 10—Ferry ride and Rest day

Today I woke from a good night’s sleep in a comfy bed. I headed to the breakfast spot, and Nick, yelled ‘waffle maker!’ . I went straight for the waffle maker as I miss my Kami Jo waffles everyone morning and I was not going to miss out today! I poured one cup in and it looked a little weak, so Nick and I threw TWO more cups in and I pressed down to see it starting to make a spill. We were all excited to get me my waffles, we neglected to see the sign clearly in display saying only ONE cup. Oh, well don’t cry over spilt waffle, although I got the stink eye from the café employee and a scolding, ‘one cup only’….ooops!! Not Kiwi appropriate!

In any event I enjoyed FOUR waffles today, and a full complement of other breakfast items. Although I miss Kami Jo’s good old home cooking, I did not so bad this AM. I prefer not to fend for myself in the kitchen tho!! Not my cup of tea…

After breakfast we had a little 2k spin down to the ferries, and started out 4 hour journey across the straight. Dr. E brought me a patch and we both slapped them on for motion sickness, just in case. It leaved me a little out of it a times but it was worth not feeling like I will vomit at any second.

Upon disembarking in Picton, we had a short little spin of 25k to our first town on the South Island, Bleinhem. A nice relaxing rest of the day for our final big push to Bluff on the bottom of the So Island..I am ready and feeling like it is going to be completed and knock on wood no issues. My bike had thorough cleaning, gear adjustments and the like so I am ready in all fronts!

30k of riding. 1 hour

Total training for North Island
Swim—29k
Bike—1370k/830 miles
Run 85k/53 miles
Total Hours for camp 66 hours 10 minutes

Epic Camp Day 9

As close to a rest day as you get at EC, and I think it has been welcomed by most, if not all.

I had the pleasure of sleeping in the comfort of my own bed last night, as Wellington is home. In addition, the three wise men (John, Scott & Gordo) had declared today a neutral day - so any training done, other than the 29k ride off the Picton ferry to Blenheim, doesn't count for points. That meant sleep-in. But, of course, I woke at about 4 bloody 30 and couldn't get back to sleep. Very annoying when the thing that your body needs the most at this stage (sleep) just doesn't happen, even when time allows.

We rode down to the ferry and nervously lashed a couple of hundred grand's worth of carbon to the side of the car deck. The gale winds from yesterday had eased right off and we had a magical crossing of Cook Strait. All the boys who were sucking down seasick pills before the crossing needn't have worried.

I had used the opportunity of a stopover at home to do the bike switcheroo. Road for tri. So I spent the short ride down to Blenheim getting used to riding in quite a different position. Might take a day or two.

It's been funny having a day pretty much off. Not sure how the body will react tomorrow when we hit it again. No excuses for not being recovered though - I've eaten plenty, put my feet up and just had a nice, although slightly painful, massage from Suzy. BBQ dinner soon, then, as always, start thinking about tomorrow's sessions and the ever-important weather forecast. Please God, northerlies, warm and clear for the next week.

28k ride, 53 mins, 186w AP, 202w NP.

Day 9--Gail Force wind warnings

Sunday, January 11, 2010 Day 9, Gail Force Wind warnings

I attempted to write a blog last night on my I-phone, yet, it did not send nor did it have much to it, so this is an attempt to re-write that or embellish on what I had.

First off my day started with lost clothes including my red jersey which I swore might have been gone forever!. Short term memory loss is going quickly in my fatigued state of mind and I have misplaced things constantly over the last few days. We rolled out leisurely to our KOM regroup at the base of a climb for some KOM. My good buddy homeboy, Michael Robles (there ya go you made it to the big-time in Petro-world), back in Cali would have loved this climb. Unfortunately, he is on the mend from an elbow surgery from years of pumping massive amounts of iron at the gym. He is a super cyclist and has the biggest guns on the local circuit to climbing prowess. I always feel safe riding with him as nobody is going to mess with us with the size of the guns he carries around!

So the climb is about 35 minutes of length and started with a bang with Molina stirring the pot. Johnno went to the front after Molina settled in, and started working to shatter the group. He did hold it steady and would throw in repeated out of the seat attacks (which took me 500 plus watt efforts to stay on his wheel) until we were widdled down to 5. I think he thought me being on his wheel would gap the other boys to his advantage but he was not going to shake me no matter at this point.

My goal was to stay in as the gail force winds were really rocking the mountain. After a steady acceleration I was spat out the back to roll into my own rhythm of the climb. I started to watch power at that point and had a pretty sizeable gap opening up on David Craig who is in 2nd for the red jersey. Tara, Peter, and Lee came up and Tara did great at getting me up the steeper sections, and I did the work when it leveled out and into the wind. After a couple more turns, I saw David Craig moving on up, and was going to need to stay in front of him, so I accelerated away to open up the gap again on my little group. I did not want it to be a shootout at the top, as this is home field as he is a Wellington boy, and I had no idea on the length of the climb or the tricks. There were defintitely some tricks as the wind blew around the corners and you had to be ready for the slowing. At one corner I got pushed close to the center line to a complete stop and almost had to unclip. That could have been costly as it was steep and would have been tough to get going again. I kept the pressure on all the way to the top holding 330 watts for 34 minutes. I am very happy with those numbers with 800 miles in my legs. I ended up getting 5th over the top behind the lead group, as Superman Claus is starting to show his dominance in the group. Today we were joking about a kid in a spiderman outfit on the ferry, and I told him needed to get a Superman outfit…maybe they make a Superman jersey I can find for him to take back to Sweden? Johnno, Molina and Gordo were not too much up the road according to G, and my climbing must be coming around if so….cant wait to show off the climbing improvement to the boys at home—haha Robles!!

After the KOM, we rolled over to a nasty descent in the rain and wind, where we regrouped. Poor Sir Lordster had to ride the small funny bike over the hill as jacked his chain trying to cover Molina’s early attack. We are all going to pay for that for the next week! I feel really bad that he has to deal with that. I know how hard it is to deal with a stupid gear problem at this point of fatigue in the camp, and could only imagine the angst he is feeling from being left behind. I have been left behind near the tail end so many times this week, and it is frustrating as all heck. It is much easier to roll out early and have the confidence people will roll up on you during the day if need be to ride with . When you are last there is no such opportunity and it is rather unnerving. If anybody wants to give it a go this week, I will say you got some big balleros but it is a good way to test yourself and that is what I have been doing with staying with the fast group everyday. I get yo-yoed around by these powerhouses every single day, and let me tell you it is not easy, but this is NOT EASY CAMP!!

Lordster suffered from the missed opportunity on the KOM, which in my view might make sense for a provisional 5th place finish as that is where he most certainly would have finished in the KOM (in front of me)….that would help him in the points standings and I will have to suffer a lot less this last week! What do ya think Committee!!!??? Give him a f’ckn 5th place please for points, for all of our sake!!! The TGV rode the funny bike all the way into Wellington and handled it so exceptionally well, I have learned a great deal from watching. He is sitting on 2nd wheel riding that darn funny bike at 40-50k an hour right into Wellington. Well done Lad!!

In any event LOrdy, G and I strode down to the local pool, and knocked out 6000m, with 20 x 100s on 1:30 in a 33 1/3 meter pool. I started to suffer when we were each going 5 seconds back and G was gapping up to Lordster and it ended up being a nearly 8-10 second gap negating much of any draft in the lane. Granted I did make it, but it did not come easy. We then swam 3000 with paddles for the rest of the way, and my shoulders were pretty torched after that.

A chocolate muffin for me and my lane buddies, and we ran back to the hotel, me getting lost again after stopping to take another picture on the waterfront. Good thing I had my handy dandy I-phone (Kami see!?) and was able to google map my way back to the hotel!

A great dinner, and another massage that Molina handed down to me as he wanted to hit the pub more with the crew and drink some beers. I needed the massage more than the beer and decided that it would be more prudent to do so. Straight to bed in the best bed I have had since December 18th!

Bike 130k bike with TT up for 34 minutes at 330 watts
Run 4k
Swim 6k with 20 x 100 on 1:30 in a 33 ½m pool
Total 7:15 hours

Dave Langley Day's 7 & 8

Well I must admit I am sitting in my room at the Ibis hotel in Wellington on the morning of day 9. Being new to any form of blogging I not only have had to beg borrow or steal a computer to blog but I am also attempting to learn what constitutes a good blog. This will not be one on of those classic reads. None the less I have had 2 fantastic days as we approached the end of the first island. I am tired, things are starting to ache, my neck still has a nerve pinch that grabs after about 2 hours of riding but a couple of painkillers seem to make it tolerable. Russ Cox and I were discussing last night that EPIC Camp starts tomorrow, with another 8 days to go on the South island you could say it does. The itinerary is huge, luckily we did some training last week to prepare for it! But I am concerned that I am not coming into it as fresh as the first week!

Day 7 was another interesting day with another swim run before the 200k ride to Masterton. Thanks to Russ and David Craig and a favourable tailwind we made it through the first 80k in just over 2 hrs needless to say I was hanging on by the skin of my teeth but when you look down at you speedo and you see anything over 40kmh you know you're getting places fast. So I hung on as long as possible which turned out to be about 160km when they lost me! Boom.....I rolled in the last 40k solo and in fact I enjoyed most of it. I put some tunes on and admired the countryside. This continued until I ran out of water and had to pull out my map to make sure I wasn't heading back towards Masterton!

Day 8 Masterton to Wellington with a big KOM climb over the Rimutaka range. John had told us of a gale force wind warning the night before so I prepared as best I could. Well climbing to the top was interesting to say the least. I have never been blown to a stop before. It is interesting trying to track stand a bike while you attempt to gather strength to push through the blast of wind. Strangely enough all I could do was laugh.... Jo Carrit was pretty much blown to a stop and had to quickly unclip to avoid falling off a little further up the mountain, that did not make me laugh as I knew the descent was coming and we were advised it could be very dangerous.

I must admit I am spoiled for riding in Australia, I will never complain about a sea breeze again! We regrouped at the bottom but had to wait for the Yellow Jersey Lordy who admirably rode a borrowed bike up the climb. What a site seeing a 6 ft plus guy riding a bike built for a 5ft lady! `his legs were up around his ears. The first and last time I say that I will ever beat Lordy up a climb. The ride into Wellington was exciting as this was the end of the North island but it really hasn't sunk in yet as we have so far to go.

Day 9 Wellington to Picton on the ferry today..not happy but weather forecast has been favourable and I have taken some sea sickness tablets...boy I hope they do! Today is an official rest day but we have about 30km of riding to do to get the Blenheim for the night. I may even do a short run to keeps the legs moving, it all adds up towards the camp completion totals. I will update this tomorrow and let you know how the ferry crossing went.

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 8 Tara

Day 8: Masterton to Wellington

Totals:

Bike: 134k with KOM and WIND WIND WIND!!
Run: 4k (run to and from pool)
Swim: 6k

WAY COOL: We have ridden the entire length of the North Island!

Today's plan was rearranged to try to avoid some of the wind that was forecast. The KOM climb has been known to blow trucks over and therefore the road is closed at times. We were instructed that if we were told we had to abort, we had to abort (even if adrenaline was running high and we still wanted to try to continue)...Yikes!
In the end, the ride was doable and it was a great challenge!
Apart from the KOM, the ride was done at a nice leisurely pace with some great peloton riding, but the KOM was a tough 30-40min climb! The winds were swirling and I was blown into the middle of the road a couple times, once nearly taking Pete out as he tried to overtake me right at the gusting point in time.
I was relieved to get to the top (and prevent that Pete from out-sprinting me right at the top like the last KOM we did :)) but I would much rather go up than down. We put on every layer we had because it was cold and WINDY up at the top.
Poor Lordy Lord twisted his chain and missed the start of the climb but he is a real trooper and made the climb on the camera woman's bike that was a millions sizes too small. Love it! And of course, you will never hear him complain!

After the ride, I ran to and from the pool and managed to do a LONG 6k swim. Ouch, my arms sure were tired by the end of that swim!

Beers were had complements of Scott after dinner to celebrate one island down and good laughs were had as we all knew tomorrow is to be an easy day. NO OPTION to get more points. Phew!

Boat crossing tomorrow to the South Island and a nice spin.
Good night.

Tara

Nick - Day 7

One Island down - one to go!!

Short blog tonight as I have had a couple of drinks and my spelling will be appalling.

Amazing as it is, we have made our way from Cape Reinga to Wellington and I am still in one piece. For those you know me, that it an accomplishment in itself. The fact that I am still running and swimming on top of the biking is a plus.

Today saw us ride from Masterton, through Martinborough, over the Rimutakas and into Wellington. The first 66km was a rolling bunch ride with no real pressure on. The winds had been forecast to be brutal, but as we rolled out it was only a gentle breeze. That was shortlived and as we wound our way through the Martinborough region the gale steadily gained in intensity. Rob Q clasims the funniest site on the trip so far was Clas and I pulling the bunch into a howling gale. Clas barely raising a sweat on the right, myself on the left clinging on for dear life looking at my powermeter and calculating exactly how long I had until I blew completely.

With morning tea over we ascending the Rimutakas. It was a KOM stage. After alerting the front bunch Steve had a mechanical, I bravely tried to stay with them - for about 5 minutes. One thing I just cannot do yet is give over to that cycling mentality of giving it everything to stay with the bunch. A couple of stiff blasts on the wind and I let a gap form. I lived to regret it as the front guys regrouped and I was left climbing by myself. It was a long and lonely twenty odd minutes. But I am getting stronger, and by the top I was actually catching a few guys believe it or not. Coming down the other side, I wasn't the only Nana today and everyone had their wits about them as we tried desperately to stay on our side of the road and stay upright.

The remainder of the ride was an easy bunch roll into Wellington.

This arvo saw an option of running to the Freyberg pool and home after a 3km swim for the days points. I moved myself up to the fast lane, and knocked out a set of 20x100's on 1.30. I must admit I was benefited by being 4th in a train of 8, but nonetheless, I was giving Petro a pretty generous 8 sec start as he started to fade half way through.

To finish the day I decided to do my first tack on of the camp. A 10km out abd back around the Wellington bays, before the 2km run back to the hotel. Going out was great, coming back was again a battle with the wind. There were patches when walking was faster than running. But I made it and as we head to the Sth Island, I am ahead on both the running and swimming minimums for camp completion (100km and 27km respectively - I have done 70km and 16km so far)

Tomorrow is a rest day and boy am I looking forward to it. A chance to get some feeling back in my fingers (my carpal tunnel is killing me), lt my patella tendons settle down, and mentally prepare myself for probably the most physically demanding 7 days of my life.

Steven - Day 8 - the day of the mechanical

what a day. Had every emotion today and got pretty close to losing my sense of humour luckily only Jo got to experience this (sorry Jo) when I was unable to get the plug to stay down in our hotel room... it was the final straw. All I wanted to do was wash my FiveFingers...
I'm sat here feeling pretty dejected when all the talk is about the KOM race. I so wish I'd been involved in it.
Things started well with me sitting in on the ride. Dropped back to pull Jo back to the bunch after she'd dropped her chain and then did a pretty full on pull to bring Rob back to the group after he punctured. I was feeling super strong and was psyched up for the KOM. It was long and steady and I felt ideal for me. At the mandatory stop before the climb I ditched my surplus water and lightened the load with a visit to the loo. I was in my small chainring ready for action.
As expected Scott took a flyer (just like last year) and I didn't want to miss out on the fun. I tried to spin out in my small ring but couldn't keep up so (stupidly) tried to move into my big chainring whilst pedaling hard. The chain dropped off onto the pedal. Clas gave me a push to keep momentum as I tried to get it back on - normally you can when it comes off like that. Nick came by and pointed out I had a double kink in it. I had to stop. Took a while to unkink it but I felt I could move up through the field. I must admit that the first thing that I thought was that this doesn't seem to be tour rules - i.e. if the yellow gets a mechanical then you stop. No mercy on Epic Camp. My thought at that point was just wait till the south Island I'll rip everyones legs off (I've calmed a little from then).
Though not bothered about the KOM itself I wanted to maintain my 3rd place spot for when it drops into the GC as a double major. At the moment it would move me further ahead of the competition. I felt I could still move far enough through to score well.
Back on the bike the chain kept jumping two cogs up whenever I put pressure on and in the biggest cog I could hear it hitting the wheel. Stopped took a look and could see that the chain was badly bent and twisted. BUGGER ! Shit this could mean I can't complete todays ride and thus won't have ridden the country.
Luckily the camera crew stopped and Annette offer me her chain. Decided against that as too time consuming and risky to change. She then offered me her bike ... now this is small. Decided that was the best bet. Struggle putting the back wheel in as her chain has double kinks in it as well. Super careful fixing that. Change pedals. First pedal off ... second pedal completely jammed. So change the cleat. Set off on tiny bike, with Shimano gears (I use campag) and the foot I normally unclip in an unfamiliar pedal type.
Progress a little and realise it's impossible with the aero bars as I'm knocking my knees. Stop - take those off. Back on. Probably one of the scarier rides I've had. Strong wind, small unfamiliar bike thats hard to handle, lots of traffic close and having to sit during any major gusts.
My little moment of personal time was filled with so many thoughts
"You stupid bloody idiot - pilot error dropping the chain and even more stupid not to just relax and fix it calmly. Those few seconds would not have mattered"
"I might have stuffed my Record derailleur which I can hardly afford to replace"
"Gutted that I'm not in there competing for the KOM. This got worse and worse as I climbed and realised it was my sort of climb"
"Gutted that this could have a bearing on the Yellow. Going from a position where the KOM would increase my lead in the GC to it costing me perhaps 3 or more points"
"Happiness as I was on a bike riding and would complete the day"
At the top I luckily checked the brakes as the rear had the quick release open and even after fixing that it still wasn't much cop so I tightened it. The decent wasn't the most pleasant and then finding we had such a long ride in to town was torture.
As we set off from the aid station the group fragmented up the hill I pushed one wanting to be second wheel behind David (who was leading us in) as that would be the easiest for me. Over the next few KM i struggled and everyone passed me in dribs and drabs. Not one person stopped to offer me a wheel. I must admit I was not impressed. That day alone I'd dropped back to give someone a wheel to be pulled back to the group on two occasions. It wasn't till Clas came through last that there was someone offering support.
I was then stuck at the back of the peloton and having to deal with all the accelerations on a bike way way too small for me wondering what damage I was doing to myself. When trying to keep the group together in previous days Gordo, Clas and I have tended to have a strong person on the front and the others on the back. In this group there was none of this. Eventually I thought bugger this for a game of soldiers and when the opportunity arose I rode by and Petro kindly offered me second wheel. Once there I was sweet and managed to hold Craig's wheel nicely all the way home.
At the start of the day I'd decided that I should do minimal running as my foot had been aching right through the night. But now my gut reaction was to tack on a 10k. Last night I’d had the time and inclination to tack on a 10k but decided to rest my foot (my new relaxed approach for you). I was regretting that decision now. There was time to tack on but luckily after the swim Gordo got the Blueberry muffins in I started feeling social and sensible and decided that if needs be next week I'll crank out the runs to make up for any loss this has caused.
I got a lot out of my system in the swim. Did 6k including 20 x 100m on 1:30 for 2 points. Just a banker really as the hope is to complete 20 x 100m on 1:20 at some point (wind assisted). Then did a nice set Gordo came up with which helped pass the time. He kindly lead it out which was nice.
Pretty disappointed I missed the briefing tonight. It's one of the highlights of the day with Gordo and / or Scott normally recounting some funny story of the day. If I'd know it was going to happen I would have skipped my massage. I do think this is something they should make every effort to ensure everyone can attend.
Funny I'd been so looking forward to tomorrow and a nice relaxed day with no pressure for points where we can all just be social but todays events have rather dampened my spirits.

jo c - day 8

8 days epic cycling and we are at the end of the north island, Wellington.
a pretty short but nonetheless dramatic ride over a pass in near gale force winds ( for all i know, this is typical for the area) which made it a pretty unpleasant - make that terrifying - climb. We arrived in wellington early, quick lunch and then steven and i did an interview for stormydog's production about the camp. not the best moment as we were both pretty wound up by the day. steven had a mechanical at the bottom of the pass, which threw him out of the KOM comp and might prove costly if the deraiullier is smashed - you'll read all about that in his blog, whilst i'd been literally blown off my bike, was tired and beginning to grow more concerned about the future of my foot, which had put me in a bad mood all day. the interview was fun though, and lifted my sprits - followed by a trip to the local pool where i really DID enjoy my swim. nothing fancy, just a 3.6km straight swim in a 33,3m pool. i do like that size pool. could have kept on going for a 6k like a few of the others did, but i didn't want to miss a ride in the van...and unable to walk back. more reason to feel sorry for myself, but i'm trying not to - bottom line is i'm starting to get tired, which means i'm starting to get CRABBY. so a short swim and bit of time to chill is a far better option for me this afternoon!

and no wonder i'm getting tired - this week (monday-sunday) i've ridden 755 miles in 43.2hrs, and swum over 24km. total training hours has been 50.4 - with zero running or gym! The cycling has been fabulous and i'm so pleased that i'm still able to take part in that. the intensity is a lot higher than what i'd usually ride at, and that is fun, as well as challenging and hopefully beneficial to my riding fitness. average Hr today was just 125 - including that 40min climb at 147av (compare to the KOM on day 2 where i was holding 170+ the whole way!) - but felt like a threshold ride. I'm worked!

Day 8 - Masterton to Wellington

The last day on the North island and appropriately for a trip to Wellington it was windy. The threat of gales was such that we had to get on the bikes early to have a decent chance of making it over the Rimutakas. We rolled out of Masterton at about 7:30 in the morning and headed off into more of the fantastic countryside we'd enjoyed on yesterday's ride.

The pace wasn't too hard for the first 66km into Featherston. I spent some time on the front again which was fun. I'm growing to enjoy sitting on the front of groups, just have to pick the right group or time to do so! The terrain was rolling and scenic and the building winds were obvious. We reached Featherston in a little over 2 hours so had made decent time.

A regrouping and chance to take on some food before we all headed off to take on the climb over the Rimutakas. Despite living in Wellington for a few weeks I'd yet to have ridden over them. Partly because it's highway 2 that crosses the range and that's not a fun road to ride. With a strong Westerly blowing our crossing was going to be particularly challenging.

A lot of the group were already ahead of me as I hit the road. Whilst the winds were going to make things tough for me Steven was clearly having a worse time. I passed him working on a dropped chain, unfortunately I could see it had nasty twists in it. The next time we saw him he was riding a small bike borrowed from one of the documentary crew. It ensured he got to ride the entire North island at the least.

My climb was pretty average. The road itself isn't too difficult, but with the wind it became particularly tough. You'd turn a corner into strong headwinds. At it's worst I stalled. Hitting an inclined corner in my lowest gear and then receiving a strong blast of wind to the face I went from about 8kph to zero. I only just managed to unclip my foot and get it on the ground before I toppled.

After that incident I was even more cautious for the rest of the ride. Fortunately nothing ever came quite as close to that again, but I never managed to climb at my best. I'm finding it hard to really ramp the power up now. I can spend long times working at reasonable percentages of my FTP, but attacking a hill is getting beyond me!

A cautious descent followed that climb, though the wind never proved as problematic on the other side. At the bottom we regrouped again and waited for the last few riders. As mentioned for once Steven was the last, looking comical on far too small a bike. As ever he was in remarkably good mood about things. Standing around had made us all cold so everyone was glad to get back on the road.

From there on in it was familiar roads. We avoided the main highway and followed Dave C through Upper and Lower Hutt passing within about 5km of where I'm staying. Finally turning down the highway and into Wellington itself. I think everyone was on a bit of a high to have ridden the whole of the North island. We're over halfway there now.

No rest for Epic Campers though. After a break we ran to Freyburg Pool for a swim. The 2km there and back were allowed as our run point for the day. I was relieved to not have to run much more. The main aim was to complete a 6km swim. This is my third Epic Camp, but the first time I'd done a 6km swim for bonus points. Previously I'd put it off when the opportunity was there.

I've found it hard to motivate myself to swim for that long in a pool. This time I had an ally in the form of Dave C. We planned to do it as thirty 200s with around 20 seconds rest between each. I was aiming to keep things easy to ensure I got through. We worked by alternating lead every five or so.

About halfway through Dave decided I was going slightly too fast for us to work together and we got on with our remaining lengths ourselves. I started by switching to 400s and then a couple of 800s just to get the whole thing done. The last kilometre felt like hard work and I was starving!

After the swim I sat in the changing room munching on a bag of peanuts and raisins whilst I waited for Dave. I knew I'd hoarded that food for some reason. We dashed back to the hotel in time to relax before dinner. A massive buffet that went down very well. Particularly the desserts. Three full bowls for me, not very paleo diet I know.

It's an easy day tomorrow. Points are neutralised so we actually take it easy and don't go and train ourselves to death. That said I may opt for an easy 30 minute run just to keep the legs moving. I have to admit after eight solid days of training taking a day off feels like I'm breaking my rhythm. Despite that I am looking forward to relaxing a little bit more before the last six days of camp.

Day 9. Finishing off the North Island

Day 9. Finishing off the North Island

this blog will be brief as my computer is acting funny and I have to write this on the I-phone. A good night sleep finally. We rode out thru the country leisurely bfore on regroup for our kom. Gail force wind warnings and It did not disappoint on the hill. Was with lead group of claus, g, mo, and johnno but had to let them go. Tara, Peter, and Lee were right there and we worked togeher for a bit bfore I rolled up slightly ahead. I crested in 5th holding off DC bfore a Nasty descent. Regroups for the next 40k into town

ran to pool. Swam 6k and ran back.

130k bike. 5k run. 6k swim. Total hrs 7:15

We made it to Wellington!

Day 8. One island complete and 1 to go. It was a tough day into Wellington. Not only did we have the substantial climb over the Rimatakas but we had to battle a fierce wind as well . The little riders got blown around. As a member of team Buddha I did not suffer from that problem. My thighs felt much better this morning. The easy ride pace yesterday must have allowed some recovery. The climb was raced hard. Read the blogs on the epic camp site to get the full story. I went 100 percent and just got chicked by Tara in the last 600m. She is pretty good so I was happy with that.....

Just got back from my massage. It was fantastic. We get 5 on tour and they are looked forward to and are so good. We are very well looked after with the support crew basically doing everything for us except the swim/bike/run sessions. We are all starting to get brain dead so are relying on the crew to provide the necessities of life.

The rest of the day consisted of a regroup then a downhill that ended with a Dan McDonald express train into Wellington. Highway Dan had us over 50k an hour for long periods and ended with just myself and Douglas stuck to his back wheel. Way too hard but a real blast. That's what its about having some fun.

Then into the hotel. 3pm run to Freyburg pool. I did my 1k bands only set. Then suffered through the hardest and slowest 2k of my life. When the pregnant lady passed me I knew I was in trouble. All I could think of was a latte and muffin. I talked Dave L and Rip into joining me at the café across the road for the best bowl latte and apple yogurt muffin. Then ran home into the wind. Day 8 done. Rest day tomorrow yeah!!

For the rest of my Epic Camp blogs please go here

Pete

Epic Camp Day 8

Holy wind Batman!

The promised nor-westerly gales arrived just as predicted. While John's call for us to leave early and try to avoid the worst of the weather was a good one, we still got pummeled on our way into my home town. The riding was leisurely all the way to Featherston, where we had a mandatory regrouping. Happily the regrouping venue was right outside what must be the best bakery within a hundred miles. A personal favourite of mine for refueling after long Wairarapa rides - Gusto Bakery. Date scones as big as rubbish bin lids (and as heavy - probably cost me two minutes on my KOM climb) and sandwiches made as they should be - with thick cut slices of white bread and tons of filling.

So the KOM then kicked off and it was soon all on up the Rimutakas - into a gale wind. Poor Steven twisted his chain right at the beginning and ended up having to borrow a bike from one of the film crew ladies. He's a big lad and it's fair to say the bike was probably about 5 sizes too small for him. But, given his talent on the bike, that seemed like a fair handicap to me.

Hard to describe that 30 minute climb into the teeth of a howling gale with traffic screaming by with little regard for mad cyclists. I had Roger on my tail for the first half of the climb and couldn't seem to shake him no matter how hard I tried. I was convinced he was going to sit there right until the summit, then pounce. Thankfully, I managed to drop him. Mark P was up the road and I did my best to try to rein him in. But I couldn't. He just kept me at a safe distance and powered his way to the top. I averaged 309w for the 30 minute climb. Not bad for day 8 of EC. Clas again took line honours for the KOM, with John second.

Once over the top, and following a cautious descent still into the wind, we regrouped again, shared war stories, then made our way into Wellington at a sedate pace.

After lunch, we ran to Freyberg pool. I had been dreading the prospect of a 6k swim, but knew it was something I needed to do (bonus points for doing it) while I had the chance to do a longer swim. It was just as painful as the last (and only) time I swum 6k - at EC in 2007. I started out working in with Russ. But his pace became too hot for me, so I abandoned that plan and finished the set on my own.

So - one island down, one to go. Hope the South is as fun and challenging as the North. I have no doubt it will be.

131k ride, 4:52, 172w AP, 212w NP, 1,294 total ascent.

Wellington

Well, I made it to the bottom of the South Island... 803mi of riding in 8 days. As you will read, today's ride was not without drama... I can't make this stuff up.

Blanco TT'ed off the front within the first 5km and after failing to bridge to bring him back into the fold, I stuck with the group until I experienced some gear problems. Trying to fix the bike, I ended up getting dropped from the group and only had *tail-end Charlie* (support vehicle) for company. With a strong headwind, my only hope of reconnecting with the group was with assistance. Kay pulled the van to 3ft in front of my wheel and I drafted the van until we caught the group. A little dangerous but it saved me a few bpms. But I was still gear-challenged with only 53-12 or 39-12.

The group reconnected with Blanco at the scheduled aid staion in Featherstone. He had bought a coffee and muffin and saved me the muffin top! Sweet. He also fiddled with my bike so I would have a more favorable gear for the upcoming KOM through the Rimutaka range. I should note that severe wind warnings had been issued for the Wellington area and Rimutaka range today, so even before the gear issues, I was nervous about the climb. The Epic coaches stood ready to *cancel* this section of ride if necessary. Blanco set me up with a 39-23 gearing, not ideal, but it made the climb doable... except for those winds.

Ascending the 12km climb in gale force winds is the most scared I have ever been on a bike, especially given the gearing problems. I was very happy to have Blanco on my wheel (sorry you missed out on some KOM points) as I was blown off the road on four separate occasions. The wind was so strong when rounding some of the bends, I was struggling to keep my front wheel pointed straight. Twice I was steered off course by the wind and ended up against the railings on the right (wrong) side of the road. We finally summited and made our way down the mountain for the regroup at Upper Hutt for the final stretch into Wellington.

The final 40km were not without drama as, with only my 53-23 gearing, I was spinning out at speeds above 21mph. Mercifully, Gordo saw what was happening and came alongside and promised to stick with me. That calmed me down. He even adjusted his gearing so that we would be riding compatibly. We were joined by Blanco, Eric and Lee and the five of us cruised into Wellington at a maximum speed of 20mph. It was a bummer since it would have been a speedy approach to Wellington (25-35mph sections), but the group stuck with me. Thanks, guys.

Herbie

Another typical Kiwi day ... sheep, open roads, and light winds.

All bundled up today so as not to apply anymore sunscreen. Finished up in Wellington.

Blanco

Day 7

Day 7 - Another north island city and another swim bike run day ahead of us. I apparently slept OK last night according to one of my room mates Scott Molina as he was complaining about my snoring. Sounds like he will make sure the rooming list do not have us sharing again! Sorry Scott but it was good to catch some sleep. We run to the Wanganui pool, just over 3km to do our swim. Nick Hutton who grew up in the Hawkes Bay and was a swimmer kid said this pool was fast. So we decided it would be a good opportunity to do a couple of the bonus points sets that Molina had set for the camp. So Dan Mcdonald, Nick and myself aimed to do the 10 x 200 set and the 200m fly as part of our 3k set. We where supposed to do the 200s on 3:35. Nick obviously got a bit excited about being in a familiar pool and lead the first 200 through in 2:40. Thank god he backed off and we got through that ok. Dan & Nick did it easy. Next the 200 fly. I was rather concerned about this as I tried it in Whangarie and only managed 75m before I gave up on threat of drowning. We watched Nick do his and managed like a pro cutting it out in 3:05, solid. Dan and took off next. I tried the big glide between stroke tecniquic which work well for the first two lengths then I started running out of breath. By the end of the fifth length I was getting really concerned and starting to have a bit of a panic attack that I would not make it due to lack of oxygen. I decided to up the stroke rate to get in more breaths and that seemed to work. With only 2 lengths to go i was determined not to stop as I did not want to go through this pain again. The high rate got me through and my first ever 200m fly was done. Most probably my last as well. Tough way to earn a point. Thanks Scott.Run back to the accom then quick breakfast and off on the longest ride to date. 200k to Masterton. My legs had nothing in them after yesterday. I was lucky enough to get a massage from Russell (fantastic masseur! and amazing ultra runner) the night before and that also my have deadened the legs a bit. So I started of with the second group on the rode. After 20k the pace picked up and Nick said he was backing off. After 10 seconds deliberation I decided I would stick to my plan for the day to ride as easy as possible and try and get some recovery, or not do any more damage. So Nick and I with Rob Q who rode together for the whole day. It was a really nice ride with a tail wind. Enough hills and changing scenery to make it interesting and quiet roads. Nick and I chatted for most of the 7 hours and Rob who was feeling tired today (we all have days like that) sat in. We decided we would stop for a beer in the last part of the ride. As it happened that was on the outskirts of masterton. Nick had to do two laps of the pub carpark to break 200km distance for the first time in his life. A good reason to celebrate with a cold beer in the sun. The acomm was only 2k away so a nice finish to the day.Tomorrow is to Wellington and we will have completed the North Island, unbelievable.

Steven - Day

The days are just getting better. Highlight today was seeing Jo complete her 200 fly. I got a great photo which she may have used on her blog which makes her look like a top fly swimmer ! For me I knocked out 10 x 200m on 2:45 and was chuffed to bits. Felt good about bringing Gordo and Petro along for the ride just hope it doesn't turn out to be the difference between yellow and not !
Then the ride - determined to take it easy and sit in I managed that through our impromptu coffee stop, the aid stop (where I discovered the disconcerting rattle was my front skewer virtually fully released) and most of the way to lunch other than a few minute interval absolutely on the rivet to get onto the Daniel train. It was just like last year sitting on his brothers wheel. Boy can that guy hammer when he has the mind to. He must have done 20k at god knows what speed.
Just before this train got up to speed we'd climbed this "non hill" (it was pretty substantial but John had told us we wouldn't notice it... after 20 minutes it wasn't that difficult to notice). Anyway... at the top there were some comments about easing up for photos. Both Clas and Petro got photos but Petro didn't manage to get back on and we were at lunch a full 20 minutes before he turned up. I was imagining this great photo he'd have got - lovely hills, sky, clouds, sheep, a road heading over the horizon and right in the distance you'd just be able to pick out Scott, Gordo, Clas and me sitting on the Daniel train. Kept me amused for a while (sorry petro).
After lunch something Clas had said the night before came to mind - that this 200k ride would take at least 6 hours. I was on a mission to finish in under 6 hours. Clas sat on my wheel and kept me amused with the occasional comment - sometimes just points out sheep, others reminding me that I "can do what I want" ... ie he won't be dropped ! Finally he said "I am getting fit" ... phew I was riding hard enough. We arrived in 5h53 at which point Clas told me when he writes his race report on going under 8:10 he will mention it. I look forward to reading that late August ;o)

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 7 Tara

Day 7: Wanganui to Masterton

Totals:

Run: 8k (run to and from the pool)
Swim: 3k with 10 x 200 on 3:05
Bike: 201k

Today started with a run to and from the pool. Despite barely lifting my feet off the ground (as my coach pointed out), I felt better today in the glute department (especially on the way home from the pool) so this is great news. Who knew one could heal so well all while continuing to train almost 8 hours each day!

In the pool, Johnny N lead the 10 x 200 set with Scott and I in tow. The swim felt really good and it is funny now to think about how badly I was cramping on Day 1 because that cramping has subsided now ('touch wood').

I was pretty organized last night before turning out my light and I still found myself having to hurry this morning to pull out with the group of 10 I started the ride with (second last group to pull out). The group of 10 turned into 7 at about 30k and then after Jo and Dave L dropped back, Russ, Dave C, Douglas, Roger and I finished the ride on the beautiful (but never-ending when you are out of fluids) road to Masterton. Russ and Dave C did a darn great job of keeping the pace up today and took turns pulling us the whole day. Thanks guys! Our average pace for the 201k was 32.7kms/hr and that included some slower riding sections through a couple towns. Nice!

Despite missing a lunch stop and having some subsequent 'low moments' in our group, I never felt negative or bad the entire ride. It was a great ride and I am feeling stronger as the camp progresses. Good thing because there is a big KOM climb tomorrow and potential gale-force winds (that may even cancel the ride, though I doubt it...and I sure hope not!) as we make our way to Wellington.

I had a massage by Russell (one of our amazing support crew) and Alison tonight and I think that has helped to 'fix' my glute. Yay!

One funny observation to pass on is that sheep run away every time we ride by and cows all turn at the same time and look at you. It makes me laugh because the cows make me think of the Far Side comic where the cows are riding by in the car saying "yack! yack! yack!". But I have yet to "moo" as I ride by...

"Good times!" - this is dedicated to Bevan who normally is at my Epic Camps and he is sadly missed (especially his breaststroke kick)!

Tara

Day 7 - Wanganui to Masterton

I had no idea how today would pan out when I woke. I still felt pretty tired when I woke so wasn't too optimistic about the bike ride ahead. Before I got to that there was a run to the pool, a swim and a run back to get done.

The run felt surprisingly good. I opted to wear the compression socks for this run and it at least helped minimise any soreness in my calves. There's still some tightness in my left hamstring when I run, but it's got much less as camp has gone on.

In the pool Jo and I teamed up to get through the 10 x 200m front crawl on 3:35. Not being the fastest swimmers it's good to be able to pick up a few points here and there. We comfortably got through that set, then Jo pushed through 200m fly for another point. Very impressive, but I chickened out.

The run back felt far better than the first and I arrived early for breakfast. Early enough to find a small stash of Power Cookies that had been saved for later in camp. Power Cookies vanish quickly on Epic Camp, they're like gold dust. I believe we'll get a top up in the next few days when we hit the South island.

I decided to roll out with one of the earlier groups. I've found I can get a lot of good work done if I stick on the front of the earlier groups. A little less stressful than spending the time yo-yoing at the back of the main group.

A bunch of us headed out together and I moved up front to set a comfortable pace. Rob Q joined me and gave me a few breaks from working on the front. About an hour in Dave C rolled up and put the pace up a little. It was enough to whittle things down to a smaller bunch.

For the rest of the 200km ride Dave C and I took turns on the front pulling along Tara, Douglas, Jo, Dave L and Peter. I was surprised at how hard I was able to ride seven days into a camp when I thought I was so tired. It wasn't comfortable, but my heart rate was good and I could just keep turning the cranks.

Some hiccups with the support vehicles meant our group missed out on a lunch stop. With around 50Km to go there was a bit of grumpiness at the lack of real food since breakfast. However with it being clear that we weren't going to get any we sucked down some gels and pushed on. Frustration fuelled a few surges in pace!

The last 60km into Masterton were through some fantastic valley roads. Quiet and scenic the riding was superb, we just didn't fully appreciate it with our hunger and thirst. Unfortunately it meant fluid supplies were hard to get hold of. Jo dropped off and did the smart thing of asking for some water at a farm. With 30K to go and having just run out of fluids I was happy to push on home and wait.

I arrived into town pretty shatter from a solid days training. In the morning I'd speculated about running another 10K for a bonus point. The time was available, but I opted to take things a little easier. I was pretty satisfied with the quality of my ride and can live with one point less in the game for now.

Once again I feel pretty tired. We had a great meal at a local cafe and now it's getting late. It's almost ten, well past my bed time! It's an early start on the bike tomorrow. Strong winds are predicted and it could make the climb into Wellington tricky. I'm looking forward to arriving there though and finishing the first island.

Nick - Day 7

Another personal record on a surprisingly cruisy day.

Today saw us go from Wanganui to Masterton via Palmy North, Paihiatua, Eketahuna and finally a detour through Alfredton (and what a surprising little gem of a valley that was), finished of with a celebratory beer. My first ever 200km ride and it was one of the easiest of the camp so far.

This morning saw us run 4km to the pool, then do a 3km session before running home. The Wanganui aquatic centre is a fast little thing and as a result some pretty good sets were done. I set some fairly conservative goals and agreed to pace Pete and Dan through 10x200m on 3.35 for a point. Imagine my surprise when I did the first in 2.40. I resisted the urge to knock out the harder timed sets and enjoyed the fact that I actually felt reasonable swimming for the first time in the camp. Its fair to say my swimming performances thus far have been pretty ordinary considering its actually my best event. We then topped it off with a 200m fly (FYI McGuinness, I knocked it out in 3.05 - not bad considering I haven't swum 200m fly since I was 16)

The ride was long, but pretty gentle. We had favourable winds and I had always planned to cycle well within myself today. I was somewhat surprised to find several much better cyclists than me dead keen to join my original group of three when we left a few mins early. However, the pace was obviously not to their liking as 30km in the pacemaking was taken over and I made a pretty easy decision to stay true to myself and my mates and dropped out of that bunch.

From then on, Pete, Rob Q and I cycled the remaining 170km at our own pace and had a really great day. Rob was off his form a little today and enjoyed his tunes sitting in behind, while Pete and I talked solidly for pretty much the whole day. In a way I am glad I was with a little group, as my first 200km ride was one I wanted to do under my own steam, not being dragged along by a freight train.

We finished the ride with a celebratory beer. The plan from early in the morning was to find a coffee shop at some stage in the afternoon but back country Manawatu was prob not the best place and so as the afternoon wore on, a beer seemed more appropriate.

On the body front - I am starting to get some moderate pain in my patella tendons, particularly the right, but given we have cycled around 1150km in the past 7 days, I guess that is not unexpected. The good news is, courtesy of a tip from Charlesy to look behind me every few minutes, my neck pain is almost gone. Of course my quads are hammered, but I guess that is par for the course. One thing I haven't expected is the ferocity of the NZ sun. Despite layering on the Zinc and sunnblock 2-3X a day, my neck is constantly sunburnt and my lips are chapped. Otherwise I am holding up.

FYI to my family and friends who are following my blog - I really appreciate the txts and emails. I know McGuinness is jealous, but to be honest I really don't think he has the mental toughness for something like this.

39-12

Gordo and Pietro had designated today's ride *The Wife Ride* since Blanco and I skipped the early AM swim/run in order to push off at 7:30am. With more than 200km on the docket for today, I needed all the ride time I could get! I love riding with Blanco. Together we appreciate the scenery but still move along at a decent clip with very short breaks.

As I was riding along today, I was pondering what I would write about on the blog. I was thinking about how my riding was changing to adjust to the fatigue of 700+mi in the legs in the past 6 days. In particular, I am climbing out of the saddle a lot more since it gives me an opportunity to shift position. I've also been playing with cadence in order to switch up the muscle firing patterns (not technical but that's how it feels to me). Anyway, I did not realize that these two developments in my cycling would come in quite so handy today. Right after our first stop of the day (47mi), my rear derailleur became a little finicky, not allowing me to switch into my trusty 39-27 for the key climb of the day. However, Blanco made a few adjustments and I was good to go, albeit with some less than clean gear changes. We made it to the small town of Eketahuna and took a break for lunch (grilled ham and cheese sarnies - yum!) but immediately after we set back on the road for the remaining 45mi, I tried to switch down my rear derailleur, nothing happened. "Honey, I think my rear derailleur cable just snapped." Blanco: "Really? What gear are you in?" Jordan: "I've got 53-12 and 39-12". Blanco: "Bummer".

Typically those two gears might not have been the most favorable for Kiwi terrain but we were in the fortunate position of 45mi of riding with a net downhill of 500ft and mostly a tailwind. My cadence bottomed out at about 25 rpm up one small hill but I ground my way up with many words of gentle encouragement from Blanco. We made it to Masterton just in time to find a local bike shop to make the cable change so I can have all my gears back for the KOM tomorrow. Yay!

We stopped for a post-ride snack at the Aberdeen. Chicken, cranberry, brie and basil pizza was my order... except Blanco ate 5/8ths of it along with his own chicken burger! The food was washed down with a glass of NZ sauvignon blanc and a glass of Tui for Blanco.

Long day... but I might just make the length of NZ! That's the first time I've finished a day thinking that way...

Day 7-Rest Day-Well sort-a

Saturday, January 09, 2010 Epic Camp Day 7, Rest Day-well sorta

Today there were no competitions so all in all it was a day that I could recuperate. There is a lot of training involved but if you are really doing the racing, the extra sets for competition, just to ride, swim and run, is a welcome break. It started with a run down to the pool, which felt incredibly good considering the past week of over 50 miles of running. The pool was perfect for a fast set, and Lordy, Gordo and I were going to knock out our 10 x 200s on 2:45 for 3 bonus points. Day 7 of swimming and I was expecting a good feel for the water. The minute I took the first stroke I knew it was going to be a good day in the pool. Molina did not give me a snowballs chance in hell of making the set, and I was not sure either. He bet me a double-bacon cheeseburger that I could not do it, but since it is draft legal, Lordy was leading, and Gordo had on his Blue Seventy speed suit, there was a big snowball for the taking.

We rolled in on the first one 7-8 seconds to spare, rolled through the next three cruising, got tough 4-6, and then it was downhill, with the last two nothing to lose unless an unexpected cramp creeped in…No problem. Will take that cheeseburger in the next town that has a burger joint, Molina!

Next there was a run back…just cruised it. Then it was with the A-group leaving at 10 for a 200k day with no competition. Fresh off KOM free day yesterday, Johhno leads us for the first 60k at a good solid steady pace. After 7 hard days of training, this not generally how I want to start the day. Stay on or be prepared to suffer alone for a good long while trying to catch back up. We had a nice break when he had to find a toilet, and Gordo started ordering a round of coffees. It tasted great the mocha chino and I felt like a new man for the restart. Unfortunately, I stopped to take a picture at the top of a 350m climb yet everyone else rolled on hard, and guys that don’t ride with the A group everyday pushed hard leaving me virtually alone, lost without a map for the next 50k looking for lunch. It did not come early enough for me, and was a good 140k into the day. I was close to the bonking edge of no return, but regrouped with some food, and tried to stay on with everyone hammering until I decided it was not worth working myself into oblivion for no reason. It is a long camp and there is more racing to do. Today was not the day. The ride ended with a nice cruise through the countryside with Rob a nice steady wheel and solid rider.

Molina ordered Pizza Hut and I sat in bed tonight eating pizza and drinking Sprite…all feeling good now!

3k swim/8k run/ 202k bike in 6:30 getting lost 2x, bonking.
Swim set of 10 x 200s on 2:45
Total 8 ½ hours
First 7 days total hours: 57 hr 55 minutes
Swim 23k
Bike-1197k/ 740 miles
Run-80k/ 50 miles

Epic Camp Day 7

I felt good today. I had no real right to, as we'd had a huge day yesterday and I got a crap sleep last night (5 hrs max).

Woke up early, as always and decided to slip in a 10k run before we assembled as a group to run to the Wanganui pool. Nice pool. My run back was considerably faster than the run out, motivated principally by the insatiable hunger that is a hallmark of EC. Toasted fruitbread with lots of butter and peanut butter is my current favourite, and scrambled eggs disappear by the bucketful around here (I think we average 5 eggs each per breakfast). Support crew do an awesome job keeping us well-fed.

I decided to head out with the earlier group, with the intention of riding easier today. Wishful thinking. Conditions were good and we flew through Palmerston North in great time (a good thing for those of you who know PN). Then things started to get vertical and we had a solid climb out of Pahiatua. This split our group back to 5 - Russ, Tara, Roger, Douglas and me.

Thoughts were quickly turning to lunch but, sadly, the lunch van had to be called back to help the other van, which had got stuck on the side of the road. Bit of a misunderstanding between riders and support crew (no blame on anyone), so we were starting to expect a lunch stop around every corner. Rations and drink were in short supply among the group, so the blood sugar levels were starting to get low. At least for my part, that invariably leads to crankiness. This time was no exception, although I did my best to maintain good spirits, even when we all realised lunch was not happening. Russ and I continued to take turns sharing the lead and we managed to keep things together for the tough (cafe-less unfortunately) last 40kms from Alfredton to Masterton. 200kms on no lunch is a tough day. I hit some low points in the last 2 hours.

But, anyway, it made our arrival in Masterton all the sweeter. I stuffed myself with recovery drink and banana and salt and vinegar chip sandwiches - the staple diet of any serious triathlete. Then, still feeling pretty good, I tacked on another 10k run. Big day - 28km of running, 3 km swim and 200k ride.

We had dinner out, at Cafe Cecille. Flashest venue of the trip so far, although not the lightning speed delivery of calories that famished triathletes expect.

My efforts today earned me the green jersey tomorrow, which I'll proudly wear into my home town of Wellington. But gale force northerlies forecast for tomorrow - should make our KOM race up the Rimutakas interesting.

6:16 ride time, 197km, 193w AP, 212w NP, 1,600m total ascent.

Siete

My new favorite route in the world extends from Eketahuna through Alfredton and into Masterton. Picture an endless rollercoaster lined with a million sheep, open lands, big sky, a friendly car-sized hog, and even a California state flag ... it was a stunner.
Jordan snapped her derailleur cable with 60km to go and did well to finish so strong (I'll make a single speeder out of her yet).
The local Masterton bike mechanic hooked her up so she is ready for the push up and over to Wellington:



First dinner ... Aberdeen




Tan Cam with a pint of Tui




Second dinner ... Cafe Cecille


Blanco

jo c - day 7

Another long ride today....200+ km and this time with a tailwind! Sweet. With Russell and Dave C sharing out the work on the front of our small 'advance' party, keeping us motoring along at a pretty swift pace (no one was fighting for a turn on the front, that's for sure) we made great progress along the beautiful roads south to Masterton. The route 52 road was gorgeous, and having missed lunch stop today, I decided to ease of the pace, off the back o the group, and enjoy the last 50km on my own.
Another great route, great company and more great weather.

The highlight of my day however, believe it or not, was in the pool this morning. Having completed a set of 10 x 200m off a very generous 3:35 with Russell i saw Pete in the next lane doing a decent job of the 200m fly 'challenge'. i've tried this a few times before, and managed about 75m of it before giving up. But having seen Peter manage it, i figured that it was just a question of not giving up. Steven had advised me that the trick was not to start too fast...and with that in mind I GOT IT DONE!!!! even kept it looking reasonably recognizable, if not strictly legal on the turns, as a stroke :o)
swim 3.1km
ride 122km

Steven - Day 6

The days just get better but boy oh boy was this day tough. My legs were pretty spent by the time I'd finished the ride.
Gordo had put the fear of god into us about how tough the ride was going to be so to get the swim and run in I headed to Taupo all decked out in my wetsuit and ran straight after forgoing breakfast. Jo built me an awesome breakfast sarnie which I ate on the hoof as I got my stuff together for the ride.
We headed out of town without Clas and I ended up at the front pushing along before he'd bridged back. I think this cancelled out my big pull from yesterday.
Once he was on I started to push the pace trying to reduce the size of the group for the climb. Managed to reduce it to 5 and then the early jousting with Gordo and Clas managed to get us away. At that point I switched to my own pace for a monster climb. That is one hell of a climb
Coming back down I could see that very few people had decided to do the climb but felt proud when I saw Jo about halfway up sticking her tongue out at me.
We decided to wait for her so she wouldn't have to ride on her own. The guys joked they'd tell her I'd said we should roll. Then when the documentary crew pointed the camera at us I said "come on lets roll. no need to wait for her".
We pushed it along to lunch. I did about the last hour at a good old click and Jo stuck in second wheel the whole way. After lunch it was a lot tougher riding and we weren't riding so well organised so it was a great piece of riding from her. She won the green jersey. I'd thought she should as we rode along so was so pleased she got it without me suggesting it to the committee.
Once we got back I had decide there was no need to run (honest) but when Clas asked if I was running I felt I should. I knew we'd chat the whole way, hold ~5min/km and it would whiz by. It did.
Did I saw it was an awesome day. Just gets better and better everyday.

Turangi to Whanganui

January 8th, 2010 Day 6, Turangi to Whanganui

Today was the day I have been waiting for in Epic Camp. Day 5 was expected to be tough and the Epic Gods handed me a handful with 2 gears and a whole heck of a lot hills to deal with. It played with my mind more than I can express. It was the low of lows, and it took a lot out of me physically leaving me pretty torched last night after running around town eating cheeseburgers with G.

Today I woke feeling a little peppier, and our Motel group headed down to the lake Taupo at 630 for our lake swim. I donned a wetsuit and paddles as yesterday it felt like I was pulling myself through with the tip of my elbow. I needed to get the water moving better today and Steven and I jumped in right away. In fact I had my wetsuit on the minute I stepped out of my hotel room, swim cap, and goggles. We were on a tight time schedule as we were running back from the swim today so we jumped in for our allotted timed swims which are 5 minutes less than our best Ironman swims. I swam a 51 at the Wanaka Challenge a couple years back and needed to swim a 46. 22 out and 24 back, just to insure we did not swim too much. It was a great swim. The conditions were more pleasant than yesterday and the water not nearly as cold. I loved it!

Out of the water, it was a quick transition to running shoes, and then the jog back. We got to the Motel and Blanco had a nice trail run along the river. At this point I did not trust my coordination and when Blanco says it is not too bad, I need clarification as I am not that coordinated to start and at this level of fatigue it is a load worse. But he was not leading me astray as this trail was smooth and fun. Out and back for the rest of our 10k run and a quick transition to make the rollout at the other hotel. My bag has become a mess at this point and at this camp you are always rushing so my organization has gone out the window, and of course I have too much stuff to get out of my bag anyway so it stays in there a mess.

We rolled out leaving Claus behind, and Gordo said Claus is going to be pissed. We did roll easy but there was a good climb right out of the gate so it was a good thing for me, as I had ate my breakfast sandwich on the bike. And the slower pace would help me digest. Claus bridged up and he was not all that happy. Luckily he did not take it out on us. We rolled into a steady headwind, it was pissing down rain, and I thought this was going to be an 8 hour day of being wet with headwinds. Steven TGV Lord went to the front and things got hard. They did not get easy for a long time. As Molina said he would have preferred to have his head sawed off at that point, or something to that effect. We had hills, wind and rain, and everyone was staying on to be in position for the KOM. We were climbing Whakapapa, which is about 1400m or 4500 feet, and had a lot of snow on the top. Luckily the rain started to let up. Just as G did a flyer, Lordster jumped on his wheel. I was STUCK behind Molina who once again let the gap open up and did not bridge up. And to boot he did not even do the KOM. I did not need him as it was ok as I was able to get on, the only problem is I could not get the big ring in so I had to spin up in my small chain ring and luckily was able to do it! I got on and at that point we had lost a few folks and it was Claus, G, Lordster, and Blanco. The climb was great with a gradual ascent with a nice tailwind in the beginning and it did not kick up until that last ¼ of the climb. David who had lost the break started coming up strong at the end so I had to do a little work to get to the top but all in all quite pleased with my climbing now after a whole load of miles. And I hung on to 4th up for KOM point competition. It was pretty cold at the top so donned a jacket and zipped back down the hill.

After a regroup at the bottom, it was back on the TGV train until lunch which could not come soon enough. I did my Rip-Wrap, which is whatever concoction Rip puts in a wrap, as he is trained Chef, and makes the food taste a lot better than I can. Back on the bikes through some more good climbs all the way to our accommodations in Whangerei after traveling through some very scenic countryside.
3k swim/10k run/200k ride
Total ride time 7:20
Total for day 9:10

Day 6 - Turangi to Wanganui

I'm definitely feeling it now. Six days in and I'd say I'm tired. There's still nine more days to get through too. I'm sticking to my aim of swimming and running everyday where it's possible.

With that in mind it was an early van trip back down to lake Taupo for a quick 3K swim. There wasn't much wind and very little chop to deal with making the whole thing far more pleasant than the night before. It also got the 3K over and done with quicker too. Still can't claim to be happy with how I'm swimming though. The plus is I'm over halfway to the minimum swims for camp completion. I intend to do extra, but having the minimums in the bag will give added security.

After the swim it was straight back to breakfast of toast with fried egg in, bacon and chocolate moose. All washed down with plenty of coffee. I'm eating fairly large breakfasts now just to make sure I'm fuelled for the ride ahead. It usually means I'm still digesting it when we head out on the ride. The early pace can be a killer!

Today was no exception. Most of us headed out as one main group and initially the pace was friendly. The first climb came early and was long and hard. The pace was solid and then Rob Quantrell went to the front and pushed it up just a notch further. He made us work all the way to the top and blew the group apart!

Luckily he calmed down and we worked together again for the next 20km to the bottom of Whakapapa. I'd spent a lot of the previous evening debating whether to do the optional KOM there or just ride through. In the end I opted to ride through and ensure I got swim and run in for the day. I think it'll ultimately be worth more points to me. Only 8 brave individuals actually made the climb. The wind and rain were pretty foul up there.

A quick refuel and Rob and I headed off with a group of others. A bit of excitement from some of the guys in the group broke things up. So for a while John and I took pulls on the front of a small bunch. John unfortunately punctured and waved me through. Not realising he had a problem we left him behind. If he'd have said I'd have waited.

The four of us remaining Dave, the two Robs and myself worked well together for the next 40 or 50K to the lunch break. Just like yesterday I opted for a quick lunch of a can of creamed rice, a wrap loaded with meat and some sweets. A quick top up of fluids then it was back on the road for Rob Q and me.

Even with the abbreviated lunch stop my legs feel awful to start. I tried a decent pull on the front, but didn't quite have the zip from before lunch. We hit the first notable climb of the final leg and Rob was clearly feeling good. He went on the front and ramped up the pace all the way to the top. It was just like the morning again! I told him if he was planning to ride the hills like that I'd have to let him go ahead. I think he's getting stronger as the camp goes on. Playing a cautious game pays off.

Kindly Rob eased his pace a little and we worked together again. The Westerly had really picked up force and combined with plenty of rollers made for slow progress. We were both getting drained and really having to focus to keep things rolling. The final climb about 30K out of town was a real sting. I sat on the front and kept the pace controlled, glad Rob wasn't planning to take a turn and ramp things up!

Once that was done it was all downhill to Wanganui. It would have been fantastic apart from the wind. There wasn't half as much free wheeling as I'd have liked. Mentally I was done with the ride and it was only having Rob there that kept me working. Turns out he was in a similar place. When we got within 10K of town I pushed the pace just wanting things over. I don't think I've been so relieved to finish a ride on this camp.

A short break then it was out for my 10K run. Had to be done, I'd skipped the extra climb for this. John Newsom was heading out too so we paired up and ran along the river at a decent 5 minute K pace. Some of the aches and pains I've been getting whilst running seem to be going which is great news. A good sign I'll be able to keep to my run goals for this camp. I've still got to get my second 25km run in at some point.

That was my day done. Well apart from finally finding the time to shave my head and tidy up the mohawk. I'm pretty fatigued. Plan for tomorrow is do the run and swim that's been set for us. Then get through the long ride ahead. Profile doesn't look too bad, climbing appears to be gently, but those profiles can be deceptive. I'm hoping if I keep things controlled tomorrow I can come good again for the day into Wellington and then get the most from our easy day.

Nick - Day 6

Lowest point of the Camp so far...

Today saw us ride from Turangi, up over the central plateau, past the base of whakapapa for those of us not climbing it, then through national park, raetehi and onto Wanganui.

We swam this morning in the lake again for another 50 mins. However, the flipside of this was that i missed the rollout of the early group and was forced to leave with the big guns. Needless to say I got dropped pretty quickly and about the same time the rain came down. The wind picked up, the temperature dropped, the climb just kept coming, and I was alone. It was HARD. I rode for perhaps 30 mins and just couldn't get my HR above 130. I really don't know why, but I think fatigue played a big part. Lucky for me Charlsey dropped back and I had someone to ride with for the next 100km. We swapped turns, jokes and exclamations as every hill reveled another climb. the saving point was I knew that the skifield road was at 40km, and that would be our highest point. The option to ride up was dismissed immediatly.

Then proceeded a steady but unspectacular ride along SH4 to the lunch stop. The wind was into our faces and I admit freely Charlsey did the bulk of the work. We picked john up 20km before lunch and he put in a few good turns to lift the pace.

Lunch was great today. BC the group was so split, it was pretty casual and Dave D is always a breath of fresh air. For some reason lunch flicked a switch for me and the 70km to Wanganui seemed to fly by. A couple of big climbs and for some reason my power numbers were good (300 watts) and my HR climbed over 140. I am a Nana on the descents though, so any gains I make are always negated by the descents.

I rode the Dan MacDonald express train back into some brutal headwinds and was glad to see the lodging. No running for me today as I really needed some down time.

Its definately getting harder. I slept like shit last night, and I am really struggling to eat. My legs get sorer every day, and its hard to stay positive at times. But in a morbid way I am loving it. I will never do this again and I am determined to make it.

Day 6 Dave Langley - Turanghi to Wanganui

Now I am a light sleeper at the best of times and the noise of a single nosquito can drive me wild..just ask my poor sleep deprived wife! Much to my horro last night as I attempted to get to sleep I heard that familar sound, so i decided to get the little mongrel. On went the bed side lamp and much to my horror the whole ceiling appeared to move with little black bugs and yes on closer inspection we had a mosquito plague on hand. After much banging and crashing (our poor neighbourds) I finally settled enough. Just as I was about to fall asleep, the banging of walls started in the other rooms, it was a long night. We woke up early for a swim in Lake Taupo again and I drearily swam my way through 50 minutes Back for breakfast then out on the bikes for the long haul to Wanganui. It looked ominous in the mountains and we were warned it would be wet and cold. And yes the first 50km was miserable i am not sure if it was made worse by the cold and wet or my sore but or the depressing Coldplay songs I had on my Ipod. Mental note when in a less than happy mood don't listen to sad, melancholic songs. The wind picked up again this afternoon and the last 60km home was quite interesting. I decided that in NZ for every downhill there are 2 uphills each one bigger than the next! Another big day tommorrow, I am strangly looking forward to it. Going to try and mix it with the front group....could be me and tail end charlie if I blow up!!!

Epic Camp Day 6

To go or not to go - that was the question. More specifically, should I do the optional climb up to Whakapapa, or "just" do the 180kms scheduled for the day. I delayed the decision as late as possible. Honestly, I was still in two minds as we approached the turn-off up to the Chateau and Whakapapa. And the lead-up ride had not been encouraging. One long climb out of Turangi and down into the Central Plateau. Rain, cool and westerly headwind, and the pressure starting to come on the pace from the big boys upfront as they jockeyed for KOM points.

But this is Epic Camp after all and, I figured, this was a climb I was unlikely to do ever again. So I made that left hand turn. All the other guys who opted to climb were already ahead and, as KOM points just depend on placing, I saw no reason to hurry up. So I stopped for a quick stock up of food and drink and even had time to snap a few photos on the way up. That said, I wasn't slacking. The road pitched up to 12-13% in places - invariably into a very strong southerly. Pretty soul-destroying until I saw a couple of the guys from the peleton coming into sight. That kept my motivation going. Couldn't catch either of them, but did close the gap a bit.

Hard yakka, but very satisfying to make it to the top - 1625m above sea level, 1300m climbed since Turangi. It was cold up top, so time for a quick photo, stick our jackets on, then the 800m descent to the van. EC camaraderie at its best, the faster guys waited for everyone to come down, so no one faced the prospect of a 140km solo TT into a headwind to Wanganui. (I think there were 7 of us who made the climb - well short of the indication of hands given in the comfort of dinner the night before. Given the conditions, can't blame those who pulled out though. Jo was the only female to do the climb - gutsy effort that won her the green jersey at the end of the day.)

Rest of the ride was fairly uneventful - some great descents (gradual from National Park to Raetihi and steeper down the Paraparas) and two bitches of hills before Wanganui. And an annoying headwind most of the way.

Another decision to be made when I got to Wanganui. Bonus 10k run or chill? Again, only one real answer to that question - so ended a long day with a 10k run along the river side (BTW, there was also a 3k swim before the ride this morning, including a bonus 10x200m on 3:35 set.)

Dinner, massage, and soon bed. The fun continues tomorrow.

7:12 ride, 192km, 194w AP, 221w NP, 2,851m total ascent!

Day 5 - Dave Langley Mata Mata to Turanghi

Well I probably had one of my better nights sleep so far about 5 hours solid I think. Ear plugs were a must with 4 people in the room and a couple of over tired snorers... I left with the early group again just to allow the legs that extra time to warm up. We had a pretty flat run out of Matamata before the decent hills set in after lunch. The fast group led by Lordy came up on us like a freight train with absolutely no chance of sitting on they flew passed. My neck had been great up until the 120km mark when it started to play up again but with much more hill climbing you get a chance to change position regularly which helps a lot. As we headed towards Turangi we passed Lake Taupo at the top of the mountain pass we stopped for a photo what an awesome lake. Later that day after we had settled in we drove to the lake and swam our Ironman swim time less 5 minutes, it was choppy in the water but beautiful non the less. Russ and I then ran the 10km home to get our full day done. Very tired now it is 10pm and I would love to go to bed.

Day 4 - Dave Langley Coramandel to Mata Mata

We started the day off with a short 15km ride through Auckland down to the docks for our charter boat for the 2 hour trip to Coromandel. Now for someone who gets seasick in a bathtub the thought of a 2 hour trip across any body of water had me worried. However we were blessed with great weather and smooth seas.We had a few hiccups with a couple of the group getting lost and going to the wrong ferry but we managed to get them on board.The day's events started with a small Aquathon and then the ride to Matamata.With KOM points up for grabs the boys hit the pace hard from the start but those of us less suitable to climbing just enjoyed the views on the way up and we made a point to stop at the top and grab a couple of happy snaps as it was a perfect day.The rise into Matamata started to become a bit hellish for me at about the 80km mark with nerve pain in my neck making me feel a bit sick. A couple of painkillers didn't do much so I had to hit the Ibuprofen (much to my disappointment) but at that stage it was drugs or it was joining the cows in the paddock for a lay down.Finally we made it into matamata for a feed.You would think after all this exercise getting a goodnights rest would be easy but that is not the case. Sleeping has been very difficult.My body is hot for hours and generally I am so wired from sugar and caffeine that it just takes time to wind down...just to get up early and wind it back up!! Hey well thats EPIC.

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 6 Tara

Day 6:

Turangi to Wanganui

Totals:

Swim: 3k with 20 x 100 on 1:30
Bike: 170k with LOTS of wind and 6800 feet of ascending
Run: 10k

In my experience at Epic Camp, it is the first three to four days that hurt the most in terms of lactic acid build-up kind of pain. This is where DOMS (delayed onset of muscle soreness) occurs. You know, the kind of soreness where you feel the worst two days after a hard workout. Then the body acclimatizes to all the mileage and it's amazing how today on Day 6, my body felt the best. My glute is slowing improving too :) Only problem is that now the fatigue sets in! After 43.5 hours of training in 6 days and a 'mere' NINE to go, it will be interesting to see how everyone copes. Steady Eddy is my motto. And so today I opted out of the KOM to save myself for the days to come. It was optional and I could see the beautiful mountain top as we rode by!!!

The morning started with a 3k swim at the pool (most went to Lake Taupo again but Douglas, Dave C and Molina and I walked to the pool) and Scott and I did the 20 x 100 set on 1:30. Scott had some great feet to draft off of so I promised to pull him for the 10 x 200 set - I owe him one! Thanks Coach. The pool was MUCH warmer than the lake and the flat white coffee we picked up on the walk home was THE BEST!

I started the ride with a wee group of about 8 and by the time we finished the first long climb, Douglas, Lee and I were echeloning nicely with Roger hanging on at the back. After a quick drink stop at the bottom of the optional KOM, Douglas, Lee and I continued on until we made a short stop to de-layer. After riding the first couple hours in the rain (and it was quite chilly), we started to overheat. Scott, Pete and Roger caught up and then we all pace-lined it to lunch. It was fun that we were all working together and it made riding into the wind a lot easier to tolerate.

On the first fast descent right as we pulled out from lunch, I hit a pretty big pothole and not only did I bottle launch, but my handlebars shifted down and were close to my front wheel. I had to stop to adjust them but in the process lost my 'love train'. At Epic Camp, 'there is no mercy' and 'there is no easy way' so I found myself on my own for the next 40k. Being fair, I think they all thought the only issue was my bottle launch and I would catch up to the train again quickly, but nope, I was riding solo. Into a huge headwind. When this happens, I tell myself it is all good...I can ride my own pace, I can look at the beautiful scenery and I can ride aero in the wind. I may have lost my train, but I gained my aero bars!

I could see the five boys ahead a couple of times on the steep climbs (someone said this ride was mostly flat/downhill but I would beg to differ!!) but I figured I would see them next at the hotel. On the last LONG (and I mean LONG) climb completely into a headwind, I passed Molina, Pete and Roger pulled over at a rest stop. I didn't want to lose my momentum and I rode on by. Then I finally could see Douglas and Lee and when I caught them with about 15k to go, I pulled them home into some of the strongest wind I have ridden in.

Needless to say my 6.2mile run was slow but my glute felt not too bad and I was happy to complete the full swim, bike and run for the day. Lord Lordy ran 2 x 10k AND did the KOM - he just keeps going and going and going. Gordo opted to skip the swim and run which is interesting because I get the sense he really knows his limits. And I think that this is key to a successful Epic Camp. These camps are a great way to boost your fitness and your mental strength but if you don't know your own limits, and you do too much, it can have the opposite effect - either you trash yourself and can't finish the camp or you injure.

Good times. Let's do NINE more days. Ok, so that is a little bit daunting but oh so exciting. did I mention that it is cool that we are cycling the length of New Zealand!??

Tara
p.s. Gordo asked to talk a bit about what we eat. Today was a day dedicated to my good friend and training buddy Tony Frost (who will do this camp one day and will kick some serious butt) because today I ate mostly jube jubes (this is what Tony eats in his IM races and what he trains with too).

My pre swim breakfast was a coffee and one piece of toast with Nutella (I don't eat this at home although my friend gave me a yummy good quality jar from NYC for Christmas so I will get to continue to eat it when I get home - just not as much at one time!!). Post swim and pre ride I ate one more Nutella and toast (it just tastes so good because it is like dessert) and an egg and coffee. During the ride I ate mostly jube jubes and one Ems power bar. At lunch I ate a pita wrap with chicken and tomato and cucumber. I drank chocolate recovery shake pre run and post run and ate a ton of carrots today. Dinner was chicken, veggies including yummy sweet potato and one regular potato. Dessert was fruit salad (had two bowls of this) and a piece of cheesecake.

I think that it is good to eat as much protein as possible and carbs during the training sessions. I also think it is good to eat whatever you can get down. Two nights ago, I had trouble finishing dinner which can happen when you get so tired (oh, and I may have eaten two bags of nuts pre dinner too).

I also think that while I always seem to gain weight on these camps, I know I am properly fueled so I can do all the training well. The key is not to continue this eating when you get home and the volume of training is reduced so much.

Ok, time to ge my zzz's again. We have a swim, bike (up to 200k tomorrow) and run to do...Again! :)

jo c - day 6

an early start and chilly 3k swim in lake Taupo (swim your best IM race swim split minus 5min for an estimate of 3k!) we had a rushed breakfast and roll out for the big ride to wanganui - via an optional KOM/excursioon up the highest metalled road in NZ to the ski station at Whangapapa ( pronounced Fack-a-papa, so of course the WAS no option, it had to be done!) which would give a ride total of 200km - into a headwind. we would, however be making a net descent of about 350m to sea level.

whether it was consumption of lake taupo water, a rushed breakfast, or eating toast ( fruit toast and jam -yemuuy , but i should know better!) but the twenty minutes was spend simulatiously trying to stay connected to the group of 'climbers' - which consisted of the camp's strongest riders/bets climbers - as the road immediately kicked into a climb, and throwing up on my shoulder. again. i just was not up to it, and allowed my self to slink back to ride at my own, slow, pace. i was all set for a slow day, and figured i t may do me good to ride easy even if it took a long time. The camp has broken into a few groups of riders, who work together at different paces through the rides - and allowed Russ and Rob to give me a tow through the teeth of the headwind on the way to the turn to the ski resort, since every time i put my head down and pulled away from them on the flats, they'd work their way back to me on the inclines....and i ought to save my energy this early in the ride! I was all prepared for a ride of solitude into a head wind since, by the time i'd ascended to Whakapapa and back, I'd be the last rider on the road with tail end Charlie for company. I wasn't feeling great and a day to myself was probably for the best.
the weather was a bit rotten but the one i started teh climb teh riding was hard enough to keep me warm. it was a helluva long climb - with parts that looked so steep ahead, and the snow-capped mountain looming over. About 3/4 of teh way up down came Steven, Class, Gordo, Mark, Richard and Dave - who all gave me a 'big up'. i was expecting to see more follow but none came, and i chuckled to myself that would give me a 7th place in KOM without even raising my heartrate! i looked forward to a pee and something to eat at the top.

The descent was pretty hairy in the wet and cold - man i'd climbed HIGH!!
The film crew's van waved me down since they'd driven up with my warm jacket - so thoughtful. apparently steven had been concerned and sent them up. Ahh! when i got to the bottom i was surprised to see the 6 guys still with the aid vehicle. They'd all decided to wait for me so that i wouldn't be alone on the road all day with that head wind. I couldn't believe my luck (and felt a bit bad for not rushing a bit more - they must have been there 20-30 minutes, getting cold) So i tucked in with the A grade cycle posse and spent a day being looked after by the elite ! Up until lunch it was pretty steady going - well, sat tight second wheel behind steven it was. i hope that the pace wasn't too sedate for the others. i think there were a few games going on at the back to make it more interesting. We lunched together ( since everyone else had passed through) and continued, with Rip too. he terrain became a lot more hilly, and the riding tougher. it was harder to stay as a neat chain line since the climbs and descents split even this small group. I started feeling pretty strong and was enjoying the climbing, and the views - which were superb. The guys totally covered me, keeping me near the front and in the sweet spot in the pack.
Richard was climbing well, and eventually pulled a long ways ahead - provoking a Class Attack - that was the last we saw of them as they went off up the road ahead to play!
last hour was hard going - even behind a wheel, with gusting side winds i was working hard and when Mark P took the front, plugged in his tunes and got them quads winding over the flat terrain i was almost crying and wishing he would ease off just a little. but i'd had such a great day i figured that i should be 'earning' it somehow. turns out all i really needed was a gel...that picked up my energy levels and my spirits so i could appreciate the cruise into the riverside town of Wanganui and reflect on how what had set off the be a very dark day turned into a really great experience. turns out that if u can make a decent breakfast sandwich ( and cling on a wheel) you get to ride with the big boys once in a while!

swim 3km
ride 200km

Seís

Van ride to the lake for another 3km swim, then I transitioned with Pietro and Steve for a 10k run back to breakfast.

A legit KOM was featured today climbing up to the Whakapapa (pronounce "wh" as an "f" and you have enough to keep you smiling for the 13km ascent). Only seven of us made the climb up into the snowy heights and we all regrouped at the bottom for the "descent" to the Pacific Ocean town of Wanganui. The cost of the gorgeous countryside was a stiff westerly headwind.

Fitness:
3km swim
200km ride with KOM
10km run

Tan Cam:



Blanco

The sheep were laughing at me...

Day 6 at Epic Camp and another ridiculously hard day on the bike. We had a 10km climb out of the chute to ride along a plateau within the Tongariro National Park. Given the initial climb, everyone rode their own pace and I found myself solo for most of the first 42km to the aid station at the access road to Whakapapa ski station. There was an optional KOM to the top of the ski station... but I opted to skip that... no need to add another 30km to a 170km ride!

After a quick refuel, I rode with a small group for about 25mi. The pace was friendly and the terrain helped me stay on the wheels... moderately downhill into a headwind. However, around 50mi I was feeling uncomfortable, shifting around on the bike and the next thing I knew, I had lost the wheel. The group did not look back. I fought aimlessly to get back on... but that's Epic Camp. No mercy.

I rolled along to the lunch stop getting more and more tired but enjoying the amazing terrain. Green hills spotted with cows and sheep. As I got more tired, the *baa baa* of the sheep sounded more like laughter than animal talk. I was so tired, I was convinced all the farm animals were laughing at me!

The refuel at lunch helped but I missed the departing wheels of Charlesy and David L as the film crew stopped to ask me a couple of questions. I hoped to catch them but I was further delayed by a stop to retrieve both bottles which launched when I hit a pothole. Tara had presumably hit the same pothole as I retreived one of her bottles too and transported it back to Wanganui for her.

The route profile had indicated a moderate downhill for the last 25 miles or so of the ride... what it didn't indicate was the 30mph headwind! I was riding downhill at 8mph at times as I clawed my way to our motel in Wanganui, just in time for a massage with Russell.

Tough, tough day... the self-talk was a random mixture of positive and negative today.

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 5 Tara

Day 5: Matamata to Turangi

Totals:

Bike: 182k
Run: 10k
Swim: 3k or 49 minutes (Open water swim in Lake Taupo as Best IM swim time - 5 minutes)

Today could have been an easy day. But this is Epic Camp and sometimes people get carried away...me included! And you could definitely say that it happened today. And it was fun. Maybe not the smartest move for me to continue to gain points in the points competition (there were NO extra points to be gained today) but hey, it was worth it.

Today started out as a pretty 'friendly ride' and there were 12 in our group (the last to pull out in the morning). Clas and Lord Lordy were chatting away in the peloton but after the drink stop, Lord Lordy took his turn at the front. Except it was at an incredibly fast pace. I decided to catch this love train and somehow (even though I was 100% red-lining it most of the way) I managed to hang on to the back of the pack and by the time we reached our lunch stop there were five of us left. Steven Lord is one strong dude (and the dude doing the most mileage I might add) with Clas, Scott, Johnny N and I tucked in behind. After we pulled out from lunch for the final stretch home, I decided to try to ride easier back because catching the fun Lord train didn't help my glute heal!

I decided to run before the lake swim and Douglas ran with me which was great. I am so glad that we did the run before the swim because we were quite happy to hop in the van to drive back to the motel and watch everyone else put on their run gear and run off after the swim.

The lake swim was quite rough and quite cold. Cold for me because I seem to have some issues swimming in cold water. I am going to get a new wetsuit because I am wondering if this one doesn't fit me so well anymore. Scott played lifeguard but I doubt he could even see us swimming out there with all the waves!

So far, I have trained 36.3 hours in five days...And the next two days are HUGE. A couple 200k rides with a big KOM optional climb tomorrow. Too bad I didn't bring my 27!

Good night.
Tara

Mata-Mata to Tarangi

When I woke this morning I actually felt okay which four days into Camp is pretty good going. That said I could still have used more than the eight hours sleep I'd managed. Maybe an entire day would be enough.

I decided to roll out a little early with Rob Quantrell. There was no KOM to worry about and I thought it'd be nice to go at a steady consistent pace all day. We ended up leaving about 10 minutes before the official departure time. I was half expecting to see the main group come flying past somewhere in the first 30km, but the only group we met were some other early starters who'd taken some wrong turns.

Rather than joining the bigger group we kept on our own. Both using our powermeters to keep ourselves at a consistent effort that could last the entire day. The profile looked potentially fierce so my main objective was getting through a long day intact. The surges in the main group take there toll on my legs. I figured a day of steady paced riding might work better.

Anticipating a long day in the saddle Rob and I were surprised how quickly we rolled into the first aid station. We'd planned to be quick taking on a little food and drink and getting ourselves moving once more. Just as the next bunch of riders got in we hit the road again.

It was more of the same for the next 60km to lunch. Rob and I would switch turns on the front all the time keeping the pace within ourselves and not pushing too hard. It clearly worked well as we made good time despite a reasonable amount of climbing. We rolled into the lunch stop having maintained 30kph for the last 4 hours.

Steven towed a select group into the stop very shortly after us. From the sounds of it we'd been lucky to have stayed ahead so long. Rob and I stuck to our plan of keeping things rolling taking minimal time over lunch before hitting the road once more. After the initial sore legs from a rest break we settled back in and continued working well together.

The result was we got to Tarungi before 2pm far earlier than either of us expected. Once again Steven rolled in almost immediately afterwards. He'd given us a bit too much of a head start over lunch. I'm glad he arrived as he very easily persuaded me to join him and Clas for a 10km run.

The receptionist recommended a route and it proved to be spot on. Trails along the river side were perfect except for the climb to the top of some cliffs. My legs would have preferred the flat, but the views were spectacular. Despite the 180km of biking I felt surprisingly fresh. Something was clearly working for me today and I think I'll be pacing a few more rides like that.

Swimming in lake Taupo was the final session of the day. Our Ironman swim time less five minutes to approximate 3km. The water was beautiful just a little bit choppy. I felt shocking in the water, worse than for the Aquathon (I'm relieved that a second aquathon tomorrow is cancelled). I splashed about in the waves slightly concerned it might look like I was drowning to on lookers!

Mentally six hours on the bike was easy compared to that 55 minute swim. I had a moment where I questioned whether to do the extra 10K run back to the Motel. The lure of an extra point was too much though and I got my kit on and headed out. I caught up with Dave L and practiced his run/walk strategy. It helped break things up and didn't slow the 10K much at all. Whether it'll help the legs is another matter.

All in all a good day. One third of the way through camp and I think I'm holding up pretty well. I just kept rolling it through all day long. 180km of cycling, 3km of swimming and 20km of running isn't bad going.

Steven - Day 5 Food Diary (of sorts)

Absolutely brilliant day. Felt super strong on the bike and pulled along anyone that was willing to hang on for the last 100k. Completed the 182k in 5:40 ! Great route.
Gordo asked us to write about what we eat on the camp. I try and stick as much to my usual eating as I can. This largely revolves around trying to avoid too much sugar. By trying to avoid I think I end up getting about the right amount. Sometimes things like cookies of 'lollies' (candy for the yanks and sweets for the brits)
Today was typical. start off by loading up on a huge amount of fat and protein. At home it would be a monster omellete on camp it's loads of scrambled egg and peanut butter. I have a slice of toast but that purely as a means to carry the peanut butter. Today there was cold steak from the night before - a fantastic bonus.
On the bike I tend to just carry either water or water mixed with fruit juice. When riding back home it would always be just water but here I tend to err on the side of a little sugar with my drink as bonking would have a bigger impact. I carry some gels just in case but with stops every couple of hours only really need them if the pace is high. Today I didn't use any whilst riding despite doing a full on 100k pull.
At the stops I try and stick with nuts if I can but often get drawn in to having an Ems bar .. today I only had nuts and felt better for it. Lunch again keep the food real and as sugar free as possible - today I had loads of the cold meats with cheese and tomatoes. If there are boiled eggs I'd have a few of them. May take on some fruit and have crisps (for the salt) if they're there. Today I had a few plums.
After the ride as I was about to head out for a run I ate a load of nuts, had a gel (trying to stave of cramp) and an Ems bar before running. Then some more nuts before the swim. In the evening massive amount of food largely avoiding any potatoes, pasta, rice, bread. So best for me is meat and salad. Tonight there wasn't quite the choice so I had to have pasta.
I do partake in dessert... I am on holiday after all.

Day 5 Miramata to Turangi

Thursday, January 7th Day 5 Miramata to Turangi

After riding 35k at the end of yesterdays ride through Kiwi rollers, I woke in a small town with no bike shop. This insured I would ride at least 60k more in the same situation. I rolled out 20 minutes early with E and the gruppetto of Charlesey, Dave, Nick, Lee, Rip, Roger, Rob and probably somebody I am forgetting….it has been a long day. The rollers started pretty much right away and I knew it was going to be a day of body blows, but how long were the body blows going to be coming?

In any event, our group rode out some nice backroads, a bit on the 1, not so nice and then back into the scenic route. After adding an accidental K or two from missing our turn, Nick yelled out broken spoke as a loud ping cranked through my back wheel. E said to keep riding, and I heard another loud ping, and in order to not have a spoke get tangled in the back wheel, I pulled over to assess the additional damage to my bike. I rolled the wheel…no hop....looked for broken spokes and no broken spokes. Despair and then hope. I went through denial, bargaining, anger, and finally acceptance at about 70k with my 2 gears. The Kiwi rollers kept hitting me and I had to spike 350 watts on most just to get over. Not good, yet no choice.

I finally stopped shifting looking for the extra gears when Terps rolled up with brake cable at 86k into my day. I could not figure out whether to keep rolling with the group to lunch or stop and work on it. E answered my question. Brilliant mind, brilliant solutions from the ER doc….STOP!! Ok. E and Rip stopped with me. Spent 15 minutes or so working on it, yet could not get it into the 28...well that is ok and better than what I had before. Back on the bike and it was a blessing I stopped because the Kiwi rollers kicked hard and long all the way to lunch at 125k. I was torched from the earlier fixed gear riding and had to let E and Rip go to once again solo in with Tail End Charlie. I focused on the positives as much as I could but there was not a lot that could swing the rather sour mood I was in. A long lunch break helped a little but the G-wheel for the next 60k helped a lot more. Steady, easy on the climbs and steady over…the steadiest wheel around. We enjoyed some scenic riding as we came into Lake Taupo area, and finally made the hotel. Well, sort of as I had to go to another hotel. Nothing was going to be easy today. First time in a van in I have no idea how many miles now, and Mare on request took me to Burger King. Oh so good, Whopper with cheese , fries and a Fanta. Bingo…better!

To the hotel to fuss with rooms, bags…basically a cluster FCUK today all the way around. Regrouped as much as possible until the van came for the swim. Down to the Lake for a swim, and that was somewhat unpleasant. Cold, lumpy and not all that fun! Ran back with G, and stopped at Burger King where we on our date budget had to share 10 NZD and were able to each get a Mayo cheeseburger, fries and drink….tasted just as good the second time around. I rewarded myself with a BK hat. By then it was 630 and I had to rush back for dinner…did a rather good helping at dinner and now I am here…trying to figure out tomorrow and packing up and organizing….Good night.

185k bike. Swim 3k. Run 10k Total 8hr 45 minutes

Classy Clas

I missed the early rollout due to a late breakfast so today was all about riding with the big boys and gals. Damn, they are strong. I held my own for the 42mi to the first stop (friendly pace?) but 10mi after the break the pace was too ferocious and the terrain was too lumpy for me to hang on. As I exited *stage rear*, loyal Blanco joined me and we cruised the remaining 30mi to lunch. A brief lunch stop, as I did not want to lose momentum. Post-lunch, the Lordster was on a tear and as the train of Steve, Molina, Clas rode by Blanco and I, Clas made space for us to join the paceline. 25+mph on the flats and 220w for me to hang in there. Unfortunately, the terrain was lumpy so I was turning myself inside out as we hit each roller... Until, that is, Clas came to my rescue by a very gentle assist on all climbs. He basically pushed me up and over the rollers so I could hang with the group. I'm not talking about a quick push to get me over the top... No, Clas would push me for about a half mile at a time. I was still riding 200w, so I can't imagine what he was doing to push me and stay with the Lordster. I just know that I am beyond grateful... and in awe! What's *thank you* in Swedish?

jo c - day 5

a pretty steady day today which started of with a very pleasurable ride in along flat roads tucked nicely in a bunch lead by Gordo again. we were rolling along at 20-23mph, my heratrate around 125 and a little chat to tara as we went along at a very social pace. it's really nice to be able to ride with these guys and just sit in....until someone starts feeling frisky and decides to shake it up a little! once the terrain became more rolling it got a lot harder to stay in that group, and after an hour or my legs ( who had already 450miles of riding in them by that point!) couldn't handle the burn that the surges were causing and i allowed myself to be farted off the back of teh group. knowing that there were plenty of riders behind, as well as teh support crew, i switched on the tunes, settles to a steady effort in the upper portion of my aerobic zone and enjoyed the undulations and scenery for 20 miles to lunch. A short stop enabled me to re join the strong riders - for about 45 minutes this time. Again, each time my heartrate rose above about 155bpm, which it did at each hill, the burn in my legs build up almost immediately, making it very painful to then chase the back of the group. Pete and i allowed ourselves off the hook almost simultaneously, and rode the rest of the way to Turangi together.

I'm hoping to get a ride to the lake Taupo for a relaxed swim shortly - but in the meantime here are a few stats that may be of interest and provide insight into the demands that the camp is making so far.

i'm not using a powertap at present, so my only indicator of intensity is heart-rate, which i am monitoring on each ride. the work that i have done with the powertap over the last couple of years enables me to make a reasonable translation of my heart-rate to power output, and of course i do know what my significant training thresholds are on the bike: Aet is somewhere around 153bpm, and LT up around 172bpm. According to my most recent gas analysisi testing. At Aet I burn about 9 cal/min (55% CHO) and Lt its more like 13 (70%CHO). I've been recording average HR for the entire ride - which does not describe the intensities reached during time trials, big climbs, esp. when there is a KOM on, or periods off hard work at the back of a surging pack. The effect of these spikes over the first few days is likely to be significant.

day 1 - 75miles av.HR 146 (incl. 45 min TT @ 170 & 2hr:45 @ av 159)
day2 - 108miles av. hr 136 (incl. KOM @ 180+max)
day3 - 107 miles av. hr 141
day4 - 98miles av.hr 139 (incl KOM @170 max)
day5 - 112 miles av, hr 132

so you can see that the intensity is getting less and less each day - the culmalitve effect of the riding in my legs is obvious at the upper end of my aerobic zone, which is forcing a 'cap' on my efforts - and i suspect that similar effect being felt throughout teh group is keeping teh riding more friendly for the most part. but i wonder if teh genereal fatigue is also supressing my heratrate? i admit that i'm not suffering as much general fatigue i have on previous camps due to a) not running and b) not skipping sleep in order to do EXTRA running...but it'll get me in the end for sure!

i have been troughing down between 5000-5500 cals/day - around 55% CHO. I think that might be a little excessive, as i've had less today and been fine...but at this point i feel better safe than sorry.

time now for a swim in the lovely, allegedly drinkable, lake Taupo.

ride 180km
swim 3km

Nick - Day 5

Fatigue kicked in today!!!!

As I sit here writing this blog - I am feeling a level of fatigue I have not felt in a long time. 800km of riding, 45km of running and 10km of swimming in 5 days has drained me.

Today saw us ride from Matamata to Turangi, mainly on SH32. As usual I left with the early group and to begin with the pace was sedate. We missed a turn just out of Putaruru, but fortunately it only cost us a km or so. After first drinks at Tokoroa we had a fast and exhilarating ride through Pine forests down to Mataura, before the terrain changed and we began the climb up to the central plateau.

I had a really flat patch before lunch today, and it was a stark reminder that constantly eating is the key to this camp. I am becoming so tired it is an effort to eat, however not eating is the most dangerous thing to do as energy levels drop dangerously. I dropped of the back of the bunch, and then to top it off I got another puncture about 5 mins later. It was a scenic but lonely ride alone into lunch.

The afternoon saw me ride conservatively, ably led by Lee most of the way into Turangi. Another puncture about 10km after lunch made the day a real winner. However, we enjoyed the scenery and the km's rolled by. Stopped for photos before descending into the metropolis that is Turangi. 185km for the ride.

Then begins the madness. For most people that would be enough. But we had 90 mins of down time before taking a van ride to Lake Taupo. The rules were simple, you had to swim your IM swim time minus 5 mins to approximate 3km (most people were almost certainly too short). I was rooted and my shoulders hurt, but I hung with Pete and we ground it out. The Lake was pretty choppy, but I kept reminding myself of what Molina said at the start of the camp - "when your tired and it hurts, and you are thinking about giving up - just stop for a moment and look around - this place is beautiful!" I have to admit, I spent a fair bit of time gazing at the bottom of the lake looking for trout - didn't see any though.

Finally the run. The 12 hour rule for this camp is pretty simple. All training must finish 12 hours after you started. We rolled out at 7.10am for the ride and we started running at 5.40. Sounds simple - 10km in 90 mins. It ain't!! I ground out a 60 minute 10km run by shuffling my feet and never giving up.

Today is noty my biggest day in terms of distance, that is to come, but it is the most training in time I have ever done in one day, bar my 2 ironmans, and they take weeks to recover from. I came here to challenge myself and to understand the epic camp mindset - I think I am gettingf there.

Cinco

Just another 180km in Hobbitville, some serious Shire action today, followed by forrest, alpine dams, and finally arriving at Lake Taupo. Jordan and I rode through lunch steady and picked up the Steve train (aka TGV) with 40km to go. You know you're humming when the Swede is whooping it up.
After a quick change Jordan and I ran with our swim gear to the lake. We did a 45min session then I was still feeling good and it was early ... so I just just started running and sniffed out some trails to complete a 25k. The Tongariro water trails were beautiful and allowed access to some world class fly fishing.

Fitness:
3km swim in Lake Taupo
180km saddle time
25km mix of road and thank goodness dirt!

Tan Cam:





Blanco

Epic Camp Day 5

Humble pie.

I knew I'd be eating some at some stage. The only question was when. The answer is today. We left Matamata at a sociable pace, enjoying riding two abreast and chatting after we left the main road for a quieter route to Whakamaru and the western bays of Taupo. But then someone must have fed Steven too much coke at the 60k stop because, after that, it was all on. I was hanging on for dear life at the back of a train that I probably had no right to be part of. My powermeter was telling me in no uncertain terms "bad idea dude". Deciding to pull the plug just before 100ks was my best decision of the day.

Having made that decision, I settled back, put on the iPod and spent some "me time". It was nice. Before lunch, I caught a few other stragglers who had made the same call (or had it made for them). Always nice to know you're not the only one suffering.

We were making good time considering the tough terrain - climbing up to the central plateau. But, even so, lunch was a typically regimented process - stuff as many calories in your mouth as you can in 15 minutes, then hit the road again and be prepared to hit your FT for a sustained period almost immediately without throwing up. Actually, it wasn't that bad today as everyone knew the final 55k contained some solid hills, so most went at their own pace and we rolled into Turangi in a number of small groups.

I caught up with Mum and Dad and Sam and Izzy (my kids) at the motel, which was cool. They drove down from Taupo to see me. Sorry guys, you didn't get a lot from me. It's funny what 180ks of riding will do for your sociability on day 5 of a camp like this. They've seen this side of me before and, hopefully, they understand.

I then swam at the Turangi pool, 3km, and did 20 x 100m on 1:45 for a bonus point. Normally an easy target even for me, this was surprisingly hard, especially at the start, where I was only getting a few seconds rest. Thankfully I got a little faster as the set went on.

To finish, I did a 10k run along the river bank. Very picturesque and, more importantly, shaded. It was still warm even though it was 4pm.

Performance of the day has to go to Mark P, who had the ride the first couple of hours with only 2 gears, because of a broken cable. Given some of the hills we had to ride, that was a gutsy effort.

Sadly, we lost a team member to work commitments yesterday. Randy was called back to New York. Sorry to see you go mate, but there will be other ECs. We'll be sure to toast you in Bluff.

176km, 5:48, 194w AP, 216w NP, 1,918m total ascent.

jo c - day 4

my big shock of the day was to find that my new/favourite/only bike shorts are worn through! so unfortunately the campers are going to have to spend the next 10 days seeing my but breaching through the back of my shorts. Thank goodness for teh Oomph Epic gear that we were given at the start of the camp. it was a pretty leisurely start to the day - for the campers, that is. The logistics side of coordinating the transfer to corramandel via ferry for us campers and our bikes, with the support vehicles by road or the support for john and the team were not so simple. After a tour of Auckland curtursy of local boy Douglas and ferry ride across the bay to corramandel, we donned wetsuits and lubed up for a sprint aquathon. John eyed out the 1km swim course around 3 of the buoys that mark the shipping lane, whilst Gordo measured 5km run route on his bike.

At the start of the swim, which i'd fully intended to go as hard as i could, i suffered a panic attack...which left me a long way behind the racing pack. i've never experienced this before, and consider that this is probably the usual panic that i experience at the swim start of a race - but without the prospect of the rest of the race to force me to swim through it. i admit this left me on a real low, swimming casually alone with dark thoughts. rather than exiting as per the aquathon course, i swam a second lap, to wind myself down a little. It was a pleasant swim and sufficient distraction from the fact that i was excluded from the race.

After some refreshments we started the day's ride around the bay and south to Matamata. With two climbs more or less straight off the bat, the second was a KOM race....then a lovely cruise along the winding coast road to our shaded lunch stop. with no more racing ahead of us, the tone off the ride after lunch was social - with Gordo leading the whole group as a single chain into teh headwind. i managed to secure myself the sweet spot in the bunch - behind 'big eric'. to give na idea how big, Big Eric is - his saddle is about as high as my armpit. Pretty sheltered riding for someone my size! We chained along for about 2hrs at a moderate pace, but were all ready for drinks when Gordo finally pulled over. The final 30-40km might have been very steady , had steven and class not ridden to the front - and shortly after right off it for a hammer-fest of their own - and picked the pace back up to around 32kph. it was a very pleasant pace - a little work, but not too much to prohibit conversation. A long day in the sun and we were all glad to arrive at our motel at 6pm. Great BBq dinner put on by the support crew...all a little later than planned so its 10pm as i write this. excuse the hurried ending! Looking forward to some great scenery tomorrow as we ride to lake Taupo after breakfast at 6.30.

swim 2.4?km
ride 160km

Steven - Day 4

What a beautiful day. Perfect weather and riding along the Coromandel Coast and south with a tail wind was joyous.
Started with an aquathon. Chuffed to bits with my cunning. I didn't sprint the start as that would just mean Gordo and John got on my feet. So I just went steady and was anonymous. I came level with them to the left with a decent gap and reckoned they must still be pretty maxed out from their sprint so I surged and got to the turn first. Apparently John got on my feet but not for long. Probably had 30s on them into transition. I was slow as I couldn't risk not having my shoes on right. John and Gordo were out ahead of me. I tried to judge a steady pace to hold of Petro and Scott. I'd reckoned that Clas would get me whatever and I'd probably have enough off the swim to keep everyone else at bay. Scott came by me pretty quick running real strong. Petro caught me in the 2nd lap. I tried a little surge just to test him. He passed ! There was a little banter, he surged and off he went. Pretty darn chuffed with the way I'm running.
Next up the KOM. I was chatting with Petro as we did the right turn which I remembered was the start but someone shouted "single up" so we slowed down and slotted in thinking we must have had it wrong. Luckily Scott pointed out we needed to get forward. It took the first climb to bridge up. Then a few minor shenanigans between the climbs. Clas an Gordo were off. John and I played a bit. I did a hoax surge but a wiley competitor like John saw straight through it. He surged and went but we'd gapped Petro and Blanco sufficiently to allow me to ride over the top in first at my own pace.
The rest of the ride was awesome. Initially on the Gordo train. A great piece of riding - just the right pace to stop attacks and keep everyone together. At one point I came forward to have a quick chat with Jo. She warned me off going to the front and making them hurt (I had no plan to honest!). When I told Gordo this he said he was trying to judge the pace so there would be enough social pressure to stop any attacks. He was right.
After the drinks stop I chatted with Gordo about clarification on the rules as I'd not run before breakie as I thought it would start the clock too early to get the bike finished in time - with the ferry it was bound to be a slow day. He said you had to finish in the 12 hour window. I knew David had run before and it would be tight to get in by 6pm. The pace was slow so when Clas told me I should go to the front and pick up the pace not only did I think he'd be a good ally (so keep him sweet ;o)) but also it would help David (perhaps another ally ;o)). I just planned to pick up the pace a little but Gordo just didn't come on my wheel. So I checked my map and decided I'd quite enjoy a fast final 30k and I knew The Baron would come through from the back. As I headed off I heard Gordo say "David should get on that wheel".
Clas and Charlsey bridged up. I was really enjoying hammering along and felt I could go all day so was happy being on the front. Charlsey came through a few times and did a ~30s pull which was just enough for a breather. He then dropped off and Clas and I came in together. Such good fun. Seems the pace picked up behind and David got in 3 minutes before his cut off !
Having TT'd in to get enough time to run before dinner I decided against it as my foot was a little sore. Better keep it for another day.

Epic Camp NZ 2010 Day 4 Tara

Day 4: Coromandel to Matamata with Aquathon

Totals:
Swim: 1k
Bike: 158k
Run: 5k

After a wee ride to the ferry, and one stop at the wrong ferry dock - hey, anything to make Epic camp more epic and as Jo and I commented today it wouldn't be Epic camp without getting lost at least once per day - we had a beautiful boat crossing with calm conditions. Poor Big E added on a few kms trying to find the second ferry dock.

The aquathon was slow for me but I was just thrilled to run and finish it. There is still time for me to heal and make my comeback! :) The 1k swim was nice and it was fun to see the boys ripping it up at the front as our paths crossed on the run. Poor Douglas lost some time as he crashed into a metal 'thing' at one of the turnaround points but aside from a little bruise seems ok.

The bike started with a nice little climb and the KOM was on the second climb. I decided to once again not push too hard today and continue to baby my sore glute and cruised up the mountain. It was a beautiful ride and a pretty fun descent. After a lunch stop we got on the Gordo train and I was lucky to be second wheel. Sweet! It was so consistent and being towards the front of the pack means less surging and pausing so I was happy. I think Gordo pulled the entire camp for almost 60k. Good times! Although admittedly, we all had brutally sore shoulders from having to hold one position on the bike for so long.

Pete O'Brian and I exchanged shoulder massages seeing as we were not on the Russell (the amazing massage therapist for the camp) list for today, thanks goodness! Dave L got a massage too (which says A LOT because I NEVER massage anyone outside of my massage practice at home).

I even joined Molina (and many others) and had a beer at the end of the day. I hope Daniel got some food down after dinner because he was looking at his full plate but there wasn't much eating action going on!

Tomorrow is a long day with a 185k ride and a run and lake swim in Lake Taupo so I had better go massage that glute of mine so I can get through yet another EPIC day...
Tara

Food baby

A frequent refrain of mine upon rising from the dining table is to point out my *food baby* to my boyfriend, Rich Blanco. "Check out my food baby", is my way of saying that I ate a good meal. Here at Epic Camp, I have a food baby after every meal... a small paunch that is probably not noticeable to most but which represents my attempt at refuelling from the 3000-4500+ kJ that I am burning every day during the swims, bikes and runs.

Figuring out nutrition is always touted as the *4th discipline* of triathlon and the athletic challenges of the Epic Camp Tour of NZ is testing everything I've learned about my own body in the last 5 years of Ironman triathlon racing.

There are two things in particular that I am finding challenging:
i) eating the same food that I am used to back in California - Blanco and I eat a healthy and varied diet, mainly organic foods and we cook almost every meal ourselves (I really miss cooking... though I'd be too tired anyway). We don't follow any particular diet (lean protein, lots of fruit and veggies) but being susceptible to anemia I seek out iron-rich foods (beef, mussels, clams).

ii) timing of nutrition. I know that I need to keep eating and drinking consistently throughout the workouts, especially all the bike rides, but I often find myself on the rivet, focused on the wheel ahead of me so that I don't get dropped from the group... I don't forget to eat, I'm just too scared that I'll screw up if I'm reaching back for a bar or gel and take down half the group.

Four days into camp, my body doesn't yet appear to be having any adverse GI issues... my appetite remains good though I am craving a more diverse diet (more spices please!) and I am losing all interest in energy bars. This afternoon's snack at the 120km mark was a cheese-topped bread roll, washed down with diet coke and it seemed to keep me going... I'll continue to experiment!

The athletic highlight of the day was an Aquathon which I elected to skip so I can focus on the riding... so I got to spectate and take a few photos. Gordo cruised to victory on the 1km swim and 5km run from a fast-closing Clas.

I'm not sure where Blanco placed but he got the loudest cheers from me :) Pete lodged a complaint of outside assistance when I peeled off Blanco's wetsuit but it was quickly dismissed by the coaches.


After the Aquathon, we rode from Coromandel to Matamata, starting with two small climbs offering amazing views of the shoreline. Towards the end of the ride, the scenery changed to rolling farmland but was no less stunning as the small roads offered a small mountain range with waterfalls as a backdrop.

Arrival in Matamata could not come soon enough for me. I am working my butt off on the bike, even if I am following wheels in the paceline. I'm sure that the rough Kiwi roads dampen some of the benefits of drafting! I had yet more highs and lows within today's ride... and it was supposed to be relatively easy! I am very scared for the next 3 or so days of riding... all lumpy terrain and 180-200km in distance.

After four days of EC, I've logged about 30 hours of *fitness*... I averaged 15 hrs per week in 2009. Enough said...

Day 4 - Coromandel to Mata-Mata

Today was about recovery and taking it easier. My left leg has been pretty tight and the ankle is particularly sore. It started with a lie in. Relatively speaking. I slept the best I have so far on camp, straight through till 6:20. No worrying about sneaking in earlier workouts for extra points. It felt pretty luxurious, but even with eight hours I'd have liked a bit more.

We rolled out to the ferry at about 7:30. After thirty minutes of easy riding we arrived at the jetty with plenty of time. It proved to be a good job too as we were at the wrong jetty! Back over the other side of the hill we made it in time for our boat and a couple of hours cruise over to the Coromandel. There was some beautiful scenery out there. Not that I fully appreciated it in my semi-comatose state. Never quite falling asleep despite best efforts.

Once we landed the training started properly. Today's events were an aquathon followed by some KOM points at the start of the ride. Being one of the weaker swimmers the aquathon isn't my favourite event. I'm not sure how it happened, but somehow I was last out the water. I didn't think I was that weak! A leisurely transition (I was worried about ripping my wetsuit more) ensured I was last on the run course.

With only 5km to run I did my best to make up as many places as I could. Hard running from start to finish. I moved up till I finished just behind Douglas. I'd been trying to catch him as he beat me at last year's aquathon too. It wasn't to be and he finished a few hundred metres ahead of me. I know there's another aquathon coming up, hopefully it'll be a 400m swim and 10Km run to give me more chance.

Racing may not sound like an obvious part of a recovery day, but being shorter it felt a lot less tiring. In fact despite the fatigue the race adrenaline kept the run pace relatively high. Certainly compared to some of those 5:30 kilometres that have been showing up.

Next up was the day's ride. A couple of sharp climbs with the KOM at the top of the second and then largely flat all the way to Mata-mata. Being somewhere near the back of the pack when we hit the start of the first climb I worked my way forward. My dodgy descending gave a few people a chance to catch back up by the start of the second.

I settled in to a pace with Douglas for a while and we made good progress. As we neared the top I put a little bit more in and left him behind. I assumed he'd stick with me at first and potentially pip me just at the top. I checked over both shoulders to make sure he wasn't hiding for me and was relieved that I shouldn't have a close contest with him. The next target was Jo who was just ahead of me on the road. She's climbing well though and I never managed to close the gap down.

Over the top of the KOM and after a short descent suddenly the road turned up again. There were a few grumbles at the prospect of more climbing, plus a little concern that maybe we'd got the wrong summit for the KOM! It was steep, but brief and then an amazing descent followed with fantastic views of the Coromandel.

Once off the hill I caught up with Dave C and we rode in to the lunch stop together. Nice gently undulating roads along the shore all the way for 20km. Dave did the work to his credit. I was just happy to be on a fast trip to lunch. The prospect of a further 100km afterwards wasn't that appealing.

The ride to Mata-mata proved to be a friendly affair. We formed a large bunch and Gordo pulled us along for the next 60km. Whilst mercifully flat and with largely favourable winds the road was so bland it became mentally taxing. Just follow the wheel in front. The constant judder from rough Kiwi roads made my hands numb and I was desperately trying to find a comfortable position for them.

At some point I started to think that I'd actually like a few of those Kiwi Rollers just to break the monotony. I may regret my wish over the next few days as the terrain goes up again. Sugar from the drinks stop helped perk me up as we got close to town. I'd go so far to say I felt pretty good having been towed along for the last 80km.

Another day in the bag. Comparatively easy after the first three. I'm feeling pretty good at least like I can keep on riding. I'm going to need it as the next few days look pretty tough.

Quatro

Coromandel to MataMata ... after an early tour (yes on the bikes) through the Auckland north shore to Devonport, we took a ferry across the bay to the Coromandel Peninsula.
The ferry ride offered a little respite from the saddle, but no loss of latitude. Once pierside we jumped in the water for a speedy aquathon (1km swim, 5km run). Beautiful conditions.
Then it was back to business.
KOM right out of the chute, then some spectacular coastal riding south. After a short regroup, we all rode together the remaining 110km in long line cruising through Kiwi land.

Food intake:



Tan cam (guest legs as some viewers requested shaved legs)



Blanco

Nick - Day 4

Today was all about the train!!

It was a really social start to the day today. We rolled as a group down to Devonport to catch the ferry to Coromandel, only to find we were at the wrong terminal. Duly made our way to the right place and had a great trip across the Hauraki Gulf.

First up was the aquathon. A carefully measured (by Johnno) 1km open water swim, followed by a 5km run. It should have been my forte, but I have never done this much time on the bike, and my neck and shoulders are so tight it is unbelievable. I had a great first 200m, then faded fast and was well to the back out of the swim, but a surprisingly quick (for me) 19.30 run. I got 14th overall. The holidaymakers at coromandel must have wondered what the hell was going on, as Gordo and Dave did the run in just speedo's!!

The bike ride began with two mountain climbs with the second being a KOM climb. For a big guy I climb surprisingly well. It is really my descending that lets me sown as I generally lose as many places as I gain. With all the head injured patients I have cared for over the years, I have a morbid fear of crashing and descend like a little girl. I managed 14th place and was happy with that.

After that we rolled easy along the coromandel coast and I bragged non stop to the north americans about our beautiful country. We stopped for lunch and then the train began.

For a rookie like me its a pretty phenominal thing. You get a couple of guys like Gordo and Clas sitting on the front of the bunch and then the other 20 of us get a massive draft. We did 70km at a pace of around 35-40km/hr with alternating side and headwinds. The effort required by us mortals to hold that pace would normally blow us up, but I was cruising today.

However, I got my first puncture of the trip. Ironically just as I was about to show everyone the street I lived in for 2 years, I got a puncture!! It must have been a big bit of glass, cos my tube went down in about 3 seconds. With the support van behind us, my wheel was off, the spare wheel came out of the van and was on my bike in about 20 seconds and we were rolling again. Then Dave L did a great turn on the front for 5 of us and pulled us back up to the bunch by Thames. No sightseeing on that part of the trip.

After a drink break, the pace settled a little as we rode the last 40km into Matamata, I even managed a turn on the front of the bunch for the last 15km. Unfortunately I didn't have my powermeter due to the wheel change, as I would have loved to know what wattage I was holding.

Overall, I reckon I am managing ok so far. I have seen it written that it is almost impossible to get stronger over these camps, that happens when you go home and recover. However, I wonder whether, given my relative cycling weakness, and the fact I am trying to really pace this out, whether I will see an improvement in the power I can hold for a 5-7 hr ride by the time we reach Bluff. We shall see!

Epic Camp Day 4

Lactic day!

Well, at least for the first half anyway. In fact, today was a day of two halves. It started with a ride down to the ferry, which took us across to Coromandel. Awesome day, showing the best NZ has to offer.

At Coromandel, we had a 1k/5k aquathon. I was out of the water in about 12th spot and had a decent run to finish 6th. Gordo smashed everyone to win, with Clas second. Plenty of innocent bystanders were treated to a rude shock of 20 triathletes doing their stuff while they were trying to enjoy a relaxing holiday. I resisted the urge to run in compression socks, but couldn't resist the opportunity to run in a speedo. Middle-aged man in budgie smugglers -nice look.

Then, after that hammer-fest, a KOM awaited once we rolled out of Coromandel. Cruelly, there were only two hills of any note on the whole day, both within 15k of the start, and the KOM was the second hill. So, if you descend like a wuss (as I do), you're out of contention. Even so, I was redlining that second climb. Averaged 340+w for 10 mins or so - nothing for the big boys, but a lot for me. Just managed to pip Roger, who climbs like a demon for a guy who's a 50-54 AGer.

The descent from that second hill was spectacular. Great view of the harbour, Pohutukawa trees lining the road, and the knowledge that the rest of the ride was flat.

After lunch, Gordo pulled us through the dairy flats to Te Aroha. Pretty uninspiring landscape after the morning's ride, so I was glad to have the iPod to call on and zone out. As we rolled into Matamata, Scott kept asking me the time. It didn't dawn on me why until he reminded me of "the 12 hour rule" at EC. This says that training on any day must stop by 12 hours after it began. My morning run started at exactly 6am. We arrived at the motel at 5:57pm. I had made it by 3 minutes. I'm glad I wasn't thinking of this as I would've been hammering to get home (needlessly). Anyway, my perfect training management, combined with a decent aquathon run, was enough to earn me the green jersey (coaches' choice) for tomorrow. I'll wear it with great pride.

4:35 ride, 141km, 170w AP, 203w NP (shows the leisurely nature of post-lunch roll-out), 836m total ascent.

Day 3--Whangerei to Auckland

January 5, 2010 Day 3 Whangerei to Auckland

Once again I woke to early and I will blame it on the squeaky tiny bunk bed I had to sleep in. It pretty much forces you to wake to go use the restroom in the night, and I could not go back to sleep after my 4am pit stop.

I was planning on running with Blanco and Jordan at 5:15 anyway, and we rolled out with Tara to knock out our 8k before the swim and run back our 2k to get the run done for the day. The swim was in a different pool which must have been in the mid 80s so that cancelled Lordy and Gordo from doing any swim sets, which was a relief as 9k of swimming in 24 hours left me feeling a little tight in the upper body. We rolled the swim straight, where Lordy and G did as I tried to hang with them a bit, but finally had to go into my own pace, which was a bit chaotic as we had lots of swimmers circling, and since we are in the southern hemisphere, we ride on the left side of the road and we swim down the left leaving my flips off the wall a lot more awkward as a result. When it is crowded I end up doing open turns a lot. The boys ended up swimming there 3k in 42 minutes explaining why I could not hang, as I just thought I was blown but they were ripping. I should have known Lordy had a watch on it, as he came through lapping me more often than not on a tear. His smooth relaxed British demeanor is nonexistent in the pool, and he swims through the lane with a tad of aggressiveness! Either you get on the train or you get your ass run over! There is no backing off when he comes swimming through and since I was not hanging with them today I spent a lot of time dodging out of there way when they came through.

The QOTD from Molina was “How does 9k of swimming in 48 hours feel”, and at the time felt alright. It was the effect of the swimming later on in the day that might be the question. So after the swim I jogged my 2k back to the lodging and did a quick pack and headed out for breakfast. I sat around a little long realizing I was running out of time just as Blanco told me my rear tire had a slow leak. So I suited up in my cycling gear, and raced to fix the rear. The last thing I wanted was to have it flatten shortly into the ride and be playing catch up into the wind all day. Better to be safe than sorry and fix it now as opposed to on the road! In any event I got it all done by the allotted send off time, which is not flexible…if you are not ready you get your ass left behind!

We rolled out of Whangerei, and hit Highway 1 where Gordo took the lead with a steady tempo through the rollers. The first hour is always tough for me on these camps, and I was in a bit of distress, but looking at the power spikes on the hills showed numbers from 340-360 which explains the distress. Any way I did everything to hang on as I did not want to lose the pace line, which saves a lot of energy in the long run. Thanks to Peter who bridged us up a couple times eliminating a heck of lot of pain. Molina hit a metal block and got a pinch flat forcing him to have to bridge back up which had to be quite an effort into the wind. Little did I know I would be doing the same thing shortly later? On one of the many risers I felt my rear tire going flat, or so I thought, and pulled back from the group looking for the sag vehicle for hopefully a quick change. It felt like a slow leak and I eventually pulled over to test it. And wouldn’t you know completely full! Dang! I have done that before…this was going to cost me. The group was already a good 200-300m up the road and the road was undulating to say the least into a headwind. I had no choice I had to light it up at all costs and bridge back up to the group. I did that for the next 8-10 minutes seeing all kinds of wattage in the 350-400 range which I knew would come back to haunt me since it was so early in the ride! I finally caught back on to try and recover yet the road never stopped rolling with some steep pitches…not Petro-friendly and I suffered for a good long while. Finally we had our first drink break at about 60k, and I fueled up or so I thought. I got a question on my blog as to how much do you eat and do you snack all through the night to keep up the calorie deficiencies?

Well, that is a good question and since I have not really had an appetite and can only stuff so much food down my throat without feeling miserable, and I have just not been eating nearly enough. And I learned that today, after our group hit some bigger hills and we just completely torched them. For me that was all it took to empty whatever reserves I had. We rolled into lunch at 120k and I was completely on edge to the point of snapping. I was completely empty! So in hindsight I figure I should be snacking all night and eating before I go to bed something. The question is what sounds good? A meat pie or Subway sandwich would be a ticket but those are hard to come by when I am in the hotels. Everything else has been same old stuff and not sounding good. So tonight I heisted a can of nutella and a loaf of bread. Hopefully that takes the edge off tomorrow.

So, back to the day. After lunch I was still feeling a bit weak, but rolled out before one of the main groups thinking I could head up. I made sure Gordo was still behind me knowing he could pull me up if need be. He rolled up shortly after, and I noticed as I sat on his wheel things were going to be tough right away. I was feeling week and the power was dwindling. The group was drifting away and Gordo patiently waited for me to come around. Waited and waited. Nothing came around and things eventually got a lot worse. I was bonking! And I was bonking right after lunch. Well, the Molina questioned was answered. That 9k in 24 hours was feeling pretty bad, and it probably had something to do with the 200 fly and 3000 IM set AND the band set. But anyways, I had more pressing problems to solve….how am I going to make the last 50k. The hills were relentless, and every hill we went up, I was feeling sick. To the point of dry heaving at one point, but I forced the calories to stay down as I needed them for fuel. We rolled up on Charlesey who was having a bit of his own fun trying to get home, and we rolled on in misery together, with Gordo patiently waiting for things to change. They didn’t! Finally, Gordo had us pull over to a market and demanded us to get some hydration. I hit chocolate milk and another coke, water hoping something would go down. Nothing felt like it would. An extended potty break and Tail End Charlie pulled over. It seemed the last group rolled by and we were the last on the road…that makes two days in a row and actually the first two days 36 days of previous Epic camps that I had Tail End Charlie escorting me in…’It is what it is’, I repeated over and over as I struggled to come right.

We were blessed eventually with a tailwind, and as G said a tailwind hides a heck of a lot of fatigue and it helped ever so slightly so we could pick up the pace. The nasty hills ended and I started to feel just a little bit better. We rolled in at 6 hours and 45 minutes or so and I could barely get off the bike. I hit the recovery shakes and started to fuel the tanks. Not that much was going down however.

After a session in David Craigs Norma Tec compression boots, which are full length compression units I was feeling dramatically better. The deep soreness in my legs was dissipating and my legs felt great. We headed down for dinner and since we are at a sports academy the meal did not cut the mustard. As I am very concerned with caloric intake I grabbed a bag of bread, container of Nutella, and made myself two peanut butter sandwiches. Hopefully that helps set me straight as I plan to eat up until bedtime.

We have another big day in store for tomorrow. A swim/run race and KOM competition with 100 miles of riding.

Swim-3k. Run 10k. Bike 175k. Total Hours 8 hours 50 minutes

Total for 3 days: 25 hours

Steven - Day 3 ... back in Yellow

Really cracking day. Starting to feel strong and having cranked out a 42 minute 3k swim and a 10k run I loaded up on peanut butter and eggs we headed out for a hilly 170+km ride into a stiff headwind. My plan was to try and have a recovery day on the bike but felt with this headwind I should do some work on the front. Did a couple of long pulls and reckoned everyone would be happy if the pace wasn't too strong so I kept it pretty comfortable. To be honest I'm more comfortable on the front often as you don't get the surges and just set the effort levels yourself. Felt like a solo training ride ;o)
I puncture before the lunch stop so cruised the last 20k very easily and just enjoyed the scenery.
After lunch I got on Clas's wheel and what a great wheel it is ...nice steady effort levels. Before we knew it there was only Douglas, Scott and Peter with us. Douglas made me smile when Scott asked if he