Legend training camp weekend!

My long term goal right now is Ironman Canada 2011. It's something I decided that I wanted to do and I am pretty good at doing what I put my mind to. My coach's may long training camp would be the perfect chance to see exactly what I was getting myself into. I knew that going into this it would be a bit of a test for me. My longest ride ever has been 100km and that was last summer. This year's longest has been 60km...inside and on the trainer. The plan for the camp was two 150-160km rides and a true hill climb. Just a little more than I am used to, lol. My coach said "you can tell me if you still want to do an Ironman at the end of the weekend". So how did it go....

Day #1 Friday

The plan for the day was the IMC course but in reverse. By doing it in reverse you get a hill climb early in the ride and the "rollers" are a bit more work. We started the ride early in the morning (not too early). At this point it was nice to be out on the bike. Very quickly into the ride I learned that I was not a climber, lol. I have usually done ok on "hills" but know when I think about it they were just rollers. I was very quickly getting my first taste of true hills out here. Going up Yellow lake was a grind but it was still early so I felt ok. Going down Yellow was FREEZING, still somewhat early in the morning and in the shade of the mountains. We stopped at the "The Bear" and got some refills on the fluids.

We bypassed the out and back, didnt sound like I was missing much. For the next while it was nice and flat and were had a nice pace line going. I took the lead for a brief period and that was the end of that. Definately a skill I need to work on. I thought I needed to pick it up to overcome the drag at the front but I ended up breaking up the line. Next time I will be more aware.

And then came on the rollers. Up down, up down...a couple near the end were nasty. I remember being a bit tired going up the last one, lol. Not too long after the rollers we were heading up the backside of Richter's pass. It was just another climb at this point. I admit that I was often in the easiest granny gear...I got no shame, lol. Coach Greg came back to check on me and give me some motivation....thanks. And then finally we were at the top...hell ya. Lots of people heading up Richter that day. And then the decent....brrrrr. I thought my thigh was cramping at one point, but no, it was just that cold.

So at the bottom we stopped at the Husky and refueled. Aint gonna lie...I am tired at this point, lol. But still 60m to go at this point. Quick break and its back on the bike. No big hill sclimbs left but just feels like a long way to go. I really was happy that we were getting close to home. We stopped at Tickleberry's (awesome ice cream place) but we didnt get ice cream, lol.

We decided to take the "run course" route home. It was nice to get to see this part. I have pretty much decided that this part of of the run when I do IMC will suck. The turn around for the run is in this area and it is a little bit hilly, lol. But then it turns into nice flat road. Very nice to roll back into town on. I started to pick it up a bit and hurry my ass back into town. I had a feeling that the rest of the group would be waiting ahead. My quads were a bit on fire and I was afraid they were going to cramp up. I hit a small up swing in the road and decided to stand it up...big mistake. My quads, especially my right, started to cramp. I streched them out for a second and then kept my legs moving.

I wasnt sure how my transition run would go but I decided to give it a shot anyway. I did a quick change and started to run. My legs are pretty dead at this point. I made it about 1km and the cramps came back in the quads. I gave them a brief massage and then started back to the hotel. The cramps were getting progressively worse to the point of reducing me to a standstill on arrival at the hotel.

I hobbled back to the room and started to take in any food I could get. I was so hungry. My wife later confessed that she really thought I looked bad when I arrived and could not believe that I even attempted a run, lol. Day one over time to sleep.

Day #2 Saturday

The morning was an open water swim in Oliver. I was feeling surprisingly ok by morning, the quads were a little tender but functional. I was excited to try out the new Xterra wetsuit I have bought. The water was cool to say the least, lol. We did a little work on sighting to start things off and get warmed up. After that we did a few exits and entrance drills. It was nice to get out of the pool for a change. I ended up being quite pleased with the new suit....much more comfortable on the shoulders!

Next on the plan was a 20 km warm up ride from Oliver to Anarchist to start the hill climb. I wasnt sure how it would go....15km up. My plan was to start the climb and to just keep my legs moving. For the most part I did the climb in my easiest gear with brief perios in some harder gears. About 1hr and 15 mins of un upward grind and I made it. The rest of the crew were there waiting for me...they did that alot this weekend, lol. Decending is another area I have to work on. I need to gain confidence that I wont die on the decent. I get a bit freaked out by the speed on some of the hills. The ride back to Oliver was pretty uneventful..with the exception of having to call Greg andget directions back to the lake, lol.

Day #3 Sunday

Last biking day of the camp....IMC bike course in the normal direction. The weather looked like it had the potential to turn nasty..it was cool, cloudy and some wind going on. We threw on some extra layers and headed on out of town. As we were on our way out we came upon a half marathon that was being run that day. Not exactly great weather for that either. We made our way through Mclean and headed towards Richter. Along the way, one of the other riders and I (Curtis) rode together and had a good talk. Always nice to meet new people and it surely helped pass the time.

We hit the Husky and again we refueled. Greg told me to head out when I was ready. Pretty soon after I was back on the road heading up Richter. Not much after that they group was passing me on the way up. Some fast riders in out group...I dont feel bad getting passed by guys like Greg, Darryl and Trevor. It was good to have seen what the part of the course was like even though in reverse. I just kept telling myself...keep the legs moving. It was nice to get to the top and to see the group waiting there.

We started to get a few sprinkles of rain and the roads were a little wet. Not cool for someone that hate decending at the best of times. But I keep a little tension on the brakes and used some techniques that Greg had told me about. Obviously I made it down ok, lol.

And then came the rollers! Definately much easier this way! I decided to keep pace with another group of riders ahead and just to keep them in my sights. It wasnt long before the we were out of the rollers and on some flat surface again. I caught up to this other group and then decided to draft with them for a while. I thought about passing them for a short period and then though...why? Its not a race and I still have alot of riding to go. I stuck with them until Greg and Darryl came back got me and Curtis.

We hit "the bear' to get more fluids. Unlike friday, we had a hill climb near then end of the ride....not looking forward to it at this point. Keep the legs moving, just keeping telling myself that. I was happy that at this point I was not having any muscle cramping and actually felt better than I had on friday at the same distance in the ride. One thing that I had changed was my nutrition. A sponsor for the camp was Hammer nutrition. I decided to use Hammer gel, HEED and Perpeteum on Sat and Sun. I had been using Gu and Nuun before this. I really think this switch helped me....no cramps, GI issues and I felt stronger!

So after a little while I was at Yellow lake and getting ready to decend. Always good to see your coach come back down to check on you and the goup waiting at the top, lol. Pretty much all downhill from here!! We got a little sprinkle going down ....again, not cool. I was glad to see the flats again. As we were coming into town I realised that I was feeling ok. I was hoping for a good transition run.

Getting back to the hotel was a good feeling. A quick drop off of the bike and a change and I was out the door. I felt tons better than on Friday!! The legs felt pretty good, tired but still good. I was actually running at close to half marathon race pace. Not sure how I would feel later if I had to keep running but for now I was ok. I did 2.75km in just over 15 mins....not bad after 155km on the bike. And then to top it off was a nice cold water immersion of the legs in the lake sipping on a recovery drink, lol.

Day #4 - Monday

The goal for today was a longer run. I decided to shorten the run up a bit to 1 hour just to get on the road a bit earlier. I knew it was a long drive back home and wanted to get my wife and son back at a reasonable time. I did 10km in 1:05 which I was ok with considering the volume I had put in over the weekend.

Overall it was a great weekend. By far it was the most volume I have put in that short amount of time. Got a bunch of confidence in my riding skills too. On the flip side I have realized how much more I need to do for next year. It was awesome riding with some really great guys as well. Over the weekend I would my totals look like 1km of swimming, 400km cycling and 15km running. Would I do it again...hell ya.
And to answer your question Greg....I still want to do an Ironman.