If pictures tell a
thousand words, here is the EnduranceTeam Camp summarised in 4,000 words!
As hordes of
teenagers, twenty-somethings, and toolies (I needed another ‘T’) head off to
Falls Festival (including members of my own family); I, along with a number of
other willing participants, made my own holiday pilgrimage to the Victorian
Alps; not Falls Creek as usual, but Bright, a moderate distance away.
In many ways the
differences between Falls Festival and our own ‘festival’ are not as stark as
one would first assume:
- 1. We wake up in the mornings with a terrible hangover. Ours may be exercise-induced rather than from alcohol (although I have had alcohol on two occasions here….loose!) but the feeling is eerily similar.
- 2. I am woken up by late night noises from neighbours…in my case Chris Little telling dirty stories to his room mates.
- 3. We have mastered the art of getting past security….in our case sneaking back into the Mt Beauty pool for bathroom breaks and water bottle refills- even a sneaky shower.
- 4. Pills are popped- namely Chris Little’s endless supply of caffeine tablets (and don’t get me started on the Barista at Ginger Baker in Bright, who is definitely ‘pinging’ on ‘something’ special.)
- 5. ‘Normal’ concepts of personal hygiene and appropriate sharing are foregone. We mightn’t have to share toilets/showers with a couple of other thousand people at Falls Festival, but the communal ice baths (whose water has only been changed once) has taken on a whitish glow as a result of 15+ people cooling off in a small bath right after a hard/hot session (and accompanying sweat) in the same water for a couple of days- don’t put your head under!
This is my fourth
time on camp with EnduranceTeam. This year is quite different to others as many
of my best friends have moved on following Jarrod taking a job with the US. The
people may be different, but the overall experience has been just as enjoyable-
there has been no shortage of people to push/be pushed by.
The focus of the
camp has been aerobic mileage. Swims have only been 2hrs/6ks+, we have ridden
every day- quite a lot hard. Running has been remarkably good, baby steps after
injuries. I am a convert to the run/walk- religiously sticking to 9min run/1min
walks (irrespective of distance) whilst I have been here.
Back in September
I was training very well- a noticeably improved athlete
from the season before (if three race finishes can be considered a season!).
After a key (and breakthrough session) off a 90k bike (with efforts) with a hard 8x1k
(1min rest) hard run off the bike I pulled up a little sore. The next day, 2ks
into my run, the calves packed it in and I had quite a public ‘hissy fit,’ not
helped by the fact it was an out-and-back run, so I suffered the indignity of
having to hobble the 2ks home (still having a hissy fit- albeit toned down).
I was mentally shot more than anything else, uni had been extremely hard, and training solo away from my best mates in the sport had worn me down. The real nail in the coffin was having re-injured the calves yet again!
For the next three months I did a few (about 5) treadmill runs, swam three times (4ks) and sporadically rode (mainly as a means to avoid putting on too much weight….I failed in that regard). You know you are not in race-shape when your belly fat rolls over the seatbelt....it always feels like your sitting on a cushion regardless of the surface (even the concrete benches)....the inner-thigh chafage is a serous issue when running in runners shorts, doing kick sets in the pool or walking out of the pool in bathers.
I was mentally shot more than anything else, uni had been extremely hard, and training solo away from my best mates in the sport had worn me down. The real nail in the coffin was having re-injured the calves yet again!
For the next three months I did a few (about 5) treadmill runs, swam three times (4ks) and sporadically rode (mainly as a means to avoid putting on too much weight….I failed in that regard). You know you are not in race-shape when your belly fat rolls over the seatbelt....it always feels like your sitting on a cushion regardless of the surface (even the concrete benches)....the inner-thigh chafage is a serous issue when running in runners shorts, doing kick sets in the pool or walking out of the pool in bathers.
With my
time up at the Gold Coast finished and only a few thousand words left on my
Masters Thesis (Australia’s Foreign Policy in the Indo-Pacific: Three Paths to
Australia’s Future, for those who are interested), I felt rejuvenated and began to miss the friends involved
in, and the routine afforded by triathlon. Thus I came to camp on the back of two weeks of
more normal training- stiff as a board from having a mind that was more willing
than the body to get back into it. Long story short, I am loving being back! It’s been a shock
to the system getting back into the groove of it all, but the return to respectable
levels of fitness has been pleasing. Most importantly I rely
Swim:
One constant of this camp is I am one of the last out of bed (that says a lot as I am a morning person). One morning, I woke up at 6.10am to find almost everyone had already left for their long ride, even though lunch isn't served until 1.30pm. The point being though, this tardiness is reversed when it comes to getting across to Mt Beauty for swimming. The 90min pre-swim coffee sessions (the first part solo if need be) are a staple- but it has meant I get ZERO sympathy if I get any cramp during my swim because of dehydration. Three pre-swim double blacks had my eyes twitching somewhat....but considering my current level of swim fitness, I need all the help I can get.
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| That moment when you spill your second coffee of the morning #blackcoffeeonly |
Out of the
three sports, it is probably the worst to return to, but the quickest to get
back into a respectable level of fitness. Indeed I got out of the pool 1k into
my second swim as I was so weak, my muscles were screaming at me after only
20mins. The focus of this camp has been long aerobic work. All swims have been
at least 6ks, topped off with our final swimming being 100x66m (33m pool)….I
was cooked beforehand, further underscored by the fact that I missed the time
cycle with 97 more reps to go...it was a long (né soul destroying) session. Hopefully by the end of January I am back to the
level I was at in September.
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| Bottle 'accessorised' with the 'Pink Hanky' (for softness)- the only day it was cold on camp (and probably the first time I've worn a swim cap in over a year) |
Bike: After a little break off the bike, its funny how wobbly the thing can feel and how unnatural (let alone painful it can be) getting yourself bent over in the usual cycling position. I had done a few long rides with Sarah (i.e. being her 'training bitch') in the days before, which was good to get some K's in, but I was feeling really stiff and sore, mainly because my muscles had weakened due to lack of use. This all settled down relatively quickly though. The bike
numbers are coming back nicely, with an 8min PB up Falls Creek (as a result of
a handicap race up there), 2mins over Tawonga (Mt. B side) and 4mins up Buffalo
as testament to that. Having a 5.5hr day with normalised power of 240w and
3.40hrs at 252w NP (with a 70min 293w tempo effort up Buffalo) is definitely one way
to shock you into a bit fitness. The descents, trying (and largely failing) to follow
a fearless Chris Little down the mountains were even more challenging…that man
has no fear!- or is that sense :)
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| Partners in crime w/ Chris Little |
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| Final 50m of the Falls Creek Time Trial |
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| Post 120ks (with 90k TT- first 65ks as a team, last 25 either solo or rolling turns in 40c heat! Coke has never tasted so good!) |
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| This (modified) sign half-way up Falls Creek never gets old |
Run: A case of
slowly does it, but so far so good. Four weeks of consistent (but cautious
running), whats different about this time compared to all of last year is I am
not getting tingling sensations down my calves. I am not sure what has stopped
this, but it’s a very nice feeling. After the last 18months it is such a
novelty to go out and not be in some form of pain/tightness. At the end of our
4.5hr Mt Hotham ride Chris Little and I decided to push (or to quote someone
else ‘Unleash’) our 30min run off the bike, dropping each K, till our last one
was at 5k pace. It felt awesome to run fast and pain free again, albeit briefly.
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| The traditional post-run leg soak in the Falls Creek Aqauduct escalated into a full body soak, that water is at best 16c. |
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| Good selfie coach! |
Other points from camp
-Setting the scene, last dinner, I am starving, food comes out, I demolish it. Then a few minutes later the waitress comes out with the same order, I was honest and said I'd already been served even though this was clearly a double order. A few minutes later another lady with the same plate emerges and asks the same question, I just say it was for me. I was starving. Two bites in (and feeling extremely smug, may I add), the first waitress wisked it off my table faster than you could say STOP! Smugness gone, I was feeling pretty sorry for myself. This was further compounded when my neighbour also had a double order, but got to keep his plate (same waitress too)!
-Nicknames to emerge: ‘Smiling Assasain,’ ‘Shadows’ (for Craig Davis being “scared of the shadows” on the descent and ‘Chicken Little.’
-Jokes and pranks
with the NYE sausage (not a euphemism) abounded- that it is still popping up at
inopportune times/places after being over a week old, left in the sun for days
(or peoples pillows) is a testament to its longevity. Be wary of the sausage!
-As much as I like
James Chronis, it was very peaceful not having to share a room with him (and
more importantly his DJing equipment) for the first time in three years up here. I
think his early Jan 1. 2014 DJing antics was the event that got me closest to
outright violence.
-In saying that, his presence was missed during the annual Hotham TT (still 1-1),
but then it was less missed when I got a flat 6mins in to the climb, leaving me
stranded as I had left my flat-kit at home (too heavy). To add insult to injury, when I eventually got around to changing my tyre, my rear derailer packed it in. No riding for me that day...and a 3hr roundtrip to get a new one.
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| Rescued in the Van!! The weather turned to shit...i.e. almost zero visibility and single-digits temperature. It was quite a bit nicer in the car....that is a pretty smug smile |
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| After everyone had climbed Hotham, they had to do Mt Buffalo (at least 6hrs), but with a broken derailer (contrary to the popular myth I did not kick it when sore the conditions for the remainder of the ride)...I took one for the team and sat in a cafe and yelled encouragement as they went by (to mainly receive well-deserved abuse in return) |
-I’ve cooked the
same meal every single day when I’ve been here, first out of convenience (sorry
laziness) but by the end because I was too tired to come up with anything else.
Recipe is:
Rice
Stirfry Veggies
Chopped up
150grams of smoked salmon
Jamie Oliver Spicy
chilly sauce.
Mix it all in a
bowl and then ‘demolish!!’
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| This car turned up in our motels carpark mid-way into the camp. The owners (not members of this camp) were the most unlikely retired couple. |
Till next time :)
