2012 was my 3rd Winter Lorne Camp with Tri Alliance.
Summary/Recap:
My first Lorne Camp was in 2010 a few months after I joined Tri Alliance and I completed the following distances:
Swim - 200-400m
Bike - 70km + 90km
Run - 5km + 5km
In 2011, I went to Lorne Camp with a new bike but with injuries (cold + hamstring tightness) and did the following:
Swim - none
Bike - 90km + 110km (inc Benwerrin Climb)
Run - 5km + 5km
Just over the long weekend of 2012, I did the following distances (with a slight cold):
Swim - Splish Splash in the ocean on Friday
Bike - 90km (inc Benwerrin Climb) + 110km (inc Benwerrin Climb)
Run - 10km + 6km + 10km
Friday
 |
| Monday Morning - View from Lorne |
I had my accommodation booked with another person from the squad instead of staying at the life saving club. We decided to drive in together in one car instead of driving both down in case our accommodation only allowed for one. I drove to Box Hill around 11am as we planned on leaving Melbourne around 12. I realised that I had left my Garmin charging on the kitchen bench when I was more than half way to Box Hill and there was no way I could get through the weekend without my Garmin so drove all the way back to Mentone to pick it up. One and a half hours later....we finally left Melbourne.
 |
| Promotion Photo for Giant Bikes |
We arrived at our accommodation around 3:30pm. We quickly unpacked our bags and changed into our running gear to meet the group for the 4pm run session. The run route was the same as last year which was the Mountain to Surf route but instead of running back to the club along the flats (in 2011), I actually ran most of the same route as everyone else, through the trails of the mountain. I think having done Greg's run sessions on Sunday helped with the trail running confidence. I was getting tired but I then realised that I hadn't had anything to eat since 9am that morning. After the trails, it was a hard run up and down the mountain roads - as difficult as hill running was, Greg's sessions on Sundays along Studley Park did help with the fitness and the stress on the legs. The total distance for that run was around 10km.
After the run, it was the first (of many) icing of the legs in the cold water of Lorne beach. As I did last year, instead of just soaking the legs in the water, I decided to go for a swim and played around in the water and did a porpoises with the waves (Coach Greg would be proud).
Saturday
We woke at 5:30am to be ready at the club by 6:30am. I was seeded in Group 3 by the head coaches the night before and the plan was to ride 35km out and 35km back with the option of going up Benwerrin Hill.
Group 1 - 90km Apollo Bay and back + 1-2 Hills
Group 2 - 90km Apollo Bay and back + 1 Hills
Group 3 - 70km Apollo Bay and back + (optional) Hills
Group 4 - 2 hour return trip.
The ride was not the most comfortable as it started to rain when we left Lorne. The roads were wet and visibility was low. We stopped at the 35km mark as planned but due to the coldness, we couldn't stop for too long or we would have froze. The ride back to Lorne was better but it didn't stop raining. I was undecided early on the ride if I was going up the hill or not. It was only when I reached Lorne that I had about 2 hours left before lunch was being served so I decided to take up the challenge. I was the only one from Group 3 who did the Benwerrin Hill.
 |
| Pedal, pedal, pedal |
I had Ollie and about 3 of Group 1 guys who rode past me on the way up. Apart from that, I got a bit bored (as you do riding up 10km of an incline). I made up little games along the way, one of them was that I stood up for 20 strokes and sat down for 10. On areas where the incline felt more flat, I would change into a harder gear to pedal faster and then have the ability to get into an easier gear when it got too tough.
The descent back down Benwerrin is something I did badly, made more difficult when it rained. My core temperature dropped big time. I was definitely out of my comfort zone as I rode down that hill and at one point, I thought it was the end of me. I was nearly in tears and kept looking at my Garmin to check how far I was from Lorne. My fingers were frozen as I gripped onto the left brakes to slow my speed down and my right hand hurt as I tried to feather the front brakes. When I finally reached Lorne, I was so relieved that I nearly cried.
I didn't ice my legs in the water as I was frozen anyway but took a long shower to thaw out. After I gained back my core temperature back to norm, I went back to the accommodation to change into running clothes and went back to the club for lunch.
After lunch, we were treated to talks from Lakeside regarding body maintenance and core sessions then swapped over to bike maintenance. Both sessions were very helpful to triathletes. Once talk was about common injuries and why we get them - legs, shoulders etc from overuse (increased load) or bio mechanics of the body. The other session was about general maintenance of our other machine - our bikes.
A small break later, we went on our run session. Group 3 were programmed to run at 4:45pm but that would not give us enough time to run 50min and then get ready for 6pm dinner so a few of us decided to run earlier but still do the distances/times. I ended up running 6km.
Sunday
A slightly earlier roll out for Sunday as the rides were longer - we had to be ready at the club by 6:15am. Group 1 - 90km Apollo Bay and back + 2 Hills
Group 2 - 90km Apollo Bay and back + 1-2 Hills
Group 3 - 90km Apollo Bay and back Group 4 - 2-3 hour return trip.
I ended up riding to Apollo Bay & back to Lorne and included another climb up Benwerrin''s hill (110km in total). I rode the same distance as Group 2 but took maybe 15min longer.
The second day on the bike was dryer than Saturday but there were still showers which made the ride wet and cold. The ride into Apollo Bay was easier and I felt more confident around the hair pin turns compared to previous rides. I lost one of my bars as I rode over a pot hole but just had enough nutrition to last me until Benwerrin (4 gels).
The second climb up Benwerrin was not as easy as Saturday - I placed this down to the lack of nutrition as I had to ration 4 gels over 5+hours and I had also just ridden 90km. Lesson learnt from Saturday's ride meant that I packed an extra vest to wear on the descent which made a massive difference. Although the descent was dryer than the previous day and I was not frozen, my bike handling skills were still horrendous. I was the last person to finish the ride that morning and went down to the water to soak my legs whilst people were having lunch.
 |
| Group Shot after the Aquathon |
I grabbed whatever I could to eat whilst we listened to another one of Jarrod's talks. After Jarrod's talk, we had Dane from Sports Pych and Jarrod's skin folds talk/test. For my results of my skin folds test, click here.
Due to the 110km ride, I was done for the day. I decided that instead of going for a run on Sunday afternoon, I was going to do my final run on Monday morning.
So whilst people were out doing their Sunday run sessions, I cleaned my bike using a bike stand. As the bike is off the ground (when clamped onto a bike stand) - it made cleaning so much easier. Something I will buy within the next few weeks.
Monday
 |
| Aquathon Fun |
Most people were back on the bike for a recovery ride towards Apollo (max distance was 50km) and some people just ticked their legs over and did 20km. I ran along the Great Ocean Rd which was priceless. 5km out and back but stopped several times just to admire the views as they were amazing! A soak in the water after the run, shower and waited for people to return from their morning rides.
The Aquathon Championships of the World was held as the final event before the bbq lunch. It consisted of teams doing short swims in the ocean and then short runs along the beach. As I still had my cold and was already packed to go home, I didn't participate in the race. Instead, I cleaned Coach Ollie and Sarah's bikes.
Many people were hesistant about the Aquathon but at the end (as you can see from the photos) that most embraced the event and took it as a challenge beyond their comfort zones.
Overall
2012 Lorne camp was definetly the best Lorne camp (comparing to the last 2 years). There were just better speakers, the sessions were better programmed and we had an incredible group of athletes with us. I guess as my confidence and fitness levels improved over part years, I could challenge myself even further than before. Can't want for the Long Course Winter camp (3rd - 5th Aug) and the Apollo Bay Camp (21 - 23rd Sept). What a great way to spike up the training loads as part of my preperations for Shepparton 70.3.
WRAP UP - Over and out!
No comments:
Post a Comment