The itinerary was that I would leave Melbourne in time to check in a do the Friday afternoon run. Because I never sort out my nutrition plan on the Friday (have breakfast around 9am, leave Melbourne around 11:30 and not having lunch whilst driving), I took a gel on a fairly empty stomach about 15min before the (planned) 8km run. 4km in and the cramps and bloat started to happen. A 8km run became 5km which included 1km of walking and 100m of sprinting between car and toilet. Lessons learnt - don't consume a gel on an empty stomach or you will need to find a toilet very soon.
After the soak in the ocean for the legs, it was a quick dinner and off to our Long Course briefing with Coach Jarrod Evans. The plan for me was a 110km ride from Apollo Bay - Benwerrin (via Lorne) and return with a 12km run off the bike. Jarrod also talked about doing it in accordance to time (duration) rather than distance - for me it was no more than 5 hours on the bike and no more than 1-1.5 hour for the run. It was then back to the house and pack for the next day.
I was trying out a few things out over the weekend - one was consuming gels from a flask rather than from the packets. I have to say - this worked a treat! Not only can I consume the gels easier (a quick squeeze of the flask which delivered more gels than the small opening of the packet) it also was better for the environment - less wrapping and less chances of rubbish being left on the ground when they accidentally drop them when riding. It is also more cost effective to purchase the gels in bulk than it is in their individual packets. This solution is good if you only like one flavour gel when riding. Multiple flask will need to be filled if you like multiple flavours. I will bring 2 flask as I like to also have a caffienated gel during my rides too. The run off the bike was not as graceful. To sum it up - it hurt. Took me nearly 1:10 to do 10km. I was so thirsty that I nearly finished my 3 fuel belt flasks. Not sure if this was normal or not. I tried my hardest to push through the pain and there were a few moments where I had to dig deep and try to salvage my second wind. At the 1 hour mark, I only had walked/jogged about 9km. I needed to find the mental strength to push through the pain and keep running - this is something which I need to work on for the next few weeks. After the run, it was a 15min soak in the ocean, back to the house for lunch (homemade poached eggs on toast) and a quick nap before heading out to the Long Course workshop. We learnt several things from the talks which I will try over the next few weeks leading up to Shep, Geelong and Melbourne. These included warm ups, lead up races, equipment and hydration.
What I also learnt from Jarrod (over our group dinner) was the power to weight ratio. He remembered that my body fat % during Lorne Camp was around 32% (obese) and how I am down to about 28% and he says that losing body fat can also mean a reduction in power which some athletes forget to take into account and the first part which goes when you lose power is in your bike leg. Although you are lighter and can swim and run better - you may not have enough muscle strength for the bike ride which was something which I never considered or even thought about.
The plan for the Sunday was a 90km ride (no one other than advanced Ironman/Half Ironman) were to ride beyond Lavers Hill due to the poor weather conditions and I was relieved at that. As the temperature was around 14, I decided to just wear short bibs, a jersey and arm warmers (similar to Saturday) and this proved to be the wrong choice. It rained overnight and the wind did not calm down. As soon as the ride took you into the Otways, the temperature dropped and the rain started again. I was blown sideways several times and this scared me tremendously. I rode for 1.5 hours in and my heart rate dropped to around 80-90 bpm due to the temperature. I was shivering but I was still pedalling. Jarrod stopped several people around the 1.5 hour mark and asked them to turn around. When he approached me he told me that I had to turn around or else I would die out here, I knew that I didn't look good. He asked if I wanted a lift back and looking back, I should have taken up the offer. Instead, as I didn't want the weather to defeat me, I decided to ride back towards home. The ride back was a nightmare. The conditions were similar to the Kinglake ride of 2011. Not only was I soaked, I was also cold and struggling to keep the bike upright from the cross winds. My heartrate was low and I only ended up burning 800cal over 2.5 hours (when I usually burn around 500cal/hour on a long ride). My teeth were chattering to much, a headache formed from the sides of my jaw. One word - unpleasant. What got me through the tough hour back was remembering what Coach Greg said - you can only control what is controllable. I could not control the weather but I could control my composure and how I dealt with the situation. No tears. I just kept pedaling until I got to the house. It was a nightmare but I still got through it.
There was no run off the bike for me. I got straight into the shower and turned the hot water on and stood there for 30min before I could feel anything. It was then that I noticed that my fingers were aching and realised that I jammed my hand in the door on the way into the house and I didn't noticed it when it happened. I had a heater on in my room and cranked it full ball and had all my warm layers on to warm up. I was physically and mentally done for the weekend. Getting through Sunday morning was a mental challenge which I would like to think I came away with a win. I did what I could (controllable) and there will always be more opportunities for me to ride up to Lavers again. Even on the drive back to Melbourne, I was already planning on a weekend back to Apollo Bay so that I could ride up to Lavers Hill. Will plan this weekend after Shepparton.
So in summary:
Total Rides = 110km + 47km = 157km (63km short of 220km)
Total Runs = 5km + 9km = 14km (18km short of 32km)
Lessons learnt from the weekend regarding training, racing and mental strength = Priceless
What a biking achievement you had there! Yes,cycling can be daunting, but It can also give you the most promising experience! Good work!
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