So after last year’s abrupt end of camp with my bike-car collision on day6, I’m back for redemption. The only other EpicWoman camp I was unable to get camp completion points for was the second year of EpicWoman, when I had a serious bike mechanical issue on day3, and then proceeded to suffer the rest of the week with a relentless intestinal parasite (talk about adding insult to injury!!) that only went away after a course of antibiotics after I got home.
So I’m hoping this camp is Lucky 7 for me. My hips and back are still out of whack even though it’s been nearly a year since my crash at last year’s camp. I’m hoping to do as much of the daily training here as my body will allow; the challenge will be finding the sweet spot between training hard but not exacerbating my current hip issues.
Our wonderful support crew, Etienne and David, are here again this year to keep things rolling along in every way! It’s such a treat and a relief to have their expert care during camp. We ended up with a small group again this year because of unfortunate last minute withdrawals, but everyone here is a return EpicWoman from past camps. I love how over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and train with strong talented gals from all over…and then have mini reunions each camp! I’m sad that my Maya isn’t here to share in the craziness this go round; camps 5 and 6 were so much fun for me to have her as my roommate.
So as usual, Tara started camp off with a bang–3k ocean swim from digMe beach, 183k ride (most of the IM bike course) including a 7mile TT at the north end of the QueenK. (A 10k run was also on the schedule but ended up being scratched due to time constraints.)
No better way to kick off camp than swimming at the pier in Kona! The water temp was perfect and it wasn’t too terribly choppy (though I think i’m going to have to take more Dramamine next time if I don’t want to feed the fishes!).
Back to the house for a proper breakfast (thanks, E!) then the first-day scramble to get everything ready for a long ride.
We started off with a group photo in our snazzy Trek jersies, stocked our bento boxes and pockets with GU Chomps–don’t know how I’d get thru camp without those!–and gels, filled bike bottles with GU Brew, and hit the road.
It was a very warm day with unusually light winds, which made for perfect riding conditions. I don’t recall it ever being this calm on this route! So nice to not worry about being blown off the road up to Hawi. But frustrating for Anja though, who had three flats over the course of the ride (which was actually a blessing in disguise for me, as I kept falling off the back of the Tara train! I don’t feel comfortable drafting especially on my Tri bike, but it’s probably a skill I should work harder on this week).
The TT from the helipad to the end of the QueenK was a blast. E sent us off in 30sec intervals in order of age…so being the old lady of the group, I got to play rabbit! In the end, T was the only one who caught me, so I was happy with that result. Poor Anja flatted during the TT, second one on the day, and Alicia stopped to help her change it.
However, immediately after the TT when we started out for Hawi, my legs began to cramp. My TT effort was my demise, as I was plagued the rest of the day with leg cramps. The joys of heat acclimation; hoping this isn’t a daily occurrence (I seem to recall it’s always worst the first few days of camp, but then my memories of all the EpicWoman adventures are starting to blur together–thank goodness T encourages us to blog daily during camp for an extra point! Her point system is definitely motivating when fatigue sets in….)
After a late lunch stop in Hawi, we headed back toward Kona. I ended up falling off the Tara train again but ultimately caught up with Alicia after Anja and T stopped to change yet another flat (!!?), and she was kind enough to keep a cramping old lady company for the trip back to our epic house/headquarters. We barely made it back before dark; the last miles along Ali’i were pretty nerve-wracking!
A shower and dinner never felt so good! Very grateful to have survived day1 without calamity!