Ah, EpicWoman camp recovery day. This year was almost a proper rest day…. 
Since I’d been lucky earlier in the week to swim with lots of dolphins both at Captain Cook and at the pier, I opted out of the pre-dawn excursion, and met Nick at 7:15am at the epic house (his business, Velofix, is awesome–he makes house calls for bike maintenance!). My electronic shifting was a bit wonky and I had noticed a creaking yesterday in what I thought was my saddle; with a huge day of riding tomorrow, I wanted to make sure there was nothing to worry about. (Turns out, Nick thought the creaking was actually my bottom bracket but probably not requiring a rebuild yet; and although he tweaked the shifting, he thought that there was probably a wiring issue within the frame, and not an easy fix. So I’m keeping my fingers crossed that both my bike and body hold together a few more epic days, and will take her into my local bikeshop when I get home!)
The dolphin watchers arrived back at the house with tales of 12 ft waves crashing to the rocky shores at Captain Cook, so while there were dolphins in the bay, it wasn’t possible to swim with them today.
But a yummy breakfast at LavaJava and a quick stop at BikeWorks (I swear that place is a triathlete candy store!) more than made up for it, I think.
Then the adventure/aerobic activity for the day was a van ride up to Waipi’o (driving shotgun in the minivan with E driving often provides an adrenaline rush or two since he has been known to test the limits of its performance capabilities at times!). Michele rested her sore knee and waited for us at the top of a very scenic point while everyone else hiked down to the black sand beach below…the mere 1.25k down a 25% grade to the beach was almost more tortuous on the legs than the climb back up! It was sunny and warm this year, unlike last camp when we huddled in the wind on the sand. Etienne was even inspired to brave the huge waves and swim almost past the breakers. He looked like a seal playing in the water; it was a blast to watch (and I caught him on video…now if I can just download it from my iPhone..!!).
It always amazes me to drive back to the house along the same route we rode a few days ago–it feels so much longer in the car!
So tomorrow is the day I have been anticipating with dread and cautious optimism for the past year. Last year, it was on day6 that I ended camp here with a bike crash. I’ve gotten mostly back in shape, but still not able to really run much yet. I’m hoping that this week will be a turning point for my body and my mind, and help me regain a bit of confidence on the roads. Stay tuned…