It is the second last day of Epic Camp. Today was a pretty challenging day, all things told. I headed out with the group for the ocean swim this morning, instead of just doing the pool swim. I swam just under 50 minutes before losing my cookies. I managed to take in a couple big swallows of sea water, which, on top of my seasickness, was just a bit too much for my ginger to combat. My stomach was not completely with me for the rest of the day.
The “prescribed” run of the day was a post-swim sea-side 5km in town. However, I felt like running back to the villa. I took an extra long way, turning it into a 7.5km run. So, my camp total for running is now over 100km.
We headed out on the bike around 10:30 am, after another one of Debs’ amazing breakfasts. The wind was coming from the north/northeast at about 35-40kmh. The first 50 km of the bike was, in general, in that direction. Josta, Lisa and I worked together for this first slog to Orzolla. I experimented with new positions to try to get more aero and comfortable. I didn’t get dropped, so I guess I was marginally successful. Unfortunately, I think I got behind on electrolytes while battling that wind. I felt pretty flat for the KOM and was unable to get any higher than zone 2 for the remainder of the ride. The views were pretty incredible, I gotta say. Fatigue is starting to kick in significantly, so I am opting not to fritter to much with cameras or anything that might cause me to do something dumb on the bike. A killer headache kicked in after the KOM, further evidence that I had let myself get too depleted. I have been in this place before – often during windy races. It’s not a happy place, but it’s a familiar one.
I rolled into the villa just before 5pm. In my depleted state, I made my big life decision and acted on it. Then, we had hamburgers and birthday cake.
Tomorrow, we’ll be riding the Ironman course (minus 5km). It is one of the toughest Ironman bike courses in the world. It is going to be a hard slog all day. I am now into the stage where I am plotting my homecoming dinner with my boyfriend. This time, I am not going to have fish and chips at Heathrow. I am going to save it all for some big starch-fest somewhere in Calgary. I am so excited, but also sad that Epic Camp is already coming close to being over. Anyways, I’ll save the sentiment until tomorrow. Right now, I need to sleep and psychologically prepare for the hardest day yet!