EPIC Woman Camp – with Tara Norton

Today is the last day of the Women Epic Camp in Hawaii 2015. I cannot believe I survived this camp in one piece. After Day one I thought how on earth will I survive Day 2??? But your body is an amazing machine and of course your mind. Day after day we all got back in the ocean to swim , onto our bikes to do some Epic rides and into our running shoes to run Ali’i drive.
So today was our last day and we drove to Captain Cook bay where we were lucky enough to swim with 15 plus dolphins which was absolutely incredible. This will be one of the best epic memories for me. My dream came true:):).
I am not sure how long we played with them but we had to leave as our Coach made us run 20 km as our last torture of the camp. We started out at the bay of Kona beach and ran out to the Energy Lab and back to the beach. Etienne and Lisa were our support crew and they had the van parked half way so we could refuel as it was hot running out there. Thank you guys for doing this , I really enjoyed the ice. Especially when Etienne poured the ice on my back. We all had an amazing run after all the km we have put on our legs in those eight days. I was very pleased with my time and I hope I can run this well in my Ironman this year. After the run Tara, David (his new name is Karl, Fritz:)), Maya, Sarah and I had a Acai bowl, which was divine. Mmmm good. Might have to have one tomorrow before I leave because when I get back home no more ice cream or Nutella. LOL.
We of course bought one Acai bowl for Lisa. She is doing O.K. , of course in a bit more pain than yesterday but she is smiling and moving forward. That is what we crazy Triathletes do!
To finish this amazing camp off, we had a yummy meal at the restaurant called Huggo’s on the rocks. (I think). Everything tasted sooooo good. Now our tummies are full and we are happy and sad to see Day 8 end.

I would love to thank Tara who put on an absolutely amazing Camp. Of course a big thank you to Etienne, who gave us mental training, plus cooking, plus driving etc. and a big thank you to David, which from now on is called Karl, Fritz for his endless entertaining, cooking, and doing our laundry and folding it as well. You guys ROCK!!!!
Another big thank you to ZOOT, GU AND TREK for sponsoring the camp with all the goodies. I have never had such a great experience at a camp.
I will do it again.:):)
Thanks again for a fantastic 8 days of tough training. Memories and new friendships made forever.

Day 8 done.  EPIC WOMAN CAMP 2015 (#6) is done.  Phew!!  It was epic, it was awesome and it is over until 2016   Next year camp is March 25-April 2 so mark your calendars
Today was our last day and I barely made it, but I did it!

The day started early as we drove to Captain Cook Bay to hopefully find some dolphins to swim with.  You never know if they will show up but 6am is a good arrival time to increase that chance.  AND THEY CAME!   It was amazing!  There were dozens and they swam around us for a long time.  So long that we decided to swim in even though they had not yet left the bay.  Dolphins are my absolute favourite and swimming with them never gets any less exciting each time it happens.  Magical is a good word to describe this experience.  We also saw a Honu turtle which was pretty cool.

After a good breakfast, it was time for our long mandatory run for camp completion.  20K.  My quads were on fire and I wondered if I would be able to finish a 20K run… I say barely I barely made camp completion because I essentially walked 5K!  But I got it done.  It wasn’t pretty but it was a lovely hot day for a walk/run!  I can now hardly walk and look like I did after I did my first Ironman – hobbling around town.  I used Lisa’s Recoverypumpboots and it really helped.  Now I just have to let my quadriceps REST.  I came into this camp with a goal of getting fit instead past camps where much more pre camp training has been done.

We spent some time in town getting yummy coffee and acai bowls before coming home to shower and head our for our final dinner.  Huggo on the Rocks watching the sunset in the sand is our tradition and it was perfect timing as we paid our bill just as the rain started for the ‘flash flood warnings’ Etienne had just read about.  We told our favourite moments of the camp and shared more and more great moments with lots of good food and laughs.  Prizes and jerseys were distributed and more stories were told…I am sooooo thrilled with this camp and thank everyone involved!!!!

Time for me to pack up and get home to my girl (and hubby too) who I miss incredibly!  Mahalo!!!!

Every day seems to get more Epic. As usual we started the day with an ocean swim of 3 km. Well this was an amazing swim for me today. When I stopped at Kings buoy to make sure I stay on course David and Maya stopped there as well. David asked me how I am and I answered that I was cold. David being himself said well maybe I should swim faster than I would not be cold. Mmmm, I am German and that comment really p….. me off. LOL So I was very determined to stay on his feet all the way back. I am sure I p….. him off. Hahaha I almost made it all the way back to the beach and than I ran out of gas. But this swim gave me some good confidence that I can swim in an ocean .:)

Now the ride is what made the day Epic. We rode up Mauna Loa, 17 miles up hill through Lava fields. Absolutely stunning!!! You have to see it to get the whole picture. The climb was tough for me because as we got higher the air got thinner and I needed my puffer that  i forgot in the van. But David came to the rescue and I was able to have a puff from his. LOL Saved my day. While we were climbing we had some good laughs and had a few stops to take some amazing pictures. As we got higher nobody wanted to talk anymore as we needed all the oxygen to make it up the mountain. We stopped at 11,100 feet at the observatory . Wow was it ever cold up there. Thanks Tara for letting me have your leg warmers and David for letting me wear your extra shirt. The descent was very cold and fast. Loved it, but I was frozen by the time I was at the bottom of the mountain.

So in total we rode 77 km, just to go up and down the mountain. EPIC!!!!!!!

A big thank you to Etienne and Lisa (my hero) for following us in the van. Couldn’t ask for a better support crew. Lisa, I know you wanted to climb this mountain, but next year you will. I am sure of that. All you have to worry about now,  is to heal up so you can race again. You are one tough cookie:).

After a great massage to finish up the day I am going to sleep now. We are up at 5 am so we can hopefully swim with the dolphins at Captain Cooks bay.

I have to admit that today’s swim felt a ‘wee bit tricky’ (in the words of Tara and her wee munchkin, Maya). I am not entirely sure what made it feel like a slug-fest for me. But, when I got out of the water I said, “There was not one moment of that, that felt enjoyable”. It may have been the waves, the current, the fact that it is Day 7 etc. Upon reflection, I am so grateful for the time in the ocean and being surrounded by strong swimmers who are so comfortable in the water.  Ironically, today I couldn’t wait to get out of the water, but I know that when I am back at work on Monday, I would give anything to hop back in the ocean in Kona! How could I not love swimming over coral, seeing the fish, and even the giant bait balls of thousands of fish?!?

I loved our ride up Mauna Loa today. The road up to the observatory was one of the coolest roads I have ever ridden on. It was 1 lane, well paved, and we saw only 6 cars (approx) over the 25km journey up Mauna Loa. The vast expanses of black lava rock on both sides of the road made me feel like we were biking on the moon.

I was happy with my 10km run today. During the first 4km, I had no intention of pushing it as I wasn’t feeling great. Ironically, even at a slower pace, I got to the turn-around only a few seconds later than usual. On the way home, I was feeling stronger and set myself a goal to get my PB of the trip. I nailed it, and it felt great. The entire run felt more relaxed and more fun. This was a great reminder to me, that sometimes we can have our best performance when we put less pressure on ourselves.

The evening wrapped up with many laughs and giggles, massages from Gary, and a great conversation with Etienne. He gave me some tips to add to my mental ‘tool-kit’. Lately, I have been feeling that my mental training techniques are not quite as dialed as they have been. So, I look forward to putting some of Etienne’s ideas into practice. And, a very opportune time to use these techniques will be on our 20km run tomorrow!

We had a truly ultimate day on the penultimate day of camp.  We started with an ocean swim and saw the Akule Bait ball again.  It was interestingly split in half this morning … David was pushing the pace on the way home, which was good for me to try to swim faster.  I later learned this was entirely due to Anja riding his feet, which pushed him to keep upping the pace!!

Quick transition at home to the ride.  Today was our last big ride and a bittersweet ending indeed.  We (and when I say “we” I mean Etienne:) ) packed the bikes in the car and the group headed out  to Mauna Loa.  We started the ride at the “girl scout” camp, which is a really nice visitor’s center.  The climb up Mauna Loa was gorgeous – the road looked like a ribbon undulating out in front of us, winding up the hillside.  There were times when we saw the road miles and miles ahead of us.  At multiple points, it was unclear really where we were going and how far we still had to the top (or where the top actually was?!).  I knew my mom would have loved the gorgeous road and long stretches of rollers, which made me even more determined to put my heart in the ride today.  We stuck together through the 17 MILE climb to the top and even stopped to take some pictures.  It was great.

As we climbed higher I noticed I started to struggle to get air out of my lungs and I started to feel my lungs contract in a wheeze.  I was determined to keep pushing with the group, I enjoyed riding with them so much I didn’t want to stop and watch them ride away.  I kept pushing but at this point I started to hit the red zone in asthma world and didn’t even really have the breath to say anything.  Thankfully Sarah rode up alongside and realized my dilemma, stopping the group for me to pause.  Thank you!!  I felt so much support from the group.  I took my inhaler (and actually accepted a puff from David’s magical inhaler – I really need to change my prescription, mine doesn’t work even half as well).  I started to feel my lungs clear and oxygen again was able to flow in and out of my lungs.  We took off again, launching towards the top.

As we approached the last few Km, I felt my lungs start to close down on me again.  But being the stubborn person I am, I refused to stop again.  We were so close!!  David graciously talked me through some of the short steep rollers.  He was my calming voice when the one in my head started panicking and shouting at me to stop.  It was extremely helpful to hear him say in a calming and quiet voice to slow my breathing, to pace out the climb, to keep it steady.

We could see the top, where my mom and Etienne were waiting – just a few short and steep hills away.  It was the final push and David and I went for it full steam ahead!!  It was amazing to make it to the top.  I am very grateful to Tara and Etienne, who held my bike as I went into a full asthma attack when I stopped at the van.  I was a wheezing, coughing mess!!  I couldn’t expel the remnant air in my lungs to take in the fresh, oxygen-rich air I so needed.  Eventually I got myself under control once again, but boy howdy it took some work to get my breath under control again!!  I know my mom wanted to be on the road today, but she really made a great support crew member – efficiently filling bottles, doling out snacks, and capturing one of the few remaining pickles for me

After a SPECTACTULAR decent and great spread for lunch at the little visitor’s center, we headed back down to Ali’i drive for our run at dusk.  I have been working this week to increase my running endurance.  Although I know for most people at this camp, a 10 km run is just another workout – for me it is quite a roadblock.  I have really only been running on and off this past year as my knees and hips allowed.  So pre-camp I only completed the 10 km distance once.

That said, despite some pain in my knees today, I managed to come in at about the same amount of time as my run yesterday (only a few minutes shorter likely since it included a brief break at the public restroom!!).  I was happy with the run – though I am a bit worried about running on the slanting road surface, which sends shooting pains through my knees. I know I am still very slow, but my endurance for running is at least coming back.

We have a 20 km run tomorrow !!  I don’t think I have completed a run this long in YEARS (emphasis on the plural here).  In support of my knees, I may end up walking a good bit of this “run,” but I am bound and determined to make the entire distance.

But for now, I really need to get some epic rest.

So I wasn’t planning on blogging today, since doctor’s orders were no swim, bike, run (or yoga for two weeks (already counting down the days…!), but I ended up having a rather epic sag tag-along with Etienne, so I figure it ought to be recorded for when I need a smile….

After the crew swam and breakfasted, I hopped into shotgun in the sag van with the bikes. The plan was to drive up past the climb to the Mauna Kea observatory and have the day’s ride be up to the Mauna Loa observatory from the road to Hilo. I was interested to see what i was missing……(next year’s EpicWoman camp dates are already set, so the question is, can I hold this old body together for yet one more??!)

We stopped at a very nice rest area for the bikes to be unloaded and then E and I proceeded up the road to find the turnout to the Mauna Loa observatory. We initially found what we believed to be the correct road, but there was a section of bumpy pavement so we assumed this was not the turn. As we descended toward Hilo, we realized that we must have passed the turn, so backtracked. We ventured up the bumpy road, which turned into smooth asphalt, and so concluded that this MIGHT be the route. But we backtracked further toward the rest stop just to make certain that this was the right route. We returned to the bumpy turnoff and sat in the van at the intersection. I had a very enlightening conversation with Etienne about the positives of my crash/camp experience, and we continued to watch for Maya, Tara, Sarah, Anja and David.

At one point, we noted how it was getting late (and we were getting hungry) and wondered why no one had come by us yet. As time passed, we started to get a bit concerned, and E decided to drive back toward the rest station. When we did not cross paths with the campers, there was a sinking realization that there was a good chance that they turned up toward the Mauna Loa Observatory while we were driving along Hwy 200 trying to find the agreed upon turnoff.

Then, Maya texted me a picture of her in front of the lava field. We pondered how this could be….as the realization slowly dawned on us that perhaps they were in the process of climbing to the observatory at that moment.

We back tracked a SECOND time almost to the rest stop to confirm that they were not there then hightailed it up the bumpy/paved road leading up to the observatory.

I have never in my life ridden shotgun in a minivan at top speed up a volcano in single lane (to pass an oncoming vehicle, one or the other had to pull off on a narrow turnout), roller coaster style. I’m guessing this will be a first–and only–experience….(I sincerely hope so).

We covered the 17 miles in record time, cursing and scanning for oncoming cars and cyclists the entire way. I received another text from Maya saying that they were about 6k from the top, at which point Etienne floored it. We caught air countless times (I KID YOU NOT) as we raced toward the campers (we hoped)…..I clung onto the ‘oh-shit’ handle for dear life.

Finally, we spotted our campers…,and both let out a sigh of relief. It was an EPIC climb on a bike (I can only imagine who it felt on a bike) and windy/chilly at the top, and it would have been a travesty not to be there before the campers; we had food, water and—most importantly–warm clothing layers in our van.

(I told E that he’d probably have to swim back to Canada if he’d not been there to meet them )

It was amazing to watch the tenacity and strength of the riders as they ascended the last pitches to the turn around–and I will admit:  I was wondering whether I would have been able (were I not injured) to conquer that epic climb??  (I guess I will have to come back next year and find out…..?)

(One interesting thing was that when we arrived at the Mauna Kea observatory, I realized that this was the location of the Mars project site (www.HI-SEAS.org) where an old friend’s son is currently sequestered, nearing the end of an 8th month sojourn; it was cool to recognize the structure that I’d seen online.)

The return trip was much less stressful, and we shared several laughs at how crazy the previous hour had been. It was pretty amazing, in hindsight, that we did not crash! (Although the brakes were a bit cranky on the return trip back up the house, probably due to overheating followed by rapid cooling?)

So one final epic day for me–albeit in the sag van–that I will treasure and relish for the insight and laughs that are now a part of my soul. It has been quite the ride for an old lady…,,

Day 7 done.  That means one day to go!  My quads are so shot now, I wonder if I will be able to run 20K tomorrow…  I want camp completion points but want to be smart…  I will have to see how I feel tomorrow.

We started out with a 3K ocean swim and the swells were quite a bit larger which I enjoyed – I like timing my stroke to ride the waves!

Today was our last bike for the camp and did we ever finish with a bang!!!!  A ride from the Mauna Kea Recreation Centre to the Observatory on Mauna Loa which is situated a bit higher than 11,000 feet.  I have always wondered about this ride and have never been to the top of this volcano.  It was an AWESOME and EPIC last ride.  The weather was great (aside from getting a bit chilled at the top which made my descent a wee bit ‘tricky’ (as my Maya says) and we stopped to get some good photos along the way…  The views were incredible and we all rode to the top together.  I loved it!

Lisa was an awesome support crew (she is definitely not used to NOT TRAINING at Epic Woman Camp) and even got us the best tasting BBQ chips at the lunch stop   Thanks Lisa.

We barely made the drive back to town in time to finish the day with our 10K run.  But we did it (ok a little after dark but it was safe along Alii Drive) and we were all in it together at the end.  I have been getting faster each run until today where I just ran and never even looked at my pace.  I finished but my quads were hurting and I hope they feel better after a nights sleep and a wee dip in the ocean bright and early:  Tomorrow we will try to swim with the dolphins at Captain Cook before we finish the camp with our 20K run.

Play of the day goes to Sarah for doing some pulling at the end of our epic ride and for running her last Km of her 10K run the fastest ever (on Day 8!!!!)!  Nice work!

Good times!

It is so hard to believe that the camp is almost over.  What an incredible week we have had with so many amazing moments including laughs and tears.  I love you Epic Women!!!!

Today I experienced such a wide range of emotions, I am not sure I have even processed it all quite yet.  But writing has always helped me organize my thoughts, so I decided to put it down all here – for better or worse.  So here goes:

The morning actually started out well.  We swam in the pool today and although I missed the ocean, I was happy to have an opportunity to swim in such a nice outdoor pool!  I felt surprisingly strong this morning.  I generally don’t expect to feel strong late in the week, but was happy at the surprise.  I love the days when I can really feel the water rushing past me and I can feel the pressure of the water against my hand.  On good days, I can visualize my hand as a paddle and I feel like I am pushing off from a wall as my hand moves through the stroke.

I did my swim interval sets this morning and shortened the interval by about 10 seconds after the first couple sets.  I wasn’t sure I would make the faster interval throughout the swim – but I happily made it each time!  There were a couple where my rest was cut a bit short, but for most I had a good amount of time.    I ended the swim with 200 yards fly (for 1 point).  All I can say about that is I finished it — I felt and probably looked like I was drowning

We got back to the house for my favorite meal of the day (breakfast) cooked by our expert chief Etienne, and our transition to the bike.  We set out for our ride to captain cook with a KOM ride up C4 highway.  It was a scorching hot morning.  As we turned back uphill from Captain Cook, the wind died down and I felt like I was melting into a little puddle on my bike.  I watched the group climb away from me as I turned into a puddle of boiling hot Maya.

Sarah came back to get me before we turned on to the Mamalahoa highway, and we trucked along together through the rolling hills.  I saw my mom riding along up ahead up over the next hill, and we pushed along towards her.

As we crested the top of the next hill, I saw a truck stopped at the bottom of the hill and a crowd around.  “Oh no,” I thought, “please don’t let that be my mom, please don’t let that be her.”  I saw a flash of her hot pink jog bra around one of the standers’ by feet and my heart rose to my throat.  I knew it was her.  I don’t remember crossing the distance to her, I don’t remember getting off my bike.  All I know is that I had to be there – to let her know I was there.  I just kept talking to her, holding her head, doing whatever I could to comfort her and to keep her still.  As I was with her, I did a quick look over her body.  She was coherent but had a deep gash on her knee.  She didn’t seem to be bleeding excessively so I didn’t want to disturb her at all to wrap it with anything.

Sarah was amazing through this process – she organized the bikes, collected all of our bits and pieces, called our support crew, talked to the witnesses.  The ambulance responded quickly and thankfully was there in only minutes after she was down – though it seemed like hours.  I was so focused on her that I was mostly okay, until the paramedics told me I needed to step away, and then I fell to pieces watching them strap her down.

I rode in the ambulance with her to the ER, talked to the paramedics, signed tons of forms… I talked to the police officer, who asked me an endless string of questions I couldn’t answer.  I told him I didn’t see her go down. I only know the bits and pieces she told me before they brought her in.  He asked which way the car was turning, how fast she was going, how fast the car was going, did the driver stop, and on and on.  At the time, I didn’t know.  I hadn’t seen anything.  Eventually the police officer took down her information and left.  I was shuttled out of the ER to the cold and empty waiting room.  Where I did just that, I waited.

Eventually Etienne and Sarah joined me and I was so happy to see a familiar face; to not feel quite so alone.

From here it was a lot of waiting.  I won’t go into the details of all of the tests, but they were many.  The nurses at the hospital were wonderful.  They let me come back once my mom was back to her room and it was so emotional to see her again.  Hilariously she was upset that I didn’t continue to ride and I wasn’t going to get my points for the day.  I kept telling her it didn’t matter, I just wanted to be there with her.  Sometimes it is easier though to hold on to the little things that may matter less (like getting points for my ride, or saving the ring they had to cut off her finger).  Because without these things to focus on, the terror of the situation would make it’s way back into my heart.

Finally her emotion gave way to anger at the driver that hit her, which the nurse said was a good sign.  Another positive step followed when all the tests came back negative – no broken bones, no concussion.  She had road rash and a considerable gash in her knee, but overall the result was as good as we could have hoped for.

My mom is amazing and so tough — she got up and walked right out of that hospital.  We got home by 5pm and it was funny because I didn’t even question that it was time for my 10 km run.  It was cathartic to run.  Exercise always helps me process events and situations.  About 10 minutes into the run all the day’s events came back to me and I broke down sobbing along Ali’i drive.  I walked for a bit to get myself back together and then took off.  Hilariously, this was my fastest run I have had here this week.

I am just so grateful.  Whatever you believe in – a higher power, almighty, karma, or pure chance, I am so thankful to all of these things that my mom is still here with me and although slightly bumped, bruised, and stitched up, she is whole.  I am also eternally grateful to our Epic group (crew and campers).  Everyone was so amazing and supportive through the entire process, we could not have asked for a better group.

Wow I cannot believe it is day 6 and I am still walking upright. Well it is more a wobble than a walk. Hahaha.
As usual we started out with a swim but this time in the pool. 3km and I was not allowed to use pull buoys:( but I did it and I am very proud of it. Sarah did fantastic, that woman is a machine especially she just learned how to swim. Amazing. Tara, Lisa and Maya are fish, they just glide through the water.
After the swim back to the house for another breakfast and than off to a 90 km ride to the bay where the Dolphins swim in the mornings. Lots of climbing and downhills and I notice I climb them better everyday:). Thanks Tara for pushing us.
My confidence in riding is coming back and I am getting stronger as days go on.
Unfortunately on the ride Lisa got hit by a car and she needed to go to the hospital to get 7 stitches on her knee. She was really lucky that nothing is broken not even her bike. She was very concerned about her bike. Such an Athlete.:)
Etienne, Maya and Sarah went with Lisa to the hospital while David, Tara and I continued our ride. We were further ahead when we found out what happened. What a day.
Believe it or not we all went for our 10 km run later on and finished up the day. Well they did I had to cut mine short due to my foot. Oh well, need to listen to my body.:(

We finished the day off with amazing meal again. This camp ROCKS!!!!! WE are a very tight group and we push our limits together. Love it. Tomorrow we do it all over again. Bring it on Tara.

I truly can’t believe Day 6 is done already! I am relieved but sad at the same time! Day 6 was epic in many ways. My goal for the day was to stay on top of nutrition and ensure I ate a gu every 30min. I set this goal up because I knew the first hour of our ride would feel very easy. It was a net downhill to Captain Cook. If I wasn’t careful, I knew I would get depleted before our climb out of Captain Cook, and I wanted to ensure I had energy for our QOM up King Kam III. (I really love that climb).

Unfortunately, things went downhill (pardon the pun) as we were heading downhill back into Captain Cook on the main highway. Maya and I came upon Lisa in the middle of the road who had just been hit by a car. Needless to say, it was a scary site to come across. Given the situation, it really turned into a best case scenario: Lisa is not seriously injured. She has 7 stitches in her knee and is banged up on her right hand side. She will be our support crew for the rest of camp- which I know will be challenging for her. Last night, Lisa was already scheming to peddle one legged for the rest of camp! She truly is an Epic Woman!

Maya was also an Epic Woman. She was composed (although she would argue she wasn’t composed), supported her mom, and did everything she could to make her mom comfortable as we waited for the ambulance to arrive.

At the scene of the accident, I took on the role of bossing people around:) I made sure the witnesses and driver stuck around, and I told someone to hold Lisa’s head. I did this in a frenzy, and looking back on it,  I am sure that the driver and witnesses weren’t going anywhere!

Speaking of best case scenario: the ambulance station was literally 200m up the road and the hospital was 2 miles down the road. So, Lisa got medical attention very quickly.

Maya joined her mom in the ambulance, and I waited for Etienne to meet me in the van and pick up the bikes. Etienne is the perfect person to chat with at a time like this. Naturally, I was a bit rattled after the accident and wasn’t sure if I was going to get back on the bike. Etienne was supportive, encouraging, and I realized that continuing to spin would be the best way of addressing my fears. So, I finished 90km at a very moderate pace. As I pedaled, I felt gratitude and appreciation for being on my bike. I knew Lisa would want us to to continue doing what we were doing. So, it became a zen bike ride. No high HR. No max watts. No bombing down hills or pinning it up hills. Just spinning by myself, enjoying the views, and being thankful to be able to ride 90km today.