Epic Camp Lite Kona 2017 - day 1

SATURDAY – DAY 1 Epic Camp Lite in Kona

BIKE Captain Cook figure 8 loop.

SWIM (Postponed) – 3.5km to Captain Cooks monument and back

RUN – 10km to the Pier

It’s always great to be back in Kona showing others around what the nutters have to deal with in October. We often start the camp with the Ironman ride which usually ends up in complete carnage so I changed things up this year with a softening day first up.

Todays ride was a great ride to open up the camp. After a ~7km warm up we hit the incredibly tough climb up Haleki’i St – I sent the majority of the crew along the new bypass with just myself, Jimmi Young, Andrew Lawrenson & Matt Young as I knew from past experience that they simply would not get up. As it turned out the 4 of us only just made it ourselves. This is seriously steep with pitches of 15-20% which my 42:23 resulted in my having to muscle my way up with plenty of time ~40rpm and I suspect lower! I also forgot my gloves so getting out of the seat with sweat pouring down my arms was a real challenge. That being said. I enjoyed the challenge of the climb but I was pretty smoked at the top – 11mins30 @ 324w despite some flat recovery sections (I forgot my HRM but the other guys said they were at their limit).

From the top of that climb it took forever to recover. The plan was to stop and swim mid ride across Kealakekua Bay to Captain Cooks monument (where Captain Cook was allegedly killed). Unluckily for us the island was experiencing some massive waves so swimming was not an option today. So we continued out ride with  a 7km handicap KOM. It’s fair to say I got some of the handicapping accurate, some was pitiful. John Fredrickson took the prime with a good surge at the line meanwhile Margaret Wood took the QOM. I was 3^rd over the line sitting ~300w most of the way up without too much difficulty despite sweating buckets.

Off the bikes we ran an easy 10km down to the pier to introduce the team to the Ali’I Drive section of the ironman course. It was bloody hot but actually felt manageable despite being the first run over here. A bit of nipple rash but thankfully no blood drawn on the new camp t-shirt.

We made another attempt to swim at the pier later in the day but were thwarted again partly because of the huge waves rolling in but also the canoe boat racing.

One big challenge over here it staying on top of hydration post training. I feel like I am forever playing catch up and will need to look for some fluid variation over the coming days.

I threw down a massive salad at Lava Java for dinner along with everything else in sight in preparation for the big ride tomorrow on the ironman course.

Bike file http://tpks.ws/sl0xg

Run file http://tpks.ws/DHrNi

Here is the ride we did (click on the image to see the clip):

Week of 22nd May - Kona time!

DATE: Week of 22^nd May – Epic Camp Lite Kona begins

MONDAY

Session Details: Recovery ride 1hr on the trainer

• 10mins warm uop
• 8mins single leg
• 16mins (2mins 60-65rpm / 2min 100rpm)
• 8mins single leg
• 4x(1min FTP / 1min easy)
• Warm down

Comments: I’m pretty tender from yesterdays run. Todays ride did help loosen me up 

 File: http://tpks.ws/ns1lw

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TUESDAY

SWIM Session Details:

• Warm up
• 9x100 descend 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 (10RI)
• Easy swimming
• 400m TT
• Warm down

Comments: After the 100’s I was feeling optimistic that I could go close to 5mins for the 400m TT (I want to be sub 5mins by Roth). When it came to the test I think I went through halfway in not much over 2:30 but must have slowed significantly as finished in ~5:08. A bit disappointing as I was hoping to be 5:05 or better. I do hope that in Kona I will get a nice boost in my swim.

 RUN Session Details: ~6km gentle tempo running ~4:05/km then 8xstrides (20sec fast / 40sec easy).

Comments:  The pace came easy today.  

 File: http://tpks.ws/hSGoA

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WEDNESDAY

Easy recovery ride. Time to rest up for Kona  

 File: http://tpks.ws/6oIsn

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THURSDAY

Travel day – run to the pool ~3km / Swim  (400 warm up — 4x25 build ups — 10x100 steady on 1:35 — 100 loosen)/ Run home

 TRAVEL TO KONA – Gain a day

Swim 3km from the pier (turning right). Choppy rough conditions so slow going tonight.

 File: http://tpks.ws/wxuBm

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FRIDAY

Pre Camp prep

Bike – an easy but very hilly reconnaissance ride for tomorrow . File http://tpks.ws/YgigE

Swim- 3km swim in Keauhou Bay. A bit cloudy in the bay but OK coral once clear of the bay file http://tpks.ws/DuJCJ

Great dinner at Sam Choys about the Keauhou Shopping centre. 

Week of May 15th - solid HIM simulation

DATE: week of 15^th May

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MONDAY

RUN

Session Details: 25mins core. Running with Phil & Tyrone dropping off their intervals in order to not be smoked for tomorrow (3km @ 4min/km then some gentle 1km reps)

Comments:   My legs are still a little tender from Friday but coming right.

 File: http://tpks.ws/HhlNr

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TUESDAY

KEY Session:  Swim 2.5km (500 warm up 2km aiming for 1:25/100) / Bike 40km aiming for 260-270w (best case half IM effort) / Run 10km off the bike aiming for 3:55/km (best case half IM pace)

Comments:   Swim – first 1km good going and on pace then public/lane changes / loss in concentration meant I dropped off the pace.

Bike – a struggle to maintain power until out of town and on straight roads then I was nailing it holding closer to 270w then 260 most of the time. My legs were not feeling great so I was stoked to be able to hold the power and see HR dropping the further I got in.

Run – at times it felt a touch harder than it should but all in all very pleased to nail the pace with HR in check (although it was creeping up a little) and only be 1sec off my target time for the 10km, if it hadn’t been for my fat fumbling fingers I would have been exactly on the money.

 File: bike http://tpks.ws/4jSfK run http://tpks.ws/8wSJH

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WEDNESDAY

SWIM Session Details: 3.7km

• 200 warm up
• 2x100 IM
• 200 (25 build up / 25 easy)
• 4x400 descend 1-4 (20RI)
• 100 easy IM
• 4x200 descend 1-4 (20RI)
• 100 easy IM
• 4x200 descend 1-4 (20RI)
• 200 loosen

Comments:   More or less nailed todays swim

CORE – missed my core session

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THURSDAY

BIKE Session Details: 2hrs cruising in the hills

Comments:   Awesome winter day in the hills. Still pretty tight from earlier in the week but feeling better afterwards.

 File: http://tpks.ws/f8qCo

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FRIDAY

SWIM Session Details: 3.4km

• 300 warm up
• 300 (50 build up/ 50 easy)
• 2 x ( 9x100 - 3 on 1:35 aiming for 1:23’s / 3on 1:30 aiming for 1:19’s, 3 on 1:25 aiming for 1:15’s // 200 easy)
• 200 Fast
• 200 Easy 

Comments:   I didn’t quite make the 1:15’s but not too far off. For the 200 I was hoping for 2:30 but anything under 2:35 was going to be OK. Despite not really getting on top of the water and carrying some fatigue from the 100’s I hit ~2:33 so happy enough with that.

RUN Session Details: 50-60mins with 12 x (20sec strides / 40sec easy)

Comments:   Bloody cold morning to be running and it took some time for my feet to defrost. More stomach issues today with a couple of toilet stops required.

Good to get some leg speed work into the legs.

 File:http://tpks.ws/kQNu6

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SATURDAY

BIKE Session Details: 2hr indoor trainer. 5-10mins warm up then TR Session incl 4 x (10mins mod hard (255w) / 4mins FTP). Finished session with 20mins steady riding to take it up to 2hrs

Comments:  Have not had a hard session since Tuesday despite a 5:30am start I nailed this session with relative ease. Very happy to comfortably get through FTP efforts without drama and the mod hard showed a low HR.

 File: main bike file http://tpks.ws/Hicqe

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SUNDAY

BIKE / RUN Session Details: Bike 2hrs on the trainer with plenty of steady (near IM effort) / Run off the bike 2.5hrs (first half hills, second half aiming for IM pace ~4:10-4:20/km)

Comments: The bike went well and was pretty uneventful. Off onto the run and we were into some pretty bloody cold and crappy weather. Lots of mud on the trails then came off the hills for the last 12-14km @ IM pace. The first 4-5km was OK then we turned into the wind and it got tough to hold IM pace plus I was getting tired. The last few km’s the legs were certainly feeling like they were at the 20km mark of an ironman. I could keep the pace but it was getting rough. Sore legs afterwards.   

 File: Bike (main file) http://tpks.ws/2anor Run http://tpks.ws/bwdBB

Week of May 8th - 2 bloody hard runs this week

DATE: Week of May 8^th

MONDAY

Session Details:

 Core 30mins

Run warm up ~30mins running with some hills and a 500m mod hard effort

10km Very hard aiming for 3:35/km

Comments:   I started OK but had a bad 4th km, the turns were killing my lap times. I had another bad km in the middle but was happy that I did not throw in the towel and did the best I could with the legs I had (given I’d ridden a solid 150km yesterday)

About 30sec slower than I had hoped for the 10km with 36:22 being the finish time. It was not a max effort tonight but not too far off. I was a

 File: http://tpks.ws/UpCBv

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TUESDAY

SWIM

Session Details: 5x800 mixed efforts

Comments:   Quite possibly the worst swim I've had in a long time. I didn't feel that bad but was incredibly slow after last nights efforts

BIKE

Recovery ride in the hills for 90mins http://tpks.ws/LUIZt

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WEDNESDAY

RUN

Session Details: Run 90mins easy with 3xstrides every 25mins

Comments:  Legs still tired from Monday so very slow slog today but felt better after than before

 File: http://tpks.ws/s1laO

SWIM

10-15mins swim cords

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THURSDAY

BIKE

Session Details: Warm up then 60km @ Half IM effort aiming for 265w

Comments:   Pretty good all things considered. The first section in town was hard to get any momentum (which is why I choose to do it) and numbers were low. Once on the open roads power, HR & cadence all OK but my guts were killing me (too much cabbage for lunch!). Had to stop twice to try and lighten my load.

Pretty pleased to get the job done today

 File: http://tpks.ws/GOqLJ

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FRIDAY

KEY RUN SESSION

Session Details: Warm up 15mins on the trainer then a 42.2km run aiming for 4:15/km average (just under 3hrs)

Comments    I was pretty fired up for todays run. Initially it took a while to warm up then once settled in the pace was manageable but at times required some concentration. All was going OK until about 30km when my knee started to collapse on me. Despite some stretching I concluded that if I pushed on I was probably going to injure myself so pulled the pin and hobbled home.

So pretty disappointing but still a good preparation workout. HR was pretty low so I’m quietly optimistic this pace is doable.

 File: http://tpks.ws/mobaf

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SATURDAY

Session Details: Bike recovery session on the train for 90mins

Comments:  Legs pretty tired and tender today.

 File: http://tpks.ws/fPHmi

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SUNDAY

SWIM

Session Details: 5km swim main set 3 x (2x50 hard – 5x200 on 3:10 aiming for 2:50 – 50 easy)

Comments:  Slept in as mothers day today.  It’s been a while since I’ve swum 5km and hit todays session well.

 RUN 5km easy with Tom (son) later in the day

Week of May 1st - Back in the game

After being away for last week it was time to get back in the game. 

MONDAY

Core 30mins then "The Allrounder" run. 

 Workout details:

3 x 

2 x strides 

1min pulsing squat 

3.1km circuit including a 400m climb @ ~7% + descent. 

Effort is mod hard to hard eg I am aiming for ~3min45/km (10km pace is ~3:30 or a little under)~200m recovery

3 x 2 x strides 1min pulsing squat 3.1km circuit including a 400m climb @ ~7% + descent. Effort is mod hard to hard eg I am aiming for ~3min45/km (10km pace is ~3:30 or a little under)~200m recovery

Comments: A good solid session keeping pace even throughout. 

File: http://tpks.ws/ytxoU

TUESDAY

5:30am SWIM

Workout details:4km Swim

• 500 warm up (75 free / 25 mixed strokes)
• 1000 pull steady
• 100 fast
• 5x200 steady on 3:10
• 100 fast
• 10x100 on 1:35
• 100 fast
• 200 warm down

Comments: Good to be back in the pool. Lacked strength in the back half of the swim

Mid morning BIKE

Workout details: Commute to Bevans for imtalk

Warm up then 2x30mins aiming for 275w (just above Half IM power) with cadence >90rpm (5minsRI)

Comments: Pretty windy conditions today.

Rep #1 was OK for the first 20mins but was working reasonably hard. Once I turned into the wind it became a shit fight with tired legs from last night, strong head wind etc.

Stats were more or less on the money. 

Power 272 / Cadence 90rpm / HR 145

Rep #2 was just a debacle. Legs buggered, twists and turns screwed rhythm and just a terrible 30mins of riding. Stats were rubbish

File: http://tpks.ws/FOYLK

WEDNESDAY

Workout details:RUN 2hrs General endurance

Comments: Well that was crap! 3 toilet stops and just rubbish feeling throughout. Nice day but that was about it. I need to stay better hydrated!

File:http://tpks.ws/7ljXI

THURSDAY

Workout details: BIKE 15mins TrainerRoad Baxter into TrainerRoad 20min TT / RUN off the bike 3km @ 4min/km then easy

Comments: The aim was to try and hit 315w so to finish with 316w was spot on. It's well below my all time best but today it met my expectations especially after a couple if shitty days. Pretty happy about my effort. 

I broke my gear cable on my trainer bike just before the test started so swamped to TT bike so lost cadence on TR but via Garmin it was only 88-90 where my best TT's have been ~95rpm

File:http://tpks.ws/maXRT

FRIDAY

Workout details: 5:30am SWIM 3.4km

• 300 warm up mixed strokes
• 2x150 build ups
• 3x400 descend 1-3 (20RI) aiming for 6:00, 5:40, 5:20
• 2x100 IM
• repeat 3x400 descend 1-3
• 200 loosen

Comments:Good strong swim. Missed 3rd 400 target time in first set by ~6sec but hit all times on the mark in the 2nd set

SATURDAY

Workout details:

BIKE 65mins steady on the trainer (cadence work 5mins 95rpm/5mins 105rpm/ 5mins 115rpm) File: http://tpks.ws/BQrUx

RUN off the bike ~12km @ IM pace ~4:15/km average (Run 12mins / walk 45sec). File: http://tpks.ws/FMadL

Comments: Smooth session apprart from taking a while to wake up on the bike. My running is feeling pretty easy at IM pace. 

SUNDAY

Workout details: Key long ride. BIKE 150km+ with 3x1hr @ 235w (best case IM power)

Comments: Rep #1 - pretty shitty weather so happy to get through it with all numbers on target, Rep #2 - did a better job with cadence compared to last time but still a grind uphill. Rep #3 - nailed the numbers but RPE is too high. 

Bonked in the final 5km to home but still a pleasing ride. 

File: http://tpks.ws/jOU7z