Long Course Camp 2012 Wrap Up

Well that’s a wrap. Our Long Course Camp for 2012 was our hardest to date and our athletes stepped up to the plate. The physical and mental gains from this weekend will be taken away with each of you. Some athletes went well above where they have taken themselves before, fighting against their mind and body to do so. It’s on tough days like these that you can learn a lot about yourself and that’s what Long Course training and racing is all about. Continually learning, pushing the boundaries, you have good days, and bad ones but you will always win if you are prepared to fight. Well done Team. Our Coaches are super stoked with everyone’s efforts.

Day 1 Friday 3 Aug
Athletes arrive in Apollo Bay and were greeted with sunshine. A great start to the camp which can be notorious for bad weather. Athletes enjoyed a sunny 60km ride and 1 hour run in the afternoon really just to prep the legs for the two big days ahead of them. Friday Night athletes gathered at TAHQ @ Apollo Bay setting the scene for the weekend ahead. Everyone was keen for a big few days. Some had been here before and knew what was ahead; others simply knew it was going to be tough. An early night for an early morning Saturday.

Day 2 Saturday 4 Aug
Started early getting athletes on the road before the sun rose. Expectations were set with distances of 90-160kms on the bike along the challenging Great Ocean Road including the 12km Benwarrin Climb and visiting the small townships of Deans Marsh, Barwon and Forrest for those enjoying the long 30km climb to the top before descending to Skenes Creek.

Athletes were also given the Challenge of Wild Dog Road a sharp 6km 15-20% gradient climb. Not for the faint hearted. Top work to those that braved it.

After a debrief with coaches and with little time for rest athletes then headed out for their long run in the afternoon to clock up 1-1.5hrs. Followed by a mandatory 10-15min chilli ice bath in the ocean, we know Greg was in there for 15min but who else went past 10……?

Now there is nothing like a good pub feed after a strenuous day of training and Apollo Bay were as ever welcoming and obligingly set us all up in front of the big screen to watch the thrills and spills of the Women’s Olympic Triathlon. On the menu for our serious triathletes were bowls of Pasta, Garlic Bread, hot chips and Parma’s galore! Not much in the way of left over’s for those who still had a whole to fill, so many scattered to the local supermarket for Ice-cream, Lollies & Chocolate Teddy Bear biscuits to fill the void. Ahh the benefits of training hard!!

Day 3 Sunday 5 Aug
The forecast was blustering gail force winds and that’s what we woke to overnight. But not letting that deter athletes everyone downed their breakfast, prepared their bikes, added extra layers and were ready to roll out as planned. Heading out in the opposite direction through the Otway’s towards Lavers Hill, riders did not have much time to warm up before they were greeted almost immediately by their first climb out of Apollo Bay. From there some rolling hills followed by a grand decent into the infamous Valley before a 19k rolling climb up Lavers Hill. Are we there yet?

At the top of Lavers is a huge corner store/cafe/watering hole, but the cookies, slices, hot chips and alcoholic beverages would have to wait. A quick refill of fluids and the odd coffee was purchased before heading back down the icy hill into the Valley and back to…………bugger the first decent, which is now a steep and nasty 3k climb. Not to worry it was smooth sailing from there!

Almost all of our athletes made it up Lavers and those who did not had already accomplished more than they could have imagined, so well done to all.

At the conclusion of our rides athletes still had another run of 1-1.5 hrs with the challenge to beat the impending storm. Lucky for most but unlucky for our leaders Ollie and Sarah who faced the rain and sleeting rain in the last 10km of their ride, which also made for a cold and soggy run to finish the weekend off.

Lessons Learnt

1. Pack your helmet!
2. If you have a photo of yourself on your screen saver and you’re presenting to a group….. Change it to avoid embarrassment.
3. Don’t leave Garlic Bread unattended, it won’t be there when you get back!
4. Coaches should keep in mind Dave Nealon’s needs: “If I’m getting my arse of this couch in 20mins, I better be getting some real deep meaningful Yoda style mother freaking insights at that briefing that’s all I’m saying ;0)”
   
5. 3pm is not breakfast time in Apollo Bay! No matter how much you beg, Pancakes and eggs will not be served. However if you see a sign advertising Indian Curry, it is worth asking them, as it happens they do serve eggs and Pancakes up to 3.30pm
6. Chocolate cake cooked in a microwave is perfectly acceptable for breakfast after a camp weekend……..But if Anthony offers to make it your better off going to Lisa’s!!! Thanks to Melbourne expat Jayne Gaukroger for the recipe.
   

Once Again well done to all our athletes who made it through this years Apollo Bay Long Course camp. We will leave you with a little quote found by one of our athletes….

 “Courage does not always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying
‘I will try again tomorrow’….”

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to attend our next camp – our Pre Season Camp also held in Apollo Bay and is set for 21-23 September. This is our second biggest camp for the year and is perfect timing leading into the start of the triathlon season. Expressions of interest to be sent to [email protected] with the email subject line ‘Pre Season Camp’.