Day 13

Today we had one of the Epic Camp traditions to complete. The 400IM (individual medley) competition. In the past this has been very amusing for those watching the lesser accomplished swimmers battling their way through one of the toughest events in swimming. We had the whole Geraldine outdoor 25m pool to ourselves for 2 hours. So some of the guys took the opportunity to swim a 6km session, others the standard 3km and some who already have the total swim distance for camp completion finished did just the 400IM.

My knee was a little stiff when I woke but seemed all ok once I got moving. The camera man questioned why I was in my swim gear at the pool as I was told not to swim for a day or so. I explained that the 400IM was required for the camp completion and I wasn’t going to miss that after biking 2000km , swimming 27km and running over 100km with only 2 days to go.

The IM was won by Steve Lord just held off Scott by 2 seconds in a time of 5min 55. John was third then Nick & Petro just on the 6min mark. I had a good first 25 fly then it was all hard work. I hear Molina made some funny comments from pool side about my rapid decline in swimming ability, which was pretty accurate. I managed to survive coming in around the 7:30 mark. It’s a bloody tough event to do but was pleased to have notched up an Epic Camp 400IM

Once all that was done it was back for breakfast and off on the bike. 150km from Geraldine to Waianakarua which is just south of Oamaru. It was an uneventful ride down state highway 1 but finished with some of the best road we have traveled so far. The coastal road from just outside Oamaru through to Waianakarua was spectacular. It may have been the contrast from the boring main road with heavy traffic to the quiet road following the coastline that made it that much more enjoyable, but everyone loved it. I was with a group of 8 riders. At one point we come to a road closed sign but decided we would follow the planed route. It become obvious why that section of Beach road was closed as the sea had eroded the cliffs so much that it had eaten sections of the tarmac away. Dave Craig took some photos as it was an amazing site. Luckily the road meet up with the open road again and with a bit of cyclocross and climbing over dirt piles we were back on track. I never knew this road existed so it was a very cool way to finish the ride and always good to see new parts of my own country.

I think everyone is happy that we are now close to completing the journey. A few people are getting sniffles and the odd cough so the heavy training load is starting to take its toll. I am feeling good generally considering what we have done. Felt tired when we stopped riding and had a small sleep before my massage. The massages have been fantastic and I am sure have made a huge impact on my ability to recover and keep going.

Tomorrow we head to Balcluther. 180km ride but plan to stop at Dunedin for an Aquathon. 2km Harbor swim and 7km run depending on conditions. So another Epic day in store for us tomorrow.