Helen Training Camp - Final Day and review

Got home late last night around 10:30pm and got very little sleep as I had a 5:00am workout scheduled this morning. That was bad planning but I got up anyway knowing two of my training buddies were counting on me being there. It ended up being a great workout but I'm quite tired now - looking forward to an easy day in the office.

The last workout for the Helen Training Camp was a fantastic 70 mile bike featuring 3 major climbs and a nice 30 mile "flat" section to close out the ride which we hammered. We started with 16 campers but only 8 started the ride and 6 finished the entire 70 miles. Another 5+ hour day in the saddle. We decided to start the ride later (11:00am) to get the warmest part of the day for the ride. Beautiful weather greeted us at the start and it quickly warmed up to over 70 degrees as we challenged each other up every climb. Winning the KOM jersey for the week was Kurt Molter who consistently road near the front all week on every major climb. He did not win every climb today but again was always near the front challenging. The now 50 year old Tom Lebuhn was strong all day and finished the day with a 3 mile pull to finish the 70 mile day that had everyone hanging on for dear life. Mark "the locomotive" Lemmon also showed all his ironman training over the last two decades paid off as he got stronger as the week progressed. After a nice barbecue dinner to celebrate the hard week of training there was one more competition left - putt putt golf. I was pleased to take the title in putt putt with Mark Lemmon second and Kurt Molter getting the final podium spot. First time putt putt golfer Curt Haywood put in a strong showing as well.

Already looking forward to next year. A big thanks to all the campers that hung in there and did all the workouts - you were a great inspiration for me.

Bring it!

HFP Man

Helen Training Camp - Day 5

Sorry for the lateness on this post - we were just having too much fun after the workout. Yesterday featured a 45 mile ride followed by a 30 minute run. Most skipped the run and opted to lay in the sun and hang with me as my ankle would not let me run. I was thrilled to be able to ride however, and my ankle did not really bother me too much. The ride featured one of the most difficult climbs of the week - Hog Pen Gap. Very steep and bumpy road surface makes this climb really tough. Tom Lebuhn dominated the climb followed by the camps King of the Mountain - Kurt Molter, then Scott Myers and then fighting for 4th and 5th was myself and Mark "The Locomotive" Lemmon. Nearly 3 hours to complete the entire loop. Everyone is starting to feel the miles in their legs.

Today's a 3k swim followed by a killer 80 mile bike featuring Hog Pen, Brass Town (highest point in GA), Unicoi and a portion of Devils Branch loop. Today the weather will be awesome and will likely be our last workout before we head home Sunday morning.

Bring it!

HFP Man

Helen Training Camp - Day 4

Sorry for the lateness in my report on day 4 but I had a mishap during the scheduled 20k trail run yesterday. Thursday was the one day with a 70% chance of rain so we scheduled it for a run and swim only day. The Ruby Falls trail is a narrow single track with lots of off-camber tilts and a great deal of elevation gain. The plan was to run to Ruby Falls (about 5 miles), return on the road then run another 3 miles around the park lake. About a 1/2 mile from Ruby Falls I turned my ankle. In full stride I laid my outside ankle bone squarely into the dirt and then went head over heals off the trail. Swelling was almost instantaneous and the looked like I had a donut in my sock above my shoe. I tried to keep moving fearing it would lock up but just a 1/4 mile later I was required to hobble the remaining trail out to the falls. While everyone enjoyed the view of the falls I was sitting in the creek soaking my foot. After getting out of the creek it was clear I was not running back. Thankfully the park visitor center was just down the road and a very kind park employee drove me back to my truck. Later that day the rest of the campers swam 3k and called it a day.

My ankle this morning has much less swelling and I think I can get it into a cycling shoe for our 40mi ride of Helen 3-Gaps. I'll have to skip the 30 minute transition run but 2.5 hours in the saddle should be good. I'll make sure to send some good photos from the top of the gaps.

Bringing it in Helen!

HFP Man

Helen GA Camp - Day #3

Another beautiful day greeted us for an "easy" 75 mile bike today. This course only featured one 2 mile climb with a lot of rollers in between (like Southern Ohio). The pace was steady all day and most hills featured a race to the top with some epic battles between Scott Myers, Kurt Molter, Tom Lebuhn and myself. The ride started at 10:00am and we ended the day around 3:00pm. A big hand for Andrea Myers - she is a super woman. Hung with us the entire day and eventually dragged her bonking husband in the last 5 miles. I don't know a tougher woman than Andrea.

Amazingly I felt better today then the previous 2 rides. Fitness level is quickly going up. Still pretty tired after the ride and not up for much blogging. I hope to give a better camp overview at the end of the week with some interesting and unusual happenings from the week.

Bring it!

HFP Man

Helen GA Camp - Day 2

Very little time and energy to write much this evening. Just got done with what was the hardest workout day of my life. It started with a 3k swim at 8am and by 10:15am we were on our bikes for the most difficult 93 miles I've ever ridden. The ride just ended at 6:30pm. We had about 60 minutes of breaks throughout the day but a pretty steady pace all day. The ride had 8 category 1 climbs of over 31 miles of climbing!

Lots of good photos posted on my Facebook page from the epic day of training. More fun continues on Wednesday.

Bring it!

HFP Man

Helen Training Camp - Day 1

What a difference a year can make. Last year cold rain greeted us 4 out of the 6 days of the camp - which made it tough on everyone. This year is was 87 degrees when we checked into the cabin at 11:00am today along with clear blue skies and a light wind. Today's ride started on time at 4:00pm (late start for those driving in today) and on paper is the easiest ride of the week - an out and back 40 mile course to the base of Brasstown Bald and back. There was the optional climb up Brasstown Bald for those up to it. The ride leaves downtown Helen and immediately starts climbing peaking out at 15% grade at the top of an 8 mile climb. A quick 5 mile decent follows then another long slow climb to the base of Brasstown Bald (site of stage finish at the Tour of Georgia). Superwoman Andrea Myers joined her husband Scott and Kurt Molter for the extra 2.6 mile climb (Brasstown peaks out at 25% grades). The rest of us turned back and enjoyed the 6 mile decent to the base of Unicoi before climbing back up another 5 miles then enjoying the 8 miles downhill back into Helen. Curt Haywood, Mark Lemmon, Tom Lebuhn and myself stopped at a local park and soaked our legs in the icy cold Chattahoochee River for 10 minutes - Mark swears it will be the key to getting through the week. Total ride time 2hr 26min for 39.6 miles. Does that give you an idea of the terrain down here? Next up 80+ miles and 8 major climbs of more than 5 miles each (after 3k in the pool).
I'll be Twitting from the ride with pictures the rest of the week.

Bring it!

HFP Man