Day Three started out early once again. Mat and I rolled out the door to knock out the daily minimum run of 50 minutes before sunrise.

Hold on; before we continue;

There is a "camp within the camp" going on right now. The triathlon gents here at the camp have some scoring going on that is based around the rules for Epic Camp. This means:

one point for a 50 min run (minimum)

one point for 3300 yards (minimum)

one point for completing the day's ride

various KOM and sprint scoring that goes 5,4,3,2,1 (those are set by the VQ camp).

one point for various swim sets within the actual workouts.

Ok; so, when you hear me say the "daily minimum" it refers to the scoring above.

After the run we got ready for an 8:45 rollout on what was supposed to be a 40 mile recovery ride. The only paradox was that Robbie mentioned that there would be a sprint midway through the session that is marked from 2 kilometers out. Hardly seemed logical, but it did sound fun at any rate.

The groups are divided up as A,B,C, and (get this) D. The A group rolled out at a nice leisurely pace and we all chatted for a good 30 minutes and just generally enjoyed the countryside. Then we see Robbie Ventura roll up and tell us that the B group has caught us and that we need to pick up the pace. So much for recovery.

From there the A group split into two groups and started working a fast paceline. I believe that we were theoretically supposed to move at the same speed, but it seems the second 'A' group managed to fall a bit behind and Mat was the only dude in that group. It might not have been a big deal, but with a sprint coming up soon he knew he would have to make a move to be 'in it to win it." Big M made a monster move to bridge to our group and he just made contact when we hit the "2K to go" cone. Unfortunately he pretty much wasted himself with that effort, but he still managed to work hard enough to situate me as the fourth wheel before backing off. Quite the honorable teammate.

The final 2K run up was mostly flat in the beginning, but then it kicked uphill for the final 800 meters. The group began to thin out and only Gordo, a dude named Rod Riley, and myself were left to duke it out. We were absolutely pinning it since there was no draft effect at this point and Gordo just snuck by me to take first. I came through in second and Riley in third. I cannot speak for Riley, but I know it was a huge effort for G and I since we both posted new PRs for our one minute power outputs (526 for G, 523 for me).

After clearing the stars that were circling around my head the group headed back at a nice steady clip and the ride was completed in exactly two hours. Since it was early we headed to the pool to knock out a few sets. Mat, Gordo, and I swam a main set of 12 x 100IM/150free continuous (as in 3K straight) which was tough for me since I "learned" fly late in life. Then Gordo and I tacked on another set of 1000 straight with a band around the ankles for one additional point.

The final session of the day was a Functional Training set in the parking lot led by Mr. America's Gardie Jackson who proceeded to absolutely drill the attendees (or was it just me?) with his challenging session. I don't think my beer at lunch helped anything either (but not too many places serve Carlsberg in the States so you have to hit it when its there).

The camp was a little less uneventful in the evening since there were no meetings or meals so the crew headed off to a steak house to top off before tomorrow's ride (100 miles).

Until later,