As promised, we'll pack more miles in fewer days this week. Last month we stuck 9 days of training back to back, and called it the Virtual Semicamp. This month (specifically this week) we're going to host the Virtual Century Camp.

The name is emblematic of the distances or, rather, the number of "points" we're going to try to hit on at least three of these four days. By "points" I refer to the point system enumerated in the Virtual Camp coverage. I give 1 point for every mile ridden on the bike, 1 point for every 100 meters accomplished in the pool, and 4 points for every mile run. Days 2, 3 and 4 are all 100-point days, with two of those days being century rides back to back.

ANNOUNCEMENTS
ROUTES
APRIL 7th (Wednesday) Run 2hr to 2hr30min
APRIL 8th (Thursday) Ride 50mi, swim 5000m
APRIL 9th (Friday) Ride 100mi
APRIL 10th (Saturday) Ride 100mi

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Yet to be determined is our site for these rides. Our intention was to ride all my favorite Greenhorn Mountain secret spots (I'll keep their locations between you, me and the fence post). However, Parker Pass, Portuguese Pass and much of the Western Divide Highway are still unpassable because of Winter closures. We still may go up there and ride these roads out and back, instead of as loops. I have to circle the troops and query them.

One way or the other, we're riding more or less what's on that schedule. I'll keep you updated; stay tuned to your computers for a description of routes, for those of you who want to join us in an analog fashion.

One last note. Sunday is a "substitute day" and is there for those whose work and family commitments make it impossible to string together Wednesday through Saturday.

ROUTES

Our first two days will take place in and around our normal training haunts. Days three and four were to commence in the southwestern Sierra Nevadas, specifically in the Greenhorn Mountains north and east of Bakersfield. However, several of the high passes and roads are still impassable because of snow that continues to block thru travel. Therefore, our staging area for these rides will be Kernville, a scenic village that sits at the head of Lake Isabella.

The first of our riding centuries includes a ride up the Kern River, a body of water which ought to be quite full due to the melting snows in the Sierras. We'll ride to Johnsondale, and then turn right on Lloyd's Meadow Road. This small, twisty portal to the High Sierra pack horse camps dead-ends 23 miles in, and will be an out-and-back. It's currently not yet open for travel, but it will be within a week or two (the Forest Service opens this road for the start of fishing season, which commences later this month). We'll see how far in we can get.

On the return, if we need some additional miles, we'll continue up "Mountain 99," one of the several names for this road along the Kern River, to the Western Divide Highway. We'll again eventually be turned around by snow on the road. Finally, there's one more out and back, up to Sherman Pass. This road goes over 10,000', and spills over to the southernmost extention of the Owens Valley on the east side of the Sierras. This pass is likewise closed, but not before the road continues for some miles.

The second of these centuries will travel south of Kernville, from Lake Isabella to Tehachapi on the Caliente Bodfish Road. I've never traveled this road, and know no one who has. However, I've always been intrigued by it, and now have a reason to finally ride it.

APRIL 7TH, DAY ONE

These mini camps parallel my philosophy that periods of high intensity and/or long duration training all smushed together is a good thing, as long as they're interspersed by periods of sufficient rest. Those at the top of the endurance sports pyramid do this regularly, in every endurance sport. The difference between pros and age-groupers is that the latter rarely if ever get to experience these spates of overdistance training, or supercompensation, or whatever name you choose to give to this technique.

The point of these several-day exercises, and their coverage on Slowtwitch, is to give the age-grouper a chance to train in this environment. Our Forum gives us an outlet for bragging and lieing, an absolutely integral part of the process, as these days are hard and long and just aren't complete without a bit of comeraderie, whether analog or digital.

As usual, remember that not all of us are equally able to perform high mileage. Some of you can't do the mileage I'm doing. I can't do the mileage Francois Modave or Jonas Colting is doing. Gauge your abilities, don't bite off more than you can chew.

Day-one, for me, called only for a long run. I threw Charlee, my blonde running partner, and Swedish pro triathlete Jonas Colting into the truck and we drove 20 minutes up to Jackson Lake, a body of water slightly larger than a pond sitting about 6000' above sea level in the San Gabriel Mountains.

My goal was to run for 2+ hours, somewhere between 2:15 and 2:30. We had a route planned that would take us to 7000' and would span a bit of the Pacific Crest Trail. The run went well enough, except that it transpired at a pace a bit faster than I expected it would. All was fine for the first 1:40, then I started to get a bit leg-weary. But all was okay, and I finished a bit ahead of schedule, in 2:10. Jonas continued on his own for another 20 minutes.

I could've soldiered on for another 10 minutes or so, however consoled myself with the knowledge that I actually did perform a 2hr20min run, I just did it in 2hr10min. Perhaps that's just a convenient rationalization.

Jonas then went with Monty to masters swim and the pair of them put in 5000m. Monty may be 48-years-old, but when in the water he can train with anybody. I swear, he could give Ian Thorpe a good workout. Monty and I are good for Jonas, because he's almost always got a training partner. Jonas wipes me out on the run, and then I hand him off to Monty.

I figure I ran about 16 miles today, good for 64 points. Jonas ran about 20 miles and, with his swim, totalled about 130pts for the day.

APRIL 8TH, DAY TWO

I don't know why, but it seems I have difficulty in starting these tours off on a good note. Yes, my run on Day-1 was successful, however Day-2 was a tougher slog. Our 50-mile ride was going to be moderately hilly, with 3000' of total elevation gain, and it went well enough. But it wasn't really an easy ride for me, as I took it upon myself to pull a second group of cyclists up to the first group, which consisted of Monty and Jonas the Swede, and this pull took about 20 miles.

First bad news, the loop turned out to be 42 miles, not 50. Bummer. But I wasn't about to go out for 8 more. Next, I was absolutely wiped out for the swim, probably because of the cumulative total of the ride plus yesterday's faster-than-prudent run. I therefore swam perhaps 2000 yards and got out.

So, Day-2 totaled 60pts instead of the 100pts planned. The only way to clutch success from the jaws of mediocrity is to have two strong remaining days.

Meanwhile, there are a fair number of Slowtwitchers who're dong an admirable job of getting in 100pt days. Their progress can be followed on the Forum. We're on our way up to Kernville now, and will not report until days three and four are complete.

APRIL 9TH, DAY THREE

We departed Kernville, California, and rode north up the Kern River. The idea was to ride to Johnsondale, and then north on Lloyd Meadows Road, the ingress to the Kern River Gorge's pack horse camps that dead-ended 23 miles in.

I rode stroke for stroke with our visiting Swede, Jonas Colting, for the first 40 miles, as we gradually (and sometimes not so gradually) trended up from 2600' above sea level to about 6000'). At this point my legs were toast, and the only saving grace was that I'd eventually end up at 2600' again. I turned around, and the Swede rode on.

Halfway back I stopped at Johnsondale, the only water stop on the whole route. I laid around for 20 minutes and the Swede showed up. We rode back together—80 miles for me and 94 for him—then he continued on for an out and back to get his 100.

APRIL 10TH, DAY FOUR

This time we rode south from Kernville, and actually drove 15 miles to Bodfish, a town on the regular route if you're a Bakersfield-based cyclist with a penchant for climbing.

Right out the gate we climbed 1500' up an 8% grade, and again I took it upon myself to ride with the Swede. We descended into an old mining hamlet called Havilah, then climbed out of that and descended into the Walker Basin, as pretty a farming valley as one is likely to see in California. This time it took the Swede only 20 miles to fry me.

I rode a loop around the valley and, tail between my legs and head hung low, I struggled back over the same climbs and ended with 45 miles. The Swede Jonas rode 80, which was worth 100+ flat miles.

The Swede argues that my point system is incomplete, and that one ought to have a bonus for total elevation gained. We agreed that 1 point for every 1000' climbed on the bike and a point for every 300' ascended while running seems appropriate. On future tours I'll establish this new rule.

We drove back home and I ran for about an hour, so as to in some small way make amends for my woefully short point totals. Instead of 100pts on days 2, 3 and 4, my totals were more like 60, 80 and 70.

I was really beat the next day, and took it off. Yes, the training was good, however I've clearly still got a hump to get over. I'm going to try this again in May, and see if I can finally get to the point where I can string 3 100pt days in a row.

Meanwhile, my good friend Peggy McDowell-Cramer totaled 300 points in her four days, compared to my 275. Peggy is in the 60-64 age group. Century campers to break the 400-point barrier included mckenzie, and other 300-pointers were letter and Robert Preston.