Race Blog
LYON HALF MARATHON
Goodness, I have been so tired!The week after the Auch triathlon and the 156 mountain ride I jogged once, did a tempo run that about cracked me and in the pouring rain no less a few easy rides, a swim and a round trip to Paris that really dug into my reserves though it was good fun. the week before Lyon I seriously couldnt fathom how I d have the energy to run 21kms....I slept, rode a bit, did one tempo run with athlé632 the club I train with but really had to kick my own butt to finish the distance.
Triathlon de Auch
This weekend willl be up and coming very fast! the Auch triathlon is late saturday afternoon-1500 swim in a very green river, 40kms ride and 10kms run....
the next morning ill be riding 143 kms over 4 mountain passes in the pyrenees and then ill be doing a bit more running until the end of october
sept 21-Lyon half marathon
october 5-31kms trail run near toulouse
october 26-Toulouse marathon
Triathlon de REVEL
Woo Hoo! Just won my first triathlon, in the rain, water temp 16 degrees.....
3kms swim ( i finished very very last), 90 kms great ride over hill and dale around lac st ferreol ( i caught all of the women and a good part of the men by lap 2) and 20kms trail run that was a blast!
For the next few weeks Ill settle for biking and running to get ready for a few more events...photos below
FRENCH LONG DISTANCE DUATHON CHAMPIONSHIPS!
WOOHOO!!! My 3rd year of trying to win the toughest race Ive ever done-the Val d'aran long distance duathlon and this year's bonus was that it was also THE FRENCH NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS.
ETAPE DU TOUR
The Etape du tour.....Sunday july 6th with a 7am start. Not my cup of tea these early starts as my brain hasnt woken up yet, I cant bring myself to eat that early, and .....rain and cold are not my pals! Lucky for me I was dossard 12 but Philippe was 8932 meaning we wouldnt see eachother for the day and i suspected if he started it would be about an hour after my start....so off we went quite early, a few interviews on the start line, 9000 plu speople were actually ready to ride with rain gear, winter clothing was out.....we took off at 7 promptly and it was sprinkling.
THE TOURMALET DUATHLON!!!!!!!
WOOHOOO! THE TOURMALET DUATHLON...the last test before the French long distance Duathlon Championships in the Pyrenees on July 20th.
LA PYRENEENE-4 vallées
A 7am start is, for me anyway, quite brutal....I drove to St Lary in the heart of the Pyrenees on friday night under buckets of rain and hail convicning myself as I drove that the weather would clear up in the morning. 180kms with the col d'orquette 11kms after the start, col de tourmalet into the col d'aspin....I was basically frozen until the descent of the tourmalet where suddenly my neurons reconnected! The col d'orquette was a bit brutal without coffee in the morning but it was too early to swallow anything. i was in long gloves, leg warmers, and was still cold.
CUGNAUX 10kms nocturne and Gagnac duathlon
This past weekend-beginning with friday night (the 20th) was fully packed. I ran the 10kms of cugnaux that started at 9pm. The course was twice around a 5kms circuit and really quite nice. I started at the front and thus too fast but held on at 16kph for 2kms before easing up. I pushed just enough though I think I can still run faster if I work on it....maybe start with a different tempo. I finished in 41 mins flat and 2nd place so I was pretty happy with that.
Saturday I rode up the col de menté twice in sweltering heat
La Traversée des Baronnies
The Baronnies are the foothills of the pyreneese mountains out towards the tourmalet. This event is run every 2 years with the objective being to attract as many women as possible each year. Im the 'god mother' of the event and this will be my second ride. last event, two years ago, was brutal with over 3000m of elevation change and loads of red for comfort afterwards....94kms
La Luchonnaise and Toulouse Triathlon
La Luchonnaise is 125kms with 2380m of climbing, out of Luchon up the valley and up the col d'ares, out towards Aspet, over the col de Burret and back over the col d'ares the other way before attacking the ever so long and pretty steep climb up to Peyragudes....up the first climb someone hit my derailleur causing a bit of leaning which wasnt a problem...the problem was I was left with 4 gears to choose from and not quite optimal for hanging in the first group...I could either use my 12,15,21, or 27....so i suffered through and climbed as i could finishing in 4h12 or so at just under 30kph....a
Mountain bike challenge #3 COLOGNE
RACE 3 February 3rd-COLOGNE-in the wild west of Le Gers we had 30kms of trail, fields, some nice single downhillish sections in the woods and guess what? It was fairly dry!
St Caprais de Bordeaux trail 22kms
MAY1st-st Caprais de Bordeaux-trail race, 22kms over hill and dale and lots of mud!
UFOLEP 2eme categorie a muret, victoire sur mon TREK!
MAY4th UFOLEP category 2 men's race in Muret
Mountain Bike Challenge
Ok! Up at 6, are we happy!! drive through the fog in -4 and here we are at the start of the Lomagne Challenge, a series of three mountian bike races in the gers (32) region of France where the locals live on wine and foie gras and somehow have the lowest cholesterol in france! go figure!!
