Morzine Monsta

There was terrible weather for the unofficial Morzine Monsta. At the top of the col, the temperature was 3 degrees, poor visibility and driving rain. Lovely.

In the cycling I did get to the top OK in 3rd position after about 700m vertical gain (the eventual top two overall places where of course in front of me ) I then descended like a baby girl - can I blame that on unfamiliar equipment? (People who where 10 minutes behind on the climb overtook me!) The support crew made coffee and tea to get us all warmed up before throwing us out again for the run. I think this transition must have taken about 30 minutes!

Another baby girl moment came in the swim where I did 5 meters then promptly jumped back out. Gareth came in first in that event as well as overall. I am not sure if it was the cold or the Mankini's supported by a few swimmers that put me off.

Lee, supporting a hangover never really got into the groove (he did come in 4th all the same). Although that being said, when everybody else was freezing their pants off on the decent (3 degrees and rain) he took the unusual step of transforming a bin liner into foot warmers. Showing his faculties where still functioning while others where flapping around like wet fish. I think I had a touch of hypothermia. I had to slow down on the decent not to be so cold. It was the first time I needed to apply the breaks and peddle just to keep my legs moving!

Gareth surprised everybody (including himself I think) on the run coming in a very creditable 3rd and running all of it. I came in 1st in a terrible time, but after the effort of the cycling I suppose it is OK.

Time: 30:41
Distance: 5.63 km
Elevation Gain: 211 m

My weight

Gareth peaked my curiosity.... Just how much weight had I gained from eating Frois Gras and other duck delicacies accompanied by wine while on holiday - It is the regional food of the perigord.

In fact I was putting of weighing myself for fear of damage: It turns out I was right, I had gone up to 80kg. This morning it dropped back down to 79.4 (Probably due to doing a 9km run yesterday at the peak of the heat, about 35 degrees. (may be a shade dehydrated)

My Chart

Triathlon Training

Gareth lets me know yesterday that the Monster (informal short triathlon) will be run this Saturday so I will cast my mind back to training I have done for it.

Last week we where in the Perigord, Sarlat. A fantastic place to stay especially if you have a pool and a 200 year old farm house to live in. On top of that, the second run (6ish km) I found this castle at the turn around point.

Chateaux du Montfort

So I did a few runs in the heat. But did not use anything of the pool for training myself. However, Joanne had decided she wanted to be able to swim and so it was here that we removed the arm bands and she learned to swim. Well lets just say she needs practice, but it is there.

You could I suppose contend that I was eating for energy. Lots of fois gras and fatty duck done in a mired of ways. Yummy but it won't help the weight (Actually I am back up to 80kg this morning)

The week before the Perigord I managed a few runs around the Lac des Settons, but mostly I jogged next to Joanne who had decided the week before she wanted to ride a bike - Without Stabilizers.

Yet again, it was a decision by Joanne. I ran next to her for 2km holding the seat and she then rode for 1km on her own. Piece of cake. Since then, I have pretty much encouraged her out every day. Initially just jogging next to her and now even riding.

Does that count as training for the Monster?  I have been in water and on a bike (These are pretty much the only times this year I have done either of these activities)

Running in a mine

I love my Garmin, but when I see graphs like this one (Where it appears I have been running the first kilometer underground) I suspect problems of accuracy and programming. Surly the smart programmers at Garmin are aware at that kind of depth there is no way I could be running and there would be no GPS coverage even if I was somehow running in a mine or something

Being in the country

I went out for a run last night after a bottle of fizz (Local, Cezeriat - I think I will try and source some more. It was gifted to me by the man in charge of the municipal tip. Not sure why, probably felt sorry for me). Anyhow, on the run it struck me just how few footpaths I have identified near the house.

I rounded a bend to be greeted by a field full of cows the thought came back to me, in Dardilly I probably ran in the region of 80% trails. Here so far in the country and not suburbia it is looking more the other way round.

On a related note, my speed has improved along with my cadence. (Averaging 93spm this week even with my boozy run included) It is also true that I do not have the stamina at the moment. I seem to be hitting 5km OK, but more than that I am puffing and blowing. I might get to do a long run on vacation!

Boozy Run