Training Log Archive: phatty

Yesterday was a write-off because it rained the ENTIRE day and hovered around 3C the ENTIRE day. Yes, Goose, "there's no bad weather...only bad attitudes and bad gear" but I wussed out.

However, today, Leanimal and I went up to the Col de Contrabandiers at the south end of Mont Veyrier. We took a series of trails and roads and as we climbed, it got more and more wintery. By the Col, it was full on white with snow up to our ankles. We went to return a different route but it got pretty sketchy in the slippery mess we were running on. So, we pulled the pin and came back the same way. We saw only 3 others and each were wearing and carrying far less than we were....one guy was in shorts!

C • For Hansel 8

Warm-up run

Another park session

2012 adidas TERREX Sting in Stirling TV Coverage

http://www.dreamteamtelevision.co.uk/view-programm...

Leanimal and I just finished watching the full one-hour TV program that aired in the UK earlier this week. Our favourite quote, "Yeah...it's like I'm seeing things...you know...like a rock becomes a polar bear...I'm all...woah" - The Harps.

We're biased of course but it was pretty incredible how they were able to capture the grandeur of the landscape really well. Enjoy!

C • ugh great 8

The Mums were minding Weeanimal in Talloires so Leanimal and I did some exploring just adjacent to the Dents de Lanfant. We got off track for a while and took a bit to find the trailhead too, so we were forced to do a little bit of an out and back in order to be back on time. Two days in a row getting ticks, however, gave me a bit of a surprise as I've been coming here for years and have never seen them.

C • ticks!? 6

Probably one of the best rides I've done in a while. Leanimal and I met up with a guy that I met at work and we hit the Semnoz on our MTBs. Surprise, surprise, this guy is a machine on a bike AND works for Mavic. He also used to fly the French flag while racing on the XTerra circuit and podiumed a few times. I think it was a good thing that we didn't know that going in. The first 30 minute climb almost killed me but once that was in the rearview and I got my legs back, the rest of the session was just awesome. Riding with such a skilled cyclist is great because he picked such good lines and rode with far more speed on the technical stuff than either Leanimal and would have otherwise. So, I let'er rip and it was so much fun...technical at times where my bike's parts rattled seemingly uncontrollably but it made it through. None of us could believe the 20C weather in the latter part of October today!

C • Sweet. 3

Ugh...why is it that the more I run, the worse I get? Phat and slow. Selling shoes all day is hard work!

C • Al Bundy? ;) 5

Booked it to and from a lunch core workout session close to work.

Ran atop a high point on the Veyrier with a buddy from work. I say 'with' but what I should say is 'far behind'. Holy sh!t could this guy climb! I started off the climb with him but in the end, he beat me to the top by around 5 minutes. And of course, on the way back down by headlamp, he cooked the descent while I gave it what I had only to be dusted again. The crazy thing is that this guy is ALMOST as old as Goose!?!

C • Gotta watch those old guys! 1

Run home with a sore brain after my weekly French lessons...me stupid.

C • "je suis stupide" 2

Leanimal and I had the benefit of childcare so off we went in the direction of the BIG alps to our east. We grabbed a topo and lunch at the Carrefour (love it that they've got proper topos in the grocery store here!) in Moutiers and then drove up to a parking lot at Novallay. From here, we set out on a decent climb up to a col between two mountains. We were above the treeline and had 360 views of La Plagne to our east and Mont Blanc to our north. West were more big daddy mountains and south was...well we couldn't quite see as much so that's the direction we went. The weather was perfect and we were all alone up there...so cool. We climbed up more and topped out at around 2,400m or so. After a failed technical scramble up to a ridgeline (it got a little scary to be honest) we retreated and started back to our car via the other side of the ridge. Down we went and eventually hit a really cool cirque-type valley were we saw a few chamois. Leanimal was worried that they were coming right for us when the descended from their alpine perch at an impressive, rapid pace. We practiced our french for the rest of the hike...epic session of scouting for future trail runs or bikes!

C • Alone with your wife at the... 5

C • GPS Route? 4

LOOOOOONG week in Tegernsee, Germany and frustratingly, didn't manage to get outside for some activity. Ran home from work to get the motor running again.

We had planned on doing an epic ride - up toward La Clusaz and then eventually over top of the mountains to the west to Thorens Gliere before heading home again. However, the forecast was true to its promise in that it was solid rain from 6am onward. Sh!t. Never the less, we headed out into the soak and started our journey. We were drenched almost right away but thankfully, it wasn't too cold. We climbed up to St. Jean de Sixt and pulled the pin now that we were pretty chilled and had a massive climb still ahead...it just wasn't that much fun. So, we turned around and took a slightly different route back. The Fier River was cooking and it would have been sweet to have a Tomcat to give it a go in.

We've got unfinished business now, so I'm sure we'll conquer that ride at some point.

While Grandminal (that's Grandma + Animal of course) and Grandpa looked after Weeanimal at the Col de Forclaz (she was occupied, no doubt, by the passing parapenters as they take off from just up the hill), Leanimal and I head to the top of La Tournette and back. This is the tallest mountain around Lake Annecy and it gets pretty technical at around the 2,000m mark with chains, bars, ladders, and steep ascents to negotiate. Leanimal pretty much blasted her was past people with reckless abandon if they got in her way...she's so driven to achieve the objective in the time allotted. Mont Blanc was very visible to the east from the top and the day was PERFECT! The run back down to the Col was tough on the knees and thighs. This will take a lot of time to build up the resiliency to attack the downhills...I know I'll feel it later today!

C • Reckless abandon?! Really? ... 2

Really fun session as part of a 1.5 day trail running advanced projects workshop. The guy leading the run is our team manager and a very talented athlete. After a climb from Talloir to just short of the Cascade Agnon, he gave the group a lesson in how to run downhill on technical terrain with speed...a LOT of speed. You could hardly hear his footstrikes as he ran so effortlessly with his legs bounding like pistons. When my turn came, the very ground shook from my elephant-esque pounding. Ugh, so much technique to learn. The climbs later on were pretty challenging. I'm not so good at the hands-on-knees lunge walking deal. It kills my back although I think I was moving at a decent speed.

Just have to fix this nagging hamstring thing and then once I get going, I'm hoping my fitness and climbing improves now that we're mountain people.

C • Summary? 4

C • Suunto Ambit?? 14

C • XT S-LAB 5 3