Last race report of 2011: Long Course World Champs Las Vegas

My season’s over. It finished two weeks ago at the ITU Long Course World Championships, on the Silverman course in Henderson Nevada (just outside of Las Vegas).

Las Vegas!!! The bright lights of this oddity of a city start in the arrivals hall, where you can lose money to the casinos before your luggage has even hit the baggage carousel. I personally preferred to keep my USD in my pocket and just feel lucky as my bike box and wheels appeared in the oversized area, that the roulette of airline baggage handling got my gear to the same destination as me.

Luckily I was there to prepare and race, not to be either distracted by, or more likely for me be totally repelled by the bright lights and various entertainments and/or vices offered along the aptly named downtown area, "The Strip".

So, to the race. Unfortunately I did not threaten the British athletes in their stellar year in the sport, as Rachel Joyce and Leanda Cave, took out yet another title and the quinella for the Poms. However for me, my 19th place finish in the elite women’s field was a solid outcome. I am a freshman in the elite ranks, with 2011 my first as a pro and I have been racing triathlon for just two and a half years. So hopefully with plenty of improvement yet to be found, despite my age which makes me look like I should be a seasoned pro, I was in the top 20 and just 4 mins (0.8%) off the top 15, and 13m (3.4%) off a top 10 place.

On course

What I am more proud of than my relative placing is that I travelled to a big race with a super strong pro field, at the end of a long season, and feel that I did all I could to put down the fastest race I had in me on the day. I feel that I got the things I controlled pretty right; lead up/taper period, travel, pre-race preparation, clothing and wheel selection, course knowledge, managing last minute race changes, pacing, nutrition/  hydration etc. In doing so I gave myself the best chance of a great finish on the day. I even managed the cold weather well after two really bad races in cold conditions earlier in my season. Mind you I was helped by the cancellation of the swim by ITU officials on race morning due to the cold and water quality concerns. So the race overall was a good season finish and actually a great summary of my 2011 season overall; solid, not spectacular but consistent and providing few regrets.

The Mohave Desert: stunning, open, arid

and while we were there, windy and cold

The weather when I arrived 5 days before the race and checked out the course was stunning, maxing at 26C during the day, dry and sunny. The forecast however was for a cold change to blow through on the Thursday with temperatures expected to plunge to low single digits early morning and maxing around 13-15C with lots of wind and possibly rain on race day. My achilles heel of the 2011 season come back to haunt me! After racing badly in cold wet conditions in both Alpe D’Huez and Challenge Henley earlier this year, I had worked out that my soft Aussie skin and heart really don’t like getting too cold. I had spent lots of time for both racing trying to get my clothing and nutrition right to offset the weather, but both times had still frozen and not been able to find my normal race pace. Another chance to get it right! 3rd time lucky? I decided that cold weather races was my mental and physical challenge for this season, just as my swim had been in 2010, a weakness to be faced, understood and overcome.

By race day my strategy included a whole plan to manage cold from when I arrived at transition, through the race to post race recovery. I was ready!

Alex from TA brought a very big flag!
Back at the Aussie tables after carrying it in.

I had travelled to the race without my husband and kids for the first time all season. It was a really different dynamic. Although I missed them hugely, it really allowed me to focus on the race and spend time just mentally and physically preparing for it with few distractions. One lovely distraction was catching up with some of the Aussie team, especially the guys that had raced in Immenstad last year. We had been a small team there and had stayed in contact ever since. I was also given the honour of carrying the flag at the Parade of Nations a few days before the race. With a big team of 50 from Oz and 3 other elites, all far more experienced and credentialed than me, I was really grateful to be given such a privilege. Alex, the TA team manager asked me to give a brief talk to the team at the Aussie team function. It was a pleasure to do, as this race, the ITU Long Course World Champs has really defined my discovery and progress as a triathlete, from accidental qualification as a secondary unplanned outcome when as a rank amateur I was raising money for Muscular Dystrophy Research in 2009 to this race where I was part of the elite team for Australia.

Thanks to those that offered to make a donation to support Muscular Dystrophy research there. Just a reminder that if anyone was still wanting to make a donation to the cause that initially opened the door to triathlon to me and is as much or more important to me now, there is a link to the various MD charities that I endorse by region here http://jamiesjourneydmd.blogspot.com/

So distractions over, catch ups had and good wishes given to everyone for their race. Now, to the course itself.

Lake Las Vegas

The 4k swim was a long out and back in the relatively small man-made lake, Lake Las Vegas, surrounded by golf courses, hotels, fancy holiday mansions, new housing estates, palm trees and shopping villages. A compact "oasis" of green space and modern pastel buildings that seemed to have landed in an otherwise pretty barren and uninhabited area about 20k from Vegas and 10k from Henderson. It was nice in a, "is this real or is this a film set" sort of a way. You were not allowed to train in the lake, so given that the swim was cancelled pre-dawn on race morning, as it happened, I never got to swim there.

In the pitch black at 5am as we arrived at transition, the ITU official announced the swim was cancelled. Instead we were to prepare for a TT bike start in race no. order, 5s apart starting 45m later then official swim start. It was a great test of mental and physical adaptability. Some folk fretted, some delighted, some got annoyed while others just got prepared for a change that was out of their control. I was relatively ambivalent. After swimming 5 times per week last winter to finally improve what had previously been my weakest leg, I would have liked the opportunity to use my swim, however I also know that I really suffer in the cold and it is very hard to minimize that in the water. Double caps and a great Zoot wetsuit only go so far to protecting you.

So race start arrived and as my full experience of time trial racing was watching the Tour de France TT at Grenoble this year, I put myself in a Cadel mentality (without the cheesy towel around the neck but hopefully with some of the mental and physical fortitude he displayed there) and took off into Lake Mead National Park. There we rode two undulating out and backs on the western and northern limits of the lake created by the Hoover Dam / Colorado River. I loved the dry empty spaces in the park. On race day, the mountains in the distance had fresh snow on them although I have to admit I didn’t notice much at the time. Rachel Joyce and Leanda Cave from the UK passed me early on the bike and looked super strong, as did Nicola Butterfield, my Australian counterpart who was busy ripping through the field. Heading back into town the course left the road to follow a bike path up on the River Mountain trail until it emerged in Henderson where the roads were straight and smooth but the general inclination upwards to T2, next to a large recreation centre.

I rode hard and my new Valdora Black PHX2 and I loved the course with just over 1,800m climbing in the 120kms. I had debated wheel selection all week as winds rose and fell, but in the end was pleased to be on my Reynolds Strike 66s. The wind was very manageable. The night before wind gusts hit 50mph so it was good to know I had a good option irrespective of the day that dawned. I rode solid and came into the run transition feeling really good and out-transitioned Margaret Bailey to run out onto the 4 lap course in 15th place.

The run was 4 laps on roads and footpaths around the centre with about 500m flat and the rest either climbing or dropping back down again. It wasn’t interesting in views but had lots of options to see your competition, was well supplied with aid stations and plenty of challenges in keeping the pace up on the hills without blowing up and maxing the cadence/pace on the descents. I was really pleased that my run felt good and I kept in rhythm and on or just above my target time. Unfortunately in this super strong field it wasn't quite enough to hold my place so I slipped into 19th by the finish. Still a top 20 finish at the World Champs was by my standards a great race.

Enjoy your training, wherever it is. I'm now in relax mode back in France and enjoying the off season with my rides usually involving my husband, and / or kids and at least one coffee stop en route until the snows fall and riding is relegated to the home trainer for a few months. Next week and I’ll start working on some technical assessments and improvement. For now, time for a coffee!

A bientôt / See you later
Christine

Getting a "D": Dreams and dealing with disappointment

My simple race report for Challenge Henley would be a D for “Disappointed”.

After a great lead up, I went to England earlier this month with high expectations of racing well at Challenge Henley, the new iron distance race in the lovely UK village famous for its annual rowing regatta on the Thames. However on race day I was not able to fire as I had hoped, as I froze in the cold water and air temperatures and was unable to raise my heart rate even after I warmed up (about 3 hours into the race!) to normal race levels. By the time I crossed the line, despite feeling like I had put 100% out there all day, I had failed to meet my goals. I finished up feeling that I let myself, my support crew, coach and long preparation down. So, after a week to consider, here are a few thoughts on life with stars in your eyes and the occasional mud in your face when you fail to catch them.

In life some people cut disappointment off in its infancy by never giving weight to their dreams. Others, as the saying goes seem to “aim for the stars and reach the moon”, accepting their dreams and turning them into tangible goals, striving unhesitatingly towards them and then measuring their achievements against them. However if the dream was to land on a brightly burning star, the cool of the moon can sometimes seem a dark, dismal place, however amazing it seems to others who remained on terra firma. 

My goals since I started triathlon seriously 2 years ago have seemed at times like wishing for the stars. The amazing thing is that I have actually reached a number of them and without too many disappointments en route, despite regularly raising my expectations. It seems hardly fair to expect to be racing professionally and wanting to finish in the top 5 women in a major international iron distance event at 41, with two young kids and two years in the sport. Call it arrogance or ignorance as you wish, but that was my objective this season. I actually still believe that it was possible given my preparedness, just unfulfilled. 



Still smiling at the best support crew any
girl could want. My parents were over from Oz
and my English family came and joined in. THANKS!

 That is the greatest frustration of Henley. I had consistently done the hard work with this race in mind all year; put in the hours, effort and focus, made the sacrifices, learned, and treated my body as an office I couldn’t step away from for a weekend. I didn’t mind this, as I enjoyed the challenge and it was all for a purpose, to help achieve a goal and to realise my dream of being a professional athlete, finding out what the best I could be actually was. So on race morning I was there, mentally and physically ready to race hard with all the lead up events and training times showing that my big goal was a stretch but realistically achievable at this race. I even had a wonderful support crew, much larger than my usual team of my husband and boys. My parents were over from Australia and my English relatives all converged on Henley to cheer me on too. Our lovely host family in Henley, who truly put the "family" into the hosting also provided amazing support, from dropping us off at 4:50am, cheering me on during the race and being wonderful after.

After hours of hard racing and a year of solid training, I ended up unable to leverage my full capacity on the day I think primarily because of a relatively uncontrollable factor, weather. From two races this season, Henley and Alpe D’Huez, I have learnt that my soft Australian body doesn’t handle cold well and responds to it as it would if I had a virus lurking, by shutting down my ability to exert myself at maximum pace. As my very English cousin would say, “Pants!”. 


Everyone has off days. Every race there are one or two strong competitors who surprisingly have a bad day against their potential. They may have an injury or illness lurking, still be fatigued from previous races/training blocks, have mechanical issues on the bike, get their nutrition or pacing wrong or just not be on expected form. In thinking about a race, you consider that the probability of others not performing as expected, but I had always expected consistency of performance to potential from myself. I always plan out my strategy so that I have the best chance of managing all the controllable factors, which include; race logistics, pacing, nutrition and mindset. This time I got a few factors wrong, namely choice of additional clothing in T1, but I’m not sure if that would have made enough of a difference anyway as I had lots of layers on and was still cold from inside my core after the swim for a very long time on the bike. Irrespective, the race is run now. I finished well behind my goal of top 5, but in what for many would be a good race outcome coming 11th woman despite feeling like I was limited to two cylinders all day in a four cylinder engine. Measured against my potential and expectations it gave me a bitter taste of disappointment to swallow. I was the outlier this time. 

I hope you never experience a large disappointment. Unfortunately, unless you are the next Chrissy Wellington and win every race you have ever entered (at Ironman distance anyway), if you set high goals for yourself and have the luxury of being able to chase them, then you may deal with feeling you have given yourself a “D” somewhere along the journey too. Here are a few thoughts I have had in thinking about my experience on the cool side of the moon.

1. Be honest with yourself: Neither pretend it didn’t disappoint you or let it broaden into a “failure” beyond actual size.
2. Put it in perspective: It is not global peace that you just fell short of achieving. Even if it is your job, it is sport and hopefully the affect of falling short of your goal will not be too dramatic to you or others once the disappointment dissipates.
3. Learn from it: Understand how much of the failure was due to events you could have controlled, what was bad luck and whether some was due to unrealistic goals. Learn all you can to be more successful next time.
4. Use it as fuel to light the afterburners next time: A bit of disappointment can provide the fire needed for achieving your next goal. Save a little for your next big race.
5. Limit the fall out: Don’t let it fade you for too long. Wallowing in a past failure steals energy that could be better spent looking forwards to finding and achiving a new goal. Take from it what you can and then cut the strings and move on.

A friend of mine, Bill Scanlan, has also recently written a great article about some disappointments after a pretty tough season racing professionally in France. Here is the link to the article.
http://www.billscanlan.net/?p=879 

Loving the journey. Who wouldn't out here?

It is not always easy chasing big dreams as Bill and I both have felt. However we are unlikely to ever reach them without a few failures, challenging hurdles or detours en route. Although goals are important in making dreams attainable, a single goal is not often the start or end of the experience. The journey in getting to it, or falling short, is where the majority of time and effort is spent. So this week I have enjoyed coming "home" to France, appreciating the life we have forged as a family here through hard work and over plenty of obstacles and remembering my love of being outside for its own sake; delighting in riding the cols, swimming in the lake and running mottled forest trails. Yes, I have a major race yet to come this season, and so another big goal to strive for soon, but at recovery pace this week, I just enjoyed the journey. That is a dream filled in itself. As for the “D” I gave myself at Henley, I’m busy turning that into a “D” for drive and determination!

Wishing you every success in your next goal, or at worst a disappointment that propels you even closer to achieving your dreams. Either way, enjoy your journey.

I've run a lot of miles over the years, some fast and some not so fast.
I've won some big races and I've had some big disappointments,
but I enjoy the freedom of running and the challenge of training and competition
as much now as when I first started back in high school.

Alberto Salazar (3 time New York Marathon winner and coach)

Overload vs Overtraining: An Epic Week to Crash Test Dummy My Response

What is the role of an overload training week within long distance triathlon programs? Do they work, under what conditions and for whom?

Most athletes that train to a program have a variety of loads week to week that may go something like this;

• Wk 1 12 hours (recovery)
• Wk 2 15 hours
• Wk 3 17 hours
• Wk 4 22 hours (overload)
• Wk 5 12 hours (recovery) etc 

I have a great program that Dave sets me and I do my best to follow, that gives me monthly overload weeks to build strength / endurance and intensity that varies both across each week and between them to keep the body and mind continually adapting and progressing.



There is no easy way up here!
High on the Col de Galibiere

 With Epic Camp, led by John Newsom and Scott Molina coming through the French Alps two weeks ago, I was tempted to test out the advantages of an overload week that verged on the insane. It's tag line is "There is no easy way" and it prides itself on attracting only the strongest of athletes and in being incredibly tough to complete. 



Having just finished the camp, I can now testify to the fact that it did attract a great group of very strong athletes and there was no easy way to complete the minimum activities each day required for camp completion, let alone the additional mileage that some people did. For me, I completed each day's activities and took a couple of occasions to do a little more when it suited my objectives and I had some spare energy. My week ended up incorporating 55 hours of training in 8 days, 1,130kms on the bike (+20,000m climbing), 46k of running, 14k of swimming and a couple of hours of yoga to keep the body from locking up. Each day there were King of the Mountain races on one or two major cols, and we also had a triathlon, aquathon and running race on different days to keep the intensity varied and high at least once every day.

Overload objectives


Each of the 13 people participating in the camp, including the organisers Scott and John, would have their own objectives and specific primary goals that the camp was to help them achieve. For some the primary goal was the camp itself, maximizing points to win the yellow, polka dot and green jerseys by focusing on doing all they could each day. For some it was getting back to a really great level of competitive fitness after a bit of a break, to jump start their readiness for next seasons such as one of the current pros that was on his way back after a year developing other business and life interests outside of triathlon. For others, including me, the camp was a building block that I hoped would improve strength / endurance and efficiency for races still to come this season.



Col bagging across the Alps
Having fun riding uphill, and enjoying the well earned descents!



To be honest I also saw the week as a great chance to ride a lot of the classic climbs of the Alps that are too hard to access within a day's ride, or drive and ride from our home in the Haute Savoie. During the week we rode many of the truly stunning roads in the Alps and had the opportunity to climb many of the famous cols including; Col de l'Izoard, Col de Galibier / Col de Telegraph, Col de Lauteret (3 times!), Alpe D'Huez, Col de Vars, Col de Pre, Col de Grand Colombiere, Col de Saisses, Cret de Chatillon / Semnoz, Col du Fréne, Col de Forclaz, Col de Lescheux and a few other speed bumps that I have forgotten the names of as they blurred into the long days' rides.



Stunning Southern Alps
Heading up the Col de L'Izoard



It was great to climb the cols in a strong group, many at pace as we fought for King of the Mountain points and best of all, supported by Ian and Julie with food and drinks provided at regular intervals making the logistics easier and enjoyment much higher! We also got to swim in stunning, clear mountain lakes and nice local pools and do runs in some lovely environments that otherwise I would have been too exhausted to have bothered to go and investigate. The most memorable run was up to and around the fortified medieval city in Briançon (Vauban) at dawn before a very long day's ride at a gentle trot with a small group before breakfast.

Did it work for me?
Everybody and every body is different. For those who have the fitness, endurance and strength to take on a camp such as Epic Camp, each absorbs the load differently. I saw some athletes strengthen noticably as the week progressed, while others got slightly more ragged around the edges by the end. One thing that was consistent with us all though was a tan and good raccoon eyes thanks to the amazing summer weather that we had each day, culminating in our final ride into Lyon at 40oC!

Ready to race.
Enjoying the run at Passy one week on

So, after a week of recovery I can now more fairly ask myself, did it work for me? In general I would say resoundingly, yes, it did. I managed the week with no injuries, no illness and lots of training absorbed by the body. I did end up pretty exhausted and tight, especially in the hips and ITB, but after a really quiet gentle recovery week I managed to surprise myself with a 2nd place finish yesterday at the Mt Blanc Olympic Distance Triathlon in Passy. Last year I was 4th there and 8 mins slower so it was a good reference point of improvement.

I realized pretty early on that for me as the only woman in the group and one of 3 that qualify in the "veteran" category, that I would need to manage my energy carefully to make sure I came out of the week stronger and not just totally blown up, ruining the remainder of my season. Each day I let myself race at high intensity for one competitive activity, but no more even if I felt good enough on that day to give it a go. I felt that if I let myself race everything, constantly pitting myself against the best of the group (professional male athletes 10 years younger than me) I would end up doing all of them in a wishy-washy way rather than picking one activity and doing it well, therefore keeping some better variation in intensity and speed. Although this approach didn't always go down well with those who wanted to compete at every opportunity, I think it is one of the reasons that I was able to race well just a week after the camp and prevent exhaustion or injury and maintain some higher intensity bursts in my training despite the high volumes.

Benefits of big overload training camps
In summary I think it was a really great week for me given my fitness going into the camp and my objectives. The most telling test will be in a few weeks when I race one of my two key races of this season, the new Challenge Henley iron distance race in the UK.

The best things about the week from my perspective were:

Scott Molina and Clas Bjorling
on Alpe D'Huez

 • Interesting, good athletes to train with, all of whom had very different ways of looking at their training, racing and recovery, including some truly experienced current and ex pros and full time athletes. I enjoyed hearing stories from those who had raced for years all over the world, I learned from watching how others trained and competed and from asking and listening to some wise thoughts on what I was doing. Thanks Scott! I am now working on damping down upper body movement while running. As with most good learning from watching others, I learned some things I would like to emulate and some things I would rather not. Both are valuable. We were also lucky enough to have Rachel Joyce, Tamsin Lewis and Declan Doyle join us on one of our longer days around Annecy. It was fantastic for me to have the chance to ride with and talk to such strong female athletes (and Declan too of course!). Besides being great athletes, they were genuinely nice people too!



The Haute Alps



• Learning that perceived limits were just that, perceived. I redefined my concept of what is possible in overload training. I now have a new concept of what my body can endure and sustain for a short period. I more than doubled the volume of my previous biggest week's training and did so without injury / illness or exhaustion that wasn't able to be reversed after a recovery week.

• Having a stunning environment to train in. I really loved the opportunity to explore the Alps. This was also helped by the weather which was spectacular, probably the best week we have had since early June. Riding up the moonscape-like high alpine terrain of Galibier or l'Izoard or cycling along the lovely river valleys will remain with me I hope forever.

My trusty Valdora TT and I
high in the Alps

• Absorbing the overload. I hope that the volume of the training that I absorbed during the week will set me up with a whole new level of endurance. The climbing and daily higher intensity efforts on the bike should also build additional strength I didn't have before. Also I made the decision to take my race bike (my lovely Valdora TT) rather than my roadie as I had done most of my training this year on my roadie and felt just a bit out of sync with my TT. I always have the excuse that I am riding big hills given the terrain I live in, so taking the TT leaving the roadie at home removed the option. By the time we got back to Annecy I had slightly sore hands from the more limited hand positions, but otherwise felt right back in tune with my race bike whether climbing, descending or on the flats. We didn't do massive volumes of swimming or running but some good training in each, including some faster efforts kept me in tune in both other disciplines.

Making overload work for you

A week like Epic Camp clearly isn't for everyone and despite my positive experience, it won't best support the achievement of every athlete's needs and objectives. However I think that participating in a camp environment can be a real value in most athlete's programs if it meets a certain set of preconditions. Here is my summary of what I feel these are from my experience. I'd be interested in your experience and what you think makes a camp environment / overload work best for you.

1. Finding a camp that is the appropriate level for you. Make sure the camp enables you to do the effort (volume and intensity) and provides the infrastructure and support that best suits your level, objectives and experience. I wasn't sure that Epic Camp would be right for me as it looked pretty...well, Epic. However it was a really good stretch. So a stretch is good but just don't go and break your band, ITB or other!

2. Making sure it meets your objectives. Recognized what your needs are in terms of primary outcome before you select a camp type, duration and timing in your season. When in your season would be the best time for a big overload? I personally couldn't have managed Epic Camp after a winter break as my cycling would not have been up to the level required. Equally any closer to my primary race may have risked not absorbing the load and fully recovering in time, carrying residual fatigue into the race.

An early morning aquathon in Annecy

3. Managing yourself en route. Keep tabs on yourself during the training period itself; physically, mentally and emotionally. Don't let objectives of others in your training group determine your week. So, keep the ego in check and watch for easy groupthink traps! Just because the strongest athlete in the group wants to add a 20k run on the end of a busy day or take off and sprint out the final 20k of a ride, doesn't necessarily make it a good idea for you. Fit with the group as best you can to make it fun and get the benefits that will have been designed into the program, but use the flexibility that will usually be provided within the activities to your best advantage. Equally drinking with the boys late into the evening may seem a good idea at the time (and may fit into your priorities) but if not, have some good excuse handy and remember to get to bed before it gets too ugly. Remember a camp is not about showing you are the best to the others there, it is about getting the best outcome for you long term.

4. Allowing time for recovery. Ensure the body is able to fully absorb the overload week by giving yourself the recovery you need during the week and after. It is no good completing a massive overload week and then losing 3 weeks after through exhaustion, injury or illness. As with most things, consistency in training is key to long term improvement. During the week you will have limited options, but take those that you have to rest, put your legs up the wall, stretch or do some yoga after intense or long efforts, get a massage, self massage or use your foam roller/balls and get some sleep. Also focus on quality hydration and nutrition so you deplete yourself as little as possible. Once the week is over, take a rest day (not just your travel day!) then plan in an appropriate light training period where you keep the body moving but don't tax the system deeply with either intensity or volume. Rest and eat well, cutting the volume but maintaining the quality with good high nutrient food. Also as much as possible re-establish your flexibility, removing muscle tightness through gentle exercise, massage, stretching, yoga etc before it has a chance to create any injuries.

So if you are thinking of taking on a big overload week, definately think about doing it with a group and in an organised camp environment. If you find the right one, that fits your current level and goals, this can make it much easier for you to learn from others and focus on your training while a team (hopefully as good as the Epic crew) sort out the essentials of life like food, accommodation and route setting etc. 

Whatever your season goals are, I hope they are progressing well for you.

A bientot / Catch up soon

Christine

An Epic of a Week

This week I am completing a training camp around the French Alps with Scott Molina and John Newsom's "Epic Camp". Epic Camp was devised in NZ as competitive overload weeks where each day you swim, run and ride doing very long days with some hard competitive testing with other strong athletes en route. They are held in different places around the world, and this year the Epic team was headed to the French Alps. I decided it could be a good experience to join them, learn from the experience itself, from Scott, John and the other athletes and hopefully help a little on the way with some local knowledge, especially when the group heads north to the Annecy area where my family and I currently live.

It is an interesting experience for me as I have never done a week like it before in many ways; daily volume, camp group environment or multi stage tour. Clearly lots to learn.

Turning up I had some comfort in that I am mid season, so although a bit fatigued from lots of racing, I'm as fit as I've been and also have plenty of experience climbing the French cols after a season where my training is tailored around hilly races (IM Nice, Alpe D'Huez and Challenge Henley). It helps when you live in an area where even getting from our village to the house involves a 10-15% grade hill! On the counter side, I was the only female in the group, likely one of the oldest, in a possy full of very strong amateur and current and ex pro athletes.

Anyway, here was the plan for the week

In case you look at that and think...are you mad? Don't worry I asked myself the same as I looked at the program. It is an experiment for me to push a bit further and see what is possible. It is also a great opportunity to ride some of the classic cols and see some of the towns of the Alps that I have not yet visited with a group of other athletes. Also I am doing it to enhance my capability as an athlete, so it will be a bit of a test of how my body responds to a really big overload week a month out from my next big race.

So you could say I was nervous. Probably more honestly I would say I was scared. Would I be able to keep up? Would my body respond well, getting stronger through the week or just deteriorate slowly until exhaustion overcame me? Only one way to deal with that; "run the other way" I hear you say... well yes that is possible too and I did consider that. No, I felt ready for a big challenge and so chose to just get into it, biting off one day at a time and hopefully being smart enough to push hard when it was good for my overall program and hold back saving energy and preventing any injury when I needed to irrespective of the competitions being waged around the group.

So, here goes. Off to Lyon. Wish me luck! I'll fill you in soon on how I go.

A bientot 
Christine

Tri for Jamie: the race that started our journey

Two and a half years ago in Feb 2009, I did my first triathlon in ages, and the triathlon that started a journey that has ended up with me (and my husband) giving up our day jobs as financial services executives, leaving our relaxed beachside home in Sydney to move with our two young boys to a small rural Alpine village in France. Despite a suprising late start at the sport, I have loved the opportunity I have had to experience life as a professional athlete, racing across Europe.

The triathlon that was the start of a sequence of events that entirely changed our lives, was at the time truly important to me for an entirely different reason. My nephew, Jamie had been diagnosed with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) 12 months before. I saw my sister and brother-in-law go through hell that year as they discovered to their horror what a debilitating, degenerative and ultimately lethal condition DMD was. It has no cure, no effective treatment and affected boys rarely make it to adulthood. It impacts the muscles, slowly weakening them from the ground up.

Feeling totally disempowered to assist my sister and her family, I did what I knew how to do, which was get fit and take on a challenge. So I raised money for research into the disease by doing a triathlon to hopefully provide the next generation of parents more positive information, and sufferers such as Jamie, a hope for the future. I am really proud of my achievement at that race as I managed to finish fast enough to pass my highest hurdle (I had set myself performance hurdles that raised the amount donors owed) that meant I managed to raise over $10,000 for the research foundation. It also qualified me for the Long Course World Championships in Australia that year, and started another journey I never could have guessed at, at the time.

Carsten and Jamie



Well I am not the only one in the family who can get fit to positively impact the lives of DMD sufferers. Carsten, Jamie's dad is now in training to ride 376kms from Sydney to Canberra on a "Ride for Jamie" as a part of the broader Tour Duchenne with a group of 16 others who are looking to raise over $80,000 from their combined efforts for the Muscular Dystrophy Foundation of Australia.

It is a great and positive way that Carsten has chosen to both raise awareness of the disease, it's impacts on the children affected and their families, as well as raise much needed funds for research into future cures or treatments. As an avid cyclist (it is still my favourite discipline in triathlon) I also think it is great for Carsten personally to get out there, get fit and linked into a fantastic sporting community and allow the world to look a little brighter as it always does for me, from the saddle of a bike.

I will attach a local Canberra magazine article about the charity ride which has some lovely pictures of Carsten and Jamie as well as more details.

If you would like to support the ride I would really appreciate it, please donate to Team Jamie at
www.everydayhero.com.au/team_jamie

Alpe D'Huez: A race that deserves it's legendary status

Preparing for a beast

It was as tough a race as any I have done. The Alpe D'Huez Long Course is known for being a hard day at it's best. However this year the Alps added their own "plus forte" spice through weather to the normally piquant mix including a 2.2k lake swim, 115k ride with just under 3,000m of climbing on three cols, the last of which is Alpe D'Huez itself and then the final 22k run completed in 3 laps each with a decent hill included around the ski resort of the Alpe.

Climbing through the fog and rain on Alpe D'Huez

This year the race day was cold, very cold! The rain started early and fluctuated between light to torrential as the day progressed. The water was as "fresh" as the race organisers had forewarned at 14oC with new snowmelt joining it from the falls in the mountains above it during the preceding week. Apparently there was even hail on the bike course at one point. Happily I managed to avoid that just through sheer dumb luck. Some rich European race experience coming my way and fast!

As a soft Australian I was more intimidated by the weather than the course. My bike training included plenty of cols and I find it hard to find a flat run for training near our home in the Aravis Valley. I was not unused to training in cold weather, but managing the logistics of racing in it was a much greater challenge. My previous races in really cold weather had not been much fun! In the end I opted for wearing a cycling jersey over my trisuit so I could load options of vest, gloves, arm warmers etc in the pockets. The weather that week had kept changing from windy, cold and rainy to clearing and warmer and then back again so I felt I needed to be prepared for any eventuality. Would it be too wierd to put in a light beanie? I wish I had!

The race itself


Such a polite bunch
"after you", "no, after you"...

I managed a decent swim start as it was a deepwater start and many people were trying to leave getting in until the last moment. I gritted my teeth, jumped in and found a good spot a few minutes early which was lucky as the race got started by the growing momentum and a loud sound on the speaker a bit before it was meant to and plenty of folk were still standing on the rocks by the shore, having to jump in late. I felt had an okay swim except the cold really took your breath away, almost literally. Not fast, not slow and no mistakes, just cold and crampy in the legs by the time I got out to T1, happy to leave the lake behind.

You had to laugh at my transition to the bike! I fell over trying to get my wetsuit off as I couldn't feel where my feet were by then. Even after getting sorted and on the bike I still had trouble getting my feet in my shoes for the same reason. Not feeling my feet was a bit of an issue that would come back to haunt me later in the day as well. As we rode down to the dam wall I slowly finished getting changed, taking all the clothes out of my pockets and putting them on; incl gloves, arm warmers and vest.

I rode well for down the long valley to the first col and then up the Grand Serre, vying with Coralie Lemaire and Amy Marsh. Descending down to the second climb I took in lots of nutrition as I realised the cold would add to the energy burn rate. It helped that the gels they used on course were one of the few I've had that tasted really good. I must have needed them!! Despite this, by the second climb, the more gentle Col D'Ornan I hit a few energy flats as the rain changed up a notch from wet to torrential. At the top of the climb I was cold (never a good sign when you have a long descent ahead) and the road was like a river with water streaming across and along it. I lost traction a couple of times early in the very technical descent off the D'Ornan and lost my nerve. I usually descend ok but on that descent got a bit freaked out by the combination of a cliff on either side (one up, one down), little or no barrier, soaking wet brakes and a road where the surface flowed. I remembered I was a mum of two beautiful boys that I could not let any race outcome get in the way of and so I went down at a granny-like pace, swapping from race to survival mode and froze in the process. By the bottom I was shivering so hard my bike moved on the road. I didn't care though for that moment I was just delighted to be at the bottom. I had promised myself the Alpe D'Huez climb as a "treat" to warm up again before the run. Heads can do wierd things to keep looking for the upside when racing! Alpe D'Huez is a relatively short but tough climb on an easy day. After 100k, two previous cols and a cold, wet day it felt bigger than the last time I had ridden it in the sun the previous June. The last few kms I lost some time as my energy just wasn't there to keep a good race pace. All up it was a long, scary and tough ride that for a change I was glad to get off and into the run. The ride is usually my favourite leg of the race. I wasn't in a great position coming into T2 (in 12th) but neither was it too bad given the star studded quality of the field. I still had aspirations to run into a top 10 spot... well that was before I took off my bike shoe and saw my toe.

So learning no 1. "take care of the little things in long course racing" as if you don't they may become the big things. After Nice IM I lost a toenail. Unfortunately it decided to fall off just two days before the Alpe D'Huez race. I was worried about it for the run so stuck some medical tape in my T2 bag to quickly put on before the run to protect it as it would likely come off in the swim if I stuck it on before the race. However with soaking wet feet throughout the bike ride and 3,000m of climbing to do pulling up into a hard carbon race shoe, by the time I got to T2 there was no skin left on the end the toe to put a bandage on. It was a pretty ugly bloody mess, more hole than toe. So as you do, I shut my eyes, gritted my teeth a little, stuck my offending foot in a sock and shoe so I couldn't see it anymore and headed off on the run. The worst bit about it was that having not been able to feel the damage for most of the bike ddue to the cold cutting down feeling from the extremities, in the run I warmed up enough to notice (ok really really notice!) the damage that I had already done, especially as we splashed through muddy puddles and ran over loose rocky trails. Ouch! Ouch!

Are we having fun yet? A painful run.

So 3 laps to the finish, 22k. I realised as soon as I started running it was all about finishing now, not racing competitively for a place. First 400m around the sports arena felt like hell, so I just promised myself to do 1 lap to see how it went and maybe stop at a secours (first aid) if I could spot one to bandage the offending toe &/or get some pain killers. I made it around, despite a bit of a lobsided run and saw my great cheer squad as I came into the finish area for the second lap. Jackson yelled at me "just 2 to go Mum and you are finished" so I took his advice (he is 7 and didn't know about the toe but could see something hurt) It was good mental reinforcement to keep me going! Don't dissapoint the kids. I have never DNFed so didn't want this race, after all the work I had put into it up to then to count for nothing. Lap 2 ... grind the teeth a little and only 1 left to go. By then having raced in the freezing cold, wet up and down mountains for over 6 hours, I was not going to let a measly 7k loop get between me and a finish. So, one more for the dummies and I finally made it to the finish in 7:15. Given the large numbers of DNFs that day it ended up being not too bad a result, just 15 mins off my target of a top 10.

Finished!

Finished. Just getting there
was a good result for this race for me today

As I was so cold I took a very long shower and warmed up with plenty of hot drinks and food after. Despite winning the veteran category I missed the presentation, and they didn't realise my age as I signed up late so I didn't even get the "old girl's" bling for the kitchen shelf to remember a race that will not easily melt into a blurr along with any other races like it. It is a legend of a course. After racing it, I more deeply respect why the legend continues. Although I was initially dissapointed with my finish time/place, with a bit of reflection I am truly pleased just to have finished it!

Hats off though to Cat Morrison for her great win on a really tough day. It is no suprise to me the gong went to a Scottish lass. I can't imagine the weather bothered her much. She probably didn't even notice it as being anything out of the ordinary!

Maybe I'll have another go next year, hopefully in some sun!

A very different race! Tristar 111 Lyon

Lyon, a beautiful city on two rivers

We are just back from another race weekend, this time close to home in Lyon. Although we had driven around Lyon a few times heading elsewhere, we had not yet take the opportunity to go and see what the city had to offer. The inaugural TriStar 111 race, also the first triathlon to be based in Lyon provided the perfect excuse.

The 111 is a new format of triathlon that Star Productions has come up with to offer something different to triathletes. It incorporates a 1k swim, 100k bike and 10k run. Although I was still recovering from Nice Ironman just 14 days ago I thought that it may suit me given the overweighting of the bike (my current strongest leg) which was in effect done twice over on this course, once in distance and the other in difficulty as the 100k incorporated just under 2,000m of climbing. So a few days before the race as I felt I was recovering well and getting my energy back I decided to sign up.

When I drove the course before the race with Joel Jameson, one of the pro men competing we were suprised by the technicality of the course. Despite having raced in lots of interesting regional races around this part of France, I had not yet seen a course quite so challenging. The roads around Lyon are really rough, even on the flats along the river. Once you climb into the hills it deteriorates further, to the point that on one of the descents there was just about enough tarmac to hold the potholes together! So it was not going to be a fast bike, and that was before the rain arrived.

Bike in, ready to roll.
In the sun, the evening before race day

Race day dawned, cloudy and cool. We were underway at 8:30am in the Saône River which joins the Rhone just a little further downstream. I exited the water third woman and ran the 500m or so into T1 to get my bike and onto the main stage of this race.

By the 5k mark I had overtaken the young, talented  Swiss triathlete Adeline Rausis, although I was in turn overtaken by Coralie Lemaire just before we headed up into the hills. Before we had really got going on the first hill, the clouds finally gave way and the rain arrived, first a little and then a lottle! OK so it was a deluge. The road became a river and at the top of the first big climb the thunder and lightening arrived to join in the fun. What were challenging descents in the dry became seriously hard work with low light and rain reducing vision, potholes hidden under water, wet surfaces and extra gravel, dirt, leaves etc getting washed across the roads. I backed right off as this was really a bonus race in the season for me and not worth a nasty fall. I was also pretty cold by the bottom of each descent so almost delighted in the uphill sections to warm up again.



End of 1 lap, do I really want another!



Coming back in to the start area just to head out again on the second lap, I've got to admit it was very tempting to call it a day. I am not one to do so easily though so sucked it up a little and headed off for another round. On the second lap I passed Coralie as she had pulled out with a flat tyre but was once again put back to third slot by a Swiss lady, Lisa Stucki who trains with Natasha Badmann so not suprisingly is a strong rider. We had vyed for a while, but I wasn't prepared to chase her pace on the second descent after I hit a pothole that I hadn't managed to dodge so hard on the first lap there, that both my wet hands slipped straight off my bars and I was lucky not to follow them with the rest of my body. So I let her go with the goal to catch her on the way back to town or in the run. Juliette Benedicto who was leading the women's field was far enough ahead by then that bad luck or a withdrawal aside I knew I was racing for 2nd/3rd.

After all the excitement of the bike I was really grateful to successfully negotiate the last cobbled corners into T2 and get out onto the run. The run was 2*5k and weaved up and down along both sides of the river between the barge tie in areas and the footpath/bikepath higher up along the road. It also crossed two lovely old bridges each lap. Even here the surfaces made for some additional challenge as they varied between pavement, big lumpy cobbles, mud, grass and cement. While down on the lower rougher paths I opted to run along the smoother cement river's edge which was about 10-15cm wide but dropped straight into the river on one side. It was better to run on but also kept the concentration up to avoid a second swim! I did manage to close the gap on Lisa but not quite enough as my legs, prefatigued from Nice just wouldn't quite turn over as fast I would have liked. Anyway all good in the end and happy to be finished in 3rd just over 1m behind her. 



Fun with the boys at a cafe in the Old Town of Lyon



So in summary I loved the format as 111 is a different and interesting distance to race. The TriStar crew are a really fun bunch too who just want to make sure everyone there enjoys themselves. The day itself was hard, harder than the distance would indicate, partly due to the course and added to significantly by the weather. Lyon however was a true delight to discover and my wonderful cheer squad (best in the world, and I swear I'm not biased they really are!) loved it too. Outside of race day, the weather was great for exploring. The city centre is stunning, with river's flanking each side of it, there are Roman ampitheatres and relics from when it was the centre of Roman Gaul (and called Lugdunum), beautiful buildings reflecting it's more recent merchant wealth, fantastic museums including good stuff for young kids, a very groovy, narrow cobbled laned medieval old town, good cafes and restaurants and an amazing park, the Tete D'Or which has a lake, a zoo, botanical garden, deer park and just about anything else you could want, especially if you are 4 or 7 years old.

We'll be back!

A bientot
Christine

Ironman Nice - A big race and outcome

Last Sunday I raced Ironman France in Nice. It was a long, hard, hot day, but a wonderfully rewarding one: the culmination of 7 months specific training and a big objective of mine, to finish in the top 10 on this tough and super competitive course. So the summary; 

Swim  1:01, 8th Pro F
Bike    5:32, 6th Pro F
Run     3:41, 9th Pro F

Total  (incl transitions) 10:22 9th Pro F

The calm before the storm



My overall finish was 9th pro female, finishing less than 2 mins behind the legendary Alexandra Louison and 4 mins behind the super experienced and multiple IM winner Heather Gollnick. I was 10th overall woman as one really lovely and very strong age grouper from Brazil (but Finnish heritage) passed me at the back end of the run.



Two weeks ago when I downloaded the list of the pro women and looked at their stats I thought I may have been expecting too much. Most were super experienced, had multiple podiums at big races and all had sub 10hr PBs on faster courses with a number sub 9.5hrs. It seemed pretty unlikely that I would be able to mix it with these chics, given I started triathlon 2 and a half years ago, have completed exactly 1 ironman previously and am 41 with two kids and a background in corporate roles in the banking industry. Not entirely relevant on the rocks of  the Med at dawn, racing through the hills behind Nice or pummeling pavement along the Promenade des Anglais! Most of the amateur athletes there would have as much or more experience in tri as me let alone these pro ladies. I am delighted to have been able to realise what I felt was a pretty ambitious goal.

So to the race day itself.

Let the games begin!



SWIM: The swim was just nuts! Beautiful, calm, azure Mediteranean at dawn one minute. 2,600 swimmers running over the stones, diving in and beating each other up to find their way through the crowds and out to the first buoy the next. The first 450m or so was more like rugby than swimming. 



Grateful for a hand
exiting the swim over the rocks

We started in the pro box in the middle of the fastest men so were surrounded by aggressive blokes. I swam people not water for the first 450m or so before I got any blue water opening up. I was pretty worked by the elbows, hands, feet etc of those around but I must be getting more used to French starts (in Oz it is usually waves a few mins apart) as this time it didn't knock me around either mentally or physically too much. I found some good feet to follow most of the way and by the end of the first lap I was well placed and holding a nice rhythm. The second lap was much calmer and I exited the water just over the 1hr mark for the 3.8k, in 9th (8th after the race as Britta Martin was DQed).




View out over the bike course near Col D'Ecre



BIKE: My favourite part of the race. They say this is one of the most beautiful bike courses in any tri in the world. I would believe it. It is one of the most challenging too as it climbs >2200m up into the Provence Alps before descending it all back down into Nice again in one 180k lap. I loved every minute of it. I rode into 7th place by T2 with the 6th fastest split on the day.

Heading uphill, with an audience

My favourite moment was out descending Martina Dogana, the women's favourite at the 45k mark just after I had passed Kim Loeffler and Heather Gollnick. I didn't see Martina and Heather again on the bike although Kim and I tick tacked most of the course with me finally getting the better of her in the last 20k home but by a small margin. The excitement for me on this is that last year I had a much weaker swim and when I arrived in France I wasn't very good at descending. One year on and I was up there with the best in the business after the swim and on the bike including the descents.



Still heading uphill. Not a bad view.
I seem to be enjoying it anyway.

 I rode hard but at a fairly steady effort and within myself on the climbs and undules on the high plateau and then descended cleanly and fast. If anything I held back a bit as I was concerned about overcooking it on the bike and coming off too flattened to run well. I absolutely loved the descents, not too technical relative to the cols around the Haute Savoie, so you could really get some speed in and take the time to have an aerobic break. I was worried about getting penalised for drafting on the way back into town as lots of groups were forming once we got back to the flats as there was a good headwind so a clear benefit. I backed off and held a good wheel at the 10m mark. I'm very glad I did as the group in front of me that had bunched up were all penalised a bit down the road. Besides being a beautiful ride there was lots of great support on the course through each village (loads of stunning little ones) and on the big climbs where a number of supporters had driven out to cheer on friends and anyone else going by.

RUN: I came off the bike feeling strong and ready for the run. It was heating up and was above 30oC for the 4 laps of 10.55km each on flat bitumen along the promenade. My first lap was on pace for a 3:20 run but between the heat and possible nutrition / hydration deficit or lack of race conditioning I couldn't hold what I really feel should be a good pace for me for the 2nd and 3rd lap. By the 4th lap I was still a bit slower than I would have ideally liked but was beginning to come good without so many flat spots. I know I can run better but just need to learn how to access it and hold it more consistently off the bike.
 

Hot and flat, out and back, and back and back!
Enjoying seeing the boys on the run.

Martina and Kim both ran past me on the first lap. I may have been run past, but given the quality of their running, I actually just enjoyed watching them fly by. They both run beautifully and faster than my race pace. Martina ended up running a 3:04 marathon into 2nd place, Kim a 3:10 into 3rd.
 
So my only dissapointment with my race was had I been able to run a bit more consistently in the middle few laps where I had some energy lulls I would have got both Alexandra Louison who was fading fast and held off Heather who passed me at the pace that I feel I should be able to access. Anyway no regrets really, just opportunities for the future. I know I raced my heart out and put down everything I had on the day. The good news is I feel I have the form and just need a bit more strength-endurance &/or race day nutrition / hydration to finish a little further up the field again.

For now though, time to kick back and enjoy life without such a high focus on training for a week or so. As the boys just started school holidays (Les Grand Vacances) today I have the perfect excuse for some downtime. Tomorrow my swim will consist of jumping off  the diving board at Menthon with Liam and paddling back to the stairs!