Tribelles. Belle triathletes, belle site, belle information.

It may seem from a quick glance here that I have dropped off the planet this year. No blogs and no race results. I am still writing, just less about me and more about the sport or sports that I love.

Tribelles, my new site targeting women triathletes is in it's early days, but it is up and running. Check it out here.

http://tribelles.com/

It is being developed by myself in collaboration with some of my tri friends and some of Rob's design and technology friends, for women either wanting to get going or go faster and enjoy the sport even more than they are now.

I am loving designing it and writing the articles, although the actual build and some of the logistics are driving me back to my bike for a breather in the real world in between online world challenges. The current site is on a very simple blog base so apologies for limited functionality just now. But wait, there will be more! Coming to a website very near you, very soon is the new cool site which has great forum capability, ability to upload all your training technology (Garmins, Polar, Strava...), tailored and standard program designs, online challenges, competition and more. I am excited about it, I hope you will be too.

If you like the content and articles, please share them with your friends. My goal is to build a strong, broad, global women's triathlon community so we can all learn from each other, share great tips, knowledge and stories and help more women add triathlon to their life or keep it in their life in a really fun, healthy and sustainable way.

As for me, this year to keep triathlon sustainable in my life I took a year away from racing and training seriously. I am loving exploring my fitness and region in different ways, maintaining a good fitness base but using it to do new things. So far this year I have tried my

• first long course xc ski series, The Haute-Savoie Challenge
• first marathon, not at the end of an ironman, in Paris last Spring
• first cyclosportif, La Marmotte riding 188k around the Haute Alps finishing on the mythic Alpe D'Huez after first crossing the Glandon and the Telegraph/Galibier/Lauteret.
• first skyrunning race, the kilometer vertical at Manigod (1,000m up in 3.5m horizontal!)
• first trail race, the 42k / 3,000m + Aravis Trail in our valley
• first high alpine mixed (rock and ice) climbing trip, traversing two different ridges on the Mt Blanc Massif
• first SBPnoR race (!!!) skate, bike, SUP paddle and absolutely never, no, not even think about running race. I skipped across the finish. 

I have also got myself back on a mountain bike for the first time since the BC era (Before Children) and loving exploring the many magical trails around the valley both with and without Rob and the kids who are also right into their MTBs now too. Next year I may even have a go at an offroad race or MTB race. La Clusaz now hosts a great annual race weekend, the Roc des Alps each year.

Although I was racing skate skiing over winter, I also spent a large amount of time just wooping my way down the slopes, on and off piste last year thanks to a truly wonderful, long and deep ski season. Not much fitness comes from downhill skiing but loads of ear to ear smiles do, so Rob and I got our fill of them in the powder of La Balme and L'Etale. The boys joined us every opportunity they could too.

What I haven't done! I hardly ever run at the track now doing "serious" sessions, haven't felt like swimming much this year and think I have looked at the black line in earnest less than 5 times and my turbo has only gathered dust for over 12 months as despite being an awesome training tool and mandatory for cycling here in winter as we live above the snow line, I decided that if it is not nice for a ride outside, I don't ride. There is always something else I can do that is more enjoyable.

Enjoying new challenges this year!

If I was looking at performance progression as a key indicator for my year it would not have been a great one. However I am delighted to have taken a year out, as I have had a ball, remembered how much fun just being out there is when you are not spending all your time looking at your heart rate, pace or thinking about technique progression. I have explored many areas especially up high in the mountains in the region I live, and got to do things I have thought about but not had time to try when time was completely devoured by structured swim, bike or run sessions or recovery from them.  Now I am ready to meld some of the mentality of this year of doing things for the pure joy of the experience and feeling fit and healthy with a bit of the grit, determination and pleasure from doing things really well that enabled my progression in triathlon. Hopefully it will blend into a good mix! I have signed up to Roth next year so will be back in the land of competitive tri from the start of the European season. For now that means packing my swimmers in today and reminding myself which direction the pool is!

So as the best in the long course world line themselves up for Kona this week, I am starting my 9 month journey to toe a start line again next year in Germany. I am fit, healthy and happy after a great year off. 12 months ago when I finished my last ironman distance triathlon in Barcelona I was anything but. I had become exhausted, a bit physically and mentally burnt out and sick of the constant discipline and competitive fire that drove me. Now I have slotted back into a very healthy discipline, training a good amount each week, keeping really fit and enjoying it, eating well and even trying to finally learn to sleep a decent amount each night (my weakness!). I have learnt to be far more relaxed and adaptable to fit in extended family holidays without my bike, take days off when I am tired, make myself get out and amongst it when I am just feeling slack and integrate the family more and more into my physical activities. It won't be long before I am chasing them, not the other way around!

I am also looking forward to re-entering triathlon with one eye from "the balcony", observing what I am experiencing, not just experiencing it "from the dancefloor". I have been doing that more and more this year and enjoying writing about my observations on Tribelles or for running and cycling publications in Australia and the USA. So keep one of your eyes on Tribelles and you can join me for the journey. I can promise to be honest, generally can be entertaining even if by accident thanks to my ability for occasional misadventure and will do my best to be insightful and informative to help you progress and enjoy your adventures in sport.

À bientôt
Christine

When I grow up I want to be a ....? Time to work it out again.

If you have followed the previous posts you may know that last September I decided to farewell racing triathlon at the pro / elite level. So after three years of training and coaching, I am now training purely for pleasure and health and have time enough to start something new for work.

As I am based in a small village in the French Alps I don't have the unlimited corporate business options of a big city to chose from, but compensating for this I also have some pretty unique opportunities I can progress. For now I am busy building a website dedicated to female triathletes, multisports and adventure racers, swimmers, runners and/or cyclists. I am loving designing and planning it but am impatiently waiting for the launch and working with some great designers and web builders to do so. I'll keep you posted. It is coming to a computer, tablette or smartphone near you very soon.

So today, when I saw this link on a friend's Facebook I really enjoyed it. It reminded me that the uncertainly I feel right now is okay, and that if I keep setting goals and working hard to achieve them, it doesn't matter that my plans are not obvious in a school or university career support person's sort of a way, or even completely clear to me yet. They are emerging goals that have a clear kernel of purpose but will germinate into life in a manner based on a whole range of factors still being provided. So time to add water, light, nutrients and do some weeding and tending to my seedlings. Hopefully with a lot of hard work along with a bit of patience I can find a path to a new role that adds real value to others and provided some back to me, all doing something that I love.

Alan Watts "What would you do if money were no object?"

A great story of someone who followed their dreams and became the best they could be, which became their life and livelihood is Kilian Jornet a Catalan ski mountaineer and runner. When asked what he wanted to be when he grew up he responded as follows,

"A lake counter. When I grow up, I want to be a lake counter! The teacher took her eyes from the board, where she was writing a list of the professions that the children in the class wanted to be when they grew up, and gazed over at my desk. 

That's right, a lake counter. But I won't only count how many there are. I'll go up into the mountains and when I find a lake I'll see how deep it is by throwing a stone into the middle of the water, tied to a rope, and I'll see how many paces long and wide it is. Where the rivers that flow into it come from. And where the ones that flow out of it go. I'll see whether there are any fish, or frogs, or tadpoles. And whether the water is clean or not. —Rosa looked at me in even greater surprise: it was not the job that most five-year-olds wish for, but I was quite sure of myself. It was my destiny...

I think that was one of the few times I have said “I want to be”. I have always been more one of those people who say “I'll try...”. I have always been a shy person, and I have always thought it was best to let things take their course, that everything would be alright in the end. So I let things take their course, and my destiny made everything alright in the end.

This quote comes from his blog. The link to his full blog is here if you would like to read more.

Kilian Jornet - Run or Die

It was his destiny and for Kilian, it did work out alright in the end. Today he must count very fast as he holds multiple world champion titles in both skyrunning (mountain running) and alpine ski mountaineering and has won many of the greatest global races in each. He has become one of the greatest mountain men of this generation and a source of inspiration to many with sponsorship deals, book sales, prize money and other rewards that hopefully allow him to live out his dreams for the rest of his days.  I was lucky enough to meet him briefly running in the Chamonix Valley last year. Here is a picture I look of him heading up to Lac Blanc, obviously still counting those lakes!

My quote of the week has another great example from John Lennon of a kids response to a teacher's request for what they want to be when they grow up.

"When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Enjoy your day. I hope you are spending it doing something you love too. If not, promise me to take a moment to consider what you want to be when you grow up or ask your kids what it is that they really love and what it is they would like to be.

À bientôt 
Christine

Earth to Christine. Come in please Christine.

Christine here. Sorry ground control, I've been orbiting in space for a while, out of range to all but the closest around me. Now finally I feel like fixing the reception to the rest of the world.

So what has been happening? I last wrote here in September as I headed off for my last race of the season in Barcelona, having decided that it would be my last race in the professional ranks as I was wanting to retire at the end of the 2012 European season. Now, 4 months later I am gainfully retired from racing, recovered from a profound exhaustion that hit at the end of the season and ready to take on some new adventures.

Sorry for the outage but it was important for me to recover properly after the end of last season, spend some time focused solely on those in my inner orbit and building some exciting new opportunities. Watch this space, Tribelles a new website offering advice, a community forum and fun and interesting stories from and for female triathletes all around the world is coming online to a computer near you very soon.

Meanwhile a few of my fellow triathletes and good coaching sites have been writing some great articles so in part as an apology for my lack of writing over the past few months here are a few I particularly liked. 

The first one is by Rachel Joyce about losing your mojo at this time of year. My mojo went on holidays for a while after my season ended through a combination of fatigue and a simple preference to spend time with my family doing little not always heading off training, racing or taking on the next big thing. I am back doing some training just for fun now but have also re-engaged my mojo in a wide range of new adventures. Rachel, coming off the back of an awesome season but with a disappointing Kona has some interesting thoughts.

Rachel Joyce writes about missing mojos

Given that this time of year is the perfect time to review and correct any form errors in your technique here are two options to get you going, one for the run and one for the swim from two of my favourite commentators, Bobby McGee for the run and Swim Smooth for the swim.

Bobby McGee's Running Form Video

It's a great time to do a time trial now to determine your Critical Stroke Speed (CSS) rate. A 400m and 200m TT will give you your current CSS from which you can appropriately baseline your training speeds. It is also a great pre-season point from which you can measure your progress as your training. Try and redo a TT every 6 weeks or so to ensure you are training at appropriate speeds for your current conditioning and efficiency.

Swim Smooth Time trial

Lastly for all those based in the UK, Germany, France, USA, Canada... suffering cold, wet and icy road conditions and short days, you may be needing some fun turbo sessions. Personally I've ditched the bike this winter replacing it entirely with cross country skiing and running. If I was racing seriously in 2013 I would need to be doing plenty of these sessions but to be honest, this year I'm happy not to partake. You can do an extra session or three for me! Personally I like (liked) starting and finishing my sessions on rollers to keep me focused and my bike handling skills in good shape with the really solid efforts on a turbo in the middle. On steady sessions I tend to stay on the rollers throughout.

Turbo sessions from Bike Radar

So wishing you all a fantastic 2013! May you find and follow your mojo to great success this year.

À bientôt
Christine