Embrun, a true enDURance race

On the bike course at Embrun. Très dur!

Ironman races are not meant to be easy. I certainly have never found them to be anything but long, hard days. Challenging, rewarding, delving deeper within than average experiences allow, but always hard, or as the French say, "dur".  If you are feeling great on race day, you just go faster so push harder to get into the sustainably uncomfortable work zone. If you are doing it tough anyway due to weather, illness, poor preparation ... then it will be a long time before you will be back in the comfort zone of normal life. Even in irondistance races though, there are those that were designed to be harder than most. Some of the variables to mix up the formula to a stronger brew include heat, wind, hills or even cultural/travel challenges like time zones, food, language, familiarity etc.

Embrunman, is the double expresso of irondistance racing. It clearly has been both designed, and is served with pride in being the toughest race on offer. In a style that is a bit quirky as with many elements of the race, it is offered each year on the 15th of August (Assumption Day), whatever day of the week that happens to fall on. This year it was a Wednesday. You may well need Mary's heavenly intervention to race it as it is a different level of challenge to the average. It is almost the antithesis of the relatively fast, city based, prepackaged, international flavoured, WTC endorsed, glossy brochure prepped, Mdot managed affair I last attempted in Zurich. 

Embrun is the perfect location to host such an epic. It is no new concept as it has been serving a long distance triathlon race here for 29 years now. The town centre is a gorgeous old stone settlement surrounding the initial hubs of the cathedral, monastery and hospital. It is perched on a flat area on top of a cliff above a huge lake, tucked in a valley between the mountains of the Parc National des Ecrins and the main range of the Alps that divides Italy from France, +4000m both directions. However this race throws out a few bonus challenges besides the obvious less than flat environment.

The only flat bit, the swim commences at 5:50am for the women and 6:00am for the men who obviously needed a few more minutes of beauty sleep! Sunrise on race day was not until 6:46am so you start in the pitch black following a small flashing light on the back of one kayak that moves at the pace of the lead bunch. The far buoy had a small flasher on it so could be seen once you are within about 50m of it. Not so helpful to me as I had fallen behind the lead women's group led by Juliette Benedicto, Bella Bayliss and Erica Csomor by the first buoy. I managed to get stuck between the first two women's groups so had the very weird experience of swimming most of the two laps in the dark by myself. It was very calm and quite lovely swimming alone with almost no visual references, on super still, warm 22o lake water. It was easy to focus on stroke quality but harder to fire all systems to race pace without the usual adrenaline boosting hubbub of elbows and feet all around me. There were of course others on the lake (1000 or so swimmers plus kayaks etc) but other than a ref / race boat coming and telling me I was heading off course at one point and a few small groups of the faster men passing me on the second lap, I really had to find my own way and keep my focus.

On the first major descent back to the lake

Out onto the bike course and the natural challenges and beauty of the region unveiled themselves km by km. The first 44k loop around the northern section of Lac de Serre-Poncon and back to Embrun is a nice warm up with some relatively short but solid inclines and a really fun,  fast descent back to the lake. The cross winds on the bridge were not too bad at this time of day. Once on the southern side of the lake the morning winds faced us as we headed up the valley for the next 30k or so to Mt Dauphin. This was a part of the course I knew well having ridden it a couple of times last year on Epic Camp (it is also the Embrun OD course) so I enjoyed vying with a few girls and getting into my bike groove. I got to head back past town where I collected the great energy boost as I passed the boys and Rob by the roundabout where we turned towards our next major obstacle, Col d'Izoard.

Nutrition is one of Embrunman's added bonus challenges. Unlike the standard Mdot, Powerbar sponsored affairs, Embrunman is a race where simply finding out where the aid stations are seems to be a well kept secret only known to those who have raced there before or know some secret handshake/Haute Alps code. The aid station locations are not marked in the brochure or online info. Even in the race briefing they flicked up a slide with the locations for a total of about 0.5 seconds. Just long enough to realise there were some big gaps between some of them. I did however spot a piece of paper stuck to a desk by the registration with details of the locations that I quickly photographed into my iphone and later transcribed onto the course map with the help of an independently created online bike route map, as there are no km markings on the official race provided course maps.

Even bike racking is a bit bizarre

What is provided at these aid stations is yet another mystery. The online info was great in it's English version. It seemed that granny bars were available in transition and salty sandwiches were provided in the swim?! Despite being a "masters" category athlete I am not yet a granny, or particularly fond of sandwiches while swimming, salty or not. Even the French version seemed sketchy in detail. Nuts, dried fruit, fruit and salty potatoes were the solids listed as being offered at some aid stations with some foods and drink only offered in an aid station near the transition area which is not so helpful on a one lap bike course. It was not specified which stations had solids on offer except the there was food at the one on top of the col as well as a special needs station. Coke, water and a homemade isotonic drink were offered for liquids. Some aid stations offered "sports drink" as well which turned out to mean Gatorade in bottles that were too small for the standard bidon holder. All bidons had to be exchanged for good environmental reasons within the aid station areas. However some stations were really short and on fast sections of the course, so it made the need for very slick, focussed handovers, especially if you needed two bottles to be replaced in one station.

By the turn up to Guillestre I was working hard to keep both energy and hydration up, knowing how important it would be to getting to the run in good shape on such a long, hot day. Early on the bike course I had already sampled some of the homemade electrolyte drink provided. It tasted pretty good and I would guess was about 4% concentration which suited me. However it was a mystery as to what was in it, how many carbs, salt etc you got as well as how your body would react to it. Not a great place to test something new, but not many alternatives out there as the Gatorade was too hard to keep given the bottle sizes and only offered at a couple of stations anyway, I don't like coke on the bike leg and water wasn't an option for such a long hot day. My guess from tasting the drink is that it was a mix of lemon juice, salt and sugar/honey. Luckily my body was fine with it, but it was pretty varied in strength, saltiness, sweetness and even volume provided in the standard bidon. No gels or bars were provided on course so any nutrition had to be carried or put into the special needs bag for collection on top of the Col d'Izoard and needed to be robust enough to cope with hours of preheating in the sun. 

The day was heating up as we headed up the stunning gorge that marks the proper start of the 16k climb to the top of the Col d'Izoard (2,360m). Following a river upstream was both teasing as well as being cooling. Unfortunately I also found our next major challenge here, a slightly annoying one. Supporters cars vyed with the bikes racing up the very narrow roads that were cut out of the walls of the gorge or through tunnels under them. It was a dangerous mix and totally unnecessary. Personally I think supporters really should have waited to watch their friends from safer vantage points like Briançon or many little towns on the way back from there where you didn't need to drive on the narrow bike course at the same time as those racing to access the route. Last year a friend of mine was knocked off this course and out of the race when hit by a car turning across the racers. He was in 7th place at the time and in great shape. One dream unfulfilled thanks to some careless driver.

Near the top of the Izoard and still enjoying the ride

I felt great ascending the Izoard. I knew it was going to be a good day as I climbed strongly up the final few hairpins through the forest before it opens up at the top into the arid, rock pinnacles of the haute dessert. I felt that I was riding well within myself despite slowly climbing up the top 10 women and should have enough left in the tank for a solid run to hopefully hold or better my position. In fact I was 8th over the col at 100k.

The high desert on Col d'Izoard

I collected my GU gels for the back half of the course, some fresh bottles of "the mix" and a few bits of banana in just a few seconds before using gravity to maximum effect descending fast as I stuffed the food in my back pockets to deal with later. I have learned to descend over the past few years living in the Alps and passed one more girl and many, many guys on the way to Briançon with just two or three heading past me with even greater velocity. It was almost worth a fully vocal whoopety hoot as it is such a fun descent! I held back thinking it was probably not the most professional look, however I still enjoyed a few loud internal yippidee yo's on the way. I also took the opportunity between hairpins and hooting to get some nutrition in, during the straighter bits of the descent and restock the bento box from my pocket for easy access. It was such a warm day I didn't even put my gillet on, something that happens for me (a truly soft Aussie skinned chic) about three times each summer on big descents. I just zipped up my Apres Velo jersey and enjoyed the ride.

The bike had just two challenges and one nice surprise left by the time I hooked left through the roundabouts of fun, vocal crowds in Briançon.

A hot ride back to Embrun into a headwind

The first challenge was the wind. Since we headed up the valley in the morning the wind had shifted and was yet again a headwind, and this time a stronger one as we headed down valley towards Embrun again. I was really careful not to get done drafting so always made sure I was well off the wheel in front as this was a course renowned for umpires that could be a bit one eyed. My recent experience in Alpe D'Huez attested to this risk. Actually here was my pleasant surprise. I ended up having an umpire who decided he liked me as he later said when I saw him after I finished, I always smiled when he passed and was clearly not trying to link up with any other riders to protect myself from the wind. Anyway by the back 50k of the course it was like having a friend supporting on a bike on course as he always gave me the thumbs up or a big smile as he passed. The short steep climbs up the sides of the valley were as expected, tough, hot but not too long. One descent was super loosey goosey with gravel lining each hairpin, but I had sussed that out a few days earlier so no surprises, just a good moment to back off a bit and make sure I got my lines right.

One last hill on the bike course

The final challenge of the bike course was a mental more than physical one. You head back through Embrun at 180k, being teased by being close enough to transition that I saw the lead men out on the run course, including Dan who apparently was so smashed that later in the run he found himself having a little "snooze" in someone's driveway! Anyway I was still one final hill away from the run through and out the opposite side of town. This one was only about 4k to the top but steep and rough, maxing at 22% and utilizing narrow farm roads that would have better suited a mountain bike complete with knobblies! Great to turn at the top though where I saw some road graffiti that said finisher = winner. Very true, and now just the minor detail of a 42.2k trot left so that I could class myself as one. 

One lap down, one to go

The run is two laps around the small protected lake near transition, up a steep path to the town of Embrun  perched on a cliff a few kms away, through the old narrow cobblestone streets past cafes full of supporters or bemused tourists before dropping back down through the veggie patches along the river, crossing the old bridge we rode in on and up the hill in the opposite direction to another village, from where it is nearly all downhill or flat as you head back to transition for another lap. The max grade on the run was +25% so a good challenge to pre-fatigued legs. The day had by then heated up enough to also need to watch out for the melted tarmac sections on the roads. I didn't need to be carrying any more weight on my feet or sticking to the spot!

Nutrition again was interesting with the organisers asking all racers to carry one re-usuable, provided cup, trying to save the 1000s of plastic cups usually used at races and many lost as light blow away rubbish. All a very good idea but somewhat challenging in execution as you worked out where to carry your cup (I opted for upside down in a drinks belt) and it slowed down each aid station. Luckily I was far enough up the field that this really only became an issue by the second lap when the course was much more crowded. There were also significant gaps between some aid stations. I took Erica Csomor's advice and wore a drink belt and then collected two new small flasks of electrolyte at the special needs station at the end of the first lap to bridge the gaps and cover me if I didn't have the chance to collect what I needed. Early in the first lap I was passed by Carla Van Roojen. She went on to post the 2nd fastest run split of the day. Impressive but unfortunately unmatchable by me that day or on that course. However I was happy to find a solid pace and decent form that I held relatively consistently with just a few shortish flat spots during the two laps. The crowds were great and seeing my little but very vocal support crew of the boys, Rob, Tania and Robbie a couple of times each lap was hugely energy boosting too.

The finish was as Embrun-esque as the rest of the race. I finished hot, completely exhausted but happy to have got my pacing right to get to the finish but be ready to fall over at the line, in just under 13hours. I then looked around for a drink and after asking a volunteer or two who seemed surprised by the request, ended up finding the drink station that was on the run course as there was no separate recovery area. Toughen up here kids, if you're done, go sort yourself out! I then collected my truly ugly orange flouro finishers shirt with the three legged man emblazoned on it ("straight to the pool room" with that one!).

Recharging the batteries

So I finished a beautiful, interesting, challenging and very hard Embrunman day. Even better, on a hot and windy day that fueled a 25% DNF or unable to finish due to time cutoffs rate and in a very strong field thanks to one of the largest prize purses on offer, I was able to finish it well. I was happy to be 8th overall femme, 1st veteran femme and in the top 10% of the field (male and female). I was close enough to the top 5 to have heard the 5th place finisher, Carla, who passed me early on the run called through the finish as I went around the lake in my final few kms. All up it was a day best summed up by the word graffitied on the bike course, "Dur". Now I know where the word enDURance comes from. It must have been coined by someone who had been to Embrun on a 15th of August. I am now taking my Duracell batteries for a rapid recharge before my last big race of the season, Challenge Barcelona at the end of Sept.  

A bientôt.