This week the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc arrived in Chamonix and with it a few days of wintery weather. Congratulations and a lot of respect goes to all the folk completing each of the races which range from 100km to 290km each with a huge amount of climbing and descending. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get many good photos of the event but more information on the event can be found here . It's difficult to qualify for / get an entry but maybe one year....
In the meantime having signed up for the Snowdonia Marathon (a mere sprint compared to the ultra) at the end of October, it was time to have a break from the mountain biking and get out running with a couple of great runs around the valley.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulwestwatson/
Friday 31 August 2012
Tuesday 28 August 2012
Flaine & Les Grandes Platieres(MTB)
The day started with a big big climb from Morillion (670m) up to Les Grandes Platieres (2480m). No lifts or trains used today to gain those vertical metres! Most of the climb was rideable with the odd bit of pushing, particularly on the steep gravelly track above Flaine.
The initial plan was to use GR96 to descend to Lac de Gers but this turned out to be a wide loose rocky track so chose to descend via the Chalets des Foges. This turned out to be a wise move, with the path taking a stunning little valley with a mixed descent on rock slabs, flowing singletrack,grass fields, rocky tracks...it had it all! It is mainly fireroad from Lac de Gers, although I did pick up a nice VTT track at Roux. If i did it again I would possibly try the track from Lac de Gers to Sixt, which is again marked on the VTT map.
Click here for GPS Data
Sunday 26 August 2012
LeBuet-Servoz(Run)
Have had my eye on Mont Buet for a while but decided to try a point to point run which would hopefully involve a bit more running than walking up a big hill!!
Getting the bus from Chamonix to Col Des Montets, the route started with a short descent to Le Buet and then the climb to Refuge de la Pierre Berard. Great run along the valley on a gradually ascending trail. After the Refuge the track deteriorated and I was glad I wouldn't be reversing this!
The map shows the path going to the Col de Salenton so I followed the cairns in the mist. Reaching the ridge line I realised I was to far right and the track infact cut the corner to Mont Buet!!Doooh! Retracing tracks and having to pass the walkers I had gone past earlier I finally found the Col. The track started with a steep descent but then levelled out and was able to run most of the way to the Refuge d Anterne before heading to Lac Promenaz. The descent from here was particularly steep (ladders/chains and all!) but finally reached the road at Chalets de Souay. From here I took the path to le Mont which has awesome potential for the mountain bike...I will return!
Click here for GPS data of the route.
Friday 24 August 2012
Contamines Valley Circuit(MTB)
Taking the Prarion Telecabine from Les Houches, the ride started with a descent down Hughes Way (see the Chamonix Bike Book) before climbing to Sainte Nicolas de Veroce and onto la Croix du Christ (1942m).
I then descended to Megeve Airport before climbing again to Col du Very. The main aim of this ride was to investigate the path from Col du Very to Col du Joly and the descent to Contamines. Although knackered by the time I reached the path it turned out to be a bit of nice singletrack descending at first before a hike a bike section up to Chalets du Joly. From here the track traverses for a bit before descending to Contamines. The initial plann was to ride back up to Col du Voza and descend to Les Houches but with tired legs opted for the train back to Chamonix from Le Fayet. Rather than ride along the road I used the bits of track and odd bit of singletrack running along the road finishing on the "pipeline" from St Gervais to Le Fayet (again from the Chamonix Bike book).
Click here for GPS route info
I then descended to Megeve Airport before climbing again to Col du Very. The main aim of this ride was to investigate the path from Col du Very to Col du Joly and the descent to Contamines. Although knackered by the time I reached the path it turned out to be a bit of nice singletrack descending at first before a hike a bike section up to Chalets du Joly. From here the track traverses for a bit before descending to Contamines. The initial plann was to ride back up to Col du Voza and descend to Les Houches but with tired legs opted for the train back to Chamonix from Le Fayet. Rather than ride along the road I used the bits of track and odd bit of singletrack running along the road finishing on the "pipeline" from St Gervais to Le Fayet (again from the Chamonix Bike book).
Click here for GPS route info
Tuesday 21 August 2012
Brevent-Samoens(MTB)
I had spotted the trail to the Col d' Anterne during a run and was mad keen to give it a go on the bike. After asking at the local shops I was told it was not possible as it went through a Nature Reserve but checking the signage and the websites I could see no rules about no bikes... I still dont know whether it is entirely legal but decided to put my Phrase book away and play ignorant! During the ride no-one said anything about me being on a bike apart from "Bon Courage!!".
I was expecting a long day and to avoid the crowds took the first lift to Brevent (2525m). I had run the first bit of the trail before so knew it was going to be tricky with a bike...i didnt quite expect the first 2km of descending to take 1/2hour though!! As the trail descended more and more was rideable but never really turned into the great descent i was hoping for, however the scenery made up for the lack of riding. Unfortunately the climb up the other side of the valley was also a bit of a hike but again in a nice setting. Finally reaching the Col, I was rewarded with stunning views of a great looking singletrack descent!
If I was to do the ride again I would probably miss out the Brevent-Refuge d' Anterne section and start the ride by riding from Plaine-Joux.
The descent to Sixt was awesome and made up for carrying my bike for the last 2hrs!! Some great flowing sections, some techy rocky sections (I didnt clean it all!) and again with awesome views. The odd little climb gave the arms a much needed rest!
Arriving in Samoens (700m), there was the option of waiting for the lift to open after lunch but having made good time I thought I would put some vertical metres in the legs so started the climb up to Station de Samoens and then onto the Gite d' Iglo at 1590m. Fortunately I was rewarded for the hard work and found a nice, woodland descent all the way down to Balme.
A short ride along the valley bottom to Magland and only a 20 minute wait for the train to Chamonix....time to stock up with cakes and coke for the journey!!
Click here for GPS data of the route.
Monday 20 August 2012
Sunday 19 August 2012
Exploring the Chamonix Valley (MTB)
After a few days visting freinds over in Les Arcs and riding some nice trails over it was back to the Chamonix valley for the weekend. Keen to do some exploration of the valley trails, made good use of the Chamonix Bike Book and spent a day at each end of the valley. On the Saturday I rode down to Les Houches before a road climb up to Le Coupeaux and a trail named Fat Pete (as it goes through Grosses Pierres!). A cracking little woodland trail dropping down to Servoz. From here I climbed up the road to Le Mont and then upward to Lac Vert and Plaine-Joux. From here it was all downhill back to Chedde. I couldn't find the first bit of trail but quickly picked up the singletrack the next time it crossed the road. This descent proved to be a bit more techy but still nice and flowing and continuing all the way to the valley bottom and the station at Chedde to catch the hourly train back up to Cham.
The next day I was keen to explore some of the trails that I heard and read about into the Trient Valley. With the train not running this year between Chamonix and Vallorcine I made use of the replacement velo bus which runs from Chamonix to Le tour and also one to Col des Montets. Having arranged to meet Iain at Le Tour at 12, I decided I could get a sneaky quick run in from the Col de Balme to Les Jeurs. Traversing around the Tete de Balme the trail then quickly drops down to the valley bottom on awesome flowing singletrack. A "quick" spin up the road, across the border back into France caught the Vallorcine gondola and rode the downhil VTT track (which felt very rutted and manmade after all the natural trails ridden over the last few days!!) back to Le Tour. Meeting up with Iain, we headed back up to the Col de Balme this time taking the "Trient Via the Cross" track, another great piece of singletrack. Bit steeper and more techy than Les Jeurs but still flows nicely with time to enjoy the views of the Swiss Alps.
Unfortunately Iains brakes were giving up on him so after heading back to Le Tour I rode the Balcon du Nord to Argentieres and took the Grandes Montets lift. I decided to take on the 47 swlitchbacks of the Trappette Couloir... after what seems an age you finally see the valley bottom and realise you are only half way down!!! Managed to clean all but 2 of the switchbacks in one go.. so will need to go back and try that one again!
A great couple of days exploring either end of the chamonix valley and these trails alone worth the £14 for the Chamonix Bike Book.
The next day I was keen to explore some of the trails that I heard and read about into the Trient Valley. With the train not running this year between Chamonix and Vallorcine I made use of the replacement velo bus which runs from Chamonix to Le tour and also one to Col des Montets. Having arranged to meet Iain at Le Tour at 12, I decided I could get a sneaky quick run in from the Col de Balme to Les Jeurs. Traversing around the Tete de Balme the trail then quickly drops down to the valley bottom on awesome flowing singletrack. A "quick" spin up the road, across the border back into France caught the Vallorcine gondola and rode the downhil VTT track (which felt very rutted and manmade after all the natural trails ridden over the last few days!!) back to Le Tour. Meeting up with Iain, we headed back up to the Col de Balme this time taking the "Trient Via the Cross" track, another great piece of singletrack. Bit steeper and more techy than Les Jeurs but still flows nicely with time to enjoy the views of the Swiss Alps.
Unfortunately Iains brakes were giving up on him so after heading back to Le Tour I rode the Balcon du Nord to Argentieres and took the Grandes Montets lift. I decided to take on the 47 swlitchbacks of the Trappette Couloir... after what seems an age you finally see the valley bottom and realise you are only half way down!!! Managed to clean all but 2 of the switchbacks in one go.. so will need to go back and try that one again!
A great couple of days exploring either end of the chamonix valley and these trails alone worth the £14 for the Chamonix Bike Book.
Saturday 18 August 2012
Iron distance racing.
What and Why?
Fuelled by a couple of beers and suffering from mid winter blues I signed up to Challenge Copenhagen back in December. It's an iron distance race consisting of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike and ends with a marathon (42km run). After completing the Ben Nevis triathlon and Aberfeldy Middle distance triathlon in 2011 I was looking for the next triathlon challenge, I'd never run a marathon so decided by doing an ironman could get that out the way at the same time!!
The Training and Build Up.
 |
| 3.8km swim, 180km bike and 42km run in the bag! |
The Training and Build Up.
By my own admission the training became quite addictive and has taken over my life for the last few months. A routine of sleep, train, eat, work, train, eat, sleep became quite normal. For the last 21 weeks I have been following a training plan
provided by Ken Bryson (http://www.total-endurance.co.uk) which gave much more structure and added experience to my training programme.
Taking advantage of a change in jobs I spent the last 6 weeks of the build up in Chamonix, which was in many ways the perfect location for triathlon training. Facilities were great, 50m outdoor pool, 25m indoor pool, a great lake for open water swimming and plenty of runs and hills for cycling in the area. The biggest difficulty has been recovering and without the routine of work found this aspect of the training quite frustrating. The feeling of "never enough training " was exaggerated by not having 40hrs of work a week!
Taking advantage of a change in jobs I spent the last 6 weeks of the build up in Chamonix, which was in many ways the perfect location for triathlon training. Facilities were great, 50m outdoor pool, 25m indoor pool, a great lake for open water swimming and plenty of runs and hills for cycling in the area. The biggest difficulty has been recovering and without the routine of work found this aspect of the training quite frustrating. The feeling of "never enough training " was exaggerated by not having 40hrs of work a week!
The last couple of weeks through the taper were particularly
frustrating but fortunately I had the Olympics to keep me occupied and motivated.
The Race
I arrived in Copenhagen a few days before the race and with the buzz of the event looming started to look forward to actually doing it, rather than just getting it all out of the way! I was staying with friends over the weekend (A big thankyou to Annemette, Craig, Willum and Louis!) and with my parents there too was good to catch up with everyone and relax a bit.
 |
| The much needed support team! |
Despite the excitement (rather than nerves!), I had a
reasonable night’s sleep before the race and was woken by my various alarms at
5am. A big bowl of cereal followed by Rye bread and Marmite went down really
well and washed it down with a coffee to wake me up. Weather conditions looked perfect, no wind and
clear skys promised a sunny day ahead.
It was only a 5 minute cycle to the start so I headed down 45 minutes before the start to check no gremlins had attacked the bike in transition overnight and check tyre pressures. A 5 minute warm up swim meant I missed the pro start at 7am. The girls followed at 7.05 and I was in the third wave at 7.15am. In the prestart area I knew the build up couldn’t have gone much better and was feeling really positive. The gun went and we (~400 in my wave) were off! It was a beach start so a mad charge into the water followed by a fairly frantic 150m swim to the first buoy. After the 90degree turn things calmed down and I found some space and settled into the swim. The course was one single loop with fairly straight legs and took us under a few low level bridges full of supporters. They were also clearly marked with the swim distance so knew I was making progress!!
At the end of the 3.8km swim I was helped to my feet onto
the easy exit ramp but felt great, no dizziness as I got to my feet and then a
quick glance at the watch… 56 minutes!! Having been fairly consistent in my
swim pace during training I was hoping for around 1hr 5min so was amazed by the
time. Well aware of the long day ahead I had been careful not to push the swim
so I guess this was down to the added benefit of it being a salt water swim and
at sea level, having spent the last 6 weeks training in a pool at a 1000m
altitude.
Entering T2 one volunteer grabs your bike and another is
stood waiting with your run bag and then it’s into the change tent and only a
marathon to go! The run was a four lap out and back course along the city
waterfront, going through some of the main tourist attractions, meant there was
plenty of support along the route. The first loop felt great, I knew my pace
was high but my legs felt good, heart rate was a little high (low zone 4) but
my breathing felt ok. Someone had told me the week before the race that an
Ironman doesn’t start until the last 10km so although I was aware a sub 10hr
time (a pre-race dream rather than target) was a possibility I was
concentrating on not pushing too hard. Onto the second lap and I was aware my
pace was starting to drop slightly. I completed the first half of the marathon
in around 1hr36min but by now my legs were feeling it and the mental battle
took over.
Whilst a four lap race is great as it means there is lots of support and milestones can easily be set, it does mean you are running alongside people at different stages of the run. With a mixture of the leaders lapping you, folk just starting their run, through to people walking it does mean it is difficult to gauge how you’re doing against folk at the same stage of the race. So it was a case of just switching off and concentrating on my own race and trying to get inspiration from wherever possible.
The third lap was really tough but before the race I knew this would be the hardest bit. Onto the fourth lap and I thought I would get a kick knowing this was the last lap but it didn’t come and with pace and heart rate dropping I knew I just had to keep going for one more hour (hopefully!!). I was mainly drinking water on the run but did have a couple of gels /fruit/coke in the second half to see if that helped. With drink stations every 2km it was just a case of targeting the next one, I was starting to walk through food stations and over some of the small climbs over bridges etc on the route but I managed to keep going and eventually it was back into the crowds and onto the final straight for the finish line for a 3hr 40 min marathon and overall time of 10hr 19min.
My target was 11hr so I was pleased with my time but was slightly disappointed to struggle so much on the second half of the marathon (2hr4min for the second half marathon)… although I knew this would be the tough bit! I was hoping for a 3hr30min marathon so missed out on that but the swim and bike times were quicker than expected.
Positives: Swim time (16th in category), bike pace (although 128th in category so room for improvement), nutrition, bike to run transition.
Lessons learned: Marathon pacing. This may have been caused by being based in Chamonix for the last 6 weeks and doing trail runs rather than long flat road runs. However reviewing my results I started the run 384th overall, by the end of the first half marathon was 215th and finished 218th so I didn’t drop too many places in the second half of the run.
The Stats!
Grabbing my bike bag it was into the change tent, wetsuit
off, cycle top and shoes on and out to the bike. The bike course first took us
into Copenhagen and then onto a two loop course on closed roads to the North of
the city. First we headed north along a flat open coast road before turning
inland and back south. There was quite a long section on smaller roads with
lots of turns and rolling terrain before heading onto a dual carriageway back
towards Copenhagen and onto the second loop.
4 ½hrs into the bike, I was looking forward to getting off the saddle
and onto the run.
Being a two loop course, it was easy to set targets to aim
for (food stations etc) and before I knew it we were heading back towards the
city centre. At the end of my first lap my average speed was 33km/hr and had
dropped to 32km/hr by the end of the second lap but I was happy with an overall
bike time of 5hr33min for the 180km. Through the bike leg I’d been eating a bit
of flapjack/cliff bar every 20 minutes and sipping on an energy drink
throughout as well as taking on plenty of water. Not a big fan of gels I had
one caffeine gel on the second lap for a bit of a kick but decided against
taking any more before the run as above all wanted to avoid any stomach issues.
Entering T2 one volunteer grabs your bike and another is
stood waiting with your run bag and then it’s into the change tent and only a
marathon to go! The run was a four lap out and back course along the city
waterfront, going through some of the main tourist attractions, meant there was
plenty of support along the route. The first loop felt great, I knew my pace
was high but my legs felt good, heart rate was a little high (low zone 4) but
my breathing felt ok. Someone had told me the week before the race that an
Ironman doesn’t start until the last 10km so although I was aware a sub 10hr
time (a pre-race dream rather than target) was a possibility I was
concentrating on not pushing too hard. Onto the second lap and I was aware my
pace was starting to drop slightly. I completed the first half of the marathon
in around 1hr36min but by now my legs were feeling it and the mental battle
took over. Whilst a four lap race is great as it means there is lots of support and milestones can easily be set, it does mean you are running alongside people at different stages of the run. With a mixture of the leaders lapping you, folk just starting their run, through to people walking it does mean it is difficult to gauge how you’re doing against folk at the same stage of the race. So it was a case of just switching off and concentrating on my own race and trying to get inspiration from wherever possible.
The third lap was really tough but before the race I knew this would be the hardest bit. Onto the fourth lap and I thought I would get a kick knowing this was the last lap but it didn’t come and with pace and heart rate dropping I knew I just had to keep going for one more hour (hopefully!!). I was mainly drinking water on the run but did have a couple of gels /fruit/coke in the second half to see if that helped. With drink stations every 2km it was just a case of targeting the next one, I was starting to walk through food stations and over some of the small climbs over bridges etc on the route but I managed to keep going and eventually it was back into the crowds and onto the final straight for the finish line for a 3hr 40 min marathon and overall time of 10hr 19min.
My target was 11hr so I was pleased with my time but was slightly disappointed to struggle so much on the second half of the marathon (2hr4min for the second half marathon)… although I knew this would be the tough bit! I was hoping for a 3hr30min marathon so missed out on that but the swim and bike times were quicker than expected.
Positives: Swim time (16th in category), bike pace (although 128th in category so room for improvement), nutrition, bike to run transition.
Lessons learned: Marathon pacing. This may have been caused by being based in Chamonix for the last 6 weeks and doing trail runs rather than long flat road runs. However reviewing my results I started the run 384th overall, by the end of the first half marathon was 215th and finished 218th so I didn’t drop too many places in the second half of the run.
The Stats!
Run Bike Data:
(Clearly showing drop in pace / heart rate):
Results:
(35th in age category out of 246 finishers, 218th
overall out of 1370 finishers)
Swim (1 lap)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Timing Point
|
Time
|
Split
|
km/h
|
min/km
|
||||||||||||||||||
Swim 3,8 km
|
0:56:52
|
0:56:52
|
4.01
|
14:58
|
||||||||||||||||||
1st Transition
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Timing Point
|
Time
|
Split
|
km/h
|
min/km
|
||||||||||||||||||
1st Transition
|
1:01:47
|
0:04:56
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike (2 laps)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Timing Point
|
Time
|
Split
|
km/h
|
min/km
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 33 km
|
2:00:16
|
0:58:30
|
33.85
|
1:47
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 63 km
|
2:54:58
|
1:53:12
|
33.40
|
1:48
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 82 km
|
3:28:42
|
2:26:55
|
33.49
|
1:48
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 93 km
|
3:49:06
|
2:47:19
|
33.35
|
1:48
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 110 km
|
4:21:17
|
3:19:30
|
33.08
|
1:49
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 140 km
|
5:18:46
|
4:16:59
|
32.69
|
1:51
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 159 km
|
5:56:12
|
4:54:25
|
32.40
|
1:52
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 170 km
|
6:18:25
|
5:16:38
|
32.22
|
1:52
|
||||||||||||||||||
Bike 180 km
|
6:35:44
|
5:33:57
|
32.34
|
1:52
|
||||||||||||||||||
2nd Transition
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Timing Point
|
Time
|
Split
|
km/h
|
min/km
|
||||||||||||||||||
2nd Transition
|
6:38:35
|
0:02:51
|
-
|
-
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run (4 laps)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
Timing Point
|
Time
|
Split
|
km/h
|
min/km
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 1,60 km
|
6:45:36
|
0:07:02
|
13.66
|
4:24
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 2,80 km
|
6:50:43
|
0:12:08
|
13.85
|
4:20
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 6,60 km
|
7:07:13
|
0:28:39
|
13.83
|
4:21
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 10,40 km
|
7:23:38
|
0:45:04
|
13.85
|
4:20
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 12,00 km
|
7:31:16
|
0:52:42
|
13.66
|
4:24
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 13,20 km
|
7:36:49
|
0:58:14
|
13.60
|
4:25
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 17,00 km
|
7:54:30
|
1:15:56
|
13.44
|
4:28
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 20,80 km
|
8:13:09
|
1:34:35
|
13.20
|
4:33
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 22,40 km
|
8:22:19
|
1:43:44
|
12.96
|
4:38
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 23,60 km
|
8:28:49
|
1:50:14
|
12.85
|
4:41
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 27,40 km
|
8:49:38
|
2:11:04
|
12.54
|
4:47
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 31,20 km
|
9:11:45
|
2:33:11
|
12.22
|
4:55
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 32,80 km
|
9:21:50
|
2:43:16
|
12.05
|
4:59
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 34,00 km
|
9:29:03
|
2:50:29
|
11.97
|
5:01
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 37,80 km
|
9:51:48
|
3:13:14
|
11.74
|
5:07
|
||||||||||||||||||
Run 41,60 km
|
10:16:00
|
3:37:25
|
11.48
|
5:14
|
||||||||||||||||||
Finish (Run 42,2 km)
|
10:19:03
|
3:40:29
|
11.48
|
5:14
|
||||||||||||||||||
Rankings
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
...and finally
So will I do it again? Well never say never but the second half of the run hurt but also know there is a bit more to give, just not sure how to get it out of me! Or maybe I'll just take on this ultra challenge....
A few more photos here...http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulwestwatson/sets/72157631130545058/with/7810227796/
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