The Trifitness Blog: Fall Trails Galore
Some people ask me how I stay m...: Fall Trails Galore Some people ask me how I stay motivated year after year for racing and training and I believe one of the reason is tha...
Friday, October 17, 2014
Fall Trails Galore
Some people ask me how I stay motivated year after year for racing and training and I believe one of the reason is that I try to find a new adventure, a new race location or just a new challenge to keep me happy.
This season after L'etape du Tour on my bike, I am trying the Bimbler's Bluff 50k Trail Race in Guilford CT
It brings me to another reason why I like trails beyond the beauty of them: it is good for my brain and forces me to live in the moment and pay attention to every step I take from the beginning to the end. You would be amazed of how fast time goes by like that! But if you lose your concentration and start day dreaming, you can get lost or fall down!
A few weeks ago I had my longest training run during the Goodwin Forest 30k Trail Run in Hampton CT.
I was staying near Hampton at Storrs to visit Sophie during family week-end at UConn. Sophie could not get out of a party apparently on Saturday night and wanted to sleep in on Sunday morning, so I just decided to do the race. Only $15, for people over 50!!!
It was a rainy, humid day. A handful of people were there. After a friendly speech by the RD, who said to be careful, everybody falls at least once and make sure to follow the signs... I left with everybody else for the unknown!
This is the finisher's trophy that everyone got! My best one so far ;-)
Two miles into the run I did crash and was SO lucky: nothing got broken! I stood up, was embarrassed and kept on running.
4 miles before the end, I got so excited as my time was good and I could see the end, I took a wrong turn...
It was a downhill and I kept on running and running and starting to think what if it was not the race course...I stopped and almost cried!
I was lost and all the trees around looked the same in the deep forest ;-(
I took a deep breath and went back up the hill and tried to follow my path...I did eventually find the turn I had missed.
I ended up winning my age group!
I was not able to stay for the rewards and was so surprised to receive my prize in the mail with a very sweet hand written note: they had eaten my prize, which was an apple pie, but were sending me local honey instead!!!
I can only recommend this race to anyone as it does not have to be at a super fast pace, it can be just a run/hike and a beautiful experience at the same time. I saw snakes, birds, foxes... I got immersed in deep forest light, climbed rocks, crossed streams....
I will report after Sunday's 50k as I may change my mind with 20k more of trails to run ;-)
And here is a little bit of humor for trail runners...
See you on the trails this Fall!
Saturday, September 13, 2014
A look at the 2014 Multisports Race Season
What happened to the 2014 Triathlon Season? It went super fast and, although not completely over, was filled with new adventures and experiences.
What I realized over my years of training, setting goals, is that racing is very enjoyable, exciting, expensive and hard, but also that it requires consistency and focus to stay at a high competitive level year after year.
To have consistency and focus in your training you need a stable life and when things are not too stable workouts are missed, motivation is low and the results show!
With 2014 looking like an unstable life I decided to try new adventures and experiences in racing, and it was wonderful, hard and exciting!
The first adventure I tried was the Tour of the Battenkill in Cambridge NY. A 100k very hilly bike race, on tons of dirt roads! I asked around in our training group who wanted to join me, and only Steve Mettler said yes!
The race was really hard, and the weather was freezing cold, but finished reasonably well with a feeling of a great accomplishment.
Part of the fun of racing is to try new places and at the end of June I went to Cohasset, MA, and did a great large sprint triathlon and won my age group!
After several local triathlons with respectable results it was time for my second adventure, one of those dream experiences!
It was a fantastic experience, but unfortunately not perfect! The ride was great with so many people around you were never alone and could pick who to draft with no issues. I was not planning to race but enjoy the experience.
The weather started warm, but the mountains were nowhere to be seen behind clouds. When we arrived at the bottom of the first major climb, le col du Tourmalet, rain started to pour on us...No big deal, as it was finally the "famous" climb, so exciting that I did not notice the fog, the drop in temperature and the rain. The legs were feeling awesome, the atmosphere awesome.
Finally at the top, I stopped for a picture and noticed I was getting cold, like freezing cold...it was 3C almost snowing! The descent was so steep, so wet, so cold I could not stop shaking and was getting numb everywhere even in my head...I stopped in a small village, not an official stop, but a disaster zone, where hundred of cyclists like me where freezing cold....
I am not too proud of myself but I never managed to go back on my bike. I tried several times and each time I was shaking uncontrollably :-(
So I climbed the Tourmalet, rode about 110K, but never climbed Hautacam the final col. I will have to come back on a nicer day!
My third adventure of the summer was Nationals in Milwaukee! I love the race and this year it was huge, with so many fast athletes but a good reality check. there were almost 200 women registered in my own age group!
My bike travelled in style in Chris Swift RV with Chris Thomas!
My race was good, but the lack of consistency in my training showed with the swim and run portions! So even if I finished in the top 20% of my age group, I did not qualified for Worlds 2015 in Chicago. I have been to numerous nationals in previous years and had always qualified for Worlds, but not this time around ;-(
I wished I had raced the next day for the sprint triathlon as I would have qualified easily! Oh well, there is always next year and I am planning to be consistent in my training and cannot wait for the facility at Swim 70 to be finished!
The great thing about racing is to see old friends and competitors and share a drink after the race!
Tomorrow is my last local race at the Hammerfest Triathlon in Branford and will try to finish in style!
My last adventure of the year 2014 for me will be the Bimblers Bluff 50k Trail Race in Gilford CT in October. Pascal Fuchs pushed me to register and the Whipple's family inspired me! I am not 100% sure how I will tackle that one, but will have a first taste next Sunday at the Goodwin Forest Trail Run 30k of trails!
So now thinking of next year's goals:
- nationals, qualify for worlds 2016
- 70.3 somewhere new?
- another Ironman in the horizon?
And a new training facility to manage and develop at Swim70 in Norwalk! I cannot wait for this new adventure!
Our triathlon training center will be on the mezzanine overlooking the 50 meter pool!
What I realized over my years of training, setting goals, is that racing is very enjoyable, exciting, expensive and hard, but also that it requires consistency and focus to stay at a high competitive level year after year.
With 2014 looking like an unstable life I decided to try new adventures and experiences in racing, and it was wonderful, hard and exciting!
The first adventure I tried was the Tour of the Battenkill in Cambridge NY. A 100k very hilly bike race, on tons of dirt roads! I asked around in our training group who wanted to join me, and only Steve Mettler said yes!
The race was really hard, and the weather was freezing cold, but finished reasonably well with a feeling of a great accomplishment.Part of the fun of racing is to try new places and at the end of June I went to Cohasset, MA, and did a great large sprint triathlon and won my age group!
After several local triathlons with respectable results it was time for my second adventure, one of those dream experiences!
On July 20, I climbed the Col du Tourmalet in the Pyrenees and participated in one of the biggest bicycle race I have ever done! 10000 riders from all over the world gathered in Pau, Pyrenees to ride one of the stage of the Tour de France, 4 days before the actual tour de France pro riders and on the exact same course!
It was a fantastic experience, but unfortunately not perfect! The ride was great with so many people around you were never alone and could pick who to draft with no issues. I was not planning to race but enjoy the experience.
The weather started warm, but the mountains were nowhere to be seen behind clouds. When we arrived at the bottom of the first major climb, le col du Tourmalet, rain started to pour on us...No big deal, as it was finally the "famous" climb, so exciting that I did not notice the fog, the drop in temperature and the rain. The legs were feeling awesome, the atmosphere awesome.
Finally at the top, I stopped for a picture and noticed I was getting cold, like freezing cold...it was 3C almost snowing! The descent was so steep, so wet, so cold I could not stop shaking and was getting numb everywhere even in my head...I stopped in a small village, not an official stop, but a disaster zone, where hundred of cyclists like me where freezing cold....
I am not too proud of myself but I never managed to go back on my bike. I tried several times and each time I was shaking uncontrollably :-(
So I climbed the Tourmalet, rode about 110K, but never climbed Hautacam the final col. I will have to come back on a nicer day!
My third adventure of the summer was Nationals in Milwaukee! I love the race and this year it was huge, with so many fast athletes but a good reality check. there were almost 200 women registered in my own age group!
My bike travelled in style in Chris Swift RV with Chris Thomas!
My race was good, but the lack of consistency in my training showed with the swim and run portions! So even if I finished in the top 20% of my age group, I did not qualified for Worlds 2015 in Chicago. I have been to numerous nationals in previous years and had always qualified for Worlds, but not this time around ;-(
The great thing about racing is to see old friends and competitors and share a drink after the race!
Tomorrow is my last local race at the Hammerfest Triathlon in Branford and will try to finish in style!
My last adventure of the year 2014 for me will be the Bimblers Bluff 50k Trail Race in Gilford CT in October. Pascal Fuchs pushed me to register and the Whipple's family inspired me! I am not 100% sure how I will tackle that one, but will have a first taste next Sunday at the Goodwin Forest Trail Run 30k of trails!
So now thinking of next year's goals:
- nationals, qualify for worlds 2016
- 70.3 somewhere new?
- another Ironman in the horizon?
And a new training facility to manage and develop at Swim70 in Norwalk! I cannot wait for this new adventure!
Monday, March 10, 2014
Battenkill Training Group with Eneas Freyre
About a month ago I decided to sign up for something new, different and hard!
I registered for the Tour of the Battenkill, America's Queen of the Classics:
I registered for the Tour of the Battenkill, America's Queen of the Classics:
America's largest one-day Pro/Am cycling race. Racers compete over 65 miles of rolling terrain on both dirt and paved roads as they travel through the world famous Battenkill Valley. Set in early spring, the race starts and finishes in the scenic village of Cambridge, New York and courses through covered bridges, family farms, and rural villages along the many challenging backcountry roads that traverse Southern Washington County, New York.
The 2013 edition played host to nearly 3,000 amateur and professional cyclists from throughout North America and dozens of nations worldwide.
Well, after talking to a few people who had done it I concluded that the race sounds fun but very hard!!!
So I decided I had to do some work and join Eneas Freyre and his group for a training ride on Saturday March 8. The weather was perfect.
The group of riders consisted of about 8 guys and they all looked like professionals! I was a little bit intimidated to say the least, but I thought to myself, that is how you get better when you ride with faster, better people, at least when you can keep up with them!
We left TTendurance in Westport around 9am and rode towards Weston, the Cobbs Mill Inn where there a few dirt roads, I managed to stay behind...
When we got there Eneas gave us the workout: go as fast as you can on the dirt road going uphill then do a loop on the roads around and do that 3 times!!! I was starting to get worried...
Well it happened to be great fun but of course not easy, and luckily there was another rider about my speed so I was not last!!!
Unfortunately for me I took a spill just before the second time around...and I was glad I had a helmet on as I cracked it! Luckily nothing broken but I can say I am very sore today!!!
After this first part we regrouped and the second part was downhill fast on the dirt road, the other way round, three times again! The group left me in the dust from the beginning, I have a lot to learn! I was not sure where the loop was after that so I stayed on that dirt road and did it up and down again when the group reappeared. Of course they left me in the dust again. I tried a bit harder and could see them on the roads for a while until they vanished into the Weston hills. I tried to find my way and got so lost! Thanks to my iPhone and GPS, I got back to the Cobbs Mill Inn parking lot, just in time for the group picture!
Beside the spill and my to be improved skills, I loved the workout and Eneas was really good.
I need to do some work for sure before April 5 though!!!
To the next training next week!
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