Col de Terramont

I ran on Saturday with the intention of running up col de Jambaz and then on to col de Terramont from Onnion before heading back to the holiday centre. It looked good on paper as Terramont is only a couple of kilometres from col de Jambaz and I fugured that this would make for a 22 - 23 km round run. However, like all of my best plans, I could tell as soon as I started running that this one wouldn't pan out as I'd initially planned.

My legs felt heavy from the start which was a bad thing. I ran a kilometre up the hill to Laitraz in 5:50 which was a very bad thing, and I felt absolutely bloody awful running with even slight hunger pains, which was an extremely bad thing. This was the same route that I'd run a week earlier feeling in the best shape of my life, the same route that I'd run with Alain, chatting top him all the while, talking about marathon and semi-marathon training. This was the same route that I was now traipsing around wondering when I would begin to feel better.

My old injuries were playing up: the right thigh was still aching (I must go and get this sorted out properly now); the knees were a little shaky and the calves were fatigued from hill-walking. Nevertheless, I soldiered on, determined to add some distance and some more hills to the basic training. I got to the top of col de Jambaz in 47 minutes so no great shakes but not completely useless after all as I'd been dreading. The lack of performance was more in my head than in the legs so I carried onto the next col. From Jambaz the road turns off left and winds its way easily up the left fork of the valley before gaining rapidly in steepness on arriving in Mouilles. I stopped here before making the top of the col as I was worried about getting back in time for breakfast and I was rapidly running out of energy. The watch was showing just under an hour's running and I figured I needed at least 40 - 45 minutes to get back. Breakfast ended at 9:15am and it was now 8:20am - time to turn around.

I didn't accelerate outrageously downhill but let myself get into a steady rhythm without pushing it. I was running at around 4:15 pace compared to the 4:00 pace I'd been running a week earlier over the same section. By the time I got to Mégevette, I realised that I was seriously cooked and dangerously close to running out of energy completely. I lifted off the pace over the last 3 kilometres and the last hill back to the Chavannes was a killer as I was now wasted.

I managed to get back just in time both for breakfast and before collapsing. 20.5 km all up in 1:39 or an average of 4:52. Not a  brilliant time but a real reflection of the state I was in when I finished.

Challenged Bertrand to a race up Pointe de Méribel after this so I need to improve over the weekend.