Personal trainer

I haven't done much running this week, well not proper running training, but rather running down mountains with walking boots on which doesn't really count. Yesterday was one such day. For the first time ever after years of pestering everyone, I finally managed to take part in a climb up the Pointe Percée. This mountain is fantastic: a clear 'V' shaped top with a sharp ridge and a strong reputation as being a difficult ascension. Last year, there was an accident when a walker slipped on the descent and fell off the cliffs that surround the summit, dying from his injuries. Its reputation is not unfounded.

The walk was fantastic with the last 250m of ascent being a rock-climb rather than a walk. I loved every moment of it and then finished the last 3 km of the descent by running. The guide didn't believe that I could get down under 20 minutes, so I proved him wrong by bounding down in 18min45 !

Pointe Percée in all its splendour

Today was a different affair, as I accompanied Laurence on a morning run to Megevette and back. I was acting as her personal trainer and encouraging her up the hills. It was extremely hot again today and I was really pleased not to be running hard. It's great to be able to run with Laurence again now that her knee has completely recovered. She has returned to form rapidly over the last month and is now running as fast as she could prior to the Paris Marathon. Her endurance is also improving quickly and next month she'll resume the full marathon training programme in preparation for La Rochelle.

We set off up the main road to Megevette, being careful on the bends where the road narrows and the rock overhangs. I ran just behind Laurence, letting her set the pace and watching her style. She runs so much more fluidly than in the past, it's a pleasure to run with her. We were running at around 10 km/h up the hill, slowing to 6:40 pace on the steepest section when we left the main road to take the minor road to Megevette.

On the way back down the hill, we sped up to 5:15 - 5:20 pace, letting gravity pull us along. Laurence intended to just run 10km, but I managed to persuade her to run another kilometre and include the last hill up to Les Chavannes to finish. Despite her initial reluctance, she ran well up the slope to finish at the holiday centre.

11km all up in 1:05 or an average of 5:49 per km. Most pleasant for me in the heat and following yesterday's exertions. I really wasn't motivated to running any further or harder today.

Marathon pace

We woke up this morning to see that the clouds that had covered the mountains yesterday, and that had spoiled our day's walk up the Tête de Colonney, had totally disappeared, leaving a clear, cristalline blue sky and views of all the mountains in the area. Mont Blanc and la Pointe Percée looked particularly clear and most tempting. The temperature was still cool at around 14°C so it was ideal weather to go for a morning run and to burn off the excess calories from 3 helpings of raclette last night.

I wondered about running back up to Col de Jambaz (pronounced "Jambes" by the way) again today, but a few strides into the run and I could tell that my legs were fatigued so I didn't want to push it. I ran up past Amoulin and then over the old bridge towards Megevette on the other side of the valley from the main road. This path takes you up a really steep little climb and so I was happy to run up this at 4:47 pace. I reached the top, panting heavily and then enjoyed the road as it flattened out towards Megevette, turning off right along the same back road that I ran along on Sunday.

I followed this road to the end but instead of turning right to run up Col de Jambaz, I crossed over the main road at Chauméty and along the road parallel to the main road in the direction of the col. This road is fairly flat and I ran until it turned into a dirt track and began to peter out. It was just over 8 km here and that was far enough, I thought so I turned round and starting running back. The breeze was behind me now and I increased my pace instantly running back towards Onnion in the following times: 4:16, 3:58, 3:56, 4:11 (as I slowed down to run around the roadworks!), 3:56, 3:51, 3:44. Great going and a lovely feeling to lengthen the stride and just push the pace.

15.6 km all up in 1:06:43 or an average of 4:16 per km, so marathon pace over the distance which is pretty good going for a training run at altitude. Pleased with my performances recently and looking forward to the next big test with a 10k race next month.

Pointe Percée in the foreground with Mont Blanc behind.

Col de Jambaz : the return

Sunday morning, we're back in the Alps after a lovely week in Venice. The weather is distinctly cooler here as firstly, we're now at 850m altitude and secondly, last night's thunderstorm has cleared the air wonderfully.

It had stopped raining by the time I had decided to go for my run. As it's Sunday and I hadn't been running for the last 2 days, I decided to go for a longer run and run up the col closest to Onnion and the holiday centre where we're staying, Les Chavannes. I rembered having run this course last year and estimated that the total distance was somewhere between 18 and 20 kilometres.

It was one of those days, I discovered as soon as I set out, that everything felt good. I set off at a reasonable pace up the hill towards Megevette and the temperature was ideal. The sun was hiding behind a veil of clouds and every now and then it would appear and the rain lying on the road would rise in a haze of steam. My Garmin was playing up over the first 3 km as it recorded my times as 4:02, 4:17 and 3:58. I estimated that my actual pace was around 4:35 which was still good going up the hill. I reached the plateau at Megevette and turned right at the church to take the road parallel to the main road along the side of the valley. At the end of this road, I rejoined the main road and carried on up to the top of the col. I was still progressing steadily with my slowest kilometre up the hill at 5:10. I felt really good and was happy to be out of the heat of Venice and running again at a good pace. All was not lost !

I ran into Jambaz at the top of the hill and then turned back and started running straight down again. Again, a good steady pace, relaxing my legs and letting gravity take me down as fast as possible. The next 3 kilometres went by quickly: 3:49, 3:50 then 3:55. I was thinking to myself that this was fast going and then realising that I still wasn't at 10 km race pace. I hit the plateau at Megevette and slowed down slightly, returning along the side road. But even on this flatter section of the course I still maintained a pace of 4:09 then 4:21 before increasing my speed again to over 15 km/h.

I got back to Les Chavannes in 1:20:43 with 19 km showing on the Garmin. Even taking into account the tricks the Garmin played on me over the first 3 km, I reckon that the distance was more likely 18.5 km but this was still an excellent performance. I compared this to my run over a slightly shorter course up to Col de Jambaz last year, when I ran 1:24:02. So, an overall improvement of around 4 minutes when I take into account the extra distance. Very pleased.

Garmin says I averaged the course at 4:14 per km, so marathon pace including 300m of ascension, which is pretty good going.

Col de Jambaz in the Winter. Obviously, there was less snow when I was at the top this morning. View is the same otherwise.

Busy week

So much for holidays as a time for relaxing and taking it easy. I haven't had a chance to update the blog since the beginning of the week as I've been so occupied with the walks organised by the holiday centre. In running terms, it has been a quiet week with only one run, but to justify my silence, I'll explain some of the other activities that I've done during the week.

Monday

A long walk was planned with Benoist up to the Tête Nord des Fours in the massif du Mont Blanc. Dad and I decided that we would do this walk: 1500 metres of climb with a start at 1200 metres to arrive at the summit of 2756 metres. This was the first time that Benoist had taken a group up this summit and some of the group never made it to the top, stopping at the Croix du Col de Bonhomme on the way. The walk was long but most enjoyable with Dad and I both making it to the top and getting back down in front of the others. The Garmin indicated that the total climb amounted to 2100 metres (this included my mistake of around 100 metres when I went up the Tête Sud by myself !). I ran down most of the mountain and waited for the others and then Dad and I ran the last 2 km to the car.

Tuesday

A quick work-out with Laureen for Laurence and myself at 9:00am and then an easy run around Onnion. I say easy, but with the altitude and the hills, nothing is easy around here. I managed the 7.5km in 36:09 for a total height gain of 350 metres. The heat and the humidity didn't help but I put in an interval of 1.2 km which I managed in 5:09. I was fairly pleased with the performance.

Tuesday was also the start of Laurence's and my expedition to the top of Le Buet, the highest summit in the area at 3096 metres. We walked up to the refuge at Le Grenairon on Tuesday afternoon in the heat. Luckily there were trees providing shade on the way up as the heat and the stillness was stifling. 1000 metres of climb up to the refuge at 1980 metres where we spent the night in relative luxury: hot shower; good food; nice pillows and a duvet !

Wednesday

We were woken at 5:30 to begin the walk and set off 50 minutes later. We had another 1100 metres of climb to do before lunch and then over 2000 metres of descent. Unfortunately, the group wasn't homogeneous and the pace between the fastest and the slowest was huge. We reached the summit shortly before lunchtime and then began one of the hairiest descents I've ever experienced. The descent proved to be decisive for the slowest and I ran ahead down around 10 km of hills to bring the car up the track to shorten the total walk by 4.5km for some.

Friday

An easy cycle ride this morning with Vincent, our guide. I pushed up the hills to try and work the muscles as hard as I could. Laurence has improved vastly over the 3 sessions we have done on the road bikes and she left the other 2 men far behind when we climbed the hills. A shorter ride today though, with a total of 27 kms in 90 minutes. Great training for our raid in Normandy at the end of the month.

Col de Jambaz

Since Saturday is the official Sabbath for Les Chavannes, a day of rest where holidaymakers leave and new groups arrive, we decided to go for an early morning run to make the most of the day.

As usual, we were woken at 7:00 am by the bells of Onnion church ringing out the hour. Slipped on my running gear and it was off, heading up the valley towards Megevette with the aim of reaching Col de Jambaz at the head of the valley. The sun was up, but it had not reached high enough in the sky to blaze down into the valley. The temperature was very comfortable and it was ideal for running.

The run up the valley was hard on the legs and I could feel the efforts that all the hill-walking had had on my leg muscles. I glanced at the Garmin and my worst fears were confirmed: my pace was just below 12 km/h. I turned off right above Lamion and headed up the other side of the valley from the main road. The hills were taking their toll and every corner seemed to throw a new challenge in my path. It was with much relief that I finally reached the plateau by Megevette and was able to speed up slightly along the flat. At the end of the plateau, I re-joined the main road and ran up the slope to the top of the Col de Jambaz for a distance of almost 3 km. I hit the "lap" button at the top and recorded my fairly dismal performance: 9.35 km in 47:30 or an average pace of 5:05 per km !!

Downhill now all the way back to Onnion, as I had decided that I would stick to the main road. I made the most of the slope and increased my stride length, hoping gravity would make it that much easy to gain in speed. I felt good as I enjoyed the fantastic countryside and the temperature as I was running. The distance went by quickly and before I knew it I was back at Les Chavannes, saving the final run up the hill to the centre. I managed this downhill in 36:31 for 8.9 km so a distinct improvement in the average at 4:05 per km.

A warm welcome by the "animatrices" at the centre, all very impressed by the distance I had run so early in the morning. I was pleased that I'd improved over the total run, doing the 18.3 km in 1:24:02 for an average of 4:36 per km. The total uphill over the first half of the run amounted to 250m so if I adopt the accepted conversion of 1km per 100m of height gain then that would be roughly the time of a half-marathon on the flat - something I'd be very happy with.

I'll be taking it easier next week, as trying to fit in the training runs with all of the other activities is pretty difficult. Another lovely day in perspective.