Training Log Archive: simon

Demi-finale nord-est, Soulzmatt, Alsace.
GPS: 13.6km at 7:28 +550m

Probably my best race ever at this level. Certainly the most rewarding after-the-factly :)

Next day, more gentle terrain although still physical like anywhere in Alsace. Expected to be more runnable than the middle distance (else it would have been a disaster for almost everybody).

Overall, I found the challenge much more pleasant even if it was quite tough, with a mix of vineyards area, slopes, rocks, route choices... Some area were made bingoish by the fallen trees but fortunately, my course didnt go through a lot of them (wasnt the case for everybody though, which is quite a mistake from the course setter I think)

My race went more or less smoothly, even if it already began to feel hard after 1/3 in the course and the first long leg. I didnt' do a lot of mistakes even if there was a really stupid choice through deep green, losing 3 minutes on everybody. Honestly I wasn't always 100% in control of everything, but I played it safe on all controls, not taking a chance at running wildly on the compass through green forest and across stone walls.

Injured: well after the right knee which was weird and the left foot last week-end, it is known the left knee which is suffering (although this is not the first time, it seems to me). I also felt a bit of the tense foot coming back during the race, but it is now gone. Anyway I suspect all these things to be linked.

Result: 2nd out of 24 in H21A, yep! Podium! (of course not the elite podium)

C • Way to go! 4

GPS: 6.9km at 9:46 +450m (cant get a good value for the elevation, either the DEM is not good enough or GPS signal was too weak to get a precise trace)

Probably one of the toughest middle distance I ever ran.

Quite a special middle, on a steep and green terrain and a rather generalized map which was ok for the most part but completely off in the most technical area - showing only some details. I guess that all guys except for the elites did have a tough day, not really enjoyable.

Still, my start was good for the first 4 controls. Then the fifth was in a weird area, detailed contours on the map but even more in reality! It was very difficult to make sense of the area and for the first time since at least 3 or 4 years, I was standing in the middle of the slope, not having a single clue where I was like a total beginner. 5 minutes lost. After that motivation was quite low, runnability and visibility were also low, and I didn't really enjoy the challenge, except for a few controls in the white area at the top.

We also had quite an interesting visit of the remnants of Maginot line along the summit, but the map (or the terrain) was even crazier - a really dumb idea to map such a tricky area at 1:10000- with deep gullies not even drawn on the map. I consider myself lucky as I only lost 3 minutes on one of the controls. But the worst was to come as i didnt exit cleanly this zone, losing more than 7 minutes through green steep forest on the long leg back to finish, looking for a path which I never found...

Result: 30th out of 61 finishers, considering how bad my race is, everybody had a tough one.

Come back to the wall. Not a lot of people with holidays so it was perfect.

Warm up with the easy red.
The blue one I did a long time ago, some problems on some technical holds.
Then the red on the inclined wall, I had to look for the holds and position but managed it.
Tried the red one on the roof, which is said to be the easiest. Indeed, I could feel how to pass it except I didn't have the energy after the previous way. So it's a half success.
Finished with the left yellow, still had some difficulty on the technical hold.

Overall good climbing session but I feel like I was technically a bit rusted, using more brut force to manage the ways rather than climbing easily.

Left foot still a bit tense, but it's feeling better.