Training Log Archive: AliC

Marathon de Mézanc

Woo, that was fun! Drove from Clermont early in the morning over to Mont Mézanc. Marathon was very low-key. We showed up, registered, and sauntered up to the start line. Frédéric grabbed a spot up front and then told me I should come up too. What me? With all the guys? Uhhh....

But it really was low-key, not so many guys that were faster than me, and after a the start I was ~12th, but still behind guys that were slower. Passed ~5 up to the 10k mark, was happy to note that my skis were gliding nice and fast, faster than others, woo flouros. I wouldn't have put them on, but Frédéric was, and I can't let him beat me just because he has faster skis...!

Anyways, at 10k, fumbled grabbing my ravitaillement of hot tea (vin chaud also on offer (!)) and was kind of alone for the next bit. Then came a bit of the course where you double backed on yourself. There was a lead pack of 5 (but turns out two of those were doing the 1 lap ~20k) then one guy, then me, then the guys I had passed. After that point, there was a long gradually up of maybe 2.5k of V2. Lovely. I caught the guy in front of me on that, then we skied around each other the rest of the race.

But it was pretty clear he was actually faster than me, each uphill he pulled away, and I gained it back on the downs/flats. With the course ending uphill, I knew he'd get me, so just used the fact that we could ski together to be faster overall. I made a point of passing the second lap on the gradual up, since he'd mostly been pulling me, and I knew I didn't have a hope on the V1-ups anyways.

Ended up in 5th dans la classe "scratch" which apparently means overall, for some unknown reason. Everyone was pretty curious who I was and happy to see a woman finish so far up. So did lots of explaining, or attempting to explain in French. Everyone was really friendly, and when they asked if I skied for the US, I explained that I was on the US ski-o team, and they actually understood what that was! =) Actually, one woman thought that was particularly cool and said I had to meet her daughter, who turns out to be none other than Fanny, of laBaguette's log fame. She's planning on doing ski-o next winter, despite there not really being a French team, because 2 races of the ski-o tour are in France, as are the military games, if I understood correctly!

So, great times. And more yummy food afterwards. Oh, and at the award ceremony 1) they made me speak, in French, in to a microphone to explain where I came from/what I was doing there 2) the women's award (gendered much?) was a little cookbook of french cheese recipes. I'm psyched actually though... must find replacements for cantal et comté aux Etats-Unis!

Results and photos (at bottom)

C • Superbe!! 8

Would have done a longer warm-down, but suspected I was getting sick (slightly sore throat in the morning) so curtailed.

Looong drive back to Paris, but vocab! (From past 2 days actually.)

canot à neige = snowmaking, maybe snowmaker
caravaneige = winter caravan camping spot, clever...
les lentilles souples = soft contact lenses
le ravitaillement = aid station
le cratère = crater (note, masculin!)
les courbatures = muscles stiffness
une congère = snowdrift

Yay, out for a nice long, sunny ski with Frédéric from the Puy de Pertuyzat. He first had to show off how fast he could go up hills, right. I let him go, we're skiing a marathon tomorrow, after all! Then we had a nice peaceful ski, first around the black loop, then the two blues, and I did one more blue after he decided to go in. Something about tired legs from the Transjurassienne last week...

The snow was that suctiony wet newish stuff, so downhills transitions between shade and sun and vice versa were very tricky. But the sun and warmth made up for the slow snow, in my opinion.

C • 17 miles 2

After a lunch of truffade (kinda like tartiflette, but with the cheese local to here, either Cantal ou St. Nectaire, mmmm potatoes and cheese.... ), I decided to take a short tourist loop on skis with my camera.

Headed back up to the Lac Pavin, which at ~6,000 years old, has the distinction of being the newest crater in France. It was apparently a maar-type explosion, so didn't seep out lava building a volcanic mountain, just kinda exploded where it was, sending debris all over the place and a huge hole that has since filled with water. Pretty cool.

Slideshow of photos from the day:

C • Lac Pavin 2

C • Truffade 3

C • Dilemma 2

Noonies, french edition! Avec Frédéric, Pierre et Jared. Left from CEA, une petite boucle avec une seule montée, raced Frédéric up it, he did pretty well, not so much the other two... had to be short so we could make it back for pizza lunch.

Fun to be back in France, a good two days just working at the CEA, now in Clermont-Ferrand to go skiing for the weekend. French vocab of the day:

une éolienne - a windmill, maybe only the big modern ones, those were the ones out the window on the drive at least, and moulin is also windmill...
le refroidissement éolien - windchill, although Frédéric says this is more French-Canadian, in France they more likely say "le windchill"
le guy - mistletoe
un puy puit - a well

C • puy 4

Deposited car at Alex's, absconded with ski bag (thanks thanks Alex!), and ran back to Somerville in time to pack bag with skis and grab T to Logan.

A nice run, a bunch along the river, think it was a decent route. Saw an 8 rowing on the Charles, guess that's one set of people who are very happy to have a mild winter!

Yay! Got to do a Weston race, finally! Picked Brendan up at the commuter rail, then found my way to the wrong golf course, down some private road with a neverending sucession of speedbumps. Emerged and somehow Brendan's spider-sense/consulting of my really unhelpful GPS ended us up at the proper golf course, just in time to change, buy a pass and get to the race explanation.

I hadn't raced at Weston in a good 10+ years, I don't think, so this was new. A squiggly loop, in the dark, a flying mass start, 5 laps. Was in a pack of ~6-8 for the entirety of the race. A few were a bit annoying to ski around, knocking poles and such. After first lap or so, one guy flew off the front, but most of the pack stayed intact untill the last lap. I lead a few times, but was pretty gimpy up the might Mt. Weston. I think the right side was better and arms are the way forward.

Our pack exploded on the last lap, I didn't quite have it to stick up, only ended up ahead of 1 other who had been in the pack. Anyways, really good fun, wish I could do them more often!

Hmm, bad move. Chatted too much before putting clothes on and became a popsicle.... or at least my hands lost their ability to circulate blood, so were pretty painfully cold.

Went out with Brendan for a few more laps (3), last one without poles so my hands could try to be convinced to be warm. Somewhere in the second lap or so actually worked out the intricate weaves of the race course and where I was when... didn't have so much of a clue while racing... =)