Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise (and some other running)
I think everyone who has looked at our oft-languishing blog knows that it is not an entirely representative sampling of our day-to-day life here in Grenoble. However, glancing through the last few years of punctual blog posts, I've noticed that I've gone pretty heavy on skiing/climbing posts and pretty light on posts about running--which is, to say the least, very under-representative of my actual life . Today, while I try to stay out of the heat wave and also try to encourage my legs to start working normally again, I've decided that it is time to add in a post about yesterday's Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise...and provide a few pretty pictures of other runs I've been on.
This past December, Thibaut had the crazy idea that we should run an ultramarathon. I say crazy not because I hadn't already pondered this idea myself, but more because my ultramarathon fantasy had remained pretty fuzzy and hypothetical up until now. Technically, any race that is longer than the standard 26.2 miles counts as an ultramarathon--so I've actually competed in several, but never more than 10 miles more than marathon, that didn't really count in my head. So, I agreed with Thibaut to sign up for the Tour des Cirques in August, a 120km (75mi) run in the Pyrenees with 7,000m (23,000ft) of vertical gain (and loss).
To help get us ready, we've been running a lot, and we set a couple of intermediate goals to help get our training on track:
- At the end of May, I ran the Technica Maxi-Race around Lake Annecy on a team with our friend Darin as my first marathon of the year.
 |
| Darin, testing out a section of my race course |
- Thibaut and I somewhat randomly picked a loop on the the map and ran 35km around at totally incredible snapshot out of the Windows XP desktop
 |
| Tiny speck Thibaut runs around the bend into crazy landscape. |
 |
| Windows XP desktop? |
- Thibaut, Thomas, and I ran 40km around the Taillefer and then linked up a run up and down the Moucherotte from Grenoble the next day with Guillaume.
 |
| Whence we came |
 |
| Thibaut and Thomas on the Plateau des Lacs |
 |
| Ending the day on the far side of the mountain. |
- Jess Marion and Lincoln Benedict visited and we went for an awesome 2-day running tour in the Vanoise with guest appearances from about 150 Ibex, and a night at a hut.
 |
| Thibaut once said of the Vanoise: "growing up in the Pyrenees, this is what I imagined the Alps should look like" |
 |
| Jess, in perfectly photographical colors, makes her way across a high alpine meadow |
- And yesterday, Thibaut and I (and our friend Rémy), ran in the Tour des Glaciers de la Vanoise (TGV): a 45-mile race with 12,500 ft of climbing around the Vanoise National Park.
This last one, because it was by far the longest, and the most recent in my memory (both mental and physical memories), merits a bit longer of a story:
Depart: The race organizers bumped the departure time up to 3:30am and put strict time cut-offs because of the heat wave. It was already 60° out under a moonlit sky when 430 of us left from the Pralognan town hall. It was my first early morning race start, and I found the combination of the Pirates of the Caribbean theme music, red roman candles and hundreds of headlamps pretty surreal. At this point I parted ways with Thibaut and Rémy and entered the mêlée.
1: Up until the first aid station (8km and 1000m of climb) I was feeling pretty good. Maybe too good. I got pretty stressed out early on since the climbing started immediately out of town, and there were some pretty serious traffic jams on the trail. I pushed hard, maybe too hard, to get out of the crowd and enjoyed the relatively cool weather, traverse of the famous Lac des Vaches--a very shallow lake with a trail of flat stones across the middle--and not-too-difficult climb. Looking back down the valley, it was all dark except for a line of hundreds of headlamps streaming up the hillside. I was pretty energized by the ambiance, and when I got to the aid station, they told me I was in deuxième place (2nd place). I was moving quickly through and thought they said dixième place (10th place), but was pretty stoked.
2: Sometime around here, when we turned south, the sun started to come up, but before it was fully up, we crossed a steep snowfield under the supervision of CRS (French police) who made sure we made it across safely. They informed me that I was actually in second place, but unfortunately that didn't last. Still using my headlamp and following those ahead of me, I veered off course in a scree field and ended up loosing about 10 minutes. When I was finally scrambling back to the course and had taken off my headlamp, I saw the formerly 3rd woman pass me.
3: I managed to keep her at a safe distance up to the aide station at kilometer 20 at the Refuge de l'Arpont. I was still feeling pretty good at that point, but after we left the station, she took off at an impressive pace. One of the things that is special about this course, but also what was really challenging for me is that the route involved a lot of 'balcons' or traverses across long stretches of mountainside. On the one hand, this is beautiful, on the other hand, I'm not used to actually running so much because so often trail races are more about technical up and down than flats and rolling hills. I managed to keep #2 in sight because we could see for long stretches and because she was wearing a fluorescent green shirt, and even leap-frogged with her a on a couple climbs, but I couldn't keep up with her and started to feel aches and pains pretty acutely. Between kilometer 25 and 50, I was in a constant battle between holding on, and wanting to quit. I saw a small snake (or maybe lizard?) and in my delirium even fantasized about getting bitten so I'd have an excuse to stop. Thibaut arrived at the third aid station as I was leaving which gave me a little boost, but not quite enough to pull me up out of my funk.
I finally lost sight of #2 as we made a brutal descent into the trees (our only time in the shade), took to walking/hobbling as I was feeling quad cramps and pretty severe knee and hip pain.
4: Shortly before aid station 4 at kilometer 50, I came to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to see #2 again, and that I needed to let it go. I decided to take a longer stop at the station, and even got the nurse on hand to give me a quick quad massage and some acetaminophen. Thibaut once again caught up with me and after a good 10 minute rest, we took off together for the last 1100m uphill. The massage (ahem, are you reading this, Brad?) and company gave me a new lease on life, and I kicked into gear for the climb. My legs still felt pretty strong for the uphill, and because I could avoid running for the most part, my joints cooperated. Fortunately, the sun was in and out of the clouds so I didn't die of heat stroke during the due south-facing final climb.
5: I managed to pass a bunch of guys on the way up the hill, and slogged by way up the final snow fields to the col. At the col, the CRS folks who has secured the climb with fixed ropes pointed out #2 below us. They encouraged me to go catch her, and though I was extremely shocked to see her, I didn't hold out much hope of catching her because I'd seen how she ran before, and descent is not my strong suit.
6: I mentally prepared myself for the 18km descent back to Pralognan, and put my climbing skill set to use for long and efficient glissades down the north side of the col. I finally passed her as she tried to daintily make her way down the snow without slipping.
7: From there, I quickly passed through the last aid station, concerned that she would overtake me again. I managed to make good time for the first 6 km or so, all time time glancing backwards to see if she was in view. About half way down, the real fatigue started to set in, and I really struggled to keep running. I was reminded of the first trail race that I ever did: the Great Adirondack Trail Race. The feelings of running down the last hills into Keene Valley and running down the last pitches to Pralognan were a very similar mental exercise: alternating between telling myself "you can do this, the end is near, you are strong!" and "Why are you doing this to yourself? It's ok to cry, just stop, and lay down on the ground." Luckily, on both occasions, the former voice won out and I managed to take the race to the end, crossing the finish line in just under 11 hours and 16 minutes.
Arrival: So, this concludes my very long answer to the question I've had a dozen times today: so, how was your race? I'm very pleased with my finish, and though I had initially hoped to clock a slightly faster time (10-11hours), I hadn't taken the nearly 90° heat into account. I drank at least 7 liters of water through the day, worked pretty thoroughly through my Gu and Shotblok stocks (thanks, Nancy!), drank all of my EmergenC electro-mix (thanks, Steve!) and even stopped to take a couple photos on my new phone (thanks, mom!). My final finish 30 minutes behind #1 and 30 minutes ahead of #3 was very satisfying, and I was thrilled to put in a 35th place finish overall.
Thibaut made it to the end in 12 hours, and finished 74th, and Rémy clocked in 12 hours and 54 minutes in 113th place.
Now, it's time for Thibaut and me to ask ourselves: are we ready to double that distance??
1: Up until the first aid station (8km and 1000m of climb) I was feeling pretty good. Maybe too good. I got pretty stressed out early on since the climbing started immediately out of town, and there were some pretty serious traffic jams on the trail. I pushed hard, maybe too hard, to get out of the crowd and enjoyed the relatively cool weather, traverse of the famous Lac des Vaches--a very shallow lake with a trail of flat stones across the middle--and not-too-difficult climb. Looking back down the valley, it was all dark except for a line of hundreds of headlamps streaming up the hillside. I was pretty energized by the ambiance, and when I got to the aid station, they told me I was in deuxième place (2nd place). I was moving quickly through and thought they said dixième place (10th place), but was pretty stoked.
2: Sometime around here, when we turned south, the sun started to come up, but before it was fully up, we crossed a steep snowfield under the supervision of CRS (French police) who made sure we made it across safely. They informed me that I was actually in second place, but unfortunately that didn't last. Still using my headlamp and following those ahead of me, I veered off course in a scree field and ended up loosing about 10 minutes. When I was finally scrambling back to the course and had taken off my headlamp, I saw the formerly 3rd woman pass me.
3: I managed to keep her at a safe distance up to the aide station at kilometer 20 at the Refuge de l'Arpont. I was still feeling pretty good at that point, but after we left the station, she took off at an impressive pace. One of the things that is special about this course, but also what was really challenging for me is that the route involved a lot of 'balcons' or traverses across long stretches of mountainside. On the one hand, this is beautiful, on the other hand, I'm not used to actually running so much because so often trail races are more about technical up and down than flats and rolling hills. I managed to keep #2 in sight because we could see for long stretches and because she was wearing a fluorescent green shirt, and even leap-frogged with her a on a couple climbs, but I couldn't keep up with her and started to feel aches and pains pretty acutely. Between kilometer 25 and 50, I was in a constant battle between holding on, and wanting to quit. I saw a small snake (or maybe lizard?) and in my delirium even fantasized about getting bitten so I'd have an excuse to stop. Thibaut arrived at the third aid station as I was leaving which gave me a little boost, but not quite enough to pull me up out of my funk.
I finally lost sight of #2 as we made a brutal descent into the trees (our only time in the shade), took to walking/hobbling as I was feeling quad cramps and pretty severe knee and hip pain.
4: Shortly before aid station 4 at kilometer 50, I came to terms with the fact that I wasn't going to see #2 again, and that I needed to let it go. I decided to take a longer stop at the station, and even got the nurse on hand to give me a quick quad massage and some acetaminophen. Thibaut once again caught up with me and after a good 10 minute rest, we took off together for the last 1100m uphill. The massage (ahem, are you reading this, Brad?) and company gave me a new lease on life, and I kicked into gear for the climb. My legs still felt pretty strong for the uphill, and because I could avoid running for the most part, my joints cooperated. Fortunately, the sun was in and out of the clouds so I didn't die of heat stroke during the due south-facing final climb.
5: I managed to pass a bunch of guys on the way up the hill, and slogged by way up the final snow fields to the col. At the col, the CRS folks who has secured the climb with fixed ropes pointed out #2 below us. They encouraged me to go catch her, and though I was extremely shocked to see her, I didn't hold out much hope of catching her because I'd seen how she ran before, and descent is not my strong suit.
6: I mentally prepared myself for the 18km descent back to Pralognan, and put my climbing skill set to use for long and efficient glissades down the north side of the col. I finally passed her as she tried to daintily make her way down the snow without slipping.
7: From there, I quickly passed through the last aid station, concerned that she would overtake me again. I managed to make good time for the first 6 km or so, all time time glancing backwards to see if she was in view. About half way down, the real fatigue started to set in, and I really struggled to keep running. I was reminded of the first trail race that I ever did: the Great Adirondack Trail Race. The feelings of running down the last hills into Keene Valley and running down the last pitches to Pralognan were a very similar mental exercise: alternating between telling myself "you can do this, the end is near, you are strong!" and "Why are you doing this to yourself? It's ok to cry, just stop, and lay down on the ground." Luckily, on both occasions, the former voice won out and I managed to take the race to the end, crossing the finish line in just under 11 hours and 16 minutes.
Arrival: So, this concludes my very long answer to the question I've had a dozen times today: so, how was your race? I'm very pleased with my finish, and though I had initially hoped to clock a slightly faster time (10-11hours), I hadn't taken the nearly 90° heat into account. I drank at least 7 liters of water through the day, worked pretty thoroughly through my Gu and Shotblok stocks (thanks, Nancy!), drank all of my EmergenC electro-mix (thanks, Steve!) and even stopped to take a couple photos on my new phone (thanks, mom!). My final finish 30 minutes behind #1 and 30 minutes ahead of #3 was very satisfying, and I was thrilled to put in a 35th place finish overall.
Thibaut made it to the end in 12 hours, and finished 74th, and Rémy clocked in 12 hours and 54 minutes in 113th place.
Now, it's time for Thibaut and me to ask ourselves: are we ready to double that distance??
 |
| Departure |
 |
| #5: Mid-way up the last climb |
 |
| #5: After the boost |
 |
| Arrival and awards |
Very nice race! I'm pretty sure you're ready to double the distance.
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks by the way, you were running just as fast as i needed to be a little bit faster than if i've ran alone.
Dimitri (the guy hang on to you until km50)