Back to Work...Well kind of

It was back to work on Friday and all was good. I could get used to this 4 day week thing. On lunch breaks I managed to do a bit of downhill training on Saturday getting the lift up to 2317m and running back down to 1035m in 37 mins. On Sunday I went up the Midi for a bit of altitude fitness , and squeezed in a little 4 pitch Vdiff/Severe up at Flegere with Dorian on Monday then on Monday evening after work I went out for a sprint up to the Chalet Floria behind my house and felt amazing on that. I don’t normally go out and try to sustain a fast pace but felt good from the off that night so thought I might as well go for it and it was great. I was up to the chalet and back home in 45 mins.

Monday Lunch

So after a very short time back at work it was day off time. The weather turned for the worse overnight so the rock climbing plans on Tuesday changed to running. I walked the 100 metres from my house to get the lift up to Planpraz. From there I ran along the high trail to Flegere then down to the Sentier Des Gardes Trail and back to the house. Now the Sentier trail is only good for two things. Its great for working on fast footwork and for breaking your ankles, due to the dangerous amount of metal spikes that stick out the ground for a large section on it. You cannot switch off whilst running along this. It all went good. Was out for 2hrs.

The death trail

I'm sure some of you will have noticed in the photos that I have compression calf supports on. Right OK I totally admit I am always moaning about this compression stuff. Yes I wear Skins and Salomon Exo tops but I don't believe that they make any real difference with my performance or recovery( I do reckon the full length skins recovery tights will do a good job but I don't own any. Well not yet) I wear them because they are super comfortable and after testing loads of gear I think these work best for me. I have always said calf compression is a gimmick so thought I would try them out. Dorian lent me his. I have to admit that I reckon I will use them for the CCC , they did seem to make a difference but only on the uphills and with 6000m to contend with in August them I will take any bit of help I can get. I wont go into the science behind compression kit but there is a ton of stuff on the web about it if you care to look into it more. I am concerned however that running look is now ultra euro , no more tank tops and short shorts for me but with the Cham marathon just round the corner and the 100km CCC this summer , running in the most comfortable gear I can get is a must.

My Suunto running watch actually decided to work for a change(their Mountain watches are great however this M5 fitness one has been utter rubbish) so I stuck on the heart rate monitor which I don’t normally and was quite happy at going for 2hrs on an average HR of 148 and a peak of 180. My resting rate is usually around the 41 mark.

About to start the descent , the Dru poking out the clouds

From Mid station out towards the signal. You can just pick out the trail on the right

Today was spent sitting staring out my window until the rain finally cleared and the sun came out so I nipped down to the midi lift and went up to the mid station at 2317m and ran along the trail to the Signal point then downhill all way back to Cham. Again felt strong so tomorrow will be a rest day from running and with a decent forecast I reckon its going to be rock climbing in the Aiguille Rouges.