Well it's been a while since I last stuck a blog up here and to be honest I have done so much that I don't really know where to start. I am going to go on a bit of a rant shortly so I will let the pictures I have taken in the past couple of weeks do the talking with regards to training , skiing and touring. It's been pretty full on and I am starting to feel pretty strong on the up hills now but I still have a long way to go to really get into Skimo shape.
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| Intervals at Le tour with Naila , Emelie and Joanna |
It's been a mixed bag of short tours , long tours , Lot's of skinning at Les Houches(day and night) and also my first ever Skimo interval training which was a bit of an eye opener. Last year was so good for me with so much powder that I am not really going out on my proper big skis unless I am guaranteed an epic day. Pathetic I know but unless the snows going to be great I am sticking to the lightweight fitness regime for now. It's just nice to have a fresh outlook on something this winter and a real goal to work towards....Transvulcania in May.
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Hellish hangover skin up Les Houches with Guillem. The picture is not
a set-up , I was actually that bad at the top. |
I have a pretty full on summer this year but my running fitness will slowly start to take shape and I am more confident than ever in my running abilities after what an entire summers dedication did to me last year. I am just hoping that I can start the season in the Canary Islands and not have a complete nightmare like I did on my first race last year in Scotland.
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| A little tour with Sandy in the Aiguille Rouge |
Now rant time(this could be long)....apologies if I offend anyone but it's only my opinion and thoughts on things that have been on my mind for a while now. I thought why not lay it all out here for all to read.
I have always been outside in the mountains(hills) from a young age. When I was around 13/14 when most of my friends from school would go “doon the toon” and party and drink(maybe not alcohol at 13 but it was Ayrshire!) I could be found up in the local hills of Largs exploring and camping. I am very fortunate to have grown up where I could walk out my door and head up past the farms to play and have a laugh with friends. I dread to think how my life may have ended up if I grew up in a city. I have nothing against cities , I just don't like them. Too busy , too many people. I know many people do not have the chance or have the option where they grow up but for me I was lucky to live where I did. This is really where it all started for me and my love for just being out and away from normal life.
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| Ensa couloir with Guillem on lunch break |
Since then I have just progressed on and on from running around those local hills to then heading to the Highlands to walk then scramble then slowly I made my way to winter antics and lot's of winter climbing before heading over to Chamonix to explore bigger mountains where I still ski and climb (a little) but as most of you know my attention has turned to running around this special place and entering some ridiculous races that I myself am surprised at. I don't see myself as an amazing mountaineer or alpinist or even runner but I do see myself as experienced in most of this to a reasonable level. I for sure have so much more to learn but I am quite content with knowing that when people come out in the Mountains with me whether it's skiing , climbing or running that they feel safe to be with me. I must stress I do not want to come across that I am perfect by any means. Things can be misinterpreted all the time on these blogs but I know more than anyone my abilities and whereas I sometimes underestimate them I do have my feet placed firmly on the ground as to my technical level in skiing , climbing and my strengths at running. I am not a world class athlete , I am just someone who keeps fit and does a lot of exercise and I chose my life to be that way.
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| Heading out of the Aiguille Rouge.....Ski and Run...Perfect |
Many people , especially friends I do not see much any more but keep in touch with on line always go on about “oh you have an amazing life” yes I like my life but all they ever see is the pictures I post or blogs I write. Yeah my free time is amazing but trust me my whole life is not nearly complete or amazing. I work my ass off to live like this and have this time to play in the mountains. Whereas many people see me escaping to the mountains and being away from it all , they don't see my bank balance for example! All my money goes on rent , food , fuel , kit , race entries and travel to races , I own nothing but that. Yeah it ain't great but it's the price I pay to live this way. Whereas I know many people who have the family life and security , others have girlfriends etc... I have none of that. Please don't feel sorry for me but yeah sometimes I do think what if I had all that , what would it be like , would it be better? Every time the answer is no. I would not change a thing at this moment to jeopardise the life I am living right now. That all may come back and bite me in a few years when I ease off of my running and sit down to find myself alone but hey what can I do. I am not stopping now.
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| Night time Les Houches. Chamonix all lit up. |
My whole life centres around escaping and being outside. Obviously now that involves a lot of running. It's just who I am and what I do. Nowadays there seem to be people everywhere popping up on social media who just “love” the mountains more than the next person. Now it just seems like the cool thing to be doing. Whereas when I was younger It was completely not cool to be going camping or exploring in the hills. I do not think I deserve to be in these mountains more than anyone else but please do not go on and on and on about your love of freedom and the fresh air when you just fell out of some city a few weeks ago and act like it's been your passion for your entire life when really it's just the next craze on twitter or facebook. Yes.....granted I do also use twitter and facebook to let people know what I am up to but I don't use it as a tool to sell myself as something I am not. I am not a sponsored athlete , I am not good enough for that. I do get help from some companies but this is only help and very much appreciated. I get very little free and actually feel like I don't really deserve anything free , especially from running companies. At the end of the day I am not going to win big races but the help I do get is really really great and just means the bank balance gets hit a little less.
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| Heading up Col Crochues |
I do feel that within the past couple of years my running has come on so well that yeah maybe I could pursue some kind of sponsorship from some brands or at least a little more help. For example... you may notice I run in a LOT of Salomon kit. I pay for all of it. It's the only kit I will run in most of the time. I could never be sponsored by a company like that , have you seen their trail team???? Francois D'Haene , Ricky Gates , Dakota Jones , Emelie Forsberg , Anna Frost , Stevie Kremer and eh.....Kilian. These people are proper athletes and the best in the world. I wear the kit because for me it really is the best trail running gear out there. It all just works , yeah it's overpriced for sure but what isn't these days in the outdoor industry. I would actually be a bit embarrassed to try and blag some kind of deal from companies like this even if I felt that in a way I deserved maybe a little something for my efforts.
I am just getting a bit sick of so many people these days selling themselves as something they completely are not. In a way you need to congratulate these types as they manage to fool somebody into thinking they are more than they are and who am I to have a go at these people for getting free stuff. Jealous?? No chance. I just feel like it is removing all the life and soul out of so many sports these days and especially the ones I am involved in.
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| 2 x Les Houches with Naila |
I have a couple of friends who I shall not name. One a runner , one a skier. Now they are pretty damn good at what they do but they would never go down the road of selling themselves as being more than they are. Why? Because they would be embarrassed. They may not be world beaters but they sure are more deserving of some help than the social media fakes. These two know what it means to be sponsored or be some brands athlete and there is a pressure to that. I know for sure these two could get deals with companies but they won't bother. They have too much respect for their sports and know that there is probably someone out there who deserves it more than them. It just annoys me that these days if you have a huge twitter or facebook following it has a massive impact on what brands will do for you and that is scary. Yeah the brands want to make money I know but please do it with people who are actual athletes and not a load of fakes flooding social media.
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| Sandy on his way to the Keyhole |
I am not going to get started on the rich kid explorers/adventurers who have never had to work an hour in their life to pay for their so called passion as this post would never end. I want to stress that I am not against (well not completely) these type of people and I am genuinely not jealous of them in the slightest. Hat's off to them for getting something they shouldn't but please oh please don't act like you grew up like this and it's been your life long goal or dream to aspire to climbing that route or running these races when really your doing it to escape the office(fair enough) and sell yourself to be something your way more than you really are. Just admit who you are and where you came from. Honesty goes way further than lying your ass off.
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| Brilliant day off up behind Chalets Loriaz |
“What do you get out of running in the mountains?” , “what do you do it for?”. If you need to ask me then I am afraid you are missing the whole point completely as to why I/we do it.
Sorry if that was a bit of a long rant and sorry if I offended anyone. I am sure many out there will understand what I am on about. Tomorrow I am off to ski some powder........Laters.
