Too much power for the cartilage

stats of the week: run 16 km, cycled 107 km, hiked 32 km 

A result of the Gran Fondo was that I lost being keen on cycling. Now I want to switch to running as I entered 2 hilly half marathons and should kind of preparing a bit. Unfortunately I injured my left knee cap cartilage when cycling up to Suzette with too much power.

I am not sure if it is still a good idea to take part next Sunday at the Traversée des Dentelles, a tough half marathon with 600 meters of ascent. However, plans were to walk a good part of it anyway. We'll what is possible.

From smiling to a painful end

stats of the week: run 16 km, cycled 247 km, hiked 7 km

The day of the Gran Fondo Mont Ventoux was a day as piping hot as last year, perhaps even hotter. The maximum temperature in the valley was 37°c in the afternoon when we turned back to Vaison-la-Romaine. 

I had hoped to repeat my last year's performance or even improve it by a few minutes as last year's time was kind of disappointing with cramps close to the finish and very slow final 5 km. But this year turned out to become more disappointing. Early in the race I recognised that my legs felt less strong compared to the training the last 2 weeks. I limited the climbing sections by 150 Watt. That made me slow and finally did not help to stay strong. The final 5 km were as bad as last year, no cramps at least, but an additional break just 1 km from the top, and I was totally breathless after crossing the finish line. 

However, the result list doesn't look too bad. 36% of all finishers behind me. And 46% of my age group what sounds okay as my age is the oldest in the group of 60 to 69.

Photos: from smiling to the painful end

Preparing for Ventoux

stats of the week: run 15 km, cycled 255 km, hiked 16 km
stats of the previous week: run 12 km, cycled 86 km

According to plans I focus on cycling now to prepare for the Gran Fondo Mont Ventoux on 12th June. I notice some improvement when climbing the beautiful mountain passes in our area at the Drôme Provencal. But Ventoux will still make a tough challenge and the current heat will not help.

I have also entered a hilly half marathon trail run at the nearby Dentelles. This will be more walking than running as I fail to prepare sufficiently for this event.