South of France

I have been in the South of France this week. Yes, I realize you all think it's a jolly. To be honest, it has been a combination of things. Firstly and most importantly it was my Dads Birthday 0n the 18th and Menton was the place he loved.... so with that in mind, Mum wanted to be in Menton for 'his' day. When you keep in mind that we spread Dads ashes here you see the relevance. It therefore has been a trip with lots of emotion. Not a trip I would miss but one that can leave you feeling a little drained.

In addition I still have to work and write plans. Thank goodness for computers and wifi. It really doesn't matter where you are, as long as you have these things, your office can be any place in the world. Lets face it, I would prefer the South of France to anywhere....

Also it has allowed me time to get some warm weather training in before Niandi and myself tackle the 100km de Millau (in Provence) on the 25th. I am glad it has worked out this way as it has been really hot here and coming from the UK temperatures meant one or two days adapting.

I love Menton, as a family we have been coming to Menton for over 30 years. It is a little known jewel. It is the 'last' place in France as the Italian border is just at the end of the Promenade in Garavan. It therefore has a wonderful mix of French and Italian culture and of course, a nice mix of food.

Menton was a superb base in my cycling days as it gave me the option to cycle in the Maritime Alps. This I did year after year and many of those rides had my Dad along for company; special memories.

The French love food and in this area they have a wonderful passion for fresh produce and in particular seafood. The daily market is wonderful. You see such great characters who have a devotion to gastronomy that is without equal.

Of course I have a passion for food, not only as a photographer but as a 'customer'. Nothing gives me more pleasure than a lovely dinner in the warm September sun. It really is perfect.

Whilst here I have been running twice a day as I fine tweak my form to Millau and prepare for Venice Marathon. On Wednesday I was in a local trail/ running shop and the owner asked me if I was racing at the weekend? Of course my ears pricked up. Race? Yes he said, a trail race in the mountains...

I made a mental note and looked for posters around the town. Of course it was Saturday (day before the race) when I found a poster. The race started in Sospel some 18k away and on the other side of the mountains. I knew the area well as I had trained on these exact roads - Col de Braus, Col de Castillion, Col de Turini.... I decided it wouldn't be possible to race. Logistically it was too short notice and I had no transport.

I left my mum and headed back to the hotel to do some work. As I walked alng the beach I saw a marquee that was obviously sport related. Curiosity killed the cat and thank god it did... it turned out that this was race registration. Not only that, it was the race finish, literally 500m from the hotel.

I asked about transport and they told me that for 1 euro I could be transferred to the race start at 0900 on Sunday; sold!!! I was in.

They had three races: 53k, 29k and 17k. For once, sense took hold and Ientered the 17k. With one week to Millau I didn't want to exhaust myself. I knew the 17k would be tough anyway as the trails and mountains around this area are tough! Turned out to be the correct decision.

The bus arrived late. About 20 min late so I was worried about making the start. The other runners looked anxious too. It turned out not to be a problem. We arrived on time, quick briefing and we were off...

No warm up, straight into basically a 4/5 mile up hill run on very tough terrain. It was a walk/ jog strategy. The heat was up, heart rate was up and I was pouring with sweat. I had decided to give this race a 'go'. I had this idea that it was only 17k!! Yeah yeah.

I moved up the field and settled with 2 other guys. When we reached the top, one guy pulled away and I chased. From here it was really technical trail running over rocky, gnarly terrain. Thank god I had trail shoes. Road shoes were just not up to the job.

The views and the trail was superb. I was loving it. It felt great to be running on the spare of the moment on new trails and in glorious heat and sunshine.
Every now and then we had a check point that we had to 'dib in' with a transponder on our hands. It was quick stuff. When your running 17k you don't hang about. I was really pushing as you can see from my heart rate below.

When you compare heart rate to course profile, they don't match! You would expect HR to go down... not so. I was running so hard that basically you had no rest.

The trail battered your quads and feet (I recommend the 'Q' compression). Rocks, woods, ravines, some tarmac and then eventually we dropped under the auto route.
Menton and the sea was in sight now. We continued to drop and finally entered the Menton area via the old town.

Flying down the steps and pathways I reached the coast road, dropped to the beach front and crossed the line for 5th place - top work.

It was one seriously tough race and a real pleasure to race hard over a short course.

This coming week now is about a few short runs, recovery and getting ready for 100km of hilly hot roads in Provence.

This race is about Niandi, not me. I don't plan to 'race'. Realistically it would be great if we could go sub 10:30. We shall see, if Niandi has a good day and I can pace her well this is a realistic challenge. However, the course is tough.

Keep running....