Sad news, good news...

SAD NEWS: last wednesday was the last day Heron Lake was open until the end of April 2012. This means no more open water swimming, only swimming pool sessions :-( 
GOOD NEWS: Closed lake means that I do not need to wake up at 6am on sunday mornings anymore!

SAD NEWS: It is the end of the triathlon season so no more competition until next spring. (I still have my last tri next on the 24th Sep)
GOOD NEWS: I have just joined a cycling club: the London Dynamos, so I am looking forward to training with them a lot this winter and improve my fitness for next year.

OTHER GOOD NEWS: Yesterday I registered for the Paris Marathon which (once completed) will be the longest distance I have ever run. So plenty of motivation to keep up the traning work!!

If you are running the Paris Marathon, do let me know!!

Comfortable on your saddle

When you are starting a new sport, you are never quite sure of the kind of equipment you need apart from the obvious stuff. When I started cycling, I went to a bike shop where I bought a road bike, a pair of shoes, a helmet and some clothes…as I said the obvious stuff. But I soon found out that during long rides I was suffering from friction in the saddle area. Very painful! I remember thinking to myself: I don’t think I’ll want to continue cycling if it’s that painful each time.

My friend Celine invited me to a party at her flat one day (Last year she crossed the UK on her bike in a week therefore she knows quite a lot about cycling). Between 2 glasses of wine, I asked her if she had the same friction problems and if she knew what to do about it. That’s the first time I heard about that product: ‘Chamois cream’. I have to say, the name itself is a bit mysterious. In French, a chamois is a kind of goat that lives in the mountains…therefore for me chamois cream would be a better name for a type of cheese than for a dermatologic cream.

The next day, I went on wiggle.co.uk (best website ever for sports products!) to order my pot of chamois cream. I can’t tell you how much this cream has improved my rides. You apply it on your skin and on the padding in your shorts and off you go. Even when I did a 65 miles ride back in May, I did not have any problems afterwards.

I really wish someone had recommended this cream to me straight away as it is an absolute essential if you are planning to do long rides (and even shorter ones).

So far I have only tried the Chamois Creme from Assos (Swiss brand) so it is the one I recommend. It smells ok and it feels ok on the skin. It does not stick and washes off very easily. 1 pot costs around £12 but it is worth it and it lasts for months so it’s ok.

Last week, I have bought a chamois cream from another brand called Udderly Smooth Chamois Cream. I’ll test it and let you know how it goes.

Other recommendations to help reduce frictions:

• Use quality padded shorts.
• Do get off your bike at red lights to let the blood circulate.
• Lift your backside off the saddle from time to time to let the blood circulate.
• Do select your underwear carefully. Girls, I do not recommend wearing lace for instance.

Want to try something different for breakfast?

Tired of eating the eternal bowl of Special K in the morning? Yeah, I know there are plenty of different flavours but you've tried them all and want a change? Why don't you try to start the day with a smoothie? It has got only advantages: it's quick and easy to make, it is super healthy and it tastes fantastic. And if you put the right ingredients in it, you won't be angry after half an hour....so what do you say? You want to try?
Well I have the perfect receipe for you. I found it in a book that I already mentioned called The New Abs Diet by David Zinczenko...

To prepare the smoothie, you only need a blender and the following ingredients:

ingredients

• 1 banana
• 100 gr of frozen mixed red fruits
• 180 ml of low fat vanilla yoguhrt
• 180 ml of skimmed milk
• 2 teaspoons of peanut butter
• 50 gr of oat in a little bit of milk
• 4 icecubes (I personnally do not add any ice cubes because the frozen fruits keep the mixture cold and I like a thicker texture)

Chuck everything in your blender and mix for 30 secs. Voila! It's ready!

I hope you'll enjoy this smoothie as much as I do!

Red fruit smoothie

The Alps. What else?

Why do all good things have to come to an end eventually??!! Unfortunately for me, summer holidays are already over and I've been back to work this week. I find it hard to sit on a chair for 8 long hours everyday after having spent 10 days walking, running and swimming.
I have spent part of my holiday in the Alps, in the Parc des Ecrins in a tiny place called Puy-Aillaud. I love going there because it is isolated, calm and beautiful. My plan for the holidays was to relax and do nothing! But that never works for me as I get bored after one day. So I changed my plan for doing a small activity everyday. So we did a few nice walks. The first we did was short but the trail was very steep. But what a mindblowing view at the top!


View on the Glacier Blanc

I also found a nice little lake to do some swimming. It is amazing to swim in a lake with snowy mountain tops in the background.



Lake of La Roche de Rame near l'Argentière la Bessée



I did not bring my bike with me as I was travelling by train and did not want the embarrassment but I wish I had!! There were so many cyclists on the road...it was really frustrating not to be with them.

Hopefully I'll be able to go back to the Alps next year and climb up a few hills...which promises to be tough!

 

Dorney Lake Triathlon - 24.07.2011

Busy transition area...didn't know where to rack my bike!

Done! Last Sunday, I completed the Dorney Lake Sprint Distance Triathlon in 1h30mins and a few seconds. It was a great event and I really enjoyed it. The weather was fantastic (we have not been lucky with the weather lately so it was enjoyable to see the sun for once). I was just worried about the wind that represented a problem for the cycling part...it's just so much more difficult to cycle with the wind right in your face! It's like trying to push a wall!

Before the race:

My start time was at 11am so I worked out that I had to wake up 3 to 4 hours earlier to eat my breakfast. So I was up at 7h30. I prepared myself a nice & strong cup of coffee (coffein to wake me up) and ate some energy bars. I usually do not have a sensitive stomach but I can not do physical efforts with a stomach full of food. I do not even eat a proper breakfast, I prefer the energy bars, it is less heavy than bread (in my opinion).
I was watching the news from Norway on TV telling about the horrific events in Oslo. I kind of lost track of time and next thing I know it was already 9am...I had to hurry and finish gathering my stuff because I wanted to be at Dorney Lake at 10am to see my friend Jonathan start with his wave. I was glad I had prepared all my things the day before.
I jumped in my car and drove to the lake that is located near Windsor (the lake is Eton College's rowing centre) only 20mins away from Chiswick.
Of course I missed Jonathan's start...and I realised that I actually had to hurry because I had 40 mins left to collect my race number, dress myself up and rack my bike in the transition area (which turned out to be a difficult task as there was not much space left!).
You really have to be methodical in your preparation and do things in the right order. For instance, don't put your wetsuit on and then realise that you need to pee...that's just bad time management. Basically, I almost recommend writing a list of things to do, this way you don't forget anything and you can relax and concentrate on your race. I actually have a list but I did not look at it and realised in horror that I had forgotten my race belt at home (that is used to attach the race number). Thanks God, one of the goodies provided by the triathlon sponsor was a racebelt. I was lucky on that one.

The race:
I zipped my wetsuit at the last minute as I did not want to cook in it. It was actually quite warm outside. Then the 56 contestants (all girls) had to listen to the instructions before getting in the water. The water was 18 degrees (still a bit cold for me). At that point I was wondering where to position myself strategically...I did not really know so I stayed in the middle. I am not (yet) a strong swimmer so I thought that I should not be at the front...but I did not want to be completely at the back either. When the referee blew his wistle...Oh my God! That was like being in Fight Club. You get kicked big time. Blows are coming from everywhere. People just swim and don't care about any obstacles in front of them. They just go ahead. So you do the same! It is really really stressful but the important thing is to stay calm and relaxed and above all, control your breathing...

Fight Club Start

So I swam the 750m as fast as I could trying to use my arms as much as I could rather than my legs. I got out of the water, not too quickly to avoid falling. My friend Jonathan said he was now using ear plugs because it helps keeping your balance when getting out of the water...something I will need to try next time.

I had a hard time removing my wetsuit and did an awful transition time of 3mins!! (some people take less than 40 seconds!).

I jumped on my bike and pedalled as hard as I could. I am not strong in the swim but I am ok on the bike so I had to give my best because you can't really count on the running alone to gain minutes. It was really windy so as I wrote earlier it was a very tough ride for half of the lap. I completed the 20K in 42 mins.

Then I did a second awful transition of 2 mins where I swapped my cycling shoes for trainers and started the remaining 5K run. I noticed a guy ahead of me who was running at a good pace and I focused on trying to catch him. I never caught him but the strategy worked because I managed to run the 5K in 25 mins which is a very decent time given I had just cycled 20K before at full speed.

 

After the race:

I felt astonishingly well after crossing the finish line. Of course I was out of breath and was dreaming about a huge glass of water but I had the feeling that I could have gone for another 5K. So I thought that maybe I could have pushed myself even harder in the run...But I think that all the hard training I've done lately has paid off. I recover much quicker now as I am used to exercise regularly. And also during the race, I've made sure that I was drinking enough water.

This triathlon gave me motivation for the rest of the season. I felt great and I feel that with a little more work and preparation I can improve my time by 5-10 minutes...so my aim for the triathlon I will be doing in september is to go under 1h25 and be as close as possible to 1h20. It is ambitious but I need to challenge myself!

Reward time

Gunnersbury 10K Fun Run

One of London’s best attributes is its parks. There are ‘heaps’ of parks everywhere in the city and they’re real nice. From Chiswick where I live, I have quick access to at least 4 or 5 parks where I can run. It’s cool because I can use lots of different running routes

so it is never boring. If I want a challenging run, I can go to Richmond Park that boasts a few steep hills. If I want a more casual run, I’ll ask my friend Melanie to meet up in Hyde Park that’s quite flat.

Last Sunday, a local running club (The Ealing Eagles) was organising a 10K fun run in Gunnersbury park that’s located literally 15mins away from my flat so I had no excuse not to go. The race was at 11am so not too early which is great as well!

I like running 10K distances because it is one of my Key Performance Indicators. I always look at my time on a 10K distance to measure my progresses. I ran my first 10K in 2006 in something like 1h10. Back in November, I did 51 mins. And this time, I was expecting to run under 50 mins.

I think I did but I am unsure because I had no watch to check my time (a mistake that I will not make again!) and there was no timer at the start and finish line. So I had to ask someone the time when I started running and again when I finished and from that I have worked out that my time must have been 48 or 49 mins. I am now waiting for the race results to see if I have beaten my PB…but they still have not been published. AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!

10Ks are a nice little challenge for people beginning to run. It really only takes about 2 or 3 months (if you run about 3 times a weeks) for a total novice to get fit for that distance so it is achievable and not that hard (Try! You’ll see!). For me, it is an excellent way to train for the running part of a Sprint distance triathlon. In the triathlon, I only have to run 5K but I train on a longer distance to build endurance. I am now comfortable on a 10K distance so what I do is try to work on my speed whereas before, my aim was to finish the race.

I have set myself the target of running a 10K in 45 mins before the end of the triathlon season…so still a lot of hard work ahead of me!

Pippa and the Blenheim Triathlon

Did you watch Will and Kate’s royal wedding last April? Even I was admirative in front of Pippa Middleton’s perfect dress and figure. While I was in France a couple of weeks ago, I was reading a French gossip magazine called Public. There was a picture and an article about Pippa – the new fashion icon - completing the Blenheim triathlon. In the photo, she looks absolutely stunning: not a single drop of sweat, perfect hair, £270 designer sunglasses (according to the article), a huge smile and no signs of suffering or tiredness at all. The magazine even said that she won a medal…So I was really impressed and intrigued: How can she finish a triathlon looking so fresh? I certainly do not look as good as her when I cross the finish line of a tri! Since I had time to waste, I did investigate further on this very critical topic and found out that she only ran a 5K (she was doing a relay with 2 of her pals) and did not do the cycling or the swimming. She did not win the race or anything as implied by the magazine…she got a medal because EVERYBODY gets a medal when crossing the finish line so nothing extraordinary here. I know it is quite sad but truth had to be told! No, Pippa Middleton is not a wonder woman. And yes, it is normal not to look like a super model after a triathlon. 

Love your abs

The one big thing I have learnt so far this year is the importance of abs. It’s only 3 small letters but they do make a huge difference. I have been to many gym classes and I have heard many instructors shout “Belly in!” or “Abs tight!” but  they never really explained why it was essential to squeeze the abs so I never really paid attention.

I have to admit that I don’t like working my abs…simply because it hurts and because I find it utterly boring. Same with my bottom. So I took the habit of skipping all kind of abs and other leg and bottom strengthening exercises. Well the result was that last Christmas, I suffered from sciatica. I had this pain in my back that was going down to my left knee and foot. It was bad enough to wake me up at night and I could only sleep in specific positions…in short, it was not nice. I went to the doctor once and the pain did not go away despite the anti-inflammatory tablets. It’s only when I went to see the physiotherapist that I got some answers to my questions. The problem was my WEAK ABDOMINALS. Because I did not have strong abdominals, my back had to do all the hard work of supporting my body while I was cycling and running and that’s what caused the sciatica.

By working your abs, you create extra support and your back will not have to do all the work.Working your abdominals will not only enhance your appearance but it will also help improve your performance by providing extra power when you swim, cycle and run. I am now aware of my abdominals and I make sure that I contract them and use them while I exercise and I have really seen the difference. I have more stability and more power in the legs.

I think that the best way to work your abs and other core muscles in an entertaining way is to go to Pilates or body pump classes as these courses focus on core strengthening. By making your body stronger, you will lessen the chance of getting injuries such as back pain or knee pain. And believe me, your body will look firmer and trimmer in no time which is always nice.

I am currently reading a book called the New Abs diet by David Zinczenko (Paperback, 2010). It is quite interesting as it gives you interesting facts about food and how it is used by your body but it also gives you a 6 week programme to get a flat tummy and work all your core muscles. I won’t follow the diet but I will try the exercises and see if I can turn my stomach into an ironing board in such a small period of time!

Tri Vauban...checked!

Last sunday I was in Besancon (France) for what was supposed to be my first Sprint tri. Unfortunately, due to the draught that's affecting the country at the moment, the authorisation to swim in the river was withdrawn at the last minute for sanitary reasons. The triathlon had to be turned into a duathlon. We did 5K run/20K bike/2.5K run. In all fairness it was probably a good thing for me as I believe that I am a much better runner than a swimmer but I was still very disappointed.

There were 22 girls competing in total and I finished in 18th position. It took me 1h28 mins to do the whole thing (vs 1h08 for the winner). I was quite satisfied with my performance. I don't think I could have done much better with the running. However I think that I have lost minutes during transitions. I have noticed that I did not have a proper technique for running with my bike. Other contestants managed to run while pushing their bike with one hand on the saddle whereas I was running holding the handle bars with my two hands which was not efficient and slowed me down. Then during the second transition, I had to take my breath for a few seconds before starting the final 2.5K. Finally I had decided to cycle with my trainers and I believe that it was a mistake that costed me a few minutes on my bike chrono. Using my clipping shoes would have allowed me to use more of my leg power. But I have learnt the lesson for next time.

That's a monster bag!

I have just finished packing my bike and it looks HUGE!!!

Jeez! How am I going to carry that all the way to Paris and Besançon!?!? I am not really looking forward to travelling tomorrow. It is going to be a mission!

First fall :-(

Last week, I have tried for the first time to cycle with my clipping shoes. I have to say I was not really comfortable with the idea of having my feet attached to the pedals. So although I bought the shoes almost a year ago…they have been sitting on my shoe rack until now and I have only been using my trainers.

So at first I just did a little trip to visit a friend who leaves only 15 minutes away from my flat. All went well. I just had to kind of anticipate when I was going to stop and unclip my feet in advance. Following this successful attempt, on Monday I decided to cycle to work with the clipping shoes. All went well in the morning although I managed to bang my left knee against the bike frame when unclipping which earned me a nice bruise.

The ride back home was another story though… I managed to lose my balance when waiting at a red traffic light and I fell... I had my right foot still attached to the bike and did not have time to detach it…that gained me 2 more bruises!! One on the right knee and a massive one on the butt. Nice bruise harvest for one day! Thanks God, it did not really hurt physically. It was more embarrassing than anything else. It’s my pride that took the hit really!

Next challenge: Tri Vauban on 12th June

On Sunday 12^th June, I will be taking part to the Tri Vauban in Besançon (France). Besançon is my hometown. So I am really excited to go back home for a long weekend and compete in front of my family. My mom even offered to help with the organisation and she’ll be distributing drinks to participants.

This triathlon will be my first Sprint distance (750m, 20KM, 5KM) ever, therefore it is definitely a personal challenge. I will be able to see if all the training I have been doing lately has been fruitful. Most particularly my swimming. In my last triathlon (back in September 2010), I was not able to swim front crawl and lost a lot of time in the water. So since last winter, I have been focusing on learning front crawl and hopefully have made some progress.

I really don’t know what to expect from this competition because it is the first time I am doing it and I have no idea of the level of the participants. I have checked the entrants list and was a bit stressed because there are only 4 girls racing including me. And I am under the impression that they all belong to the local triathlon club. So probabilities are that I will probably finish first from the bottom of the list (this is the optimistic me speaking here!). But what the hell! I am excited anyway! I will get to swim in the river Doubs in my new wetsuit and discover my hometown from a new angle.

The other tricky bit is travelling with my bike to France. When I booked my train tickets back in March, I checked the conditions for travelling with a bike and I have to say, it is not cheap! If you want to avoid additional charges (£30 per leg for the Eurostar and I think it was €10 per leg for the TGV), you need to disassemble the bike and put it in a bag or suitcase, then it is considered as a hand luggage. So that is definitely what I am going to do. I have bought a second-hand bag on eBay and my friend Gavin showed me how to remove my wheels, saddle, pedals and handle bars (let’s hope I will remember how to put them back or I am in trouble).

Last Saturday, I also went to the local health shop to purchase energy bars, shots and gels that I will need for the tri. I think I bought supplies for the whole season! But this way I am sure that I have enough of everything! I have been told to try them before race day to avoid bad surprises.

This morning, I was preparing my training for the next 4 days before leaving London for Besancon. I think that training planning is definitely something that I need to improve in the future as I am really not structured at all at the moment. I do things as I feel and apply no science to them at all which is probably detrimental to performance improvement. I do not keep track of anything (heart rate, pace, etc…) so I do not know how I perform and if I am doing better or worse than the previous training session. I can only measure progress thanks to the results I get when I race. So I am not really serious on that topic. I will have to change that!

Welcome!!!

Who am I and how did I end up doing triathlons…

My name is Flo. I am French but I have been living in London for the past 7 years. I’d like to think of myself as an active girl but it has not always been the case. When I was a kid, my parents forced me to do a lot of different activities including sports…but I just hated it! I’ve tried almost everything: gymnastic, swimming, badminton, karate…the first thing I did when I left home was to stop everything! Having a ‘penchant’ for sweet food…well it was not long until I put on the kilos. But I did not think at the time that exercising was a solution to stay fit.

It is in 2004 when I moved to London that I realised that. I used to live in Willesden Green with 2 blokes. One of them was a Norwegian who was always on his bike or at the gym and who would not stop saying how much he enjoyed it. So I thought: Hmmm! If he is so keen, that must be for a reason…why don’t you give exercising another shot? Two other events comforted me in this decision. The first event was when I had to go to the doctor because I needed a certificate stating that I could walk in order to participate in a seminar…the Doctor looked at me with horror, said that I was unfit (actually, the exact term she used was: OBESE!) and even if she signed the certificate in the end, she seemed quite reluctant to do so. That was quite a humiliating and upsetting moment for me to be honest (she was basically saying that I was so unfit that I could not even WALK!!) and it gave me a lot to think about. Around the same period, I had a train to Paris to catch and I was quite late so I started running…I was totally out of breath and could not stop coughing afterwards. It was really painful and it took me no less than 30 minutes to recover. That’s what convinced me that I could not carry on like that. So in 2005 I did something absolutely crazy…I applied at my local gym! And guess what, I was totally addicted from Day 1.

I could barely run 10 minutes on the treadmill at first but I improved very quickly and next think I know I was running my first 10K, then it was a half marathon and last year, I entered my first Super Sprint triathlon.

When I think about it, I really wonder how I did not realise earlier all the benefits I could get from physical exercise. I guess I was just lazy and clueless. But I am glad that I came back to my senses and changed my habits. For me sport has become a real source of wellbeing and satisfaction. I like that I can set myself goals and work towards achieving them. It is also extremely rewarding (addictive shall I say) to see myself make progress and to even surprise myself sometimes by achieving better results than expected.

Why this blog…

The idea of a blog emerged while I was studying the CAM diploma in Managing Digital Media. The final assignment for one of the modules required to create a blog about pre-defined subjects – none of which inspired me at all. What I wanted was to write about triathlon which is my No 1 hobby at the moment. So I did write a blog about Charity and Sports for the diploma but then I decided to really write a blog about my experience of triathlon.

I also want to be able to share my experience of this discipline with my friends and family and anyone who will visit this site and take time to read it.

Finally I see this blog as a sort of digital diary that will help me put words on my feelings and emotions towards this sport (and other sports too…). This is a way to keep track of what I have been doing and remember what I have felt about it at the time.

Final word…

I hope you’ll enjoy reading the blog…and don’t hesitate to share your comments with me!