Triathlon

The 3 weeks between xterra Germany and xterra England weren’t the most exciting part of the year – I got the shingles (!) pretty much as soon as I got back to London, which meant a week of antiviral drugs followed by a week of antibiotics as one of the wounds got infected, together with a mix of ibuprofen and paracetamol every 3 hours or so for a good 3 weeks, and a few antidepressants thrown in for good measure (supposedly to kill the nerve pain, but these only succeeded in killing my brain…). The pain experienced from the shingles is debilitating, I’d forgotten how much pain one could endure for such a long time…I am yet to find out what triggered the virus, but it is likely to be a mix of general tiredness and a weak immune system…I didn’t know what the shingles were before, but I will make sure I won’t get them ever again ! + more

The original plan of racing XTERRA Italy didn’t happen because of my old grumpy friend Achilles, and instead of a nice week-end in the Abruzzes I was now in for an extended 10 day trip between Prachatice in eastern Czech Republic and Zittau at the corner of Germany, Czech and Poland. Not quite the same vibe. However this meant 10 days of living the high life of a pro triathlete (sic), which hadn’t happened since my SE Asia tour of 2012…so while not quite the same vibe still, why not…Fellow pro superstar Nienke Oostra would join me on this glamorous tour, along with the usual suspects of the xterra gang. + more

This was my 4th year in a row competing in Xonrupt, the land of the Charbonnier family, organisers of excellence. I’ve seen the race grow from superb to fantastic, in conditions ranging from extreme heat to mud fest to a mix of both. The race has now 850 starters, and that’s not counting the xterra lite and the kids races. It’s a mini festival of of its own. And of course it still is the toughest course out there, with a 2 hour + mtb and a run course even longer than previously. And we all love it ! The smell of the Vosgian earth is worth the travel alone, these are enchanted, magical woods. + more

I wasn’t sure whether to do that one or not, having been ignored and then denied an entry by the organisers (i for one believe that the least they should do is to give free registration to the pros – not being a princess here, it’s hard enough financially as it is…) but still i went as a last minute decision. Ideally i’d like to do 6 out of 8 races on the European circuit to be able to have a ranking, and since I’ll most likely give Czech and Germany a miss i had not much choice. + more

After 4 races in 2013, 2 DNFs and 2 poor results, a debilitating achilles’ injury and some mysteriously missing bike legs meant I was seriously questioning myself. I am already not totally able to fully answer the question “what’s the point of all this ?” when I’m going well, so after being out of shape for such a long period the idea of quitting the sport altogether seemed to pop up on a regular basis. I know there are lots of non triathlon projects currently on stand-by which I would be happy to tackle if time suddenly became available…. + more

Mallorca: a fiasco of a (70.3) race on a personal level, but a lovely week-end nonetheless with great friends on an island ever so majestic. Biking legs were totally missing, and I knew it as soon as I got on the bike…the same course where I had a ball last year and was dancing up the col turned into a march of hell this year – 12min slower ! At least I could run almost normally, achilles was ok, 1h18′ on the 1/2 marathon is just about decent.

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Here’s a lil’ interview I did with Rich of Beyond Going Long ahead of XTERRA UK in September:

http://beyondgoinglong.co.uk/?p=3375

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This year I’ve decided once again to treat myself with some exotic early season races, not in SE Asia as last year, but in the Caribbeans. Not on dirt but on tarmac. The good excuse being my dad lives in Guadeloupe, and my mum could join us as well. So the plan was easy, two 70.3 races in 2 weeks, one in Guadeloupe and one in Puerto Rico. Niiiice.

Problem is, a neglected sprained ankle in mid January led to an inflamed and unhappy Achilles by the beginning of February to a complete inability to run a few weeks later. I flew out with a somewhat different goal in mind…some quality sunny training / holiday time, with the faint hope of a miracle keeping me on the edge – after all i flew to Guam with a stress fracture last year and it was gone when I got there. + more

During the week-end surrounding the 70.3 race in Aix-en-Provence last September, I was grateful to meet and hang out with the great Lars of Team Carbon Bikes. We quickly developed a great friendship and agreed on a partnership for the following season. + more

So finally here we are, the dirtiest leader of a dirty sport has now -sort of- come clean – with lots more to come in the future months / years no doubt. The story was almost perfect as LA said, but indeed it was a story. Quite unbelievable how one can be living a lie for that long, was that 20 years ?! + more