Im Baaaack!

Long time, no post!!

So much has happened since I last blogged, where to start???

It has been an exciting month! After my last post Joelle and Claude had some friends come and stay with us in the Alpes to hike and vacation. However, the hiking adventures were cut a tad short for Claude who fell and broke her ankle in 3 places! She dragged herself down the mountain using just her arms! When the doctor saw her, he couldn’t imagine how she had gotten down the mountain; usually people are helivacked out! My Auntie Cocole is a tough cookie! She had surgery and spent a few weeks recovering and now is starting to walk with crutches. Joelle has been nothing but wonderful taking care of Claude and hosting Gregory and I.

Now, when I say mountains, I mean “the middle of the mountains”; the boonies! So, when storms roll through, they are pretty nasty!! It is usually after a very hot spell that we have thunderstorms (sometimes tornadoes) roll through bringing hail and snow. 2 weeks ago, when Gregory and I left for one night to watch the tour (more on that in a bit) a storm rolled through, knocking out all internet and phone lines. It has been 2 weeks and the phone line is not repaired and I am working from one of those unique USB drive wireless thingy’s. Very cool, but it is slow and we are still waiting for the local internet company to fix the line (yes, we reside in the middle of the mountains!).
This is an arial shot of the EDF damn. Our house is to the left on the mountain.

This is Allemont in the winter. Our house is below and to the left of the church.

This is what Allemont looks like now in the summer

Now back to Le Tour….the Spaniard who looks like and is built like a 14 yr old boy won (not that I am happy about it..I am a Lance fan). I don’t think that people realize how small the riders are and the power they push! After spending a few months riding in the Alpes, I am realizing that the level of difficulty of Le Tour is greatly underestimated and underplayed by many who have never experienced the Alpes (the TV does not give the climbs or weather enough credit!). Over the course of 3 weeks, the tour riders go from fit to emaciated from the effort and long days.

Gregory and I found out a few days before the time trial in Annecy that our good friend Tony would be arriving in Paris for work and could meet us up to watch Le Tour. So we picked up Tony Wednesday night in Grenoble and got some great engagement news!! Congrats Tony!! We spent the night in Chambery with the “Livestrong” promotional crew and a bunch of media in our hotel. These folks are worked to the bone!! Thursday we rose early to get to Annecy, but the whole city was closed. We parked out side the city and bused to the start area. Having attended the tour once before on Alpe D’Huez, I knew it would be crazy busy!! Which is was, but this experience was unique because it was a time trial. We were able to see the teams warm up and get ready. I did not see Lance, but I did get a good shot of Matthew McConaughey outside the Astana bus, along with a bunch of other riders. We then positioned ourselves near the start to see the riders take-off. WOW!! The riders pass so quickly and SO FAST! It is hard to imagine riding at speeds they are riding at. Seeing the Tour in person really puts into perspective how fit, fast and dedicated the riders are!

So, I got my yearly dose of Le Tour!

It's Matthew!!

Team Garmin

This is how they do their laundry in the team bus.

This is Lance's bike

The Polka Dot bike


As for my riding, biking and swimming; It has been going really, really well (well, till yesterday! More in a bit) After La Marmotte, I made a tough decision to switch coaches. Wolfgang has coached me for almost two years; two years of amazing progress, and I have achieved levels of fitness I never knew I could. Wolfgang helped me obtain the endurance and patience to become a great long-distance triathlete and I very thankful. However, due to a number of factors, including time constraints I felt I needed a coach with a “better fit” for my schedule, demands and goals. After La Marmotte, I started working with Carole Sharpless and am very, very happy with that decision. Over this month, I am moving in the right direction with my swimming (it has never been my strong point), revived my running legs and kept up the strong biking!

But, life is unpredictable, and you never know what obstacles may be thrown in your path. Yesterday, while stepping down from a stone ledge in the garden, I rolled my ankle. This is the ankle that I had surgery on 7 yrs ago to repair torn ligaments (two screws and reconstruction); the only thing that went through my head was “2 months in the middle of the mountains running, swimming and biking, in the boonies and THIS is how I injure myself??” This is not a serious injury, X-rays shows no broken bones, but there is ligament damage. I cannot have an MRI because of the screws so alternative imaging may be required; I will find out on Monday; most likely it is pulled with a few small tears. This brings into play the athletes “desire” to continue training for that “one” important race or the long-term outcome.

I believe that you should learn from your mistakes. Seven years ago, I ran on an ankle that had torn ligaments and needed surgery because I did not listen to my body and I pushed too hard. I don’t want to make that mistake again. So, I am being realistic here; on Monday I might have to call off IMWI, and I am ok with that (but, I am trying to stay optimistic). There is always next year or even the possibility of a IM later in the year. Right now my focus is on the long-term as I have been down the other short-term road before.

I think this is some sort of sick way to make me swim more, LOL!