“La course est une fiction“
“L’art du marathonien est un art qui ne cesse de fuir, de devenir toujours plus mobile, liquide. La liquidité, c’est l’état gazeux du temps que le coureur parvient a éprouver quand il est en plein dehors, en état d’apesanteur ou presque et que son corps s’est à ce point dilaté qu’il ne se laisse plus ramener a un point fixe, véritable capteur identitaire, mais qu’il parvient à traverser des états de corps qui sont des états du monde.”
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.
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.
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…
Here’s the format of Swim Smooth‘s Paul Newsome’s weekly regime while training for the 46km Manhattan Island Marathon Swim – roughly 50k per week:
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.
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
This winter 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.
I had the honor of being invited on their radio show by my brothers Koichi Saikai and Kay Suzuki aka Afrobuddha, for a short interview and an exclusive 7″s only mix. As expected I had a ball, much respect to them !
We arrived in the studio as Amir finished his guest spot on the Morning Marauders show…In just a few years, NTS has grown into a big hub for crate diggers of all sorts. Big up Femi for what you’ve achieved, and it’s only the beginning.
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.