1 - 1 -1 : One!? 1 km ; 1 hour ; 1 hm+!

1 Kilometer, 1 hour and 100 meters difference in height.

Its good ! You see what I mean.

Anyone know where these trailers, a moment during one of our last summers ... were? Anyway, where were they during this internship?

They are not in our same current reflections, just happy with this end of ascent, the 2nd out of 3 in total at this stage, in front of such a beautiful panorama. Tired certainly but satisfied and admiring, what am I saying, contemplative in front of such a panorama!

Right now we just want to stand on our own two feet! Slide on the spring snowfields or just slide as you like. But no !

Because the rule is:

• Do not train more than 1 km from your home.
• Do not train for more than 1 hour.
• AND IN HAUTE-SAVOIE do not climb higher than 100 meters in elevation above its cozy nest. And I live in Haute-Savoie. I'm not going to complain. A little frustrated. But safe.

And 3 x 1 is 1.​

Huh ?! Yep, don't we have the impression of being in the 3rd dimension? I don't think it's an impression!

This ibex who gave me the honor of this meeting is far from our current concerns and torments. Besides, his whole life was confined to his Mountain. Often I noticed in its 1 km2. But OK ! We are not ibex. Too bad for us. By habit, by genetics, by need for space, by taste to discover, by need, by necessity, man wants to leave his house and travel the world. And for us poor endurance athletes for the challenge and the sensations, the trip is limited to the house block. We are walled in between these three 1s which make us run in circles like a tiger in its cage.

And yet we have to adapt. Adaptation is one of the 3 main principles of training with Progressiveness and Continuity, remember. Except that this time it's more than a constraint. Luckily I dare say, we are all in the same boat. Then the happiest will be the one who will adapt best, including on the mental level. (relativize, manage stress ...). But let's just talk about how to be happy while having fun otherwise. I will only focus on our daily outdoor sports hour. Of course !

Let's not put our heads upside down! I sincerely believe that there is something positive in everything. (independently of course of the misfortune for which this virus was fatal or terrible). But in terms of change, you have to be forced if you are lucky not to be hit directly. Personally I would never have done what I have been doing for 5 weeks.

Situation: I am fortunate to have in my perimeter as they say, local paths and trails. essentially I use a loop that goes a 1 km down or up the right bank the river that follows the valley, then I go down or go up left bank. It depends on the direction of rotation chosen. At the play of small bypasses and small bumps the loop is 5.4 km and offers an elevation of 80 meters. I also have another option shorter in distance but which has the advantage of having ribs.

I mainly use the most rolling exit, by choice until this day and I will use more the more sloping from now on. Rolling as much to say that I know it by heart. I put in reference for the playful and useful aspect of the STRAVA segments. For all ribs but also for characteristic flat ends. Let's talk about her: Either I run it quietly in basic endurance, or quickly and the work tends to threshold work, or I do the interval shorter.

Remember what the equivalent effort (EE) when a vertical drop exists on a run? 100 m vertical equals 1 km horizontal. Thus over 10.8 km with 160 m + EE = 10.8 + 1.6 = 12.4 km.

QUIET: I am between 11 and 12 km / h on average. Sometimes less when it comes to running very cool, and sometimes it's not planned and 1 lap and we go back. 55 'approx.

THRESHOLD: I only practiced the long threshold. Indeed I ran the 2 loops in a row, that is 10.8 km and this at 13 km / h. in 47 ', then the EE is 14.9 km / h. I know that the ideal would be the threshold below 20 '. Because there on 45 'needless to say that I am largely in the low range of my lactic anaerobic threshold zone. But hey it amused me and then I am far from my objectives and especially I put much less the means than before. I have given enough. That said always motivated I now plan to start more academic sessions. Now that the sensations have returned.

PMA: I only worked on these playful ends such on the 3 ribs of the loop and on very singular flat ends. Nothing academic of the type 10 x 1'30 rec 1 '. It will come later. Put a mine on the long coast, then on the short then make another cool by choice or often by obligation because I can not anymore it is quite playful and challenging. Thanks to the Strava segment I can see my progress in form (or my weakness of the day) as much in time improvement as in my improving feelings and in my pulsations.

my village, during my loop

To conclude I know that because of the confinement I trained completely differently from the habit. And this for the positive. You can imagine that in 40 years of competition I took a break from the foundation sessions at the start of the season and qualitative sessions in all training cycles. Certainly consciously because the athletes I train receive the right elements, but that on my own account and well I fell asleep. I have given enough. But strangely enough I start to like the short effort that is necessary anyway. YES if the mountain had been opened to me I would already be at x hundreds of hours and x thousands of meters +: The pleasure, the attraction of summits and Nature and wide open spaces. BUT I therefore improved my endurance over 1 hour and my speed. And it's not over ! Another 2 weeks for sure. But I count well after May 11 to systematically keep me a short and intense session, as before, as in the good old days.

Take care