CAMTRIER

Nice 20km hilly and in places technical MTB ride around Figaniere near Draguignan. However there was a 30Km and 40Km. But advised from previous experience that the 20Km was sufficiently challenging and the other distances maybe too difficult. The first 10Km was mainly up hill and challenging in places with a few technical areas. The weather was very pleasant in the region of 25C and made it a great mornings activity.

The 23km MTB ride was 2hrs 10mins at a speed of around 11kph and an elevation of 420m. This was followed by a lovely lunch at a friend house in lovely weather.

As shown below in the article in Var Matin there were more than 600 participants, so a very popular MTB event in the region

 

On a cloudy day took part in my first ever duathlon after a few months of preparing for the above challenging event (5km run, 35km Cycle. 5km run) with minimum running & road cycle training, so a real challenge.

 

Race started at 13.00 with a 5Km run round the town of Grasse which is the perfume capital town inland from Cannes . The run was flat for about 2,5km and then turned hilly for the other 2.5km. Arrived in transition one feeling OK but took some time preparing for the hilly road bike ride up to the panoramic village Cabris which is nestled on a hill at around 500m (hence panoramic). It was a slow climb up from Grasse to this village via another village called Speracedes.. After Cabris there was a fast steep downhill stretch into Grasse for a second lap. On the downhill section it started raining so had to take it easy on the slippery wet and oily road. Arrived in Grasse for a second lap which was quite a challenges as not done much hill endurance training with my Giant road bike on hilly rides. The second lap up to Grasse was quite energy sapping and the downhill section was quite difficult as the rain had become quite heavy and aquaplaning was an issue and a slow descent was important to avoid an accident. Arrived at transition two and this was reasonably quick turnaround for me. The run on the same course as outlined above was slow especially on the hilly section going up to the finish. Arrived at the finish very tired but did a brief sprint which was initiated by the support team as well as the applause of the organisers, participants and spectators and this was followed by a brief interview by the compare. At the prize giving, I was called forward to receive a consolation prize and a photo on the podium with a bouquet of flowers ( My wife Jacqueline was delighted with these) – See below ……

My results were as follows: Total time 2:59:51,  First 5km run 29.43, Transition 1 : 2.01, 35Km Bike:1.55.57, Transition 2: 1,51, Second 5Km Run: 30,22. 197th overall and 5th in my age group.

Great start to the season and need to do some more endurance work in hilly cycling and running  to increase my fitness and be more competitive for such an event. Next event coming up is the Figa Bike a 20 Km hilly MTB ride with friends.

Great start to the New Year events with an iconic 10k run along the promenade des anglais in Nice. Weather as usual for this race was great on a sunny day with a  temperature of around 19C at the finish. It started with a minute of clapping for ‘Je suis Charlie’ after the awful events in Paris this week. Then off we went (around 7500 runners)  towards Nice airport along the scenic promenade des anglais

Packed start of event

 The promenade des anglais was well supported by spectators and drumming musicians that gave the runners an extra boost. Also a surprise Christmas supporter along the return route as shown below:

 Father Christmas supporting the runners

Good first run of the season with limited run training at 27min for the 5km and 55 minutes for the full 10Km, a target to better in the next 10K run later on this season. Pleased that I felt good at the end as shown below:

CAMTRIER at the finish with finishers medal

the event was well organised as usual and this year a T shirt, medal as well as some other edible goodies was supplied by the organisers and sponsors. Allez to the next training event

2015 has started and went for a post festive run to clear the cob webs and prepare for the Nice Prom 10km on 11th January 2015. First run since several weeks. Ran around the lake on an undulating course – 10.77km in 85mins. Slow average pace at 7.56 min/km. Hope to improve over the weeks as my running training is increased.Looking to also increase MTB training and enter a few running/MTB events and triathlons later in the season

Xmas mountain bike ride organised ride in Le Muy near the golf course St Endriol. 20km course which was quite technical and was under water in places due to floods a few weeks before. The first 10km was very relatively OK but muddy. We stopped at a drinks and food station, after that it was very difficult due to water flowing down the track, very muddy and wet. However completed in just under 3 hours. There was a 34 km course and glad I did not go for this one as it would have been a late finish and a very wet and tired CAMTRIER. Over 300 rider took part in the ride. Some money went to the telethon charity after the event . See me in the front row in blue below

CAMTRIER at start of the race 

A well organized sprint Triathlon in the lovely surroundings of the Verdon Canyon and Lake St Croix starting at the village of les Salles sur Verdon. Started with a lake swim of 500 metres, somehow I did over 600 metres! Lots of jostling as there were around 400 participants! Went well but still slow and need to improve my swimming in general but also in wetsuit. Losing some weight might help see below!

Portly CAMTRIER at start of swim

After a rather slow transition of over 10 minutes, this was followed by a very hilly bike ride up to Aiguines village, a climb up to 880 metres, pretty slow but no stopping. Then we really fast downhill portion reaching 50kph. Need to do a little more training on climbing hills on the road bike. The one session I did earlier towards Bargemon was not enough. However please with the time considering.

Starting the bike section after a 10 min transition

Finally there was a 5km trail run which was flattish until the end as there was a 200m steep hill climb finishing in the busy village with lot’s of spectators including coach FB

After the 5km run with my coach FB

Next year need to do more open water and technique swimming as well as hilly MTB, Bike and run training to improve my times. But a good start. See my training leading up to the next one with coach FB. Allez CAMTRIER

Insert from Var Matin on Saturday morning

I did my first triathlon yesterday after 7 years. The Lavandou Vert Triathlon which is a cross country triathlon with a 600m sea swim followed by a very hilly 15Km MTB and then a very hilly trail run.

The swim was in a wetsuit and I was knackered after that. This was followed by three circuits of a very hilly MTB ride. The first 3km uphill followed by a downhill stretch. After the first one because of the steep hill felt like giving up but carried on walking in places as it was 28-30C. After that I did a 4.5km trail run which was really interesting starting running down the busy sandy beach. Then climbing over a rocky section with the sea lapping up. Finally running through a nudist beach which was packed and got a lot of cheers, especially when I pulled my tri shorts down. Then to cap it all we climbed into the hills on a very rocky and steep trail run, eventually coming down to the finish line – whoopee I did it which was only goal for the first cross country or green triathlon! I won my age group but came last. Never mind it’s taking part that is important and all the people were  more than 20 years younger and were experienced and this was a very hard Xterra type course!!! I was glad I completed it without a heart attack as it was 28 – 30C as they started the event at 13.30 which was a little silly. But saying that a great event , well organised and only wished I trained more on my sea/wetsuit swimming and steep MTB hill climbing more.

Next week, I am doing another Tri in the Verdon starting with a 500m swim in lake St Croix. This will be followed by a 25 km hilly road cycle and a 5km trail run, should be good event and is sponsored by Occitane and will let you know how it goes after the event, A bientot!

Before the event with and without coach FB

CAMTRIER exiting the 600m sea swim

 

After slow transition starting the MTB leg.

Allez CAMTRIER

In Var Matin on Sunday 29th September 2014

Working towards two TRI’s starting in two weeks. The first is a cross sprint Tri in Lavanadou, Sea Swim:600m, MTB 15km and Trail Run 4.5Km, This will be followed by another a week after in les Salles sur Verdon called L’Occitane Ekiden TRI, Swim in lake St Croix 500 metres, Bike 25km and a 5km trail run. Today did a hilly bike ride of 30km road bike ride in preparation for the second one which was the first road bike ride for several years, feeling great considering, but probably due to MTB training outlined below.

For Last several weeks been doing several hours training including hilly MTB rides (15-20Km), training pool swims (500-1000m) and hilly trail walk/runs (5-8km) in preparation for the first TRI in Lavandou with coach FB.

First race of the New Year and clocked up a time of 54mins 38 sec for the 10K. Nice flat run along the promenade des anglaises and reasonable time for first run of the season, so training with coach FB paying off.

Yesterday went for a 17km Trail MTB ride around the Lac de St Cassein over an 1hr 30mins and today over an hour trail run/walk over hilly rocky terrain with coach FB, See terrain and pictures of the CAMTRIER team above and terrain below. Allez les rouges