Week 44: Finding my method.

Things are going much better.  Ten to fifteen minutes of core strength work and stretching every day seems to be paying off.  I am coupling this with two short runs of 4-5 kilometres per week followed by a longer run in the mountains.  The original plan has gone out the window and I am going on what feels good to me.  I hope it will be enough to pull me through the 47 kilometres.
I am also still doing a lot of long walks to prepare for my guide exam.  This week I took the kids to the Grand Colombier.  Quite an easy walk as you drive most of the way up and then walk along the ridge.  Last week the Tour de France went through, and one of my ex- students, Romain Bardet, won the stage.  As we drove up the steep winding road, I marvelled again at the prowess of these cyclists.  The three-hour walk was very pleasant, mixing pasture and beech wood, with great views across the Rhone valley.  We were lucky with the weather, no clouds and little wind; apparently this ridge can be very windy at times.  The only thing that spoilt the walk was the huge electricity pylon at the top.
The next day I attacked a very long, ten and half hour walk to the Croix de Belledonne at 2900m.  I started from Chamrousse Recoin at 1650m, so a long climb.  The weather was perfect and the views magnificent.  There weren't too many other walkers, as it was a weekday.  The last hour to the summit was a hard slog, with some patches of snow to wade through and the summit hidden from view until the last fifteen minutes or so.  At the top there were great views of Alps d'Huez, the Vercors and the Chartreuse.  Unfortunately the splendour was spoilt by the strong odour of urine, it seems that some, probably male climbers feel the need to mark their achievement.  After a short, smelly lunch break I descended for the long walk home.  The path rose and fell steeply and I was unable to admire the view because I was worried about getting home before dark. I finally staggered into the car park at 7pm.  My legs felt very stiff and I was sure I would be hurting in the morning, but I did plenty of stretching before going to bed and felt pretty good the next day.  Maybe I have found the best preparation for me.