Hitman

Talloires: Water 7°C

Went for a short swim afterwards with no wetsuit for keeping the Cold Adaptation / Ketogenesis levels up. New wetsuit from Wiggle is great (half price at the moment) - just no chill at all even at this temperature. Takes a bit of getting used to squeezing into a triathlon suit and I'd have sworn blind that it was far too small - but it's perfect. The huge level of flotation takes some getting used to as well. 

Despite the low temperatures the sun was out - and was warm against the skin. That's a really nice feeling. However the cycling route around the lake was already in the shadows and so required the full kit. The flashing 2000 lumen light is great - you can see all the reflective road signs for about half a kilometer in front of you all flashing back at you like a demented rave scene. I did worry about drivers potentially having epileptic fits - but that would probably only improve their driving anyway.

Wonderfully - the bASECAMP (www.base-camp.bike) café was open in Talloires and not only does it make the best coffee but it really does make an excellent base for exploiting this phenomenal area. The 40k (mainly cycle path) around the lake is ideal for winter cycling - being flat and exposed to the sun (for drying the path). Hill climbs (like up the nearby Col de la Forclaz) are fine but the descents are usually too chilly. The way to circumvent that problem is to wear only summer gear - which prevents you from being soaked with sweat in those temperatures and this stops you even losing your core temperature on the descent. However - it's a bit too much to then combine this form of Cold Adaptation with the swimming side of things in freezing water: It's either one or the other in that respect. Today we tried swimming BEFORE cycling and it seems to be better that way around. It's tough holding the swimming together after a workout on the bike - but no problem cycling after the swim - even when cold.

Of course - all of this is specifically to develop the Hitman look - 3rd photo below...

Cultivating the "Hitman" look...

Alex Autumn 5

Yesterday's training course was fast with wide turns - necessitating extreme edging angles. Unfortunately Alex's clothing wasn't providing adequate protection at this level and so he was being whacked all over by the poles in areas where there was no padding or shielding. Today Alex rejected wearing articulated leg guards (fear of not looking like everyone else!) to protect above the knees so there was no option other than to set a slower course with shorter (closer) turns and less width so as to reduce the risk and force of any pole impacts. This would mean that edging angles would certainly be less extreme but would provide the opportunity to develop some body management issues and consolidate all the technique worked upon during the week. 

The slope is very icy and on the second part it is steep so Alex is doing very well staying out of trouble let alone improving rapidly. The slow motion video shows some arm management issues (defending against the poles) and the body reacting to this - with consequent impact on technique. The full speed clips are later on - showing how those aspects were improved. 

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Alex Autumn 4

Tough day for Alex today - getting hit on unprotected body parts with the poles on several occasions. The positive side is that he appears to be getting faster - but that also brings new problems...

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Alex Autumn 3

Alex enters the universe of skating... very quick to catch on - but very tired before the end of the session!

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Alex Autumn 2

Alex clearly slept too well last night and so was still dreaming even at 1 pm in the slalom. His prescribed remedy is an early morning run around the lake and preferably a dip in the lake too! The video compilation is taken from 4K photos - so it's slightly experimental!

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La Plagne this morning (opposite my home)...

Alex Autumn 1

After a disappointing Sunday when the mountain was closed due to high wind and there was continuing confusion over constraints being imposed on lift passes, this afternoon turned out to be perfect. With other glaciers closed this autumn and the French holiday period in full swing the mountain was obliged to split up the day in to 4 hour blocks (some overlapping) to ensure everyone would have to opportunity to train or just ski. Ineffective communication made it tricky to find clarity on the limitations and the organisation - but a calm, clear sunny afternoon and excellent training snow/ice conditions made all of that stress evaporate with the sort of magic than only mountains can manage.

Bernie assisted me in getting the course set up quickly while Alex had some free skiing to warm up. He'd already had a telling off for predictably not dressing for mountain (winter) weather - but today he was lucky because the sun would keep us warm despite the cold maintaining good snow conditions. The new drill was excellent on the boilerplate ice and the high tech poles are very rapidly deployed. (The new key for removing them at the end of the day was brilliant too - all great time savers) Thanks to Bernie also turning up a bit early at the end of the session we were able to take down the course in 10 minutes flat and make the final lift with 4 minutes to spare!)

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