Jamie Rhodes - Professional Triathlete

Living in aix Les Bains

Hey Guys,

I've been given the remainder of the day off training as i have the big Alpe d'Huez race on Thursday so i thought i'd sitdown on the bed and catch you all up on what's been going on here in France.

I arrived here after my last Spanish race in San Sebastian. The race was OK for me however i think that i had reached the end of my tether and exploded on the run to eventually finish third. It was encouraging however to know that although i exploded beyond all comprehension i was still able to pump out a mid 36 minute run. I was afraid that i would fall into the 40 minute run bracket, or even worse "the dreaded 39's'. I was a little dizzy at the finish and was glad that the race was finally over. The training on my own, every session, everyday seemed to have taken a little more out of me than i had anticipated. But third was still a good result on the day with a strong field and i was still able to walkk away with a decent handful of Euros.       

After the race Kepa and Ana and little Mikel's family all took me to a local Cidery for a fantastic lunch. I tried some pretty cool stuff which included snails and we also drunk cider straight from the barrels. It was a nice finish to my time in the asque Country with all of the friends that i had made. Needless to say that afer 2 and a half months without a drop of alcohol, after a few ciders i as well on my way. Luckily Kepa and Ana were on had to drive the Beamer back to Europcar. From here we went over the French border into Biarritz, where i would catch my flight the following morning to Lyon airport. It was an early flight and i was up early to get to the airport on time. The airport was only about 2km away so there was little chance, even for me of missing my flight. The flight to Lyon was easy and i was soon onto the bus to Aix les Bains. It was direct from Lyon which was very handy as i was pretty tired from the previous long day in the sun and of course a cider or two...

Before i knew it i was in aix and read to go again. Well, not really as i had another race on that weekend. This was the third of my Grand Prix races in Beauvais so the boss had given me the remainder of the week as easy training to prepare and recover for the race. The grand Prix was super fast again and i was definitely feeling the previous 6 weeks of racing. I was there until the run but just did not have the spark in the legs required to match it with those guys.

I was once again happy to get back to Aix on the Monday after spending the night with Jono and Nicko back in Bourges after travelling home with the team. It was easier to go back with the team on Sunday and ten just catch the train or two or three on Monday to get back to Aix. And also a lot cheaper.

Once back in Aix, i was happy to hear the boss tell me that i had an easy week in store to recover from al of my racing. This was meant mainly sleeping and eating with of course a little bit of training. This left me in good stead for another solid block of training as i was not scheduled to do any races for a few weeks. Alp d'Huez will be my first since arriving back from Beauvais.

Training has been great since as the surroundings here are absolutely amazing. Aix le Bains sits on a large lake in the middle of two mountains. The water is crystal clear most of the time and looks blue, really blue. There are also no carp swimming in this lake, only mermaids and naked old women.

The riding is quite special really and caters to all types of workloads. Given that i am racing up AdH on Thursday i have been doing quite a few solid climbs to prepare. Last Saturday i climber the Col du Grand Colombiere at 1501m. It was about 15km of cimbing with some really tough steep sections. It took me just over an hour. Then on Saturday just gone myself and Physio Leon went up the Mont du Chat which pretty much sits opposite to Aix on the other side of the lake. It was a much steeper climb and although shorter in time and distance, much much more difficult than Colombiere. It sits at about 1340m and considering that Aix is at about 200m it goes up rather quickly. My 23 cog wasn't really ideal and i will definitely be seeking out a 25 for the race.

We mainly run down at the local Hippodrome (horse racing track). It has a nice track which runs around the outside and also around the Golf Course which sits next to it. You can also run on the track itself and to top it off there is a 330m grass running track there too. Not bad at all.

You can also run straight from the Hotel as just about everywhere there are tracks of some description.There is also a place at the top of the lake where we go running for our long runs. Its about a 20m drive.

Swimming is done in a 50m outdoor and also 25m indoor pool atthe local aquatic centre. The view from the pool is quite spectacular with Mountain situated on either side. The indoor pool is quite an experience as most of the time when we swim there it is either a weekend or really busy as it is school holidays here. Firstly we have to put the lane ropes in and then kick out all of the kids swimming in the way. there just happy to be there so swimming in our way doesn't really bother them. Thatis until you grab them by the head and dunk their heads under the water. They soon work out that it is not such a great idea to try and swim underneath the lane.

The other when we were putting in the laneropes, somebody knocked my kickboard and pool buoy into the pool and within seconds they were snaffled up by a pair of young frogs. It didn''t occur to them that the equipment belonged to anyone in particular, but rather that it was thrown into the pool purely for their enjoyment. A quick head dunk and a knock on the scone and my gear was back in my posession ready to start the swim session.

Well, that jsut about covers all of the training that goes on in Aix, but i'll be sure to get some photos up of the area so you can all see. Hope all is well back home in aus, despite the cold weather. I hear that its almost as cold as Summer in Vancouver. Grrrrr!!

I have a moustache!!!!

Peace out    

Cold

8:08 PM, 4/8/2008 .. Posted by Keaysie

It was 8 degrees and pouring rain on the TDP on Sunday.... oh and how did you let Kris beat you????