Tour de Europe 2009…so far Written on September 21, 2009, by annaf.

By 3am I had packed/stuffed all my worldly goods into the loft, a corner or if it was lucky into my 100L duffel bag that was to do me for the rest of the year. Off to sleep. 5am I was up again and off to the South of France in search of Gilbert and our van – our home for the rest of the year. It was fantastic to get to the coast, to catch up on Gilberts surfing adventures, the golden sands, big surf and scorching sun. A great way to get me relaxed and ready for life in the van.

650km later and a stinking hot van we arrived at Annecy for the relay race around the lake with the Saab Salomon Outdoor Team (See www.salomontrailteam.com or www.mudsweatandtears.co.uk for reports about the race). However, before the racing begun we were all invited into the Salomon Headquarters for a tour of where Salomon have come from, where they are at now and where they are going. The visit started off with a test taste of the fantastic restaurant/cafe, followed by some very interesting and in-depth research on the product and then we wandered through the maze of machines testing and trying to destroy different products and materials. The race lead up was beautifully topped off with the biggest pizzas and salads I have ever seen in my life. Honesty, €¦there was a whole lettuce on my plate!

Stage 3 “ Annecy to the Dolomites

The van was stuffed to the brim with people, bikes, bags and food. After 12 hours on the road we made it to the stunning village of Canazei in the Italian Dolomites. A place for me that really touches and frees my soul. The plan was for a week of team altitude training before the Sky Race which consisted of a vertical kilometer on Friday and a brutal 22km mountain race on Sunday. We had stunning sunny and stormy days doing a variety of activities including running, road biking, walking, via ferrata (climbing) and swimming.

And by Saturday the storms had become determined to set in and that it did, ¦which a massive drop in temperature and snow on all the surrounding mountain tops. It made for a slightly slippery and varied route on race day but a spectacular one never the less. Some superb performances from the team, matched only by the superb gelati (ice-cream) eating efforts (again see above websites)! A great way to top off a successful and enjoyable week. Thanks guys!

Stage 4 “ Back to Annecy

Gilbert and I headed back to Annecy to continue on our tour towards the Dolomites. I know, it sounds mad. Lucky for us it coincided with the Tour de France time trial around the lake, I was shaking after Armstrong whizzed by only a mere 30cm away. They were shifting. Completing the 40.5km loop in under 38minutes, the time it took me just to get to the gelati shop down the road! I spent an enjoyable week lazing around the lake reading, walking, biking and swimming while Gilbert traveled down to Mt Ventoux to get up close and personal with the second to final day of the tour.

Stage 5 The Emotional One!

An emotional roller coaster. I headed back to the UK to be with my family and see the knee specialist.

My heart and mind was with my family who were all being so strong for my wonderful super woman Aunty Pauline who sadly passed away after an enormous battle with cancer. She will live on in our hearts and in our adventures.

For me, running is my release, my sanity, my clarity, my answers and because my knee was still not playing the game I was been unable to unwind and at times it seemed like the end of the world. After a mini tear jerking break down in the middle of a busy waiting room (as you do), I was told that what I need €œis a good dose of anti-depressants€ I thanked the person for the advice and quickly pulled myself together. I headed for Snowdonia for great company and cooking (thanks Lloydies) and some treatment on my nagging knee from Andy.

Through some frustrating months, an unsuccessful arthroscopy and a clear MRI, we think we have finally the hit the nail on the head…wonky hips and uneven butt cheeks. Who would have thought! So it’s was back to Switzerland with some more boring exercises to do in the hope that stage 6 would be the big come back!

Anna

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