I went on holidays in the French Pyrenees. I wanted to do something a bit different while there. The campsite was at the bottom of the Aubisque, Soulor and Pourtalet, 40 miles from the Tourmalet, and about the same from the Somport. All Tour de France fans know these names. I did ride some of them, but for the Tourmalet, I decided to jog it. Well... That has been an idea and a half, and a fair trial.
I started from a small village near Luz Saint Sauveur called Istere, 11 miles from the top. Now, 11 miles ain't much of a jog, but at 8% average, it's quite steep. I was sort of prepared, I've run the distance before, and a fair bit more than that. I usually avoid tarmac, but there was no choice here. I'd never run uphill, well, not for any kind of distance. My local trail is along the canals, hence rather flat.
The first 3 miles went in a blur; honestly. Not that it's not challenging, but I thought I was doing well. I'm not a very fast jogger, but 3 miles uphill in 40 min, I was rather please with myself. I also discovered that running uphill, even on tarmac, was not so hard on my joints. Knees and ankles were feeling quite comfortable. It was hot, and it was time for a 1 min pause to drink. After that, the pause came much more often, every 30 min, then 20 ... then mmmh, eventually 5
Which is probably why I drained the bottle way before the top
First longer break: Barege. 11 km to go:
I did just over 4 miles in the first hour, and stopped a little later for a 2 min break, a drink, and a few photos. Just outside the village, the climb got really steep, kinda took my breath away. And so did the scenary, it's truely amazing.
The 'Pic du Midi de Bigore':
As I carried on, the weather warmed up (I left at 10am), the traffic increased, and I tired rather faster than I'd hoped, but I kept going. Drink break came closer and closer together. I feel like I cheat when I stop, and never stop for very long, but there were times I could hardly put a foot in front of the other anymore. All along the climb, every kilometre, there is a sign giving indication of the distance to the top, the average slope of the next km (in %) and current altitude. Sometimes, it's not too good for the morale, especially the last one: 10% !!!!
Oh well, it's only a click (mmmmph) and the last sharp bent, the last straight is ahead of me: a good 400 yards, steeper than any part of the climb so far, definately over 10%, probably close to 13. I got to the top in 3hours and 8min. Nothing really fancy for 11 miles, but guys and gals, I DID enjoy myself.
2 snickers at the top, a bottle of water (I ran out 2km from the top), and I was good as new (almost). Fantastic experience. I'd recommand an uphill jog to anyone. No sore toes, no sore feet, no sore knees, no sore ankles, hardly any impact at all in fact. Well, the legs were stiff the next day, of course
Protective measures:
The Tourmalet (JoeBAR's keep fit holidays - part 2)
