Le Sancture Des Sportifs
Le Sancture Des Sportifs
Pulse Warm Weather Training Week
15 -22 March 2013
Where to start?!!! Ok I know this is a bit of an epic, feel free to skim!, but I found one of the things that worried me about signing up to a week like this was a fear of the unknown so I’ve done out a fairly comprehensive report in case it’s something that might come in handy to someone who feels the same.
It was originally a suggestion by Yvonne that started the ball rolling, and, when that ball rolled right past my fear of an upcoming first HIM in Lisbon, let’s just say it didn’t take long for me to hitch up my wagon and jump right on board! A few places were investigated as options but the one settled on was Le Sancture des Sportifs in the Pyrennes. Pulse had been there before, both as a group and various individuals, so it was tried and tested. Take my money Alison I’m in!! The recruitment drive managed to drum up a rag-tag bunch of 8, unfortunately Yvonne had to pull out in the end so that left 7 of us, 6 lovely ladies and one lucky fella (although both those statements are still up for dispute by Alan!).
Luckily we had Club Member of the Year to assist with the packing up of the bikes, I’m sure he didn’t plan on doing all the work though while we sat around drinking cups of tea chatting about what else we were going to pack!! Schoolboy error there Karl!
It was an early start to the airport the Friday morning, suitcases in tow and wheeling what I now know to be a source of great curiosity to the general public – bike boxes! Just ask Niamh Oman’s Dad who brought hers home from Cycleways on the Luas! Ok Ryanair, let the games begin!! Now to be fair, they are unusually generous and allow 30kg for a bike box…but when you factor in a group of women who have everything in there from hairdryers to Jaffa cakes, never mind a bike, it starts to add up fairly quickly! Alan was in a worse predicament without one though (he was renting his bike over there) last count saw him heading through security with no less than 5 jackets on!
In retrospect we had brought way too much stuff and if I was going again I’d be able to cut it right down, but it’s so hard to know what you’ll need when you’re heading off into the unknown. We met the non-Pulser Wendy at the gate, luckily we all had the club uniform jacket on so we were easy to spot! Alan had had high hopes for the fresh fish, sorry, new girl, and had been referring to her as Wendy-licious and, much to her disappointment, this stuck fast for the week!! Greetings exchanged and we were all in the same boat by now…let me on and let me sleep!
Upon disembarking in Girona we were actually escorted off the runway in the end, the excitement of seeing blue skies and sunshine had us lingering a little longer than airport security were comfortable with! Richard collected us the other side and it was probably quite similar to picking up a bunch of eager puppies at a kennel! Bouncing up and down, non-stop yapping and falling over each other trying to walk…seriously who designs the wheels on these things?! And now for the info we were all dying to know, what were we going to be doing for the week?! For the first of, oh about a million times that week I’d say, Rich told us to have patience and he would go through it all with us in good time! He did tell us though that for the first few days he would be mainly observing us and seeing where we needed the most guidance. This did absolutely nothing to ward off the barrage of questions he would be faced with every day as I’m sure he’d hoped it might!!!
We got to our hotel, Café de Paris, and checked in, basic would be the best way to describe it! It was in a great location though right in the centre of a lovely village called Amelie Les Bains and only 1km from their house. I felt like I was in boarding school with our little single beds and eiderdowns! Then we noticed that a bathroom door is apparently considered a luxury here in Amelie!! That’s one way to get to know your clubmates I guess! Luckily Karen and Wendy had a shower curtain as a door because one of their beds was literally face on to the toilet, I’m not sure I’d need to know ANYONE that well!! J
Rich then came down to meet us to run through our program for the week. He has a knack of making everything sound like it’s so do-able! It looked a busy but not scary schedule, good start! He reassured us that all levels would be catered for and nobody would be left behind (phew!). We followed this up with a group run of 5k from their house. In my head I had pictured them operating out of a sports centre of some kind so I was quite surprised to see it was actually a regular house, on a regular street, with neighbours etc! Up a hill of course but we quickly learnt that this would be the case for EVERYWHERE we would visit!
The food in general in the hotel was alright but not the best. The dinner was a set menu of starters/main/dessert and there was no option – great if you liked what was on the menu, not so great if you didn’t. However we were all so hungry at the end of every day we would have eaten as Alan put it ‘the belly of a low flying duck’! They would bring the bread out first and we would have it devoured in about 30 seconds flat! They must have thought we were animals!! Their ice cream was savage…one Pulser, who shall remain unnamed, would issue a demand every evening that anyone not wanting their own dessert should order one regardless!! Breakfast the first morning was a bit of a disaster – Lidl sugary cereals and white baguettes with butter and jam. Michelle was brilliant though. She brought down porridge oats and showed them how to make it. The staff were so nice and they couldn’t do enough for us, they only turned down one request and that was when Alan asked Dee what was the French for sauce…and Dee answered ‘je voudrais un baiser’…um non monsieur…!! Dinner was always a bit of craic, tough skin was required though for the level of abuse dished out…who knew the biggest girl would be Alan?!! (Only joking Alan before I get a punch at the next spin class!!!J). Next time I would stay up at the house though, the food looked fantastic. Alan and Karen decided they would have lunch there every day and vouched that it did taste as good as it looked, the rest of us did our own thing, be that lunch in a coffee shop or a roll from the Boulangerie and a banana from the fruit market around the corner. The upside was that this did give you some time out during the day but if you were staying in the house even for convenience sake alone I would go full board.
The next morning was the start of the week proper. We had a bike TT for heart rate calibration and an opportunity for Rich to see what sort of standards he was dealing with. It began with a 5k warm up to the start point and then it was going to be a 12k climb, Hellfire starting flashing before my eyes! We set off at minute intervals and from then on it was a case of just keep on truckin’! As the week went on I learnt that if Rich said something was going to be 5k, it would probably be 4 but if Michelle said 5 you could bank on it being about 8!! So it was a nice surprise to see everyone stopped just as my cycle computer clocked 11km! Quick descent then and back to Amelie following Sam (their son, a 14yr old Tri whiz kid!) who makes it all look so goddam effortless it’d make you sick! That afternoon we went to the pool in Perpignan and had our run TT afterwards. The pool was an amazing facility, 50m and in the evenings after closing time the sports clubs of the area can access it for free. The initial plan had been to have a swim TT too but after a couple of lengths he decided we’d benefit more from a technique session…calling us crap are ya?!! This was one of the best things about Le Sancture, every session/day was fluid and nothing was set in stone. If he thought we looked tired/able for more he’d adjust accordingly. And as it turns out we did all profit from the swim coaching. He focused on our push off position and stroke for this session, we had definitely improved by the end of it. His background is originally in swimming and he is a very good swim coach, whatever way he explained the stuff to us it just made sense!
The run session was on a track at the back of the pool. The instructions were to run 5k as hard as you could and monitor your heart rate throughout. We reckon Karen was the only one of us to actually run the full 5k though as it would seem the rest of us can’t keep track of how many times we’ve run around a loop!! That evening Rich came down to talk us through how we should use the heart rates we had recorded in both TT’s for our training. It made for interesting listening and was good to know how to score your sessions for the effort level involved, how to pace a recovery session and, perhaps most disappointingly, that a ‘rest’ day doesn’t necessarily mean ‘couch’ but rather a low heart rate session that doesn’t tax the body, is there to be no respite?!!!
The following morning training commenced in earnest! Some of the true Paddy’s were taking the day VERY seriously!!
It was a multiple brick session, the ‘multiple’ part depended on what distance you were hoping to do in the summer. For HIM this was 6 x 7.5km cycle followed by a 2k run. Yowsa!! We did the first loop as a warm up so that everyone would know where they were going (I still managed to get lost on the first solo run!!) and then it was at your own pace. Michelle did this session with us and she took a turn with each person accompanying us and giving us technique tips. Still waiting on confirmation of the podium rankings for Alan and Lizanne at time of going to press… These pair don’t seem to be able to go out without racing each other!! Between all the distractions including passing each other en route it flew by! Also helps that we were in shorts and tshirts with the sun beaming down upon us…getting the snow reports in from Dublin usually produced some en masse smuggery you’d have wanted to slap off our faces!
That afternoon we were tested for pedal technique on the Watt bike. This looked like a spin bike but with computer software that could monitor your pedal stroke. It basically ratted you out for any points of laziness on your pedaling! Most common was ‘resting’ your legs at the top between the push-pull motion. What you are aiming for is a ‘sausage’ shape like the image below on the left but what most intermediates get looks closer to the peanut shape on the right and then beginners almost a figure of eight.
Michelle then worked with us until we got the feel for the correct technique so that we could then try to reproduce it on the road. I wasn’t actually too bad at this which I was surprised about, months of listening to Alison ‘Push-Pull’ Benson at spin had obviously paid off! Michelle also observed our power/watts and the feedback here was ‘eh, excuse me, but you’re just being lazy, you’re well able to hold a higher cadence and RPM, get cycling!!’ (Michelle may not have phrased it exactly like this, she’s far too polite, but that was the general gist!!). They leave you with nowhere to hide in this place!!! In a good way! It’s very motivating to know that kind of information as I would have previously said I was a terrible cyclist. As it turns out I’m not, I just need to work harder, the foundations are solid, I just need to start laying some bricks!
The next day was the long cycle – 40km or 70km. As we had a swim session that night as well most of us opted for the 40 with Alan, Dee and Lizanne taking the 70. Michelle took us out and Rich the other 3. Fools!! They set off an hour before us as Rich needed to be back for an airport pickup and the pace was kept um, lets say pacey!! Ours, on the other hand, was a lot more chilled and relaxed!! The weather was clear and sunny, the pace was good and the climbs were challenging but everyone’s mood was good. It’s still a holiday after all! The improvements were starting to show at this stage, Wendy was flying up the hills! There were plenty of photo ops too, not that this ever seemed to be a problem for Irish Pete (A guy staying at the house who was in fact English…but that’s another story!) who seemed to have his camera surgically attached! We even bumped into the other group en route for a photo together!
There was a rest scheduled into the afternoon and by now it was well needed! Although some took the rest session right on through to the bus journey…don’t worry Dee no picture evidence to be included this time!! Back into Perpignan that evening for a swim, more technique, this time stroke and breathing. Yes, I do know if I’m looking at the ceiling I’m gone too far, all help gratefully received! Alan decided to do the double session and stay on afterwards with the Tri club he coaches in the evenings. It was a shell of a man that greeted us at breakfast the next morning!
The next morning was our fell running session. Again we split into 2 groups, Dee and Alan had learnt from the day before and decided to join Michelle – quite the tough call for Dee too given that the newest guest at Le Sancture, aka Daniel Craig, was heading off with the longer session!! But with Michelle it’s never really a shorter session anyway! We set off in opposite directions, Lizanne was the only one of the Pulse group to go with Rich. The start was a tough climb and this was probably the warmest day yet too! The others were racing on ahead while myself and Niamh were bringing up the rear! But, as I kept telling myself, as long as the heart rate is up and I’m sweating like a ****** (the amount of times Niamh gave out to me for inserting inappropriate phrases here never failed to keep me entertained!!) it’s gotta be doing some good! The trails were amazing and the views more than made up for any hardship! At the point where the ‘short’ run should have cut back down to the town Michelle gave us the choice to do that or continue on a bit further and we actually requested the ‘more please!’ option that was how much we were enjoying it!
That afternoon we had a bike interval session from the house. This was a 5k climb to warm up and then a further climb but this time 3 x 8 min intervals alternating hard/easy. So the first interval was low gears and spin the legs, second was big ring, third was your own choice then between the two. It’s amazing how quickly the time/road passes when you’re focused almost solely on the 30 second sections! And after all that climbing it was an exhilarating 30 minute descent back to town…well maybe not for poor Niamh who was starting to develop forearms like Popeye from the constant braking! They were very good though and worked well with her fears to try and allay them while also giving her (and us!) the technique tips to help us feel more in control while flying down a mountain at 50km an hour! Let’s just say at the wine tasting that evening a stiff drink was required!!
This was at a place around the corner from our hotel and was lovely, especially as Niamh didn’t like red so I got a chance to re-verify each of these to make sure they were actually as nice as originally thought!! The food was really good too, little bits of cheese, pate, cold meats, yum!
We went to a track in the next town for our technique session the next morning. Bit too soon after breakfast for my liking…no restraint!!! We did a warm up and then one timed lap of the track. After this Richard then worked on our posture by doing some drills. He then had us repeat the lap using our new form but no extra effort and the difference was unbelievable – I’d gone from 1min 32sec to 1.16 just by altering my body position! This was followed by the usual questions and answer session with us all wanting new lightweight runners ASAP!! We had another swim session first (kick technique) and then what we’d all been waiting for…the much anticipated trip to Decathlon!! I’d heard so much about this place from the last Pulse crew and it didn’t disappoint! There was so much stuff (wisely Michelle gave us a one hour time limit!!) and it was all so CHEAP!! Naturally we all went in saying ‘now…I don’t really need anything but sure I might as well have a look…’ quickly followed by ‘oooh what’s that you have there…jaysus that’s great value isn’t it…ah sure I might as well get a basket I suppose..’!!!
The itinerary of our last day was ‘long brick’. Now our first brick had taken us 4 hours so there was a little bit of anxiety as to what exactly they meant by ‘long’!! Especially given that they call a vomit-inducing gradient a ‘hill’! We weren’t sure whether or not to be relieved when the long referred to distance not time! It was a 22k bike loop 5k run loop, Joe Lynch had warned us about this one, we had laughed and said ‘ah but that’s for YOU, won’t be for us..’ eh no, as is the case with everything here everyone takes part – the pace might be your own and the number of repeats might be different but everyone is in it together! This was a great session for building endurance, the legs were tired and the route was tough (but so pretty!) it was a satisfying feeling to round off the week knowing you’d given it what you could. It was time to pack up the bikes then and get a final talk on how to set up training plans when we went home. I found the best tips came from when either Richard or Michelle accompanied us on sessions, they’d comment on how you were doing something or recommend changing your position slightly and this way it was never too much to take on board at any one time.
With all the training done it was now time to relax and try to help our bodies recover! Well not just yet!!! We had to hit the Roman Baths first!!! Perfect end to the week. This involved a hydrotherapy pool, a steam room and then finally what looked like a giant bath of pale chocolate milk! It was so weird it looked like a floor when it was still before we got in it! Not so much with these muppets floating in it tho…
Then back to Café de Paris for the farewell dinner and a few drinks! We all had a brilliant week and I honestly couldn’t recommend it enough – to any level. I learnt so much and came away super-motivated! I’ll definitely be going back!
Written by Hilary McKeown.