Wednesday:
After our 4-hour drive from Geneva, we arrived to our Airbnb (~3/4 mile up the hill from the city center) around 1:40pm and after unloading our stuff in our Airbnb, we drove less than a mile to the packet pick up in the town. We then did a quick grocery store shop at the local SPAR (there's a bigger grocery store, Intermarche Super, just south of the town) and drove back to our Airbnb (up a hill, which is also on the last descend of the bike course). Around 4:30pm, we headed out on our bikes to ride a little of the reverse of the bike course (we climbed up the last descend) and then made our way towards the lake (which is known for their massive aqua park (inflatables on the lake). The lake was very beautiful and it was nice to see that it was separate from another part of the lake (which had boats) - which made our lake very clean for swimming. We checked out the expo and then biked back to our place. Karel continued on the course and biked the last few miles of my bike course. After my 54 min spin, I went for a 20 min (2.3 mile) run/walk. I ran down the hill and followed the bike course before veering off and heading into the city center. The Embrun town is very cute and quiet and has a nice charm to it. I had Karel pick me up as I was walking back up the hill so that I didn't have to run up the steep hill back to our place. Shortly later, Leah (our athlete from the states) and her friend Cedric (from France) arrived and it was nice to have the entire gang together.
Thursday
Typically, two days out from a race is an easier day for me but seeing that I had been traveling all of Mon/Tuesday and had not done much movement since we arrived to Europe, I decided to ride the first 28 miles of the bike course with Karel, Leah and Cedric. My body was feeling really good but I didn't want to exhaust myself so I took it as easy as I could on the first climb. The views were incredible and it was really nice to see the climb and descend to get more familiar with it for race day. This loop was also Leah's bike course for the quarter distance (same day as my race) so it was nice for her to check it out as well. We then made our way back into town and finished up the last few miles of my bike course with an almost 4 mile climb before the final descend.
After the bike, we had some food and in rested. Around 4pm, we drove to the lake (it was really busy) and found street parking. It was very nice to have a "local" with us as Cedric could translate and drive us around. It was really warm out so we opted not to wear wetsuits for our ~1000 yard swim. There were a lot of people in the lake and the buoys were not set up so it was a big chaotic swimming around people but the water felt great and it was nice to swim. After the swim, Leah and I went for a short run on the gravel path (~22 minutes, 2.7 miles) with stops throughout. We didn't finish working out until ~5:30pm, which felt rather late for me just two days out from a race but I didn't feel nervous and my body felt really good. We made a quick stop at the bigger grocery store to make sure I had everything I needed to carb load on Friday. We ordered pizza and picked it up at 7pm. Many of the restaurants do not open until 7pm and if they open earlier, they don't do pick up until 7pm or later. I didn't sleep well on Thursday evening because it was really warm in our place (no AC) and warm outside.
After eating in the morning, we went to the lake for an open water swim. I just received a new wetsuit from Roka so it was good to finally try it out in the water. I felt really good in the water. The buoys were set up so it was nice to get a layout of the 2 loop swim course. I swam ~1000 yards. We then made our way back to the Airbnb and the rest of the day was focused on eating and getting everything ready for the race. Around mid afternoon, Leah and I biked to the race start to check in our bikes. After going through several steps of showing my ID (I brought my drivers license instead of my passport to this) and getting my bike and myself checked in, I was able to rack my bike. The racking situation is not ideal as we had to hang our bike upside down from the seat. They say they do this because it saves space. They gave us sponges that we could rip apart to put under parts of our bike from rubbing. At every transition spot, we had a chair (they even had people offering to massage you during the race! I declined :) and a basket that we could take to put in all of our transition stuff. Karel and Cedric picked us up on the street and we drove back home. Cedric and Karel went to the athlete briefing at 5pm for me but because of the approaching storm and electrical issues, the briefing was cancelled after around 20 minutes. It was good that Cedric was there because it was 90% in French and only a few translations into English. In the early evening, a big storm rolled through. Although I was nervous for the challenge of the race, I felt like all my nerves had settled and I was excited for the race. I once again, did not sleep well the night before the race. I ended up moving from the bedroom to the couch in the main room and slept a bit better there from 11pm until when my alarm went off at 3:45am.
Saturday (Race day)
The Embrunman race happened to occur on a Saturday this year but the race is always on the 15th of August (which is a holiday in France - Assumption Day). My alarm went off at 3:45am but I was so tired so I laid with my eyes closed until 4:05. I didn't have much of an appetite to eat but I was able to get in a pop tart, cup of coffee and water. I did a light jog around the parking area of our Airbnb and around 4:45am Karel and I drove to the race start. The line was very long going into the race venue so Karel dropped me off. I was required to wear my helmet (with number), bib number (with 3 safety pins securing it to the belt) and have my ID ready. I went through several ID checks before I was able to reach my bike. Having my basket full of my gear was really helpful. I dropped off my special needs bag for Izoard and for the run (which was next to the transition area). As I mentioned in my race report, I had a mechanical freak out with my bike but thankfully it was ok. It was nearing 5:45am and the race started at 6am and I still needed to pee one more time. I stood in line for the porto potty and then quickly put on my wetsuit. I wiggled my way to the start of the crowd of athletes (mostly guys) to get ready for the 6am start. The race had around 1000-1300 athletes and it's been a long time since I've done a mass start. At this time, all my nerves had gone away and I was excited to start the race.
Sunday
After a restless night of sleep on Sunday, I was moving a bit slow in the morning. Surprisingly, I wasn't feeling as sore as I expected (I was still sore). The good thing was that I didn't feel empty - like a shell of a body that often happens after an Ironman. The awards started at 10am so we drove to the expo area (awards location) around 9:40am. The awards took some time to start because there was a video as well as the event staff thanking people. I received an award for winning my category (FM1) and an award for placing 3rd overall female. I received a huge trophy for each as well as a beautiful bouquet of flowers. Since I can't bring the flowers back to the US, I gave them to the host of the Airbnb. After the awards, we walked over to the lake and I soaked my legs in the lake while Karel and Leah did an open water swim (and Cedric went for a run. He's a cyclist who is getting into running). Around 1:30pm we were getting hungry and ate at a place in town. The restaurant was supposed to close at 2pm (with the kitchen closing at 1pm) but they let us order. I was craving a veggie burger and it was really good. We walked around the town and then in the late afternoon, made it back to the Airbnb. On Monday, we had an awesome ride (next blog). It was so special to have Leah and Cedric with me and Karel. It made the vibe very positive and we had such good energy all week. There were lots of laughs and fun moments. We were sad to say goodbye on Tuesday as Leah had to get back to the US and we were off to Bedoin start our cycling-vacation. After we checked out of our place on Tuesday morning, Karel and I went for a swim at the pool by the lake before making our ~3.5 hour drive to Bedoin.
