On Saturday morning the Mistress of Frimousse climbed to the Semnoz to run in the snow with her usual racing partner, Fabien. They ran 10km (6M). Yesterday morning they ran 6 or 7km (4 or 5 M) recovery run near the Lake. While they were running at the Semnoz I had to settle for 5.5km (3.5 M) because… things were going badly. Fortunately, it was better yesterday, and I managed to run 9km (5.5M). This Monday morning 7.5km (4.5M). That’s 50km (32 M) in 7 consecutive days.

the Mistress of Frimousse’s ankle still worries her. According to Fabien it could be chronic tendinitis. What should she do? Nothing. Just wait. For my part, I feel pain everywhere in my body – old age – and the only time I feel good is when I run. Therefore…

A little more than 1200 km since the first of January… But how many miles have I had to drive to jog – I hate that expression. For several weeks I have been going systematically to the Lake, because it is flat. I leave the car in the centre of Saint-Jorioz and I jog towards the Lake. In doing so, I meet a lot of young people going to school, most of them with their helmets on their bikes.

I also meet a young mother who takes her young daughter to school, to kindergarten I think. And they give me a beautiful smile every day. Every day, except on Saturdays and Sundays and on Thursdays mornings – I don’t tell you why not on Thursday mornings, it has no interest for you, visitors to the blog. This morning, as I saw the little girl and her mom approaching, I had the idea to say, “These are my morning smiles!” Obviously the mom didn’t understand what I said. She uttered a sentence ending with something like “rouski” and as I am fluent in Russian (!) I understood that she was Russian. I was about to ask the little girl to translate for her mom when she said straight away: «We didn’t see you yesterday!» You see, when we run, we are not alone, we are noticed! I said «See you on Monday!». I’m gonna have to run the same route at the same time!

About ten days ago I offered you to read of a short excerpt of Haruki Murakami’s book What I talk about when I talk about running. I suggest you read this book. Not to encourage you to run – the author himself did not write it for this purpose, he writes – but I think it should be of interest for you, Interesting also the playlist of the songs he listens to while running!

Yesterday the Mistress of Frimousse and her trail partner went to Roc des Bœufs. Very nice, they say, with snow near the summit. This morning I was pleased to jog 5km on the flat near the Lake – I still have problems with the climbs, not my breath but my knees. It was chilly, but it was simply beautiful.

What was the weather like when I did my little jogging tour this morning? Was it raining? Actually I don’t know. Does it matter? I was absorbed in my thoughts, perhaps. Read this text by Haruki Murakami, if you have two minutes to spare.

I’m often asked what I think about as I run. Usually the people who ask this have never run long distances themselves. I always ponder the question. What exactly do I think about when I’m running? I don’t have a clue.
― Haruki Murakami, What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Yesterday morning, the Mistress of Frimousse and I ran by the Lake – she ran at her pace and I jogged at mine. We finished soaked. This morning I jogged the same route. The sky was brighter and we could see the fresh snow on the Tournette. I finished my run just before the heavy rain.

Last Friday the Mistress of Frimousse went to Dent des Portes and Crêt du Char with Fabien. They ran fast on the downhill, to finish before the rain. Result: sore thighs for both. But Frimousse’s Mistress didn’t have a problem with her ankles or her knee.

Three years ago, the Mistress of Frimousse decided to buy a bike. She wanted flat handlebars and certainly not a «man» frame. It is with this bike that she has cycled so far, that she’s climbed Galibier, Isoard, etc.

Steph’s mother has bought an electric bike and offered her classic bike to the Mistress of Frimousse, for a very good price. It is a very good bike. Problem: it has a «man» frame and road handlebars. The Mistress of Frimousse has tried it several times on a country road near our village – with me in the car – but the experience was not convincing. (Husbands are rarely good advisors…) On Sunday Fabien proposed her to try the bike on the bike path with him. After a couple of hours… “Great! I’m buying it!”

I am going to speak about my health. Not for you to pity me (!) but because I think that what you are going to read may be useful to some people you know – I can give you the sources of my “treatment” if you wish.

About fifteen months ago, after a blood test, my doctor told me that I was suffering from hyperglycemia – we can also call it the onset of diabetes. They analyze the hemoglobin and it gives, to put it simply, the glycemia over the last three months. Beyond 7, you are bad! I was at 7.5. I did an analysis every three months and today… 6.1 – the “normal is between 4 and 6. What do I do? Two things. Completely give up eating ALL carbohydrates (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, lentils, fruit, and obviously cakes, chocolate, and soft drinks, etc.). However I have eaten the peaches and the pears of our garden, big exception. And— I’ve tried to walk and then jog EVERY day: 1016 km between January 1st and today – I didn’t record for 2018. Youpi!

At the time I was running a lot, I used to write my kimometres on an excel sheet – and the Mistress of Frimousse continues to do so. It’s a great way to get motivated!

At the beginning of the year – January 1 – when I decided to try to walk a little, I resumed this habit. I walked and then started to jog a bit in the middle of spring. And today I have reached the symbolic bar of 1000 km (625 M), that is a little more than 2 miles per day. The heat wave (July) was the hardest period. But it’s not easy to spend all those hours chatting with myself.…

It’s nine and a half. I’m away for a-3km-climb (2M), for 250m 850ft of difference in height. A tarred road. There is a shortcut on a path but too steep for me – well… too steep for me now because 15 years ago… Not many cars, a few heifers in the meadows, nobody – people are at home because it’s raining. I took my walking poles to relieve my knees during the climb. I do not climb very fast but a certain impression of ease nevertheless. Probably the rain. I like the rain, I admit it. Finally the end of the paved road – my goal – is fast approaching, with its curtain of trees in front of me. A path continues up the mountain. Will I go there again, one day? It is raining very heavily now. I turn around to start the descent, a pole in each hand, touching the road with my heels tgo save my knees – nevermind my back!