Chty blog

Phones

Chty — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 23:42:00 +0100

I generally hate phones - they are irritating and disturb you as you work or read or whatever - and a cellphone to me is just an opportunity to be irritated wherever you are. Which is not a good thing.

If some people could hear, understand and put into practice this message, I would probably spend much better days.

From Linus' blog.

Marathon: sport for wealthy people

Chty — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:42:00 +0100

It seems to be part of the zeitgeist, running races needs more and more organization, security, etc. It raises the prices. The Berlin marathon subscription has increased again this year: it was 60 euros minimum for early subscribers.
Despite this, I decided to consider subscribing again to the event. Good point for my training motivation. The business is still the same, and extra goodies are still so expensive, without any tee-shirt offered.
Anyway, Berlin, I hope to see you in September 2010.

freenode ssl

Chty — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:10:00 +0100

Since a few days, freenode now provides ssl access.

Trail D2B 2010

Chty — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 21:45:00 +0100

Cette fin 2009 a été plutôt difficile côté course. Il a quand même fallu que je remette une course dans les pattes pour essayer de retrouver un peu de motivation. La semaine dernière, je suis donc reparti pour le trail D2B. Deux fois 15km en relais cette année; en effet l'année dernière, j'avais opté pour le 30km mais vu mon entraînement, ce n'était pas raisonnable.

La météo
Meilleur météo qu'en 2009. Presque pas de pluie, presque pas de vent, température de saison.

Le parcours
Je devrais refaire les même commentaires que l'année dernière; le décor est vraiment superbe, c'est toujours un plaisir pour moi de courir en pleine nature.
Le tracé a changé: chaque année ils inversent le sens, cette année du Touquet à Berck; ensuite le passage dans les dunes se fait sans doute en fonction des autorisations.
J'ai effectué la deuxième partie du parcours, la plus facile car comportant sensiblement moins de dunes. La fin s'est avérée surprenante par le passage dans quelques prés inondés d'eau glacée...
Il m'a semblé qu'il y avait moins de ravitaillements mais cela ne m'a pas gêné vu la distance que je devais parcourir; il faudrait poser la question à une personne ayant fait la distance totale.

Quelques chiffres
Près de 920 inscrits, avec environ 200 relais alors que c'était seulement la troisième édition ! Il y a fort à parier que l'année prochaine ils atteindront le maximum autorisé.
02:51:36.89 pour le temps, 46ème/167 parmi les relais et 32ème parmi les relais homme-homme.

L'équipement
Si je ne dis pas de bêtise, j'ai dû faire trois trails l'année dernière. Je n'ai toujours pas de chaussures spécialisées pour cette discipline et je n'en ai jamais essayé, donc je ne sais pas si cela m'apporterait un réel gain. Bref je suis parti avec mes chaussures de route 2008-2009 pour ne pas trop abîmer les neuves avec le sable.
Côté habillement, collant bas et haut pour avoir chaud, et nouveau de 2009, un manteau en gore-tex; très efficace, même si cette année je m'en serai passé car les conditions étaient supportables (j'ai pu par ailleurs le tester par gros temps, et ça fait vraiment plaisir).

Refaire une course ça redonne de la motivation pour s'entraîner. J'essayerai sans doute de prévoir un peu mieux pour l'année prochaine pour éventuellement raccrocher avec le 30km.

01.01.10

Chty — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 21:10:00 +0100

Here we are, 01.01.10, happy new year and best wishes to every one!

La route du Louvre 2010

Chty — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:32:00 +0100

En 2010, la course change de sens: on relie Lens à Lille. Ma participation n'est pas du tout prévue mais je voulais surtout relayer le très beau geste des organisateurs: la course est offerte aux participants des quatre premières éditions. C'est une occasion à saisir surtout quand on connaît le prix !
Attention cette offre est valable jusqu'au 31 décembre 2009 !

Le papier journal

Chty — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 15:58:00 +0100

Il y a quelques semaines, j'avais entendu parler de l'initiative du gouvernement mon journal offert. J'avais trouvé l'idée intéressante, bien que le quota d'inscription était vraiment dérisoire. Finalement j'ai bien reçu mon numéro du journal Le Monde cette semaine. L'inscription donne en effet droit à une édition papier par semaine. Ce n'est pas plus mal car je sais très bien que je ne prendrais jamais le temps de lire un quotidien tous les jours. En plus de cela, Le Monde donne accès pendant trois mois à l'édition numérique; on peut y consulter des tonnes de choses comme les archives depuis 1987; bref il y a de quoi s'occuper.

Running and shoes

Chty — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:51:00 +0200

When I started running, I was used to run with one single pair of shoes until it became unusable. Some years later, very recently though, I learned that in fact shoes were more or less like cars; indeed, after some kilometers, your shoes are loosing their elasticity. And so what? Loosing elasticity means loosing one of the most important functionality of shoes: protect your body against the impacts of the ground. It's particularly true when you are running regularly each week.

According to my budget and the average distance I'm running, I'm buying a new pair of shoes each year. I always go to a specialized running store. First you will find shoes you can't find in regular sport stores, and secondly, the shop assistants are often more qualified to give you real good advice. The first time I went in such a store, the man asked me very precise questions like the distance I was used to run, whether was running for competitions and how often, etc... After that he gave me three different pairs of shoes and told me that it would fit my needs by explaining me what were the particularities of each one. That's totally what I'm expecting for a salesman: being precise, clear, without any commercial arguments. With three choices I wasn't lost, and I knew that it would be good shoes for me.

We could sort the shoes in three different kinds:

The first category could be named competitions shoes, which are only made to be used very occasionally. Usually these shoes are extremely light and don't have a lot of protection for the stability. In my opinion, if you don't have a good stability, it could be dangerous to wear this kind of shoes.
The second one could be named middle-competitions shoes; these ones could be used for competitions and training. They are lightweight but they have good protections: thick heels, and protections for the stability on each side. That's why I'm choosing them.
And finally, the third one could be named training shoes; they are usually heavier that the others but very resistant.

If you are running a lot, or several times a week, it's important to know that your body will loose in stability if you don't change your shoes between each training. Indeed, if you are using the same pair, you will always run in the same position, and you will increase the chances to get body injuries; whereas if you are changing each time, your body will get used to a change of position. I'm not a body specialist to explain this, but that's what I learned from many guys; one of them was arguing by telling me, he didn't get any problem since ten years by changing of shoes each time. We could be very extreme by saying, it's important to choose your shoes depending on the ground you are running. Anyway, I want to keep the reputation of a cheap sport. That's why a good thing is to keep your old shoes during the first year of your new ones and change between each training. When buying new shoes, throw away the old ones or keep them for very dirty races!

I hope I did teach you some advices and did not lost you until the end of this entry. Let me finish with my last acquisition in shoes.

My last shoes were the adidas adiZero Tempo (2008 edition), and so this year, my aim was to change brands; it's important for the reasons I mentioned earlier.
During my holidays in Norway I went back to my favorite running store. They suggested me several models, among them, the Saucony brand, an American one. I didn't know this brand, but in fact they are very old (created in 1898); since 2008 Saucony launches complete line of running shoes, and so they are trying to be on the first plan. I tried them and I was quite surprised by the good feelings I had. I finally choose the Saucony tangeant 3. After several trainings I must say that I'm really satisfied by these new shoes.

Some memories from the Berlin marathon

Chty — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:42:00 +0200

For those interested to see me suffering, the official pictures have been published on marathonfoto.com; the pictures are obviously small.
There is also a video when I'm crossing the finish line; open your eyes!
And my personal pictures are on my picasa account: there are some general pictures to see the atmosphere of the race.

Some days after

Chty — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:24:00 +0200

The race was harder for me, compared to my last marathon, but I was quite surprised to be in a good shape the next day. In fact, race after race you always learn.

After a marathon, when you are exhausted and didn't manage to keep a little bit of energy, it is difficult to stretch by yourself. So it is good when someone who didn't run, can help you to do the classical exercises. If this person is very kind, it could be useful to do some massages on your muscles; mainly your legs, and your feet. Indeed, your limbs have been doing the same moves so long, that they need to be reactivated. It's more and more common at races to see some physical therapy schools coming to do some massages on finishers. At this Berlin marathon there were indeed so nice students from such schools waiting for you... The surprising thing is that you could find such stands along the way... I must say that I asked myself several times, but choose to keep the good things for the end; anyway I now do understand why people are finishing the race in more than six hours!

One other good advice is to go to a swimming pool. It's good to move your muscles without any impact with the ground. Some days after, it always surprising how fast you can run during some kilometers even if your muscles didn't yet recovered after the marathon.

I found the temperature quite hot at the end. And it has been confirmed by Haile Gebrselassie, the 2009's winner and the current world record marathon holder. Indeed the temperature was around 16°C degrees at the beginning and around 20°C at the end. Compared to last year (12-16°C), it was warmer. He added that, according to him, it was impossible to break the world record above 16-17 degrees Celsius. I think a lot of people ignore this fact and don't realize how the weather is important. We often think about weather for sports which need special weather to be practiced, but we sometimes forgot that the weather has a direct impact on our body.

After such a race, I'm thinking about the next one. But I really don't know when it will be.

Berlin marathon results

Chty — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 17:15:00 +0200

Uh, it is finished. I must say that it was harder than expected, or at least harder than last year. In fact I thought in my head that it was one of the easiest marathon in the world, but I knew I wasn't as trained as last year. Indeed, I didn't run three times a week like in Norway, and it was sometimes hard to find time to train myself.

Anyway, I'm so happy now. Here are my complete results:

number 8197
class MH
split time
5 km 00:27:58
10 km 00:52:50
15 km 01:17:02
20 km 01:41:27
half 01:46:45
25 km 02:06:09
30 km 02:31:43
35 km 02:58:25
40 km 03:30:04
total
place (M/W) 7470
place (ag) 839
place (total) 8006
time total (brutto) 03:43:59
time total (netto) 03:40:37
Time per km: 05:13
Speed: 11.48 km/h

I improved my net time of two minutes compared to Oslo marathon. As you may noticed the last kilometers were hard, like in hell; it's a pity because I could have done a really good time.

I will post some more pictures in the future. I have to rest a little bit.

Someone told me some months ago, that this marathon was also known for the great atmosphere. I can't close this entry without speaking about it. It's indeed so true! I've never met such enthusiasm during a running race: so much people coming to support, encouragements from the start to the end, music group everywhere... The name of each participant was written on your start number, and so you sometimes heard your name cried by someone. Special thanks for the people who came just for me.
I'm still impressed by the fervor produced by the public. You have to meet it to understand it.

Weather forecast for the Berlin Marathon

Chty — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 19:00:00 +0200

So it will be nice weather; perhaps too hot at the end (the race is beginning at nine). Anyway the track has a lot of refreshing points. We will see how it goes with all the runners, I have never run with so much people.

Start number

Chty — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 23:45:00 +0200

Today, I went to get my start number in an old airport of Berlin. There were some huge hangars full of sports clothes stands and others things related to running or rollerblades (there is indeed a rollerblades race on Saturday). My number is 8197.

I wanted to develop this entry, but I'm really exhausted theses days, my eyes are already closed.

Berlin

Chty — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:45:00 +0200

I arrived today in Berlin. The first time in this city and perhaps the fourth time in Germany.
After one day of sightseeing, I must say that Berlin is indeed a nice and exciting place to live.
I was quite surprised to get some reminiscences of German, at least to understand what people are saying... Seems like I haven't been studying German during seven years for nothing!

About the marathon, I have the feeling that the whole city is waiting for Sunday. Some streets are already closed to prepare all the stuff needed (security, television, supplying, etc). My plane was full of French runners, and so they were always talking about the event.

Are you walking faster than me?

Chty — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 14:36:00 +0200

Sometimes you are discovering new things that you never expected; during the World Championships in Athletics, I discovered that the race-walkers are walking faster than me when I'm running the same distance... It is really frustrating to notice.

Today was the Lille half-marathon; I thought about running it, but I didn't find time to. Anyway, now there are only 15 days left until the 20th of September 2009 for the Berlin marathon. Sounds pretty exciting even if you never feel to be completely ready.

Mud results

Chty — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 17:08:00 +0200

I should say that I found it harder compared to the last time I ran it. Perhaps because they changed the track or perhaps perhaps it was just hard. 1:24:13 was my time for this Trans'Authie race, but according to the pictures, it's quite hard to do a good time... Particularly when you don't have the proper technique not to stay stuck in the mud.

Going back

Chty — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:58:00 +0200

Norway, I'm coming back!

Trans'authie

Chty — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 10:51:00 +0200

For the second time I will run the race called Corrida de la baie d'Authie. In fact the race has been renamed in Trans'Authie, probably to make a connection with the well known race Transbaie.
The race should be approximately the same. Going from Berck to Fort-Mahon through the Authie river and back (~15km).
For the terrain: Water, sand and heavy mud.
I hope to have good weather conditions.

Foolish experimentation

Chty — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 11:58:00 +0200

Sometimes I've strange ideas; just for fun, to make some experimentation. The last one was to know if we really need warm water.

For washing up, it could be useful for greasy dishes. To wash the ground, I think it could be done without.
Most of the time, we are using hot water to wash our body. It seems to be the most common use. But do we really need it? I started two weeks ago to shut down the hot water tank to never try to do an attempt of using it. I succeed, but what about the conclusion?

About dishes.
I don't always get real greasy dishes, but I have to admit that sometimes, it's harder to wash with cold water.

About shower.
Theses days are pretty hot so it sometimes a comfort to have a fresh and cold shower, so it wasn't as hard as I expected. But sometimes your body is waiting for hot water, so it's hardest for the morale to force your body to undergo cold water.

I probably spared a lot of energy to warm the water up. But I used probably more water than usual because my body always need more time to adapt itself to the temperature. I guess, if I continue this experimentation, that perhaps it would become easier and easier.

Thank you for reading this foolish entry.

Unified Flash File System repository

Chty — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:25:00 +0200

The Unified Flash File System project is now open to the community.
Check out the repository here: http://git.uffs.org/.