update

I am so very far behind with this blog. May and June have been packed with mountain runs, fun times with friends, and a great start to the new racing season. With more exciting adventures coming July and August, I will probably continue to neglect the blog (hint: multi-day, crazy terrain, and long distance runs in beautiful, remote locations ahead). Have a great summer! I hope to catch up soon, but until I make myself sit down at the computer for a while, wade through the photos, and write race reports, join me in the mountains and follow some of my daily shots on Instagram:

yoga & hiking

Today I had the very special opportunity to lead a group hike in the Jura to a beautiful overlook to picnic and practice yoga. It was hot, but maybe the least hot day this week, and the trails I chose were mostly shaded, so we all survived. We made a 12 kilometer loop with a 45 minute section of silent meditation along single track trail the is surely inhabited by fairies. At the end of the meditation, we arrived at the midway point, a high clearing where we could salute the sun and the Alps across the valley. Nadine led us through some balancing poses, we chatted, and ate our lunches, and then continued along the loop. It was a beautiful day in the mountains with a fun bunch, and I really enjoyed everyone's positivity and enthusiasm on this adventure together!

jura scout

I needed one more chance to finalize the rout for tomorrow's yoga/hiking outing, so Derek agreed to run my proposed route with me. I wanted to make our trip a loop rather than an out and back and needed to make sure this would still fit all my trail requirements. Yeah, the loop worked, but it will be better counterclockwise to maximize our groups time in the shade. A productive run to finalize my loop and fun looking for stable posing places.

high lakes run, chamonix

We were up early to return Michele to the airport, but since we were out, we decided to continue to Chamonix. It was so nice to arrive there early...parked by 7:30. We thought we might catch the start of one of the weekend's races, but after jogging a few loops through town, we decided to start our run with the vertical kilometer route up to Brévent, yesterday afternoon's race. We both enjoyed the VK route, runnable for a good section, turning tight switchbacks, and leading up to some ladders and a light scramble before arriving at Planpraz.

From there our timing was perfect to watch the winner of the Mont Blanc Cross arrive at the finish before continuing our route to Lac Cornu and Lacs Noirs.

We took a short break to sit by the mostly frozen water before continuing across to Lac Blanc.

We began our descent from Lac Blanc angling towards Argentiere and raced down, meeting l'Arve at Les Tines and following the flat river trail back to Chamonix center.

Back in town, we were caught up in the excitement of the runners and ended up watching the race podiums from the weekend. Racing would have been fun too, but our unstructured 29km, 1900m+ was fantastic (with my favorite- rocky single track)!

river relaxing

Today Michele and I walked down to the river via the various trails that indirectly lead there. We combed through stones, marveled at the dancing/stretching nudists, planked into the cold water, and found perfectly sculpted stones to recline with our legs in the water. Derek joined us for dinner on the Auberge patio for a farewell dinner. 

lac blanc

My flat-lander friend has been a real trooper to let me drag her up the mountains two days in a row. Today we made a trip to Chamonix and hiked to Lac Blanc. I want her to enjoy her trip (and come back again) so we rode the lift to Flégère and hiked to the lake from there, stunning views the entire way.

A picnic at our destination, before the return trip. And what day in Chamonix would be complete without sorbet and a quick stop at the sport shops...The town was preparing for the Marathon du Mont Blanc races this coming weekend, and I started wishing we were running, too. 

poutouille

After Art Basel, Michele arrived by train to Challex last night to spend a few days at the end of her trip with us. Today, she agreed to come along with me to the Jura to scout a trail for a hiking/yoga day that I am co-leading next week. I think we found the perfect trail for the outing: not the most popular routes that everyone has done, the right length and difficulty, will fit my time frame, and leads to a high clearing to do yoga with a fantastic panoramic (and cowsbells singing nearby).

After we finished our mission, we took a picnic dinner to the vineyards and enjoyed the last of the daylight.

up arbennes (2460m)

This might be our last outing before the school year lets out in France, so Laura and I (while driving to the Alps) decided to go for Pointe d'Arbennes at 2460m. We couldn't reach Vallon for the normal parking because construction blocked the road, but our detour took us to Chartreuse du Reposoir, a monastery beside a lake, dating to 1151, and a beautiful surprise to start our run. First through the woods and thick, high vegetation after crossing the river, and reaching to the clearing at the Chalets Mery.

I lost the trail (same as last time) as we left the chalets, and so started straight up a grassy wall 500 meters high until we reached the saddle where we could, for the first time, see the summit, and continued on the correct route.

We arrived at the summit, and I had not warned Laura about the surprise view across to Mt. Blanc.

Time to come back down. I managed to keep us on the standard trail, which wraps behind a lower point to La Guele a Vent on a fast trail with easy footing.

We rejoined our up-route at the Chalets Mery and continued back down, pausing briefly to enjoy a look back at the monastery across the lake. 19km and 1500m+ logged for the day.