Blandine L'Hirondel Post-2023 UTMB Interview

foreign Brady of our own fire I'm here the day after the 2023 UTMB with blandingler endell third place woman congratulations how do you feel thank you very much well I think I feel uh not so bad after 100 miles yesterday that's great um so I know you had a foot injury earlier in the summer so um obviously it's better that's great so what was that and is it fully recovered yes now I can I can say I can say I'm very I'm fully recovery it was uh well after my my injury after the world Champs I took one month to recovery very very well so I cut with the running I pass a lot of time in my physiologists and and doctors and like one weeks before UTMB I was uh I was always on the physiologist to take care of my foot and I before beginning the UTMB you know when you are when you when you when you will uh run during uh one day entire day uh you are not very sure how you your body will uh will respond will um and uh it was a a big surprise but uh Happy surprise because I didn't feel nothing I didn't feel my my food during this uh this UTMB so now I can say uh it's uh it's past okay that's really good to hear um and then your training must have been difficult trying to manage an injury and it's your first 100 miles so were you able to do higher volume training um with the foot uh well yes I you're you're um you're training were you able to run like high volume uh more kilometers per week to train for this yes because uh I come back from an injury and it was my first uh 100 miles I didn't have passed and I need to uh to do a training uh to um to hide to augment the volume but not too much to preserve my my body so I started uh the specific training just uh two three months ago not a lot I did um uh block you know a few days uh at uh 40 kilometers but sure it's not I could the the best uh will be to do more but uh I prefer preserve my body yeah so if I compare with a lot of uh Elite Runners I I did I did less but for me for my my past my history I think I did a perfect training and I hope next year I could have a specific and better training to to be better okay obviously it was enough anyway what is it yeah um and then to talk about the race so for the first half you were close to the front all the time um so how was the earlier part of the race were you racing hard from the start or did it feel comfortable well I didn't have a plan uh normally I I need to be comfortable always but how I am uh I'm I'm used to to do a race uh like 40 50 kilometers of a more fast races that's why when during the the first part uh I had um I feel good even it was so so fast so I I would like to trust to my sensation but I think it it was too much and I paid it a few hours later but you know uh it's uh I was there yesterday to uh to learn and it will be a lesson and to further for the the next years did you have a difficult part in the middle so after that a difficult did you have a difficult section of the race yes uh when I arrived in Sean packs I was terribly bad I think it from the fully to shopex it was difficult because I never did more than 100 kilometers and it's very strong stranger because uh when uh until 100 kilometers I was good and uh 101 kilometers I feel bad I think it was montelli I said okay I know 100 but 100 100 and 101 I don't know so my my brother say oh you're on the unknown yes so it was difficult during during two three hours at um at Sean pillow like uh fortunately there was a refreshment to to stay to to eat and to see my husband my family and and people and when I uh when I finish in shopexa for me um I say uh okay you just want to finish if you are if you will be very slow it's not a problem accept it but today you just want to finish and to discover this uh um this distance yes and um a few like um before Triant the downhill before Trent it's became I thought I felt good my legs can can work I was I had energy so okay it came back I don't know why brilliant he recovered it was good to take some time in Champaign yeah um so then you seem to have a really God last section and I think it was just on the last time that you entered Podium possession um so what was it like trying to um chase down the women in front to get yourself in Podium position yes I have an assistant in velocina and they all told me uh you're not very far away from the third she looks um not uh she looks a little bit bad not so good like you you can catch catcher um and I didn't like that people told me that because I just want to to discover to do my race uh slowly and and to enjoy and I I did not meant that um I didn't thought before the race I I need to to go fast and to work and I I didn't want at the beginning so at the last um climb I saw her yeah and I I think there was a switch yes and like competition modes will active and uh I I I was a Unstoppable oh brilliant that's great and then once you passed here I actually looked very comfortable then in third and um did you feel before you got to the Finish Line did you feel safe that I can hold on to the podium or where you're Running Scared until you got to the Finish I didn't thought I could do a Podium before I don't know if it's your question um oh it just meant when when you were in third did you think you would stay in third or were you worried that someone would pass still before the finish uh well I I had information about the last checkpoint in LA fujera and uh I there was a 10 minutes I think and I don't know why I can I can have a downhill very fluent on the last section uh even I did one one 100 miles so I I knew it okay it was good when I arrived in shamoney uh yeah I knew the Third Way will uh okay and how did it feel then to get to chamonix and get to the finish line it's incredible I I live I live a Finish Line in the OCC it was a a step and the CCC it was another state but the UTMB it's another thing and uh when you taste it you always want to to have more so you'll be back next year um it's a little bit fresh but um something sure I will come back next year I don't know but I I will come back here okay that's great to hear and apart from UTMB um 100 miles in general do you think you want to run more 100 miles but I think I will uh continue in this this distance because for my first uh it it happened well and I know I have a lot a lot of things to uh to manage to uh to improve to yeah so I think I can I I don't know but I think I can be better and I would like to to to see and to uh to see my limits and okay it was an amazing first attempt anyway um and then for the rest of this season do you have anything else or are you just gonna take some time to relax well um I check in my uh my calendar the topi but uh just if I recognize recovery well yeah maybe I will do the template but if I feel I'm not recovery well uh I don't know I don't want to to take risk my injury this week this years was very difficult to to accept and I don't want to to do the the same error okay yeah that sounds like a good sensible attitude um so thank you so much and congratulations again thank you very much