2024 Training Log Q4

Starting to write this I just realized that today's race is my longest run of the year. It was a good decision although my training has fallen behind where I'd like this quarter. The Course des Pavés is a trail run up onto the bluff above the Bielersee. It started at 11AM, which was nicely past the morgen mørk although once on the bluff we were mostly inside a cloud. That climb up was a tough one, but atop the bluff there were plenty of hills as well. There was a 2:30 time cutoff at the 3rd aid station at 18km, but I made it with time to spare. By then my phone died and I had somewhat delusionally convinced myself that pavé must actually be the word for turkey and I was on the Swiss version of a Thanksgiving turkey trot. But that was just me conflating Spanish and French again. Pavo is the Spanish word for turkey, but in French pavés refer to cobblestones. Not that there were many of those on the forest trails either. My legs were failing me by the technical downhill off the bluff and back to La Neuveville, but I managed as many other runners passed me. Fortunately I was able to pace myself on the edge of my calves siezing up without crossing the line. And, at the end, I celebrated with vin chaud.

This week's Lauftreff was a tough one. I haven't been training enough.

Another weekend adventure run with Paula and Eddie and I've reached my weekly goal of 25 kilometers for the first time since getting injured last month. We ran through forest and vineyard and town down to Rapperwil where the dogs swam in the Zürichsee and I got cheeseburger.

The hills on the north side of the Zürichsee form this perfect band of forested Nature to run through and the dogs and I took full advantage of that this morning. It was a misty morning, but we did catch the occasional glimpse of the lake through the fog. Unfortunately my phone could not handle the cold and died as we reached Pfannenstiel, despite the battery saying 51%. I really need to invest in a new one. We still managed to find our way to Küsnacht, which was not our original goal, but one must follow the signs available without a phone map to look at. We stopped for coffee at Pfannenstiel along the way and mostly kept a slow pace to enjoy the forest. The dogs never seemed to tire and Paula got a case of the zoomies around kilometer 15 which just didn't stop. It's been almost a month since we did a good long run together though, so her irrepressible excitement is understandable. Now we're all back at my place resting with plans to make a fire this afternoon.

Another half marathon in the bag. It was not a great performance, but I didn't get lapped by the Kenyans until the last kilometer. The start/finish zone was in the part of town with a giant statue of Alexander the Great basically to give Greece the middle finger. Beyond gargantuan statuary to complete the Las Vegas vibe they have large flashing lights and casinos, including their very own Flamingo. The start of the race was a disorganized affair. The startline for the 5K was next to ours, but going the opposite direction. The several thousand half & full marathoners were broken into zones based on their expected paces. Instead of letting us off in waves they started everyone at about 7 after 8. There was no space to spread out for the first kilometer, so we were walking. I also stubbed my gouty toe on the guy in front of me. It hurt like hell, but faded as I started running. What did hurt with every footfall was the broken rib. There was plenty of water and fruit along the course, but I still carried a water bottle and refilled it as I went. It was pleasant weather and I'm glad I came. 2:15:42 at the end is not my worse time either.