15m St. Prex and back

With my dad over from Scotland with a case full of running goodies I was out in a new cap, new top and now have 120 SIS gels in my stock, 2 used today.

So it would have been rude not to go for a long run, finally getting to 15 miles for the first time this year. The sun tried hard to burn off the cloud, but it never quite managed it.

Went out on the high road and it was uneventful until the return leg. Down by the lake at St. Prex the is a walk way that goes out onto the lake to avoid the people walking the lakeside annoying the people with the lakeside mansions. There was a woman walking towards me I noticed her about 100m before we crossed. There are a few right angle turns to do around a boat house and I was up on my toes going around the blind turn when I litterally bumped into her, she bottled it and like something out of a cartoon lifted her hands to the sky and screamed! I burst out laughing and muttered an appology before pushing on.

Got through 13.1 at 1h 55m and celebrated by picking a new route back through the vines that avoids the Perroy climb on the way home.

Was feeling pretty tired by the time I got home, but chuffed with the distance covered.

Garmin

Intervals 6x 300m at the track in Rolle

I don't use the track in Rolle often enough. It is only a 5 min jog from my flat and there is rarely anyone on it.

I was the only one there this morning. I thought it was 300m, but having programmed 6x 300m into the Garmin I overshot by 50m each time, I guess it is only 250m then!

Planned to do more, but by the 6th I knew the next one would be rubbish so I stopped at 6 and was pleased with the set. Nicely into zone 5 at then end of each one and good recovery between each on, a minute was just right.

Pace was well inside 4min kms which was pleasing too.

Garmin

8.14m Airport hill and some

The hill got me. Pace fell to slower than 9 min miles and the hrt jumped. No choice other then to go with it and enjoy the "instant recovery" at the top.

Was going ok and so decided to push on out, catching two blokes on the field. I had engaged stealth mode running in the larger chap's footsteps. They bottled it when they worked out I was there 2m behind them. They responded by going into single file to let me pass and as I went through I was treated to the worst french accent ever, it was so strongly American it was barely decernable as french.

Dropped them before the woods and where I would normally turn I just kept going. Found the next woods and shortly after the path. Looped back slightly too soon, but avoided getting lost on the new trails.

Was worth it to be in the far woods, which have just been tidied up. The little wood I normally loop around was cleared too, with the stream channel completely deblocked. Very swiss.

Did not get carried away on the down hill home, let the wind push me back to town and clould feel the hrt drift a shade at the end.

All in all pleased enough with a a sub 8 min mile performance, felt like I was cruising, without the slow click on the hill it would have been even better. Having said that, extrapolating this out to a half would be 1h 44m (unacceptable) and a full 3h 28m which is TMP! Happy days.

Garmin

5m Steady to Hard

Today's run was cold and a little windy.

In my rush to get out, I failed to take a puff on my inhaler and gave up looking for my gloves too quickly. I found the ski ones, but for the life of me could not figure where the running ones were, the dirty linen basket most probably.

The glove error kicked in almost immeadiately. My hands were cold and the ice Bise wind was blowing and I was running right into it. By the time I hit Perroy from the high road the second error was kicking in and from here on in I was lungs bound rather than legs or aerobic fitness bound. Very frustrating as the fast section only got me down to two 4 min kms and the total time was 36:14 making an ave. of around 7:15 min miles, which is still only a 94 half.

At the camp site by the lake I bumped into Clement's mum out running the opposite way to me.

Garmin

5m Easy with Tenke

Easy and Tenke in the same sentence?

That's a turn up for the books, but it was. Even the field loop to take us up to 6 miles was curtailled with a quiet "Shall we turn back now" from her at the end of the bridge." I was not complaining!

Garmin

3.5m reps 6x 2on 1off

Garmin

I did not have much time today, so I picked this short set to get me moving more quickly.

However, even the two minute reps are a struggle to keep faster than 4min km pace. The first two (coffee I am sure and lack of warm up causing the massive spikes) were not even 500m, but the rest were better and more like the pattern I was hoping for.

Missed the girls as they had left an hour before I was ready to go.

5m Steady to Hard

Quick lunchtime dash around Perroy via the high route. Found myself going at a decent clip so held on up the hill and then remembered to loop around the old town to avoid doubling back along the main road in Perroy.

Hill back down to Rolle was fantastic - normally only get to do that with at least 10miles in the legs so doing it while still alive was fun. Tried hard to hold that pace along the front past the castle and out to the marina. At the end of the marina the tarmac is rough and I felt my soft ankle wobble, then crack. Three weeks I've been waiting for that and it made a nice release and stopped being as tense. Tough tough to keep up the pace back up the hill to home where I had perfectly made the 5miles.

Time for loop 38mins ave pace of 7:38 min miles. Improving....

Zone three to four after the crazy spike in mile one. And yes Alain, I did wet the chest strap....

Garmin

12.5m Nyon to Rolle

If I had been in England, I would have go for the big loop with these boys Harpenden Run, but I was alone in Rolle. Jason is still being creative in North America, Richard is lost in darkest Africa and Stephan refused to run as he had planned to drink lots of beer on Saturday night.

I caught the 8:12 train to Nyon and picked up route 4 all the way back from Nyon to Rolle.

It was a lovely morning up at 10C and the sun was a bright red ball in the whispy cloud that turned orange as the run wore on.

First surprise was Prangins where the route went right through the castle grounds! Then the Promenthoux which took in some seriously super rich properties and a little public beach. Next was the golf course which was not very busy, only one golfer but in lovey condition. The route through the course was great and was mainly in the woods. There was a posh lady on a horse in a padock being shouted at in English by a german trainer, which made me smile, typically Swiss.

I decided to take in the anti-tank defenses and ran to Gland following the line of concrete blocks next to the trees and river that make up the "toblerone line". At Gland station I stayed low and followed the traditional route 4 back to Rolle.

At least I was under 9 min miles (which I have struggled to achieve recently on long runs) and the last 5km  were clocked at 8 min mile pace which is respectable given the trails etc.

Garmin

6m Rhone trail with field loop

On my own today, forgot to charge Garmin so no data.

Was a lovely sunny day and a lady with a dog told me there were 63 steps to the top of the bridge. I told her it felt like 60,000. She laughed, hey I made a joke in French. Not bad.

Massive construction at the far end of the field, no idea what is being built then but something interesting.

Easy back, felt sluggish and unable to get any speed together so settled for the jog.

5m Easy

Kit error, with no shorts. Had to go an buy some. Oppps.

Ran with Tenke easy loop then added on a bit to the 3.5 by going out on the lake side to make it 25mins out.

That's all really.

4.35m Rolle lake side route

Nipped out for a lunch time run in the lovely sun.

At times I felt like I was moving quickly, but the Garmin proves this was an easy run. 8min mile pace for 4 and a bit miles, or 5min kms. Nothing special, but lovely to be out side with the shades on.

Camp site in Rolle looks close to opening, which will make this route slower (if that is possible!)

Garmin

8m Slow with Stephan

Mr Zingg agreed to meet at his house for an 8am start. We shook hands on it.
At 8:04am I had started to write a message with the frost on the windscreen of his car, when he appeared in the kitchen window claiming the start was 8:30am. By 8:40 we were running.
Route 4 out and then up as I was striking for the tree line. Mr Zingg was looking for any excuse to go down, I think there is a nice path down here, I know a great short cut here and so on.
Some of his down hills actually did take us to view points and paths I'd not been on before. Shame I forgot to charge the Garmin and was running free.
Stunning sunrise again over the lake with great views from the hills. We headed down and the last clip to Stephan's place was hard to try and get his 10km done in less than one hour, which we just about did. 10.75 on his Garmin plus the aller retour from mine to his gets me around 13km or 8m.

8m Reps at Bout du Monde Track

Aurelien and I made it to the track for the first time together today. Tenke was suffering from something she had picked up in darkest Africa, cursed by a witch doctor who did not want to buy her carbon efficient stove or she probably just ate something dodgy from a carbon inefficient stove.

Aurelien was completely unphased when I told him it would take us around 40 minutes to get to the running track as his next meeting was not until 4pm. I was secretly hoping his 10km and 5km hard in the last few days might have tired him out, but no such luck! He cruised out mocking my directional capabilities as I fluffed the route being dependent on hugging the river for my bearings. He chuckled when we arrived in 24 minutes!

Session I had programmed into the Garmin was all about distance.

100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 400m, 200m, 100m.

The idea being as a super sprinter Aurelien would set the pace on the 200 and 100 sets and I could lead through the 400 and 800 ones. Nearly worked.

On the 800m I was determined not to let Aurelien get away from me. So I pushed hard and felt the 2nd lap could be fast so I made my move at 400m with ratchet one. With 200m to go I hear footsteps closing and so I kick again and accelerate, but still they close in. I kick again with 100m to go and nothing left in the tank, the distance alert fires and I stop. To my amazement Aurelien is 100m ahead of me. A lady doing 200m reps launches into her next set. Aurelien had ducked out after 400m and simply waited for me to do the second lap. Cheeky monkey, but the 800m would nevery have been that fast had I not thought that the lady was Aurelien closing me down. 

The same lady shouted encouragement to us as we finished the set. The last 100m was fascinating as Aurelien turned on the class over the last 50m and put a good 10m between us.

Clip back was much faster than the warm up out.

 Garmin

Swim 1.2 km

New record today, 500m with no stopping all on front crawl.

A big muscly fast guy tried to play silly bananas with me today by over taking just before the turn and diving to the depths of the pool and swimming along the bottom before surfacing. Presumably, he assumed he would be miles ahead of me when he surfaced, but I had swum as fast as I possibly could so as he surfaced I gave him the slap of shame on the ankle. I think that 50m he did after that must have been one of the fastest I have ever seen.

Speaking of ankles, my left one is playing up. Mix of achillies tendonitis and an urge to crack the bones. Need to be careful of that and my provide the excuse to skip reps this friday.....