10m+ Le Vaud with Patrick

Patrick is a super marathon dude, recently done Berlin with a decent time.

So it was with some trepidation I pull up outside his mansion over looking the picture postcard le Vaud countryside. Thankfully, he was recovering from injury and only up for about an hour of easy running.

But the forest trails were calling and he wanted to take me on the non-tarmaced sections which meant, just a little longer. Actually, 33 minutes and 51 seconds longer, but I'm glad we did. It was stunning, even if the mist meant we saw none of the view back down the mountian to the lake. I was glad to have Patrick as my guide as those forests all look the same. You need to be careful up there or you could get lost for days.

Before the big hill Patrick gave me a warning to drop the pace, which we did and that was a great tip as by the top I'd creapt into zone four. All in all mainly a zone two run with some zone three on the hills. Hit 3,000 feet at the top and lowest point was 2,400ft making the big climb 600ft. Felt fine.

Average pace was 9 min miles, but given the terrain that was perfectly acceptable. All in all a great new route and great company - here's hoping that Partrick will be come a regular running buddy.

Garmin