The Morges 6AM Run

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How many people would deliberately wake at 04:30 to run at 06:00 in a town 20 minutes away by car, when there is a run the next day at 8am with one group, and 9am the next day with another group? Who would skip an evening ride the night before, for this? The short answer is “me”.

The first time I did it out of curiousity, and the second time I did it because I enjoyed it. The third time I did it because it’s becoming a habit, but on the fourth time I made the mistake of not fuelling adequately before the run so I bonked part of the way through the ride. I was saved by the glucose I forgot I had in my pocket, Mentos.

I don’t see mentos as a solution, but that’s all I had. I was running comfortably. I was running strong, and then I bonked and I had to walk. I was think “Oh zut alors” (tidied up for the blog) and walked. I saw the group stop, and wait. I told them about the issue and that’s when I felt the four mentos in my pocket and took them all within seconds. It helped me resume running and finish the run.

The irony is that I have two Chaussons aux poires and three chaussons au noisettes that I could have enjoyed before driving to Morges. They would have provided plenty of fuel.

The Strenuous Week

It’s worth noting that on Sunday I did hill training, fartlek on Monday, progressive run, and then moderate cycling on Wednesday, and then the morning run on Friday. I burned through a huge amount of energy this week and I didn’t refuel adequately, hence the bonk on Friday, on an easy run.

The menu or feast that I described yesterday evening is down to just one platter, the easy local run. It’s the one that puts the least strain on my system, given that it is fatigued.

The Bigger Picture

People ask “What are you training for?” when I speak of what I’m doing, and the answer is “group rides”, and “group runs”. The reality is that if you want to go on group runs, and group rides, you need a certain level of fitness. If you don’t have that fitness then you will not enjoy the rides.

It’s a positive feedback loop, because the fitter you have to be to join a group, the fitter the group will be, and the fitter the group, the more demanding the ride. In the end you’re cooked. That’s why I really appreciate comfortable relaxed rides, and comfortable relaxed group three rides. I don’t want every ride to be a pinnacle ride. I want every ride to be a social experience.

Monday I ran with a group but as I wasn’t fast enough for the fast group I ran alone, and because I wasn’t as slow as the slow group I was stuck between the two speeds. It was a solo effort despite being social.

It’s worth highlighting that I immediately thought “I want to run with this group again”. Yes, it was fast, but if I had known the pace I would have pushed just a little harder early on. If I had I might have stayed within that group. My positioning was wrong.

Wednesday too I was perfectly comfortable with the pace of the ride despite the fatigue from that morning’s ride. The fact that I got a PR on the final climb, right by my home proves that I wasn’t “grillé”, or “cooked”.

For the skimmers

When you have an intense week, forgetting to fuel before a run can result in a bonk, as it did for me today. This was combined with me being distracted by the prospect of driving a less familiar car. By next week I will be more familiar with the car, and I will remember to fuel before the run. I will also have a proper meal the night before.