Running

Yesterday I ran twice the distance I usually run during a social run. As a group we ran from Bassins to Nyon via at least part of the Toblerone trail. We had aimed to run along the entire trail but we missed a turn near the top and ended up following the roads that I usually cycle along instead.

If we had taken the right route we would have run around 18km, mostly downhill, along the Toblerone defensive line. It is a narrow trail with Toblerones, pill boxes and more. It goes through the trees, by the river, and can be quite technical, with tree roots and rocks sticking out as well as other obstacles.

The cycling season is almost over and this year I barely cycled for three reasons. The first of these reasons is that during the cycling doldrums I took up running. The second reason is that the cycling group that I very often cycled with stopped organising such regular rides and the third reason is that after an intense summer of cycling last year I experienced a solitary winter.

Cycling is a great sport, and I really enjoy it, but to cycle with groups you need to be at the same level as they are. This means that you need to be very fit, because usually people who cycle as a group are exceedingly fit. The second reason is that cyclists often invest in light, aero wheels, and efficient group sets, and aerodynamic bikes, and light bikes. This means that for the same effort, on a 1000 CHF bike you’re going to exhaust yourself compared to the person on the 10,000 CHF bike. Cycling rewards financial investment. Scuba diving has the same issue but that’s another topic.

Yesterday was an ordinary Monday. When I got to Colovray I was struck by how warm it felt. I thought that summer broke. It didn’t. The heat is still here. It was interesting to run with the social run group because I felt slow and less energetic. Eventually I checked and saw that we were running faster than usual for a social run. We were running at 05:50 rather than the usual 06:30 minute per kilometre rate.

More often than not I need to decide between different runs, and different rides. I rarely get an opportunity for both. At first I thought that the run, and the ride would be simultaneous so I was ready to make a decision eventually.

Within a day or two of the event I noticed that they were offset. The run was at 07_50 for an 8am run, and the ride was planned for 09:30. Distance wasn’t an issue. 5km for the run and 19km for the ride, so nice, short, and relaxed.

Yesterday I woke up and went from a social run from 08:30, for 7km before returning home, and dressing for cycling. I then cycled 77.48km according to Strava via Garmin. What surprised me is that I wasn’t knackered at the end of the ride.

The run wasn’t slow. The pace was sustained for 7km with some gradients and trail running through a forest. It’s when we stopped at Colovray, and stood in the sun that I felt like I was overheating and in need of shade. That’s why I left the group early to change into cycling clothes. I had already checked tire pressure and more.

Today I grabbed a unique opportunity. Since the Triathlon de Nyon is taking place I went for a walk along the route. Initially I felt like doing something short. In the end I walked the 10-11km loop on foot. There are one or two bits that I missed due to human traffic and routes being closed but it went well.

The route is around 12km and there was a constant show of triathletes cycling by me yelling “to your right” or “to your left” to each other, not to me. I was careful never to be in their way. After a while it died down because they had finished their race, so I had a closed road to myself.

INTVL is a new game that you play by running, cycling, or both. The concept is simple. Every time you go for a run you capture “territory” from others and every time others go for a run they do the same thing. For this game you don’t need to stare at your phone. You simply walk, run, or cycle.

I write walk but it’s counted as running by the game. I also speak about walking because with Ingress the concept of fielding is similar, except that you need to capture portals, and then walk between portals and link them, before creating fields. Some fields are huge, because people use bikes, trains, cars, planes or trains, and others are small because local portals make it easier.

Yesterday morning I set two alarms for 0600 because I wanted to wake, have some free time, and then run at 07:50/08:00 but I don’t remember it waking me. I remember looking at the phone or watch and seeing 07:53. With the heat wave making sleep difficult, followed my a music festival making sleep difficult I reached such a point of exhaustion that the alarm failed to wake me. It even failed to register in my conscience that I turned off the alarms.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of looking at expensive Garmin watches and thinking that maps are a premium feature, when, in fact they are not. Suunto and Coros offer them on affordable devices, should you require that feature for trail running, hiking, and more.

If you want to use the Coros Nomad for navigation while cycling then it’s bad. I tested it when cycling from Morges to Cossonay a few weeks ago. The problem is that it tells you “straight ahead” or turn left, but not in a cycling/driving context, so it’s unreliable for that.

Today I had the pleasure of going for a run early. I had planned to run at 07:30 to finish right as the shops were opening but I felt too lazy, so I was at the shops by 08:20 and running a few minutes later. I was thinking “Oh it’s still early, so I don’t need to run with water. That was a mistake. What wasn’t a mistake is choosing a course that passes by a number of fountains.