Running

Normally I don’t like interval training because I don’t like pushing myself too hard. I like, instead, to work on endurance. I’m fine with a 23km hike with 1200m of climbing and I’m okay with a 5 to 8km social run but I don’t like interval training. Specifically I don’t like pushing myself too hard.

Having said this, yesterday I had a high energy lunch with beef and Spätzli which provided a good energetic base for my evening social run. The goal was very easy. The aim was twelve one minute intervals at 10k pace with a minute of recovery between each hard interval.

Yesterday I ran from Morat to Fribourg in a race with 17,000 other people. One of them was wearing a 34kg suit of armour. Most were in shorts and t-shirts as you’d expect. The challenge for me, wasn’t to race. It was to run the distance, without exhausting myself, without pain, and without pushing myself to the limit.

This is a success because less than a year ago if I ran 200m my knees hurt, so gradually I built up my stamina, until I reached 5km and more with time. In so doing I gave my body time to adapt to the stress of running, reducing the likelihood of injury and more.

It is amusing that I would be nervous about a linear path that goes from A to B. I am nervous because I haven’t had the race experience yet, although in recent weeks I have experienced two triathlons, once walking, the second as a volunteer, and I experienced a crtiérium a week or so ago. In effect I’ve been in a race context multiple times in the last month.

What I haven’t experienced is a social run that is a race. I’ve done three or four Wake Up and Runs by now, so I am used to these. With the Wake Up and Run I ran solo in Nyon, and with someone else in Morges.

On Sunday I will be running 17km in a running event. My goal isn’t to be fast. My goal is to run 17km without getting exhausted, and without suffering too much.

Two or three weeks ago I ran a social 18km or so and I felt fine at the start but as people picked up the pace, and I started to get fatigued, especially when it flattened out I started to suffer with the pace.

Today I woke when it was still dark and cold. I went to Décathlon for a run and got there early so I waited in the car, where it was warm. I saw people arrive, and when 07:50 arrived I walked into the shop.

I learned at that moment that there were two runs planned. One was the usual Final Saturday of the Month Run, and the second was exclusively for women, to run, discuss running for women, and to shop without guys being around. It is part of the Breast Cancer Awareness Month in Octobre.

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.