Marathon du Beaujolais Nouveau

It’s done. Husband and I have signed up for the Marathon du Beaujolais Nouveau that will take place November 21st. We've paid the registration fee, we've made hotel reservations; we’re committed. We have 12 more weeks to train. Now the hard stuff begins.

Gotta run…

Chavornay

After missing the second leg of the Tour du Pays de Vaud last week (we were eating fondue up in the mountains that evening), Husband and I ran the third leg yesterday evening. Everyone was happy the storms had blown over by then so that we didn't have to run in the rain, just in the mud. There was a record turnout of 807 runners. The 9K loop took us through the village, into the woods, up hills I had to walk, across the fields, and back to the village. I didn’t do as well as in past years (it was my third time to run Chavornay). I’ll try to do better next week in Saint-Prex.

Gotta run…

Lightning strikes twice

Usain Bolt is two for two at the Track and Field World Championships; running a phenomenal 9.58 in the 100 meters and 19.19 in the 200 meters on Berlin’s electric blue track (made by the same company as Lausanne’s ultra-fast track).

Happy birthday, Usain. Don’t spend those two $100,000 world record bonuses all in one place!

Gotta run…

Summer in Gruyères

Husband and I are back in Gruyères this week. I went for a run yesterday evening. After weaving through the crowds of tourists, I followed a path I had never taken before; down a very steep hill, along green pastures, across a little airstrip, between tall rows of corn, to a dead-end. I didn't mind because I didn't want to go far anyway and I like having a definite place to turn around. There's nothing better than a dead-end for that. I think I will run every day while we are here so I can have all the meringues and double cream I want.

Gotta run...

Le Mont

Yesterday was our last day together as a family until next May (Son 1 left for the States this morning). We had a great evening together at the first leg of the Tour du Pays de Vaud; three of us as participants, two as spectators. Son 2 was happy to race again after a year and a half hiatus. He goes back to college next week, so he won’t complete the series this time, but he did get a t-shirt.

Though it was almost a time of parting for us, for others it was more like a family reunion. Runners who hadn’t seen each other all summer compared vacation experiences. The announcer not only called out names of the elite, but also the regulars he saw warming up.

C. also joined us for the 9K. It was his first race in the Lausanne area. He was impressed by the stiff competition, especially since no prize money was involved. C. finished tenth overall and first in his age group. We hope he’ll be back to race in our area soon.

Gotta run…

Tour du Pays de Vaud

The Tour du Pays de Vaud is a series of five 9K races held on consecutive Wednesday evenings in different small towns around Lausanne. There’s no prize money or awards for the individual races, just a t-shirt (one t-shirt whether you do 1 or 5 races; you also wear the same bib number each week). Those who run at least 4 out of 5 races get a little something the last evening. The first time we entered it was a thermos, the second time a bottle of vinegar (well, why not). Between 600 and 700 people run each race. About half of those runners complete the whole series. It gets to where you pretty much know who you are going to beat, and who is going to beat you. Husband, Son 2, and I are looking forward to the first leg this Wednesday.

Gotta run…

New shoes, 2

A while back I went to the Nike outlet store and found my favorite running shoes for 30% off. They sat in their box for weeks even though the heels of my old shoes were worn down to the foam and my big toes had come through the uppers. I wore the Air Pegasus 25s for the first time today so that they will be broken in for next week’s race. The shoes won't stay pristine long; it's a cross-country race and it's going to be muddy.

Gotta run…

Get with the program

I wasn’t able to follow my training program very well during camp; there was no chance for a long run at all. Now that we are home, I will try to stick to the program more closely. Well, except that yesterday I was supposed to run 2 easy miles. It hardly seemed worth changing into my running clothes for that. So I did 5 miles, 2 of which I ran all out. That’s more like it. There are eight more 2 mile Mondays on my training schedule. What to do?

Gotta run…