Sauvabelin 2012

Son 2 and I really enjoyed last year’s Tour de Sauvabelin 5K so we signed up for this year’s event that took place Thursday evening. There was a good turn out with 120 runners despite the fact that six days earlier the Pully 10K had drawn 350 runners, and about that many will line up for this afternoon’s Savigny 10K. Only the diehards will run all three races!

I had decided jogging that the 2.5K up to Sauvabelin from home would be a good warmup. That was probably a bad idea. First of all it drained too much of our energy; and secondly, it was way to early for Son 2 to warm up. The race was a time trial with runners starting one at a time every 20 seconds. I had finished my 3 miles through the woods, climbed to the top of the tower for the finish, and made my way back to the starting line before Son 2, who was last in line, had begun! At least that way I got to cheer for him. It was a tough race, but we were both satisfied with our times.

By the time the pasta supper, the drawing, and the awards ceremony were done it was getting late. Neighbor was kind enough to give us a lift, so fortunately we didn't have to jog all the way back home.

Gotta run...

The ANTs go marching one by one...

Son 2 has been helping me learn all the intricacies of Garmin Connect. Countless users plug their handy ANT Agents into their computers and upload data from their Garmin devices. We were mesmerized watching the ten-digit total miles logged by users clicking away at an impressive rate. The site posts little tidbits like how many thousands of trips to the moon and back the total millage represents, or how many tons of candy could be consumed in relation to total calories burned. I will just use the very basic functions like distance, pace, elevation gain, and course; but you can also track heart rate, cadence, weather conditions, etc. It was certainly fun to examine the courses I've run so far on the satellite map.

Gotta run...

2012 Shinzen 10 mile run

To help make up for missing the 20km de Lausanne last Saturday, Husband and I entered a 10 mile race here in Fresno. I had never competed in a 10 miler, nor had I ever started a race at 6:45 a.m.! The two of us and some 100 other runners ran a big loop in Woodward Park, then headed down the Eaton Trail. The course was much more rolling than I expected, but I soon adjusted to that, and was right on pace when I made the turn to head back. The gap between me and the runners ahead of me gradually widened until I lost sight of them with about 3 miles to go. Not again! I looked back and could only see one other runner behind me. Once I got back to the park I had to ask for directions several time. Fortunately I finished without getting lost, right at my target time. After the race we enjoyed meeting and chatting with A.K. who had been an elite marathoner in her prime.

Besides it being my first 10 miler, the race was out of the ordinary in other ways: The women outnumbered the men 3 to 2; and even though I finished in the top 10% of women overall and 20% of men and women combined, I only finished in the top 40% of women in my age group.

Gotta run...

Run for the Reef 2012

Being in the States in April meant we would miss two of our favorite 10Ks, so Husband went online to look for races in the Fresno area this month. He discovered a small 5K on the other side of town and we showed up to register an hour before the run. We lined up with about 50-60 other runners. We had decided what pace to run the night before and I was excite about using my Garmin in a race for the first time; but when we took off, I held the start button on my watch too long and if froze! (have I ever mentioned how technologically challenged I am?) I fiddled with it for a few minutes, but finally gave up on it. By then we were running well and were in third and fourth place. After we turned around at the halfway mark, we were confident we would do well. With about a mile to go, Husband sped up, but I stuck to my pace (which, according to my finishing time, was actually 5 seconds per kilometer faster than my goal time). Husband passed the two runners ahead of us and finished strong to win his first race!  I've always known he is is winner, but this confirms it!

Gotta run...

Early Birthday Present

Husband surprised me with a new Garmin Forerunner for my birthday. It has all the bells and whistles! Even though our legs were sore from running quarter-mile repeats yesterday, we decided to take that baby out for a test run this morning. She ran like a charm! Now my runs will hold no secrets for me.

Gotta run...

Oxford

I had no trouble finding the perfect place to run while visiting T.S. in Oxford, England. Her flat was just a couple of blocks from University Parks. The first morning I searched in vain for an open gate, but it was apparently too early. Instead I followed the river and after a few short minutes I was out in the countryside among the sheep. Having seen which gate the groundskeeper opened first, I got a later start the next morning and ran inside the park. The last two days I ran some inside, some outside the park, checking out different lanes and paths. The gorgeous scenery more than made up for the chilliness of the weather and of the local runners.

Gotta run...

30th Cross des Amis de la Nature

Last Saturday was this year's first spring race. It was a beautiful day, so I biked down to Chavannes. I picked up my bib, greeted other runners I hadn't seen for months, then warmed up. I had only run this particular race once before and remembered it as being challenging. The women were running twice around the 2K cross country course, then an hour later the men were running three laps. Soon after our race started, the gaps began to widen between runners; by the time I finished the first lap, there was no one within 50 yards ahead or behind me. We were strung out that way till the end of the race. I was pleased to see several of the men encouraging us as we ran by. I would have stayed to cheer for them on their three laps; but with company coming that evening, I hopped on my bike to get home to cook dinner.

Gotta run...