The luck of the draw

I suppose I'm luckier than most. A few years ago I won a race entry from our bank for the 20km de Lausanne, including VIP treatment. Last year the Marseille Marathon had a booth at the Nice-Cannes Marathon; I put my name in the pot and won an entry (but unfortunately I didn't cash in). Migros, the grocery store chain where I shop, is a big race sponsor in Switzerland and I won a Geneva Escalade race entry in one of their drawings last Fall. So when I read in the weekly Migros newspaper that 40 entries for the Lausanne Marathon were up for grabs, I was feeling lucky and sent my name in. My free sign up came in the mail two days later. I had already planned on running the half marathon, which means I've saved 45 CHF (almost 50 bucks)! If only I was running the full marathon I'd be saving 75 CHF ($80)!

Gotta run...

Course Pédestre de Renens 2012

Last Saturday I rode my bike over to Renens in the morning to pick up my bib and to sign up M. J. for the 10K since she couldn't get there early enough to register. The second trip was for the race itself. I searched and searched for M. J., but in vain. I lined up with 300 other runners and we took off on the first of four 2.5K laps. I started off at presumptuous pace and was able to stay with the same group of runners for the first three laps. Then on the last lap I started fading. With one kilometer to go, a woman in my age group passed me, but I didn't have the energy to hang on. She beat me by 11 seconds. Last year I beat her by 10 seconds! I wonder if she's improved of if I'm declining... I looked for M. J. until I started getting cold (the weather conditions were perfect for running, but not for standing around in sweaty clothes), then I rode home. Daughter told me M. J. had called to say she got lost and the race had already started when she finally arrived. Fortunately, she was allowed to join the 5K walk instead. So I showered and got back on my bike to head down to Renens for the third time. I finally hooked up with M. J. and we hung around for the awards ceremony because there were some very nice raffle prizes, and because she had placed second in the 5K walk! I hadn't planned on this Trophée Lausannois event taking up my whole Saturday, but all in all it was good day.

Gotta run...

Saint-Prex 2012

Husband was summiting Mont Blanc last Wednesday, so I was on my own for the last leg of the Tour du Pays de Vaud. I took the train to Saint-Prex along with dozens of other runners. After  talking with several friends outside the locker rooms, I made my way over to the starting line by the lake. The previous Tour legs averaged 900 runners, but there were over 1100 present for this 8.6K race and we were packed in like sardines. Fortunately the gun went off right on time and after 30 seconds of shuffling I was able to run freely. We left the village, passed under the train tracks, then under the freeway and ran along the wood before starting back downhill past the vineyards. Then came the boring part of the course along the train tracks. We finally turned back down to the lake, but the last kilometer and a half to the finish line was interminable. According to my Garmin, the course was 200 meters longer than the official distance. I was not psychologically ready for that, but I managed to hold on by keeping in my sights the same women who I had been following the whole way. She and I were introduced after the race by M. P., to whom C. B. had introduced me a few weeks earlier. Since M. P. and I hung around for the awards ceremony and raffle later, I had the opportunity to get to know her better. As I was leaving, I heard several people say they were sad for the Tour to end and that they would miss the camaraderie. I know what they mean.

Gotta run...

Bussigny 2012

Last Saturday I rode my bike over to a neighboring village for the annual Foulée de Bussigny  race. Despite three other races being held in our area that afternoon, close to 200 runners showed up for this 3-lap 11.5K. Fall weather having hit us a few day earlier, the temperature was ideal. The course took us all through the woods outside the village. After the first lap, I was pleasantly surprised because I had been expecting steeper hills. I was also surprised that T.R. hadn't left me in the dust yet  (she told me after the race that she's still recuperating from an illness). By the end of the second lap, I was pretty much running alone and definitely enjoying the race. Half way through the third lap I could hear someone gaining on me. A young woman passed me on the last turn before the final stretch and finished 10 seconds ahead of me. The next runners to finish was almost a minute behind me. I  was happy to learn that, besides the technical t-shirt that all finishers received, the first five runners in each age group got prizes. For my fifth rank I was rewarded with an Adidas running shirt, two pair of Adidas running socks, a year's subscription to a running magazine, and other assorted goodies. No telling what the first place finisher got! I'll certainly be back next year!

Gotta run...

Mézières 2012

I was unfamiliar with this weeks leg of the Tour du pays de Vaud in Mézières, so I read about the course here. Yet I still wasn't prepared for the race to be as hard as it was. Besides the challenging terrain, it was very hot and muggy. I was sweating just standing at the starting line with the other 900 runners. I doubt anyone had followed the advice on the Tour website suggesting runners who don't handle the heat well take this week off. I started near the front to get ahead of the bottleneck that was sure to form as we entered the woods, but so many people passed me over the first mile that I had to slow to a walk on the first steep, single-file climb. Husband, who had started farther back, caught up with me when we got to the fields. We dodged gopher holes and cow patties together until I told him to go on at his own pace. By the time I got back to the paved road I didn't care who else passed me. My goal was to make it up the last hill before the finish line without walking. At least I did managed that.

We have to skip next week's race, so by the time Saint-Prex rolls around we should be enjoying cooler weather. If not, at least there we can jump in the lake!

Gotta run...

Genolier 2012

Since I have trouble finding people in a crowd, I told my friends, "You can't miss me, I'll be wearing my florescent orange running shirt to this week's leg of the Tour du pays de Vaud." It worked; everyone found me, even the sponsor who had given me the shirt. He said, "Come by my booth, I have something for you." I went over and he handed me a pair of fancy running socks to thank me for "advertising" for him! I was a winner before the race even started!

As for the 8.5K itself, the course was just the opposite of last week's; downhill on the first half and uphill on the second. Not my cup of tea. At least most of the runners passing me seemed to be younger than I am. Even though I ran a minute slower than two years ago in Genolier, my rank didn't change; so I choose to be satisfied.

On to Mézières.

Gotta run...

Penthaz 2012

This year’s Tour du Pays de Vaud (a series of five 8.5K races held on consecutive Wednesday evenings) started off in Penthaz. I had shin splints last summer and had to forgo the Tour, so the Penthaz leg, added last year, was new to me. From the elevation profile and Husband’s description of the course, I knew the first half would be the hardest. As soon as we started running I knew the heat would slow me down too. Even though I pushed as hard as I could, I was getting steadily passed. I let up some on the flat and downhill stretches to avoid passing out. When I made the last sharp turn less than a kilometer from the finish line, I was rewarded with a magnificent view of Mont Blanc in the distance. I could also see the last steep hill to climb. I had saved just enough energy to power up it and pass a few runners. Since I had no reference time, I didn’t know whether to be satisfied with my time or not, but I was quite pleased with my rank in my age group.

On to Genolier!

Gotta run…