Lausanne Marathon 2012

Saturday afternoon winter hit. We stayed home to eat our spaghetti instead of going down to Ouchy to share in the pasta party. Sunday morning we woke up to several inches of snow. The temperature was hovering around freezing and the wind was gusting. We felt sorry for all the 10K and marathon runners who were competing in the morning. The children's 2.6K and 4.2K races ended up being cancelled.

At 12:15 Husband and I met two running buddies at the train station to go to La Tour-de-Peilz on the last special train reserved for half-marathoners. From the train we could see marathoners struggling against the elements on their way back to Lausanne. Once we arrived at La Tour-de-Peilz there was still an hour to wait before our starting time. The four of us took refuge in the village church where parishioners had prepared snacks and hot drinks. We finally joined the ranks outside and waited for our third-wave start. We could see a 1:40' pacer just ahead of us, and a 1:50' pacer just behind us, but we were hoping to finish somewhere in between. Soon after we took off, we noticed a runner with a 1:45' sign pinned to the back of his shirt, so we tried to stay with him. About a mile into the race, I discarded my top layer of clothing; an old t-shirt. After another mile I took off my beanie and gloves and handed them to Husband who put them in his pockets. Soon the second disposable t-shirt came off. The temperature hadn't warmed up any, but I had. We were working hard to stay with the unofficial pacer, but just over half way he started pulling away. I was feeling a bit lightheaded and told Husband to go on. After that discomfort passed, I started catching up little by little. I was angry at the wind, which helped me push harder. Husband and I ran together again until he accelerated on the last kilometer to finish strong. Despite circumstances we were less than a minute off our target time!

Gotta run...

Husband, in blue, crosses the finish line to the right a few seconds into this clip. The unofficial 1:45' pacer is standing to the left in red and white. I'm wearing a bright orange t-shirt you can see from a long way away.

Gm-Guk

This afternoon I spent three hours giving out race numbers for Sunday's marathon, half marathon, and 10K. I was at station Gm-Guk. While I was there I went up and down the line to pick up half marathon bibs for Husband, two running buddies, and myself. We still plan on going by tomorrow to visit the expo and get our free pasta. We'll need the energy for the race; Sunday's forecast includes freezing temperatures, strong winds, and maybe even some snow.

Gotta run...

lost in translation

I’ve offered to correct the English pages of the Lausanne Marathon website and pointed out the most blatant mistakes, but the organizers just get defensive about it.

Here are a few gems you will find on the website:

Each of our worldly participants understands that to us they are much more than a number.

The lost can be recovered in the info booth at the Expo.

The timing chip having fixed to the back of your number is ownership of Datasport.

And my personal favorite:

Pacemakers will run with an easily visible couloured flag attached to them.

What's lost in translation is probably not meaning (I doubt many English speaking runners think they will be running behind a Medtronics device), but credibility as a professionally organized event.

Gotta run...

Best laid plans

Two months ago I downloaded a custom half marathon training plan from Runner's World's Smart Coach.  I have not followed it at all. I've only done two long runs and absolutely no speedwork. There has been the odd fartlek (pardon me!), but mostly I've done tempo runs. With two weeks left to train before the half marathon, I'm not going to get anywhere near that projected time on the plan. Oh, well, maybe I can fit in some mile repeats next week.

Gotta run...

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...