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...