Tour de Sauvabelin 2011

Son 2 told me he would like to participate in a few races while he is home for the summer. The first one I lined up for us to run together was last night's 4th annual Tour de Sauvabelin 5K. This was my first time trial ever. The 130 runners took off one by one every 20 seconds. I didn't have long to wait because the women over 50 started first and I was fourth in line. The course wound up and down through the woods and by the first kilometer mark I was in the lead. I must admit it was fun to be out front! I made it to the tower first and climbed the 151 steps to the finish line at the top. What a view! After lingering for several minutes, I went back down and joined uncle J. and Husband. Son 2 (in the second to last category to start) was well into the race by then. We cheered him on in the final kilometers, then made our way back to the starting line to wait for the results. I was second in my age group (the winner beat me by 4 seconds, but never actually passed me since she started several minutes after me). My prizes included a polo shirt, a technical Tee, a collapsible water bottle, a satchel bag, and assorted gift certificates. I think I'll be back next year!

10+20=30

I happened to notice the same fellow 10K runner at two of the spots on the 20K course where I was waiting to see Husband run by. She told me that she was also cheering on her husband who was celebrating the 30th anniversary of the race in his own special way. After running the 10K, he joined the pack of runners for the 20K! Incidentally, he came in first in his age group for the 10K, and fifth for the 20K.

Gotta run...

Perfect timing

The day before the 20Km de Lausanne, I got out my course map and marked several spots where I wanted to see certain runners go by. With friends starting in different waves, I needed my calculator to determine the exact times to expect each runner at each location (if runner A starts at 18:10 and averages 3'45'' per kilometer, and runner B starts at 18:18 and averages 4'45'' per kilometer; where will they meet on the 20 kilometer course?). Shortly after finishing my 10K race, I waited near the starting line until several friends in the 6th wave of the 20K ran by.

After that I headed up to the Rond-Point du Mont d'Or where the course makes a small loop and spotted C. once, and Husband twice.

Next I raced over to Avenue de Tivoli and caught Husband on his way up the hill, then a few minutes later C. on his way back down. They were both right on pace.

I followed the course back down to the lake and saw Husband again at la Vallée de la Jeunesse, then at the finish line in the stadium.

We hooked up with several there and waited for the 6th wave runners to finish.

We had a little impromptu celebration right there on the field since C.B. surprised me with cupcakes for my birthday! We hung around a while longer before calling it a day and biking home in the dark.

Gotta run...

Clowning around

This year's 30th anniversary of the 20km de Lausanne had a circus theme. I bought orange hairspray and a rubber clown nose; sewed pompoms on my brightest colored running shirt and buttons and clown patches on my baggiest shorts (with deep pockets that I filled with confetti); and chose miss-matched shoes, laces and socks. I had intended to wear the nose for the first and last few minutes of the 10K race, but I was having so much fun throwing confetti at the little kids along the route that I left it on, except for a couple of "breathers." Not only did I entertain the children, but the kilometers seemed to go by more quickly for me too.

Gotta run...

Been there, done that

While Husband's parents were visiting, we spent hours driving around the countryside showing them various points of interest. Time after time, we found ourselves mentioning village races we have run at least once or even yearly. I'm not sure the in-laws were that captivated by our stories of scenic courses, crazy weather conditions, or nearly missed starts due to traffic jams; but Husband and I enjoyed the reminiscing.

Gotta run...

Les Traîne-Savates 2011

Husband's parents, who are visiting from California, went to Cheseaux with us Saturday to experience the local race atmosphere first hand. With what may have been record heat for a 9th of April, I saw that C.B. had doused her cap with water before the race, so I poured some water on my head too. When I was already thirsty standing at the starting line of Saturday afternoon's 10.4K race, I knew I was in trouble. I started well like last year, but after a few kilometers of running in the 3 o'clock sun, all I could think about was water. Getting to the shade in the woods helped some, but what I really needed was a drink. We didn't hit the aid station until kilometer 6! I revived a bit after that, but had to slow down. My closest competitor passed me at that point looking very strong. Husband, who started the race far back in the pack, caught up with me around kilometer 8. He encouraged me to pick up the pace again and we finished together. Our prize was a running cap. Too bad they weren't handed out before the race instead of after!

Gotta run...

Parting

Last night we said goodbye to this semester's Pepperdine Lausanne students. Some semesters I don't run with any students for one reason or another; we have conflicting schedules, they are too fast for me, or they would rather not run with someone their mom's age. But this semester I enjoyed weekly runs along the lake with one or two students. I'll miss you M.K and K.B. I home to see you next time in Malibu and we can run along the ocean together!

Gotta run...