Training Log Archive: blairtrewin

Another mountain village run, a slightly longer one this time, going up to the next centre, Grand Paradis. The main interest in this turned out to be meteorological: it was +6 at the chalet, +1 in the village, and a fair bit colder than that at Grand Paradis 2k up the road, which is a semi-enclosed bowl which gets no sunlight for three months a year and still has a decent snow cover - it was cold enough to be painful on the skin, which to me means at least -5, probably closer to -10. Coming back it warmed so quickly in the space of 50 metres that it felt like stepping back into a heated room.

The run probably wasn't quite as good as yesterday, although on the positive side, I again managed the climb home OK, and the left hip soreness which made its presence felt after skiing was a non-issue on the run; probably just muscle stiffness.

Another day on the ski slopes, venturing a bit further afield today. I was a bit more comfortable with my own level today (at least until being forced out of my comfort zone by the last two runs of the day, which were more challenging than I'd have done by choice but were the least difficult way to get back to the cablecar). I was rather less comfortable with what everyone else was doing on the slopes - it was pretty crowded (probably because the snow conditions were sufficiently ordinary that most people were seeking out the same few runs with decent cover) and some people were doing some pretty strange things; it's challenging enough for me to handle myself without having to try to second-guess what others are going to do. (Lowlight of the day was someone who ignored a sign 'slow: piste crossing' sign, kept going at full speed and took out someone coming across, fortunately without obvious damage to either party).

Again very warm for the season, and quite slushy in exposed areas by the end of the day. It was still daylight when I started heading back to Geneva, which was perhaps unfortunate as I got to see some very ugly valley towns incongruously perched amidst gorgeous surroundings.

Definitely feel as if I've done a solid weekend's work (although no muscles started screaming mid-piste like they did a couple of times yesterday).

C • Temperature 3

Started the day out with a run, albeit a short one. As one might expect of an alpine village there aren't a lot of flat places to go, which is not really such a bad thing. A reasonably routine run but fairly happy with how I handled the climb back to where I'm staying (1.5km at about 10%), and didn't seem to make too much of a mess of my quads with the downhill start.

The valley was a frost hollow par excellence this morning: +3 where I was staying, but probably about -5 on the valley floor.

First foray onto the slopes since 2005. I've never been the world's most expert skier but counted myself in my Canberra days as a reasonable intermediate. It didn't take too long to discover that the scale of things is different here, spending the first few runs discovering my limits (and only having one crash in the process of discovering them). Probably only about a quarter of the runs were within my range, but by late morning I'd found a set I was comfortable with and had a pretty enjoyable afternoon. Getting back to the cablecar wasn't so much fun as the snow conditions were getting pretty ordinary on that side of the range.

The range straddles the French/Swiss border - I'm staying on the Swiss side but the snow was better on the French side so it was well worth heading for there. There hasn't been any new snow for three weeks and today was quite warm (probably +4 at 2000m).

No doubt I'll learn a few things in the morning about muscles that aren't normally heavily worked (I already found out a few things about said muscles on some of the sharper traverses, to say nothing of the inadequacy of my arm muscles on my one venture onto a poma - stuck to chairlifts after that).

A lunchtime swim which is a bit of a change of habit (Geneva pools don't do early mornings). Sometimes a bit crowded to be pleasant but on the whole a fairly reasonable swim.

Added to my local sporting experience last night with a trip to the ice hockey, where Geneva beat Fribourg 3-1 (apparently something of an upset) to assure themselves of a place in the finals. I'm still none the wiser as to what forms of contact are actually against the rules. There was also the mandatory all-in brawl, although they left it until the last possible moment (eight seconds remaining on the clock).

Off to the ski slopes this weekend; not sure if I'll be on here before Monday.

C • The poor Australian taxpayer 5

Feeling somewhat better this morning (a proper night's sleep helped) and set forth on a long run on a very nice morning for it, a clear morning, starting under the stars and seeing the morning gradually emerge as the run went on - I can appreciate why sunrise is such a good moment in a rogaine. Of course, there is a consequence of a dry, clear morning at this time of year, but minus 7 isn't so bad for running if you're dressed for the occasion.

Enjoyed myself and reasonably comfortable for most of the way - at its best in the semi-rural areas in the middle (at least those bits which weren't downwind of the piggery). Once again saw a bit of the singletrack next to the Rhone with associated sharp climbs and descents, this time on the south side. Slower than I'd like, although I'm not convinced the Garmin is reading properly in the inner city (either that or I'm suddenly slowing to 7 min/km every time I hit the main square). If I was conspiratorially inclined I might be thinking that the top-secret mind-control beams being emitted from UN headquarters were interfering with the satellites.

C • It's possible to experience -7 on a rogaine also... 3

Probably wouldn't be a great day to be doing a repeat of this session:

http://www.attackpoint.org/viewlog.jsp/user_1491/p...

Awoke, still not 100% well, to the news of the imminent destruction of Mission Beach and the imminent arrival of a new relative.

It goes without saying that it was -1 again, but with a bit more wind which counts for something at that temperature; not a day to be going along the lakeshore. Instead I took to the riverbank downstream from the lake, on a track which was a good deal more adventurous than I was expecting, with lots of rough single track up and down and a few bits of stair work. Enjoyed that section and have noted for future reference. The return through the suburbs wasn't quite as exciting, and I was struggling a bit for enthusiasm by the last 10 minutes.

It took a few more hours for Max Alexander Nybraten to make his appearance (or at least for me to hear about it).

Definitely a day when I was struggling to concentrate on the work I was supposed to be doing.

C • Congratulations 4

10x1 minute in Mon Repos park, half slightly uphill, half slightly downhill. Had a pretty rough night with the beginnings of a cold (which so far don't seem to have become any more than beginnings) and didn't get much sleep after 4, but this was a pretty reasonable run, feeling as if I had a bit of pace (although the times - or to be more precise the distances covered a minute - were still nothing to get excited about).

A slight change in conditions would be nice - the temperature hasn't budged out of a range between -0.1 and -1.8 since I've been here. Perhaps Australia has sucked in all the world's supply of interesting weather. That said, it's quite nice to run in.

Warming up/down for the speed session. Achilles a bit tight when I started but loosened up pretty quickly.

Met quite a few people today, including the director of the Egyptian meteorological service, who appeared to be genuinely interested in the weather (by no means a prerequisite for a director of a national meteorological service in Africa), something I take as a hint that he probably isn't a political appointment and therefore probably won't be seeking alternative employment (or asylum) this time next week. His Tunisian counterpart has apparently already been advised that his services are no longer required.

C • Political Appointment 1

Recovery run up into the northwestern suburbs of Geneva, reasonably solid climbing through the first half with the reward in the second. Stiff early but moving reasonably well by the time I was 10 minutes in, and handling the climb with some comfort.

Continuing to discover local landmarks; today's was the headquarters of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, rarely to be seen mentioned in the Australian media in sentences which do not include the word "junket". I've also discovered that there's another round of Swiss referendum action coming up in a couple of weeks - this time it's something to do with gun control (left for, right against), something to do with a tax amnesty (left against, right for) and a third one which I don't understand at all (supporters and opponents all over the place).