Training Log Archive: Torino

Another winter endurance base Training. Went better than 2 weeks ago. Beautiful scenery with fields of dandelions or yellow canola fields and the Swiss Alps in the background. Stopped several times because it was so striking.

The first run in a week: the same evening run as a week ago when Urs took a walk with Matti, today to throw rocks into the water and Play and run around.
Felt surprisingly good during the run even though my right knee had hurt the previous few days after the bike-O race.
This is really a roller-coaster of recovery from being hopeful to Resignation and being down and so on. Today was good, who knows why?

Bike to the start, very steep uphill in spots.

My first Bike-O of the season. I was curious how I would do with the new bike and whether it would make a difference.
Unfortunately, after the 3rd control I had increasing Problems with my map-holder. I had already repeatedly tightened it while riding but after the 3rd control it started to flap either down on my tire or towards my legs. Not good. Several times I stopped and tried to fix it. After about the fourth time stopping and really putting it back on correctly and tightening it (and losing more precious minutes), I decided to let it go and threw it into the grass (but memorised where that was ;-) and rode most of the course with the map in my Hand. That was Kind of hard as I had to memorize a lot of the routes but as there were many route choices, I did miss some Options simply because I did not look early enough. Oh well.
The orienteering wasn't too exciting, mostly along a fairly steep slope with gravel roads pretty much following the contour lines and short but steep Connections to the next Level road. It seems that I would be not far from the Speed of the others, but I still Need more Training, strength and Fitness to be able to compete. Came in 4th out of 6 in W55.

Went to the Physio and afterwards from her place did a Little tour which I look at as my winter base Training that I didn't get to do. Another beautiful warm springday. Really got tired after about 2 hours and was hard to push home, luckily a lot of it was downhill. I also had Trouble sitting in the saddle ;-) anymore.

After having Matti and returning him to Sandra, I decided I needed to go outside as it was such a beautiful day. Cleaned up a Little bit first and settled down with a light dinner before heading out. Went straight up the Gurten (and it was STEEP at times) and could get up all hills. This bike is just super for me. Did another Loop towards the Airport and back on the Little trail high up along the Aare that I like so much.

Evening run while Urs is Walking with Matti and I met them in the playhouse made out of sticks in the Woods.
Wonderful spring weather.

Changed the stem from my old Specialized mountain bike (that I am trying to sell) onto my new one because it is slightly more curved upwards and I needed to check whether it would really relieve my left handed thumb and and joint discomfort. Well, it actually was better but my right hand thumb hurt this time. Ohh, why do I have to develop arthritis in my thumbs now as well :-(. It started with cross-country skiing mostly in my left hand.
Anyway, did a small loop on some smaller trails and on the way back I chose to check out the new trail they're building and crossed a fence twice. There I met a very nice woman (who was also walking on closed-off grounds) and we chatted away all the way back until I had to cross the bridge back home.
Our main theme: why oh why did they fell all those old beautiful trees along the Aare (one of the very last remaining gnarly old trails that many people loved so much) and they realigned the trail and a small connecting creek to create a "highway" of a wide trail in full sunshine and definitely not very scenic anymore. Why do we have to mess with nature all the time and just cannot leave it the way it hat been for centuries? Nobody seems to understand.

Nice long ride starting with going straight up onto the Gurten.

C • Wow! 2

More beautiful and warm days over 20 degrees now! Very sweet and spring is in full bloom.

Went with Urs over to Noréaz to do my absolute favorite loop for mtbiking because it has everything: single trails, ups and downs, gentle parts and long steady uphills.
We did the first loop together, then I went by myself onto the final loop, in fact, I enjoyed it so much, I added another loop that was marked.
And.... with this new bike, I actually could get up 2 of the 3 singletrack uphills that I was never able to ride before! (the third one is only a matter of being in better shape with more endurance strength and power)
I am truly amazed and pleased how much the correct geometry of a bike can make a difference. I always "felt" that the other bike just did not quite fit right and was actually too big for me.

Such a beautiful, warm day, nothing but sunshine today! Spent a lot of time on the terrace cleaning up and out and weeding, planting. But also got my bike tools and everything in order and rearranged things in 2 instead of 3 boxes. Also assembled a bike stand for holding the bikes when cleaning or fixing them. So proud of myself.
Then I went for a quick run, and people were sunbathing on the sandbars of the Aare where last week the water had still flooded everything. And lots of fires and people bar-b-queing. A touch of summer!

C • Prendendo il sole! 2

Tried my new mountain bike with the fixed pedal and it went really well. Tried several uphills. It runs so smooth but my shape needs to be worked on. At the end, decided to climb up towards the Gurtentäli and then up the dirtroad/trail towards the Gurten to see how well I can climb with only those 20 gears (which they claim should be optimized now and equivalent to the "old" 27 gears). Fun ride but pushing the limit on both knees.

I had a lymph drainage today and it felt wonderful to my lower leg, almost all the tightnesses and swellings out of my knee and surrounding area was flowing out.
So when Urs went to the river in the evening to throw rocks into the water, I went for a run from home. It first felt really good, and after 4 k the right knee started to complain, well not really the knee itself, but the upper part of the calf and the knee capsule including the Baker's cyst.
But it felt so good on my psyche, amazing how energized I feel after having been to the woods.

After a very cold, wet long Easter weekend, it finally is warming up with beautiful sunshine. The strong North wind is slowly letting up.

With little opportunities to train this 4-day Holiday weekend, I took the chance to wanting to bike to Urs's sisters place (and hopefully back home again), when all of a sudden my pedal broke in middle of a stroke. It was on my NEW Specialized mountain bike!! Oh bummer. I could not put it back on by hand and Urs had to pick me up with the car. Later, I saw by a strong light, that something was off with the thread and the pedal was probably forced into it.
Luckily I managed to jump off the bike before I would fall. Well, back to the dealer on Tuesday (tomorrow is also a holiday).

Few weeks of being so discouraged and unmotivated, so kicked myself out the door today before it would start to rain. But there were very strong gusts of wind and I watched the trees for branches flying through the air.

C • Motivation 2

Biking to and from the place where I would start to run.