Training Log Archive: Torino

Warming up ride for a bike-O race tomorrow.

Taking Matti from the Colombier track field on a bike path and some smaller roads to Cortaillod Port where we met Urs and Lena for sandwiches and the plaground before it started to rain.
Rode back home pretty quickly. Fun outing especially when Matti really improves so much on the bike!

Had finally a good run! It also felt like running easy, wow :-).
Was at the eye Dr. in the morning as my right eye didn't seem right since Sunday (where I really had trouble reading the map and making out contour lines and whether I needed to go up or down in general direction along slopes and steep gullies). So, it seems I have an eye infection and have to put in anti-biotica drops in every 2 hours. My head was all tensed up, so I opted to go on a run with my glasses (no contacts for a few days) to air out my head which worked wonderfully.

Quick bike ride before the rain starts to stretch my legs and air out my head.

Finally a better run.

Better run today; still very hot and muggy. We've been having such a wonderful, sunny summer but also quite dry.

A very tired jog home. It's funny that the slower one goes, the higher the effort it seems when the body just can't relax enough for all the muscles to function properly.

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Started out as running up towards Mont Racine, did a loop up there to where I had hidden my bike in the woods and biked back home with some troubles to find the right trail higher up.
II took it easy and just wanted to enjoy being out up high. However, I had to cross quite many cow herds, one particular one I noticed too late a red-ringed bull, but he seemed to have his mind elsewhere (cows?), so I passed without problems. Another time, I noticed the cowherd behind a farm house within the fence but then a few were coming out front and they had calves with them. Again, I chose a wide berth through bushes and semi-open land before I was far enough away back on the forest road. Whew.

PS: Hmm, it didn't seem to register everything after I switched onto the bike.

Still feel kind of tired and not like pushing things, so opted for a small bike ride in beautiful sunshine. Just the right distance and a few smaller trails to do.

My leg muscles felt very tired, so I went with Urs to the Planeyse and did a few laps on the woodchip track; Then I tried to do 6x 200 m pick-ups to get the cobwebs out of my slow-twitch muscles. It didn't work.

Finished my time outside with a loop up and around our place which felt much better.

Exploratory run up to an ancient ruin of the castle of Rochefort and found it! They're re-constructing it or part of it, so I went around and tried to find my way over to the other side of Rochefort to head back down twds home. Then I remembered having seen a picture of an erriatic huge rock with the juniors of our O-club stitting on top. So I went looking for that rock, first by studying my map and then also finding it. It is really huge, sitting on top of a hill (how in the world did it get there??).
I had explored way too long and missed the window of no rain as it started pouring down on me and Urs came and picked me up near-by.

We spent the night in St-Luc and went hiking first in the fog (after rainfall at night) up towards Bella Tola. Eventually, the sun came out for good, and we could see our goals up high. Once, I was almost on the crest having my sandwich in front of a shelter hut, I decided to head to the left first as it seemed a pretty trail up on the crest over to a lookout like a beacon over the deep valleys. It was quite exposed but so much fun to get there and back to the shelter hut again. I then followed Urs up to Bella Tola and we chose a different trail down around which was a mistake as it was washed out in many places. Getting back down and feeling quite tired.
We then drove up to Zinal waiting for Sandra, Marc and family as on Sunday Sandra was going to run the famously tough Sierre-Zinal trail race.

Long way back, see comments before.

A quick run on the same loop just to get out and do something. A strange day.

Easy and quick run home from Sandra's place through the vineyards. The grapes have already the blue color, it's going to be an early harvest with the hot weather we have been having. Hoping, of course, for no hail!

We are continuing to have "our" heatwave and dry conditions (though here in the French part we have had a few thunderstorms with an hour of pretty heavy rainfall, and overall it does not seem that bad here). I was very tired after a short night, so I went up higher with Urs when he wanted to go to a farmer's fair and market up at Tête-de-Ran. He lat me out down in the valley at 1000 m and I biked the valley of La Sagne which was just perfect for my tired mood. Afterwards I turned off along a short, pretty gorge and up towards the higher meadows on 1400 m. I was quite proud that I did the uphill and managed all the way up without stopping (except to open the gates that separated cow pastures).
Later, I took a shortish swim in the lake which is always so welcome!

Fun and easy hike up the Dent de Vaulion (tooth of Vaulion) with the masses. Had expected a smaller trail but was over half of it on an alpine road. Beautiful view but it was very hazy today. The round view would be incredible over the Lake Geneva, Mont Blanc and all the Alps. Down another way which was a little more interesting. But, we have seen another peak and area in the French part.

Running home from Sandra's. It's hot even for my feeling now! Yet nice and cool in the woods and a strong northerly wind is blowing. Took it easy.

"Vacation" ride as it was so beautiful and hot. Took the ship in Neuchâtel across the lake and biked from there back around the lake. In Auvernier we stopped for a swim which felt SO good.
Note: on the Broye Canal we had just missed the steam ship and I wanted to see it off on the pier when my I phone slipped out of my hand and fell into the water. My heart sank through the floor. As I hadn't heard a splash, I wanted to check it out just to make sure, so I painfully climbed through the jungle of unyielding branches and worked my way back to the plank with shoes, helmet and everything on. I checked between rocks and branches and all of a sudden saw the purple "Life is good" cover with the daisy deep in the water. When I tried to reach it, I dunked way into the water way over the helmet. Without helmet and another aim, I tried again, no luck. Thousand thoughts were racing through my head, it's broken anyway, but I want to save the cover and who knows. So, without helmet and with more determination for a last try before I was going to change into swim stuff and goggles, I dipped again for a longer time (with eyes closed bc of my lenses), and gently felt around and then I gripped it and brought it up. Urs and I were cheering! He put it up on the plank to dry it off (it had turned off), when all of a sudden messages came in and we cheered again, it's alive!! Amazing that I found it after I had given up in my mind, and then It still seemed to work. My thumbs-up for the day!

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