On Sunday (4th May), we had, what can only be termed as, a perfect spring day. After weeks (months) of cold, miserable weather, with the odd warm day thrown in to confuse us mountain dwellers, spring hit us like a ton of bricks, bringing out shorts and t-shirts from storage long forgotten. Pale, translucent skin was finally exposed to Alpine sunshine, and one could sense a meaning to life again, with spring having finally sprung.After being able to convince the powers-that-be that I really needed to get in a long run, I jumped into my new Nike lycra running shorts, donned the rest of the apparel, attached myself to the electronic gadgets, and set off down the Rhein valley to cover, on swift foot, a course I had mapped out on GoogleEarth the day before, and which should entail a long run of some 32 kilometres. I must just add, at this point, that GoogleEarth really is amazingly accurate, because, by the time I returned from my run, both my Nike/iPod and Garmin 305 gadgets showed a distance of 32,06 kilometres, and I followed exactly the route I had mapped out.
Leaving home in glorious weather, I exitted our house onto the large town square to the full view of the outside restaurant, which was full at the time, and felt a hundred amazed eyes, staring at my thin white legs, wondering what on earth obsesses one to go running in such beautiful weather. The antithesis clearly crossed my mind, as I pondered the sanity of spending all day in a restaurant when one could be out, making a physical investment in one’s future (I’ve just finished Mike Stroud’s book “Survival of the Fittest”, and am convinced, that he is right in what he says – I find it one of the most profound books I have read on human life in general, and, in particular, on the subject of exercise and keeping fit). I can honestly say, that I have always vowed, I would never end up a fat, lazy old man who needs someone to care for him. Unless I am stricken by some unfortunate ailment, I plan to do all I can to keep myself fit and able into my latter years, and I feel, I am going the right way about it – perhaps a drop or two less of wine might also aid in this goal, but otherwise I feel, I’m on the right track.
So, off I set, signals being received from above and below, and was soon on a steady, albeit too fast, pace, through town, down to the Rhein, and along the very good trail heading north to the town of Landquart, which was to be my turning point. I’ve cycled this trail more times than I can count, and it’s a nice quick ride, with a few nasty inclines to boot, and to keep one on one’s toes. Running it is a slightly different matter, and it was to be the first time, that I had done so – at least, as far as Landquart. I can’t access my running data online at the moment, because my Internet provider is doing maintenance, so I have to use my own memory, but I think my average pace for the first 15 km, was 4:35 per km (i.e. 4 minutes and 35 seconds needed for each kilometre). I really felt strong and energetic, even though I knew it was to be a long run, and I should have taken it easier at the start. Anyway, it wasn’t a race, and I could learn from it.
Landquart reared its head soon enough, and I found myself at the drinking fountain of the town’s railway station, availing myself of the clear, cold mountain water. Here was one of my lessons of the day. I had chosen not to run with my rucksack that day, but, instead, wore my 0,8-litre CamelBak, as I did on the Bündner-Frühlingslauf a week before. I had filled it with a diluted solution of Gatorade. At the drinking fountain, where I had a long aquatic halt, I wondered if I should refill the pouch, but decided I’d have plenty for the return run, which was another 17 km (a slightly different and longer route than the outward journey). The lesson: never forego the opportunity to replenish water resources on a long run. What a fool, because at km 18, I ran out of liquid, and was dying of thirst!!!!! There are usually so many drinking fountains around (most of them made out of granite, and often very ornate), that one almost trips over them, but, the time I needed one, there wasn’t a single fountain in sight, and I got home, literally gasping for water.
From Landquart, I headed away from the Rhein, and towards the mountains before crossing a large plain on which grow the solid form of my favourite drink – grapes, of course!!! As I progressed across the vineyards, I implored the fruit to grow faster, bearing in mind, their final bottled form, which would make me very happy. As I approached the town of Igis, the trail started ascending, and I was soon panting in the warm afternoon sun, my pace markedly reduced, but still constant.
On through this quaint little town, some of the older folk waving to me, a few kids riding their bikes alongside me, I made my way, along the undulating trail, and then road, to the town of Zizers, where the late, and last, Empress of the former Austrian Empire used to live before her death in the early 1990s – I ran past her castle, which is now used as a home for the aged, and a refuge for exhausted tax collectors and other such scoundrels. A few more nasty undulations, and down it was again, over the bridge across the Autobahn, and back to the trail along the Rhein.
It’s a long, slow incline back to Chur, but beautiful through the forests, next to the rapidly-flowing mighty Rhine River. Many people were out on their bicycles (lazy sods – they should have been running), enjoying the spring weather. By the time I arrived in the village of Haldenstein, just outside of Chur, I had well and truly run out of Gatorade, and I was very thirsty indeed. I could have run across the bridge into the actual village, but I reckoned, I had only another four kilometres to go, so I might as well head on home.
From Haldenstein, it is a significant rise to the Altstadt (“old town”) of Chur where our house stands, and I was becoming more and more fatigued without something to drink. I had taken a power gel in Landquart with the water I drank there, but I needed sustenance by the time I ran through Chur itself. Finally onto the Arcas square and there was our house door!!!! What a relief. Before Haldenstein, I had thought of running past Chur a few kilometres along the Rhein, just to add to the total, but I’m glad I didn’t, as I needed energy. I did the 32,06 km in exactly 2h50:00, and felt very happy with myself – another ten kilometres, and I’ll have a full marathon under my belt.
Once inside, and my raging thirst suitably quenched, I lay in a hot spa bath for ages, thinking about my achievement, and what I had learnt from it.
First of all, the water re-filling aspect – vital, and I should actually drink more as I run.
Secondly – lubricate, or cover with plasters, the nipples before a long run. After 32 km, they were sore to the extent, that I could hardly touch them.
Thirdly – get bigger running shoes. My Nikes are excellent, but after a long run, I find, that my toes rub a lot against the front of the shoes, and I ended up with four blisters at the end of my toes. Nothing serious, but still blisters – this meant, of course, that I could practise my blister management skills which I need to learn for the MdS next year. Time to get out my new book: A Boy’s Book of Feet, and study it well.
Fourthly – don’t be a hero, and start out a long run as though it were a walk in the park. Take it easy, so that strength is not all sapped in the first half, especially when the latter half is mostly uphill. The first fifteen kilometres saw me running at an average pace of about 4:35 per km; my overall average was 5:09, so obviously (and the statistics from the Garmin 305 verify this) there was a time of rather slow progress – and I admit to some fairly considerable distances of walking towards the end, although it was fast walking. There is no way I am going to walk on my first marathon in Berlin later this year – it’s run all the way, or die trying!!!!
Fifthly – stop wimping out about the rucksack, and wear it, no matter what. I’m not training for a little marathon thingy around some fancy city; I’m ultimately in training for the MdS – there is a difference.
Once out of the bath, I met Kurt, Rolf and Brigitte in the restaurant on the Arcas square, and became one of those who sits in restaurants on beautiful spring days – however, I felt, I had earned my drink (I had, after all, expended over 2300 kcals) so had no bad conscience – a 500-ml glass of ice cold beer could never taste better, than after a 32-km run!!!!!!
I had no aches or pains after my run, and even today (Tuesday), my legs feel fine. I do miss my mind, but the body is working well. I did have a break yesterday – mainly because I slept so badly on Sunday night (despite the physical exertion of the day), and was wiped out. I’ve set up a training programme for myself, based on some of the stuff Dan (djbleakmann), from the Forum, sent me, my own ideas, and a marathon training programme I acquired from one of my many books on running. It includes weekly long runs, hill (in my case, mountain) work, interval/speed work, and recovery runs, complete with the odd marathon and not-so-odd half maras and other races. This afternoon, for example, I’ll be doing a 12-km run, with 10 x 100 metres speed work thrown in for good measure. On Saturday, I have a 16-km race through the city of Berne (Bern) – our capital city. I’ve set my heart on Berlin at the end of September being my first full marathon, but it wouldn’t surprise me, if I do one before then, too. Time, and my legs, will tell.
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