Winter Times

After a long 27-hours trip I finally arrived in Switzerland. Getting off the plane in a snow storm gave me a little idea of what will be ahead the next 3 weeks training wise. The first 3 days I simply tried not to freeze to death and stayed warm and mostly inside.

After spending a few days with friends in the French part of Switzerland I drove across the country to my home town St. Gallen. Driving on snow-covered road was a bit like driving on sand... I took my time and visited some friends on the way but arrived save 'home'.

The next day I was ready for a run, and I went with my dad his gym where I clocked up a few hours on the treadmill. My dad kept up for a while but at 84, I was impressed that he kept the speed up at almost same level as myself. I just hope I will be in same shape in another 35 years... After two days in the gym I was ready for an outdoor run, but after 70 minutes I had to turn home. Zero degrees and a biting wind was no fun.

I will give it another try tomorrow as the weather improved somehow, not temperature wise but at least the blue sky seems inviting enough.

Next week will be cross training high-altitude stuff -- skiing at 2000m+ above sea level has to be counted, no?

I hope everyone had a wonderful Xmas, and I wish you all save training and great races for 2012!

Coastrek Training Part 1

Team Run 4 Vision meet for the first time today on the steps of the Opera House for a great run along the coast of the Eastern Suburbs all the way to Coogee Beach. It was a brilliant morning, not too hot, but blue sky and sunshine. I am sure it was a good move to run this section as we got lost a few times of course and had to backtrack to find the right way. The view along the tracks over the harbor and city is stunning, and once we turned South from Watson's Bay we had the ocean on one and the harbor on the other side of us. A nice cool breeze made the last few km more comfortable, and we managed to take cover in a cafe in Coogee just before the nasty cold wind and rain started.

This was a first for Kate, having never run more then 21km in one go, she lead us to the beach in Coogee and after 31km and 3.5 hours still had a smile on her face. Well done, Kate. I think we just found us another ultra runner here...

Next stop Xmas and New Year. Going easy on the champagne and salmon and keeping up the running should make the trick to start 2012 in top shape and ready for the count down to 2 March, Palm Beach to Coogee Beach. Team Run 4 Vision is ready.