Training summary - 01/2011

Training summary – 01/2011

Since I’ve always found training posts to be just a bit dry, but still feel like posting a bit on it every now and then, I’ve decided to compromise and post a training summary for every month of the year.  Once the snow melts around here I will get back to blogging more adventure runs.

January 2011

Miles – 185 (36, 38, 55, 39)

Vertical – 26000 ft (6100, 2300, 10800, 6800)

Note: the parenthetical numbers are weekly sums for the 4 full weeks in January, the sum is for the month as a whole.

A persistent and recurring head cold combined with traveling back and forth across the pond and a minor calf injury led to somewhat trying month of training.  One thing I can definitely say is that I hardly put a dent into my training for the Zurich marathon on 4/17.  The only real quality I managed was a nice tempo run from Aubonne to Nyon, part of my attempt to run around Lake Geneva in stages, at a good pace (+0:35 over marathon pace for 11.6 miles), which is pretty much where I want to be mileage and pace wise in January to get ready.  I didn’t manage much more quality long runs and never managed to get healthy enough to get to the track either.  Ughhh.  I had been very consistent at the track from September thru December though, and am not overly worried about needing to miss a bit of quality.  It’s only January.

The thing about January in this part of the world is that it doesn't sit well with this ultrarunner.  While my colleagues and friends talk eagerly about what the snowpack will look like on Saturday morning, I find myself frowning at webcams of local summits and desperately hoping for a heat wave.  It feels blasphemous, as if the Swiss football team made it the World Cup and I’m the only cheering against them.  Early January did see a slight moderation of the snow at lower elevations to warrant a jaunt up the crest of the Jura’s (link).  For the 5800 ft of vertical effort I was rewarded with my first sighting of a Chamois, my first trip to France, 40 mph ridgeline winds and a constant pouring bone chilling rain.  It was good to get out.

The following week I flew back to the US for my cousin’s wedding and was very pleasantly surprised to discover the Barton Creek Trail right in the backyard of Austin TX.  It seemed like this place was just teeming with ultrarunners.  Afterwards I flew to Corvallis, OR to visit with my girlfriend.  Quite excited to add some hills back to my training diet I foolishly strained a calf on what would become my 2^nd fastest ascent of Bald Hill.  Despite the strained calf I couldn’t resist the lure of the McDonald Forest and managed to get out for a nice run day after day.  That week will easily be my biggest early season mileage and vertical.  Predictably favoring my calf led to some secondary issues and so the next week of training back in Lausanne wasn’t terribly great, except that my search for appropriate hills for early season vertical work began in earnest with a trip up Mt Pelerin and the Tour de Gourze.  Neither of these really fit the bill, but either might be worthy of a return trip.  Despite the looming marathon, I don’t look forward to weekend long road runs at all the same way as I do quality time in the mountains.  There will probably be another two months or more, but I’m quite eager for the snow season hurry up and be over with.