Mon: 55min easy + 5 x 15 sec strides Complete. 11.65km. https://www.strava.com/activities/9600201883
Tue: 20 min warm up, 10 x 1k (first 5 @ 3:40 & second 5 @ 3:35) (60), 20 min cooldown Complete. 3:31, 3:31, 3:34, 3:33, 3:34, 3:33, 3:33, 3:35, 3:31 and 3:30. Wednesday. https://www.strava.com/activities/9612095921
Wed: 60min easy + 5 x 15 sec strides Complete. 12.62km. Tuesday. https://www.strava.com/activities/9607197828
Thur: 80 min easy Complete. 16.41km. https://www.strava.com/activities/9618792559
Fri: 20 min warm up, 40 min @ 4:00 km (2 min) 4 x 8 min @ 3:50 km (60) 20 min cooldown. Not complete. 10km complete in 39:31. Comfortable pace but overheated. 2 x1km repeats to finish off (3:52 and 3:40). https://www.strava.com/activities/9625215668 / https://www.strava.com/activities/9625216677 / https://www.strava.com/activities/9625217663
Sat: off
Sun: 2 hours 20 min Complete. 32.30km. 2:17:34. https://www.strava.com/activities/9637590296
In my head for months, these next two weeks were always going to be big. This week has one of my longest runs in the build up and will also be done in Saint Ursanne in Switzerland, in the heat and at a higher altitude than anything I am accustomed to (although not really that high). Monday’s easy run was good, even if it took me about 6 hours to actually get out the door. Saturday and Sunday were tough days on the legs, and Sunday was tough on the brain, so I was in no rush to get out early on Monday morning and instead went for a breakfast burrito with Jay Hester. After that digested, and I packed for Switzerland and had a coffee, I did 55mins easy along the canal – both roads and trails. The trails are significantly more overgrown now than they were a few weeks ago with all the rain so my precious skin was the victim of some nasty nettle bites. How will I ever recover?
Tuesday was a travel day so I prepared breakfast and lunch so I could keep the diet consistent on the way over. The travel itself was uneventful. I arrived in Basel and was picked up by the good dude Rob Moss. Rob recently broke his foot skateboarding and is on the road to recovery himself so he was stoked to offer up his place, and his support, for my two weeks of training. He lives in a medieval town, called Saint Ursanne (named after an Irish monk Ursinicus who founded the town), up the mountains and an hours drive from Basel. After settling into the apartment and unpacking, and then spending an insane amount of money on very little food in a typical Swiss supermarket, I set out for a run by the river with Rob on the bike for company. The river undulates the whole way but with no dramatic climbs and even less shelter. It was evening time and still it was close to 30 degrees. On Wednesday, I headed to a town called Alle where there is a tartan track for my session. As there was a summer camp using the track that morning, I could only get on at 11am and so dangerously close to the mid day sun that my Irish skin was looking to avoid. The session did go well and the kilometres were a little faster than what was prescribed but felt good throughout. I had water at 400m and 200m on the track so after each rep I took on a good dollop of liquids to keep somewhat hydrated. However, I somehow missed applying suncream to my shoulders and got absolutely scalded. Classic.
Thursday was another easy day and ran 16km up and down the river in Saint Ursanne that took in trails and tarmac. As I got deeper into the run, and more onto the trails, the terrain got hillier but this was aided by the shelter of the forest. After I finished, myself and Rob went for a swim in the River Doub to round off a good morning and get the recovery in for the key session on Friday. This key session, though, was a disaster. Issues with the car and leaving the town (due to the council setting up bleachers for spectators to view a formula 2 rally) meant I got to the session spot at 11:30am. The route was flat and a tarmac path along a train line – ideal but for the 33 degree heat, the punishing wind and the absence of any shelter. I completed the 40mins a touch quicker than the prescribed 4:00 pace (39:31) but was completely overheated and dehydrated and was unable to get the remaining 4 x 8 minute reps completed. The full body tiredness that I felt was akin to a very taxing race effort. After a 10 minute or so break, I opted to get a couple of kilometre repeats in at 3:50 and 3:40 but I was toast after that. It’s now the hottest part of the day and the cool down did nothing more than deliver further punishment to an already bruising day. I hopped back in the car and spoke to Seán who (for the first of two times in two days) talked me off a ledge about having a bad training day. I would struggle with confidence going into races and struggle with overthinking races and how they’re going to play out, so it is really important to have someone external, who is both sound and experienced, to chat to when the head goes like that.
Saturday was a rest day and that was spent watching a skateboard competition in Yverdon les Bains. It was super warm here (again) so I was sure to get up early for the long run on Sunday. I had this planned around a lake, called Lac de Moratin the Swiss countryside, and the route was largely on road/bike paths and mainly flat. The plan was 2 hours 20 minutes so I aimed for approx 32 kilometres/20 miles. Due to some navigational issues, I found myself taking a couple of wrong turns, one of which left me on a really soft and marshy forest trail for 3 kilometres that destroyed my legs. On the plus side, I am 99% sure I seen Bradley Cooper, so there is that. I found my way back onto the roads and was able to stay along the lake on the correct path for the remainder of the run. The route was incredibly beautiful; the lake is at the foothills of the Alps so you could not ask for a more magnificent backdrop. It was hot (again, obviously) and I had no water with me so I had to try and find somewhere to grab a bottle. Switzerland does not do convenience stores of any description so this was a hard task in and of itself and made harder by my unwillingness to turn on my mobile data and search for a shop. Once I eventually found an antique store that was open, I used me best broken French to ask for some water: “Aqua, s’il vous plait? J’espere boire!”. The proprietor took pity on my Irish head gave me a big glass of water that I necked instantly. After that, I was able to continue on and finish well. I didn’t check the watch for pace at all and just ran to feel so was part happy and part not happy that the pace averaged out at 4:16. I was hoping to be more comfortable at a quicker pace but the heart rate was in a good place and it was swelteringly hot (queue the second chat with Seán).
Week two holds a similar plan with a reduced long run due to the Clonmel Half Marathon talking place the week after. I am quietly confident that the training is being absorbed and I will be in good stead come September 24th.
Buckets of Rain 