run evasion rhone 2013

This morning Derek and I ran a 22,3 kilometer trail race, starting in Geneva and finishing in the Dardagny vineyards. We hopped on the train in LaPlaine for a quick ride into the city and to the starting line. Looks like we will be lucky with the weather after a rainy week.

Ready to run.

Most of the run is wooded and the trail is pretty narrow. It had a few good hills...more than I expected, and beautiful scenery the entire way. Derek decided to run along side me for the course, so it was fun to have the company. The kilometers passed almost too quickly since we were enjoying everything about the day, running together, sunshine, muddy trail, cows, sunflowers, alphorns and early fall colors. Plus, we were keeping a great pace and feeling strong. We finished in 2 hours and 2 minutes...a new pace category for me even with the challenging footing throughout the course. 

Walking back to the train station to retrieve the car, we stopped to chat with a few of the alphorn players who provided entertainment along the route. I love races with alphorns.

All done for the day, looking back up the vineyard hill, on our way home to relax. 

a fall fell run

After second-breakfast (pumpkin muffin-tops and an extra soy latte), we decided to brave the clouds and head out for a run in the Jura. We stayed close to home since the sky threatened to rain at any moment, and made our way up from Farges into the clouds and onto the ridge. I got distracted by the mushrooms and moody fog, but we managed to put in sixteen miles between photo stops. We spent the afternoon chasing, bursting uphill, barreling downhill, and some walking over rocky trail, wet grass, mud, and a stretch of road on the return. 

Our run was a great break from the road and lighter trails. We didn't think about reaching a set distance or maintaining a pace since the footing was often difficult and slick. We just had lots of fun and stopped to enjoy the view...whenever there was a break in the cloud cover.

We were feeling tired and soggy on the final run/walk intervals making our way back from Tiocan, the low point of the run, geographically. The energy low lurked a few miles ahead, but thinking warm thoughts about the soup and cookies waiting for us at home kept us moving.