Training: Day 1

Bright and early, I wake to meet the rest of the Yak Pack attending Marathon Training Camp. There are 10 of us all together at the training camp, out of 26 who are running the Jungfrau Marathon for Room to Read.

We also had the privilege of having Swiss long-distance two-time Olympian Daria Nauer on hand to help out and give us some useful advice about the marathon. Daria represented Switzerland at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics (10,000 m) and the marathon in Sydney in 2000. She has also competed in the Jungfrau Marathon with top 10 finishes. Plus, and this is a big one, she's my friend on Facebook. So yeah, she knows a thing or two.

Daria sharing her wisdom with the Yak Pack

For today's training we would run the final leg of the Jungfrau Marathon from Wengen to the finish line at Kleine Scheidegg, covering a distance of 24 kilometers round trip and an elevation of around 830 kilometers:

Training Day 1: Wengen to Kleine Scheidegg

We left Wengen and headed up towards Allemend. At the top of the hill we came across a ski lift - realizing I had just run up a mountain that, in inclement weather requires a ski lift, gave me a slight sense of accomplishment. Little did I know this was only the beginning...

Once I hit the 1600 meters mark, I began to have some trouble breathing. Like, a lot. My throat burned and it felt as though I was breathing through a cocktail straw. Suddenly, my breaths didn't seem to register with the rest of my body, making it harder and harder for me to recover. "This must be my body reacting to the change in altitude", I thought. Finally, a coughing fit made me stop dead in my tracks as the rest of the Yak Pack carried on, out of sight. I began walking in an attempt to get my breath back.  That's when I turned a corner and came across something that only contributed to my breathlessness:

Not a bad place to collapse

Comin' atcha like Cleopatra

This path carried on for a while, gradually climbing higher and higher until we reached the moraine: a small, rocky, dangerous path. Initially, it's hard to imagine that this is actually part of the marathon, but, according to the Jungfrau Marathon website, it is the highlight where "every runner's pulse beats as high as possible":

Once we reached the top, we stopped for another meeting and to start adding the layers:

Because the rest of the course was covered in deep snow, we opted to head an alternate route towards the finish line. Although this route had "less snow", it still proved to be pretty substantial, and, well, slippery, as I discovered:

"We have a yak down!"

But we all made it up and back in relatively one piece:

"Jungfrau, WE WALKED ON YOUR FACE!"

Enchanté, Jungfrau

After 3 hours and 5 transfers I finally arrived at the site of the Yak Pack Marathon Camp, Wengen. At 1274 meters high, Wengen marks the 30.5 kilometer mark, 11.5 kilometers from the finish line.

I think the journey was picturesque, but I'm not too sure, which leads me to another tip: if you ever see me on a train, be sure you sit in the complete opposite side of where I am, as I have an uncanny ability to always sit on the wrong side of the train to appreciate beautiful views:

Exhibit A: My view of Interlaken

Exhibit B: My view of the ascent to Wengen

I arrived at the Bernerhof Hotel (which, with a massive wooden cow on the roof, couldn't have been more perfect), and acclimated myself to my Marathon Training HQ:

Cosy. Cheap.

But there wasn't too much time to enjoy all this magnificent room had to offer, as I had a village (and a beer) to familiarize myself with! I met up with Tom Monroe, the organizer of the Yak Pack Training Camp and one of those weirdos who loves running ridiculously long ultra marathons, and over a pint of the local beer we discussed plans for the weekend, details about the marathon itself, and tweeted taunting pictures to Room to Read founder John Wood.

And by nightfall I was properly introduced to the beautiful lady herself:

Enchanté, Jungfrau

All My Bags Are Packed, I'm Ready to Go

Checklist before leaving for the Yak Pack Marathon Training Camp at Jungfrau this weekend:

1. Running shirts - CHECK
2. SPANDEX! - CHECK
3. Socks - CHECK
4. Running shoes (very important) - CHECK
5. Plentiful bounty of PowerBars, gels and recovery drinks - CHECK
6. Running pack - CHECK
7. Yoga mat for that all important morning stretch - CHECK

Two half marathons in two days on a snow-covered mountain...

Let's do this.

I'm Moving to Transa

In the 2000 film, Where the Heart Is, Natalie Portman plays a pregnant 17-year old who lives in Walmart after being abandoned by her boyfriend.

I want to do that, only instead of Walmart, I want to live in Transa.

Transa is a Swiss outdoor sport and travel store that is my equivalent to Disneyland.

I would sleep in the super modern, über comfortable tents with suspended hammock sleeping.
I would eat their bounty of PowerBars and trail mixes.
I would drink from their state of the art hydration packs.
I would use their disposable and hygienic camping toilets.
I would learn German by reading their library of travel and trail running books.
I would stay in shape by riding their bikes and using the indoor climbing wall (yes indoor climbing wall!).
I would stay warm in their trendiest North Face and Mammut fleeces.

I have clearly put a lot of thought into this and, given its behemouth size, no one would ever find me.

Transa, Ich ha di gèèrn.

Painful Flashback

In William Shakespeare's play Julius Caeser, Caeser is warned by a soothsayer to "beware the Ides of March", prophesizing Caeser's assassination and the downfall of the Roman Empire.

That phrase could have also applied to me earlier this year.

On the Ides of March 2013, after a night on the town with my friends, as usual I was running late for my night train home. As I approached the train at full pelt, I suddenly felt what I thought was someone kicking an empty beer bottle into the back of my leg. I turned around to see that no one was there, and there was no bottle or other projectile at my feet. My next step would quickly, and painfully, reveal what had just happened. I felt a pain shoot up from my calf to my hamstring and collapsed on the ground, hardly able to move. Luckily, someone held the train doors for me and I winced my way onto the double-decker and slowly lowered myself down into a seat sandwiched between two drunks.  My walk home from the train station that night included an excruciating 45  (usually 20) minute walk (if you can call it "walking") home where I shuffled along, shrieking as every step sent a shock up my leg.

Deep down I know what happened, but I didn't want for it to be true, so I didn't look at my leg until the next morning.

I don't think it's supposed to be that color...

Yup, I had torn my calf muscle. Not during a super-endurance mountain challenge, not during some crazy crossfit exercise that had me running with barbells through fields. Nope. I had a few gin and tonics, a boogy on the d-floor to some inexplicable German hip-hop and was running for the train home. And POP goes the calf muscle. Being new to Switzerland (and completely broke), I still hadn't sorted out medical insurance, so I had to self-diagnose with help from the internet and friends who studied physical therapy at uni. Luckily, I brought my old crutches from the UK and had an ace-bandage in our First Aid kit. I was down and out for about 2 weeks unable to move or leave the house, and in a lot of pain. Like, A LOT of pain.

Since this episode, I have made it my daily routine to do a few minutes of yoga every morning. Nothing wild or too crazy, just 10-15 minutes doing the sun salutation - a bit of 'downward dog' is a miracle worker for the calves and hamstrings. No matter how lazy or tired I feel, I remember this image and the pain in my calf and I make sure to stretch those badboys really well. The last thing I need is to have another "pop" while out on a run in the middle of the woods where no one knows where I am!

Even without having been injured like this, I would highly recommend doing a bit of yoga in the morning - it only has to take a couple of minutes, and it really gets the blood circulating and wakes you up better than any coffee or, dare I say it, Red Bull, ever could - give it a shot!!

Sun salutation - image courtesy of www.innerpath.com

To Russia, With Love...

Sooooo... according to my blogger audience stats, my second highest pageviewing country after Switzerland (which, let's face it, is blatantly me) is.....

RUSSIA.

So, to all the Russians out there:

Я люблю вас

Running in Rain: More Fun Than The Title Suggests

Today's training had me doing a 90 minute run at my own pace. At this stage in my training, I actually enjoy these kinds of runs and I was looking forward to it - that is until I stepped outside to see that the miserable Swiss weather did not feel like letting me have two enjoyable long runs in one week. It was absolutely chucking it down.

Oh well, nothing I can do about that. I can't exactly ask the marathon to be rescheduled on account of rain, so better get used to it.

And it was awesome!

There is something about train running in the Swiss woods in the pouring rain that makes you not want to listen to your headphones and just enjoy nature's soundtrack instead. The deeper I got into the woods, the louder the rain got, but less of it fell on me as I was being protected by a thickening canopy of branches and leaves overhead. I took turns and trails I've never been on, passing row after row of neatly and orderly planted pine trees, trying my best to avoid puddles and just enjoying the act of running, which for me is a first.

It's going to be a good day.

Not the worst place to train

The perils of trail running - this trail was completely flooded out. Time to find a detour!
(Apologies for the blurriness, camera was all steamed up)