Training Log Archive: murraystraining

Sierre Zinal 2012
Long hot steep fast high rocky competitive & beautiful. 
Long - all the way from Sierre in the Valais at 580m up past the Hotel Weisshorn at 2400m and down to the finish in the attractive ski town of Zinal at 1650m, 31km later at the head of the Val d'Aniviers. 

Hot - Sierre sears and above the treeline there is no shade. Seven drinks stations were barely enough!

Steep - the first 1000m climb takes little over 5km and the gradient doesn't let up until the second drink station about 1300m above the start. I thought this climb would be the weakest section of my race so I set off conservatively, letting the other Scots shoot off in the lead pack. I settled into a nice rhythm, tapping away, running every step and staying comfortable. 2/3s of the way up I had a gap ahead of me but a pack of around 10 hot on my heels when I felt a slight stitch come on. Breakfast bites! No problem, it's rare to go through a long race with no difficulties so I just stayed relaxed. I didn't feel the pace drop but the group moved past me. I quickly recovered and settled in behind Fabien Pasquasay for the rest of the climb.

Fast - with the main climb behind me I accelerated away from the second drinks point with a welcome freshness in my legs. The running was easy undulations on forest roads and inset about reeling in as many runners as I could. If the steep climb was my weakness then the fast track run should be my strength! First I caught and passed everyone who passed me while my stitch eased then I worked my way past a couple of faster guys - a Catalan I recognised from the SkyGames and a French national team runner. In general the pace was high but I was feeling good and the uphill sections didn't present too much difficulty. There was still a long way to go though!

High - Hotel Weisshorn sits high on a spur at 2360m, around a km before the high point of the race at 2440m. While I have run at these altitudes before this was my first race at those sort of heights and the climb up to the Hotel certainly felt tougher than I'd anticipated. At just 170m it should be easier than an Arthurs Seat but my enthusiastic approach to the fast running, combined with the altitude started to catch up with me.  A second Frenchie who I'd just pulled level with eased away as the path pointed skyward while a group of four reeled me back in. I stopped at the hotel to take a proper drink of water and Isostar and they shot past - as we climbed up to the high point the group strung out and I clung onto the back. 

Rocky - that's my abiding memory of the 8km or so to the finish. If I think hard enough I remember that it was actually mostly good path with just a few rocky sections. By this section I was fairly jelly legged and I had resorted to emergency Haribo to get me to the line. I passed a couple of guys including a USA vest who had surged past me on the initial climb but a couple more overtook me as well. There wasn't much more I could do other than keep going forwards and keep some rivals  in my sights. 

Competitive - the real sting in the tail is the final descent into Zinal, dropping 400m in the final mile. I doubt any runner finds this easy but I hoped to make the most of it, especially as I'd just caught a French national team runner. With cash prizes for the top 25 plus time bonuses on the line every place counts. Then disaster! Cramp! Down the inside of both thighs. It came from nowhere and I was forced to stop and stretch. I hobbled on, resigned to just getting to the finish in one piece. Amazingly it eased off as quickly as it appeared and I made the most of it by flying past Frenchie and another guy who clearly didn't race downhill very often! Onto the final few hundred metres on the road through Zinal with huge crowds cheering and the sound of the arena drawing nearer. Finally across the line into 24th place in a shade over 2:52. It says a lot about the quality of the race that I'm reasonably happy with the way I ran and this was *all* I could achieve. Up front Marco de Gasperi set a brutal pace which a few true to keep up with but noone could match for the distance - the columbian who was with him with 10km to go finished 3rd, 8 mins behind. Tom and Joe were both in the  top 10 at one point but faded at the end to finish 12th and 18th just 6&4 mins ahead of me respectively. I'd passed Robbie at the second drinks point and he was in a bad way but must've rallied as he finished less than 3mins behind me. 

Beautiful - the course is stunning. That goes without saying - the 4000m peaks which give the race it's tag line (Course de 5 4000s) loom over Zinal and are visible throughout the final 20km. The support is awesome, with vocal spectators along the whole route who are bolstered in the latter stages by the tailenders of the walking class, 2000 of whom set off along the same route at 5am. And the whole race is beautifully organised with a wonderful atmosphere. It's no wonder it attracts such a stellar field year after year!

C • Truly epic, well done on yo... 4

30 easy with Marco de Gasperi Tom & Nicola.

Recceing the descent into Zinal with Tom O and Mick D. Looks fun and the trails further out look like good running.

Leg improved - weekend should be OK but won't do too much in next couple of days to make sure. Charlesfield, Charles Street and Charles Street Lane round Bristo sq much easier at this time of morning, then over to Charlotte Lane & Sq.

Dans le Suisse! We missed our connection in Sierre so Joe and I went to recce th start of the race. And failed. We recced the start of the walkers route though, and it was steep enough to give us an idea of what was involved.
Glut ok but lots of residual tightness in hip/groin & calf.

IW. Limping - could go no further. Long run plans binned, need to get fixed by the weekend. Stretch n flex after.

Something wrong with the top of my right glut. Didn't feel anything last night but couldn't run a step today. Inspired by Sir Chris of Hoy I hopped onto the spinner & did 20x45/15.

Sunday race = Monday long run. Not easy to get out after work but worth it. Not particularly inspired to choose a route so just thought I would forge on with some C's and see how far I could get.
Route somewhat convoluted but had its good moments - climbs over Calton Hill and the Dry Dam and then the long straight run from Milton Road to Leith Links was a new one for me: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5598761

For street checkers this ticked off Chamberlain Road, Chambers Street, Chancelot Cres, Gardens & Terrace, Chapel Court, Chapel Lane, Chapel Street and Chapel Wynd.