Week 13/2022

Mid-week 12 and beginning of week 13, the sun came out, the temperatures rose and we had a little whiff of Spring. With the sun, came my dear friend Jo to spend some days with us, and how good they were.

When our friends visit us, we get to dedicate some quality time to them, in a sharp contrast to our holidays at home, where we rush around visiting everyone in a very short period of time. A bonus for visits is getting to interact with a relaxed Todder in her natural environment, delighted with all the attention she gets, instead of a tired and shy one who just wants to stick to mummy for comfort.

In the first day, we took the train to Lutry to play in the playground next to the lake. The sunshine was glorious, we held a little picnic, followed by the first ice-cream of the season, which might or might not have been the main reason for choosing Lutry.

On the second day, I took the day off, we took Toddler to the crèche and headed off to a little hike in the surrounding mountains. Again, glorious day, great company and one of my favourite things on hikes: a cheese and ham sandwich with good ingredients. The best sandwiches I have eaten on hikes are with this lady, and this one went directly to the top of the best sandwich-memories. Even though it was sunny, it was still Winter season and we got to hike on a path that is not normally marked during the Summer. It was a small hike, but with nice views to the Dent de Vaulion and, theoretically, to a panoramic view of the Alps (which we couldn’t see because it was too bright).

For the weekend, we booked a little raccard in a very small village in Valais called Trétien. The initial idea was to go snowshoeing, but there was no snow in the valley anymore and Toddler was sick and needing her nap. So we did what we could: we explored the village, caught the train to the next village and hiked back for the nap. And then we read in the sun to warm ourselves up.

The day ended with a traditional raclette, with some very good cheese from a cheesemonger in Geneva. The next day, we tried to do some sledding, but Toddler turned out to be so sick that she didn’t want to sled or even eat… so we took her to the hospital and ended up staying there for the night!

So, for the rest of the week, there is little to talk about, except for everything to do with asthmatic bronchitis crises in toddlers and nursing them back to health.

However, the weekend was great up until that point, and Jo’s visit so very wonderful for all of us!

running log #10

Today was a milestone in my life as a runner. Oh yes it was. It was the day that, during a race, I had to go find a tree. And it was not because I needed to pee.

I’ve heard quite a few stories about runners who had stomach problems during races. At first, I was surprised. Then, I laughed at the hilarious situations that some runners found themselves in because of their intestines. Finally, I felt lucky that this didn’t seem to affect me. Until today.

It was a hot day, and the race was due to start in the afternoon in the sunny region of Valais. I caught the train at lunchtime and had my lunch on the train (pasta, hard boiled eggs, tomatoes – never again). Then I caught the funiculaire up to the little village of Venthône, where the race starts and heads up to the Bénou (the dialect for Bisse Neuf). Bisses are irrigation canals that take water from the mountain streams down to the prairies and the farms. There are many walking paths along the historical bisses of Valais and this race follows one of them.

I met up with “my” kids and ran the kids race, which was only 1 km. At this point, I felt a little cramp in my stomach, but thought it would pass once I started running the longer race. When this one started, it headed straight up into the forest, climbing steeply until 5 km.

Because the first km of the race are so steep, everyone was walking. Even so, it was really hot, it was strenuous, it was challenging. By this point, I felt a little nauseous and my stomach was cramping. I didn’t give it too much thought, because sometimes I have stomach cramps (though I haven’t had for a long time) and they usually pass after a few minutes. I thought it was the effort.

So, when I got to the highest point of the race, I drank some water, stopped for a few seconds, breathed and thought that, as it was all downhill from there, I should be fine soon.

But no.

10 seconds into the descent, I knew there was no escape. I had to find a tree. So I found a kind of rock-tree spot and, there, I wasted 10 precious minutes of my race. From my “throne”, I could see all the people running by. But I didn’t even care anymore.

When I finally got back into the race, I was alone. No one in front of me, no one behind me. To this moment, I don’t even know if I came last. With all the competitive spirit completely gone (also a little bit of my pride), and because I was still feeling queasy, I headed down slowly, trying to forget my stomach, and at least enjoying the view. I chatted with the volunteers at the ravitaillements, I took pictures of the waterfalls and the pretty path along the bisse.

When I ran back into the village, the kids were waiting for me and ran with me to the finish line, hooting with laughter when I told them about my adventure.

It was not my most glorious moment, but apparently it is something that affects a large number of runners. So, I am not taking my food intake before a race for granted EVER AGAIN.

In the end, to cap it all off, instead of a medal, the finishing prize for everyone was…

A cheese!

• Pain : 10/10
• Embarrassment: 10/10
• Ability to laugh at myself: 10/10
• Scenery: 10/10