Figure in a landscape

(Note – This is a rough-and-ready video that needs editing and polishing. Just wanted to get something up to avoid delay.)

Snow!

An exhilarating wintry plod today, through the densely wooded hinterland of Horgen, brings a fine end to Week 5/60. Covering nearly 13 kilometres this afternoon sounds impressive by my standards, but it did take 1 hour 45 minutes. The terrain was anything but fast however, and my time included a fair amount of snow-yomping and scrabbling through pathless forest, not to mention standing to gawp at the scenery  (15 minutes according to the Garmin). Also, most of the second half was through the local woods, whose paths and steps and narrow bridges and tree roots are treacherous in ideal weather, never mind  snow and slush.

But time didn’t matter. The Chi Running marathon training plan called for 70 minutes, divided into seven periods, each to concentrate on a particular posture focus. In reality, this was never going to happen in today’s conditions but I still tried to remember to keep the core tight, to run tall, to align my feet, to lean slightly, and to maintain a ‘straight column.’

The snow has come early this year. Swiss weather forecasts are reliable, but I’d not checked, so it was a shock to wake this morning to a whitened world. In October? This is a month later than last year and 2010, but I don’t mind too much. It makes daily life more interesting, and will put a smile on the faces of the many skiers and snowboarders at work.

I didn’t consider not running. The original plan was to do this route yesterday, but I stayed indoors instead, on a day of inexplicable gloom. The incessant rain and fog didn’t help, but there seemed to be something more that I couldn’t identify. Whatever the reason for this sudden, temporary despondency, I ended up pleased that it meant the run was deferred to include the snow.

I got out at about midday, after an unusual breakfast of pumpernickel toast spread with a homemade melange of avocado, spinach, basil, parsley, cress, garlic and olive oil (blended),  and topped with a generous helping of smoked salmon.  It was cold enough outside to wear a jacket, but not leggings. I need a minimum of razor-edged hailstones and an icy tempest to conceal my knees.

For the first time in the two years I’ve lived here, I headed upwards rather than down for a run. (I’ve walked up this way a few times, but not while in running mode.)

I’ve been getting concerned about the running routes available to me. Well, the area has many running opportunities, but in the immediate vicinity there are hills everywhere. Yes, I know these are character building, stamina building and leg building, but in this period of running rehabilitation it would be good to progress to the hills via some decent flat routes first. It’s only a 6 minute jog down the hill to the lake, but the lakeside path isn’t ideal for a longish run. You might assume there would be a good pedestrian path all the way round the 75 kilometre circumference, but there isn’t. Just a few short stretches here and there. I’m lucky to have any sort of path available, but it can be barely more than 5 or 6 kilometres. This will do a midweek job but nothing longer, unless I move from path to the road, which doesn’t appeal much.

So today I took the opposite direction, to re-explore the possibilities. Last year I used to walk up here from time to time, but I’ve never run it before. I was heading for our other lake, the Horgener Bergweiher (map) — though this one is rather smaller than the Zürisee. It’s a charming spot, high above the town, adjacent to some thick woods. Only just over a mile from my place, but that mile involves a steep 240 metre ascent. One day, I will run all the way up, but today I strode most of it, using it as a warm-up. Literally. It was minus 1 degree this morning, rising to a heady 2 Celsius by mid-afternoon.

By the time I got to the woods I was plodding carefully, not quite sure what was underfoot. The path around the small lake was almost clear, and reasonably flat, so I took advantage and managed three circuits without feeling too stressed.

The next 30 minutes or so were, however, stressful. Buoyed by my successful circumnavigation of the lake, I got a bit cocky, and plunged into the woods again, using a much smaller trail I knew existed, even though it was concealed beneath the untrodden snow. Before long, I was lost. There was no obvious route through the thickening forest but I hacked on regardless, eventually emerging to find a wire fence, with no clear path anywhere, and no sign of civilisation beyond a distant farmhouse. And given the near-universal ownership of shotguns in Switzerland, the jealousy with which privacy is treasured, and the pleasure that rural folk get from hunting plump sluggish wildlife, I couldn’t be certain just how civilised a welcome I would get if the farmer happened to glance through his window as I tottered across his land.

What to do? Should I retrace my steps, or slither on? I opted for the latter, inching my way down the hillside between the fence and the snow-laden trees. Every branch I brushed past seemed eager to dump its icy contents onto my head and down my back — inside my jacket. By the time I reached a gap in the fence, I’d become a human icicle, with just enough blood still circulating in my lower limbs to offer a small chance of survival.

It would be fair to observe that this was the low point of the afternoon.

Through the fence and across the hillside. There may have been a path here but it was impossible to tell. The snow was up to 12 inches deep here, with each step unpredictable. Would my foot find solid ground? Or would it vanish into a quagmire, taking the rest of me with it?

I won’t extend the suspense unnecessarily, as it will be clear that had I been consumed by such a carnivorous aperture, I wouldn’t be tapping out these words.

I made it, eventually reaching a clearer track that led me to a larger tarmac road. It took a while to recognise it as  the very same road I had travelled just 7 days ago, in brilliant sunshine, and temperatures of up to 24 degrees. Funny old Wald.

The run was far from over. I could have taken the relatively short route back home along the main road, but that didn’t appeal. Instead, I headed into the woods again, though ‘my’ woods this time, the stretch that starts at the end of my road. Despite that, I couldn’t immediately find the path, as I had to trot through an unfamiliar housing estate first. But after a couple of dead ends and retracing of steps, I found a way in…

I love these woods. On the map, they cover just a small area of a few square kilometres, but on the ground they seem larger and more mysterious, concealing a complex network of paths and steps that never seem to stay in the same place two visits in a row.

The snow kept falling as I traversed the forest, but the paths were much clearer than earlier. The canopy above was bearing much of the burden, and anyway, these paths are popular with Sunday walkers, who had trodden away most of the stuff that had settled.

And then, after one or two wrong turnings, I found my usual path, and made my way home.

This was a great jaunt. As narrated, I can barely call it a run, but I was pleased with the clear flat stretches where I was able to fall into a rhythmic jog, and could feel the Chi principles becoming just that little bit more natural.

Interestingly, over the final flat section, I put on a burst of speed in the hope of shaking out a few reluctant calories. I must have fallen back into my old ways, landing on heels and pounding the ground; but I was suddenly aware of a tightening twinge in my left calf, and quickly reverted to a walk. The distant ache might have been a normal consequence of a 13 kilometre hilly plod, but I was taking no chances.

And finally home, for this tired little teddy bear.

So, Week 5/60:

4 runs (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday).  One gym visit (Tuesday). 2 rest days (Friday, Saturday).

An average of 2.2 pounds lost (1 kg), which is my weekly target. Now about 13.5 pounds lighter than 5 weeks ago, or a bit ahead of schedule.

That’ll do.