I Need to Adjust My Standards

You know, I thought that at 58, I wasn’t doing too badly with keeping fit.

Then we spent two days with our friends Wolli and Marion, and I realised that I need to adjust my standards.

At 73, Wolli has qualified for one of the legendary UTMB races around Mont Blanc, the 60 km OCC ultra. To prepare, he and Marion are spending a couple of weeks in the area, hiking sections of the route.

We were super happy to join them for two days. The great thing about getting together with other runners is that you can TALK about running without boring anyone. We had such a blast!

Of course, our hiking days were not exactly gentle strolls. On Monday, we got caught in the rain and on Tuesday, we were out for 8½ hours, covering 27 km and climbing 1,920 m (6,300 ft).

Kai and I struggled to keep up with Wolli and Marion, who seemed to be treating the whole thing as a warm-up.

Inspired by two people who clearly have no intention of slowing down, we returned to Zurich. On Saturday, we lined up for our own, considerably shorter 14 km race.

It was a beautiful little race, meandering through fields and past a mountain lake. I was too busy running to take photos, so here’s an official photo from last year to give you an idea:

We had 220m (720ft) of elevation in this race, so I planned to follow my favourite strategy: start off slowly and gradually get faster if I felt good. It worked beautifully!

I crossed the finish line in 1:02 and Kai came in just a few minutes after me. He looked strong and fresh, and he said he felt good throughout the race.

There were only 14 women in my age group, so I managed to snag the age-group win. But what pleased me even more was finishing 4th woman overall, just a minute behind 3rd.

Besides the running event, there was also a Schwingen competition, Switzerland’s traditional style of wrestling. It dates back to the 13th century and is deeply rooted in the Swiss Alpine regions.

When we got home, I texted Wolli and Marion about our race. They had just returned from another monster hike. I wished Wolli good luck for his ultra on Thursday, and he reminded me that just 10 days later, they would be lining up for their next challenge: the Jungfrau Marathon on 5 September.

Yep. I definitely need to adjust my standards.

• Do you have real-life fitness role models?
• What’s your favourite type of bread?

I am linking up with Jenny from Runners Fly and Jenn from Runs with Pugs for Tuesday Topics as well as Runners’ Roundup with Coach Debbie Runs, Confessions of a Mother Runner, Mile by Mile, and Runs with Pugs!