Swiss Alpine - I'm in!

Good news for a change: the organizing committee of Swiss Alpine has informed me, that they have given me a free start (due to an unfair disqualification, after first granting the free start in person, and then declining my earlier email requests) in their longest 'K78' race.

My name appears already on the online starting list, so it's confirmed. Now I'll definitely be back in Davos on July 25th - with a vengeance.

I'll implement the following improvements for this race in order to beat my best time on this course (9:43 in 2007 - I finished with 7:29 in 1995, but the course was about 10 km shorter then).

First, I won't carry a camera to take beautiful pictures like the one above, taken after about 5 km at an altitude of over 1500 meters. (By the way, Josef on the front left went on to finish 12th in M55 category with 9:26, and Walter on his right finished 13th in M60 with 10:51 - awesome, you rock guys!)

Last year I took a couple of hundred pictures during the first half of the race. Let's say that each photo cost me 5 seconds - then this alone will save me over a quarter of an hour!

What's even more important, I'll start faster to reach the narrow technical single track after before the large slow crowd will get there and force the long line of runners to stop.

Also the organizers claim they have been making narrow tracks wider or selecting wider paths (yes, there will be minor changes in the route, but overall distance will remain the same - 78.5 km).

Talk is cheap - it's very easy to solve all past issues by deciding to run faster! So what do I plan to do differently this year to accomplish all this? I will:

• discard the backpack and everything that was in it (the race organisation provides sufficient drinks and food for the runners, so there's no need to carry anything),
• weigh less - although I've gained some weight recently, I still weigh less than in previous years (my BMI used to be slightly over 21, then I dropped it down to 19 this winter - now I'm staying comfortably at 20.5)
• work on my running technique by running barefoot occasionally (in the photo above taken after 17 km at over 1600 meters you see me striking heel first - ie. I'm braking)
• improve my running speed by doing speed workouts in racing flats,
• replace the heavy stability shoes with lighter racing shoes (probably Brooks Racer ST)
• avoid foot injuries (I believe my plantar fasciitis and achilles issues last year were actually caused by the stability shoes, so this is one more good reason to quit using them),
• taper properly for the race (last year I ran an ultramarathon once every week, so I was already feeling tired and unmotivated at the starting line - fresh legs can make all the difference in the world),
• eat some carbohydrates before and during the race - as most people claim this generally helps one to race faster (I've been on a very restricted low-carb diet in the past - of course I've already started to experiment with carbs in my training to avoid unpleasant surprises on race day)
• drink coffee in the morning (I used to drink lots of coffee, but last year I didn't - now I've started to experiment with coffee again, as it seems to help as long as I don't take any after midday).

In this photo Eberhard from Germany, who was also DQ'd in Chants at 47 km mark and who then kindly helped me to get the free start for this year, chases me on the rail bridge at about 25 km. We are well aware of being way behind our schedules, so we start running like we mean it now that the paths are wider again and we were able to pass some of the slower runners (some of whom were participating in shorter K31 or C42 races).

This year I'll leave my Suunto heartrate monitor and footpod home - no more gadgets to distract me from running.

This is taken about half-way up (at 1750 m) the biggest uphill (from the lowest point of 1019 m at 32 km to the highest point of 2632 m at 53 km).

We already have a mountain marathon in our legs and we start feeling the effects of the altitude, so we are forced to slow down a bit.

This year I'll do a lot more hill repeats than last year, but I live at sea level and there are no mountains around here, so I won't be climatized when arriving in Davos the day before the race.

That's not a big deal, I think, although people exaggerate this to the point of taking all sorts of medications and even sleeping in altitude tents. After all, only 15 km of the K78 course rises above 2000 m, so I'll just try to fake my way through it. I won't certainly rely on any unhealthy or unethical means whatsoever. Winning has never been that important to me, I race for the sheer fun and enjoyment of it - and for long-term health.

Let's hope that the weather will be nice, but in any case it's a good idea to drink hot bouillon and run as quickly through the high section as possible. Better to err on the safe side though, as a slip and spectacular face plant (like the one I performed two years ago) would be unwise.

After Scaletta pass at 60 km it's mostly downhill to the finish in Davos at 78.5 km. If you are a badass downhill runner and still have your legs with you, this will without a doubt be the most enjoyable part of the race. There'll be tons of runners to play 'catch and pass' with, lol.

Good luck to all the participants, see you in Davos!