Forest route

Since it's now light in the morning and the sun is already up well before I set out at 6:30am, I figured that I may as well make the most of it and run through the forest rather than around the roads through town.

Time is still limited though so I settled for the Chateau du Val route: up past the church, into the forest, hanger left and straight out along the tracks to Chateau du Val and back in a small loop. It's just under 7,2km (route can be seen here : http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1615332) and my aim has always been to run this in under 30 minutes. Current P.B. for the course is 30:04.

I set out this morning feeling pretty good. I could still feel a slight tightness in my legs from Sunday's race but this wore off fairly quickly as I stretched out up the hill at the start. I ran the first 1km in 4:22 which is fairly good and then I was into the forest. The temperature was a lot cooler amongst the trees and I felt really easy and relaxed. As usual on these early morning runs, I was barely awake and the time passed very quickly. I hit the half-way point in 15:27 and was pleased to see that it was too early for the homosexuals in the area to hang out. Another burst up the hill and I was running at about 15km/h heading home. I enjoyed the change from the usual town run with the silence of the forest and only a couple of squirrels for company. My legs were comfortable and although I was pushing the pace, I didn't feel too short of breath or that my heart was about to explode.

Back past the church and the final sprint back along the road to finish in 29:57. Another P.B. and the 30 minute barrier is finally broken. I was extremely pleased to break this barrier and to see that I'm still improving. I just hope that I can carry on in translating these improvements in my training runs to better performances in the races.

A few photos from last month in Le Puy for the family: