Warm down

Can anything be harder than a 16.3 km race with a 2 km slope, a marathon in under 3 hours, a morning blast over 10km in under 37:30 or a hard interval training session ? Yes, actually, it's my weekly run with my eldest son !

I won't give up though on this ordeal as he needs some regular exercise.

Without going into the details, we managed to get around the course in 49:58, a new record as the slowest time ever. After 3 weeks of running with Henry, we have managed to go slower each time we've gone out !

I will persevere, I will persevere, I will persevere !!!

Paris - Versailles

Second most popular race in France, after the Paris Marathon is Paris - Versailles, a world classic. The particularity of the race is the staggered start. There are no starting positions based on predicted times, but once the elite runners are set off at 10:00 am the rest of the particpants are set off in blocks of 300 runners at 1 minute intervals.

Laurence and I picked up the rest of the Le Mesnil crowd at 8:15 this morning and drove everyone to the RER to get the train in to the Eiffel Tower, where the race begins. Paul, Didier and Hélène were also taking part and we arrived at the start, smartly dressed in our bin bags and old T-shirts 45 minutes before the race was to begin. We thought we would be early but there were already a good 3500 people queued up in front of us in the starting area.

The elite got away at 10:00 for the 16.3 km with a predicted time for the winner in the 46 minutes zone. This means that they run every km around 2:50 on average including the huge hill between 6 and 8 km. I'm not just impressed but in total awe before such performances. My own aim was a more modest 1:07:00, Paul 1:12:30 and Laurence and Hélène under 1:30:00. Didier didn't pronounce his objectives.

We got split up at the start and Paul and Didier set off a minute before the rest of us. In fact, I didn't see them again until the end of the race. I set the Garmin to 4:00 per km which was ambitious after yesterday's efforts but I thought I would see how I could do. We set off and I headed to the front of our group of runners quickly chasing down the group in front. Because there is a huge range of abilities in each group it wasn't long before I was overtaking people and weaving in and out of the crowds on the South bank of the Seine. The course was flat along here and the kilometres seemed to flash by. I was running steadily at just under 4:00 per km and holding back before the hill, La Cote des Gardes appeared.

Sure enough, just before the 6km marker appeared, we turned left and began the climb up the hill.

As you can see from the profile, 140m of uphill over 2 km. I slowed down to just over 12 kmh going up this hill as I just couldn't summon the energy to get up any faster. Part of the problem was other runners blocking the way as I had to weave between people throughout the course and the roads aren't very wide in places, hence the staggered start. Part of the problem was 23 km yesterday, which I could still feel in my legs. Once at the top, I stretched out again and concentrated on regaining my previous pace. The kilometres were passing more slowly now and as I reached 10km in 42:18, I was counting them down to the end.

2 runners came past me at this point and I pushed on to stay with them. In fact, this was perfect as they were running only slightly faster than me and we stayed together until the final kilometre when they pulled away slowly to finish 10 seconds ahead. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I had no idea of the time as I'd been running in virtual partner mode and just knew that I was 1:22 behind my allotted 4:00 speed. 1:06:01 showed on the watch and I was delighted. That was a minute better than target.

I saw Paul at the finish too and he'd run a fantastic 1:09:55 and was chuffed to bits. We walked backed to meet our supporters, Ally and the kids and waited for Hélène , Laurence and Didier to cross the line. Hélène and Laurence had run together and Hélène just left Laurence at the end to finish 4 seconds ahead in 1:25:06 to Laurence's 1:25:10. We missed Didier who had run slightly faster in 1:23:24. Laurence came in very red in the face and it was obvious that she had given everything over the course. She was thrilled with her result.

Official result can be found here: http://www.parisversailles.com/resultats.php

I was 271 out of 13652 finishers and 65 V1. Really pleased with result as I ran at 4:04 pace over the distance including the hill or 14.7 km/h.

Not bad for a training run !

Cruising

Paris-Versailles race tomorrow but decided that I still need more distance training if I'm to do a reasonable time in the marathon at the end of next month. With this in mind I set out to do a couple of loops of the normal Sunday route through the forest.

I set off slowly as I'd had a big breakfast with Laurence before, to celebrate my return from Germany. 1km in 4:38, so no great shakes. By the third kilometre I already had a stitch so I slowed the pace to run through it. This disappeared and I started catching some other runners through the forest. One guy tagged on to me as I passed him so I accelerated slightly to lose him as I had no intention to run accompanied.

I finished the first loop in 49:xx and was amazed by this time. This equates to 44:xx for the normal Sunday run and would already be a PB. Spurred on by this, I maintained the speed and pushed again throughout the second loop. I looked at my time as I went through the half-marathon point - 1:30:58. Excellent, despite the slow start, I was almost at my marathon pace running on a dirt track in the forest. Running on the road can only be better.

All up 22.8 km in 1:37:42 or an average of 14 km/h or 4:17 per km. Not the best preparation for tomorrow's race but pleased nonetheless.

Noch laufen in Deutschland

Another run in the Motherland this morning accompanied by the low flying jets, blasting spent kerosene into the atmosphere and my lungs.

I had to get up earlier this morning, 6:30 am, due to a busier schedule today and so it was dark when I left the hotel this morning. Anybody who saw me dressed in my running kit wandering down the hotel corridors at his early hour must have thought that I'm a complete nutter - but then again, I probably am. Luckily, I only saw the guys on reception as I slipped out of the hotel and into the night.

I did the same route as yesterday but since today I knew where I was going, I was more relaxed and ran at a faster pace. It felt comfortable all of the way around and I was running at my marathon pace of 4:13 per km. I believe that I'll be able to keep this up for the 42 km so that's half of the job done.

I burnt off the Sauerkraut, 5 wurst und schweinfleisch from the previous evening that had been washed down with a large beer (so much for the metrosexual - eh Tom ?) by finishing the loop in 33:36. Lot better run than yesterday.

Laufen in Deutschland

On business here in Frankfurt for a couple of days which is also preventing me from running with the club and the interval sessions which I really look forward too. As a form of consolation, I left the hotel here this morning and ran my planned route around the town.

I was worried that it would be dark at 6:45, like in Le Mesnil at this time so I had planned a route through the town rather than heading into the countryside. However, it is so much farther East than Le Mesnil that it was actually already daytime when I woke up and slipped on my running kit.

I set off steadily and the only company at that time of day was the airplanes coming into land at Frankfurt airport every 30 seconds a couple of hundred metres above my head - charming.

I managed an 8 km loop in 34:40 or an average of 4:20 per km. The slightly slower pace was due to the fact that despite planning the route on Gmap pedometer, I was always unsure of exactly which direction I should be heading in and whether I was on the correct street. They all Strasse something or other and I was pretty confused. Luckily I didn't get lost and have to use my schoolboy German or that could have been pretty embarassing.

Morning blast

Couldn't go running with the club on Tuesday night so had to make up for this by burning off all of the excess calories with the morning run around Maisons Laffitte.

Standard 11.1 km run around the town, setting off at 6:45 so it was still completely dark on Wednesday morning. I went through the first 2k in 8:30 and so it wasn't the fastest I've ever run but this is going to be my marathon pace, so I was comfortable.

Left the park in 27:30 and then Blvd Pasteur in 35:08. So good times but just behind the PB. I pushed the last 2.8 km hard back home and finished in 46:16 or an average pace of 4:10 per km.

Good feeling all the way round and the legs had recovered after the exertions (and the figs -feel free to make some more comments !!) of Sunday.

Long slog

As part of my training for the Yvelines marathon next month, I'm trying to increase my mileage and especially the distances of my long runs. So, despite the fatigue from the triathlon yesterday and the partying last night where I drank too much red wine, I decided to attempt to run 30 km this morning.

Laurence and I met up with the usual Sunday run crowd and we ran the standard route through the forest. Nick and I ran fairly easily and I didn't push the pace to a sprint before the barrier as I normally do. We got to the barrier in 22:24 so at an average pace of 4:34 per km. We waited for Louise and Laurence who weren't far behind and then set off again for the second half of the course.

This was more of the same as we finished this in 25:16 or an average pace of 4:35 per km. Consistent or what ? So all up in 47:40 which is pretty good going for a relaxed run around the course.

I then left the others and headed back out to the barrier and then on to the swimming pool at St Germain. Past the swimming pool and in front of the castle to rejoin the 6 village route, but in the opposite direction to last time. I was beginning to tire running through St Germain but as soon as I began the downhill to Le Pecq, I started to feel a whole lot better. I was passing other runners constantly and this was a great boost for the morale.

As I passed the 20 km mark, I could feel my energy dissipating though. My stomach was telling me it needed food and my brain was telling me that it was still a long way to get home. I maintained a good pace along the Seine but as I approached Sartrouville, I couldn't help but slow.

I was mighty relieved to see the bridge at Sartrouville, knowing that there was only 2.5 km to get home. I'd slowed to just over 12 kmh for the final path home back along the Seine from Maisons Laffitte according to the garmin. As I ran this, it felt a good deal slower and I've never been so relieved to get home. I was shaking all over and had to eat 3 figs and 5 kumquats to recover. Average speed on my own for the 18.4 kms amounted to 4:33 per km. Pleased considering the mess I was in when I arrived home.

All in all I ran 29.8 km in 2h16. I'll need to pick up the pace considerably to finish the marathon in under 3 hours.

Short slog

Yesterday was my weekly run with Henry to encourage him in his sporting pursuits (currently nil for the remainder of the week). We repeated the Chateau du Val run of last week but tried to go slightly faster. Big mistake.

We ran the first kilometre in 5:40, so 15 seconds faster than last week. However, by the second kilometre, Henry was already complaining of a stitch so I told him to continue running but more slowly. We then had a series of histrionics which only really ended with the final sprint for home in 43:40. This was almost 2 minutes slower than last week for the 7.2 km.

The most important aspect is to keep patient and to not discourage him. I'm learning slowly but it's not easy.

Triumphant triathlon

It was the September version of the St Germain Triathlon today. Classed as a sprint, it involves a 500m swim, 20 km of mountain biking and a 5km run to finish. The usual competition were all present as both Nick and Andy were taking part and the bets were on as to who would win. Andy and Nick had declared me favourite prior to starting but I had some serious doubts as to whether I would be close enough after the cycling to be able to challenge them on the run.

We got off to a good start with some serious fighting in our lane on the swim. We were 14 to a lane and at times I felt I was swimming over bodies rather than in the water. After the first length, the positions were settled and it was easier from then on. I managed to catch Nick on the 6th length and we got out of the pool together. Andy was well ahead already and on the bike while we were still rushing out of the changing rooms. Nick is obviously more adept at dressing than me and had grabbed a 50 m lead when I jumped on the bike.

The cycling is probably one of the most critical parts of a triathlon and I knew that I had to make a real effort if I was to stay in contention. I was really pleased then to see that I'd caught Nick up at the end of the second lap out of 4. I even felt so good that I passed him but at the next hill, he glided past again and I had nothing left to follow him. I was sure that I'd blown it then but by the end of the 3rd lap, I was on his tail again and determined not to let him go again. He pulled away again but we pulled into the bike park together and as we did, I saw Andy leaving for his run.

A this point, I pulled out my secret weapon - no don't get too excited, nothing in the budgey smugglers, but F-X waiting to run the final leg with us. F-X set the pace and we started running with Nick and I following at around 14 km/h. Nick dropped off after about 400 m and we slowly pulled away. Another 1 km down the path and we spotted Andy just ahead and so put on a little spurt just to discourage him from latching on to us ! It was steady from then on in. I felt comfortable running but too fatigued to up the pace beyond the 14 km/h we had started at.

Another little burst to the finish line and all up in 1h17:20 - a new record for me by almost 5 minutes. Thrilled to bits. Andy held off Nick by 5 seconds to finish a minute and 15 seconds after me.

Thanks to F-X for his pacing - great job. I finished 5 th overall officially out of 192 entered and 165 finishers. Unofficially, the 16 year old who won the event only did 3 loops on the bike missing one - what a cheat. I know, because Nick and I passed him on the 3rd lap on our bikes !!

Laurence did fantastically too to finish 3rd woman overall, beating Louise by a handful of seconds. We were both pleased with our performances, Laurence improving her time by 4 minutes over last year to finish in 1h31:20.

Well done to Andy and Nick too as our times enabled us to be the first team in the event. Congratulations to all our friends who took part this morning. Looking forward to reliving the event tonight at Sophie and Pierre-Henry's over a few glasses of wine.

Evening session

Hardest part for these evening training session with the St Germain club is actually turning up on time. I was the last to arrive again and had to run to the changing rooms to get into my kit before they locked them for the session.

Getting to know some of the runners quite well now and so I know who to pace myself against. One of the fastest during these sessions, Jean-Marc, wasn't around tonight but there were 2 others who I knew would push the pace: Francisco and Bruno. Miguel was leading the training as the club coach and it's enjoyable to have someone who knows what he's talking about. The training was a little harder tonight as it was a 3x3 minute session with 2 minutes at speed, 1 minute rest, 1 minute at speed, 1 minute rest and repeat another 2 times.

We waremed up for 30 minutes at a slow pace to begin with and then began the intervals. I just tagged onto to Bruno and we led all the intervals between us. It's really encouraging to find someone who can push you and I really enjoyed the effort.

Another 20 minutes warm-down at the end and we were back at the club. 11.3 km in all in 1:12.
The garmin shows that the intervals were run at around 18.5 km/h with a peak at 20.2 km/h ie 3:00 per km. Next time I'll use lap times to get a better indication of the speed over the intervals but the workout was hard and very rewarding. I'm upset that I'll be away next week and will miss both evening sessions. I'll make up for this on my own runs.

Early morning run

Had to get up early this morning for my run as I was giving the introductory welcome to the 60 hostesses and hosts coming for training at work today for the Paris Motor Show. Just imagine - 40 of the most beautiful young girls selected to welcome visitors onto the stand and I was to stand and speak in front of them. Stressed - you bet !

To relieve all of this pent up tension inside me, and to make up for the easy session yesterday, I set out at a decent pace. 2 km in 8:21 and, once again, this set the tone for the rest of the run. It was pitch black at 6:30 this morning, so some sections down by the Seine were a little hairy as I couldn't see where I was putting my feet.

The following few kilometres passed very quickly as I was thinking about work and everything that needs to be done. Before I knew it, I was already leaving the park in 27:55. I reached the corner of Blvd Pasteur in 34:58 and knew that I was on par for a good time. 10 km in 41:59 and a good blast over the final kilometre to finish in 45:58 or 4:10 per km.

Oh, by the way, my introductory speech went well !!

Club session

Another 30-30 session was planned for tonight but this time with the usual trainer for the evening sessions, Miguel.

I arrived just at the last moment for the training and quickly saw Nick and Laurence before running off to change into my kit. A quick welcome to my closest running companions, Jean-Marc and Bruno and we were off. I chatted with Bruno about Sunday's race for a long time before having a quick natter with Laurence and Nick about the day's events.

It was an easier session tonight with Miguel, as he didn't want to push us too hard, too soon. He's intent on bringning us to our peak in time for the cross country season early next year. So 10 30-30's it was around the lake in the forest. I found it fairly straight-forward and would have enjoyed adding on another series after the first, just to work the heart a little harder. It wasn't to be, so another 15 minutes gentle warm-down and we were back at the club for a few stretches before heading back home.

10.4 km all up in 1:13. Too easy.

Conflans 10 km - Fin d'Oisienne

Today was the big day. As I wrote during the week, I wasn't aiming for the fastest time today but just to race against François-Xavier and to see how we were both faring up.

I picked Nick up to go to the race and after picking up our numbers we went for a 2km warm-up run around the short loop of the course. It was a lovely day: sunny, totally blue sky, little breeze and not too warm. We met F-X half an hour before the race started and had a quick pre-race chat about our physical condition, as runners always do. He was in fine form mentally but suffering physically from a slight stomach upset. He told me that the race was to count officially in our challenge series for which the score currently stands at 1-1 (Conflans 15km for him last year and Paris marathon for me in April). I'd been nervous about this race all week since our last race together in Vincennes in July where he beat me by about 20 seconds but luckily for me had decided that it wasn't to count prior to running.

We lined up with another runner from St Germain, Bruno, who I'd been training with this week. I was fairly sure that he would beat me but he told me he was aiming for a time around 38 minutes which I was hoping to beat. The gun went off and all 200 runners surged forward pushing against the elastic which the starter had forgotten to drop before firing. He fired again 8 seconds later to signal a false start. This was the first ever false start I'd ever seen for a 10 km race and we were all laughing about this as we lined up again. The gun went again and this time we were off.

I followed F-X for about 500m in a small group of 5 or 6 runners at an easy pace. For once, I felt I had not gone out at full blast and the pace suited me fine. I pulled along side him and started leading the little group. Bruno had gone past and was about 30 metres in front in another small group and the distance between the 2 groups was constant. I hadn't wanted to lead as my race tactics were just to stay with F-X and race him rather than the clock. However, my zeal got the better of me and I settled into a pace that suited me fine.

We completed the first loop of 2km in 7:15 as one of the marshals was shouting out the times as we passed. Anastasia, F-X's wife, cheered us on as we went past and so I still felt the pressure from F-X knowing that he was in the group waiting for his chance to take the lead. At this point, I thought back to last year when I was already a minute slower at the same stage. What an improvement a year's training makes.

I maintained the pace now, feeling strong in my legs and not too breathless. The kilometres passed and I didn't look at the Garmin, just hitting the lap button at each kilometre marker. I had set the virtual partner at 3:45 per km pace but I was too busy concentrating on the race to bother looking at it. We finished the second loop and Anastasia cheered as we went past again, heading towards the 6 kilometre marker. One loop to go and it'd be over. This thought encouraged me and I pushed the pace up the very slight inclines, trying to split the group. This was effective and although I never looked behind me (I didn't want to give any form of encouragement ot F-X!) and knew that there were only 1 or 2 who were still there.

At around 8.5 km footsteps approached very quickly, just as I was beginning to tire slightly. A quick glance to my right and I saw with relief that it wasn't F-X. I let this runner go past but accelerated at the same time to keep with him. We caught another runner who was tiring badly and then the last slope appeared heading up to the stadium. 700 metres to go now, so I pushed on again overtaking the guy who had come past and trying to lose him up the hill. A last effort into the stadium and another acceleration to the finish line to see the clock at 37:20. I passed the line and stopped my watch: 37:27. Personal best and 10km objective beaten. I was ecstatic.

I congratulated Bruno who had finished one place in front, 20 seconds ahead and then looked around for F-X. He wasn't there. I had run the whole race thinking that he was on my shoulder and he had actually dropped back after 3 km finding the pace too fast after his semi last weekend.

He finished in 39:20 and Nick just after in 39:40. Nick was pleased with his time for the first race of the season. I've now got to decide on my next objective for the distance - what a pleasant dilemna !

Thoroughly chuffed with the result and just wondering where I finished in the veteran category as this was my first race as a V1. Looking forward to beating my objective in the marathon next.

Splits went as follows: 3:34, 3:39, 3:46, 3:44, 3:39, 3:48, 3:55, 3:49, 3:26, 4:03.
Last 2 are peculiar as 9km marker was too optimistic by a 100 metres in my opinion. Total for 2 is 7:29 which puts pace at 3:45/ km in line with the rest of the course. Very steady running.

Pacemaking

Race tomorrow in Conflans over 10km so I didn't want to do a hard workout today. However, I was extremely happy that Henry decided he would run the Chateau du Val course with me this morning.

We set out just after 9:00 am when Laurence and Paul had gone off to play tennis. I set the pace at around 10 kmh and we did the first 1 km up the road in 5:55. Henry found this comfortable, or at least I presume so since he wasn't complaining ! We maintained this through the forest until we reached the half-way point.

Just after half-way, there is a little slope uphill and I was worried that this would be enough to cause Henry to stop and walk but instead he took it in his stride. He was tiring a little at around 4km but carried on nonetheless. I could see that he was tired now but still determined to carry on. This determination only wavered as we left the forest and got back to Le Mesnil. He started to speed up to almost a sprint and I asked him why he was doing this. He told me that he was going to stop at the car-park. Luckily, I was able to persuade him to make the final effort to run the last kilometre home and we finished the 7.1km course in 42:07.

I was very proud of him and hope that he will now start doing this run on a regular basis.

3-2-1 Lightning

Another session with Les Foulées de St Germain this evening but this time it was in the rain.

Just to add a little excitement to the evening session, we began by the warm-up run in the drizzle. By the time we had crossed the main road and headed into the forest in the direction of the St Germain golf club, the drizzle had turned to rain. Another couple of hundred yards and we were stopped short by a bright flash of light and almsot instantaneously a huge clap of thunder.

This wasn't the most reassuring of signs as we continued running between the trees, waiting for the next lightning strike. I thought of all I had read about it being dangerous to run in a storm and worse running in a group in a storm. The increased distance between the legs when running reduces the resistance of the body and the lightning can leap from person to person away from the initial point of impact. Gulp ...

Luckily, tonight wasn't the night and the storm moved on, leaving us with the task of running a 3 x 6 session in the forest. This session involves running 3 minutes fast, 2 minutes recovery, 2 minutes fast, 1.5 mibutes recovery, 1 minute fast followed by 1 minute recovery. Then repeat another 2 times.

I was at the front of the group, running with Bruno (?) who I had run with on Tuesday. Jean-Marc is the fastest runner in the club and he was well in front, but Bruno and I fought it out behind him. He's also running the 10 km race in Conflans on Sunday and I predict that he'll finish 30 seconds ahead of me. It was a good session but I didn't feel as tired as the session on Tuesday. I could feel the lactic building up at the end but it was easier mentally than the 30-30.

Caught back up with Laurence on the run back to the changing rooms and she'd enjoyed the outing too. It'll be good to see the impact that these sessions have on my race performances.

12.1 km all up in 1:15. I was running the quick sessions at around 17-18 kmh except for the last one where I maxed at 18.7 kmh.

Easy run

I thought I'd take it easy today, having run a hard interval session last night. My body hadn't really had time to recover when I woke up at 6:45 and pulled on my running kit. My brain certainly wasn't ready to go mentally when I stood outside the house in the dark, waiting for the Garmin to pick up the satellite reception.

I headed off at a reasonable pace and felt very comfortable. I hit the 2 km mark in 8:43 and was quite pleased with myself for my self-restraint and not trying to push the pace any harder. I ran through Maisons Laffitte park at first light and had to dodge all the horses that were being taken for their early morning walk. Horses, in my opinion, are far more dangerous than cars on the road as they tend to be more unpredictable and need to be given a far wider berth.

Having successfully survived the horse ordeal, I left the park at 28:12 for 6.5 km. This was a nice surprise as I had expected to be even slower. A quick jog through town and soon I was running back along Blvd Pasteur, thinking about the home stretch and my breakfast. A car pulled along side me at this point and a cheery "Bonjour James" was aimed in my direction. I attempted a cheery hello back, but with snot hanging from my nose, and completely out of breath at this point, the end result was a miserable gasp and a wave of the hand. Sorry Catherine !

I finished steadily, with the remainder of my dignity, and managed a time of 47:17 for the 11.1 km. Not bad for an easy run.

30-30

Well, it was the day of reckoning today or rather the evening anyway. I'd been reading about the 30-30 session in the running magazine we subscribe too and this was my first occasion to put it into practice.

Laurence and I attended our first ever training session with the St Germain running club: La Foulée Royale. Before you start, the name of the club is rather pompous, but the people we met this evening were really nice and friendly. There was a large group at the start of about 40-50 people in total and having listened to the president give a short speech, mainly addressed to the newcomers, we set out.

The first 25 minutes was a warm up and I haven't run this slowly in years. We were averaging about 9 kmh. Then we stopped and split up into 2 groups: a faster group with some of the more experienced runners and a slower group for the newcomers. I decided to join the fast group with Nick and we began a 30-30 session where you run flat out for 30 seconds and then jog to recover for 30 seconds before repeating the process 10 times and then take a minute break before starting all over again 10 times, then another break before finishing with another 5.

It all began quite easily and I wondered what all of the fuss was about but by the time that I'd done 5 fast runs, I began to struggle to keep up with the leaders on the fast runs. We finished the first series and then began the second series. The fast sections felt longer and longer and when we finally finished the last 5, I was sweating heavily and beat.

Nick had hung back a little on the second series before catching up at the end and Laurence had decided to run in the slower group from the start. I was really pleased with the workout and look forward to some more training with the group. Some of the runners are very capable and it will push me more to train with them.

12 km in all for the session in 1 hour 12. Great workout, but I don't think that I have the courage to do this by myself.

Sunday run

Met up with the crowd at the Church in Le Mesnil le Roi for the start of the run this morning. It was a fairly good turnout, probably due to the local triathlon that is approaching fast. Pierre-Henri, Sophie, Ralf, Louise, Nick and Emmanuel were all there when Laurence and I turned up with Henry on the bike.

We set off slowly and then gradually Nick and I sped up and soon left the others behind. We built up the pace steadily to the half-way point which we reached in 21:50. When Laurence arrived at the barrier, she stopped in some pain, suffering from a tendinitis in the groin area which she had contracted yesterday on a long run. She cut back to the start by the quickest route, while Nick and I continued through the forest to finish the 10.4 km loop in 46:42. This isn't the fastest ever time but it's up there with one of the quickest and I felt very easy all of the way round.

Looking forward to the 10 km race next Sunday. I'm not going to try and beat my record as I'm focusing on the marathon at the end of next month but I am aiming to beat F-X over the course. I saw that he managed a very respectable 1:25:31 for the half-marathon yesterday and am hoping that this will have tired him out for next week ! Time will tell.

The best news today was that we managed to convince Herny to participate regularly on Sunday and even start running the course. This would be really good news as I'm sure he has the potential to be a good runner someday.

Group session

Met up with Andy and Nick this morning for a run down to the track at Maisons Laffitte. Hadn't seen Andy for a while so it was good to catch up on what had been going on over the Summer holidays.

It became quickly apparent that Andy had spent some time training over the Summer as we were going a lot quicker down to the stadium than our last session earlier this year. I personally think that he wants to regain his title as triathlon champion in a couple of weeks, hence the increase in the training schedule - we'll have to wait and see what mid September brings. It was 5km down to the track for me and then we let Andy decide what the punishment was to be. He had met up with some old friends in the States and had been reminiscing about earlier years and track records from his youth. We decided that we would run 1000m flat out just to see what we were capable of nowadays and go on from there.

We warmed up for a couple of laps and then set off. I hit start on the Garmin and then didn't look at it until the finish line. Nick and Andy were just behind me over the first lap and then I began to pull away slightly. The last lap was just a question of holding on as I could feel the lactic building up in my legs. It was a relief to hit the finish line in a time of 3:17 with Nick finishing 10-15 seconds later and Andy just after him. I was beat and couldn't believe that my youngest brother runs 10km at this pace. 1 km was ample for me. We always knew that he's a better runner than me - this just proves that he's 10 times better !!

We warmed down for a couple more laps and then decided to race a 400m. I set off quickly again and this time I heard Nick breathing down my ear all along the back straight. We went around the final bend and he pulled wide to go past me. I couldn' pull anything out of the bag and despite a feable attempt to pick up the pace down the last 40m, he beat me by a metre. All up in 70.1 with Nick finishing in 69.9. Can't believe that I once raced 800m in 2:13.

We ran back slowly to Andy's after that as he had to be back early. I carried on with a loop of the normal Sunday course which I went around at about 13.5 kmh pace. So all in all, I managed 23.8 km in just under 2 hours. Still determined to do well in the marathon at end October.

Fighting fit

Usual early morning run this morning, but the motivation is getting harder to find with the sun rising ever later. Dawn was just breaking as I set out this morning and I didn't have the same spring in my legs for the beginning as I ran down by the Seine. I went through 2 km in 8:24 and sure enough the time was slower than Tuesday. So much for running a personal best today.

As I was running, pondering this over, the running magazines that I had been reading the previous night were present in my mind. The articles in question concerned 30-30 training and how all training schedules should include sections where you run at max speed (but not sprinting) for 30 seconds and then run for 30 seconds at a recovery speed. This process is then repeated for about 8 times in a cycle and you should include 2 cycles in the run. I had told Laurence that I would try this out this morning but mentally, I just wasn't up for it.

Damn it, I couldn't just give up like that and since I want to improve my times further in this new season, I upped the pace. I wasn't ready to do the intervals but I was still ready to push the pace beyond my usual relaxed training speed. I could definitely feel the impact that this increase had on my breathing and general effort but it wasn't too tiring and I left the park in 26:05 after 6.5km. This was a real boost to the morale and I knew that I was on for a good time if I could keep it up.

I ran up to the end of Blvd Pasteur and the garmin showed 34:15 so I was maintaining the rhythm. Another boost and the downhill to the town-hall and through the 10km mark in 41:12 followed by a long stretch to finish and the 11.1 km route managed in 45:17. A new personal best and an excellent result at an average pace of 4:06 per km. Thoroughly chuffed !

Change of direction

"A change is as good as a rest", as the saying goes. Well, I've changed job inside the company and am now looking after the sales and marketing side of the business. I don't seem to be getting much rest at the moment though. So I'm writing this blog late in the evening and have almost forgotten about this morning's run, it seems so long ago now !

As I got up at 6:45am this morning, the first thing I noticed was that it was still dark outside. This is utterly depressing since it means that the Summer is almost over before it even began. Second thing noticeable was that the ground was all wet. Damn, not only dark but raining too.

I slipped my kit on, left the house and started up the Garmin. The rain had just stopped, the first glimpse of daylight had appeared and the temperature was moderate - perfect for a run. I started off down the road and was surprised at just how fast I was going. This sounds ridiculous, I know, but when I start running most mornings, my legs determine themselves what speed to go. This morning felt fast, even more so compared to usual since it was dark too. It was no surprise therefore to see 8:18 on the Garmin as I went through the 2km point.

I seemed to slow a little from there on through the park, but when I glanced at my watch on leaving the park it showed 27:26 which isn't too bad. I ran to the corner of Blvd Pasteur and I was only just outside my PB at this point. I stretched away then but didn't force the pace too much and just enjoyed the end of the run. All up in 46:26 and 11.0 km showing on the Garmin. This, I don't understand as the Garmin previously showed 11.1 km and then 11.04km for exactly the same course. Must be to do with the accuracy of the positioning to 7m from the satellites and the combined errors that this can create. Gmapped at 11.1 km so I'll stick with that. This gives a time of 4:11 per km which I'm pleased with and only 21 seconds off my personal best.