Warm down

Despite my horrendous injury, I summoned up all my courage and went to the club's Tuesday session last night just for a quick jog around with the other runners.

I arrived late and Miguel had just been telling the group about my marathon time on Sunday, so I was welcomed with a round of applause. (I finished in 39th place and 14th vet) My head swelling with pride, I rushed off to the dressing room to get changed into my running kit. In the hurry, I forgot to pick up my Garmin so I wasn't able to record the distance, but since it was only a jog anyway, what the heck !

As we set off, Franck, who I'd been with at the start of Sunday's marathon came over to see me. We chatted about the race and he told me that having read my account of the race on the club website, that he was really upset since he abandonned at 32km. I'd explained in my account, that my pride wouldn't let me give up as it would have meant telling all the others at the club. This was Franck's first 'DNF' in eight marathons, so he was disappointed in his performance. I was slightly comforted that I wasn't the only one to find it hard !

We ran together around St Germain for about 4 km and then back to the track. The rest of the club then did a 10 x 300 session with 100 rest while Franck and I jogged around the track.

A quiet evening to recover gently and it really helped the aches in my calves and thighs. About 8 km all up.

Oh by the way, the horrendous injury I'm suffering from is my left big toe nail which has been hammered into the toe causing an infection. Fine to run in large trainers, hell on earth to wear work shoes. Seriously contemplating wearing trainers to work tomorrow !!

Marathon des Yvelines

Well it was the big one. The one I'd been training for and my first real attempt on the 3 hour objective for the marathon. So what went wrong ?

I did everything I was supposed to: easing off on the training runs the week before the race; drinking the malto supplements for 3 days before the event; even eating the carbo cake 3 hours before the race - it just wasn't to be.

I got up at 6:30 this morning, ate my cake and had a cup of tea. I waited for 40 minutes and woke Laurence with a cup of tea as she was accompanying me on the bike around sections of the course. We hopped in the car and headed off to La Queue Lez Yvelines, a small village in the south of the county for the race. The weather was overcast, misty and windy. We hung around in the gym next to the start for as long as possible before facing the elements. I checked the number of runners entered for the race: 460 individuals and 65 relay teams. So not a huge race and the entries were very similar to last year's event.

I eventually lined up at the start and waited patiently for 5 minutes before the gun went and we were off. Having set the garmin to 4:10 per km, I watched the virtual partner all the time at the beginning of the race. I was running with another runner on his first marathon who was also aiming to beat the 3 hour barrier. At about 4 km, he must have decided that he was feeling fresh and he accelerated slightly and left me. I wasn't going to follow him as I was already about 8 seconds up on the watch which was set for a 2:56 total marathon time. This continued over the next 10 km and by the feeding station at 15 km, I was 30 seconds ahead of my VP. I stopped for a glucose drink losing about 15 seconds in the process and set off again. There was a group of 4 of us running together now and this was to remain like that for the next 10 km. We left the shelter of the forest after 18 km and had to run 3 km head down into the wind until the half-way point at Les Bréviaires. I went through the semi in 1:28:06 (almost setting a new PB in the process) and I could feel that I was tiring but I thought that I would be able to hold the pace for a while longer.

Big mistake. By the time I saw Laurence again at 24 km, I knew that my energy levels were dangerously low and she gave me a gel to replenish them. This helped slightly but it wasn't enough and after the 25 km feeding station our group of 4 runners had disentegrated. By 28 km the situation had worsened distinctly and I felt like giving up at this point. My pace was slowing and I switched the Garmin to timer mode, refusing to look at my VP racing off into the distance. I went through 28 km in 1:57:34 so the sub 3 hour course wasn't unfeasible but was looking decidely optimistic now. I spent the next few kilometres walking at times, stopping at the feeding stations for dirnks and progressing slowly. My legs were extremely tired and I couldn't manage the pace. I really was a whisker away from giving up completely but thought that if I slowed at least I could have the satisfaction of finishing.

At 33 km, Laurence was still cycling beside me, offering me water when necessary and trying to encourage me. I was angry and disappointed with myself and fed up with the whole affair. Then Nick appeared. He had promised to turn up and run the end of the race with me and it was a real pleasure to see him. Unfortunately, it didn't help me find any more energy but it did put all thoughts of giving up out of my head. He described the road ahead (flattish) and the hills to come (steep). Marvellous !

I struggled to keep up with him and he had to slow frequently not to lose me. I was cramping in my legs now: first the toes, then the calves; and finally the thighs. The hills were an agony and I had to walk up the last of the steepest. I was conscious that if I pushed too hard the cramps would become too much to bear and I would be forced to abandon. A quick stop at the 40 km feeding station and then the last 2 km down hill to the finish. What a relief. I crossed the line in 3:07:15 and promptly sat down to rest my legs.

So a new P.B. but still a disappointment with the objective not reached. I was on target at the half-way stage and the pain as it slipped out of my grasp was immense. Still I gave everything and the course was hard. It's not the flattest marathon and I had been warned. I'll have to wait until Paris in April 2009 for the next attempt.

Thanks to Nick and Laurence for their sterling efforts. It was a pleasure to have you with me. I'm not sure that this was reciprocal as I wasn't much fun out there today.

Here's a few photos to put you all off thoughts of marathons in the future:

The small group of runners at the 24 km mark

A view of my lopsided running style at 25 km

Beginning to look tired at 25 km
Nick looking decidely worried about my ability to complete the course !
One of the last sections of hills at 39 km.
The advert against ever running a marathon !

Tapering

Tuesday night session with the club but I was under strict doctor's orders not to exert myself before the race on Sunday so a very quiet workout.

A warm-up through the forest of St Germain to the terrasse and back past the swimming pool before heading to the track. I ran with Laurence and accompanied her all evening both on the warm-up and around the track. The interval session tonight was 12 x 200m with 100m rest in between. Laurence's VMA test (still don't know the translation of this in English - can anyone help me here ?) showed that her equivalence over 200m was 50 seconds. So we set off doing each 200m in that time. Laurence did very well and was very stable over the intervals finishing each one between 48 and 50 seconds with a final sprint in 43 seconds.

Easy session for me running with the ladies - most enjoyable.

Picked up the club jersey at the end of the session and will now wear this on Sunday for the marathon. The pressure's really on now !

Sunday run

Just the usual run around the standard Sunday route through the forest yesterday. I took it easy since the marathon is looming and Nick was running a 10km race in Velizy.

Set off quietly with Laurence and Louise, listening to them chat away as they ran. Since I wasn't involved in the conversation and they were jogging at too slow a pace for me to be comfortable, I left them and picked up the pace to the barrier. I jogged back to fin them again and then ran the second half of the course with them as they'd picked up speed too.

All up 13 km in 1:05 so an easy 12.2 km/h average. Just what the doctor ordered ! I met Paul at the end of the run who was out for a morning walk with his daughter and the dogs. He was running a half-marathon in the afternoon so was enjoying a bit of R&R before the race.

Nick managed 39:55 over the 10km course in Velizy with a sprint to finish under the 40 minute barrier. Paul ran a great race to finish his race in 1:29:58 just under his target of 1:30. Brilliant result.

New record

Well actually it wasn't any of my personal bests that were beaten today but I ran with Henry and we managed a new record for him over the Chateau du Val course.

I'm tapering down for the marathon next Sunday and so the training has been reduced dramatically for this last week. I decided that I would run the 7.2 km course with Henry today and then do the usual Sunday run with the gang tomorrow before calling it a day (or a week even).

We set off in the late afternoon and the weather is perfect for an Autumn day: sunny, still and mostly warm. I set the pace for Henry and we did the first kilometre in 5:30. I was hoping that we could keep this up all the way around and go under 40 minutes but over the next 2 kilometres we slowed down a little. By half way we were around a minute behind my objective for us but Henry did a lot better over the second half of the course and even managed a sprint finish to end in 40:08 or 5:36 per km. Not bad at all and 2 minutes better than his previous record.

So what was the secret to motivate an almost 13 year old in producing such a good performance ? His mother's iPod, what else ? Thank you Steve Jobs !!

Fast Slow Fast

Fast, slow, fast was the name of the session tonight. Not very imaginative but very descriptive.

So the training plan for the evening was 2000m of fast, slow, fast with 100m intervals of sprints, interspersed with 100m of medium-paced jogging. Then 400m of recovery and a further 1000m of fast, slow, fast.

I managed to arrive ahead of schedule for the training tonight which was already a victory in itself. I was able to arrive at a sedate pace rather than the frantic sprint in my suit as per usual. Once changed, we set off for a warm-up through the forest and beside the swimming pool at St Germain in a large 4km loop to begin with. This took about 27 minutes and then we warmed up on the track for a few seconds before starting the session proper.

I ran with Bruno very easily to begin with not following the leaders for once. Nick was up at the front running hard with Miguel and Francisco. We gradually caught them up and over the last 5 or 6 sprints we were running alongside.

On the second shorter set, I could feel that Miguel and Bruno were pulling away from me over the fast sections. It was practically an all-out sprint and the Garmin showed that we were reaching almost 25 km/h over these sections. We finished the session and I warmed down with Laurence. It was not as tiring as a normal interval training since the heart was able to recover over the slow sections.

The worst part of the evening was being told by Miguel that the Yvelines marathon course isn't flat at all and if I achieve my objective there then I'll achieve it anywhere. He's sown the seed of doubt in my mind now, 10 days before the race. Bugger !

Running in the dark

6:45 am and the alarm went off. It felt like the middle of the night. I looked outside and it was the middle of the night. Lord knows where I found the motivation to go out running this morning but I pulled on my running kit and the headlamp and went outside.

Not only was it dark and early, it was also raining. All the usual questions such as why bother, why bother and why bother passed through my mind for a short instant, but I set the Garmin to training mode and took off. I ran down to the Seine and my legs were heavy following last night's session. I thought that I was running really slowly so it was a surprise to see the Garmin at 2 km showing 8:37 as it felt a good 30 seconds slower than that.

There was no real improvement in the speed for the rest of the course. The legs weren't in the mood for stretching out and I lacked the motivation to push them harder. I left the park in 27:44 so I had lost ground running up from the hippodrome. I relaxed from then on back to the house as no records were on offer today. I just concentrated on not being hit by a car in the dark running along the roads.

Stopped the watch outside the house in 46:56 so the end result wasn't as bad as I'd thought. Average pace of 4:15 per km. Even the rain had stopped, so things were looking up for the day.

VO Max training

Another VO2 max session on the track tonight with the club in an attempt to improve on last week's times.

Last week was the first session of VO2 max time trials to calculate our potential for training and race purposes. Unlike last week, tonight was rain and wind free and an ideal temperature to set record times over the 5 lap race.

We set off for a warm up run to begin with for 25 minutes, covering just over 4 km. We then carried on the warm-up on the outside lanes of the track as the slower members of the group did their session over a 1500m course. Laurence was taking part in this and I ran with her as she was going round to try and encourage her to catch the female runner in front. Laurence ran very steadily and managed almost the same time over the course as last week in 6:42. She's definitely capable of a better time but was probably feeling the distance in her legs after Sunday's run.

Once this race had finished, it was time for the 2km runners to line up on the start line. Bruno, Francisco, Mireille and Nick were all there and I lined up with them at the outside of the second lane. We were off and I took the lead into the first bend setting the pace. I led for the first 400m and then Francisco and another runner came past. I tucked in behind them, keeping to the inside lane and the cord around the bend. Bruno was just beside me and so the four of us went around the next 2 laps in this position. On the fourth lap, I could feel that I was tapping Francisco's feet on the back straight. I felt that the pace was just under what I was capable of but that I didn't have the energy to get past them around the bend. With 500m to go, Miguel, the trainer, shouted from the inside of the track that we had to go faster now. That was my cue and I pulled to the outside and overtook Francisco and the other man and told myself to push the final lap.

I gave everything over that 300 m and must have put a slight gap between me and them. With 200m to go, I felt completely drained but didn't want them to catch me, having made that break. I could hear them just behind me around the final bend. I hit the final straight and sprinted as fast as I was able, lifting my knees to give myself the largest stride possible. I crossed the line in 6:38 a good 17 seconds faster than last week and 4 seconds ahead of Francisco in second place.

Thrilled to bits with my performance and then spent the next 30 minutes coughing my lungs up. Bruno finished 4th in 6:48 and was disappointed to have been left behind. He's got the ability to beat me over this distance but perhaps lacks the same competitive spirit when it matters. Nick finished in 7:09 and should be able to beat the 7 minute barrier on a good day when he's fresh.

A new PB and makes me feel good about my strength after Sunday's run and the probability of beating my objective over the marathon.

Fingers crossed.

Long Sunday run

After the Saturday run, we packed the car and set off to Lac de Der in the east of France for the annual rollerblade stroll around the lake. We set off with Nick, Anne and the kids in their car and with all the family in ours. The idea was to do the 34 km route around the lake with Paul on rollerblades, Henry on the bike and Laurence and I running (but separately I hasten to add).

The course was well organised and Nick, Laurence and I set off about 15 - 20 minutes before the rollerbladers, to try and set some distance between us before they came charging past. Laurence set off at her own rhthym and it wasn't until the end of the race, having gone around the lake that we saw her again. Nick and I set off slowly with Eloïse, Nick's 7 year old girl, on her bike. We were running at 12.6 km/h to begin with but my natural pace soon got the better of us and our average rose steadily to around 13.5 km/h.

We were running around the lake, concentrating on getting from one feeding station to the next situated at kms 7, 17 and 26 with the final one at the end after 34 km. The first station we missed, as we started before the rollerbladers and I got confused between calories and kilometres on my Garmin !! I was just above 700 calories when I realised my mistake and we had already run almost 9 km.

We managed 13.4 km after 1 hour and we arrived at our first feeding station shortly after. We spent 5 minutes there, filling up with water and dry fruits before continuing on. I got a stitch not long after which was probably due to the excess of banana that I had taken on board. This disappeared after a couple of kilometres and I had settled into a steady pace at around 13.9 km/h by then. I left Nick a little way behind over the next couple of kilometres and ran with Eloïse still pedalling happily away. We reached the feeding station and waited for Nick who was only a couple of minutes behind. 26.5 km down and only 7.5km to go according to the map. I set off again with Nick and we decided to run the remainder at our own pace. I could see that Nick was tired and he said that he was happy at around 12 km/h. I maintained my pace thinking all the while that I would need to go faster for the marathon but even at this pace the distance hurt anyway !

The end of the course was less flat and there were plenty of little rises and descents. I focussed on catching the rollerbladers ahead of me which I eventually managed. It was a relief then to see the lake appearing having left the woods around it and to see the finishing point. However, the initial relief became a large frustration as it took an eternity to reach the lakeside and to run the last 2 kilometres over the dyke and back to the village.

I finshed in 2:45 on the garmin and 35.4 km after the start. This is an average of 12.8 km/h. If I take out the 11 miutes of stops at the feeding stations , the average increases to 13.8 km/h. Still under the speed I need to manage my marathon objective but not too far off. This last calculation boosted my morale incredibly as when I first looked at the Garmin and the average pace, I felt that with today's effort, it was out of my reach.

The best surprise of the day was seeing Laurence appear at the end having run the whole loop too. I was sure that she wouldn't manage and that she would stop at the 26 km feeding station. She wanted to prove me wrong and I was really impressed with her run as it's 10 farther than she's ever run before. I'll see if she's still able to walk tomorrow though !

Saturday forest run

Called Nick and Andy to go for a run Saturday morning through the forest in Le Mesnil along the usual Sunday course.

We met up at the church at 8:00 am and set off through the forest just after dawn. It was the start of a lovely day and the sun was just beginning to burn off the early morning mist in the forest. We ran at about 12.5 km/h which felt very comfortable. Andy has improved in fitness drastically since the last time we went running together which is no surprise since he now trains 3 times a week. We got to the barrier in just over 23 minutes and then headed back along the road.

As we ran along the road, we saw a deer outlined against the mist watching us. Another few yards and it was off bounding into the forest with ease. We ran at much the same pace for the return journey and finsihed the loop in just over 49 minutes for the 10.4 km.

A nice run to start the weekend.

Thursday session

Managed to make it back in time (just) for the start of the Thursday club session at St Germain.

Despite the 5 minute locker room closing rule before the official start of the session, I managed to sneak in 2 minutes before the start and get ready in record time. We then all set off towards the park at St Germain where we ran at a very steady (read slow) pace for 25 minutes covering 3.5 km. We got back to the track beside the clubhouse where the real fun began.

The menu for the evening was 10 x 1 minute. All the regulars were there, including Nick and Laurence, but tonight we were joined by Mireille, the fastest female club member and Bruno and Francisco were also out. We set off around the track for the intervals and I stayed at the front with Francisco with Bruno just behind us. Mireille was also tagging along but Jean-Marc was pulling ahead. We repeated this for another 8 stretches and I could feel myself tiring with only 30 seconds recovery between each fast section. Nick was in the group behind with Alex and Laurence was running well with some other ladies.

On the ninth and final interval Bruno came past and I pulled out all the stops to try and keep with him until the end. Very satisfied with the session as I really pushed it and worked out to my utmost. Garmin recorded the fast sections as between 18.5 and 19.8 kmh. Good performance and 10 km all up.

Dawn raid

Well not so much of a raid really as a recovery jog around Maisons Laffitte in the dark.

Early morning start, as the alarm rang at 6:45 am for me to pull my running kit on. I hadn't really recovered from the track session last night and so the thought of going for an early morning run was not that appealing. I made it outside, slipped on the headtorch and set off at the best pace I could muster.

I went through my 2km marker in 8:43, so the pace was slow but slightly better than I thought. Normally, I begin to recover from this point and pick up speed. Today, there was no acceleration left in the legs and I just plodded on at the same pace. I left the park in 28:17 so almost exactly a minute slower than my recent training runs over the same course. This point is at 6.5 km so I was averaging 4:21 per km at this point.

I must have sped up from then on as I ran up to Blvd Pasteur in 36:01 and then put a little extra effort in through Le Mesnil to finish in 47:07 or 4:15 per km. This means that I ran the second half of the course at 4:11 pace which is reassuring as I need to run 42.2 km at this pace in 2 weeks time !!

Race pace

Managed to arrive at the club session in advance for once which was a nice surprise. Tonight's session was the 2km VO2 max workout in which you are supposed to run the 2km distance flat out in order to calculate your training schedules and your capacity to run before creating oxygen debts and lactic build-ups.

We set off slowly for a warm-up through the forest and into St Germain park before heading back to the track. What had been a warm evening, if a little windy, was rapidly turning into a cooler and decidely wet evening. By the time we ran back to the stadium, the rain had settled in for good and raindrops were already seeping down the back of my neck.

We ran a few more laps for warm-up and then the first group set off over 1500m. Laurence took part in this group and probably ran the first 300m too fast before settling into a more steady rhythm to finish the distance in 6:41. She's definitely capable of running faster and the fast start must have cost her a good 10 seconds.

I lined up with the men and notably Nick, Bruno and Jean-Marc to do 5 laps of the track in as close to race conditions as possible. We set off quickly and Jean-Marc, predictably, went to the front with Bruno and myself just behind. 1st lap in 1:17 and Jean-Marc began to pull away. I overtook Bruno at this point and made a little break but I could hear him just behind me all the way from then on. The front straight was into a headwind and rain so the conditions were far from perfect and I could feel myself tire from the second lap onwards. Bruno pulled back to my shoulder on the final bend but I was determined not to let him outsprint me having led all the way. I accelerated around the bend and then put on a final spurt down the last straight to beat him by 2 seconds in 6:55.

Nick finished 9 seconds slower than last year in 7:19 so the conditions were not easy. I'm still a little disappointed as I was aiming for 6:45. According to McMillan calculator, I should be capable of 6:36 as an equivalent performance to 37:28 over 10 km. There'll be another try next week and I'll see what I can pull off then. Good session with about 10km all up.

Sunday run

Laurence got up at 6:50 am to go mountain bike in a competition here in Le Mesnil this morning. I watched the trees bending over with the wind and the sound of the rain lashing against the window panes and I wished her good luck as I snuggled back under the bedcovers., mightily relieved not to be taking part.

I got up 2 hours later and went for the usual Sunday run. It was slightly more hazardous than normal as the mountain bikes shared part of my route and I was almost mown down by a high speed bike racer more than once. Still tired after yesterday's run and going to bed late after the dinner party (with an excess of wine not helping either).

All up 12 km in just under 55 minutes at an average of 4:36 per km - very steady. No energy for anything more. Saw Laurence and Anne on the bikes on their way to another victory as the first women's team. Most impressed by their courage and determination - great result. Well done to them both.

Long run

Told Laurence that I'd go for a long run on Saturday morning and she almost talked me out of it. I have to admit that the week has been extremely busy and tiring and that a long run was not the most reasonable solution to be considered. However, my marathon training schedule prevailed and I headed out of the house on Saturday morning with the intention of trying out a new route suggested by Paul a few days ago.

I ran alongside the Seine to begin with at a comfortable pace. I went through my usual 2 km marker in 8:40 so I wasn't pushing the pace excessively but enjoying the scenery in daylight for once. I crossed over the bridge at Maisons Laffitte and headed to the other side of the Seine and turned North. This part of the river runs through Satrouville, then Cormeilles, then La Frette. It is fairly industrial to start with and then the river widens out and the views and the scenery improve immensely. I was running well and enjoying myself but also beginning to wonder if Laurence wasn't right and such a long run wasn't a bit ambitious.

After 1 hour, I had run 14.3 km so I was above marathon pace. This changed as I crossed over the bridge at Conflans and headed back home past the Cora lake. I was mightily relieved to finally arrive at the bakers in Le Mesnil buy some viennoiseries and run back home for a late breakfast with them.

All in all 24.25 km in 1:45 so an average of 4:21 per km. I slowed down dramatically over the second half of the course though. I'll need more sleep before the marathon if I'm to achieve my objective.

Early morning run

Very busy at the moment with the start of the Paris Motor Show so I had no time yesterday to write up my early morning run on this blog.

6:45 am and the alarm went. I grabbed my running kit and put it on and added an extra accessory as I left the front door: a head torch. Pitch black outside now at this time in the morning and I didn't fancy twisting my ankle running down in the dark to the Seine. The light from the torch flickered on and off with each stride and it was most peculiar to follow this flickering beam down the paths alongside the river.

I felt good and comfortable at a fairly strong pace and did the first 2km in 8:24. Into Maisons Laffitte park and through the backroads having to avoid the horses out for the morning canter at 7:00 am. I left the park in 27:17 which was a lot better than I've been running in the last few weeks, by about 30 seconds even. By the time I reached the corner at Blvd Pasteur in 34:50 however, I seemed to have lost some of that advantage.

I was day-dreaming about work by then and everything that had to be done over the next few days, so I wasn't really concentrating on how fast I was going at all. I pushed the last kilometre in order to get back quickly to wish Laurence a happy birthday! 11.1 km course in 45:52 - not quite my P.B. but I felt very easy all the way around and was pleased with the run. 4:09 per km over the course on average - so a good marathon pace.

Running late

Arrived at the training session with the St Germain club over 10 minutes late last night having just returned back from business in Lille. I arrived in the car just in time to see them heading into St Germain forest at a slow jog.

Luckily Laurence had told me that they were heading for the main crossroads in the forest. I slipped out of my work clothes and into my running kit in the car, leapt out and chased after the group. They had already disappeared by this time so I set off at a good lick towards the designated training spot.

I actually arrived at the crossroads before the group, having taken a completely different route. For a few minutes, I wondered what I would do if nobody turned up but it was at this point that the club suddenly appeared through the trees. I spoke to Nick and gave Laurence a kiss before settling down to the workout.

The training for the evening was a 10x 1 minute session, split into 2 series of 5 intervals. We set off through the trees and it was instantly obvious (or not depending on how you look at it!) that in the twilight we couldn't see anything on the path in front of us. I was determined to make the most of the session, having arrived purposefully to participate, and despite Bruno's absence, I pushed on the first series watching Francisco, another sub-37 10 km runner, pull ahead of me.
On the second series, I managed a lot better and even pulled away from Francisco by the end.

A quick jog back to the clubhouse, a rapid shower and back to the car for a work dinner in Paris. It just doesn't stop at the moment.

A quick mention to François-Xavier for his performance in Berlin this weekend is necessary. He managed to beat the 3 hour barrier, finishing the marathon in an official 2:59:59. Talk about skin of the teeth !! Well done mate on a brilliant performance.