Tuesday stroll

One of the last club sessions before the marathon, so nothing really strenuous was programmed for the evening. It was a lovely evening though, with a clear blue sky and a temperature around 14°C so ideal for running.

I met Laurence and Ingrid, our guest from Sydney, at the club and we began the warm-up together. There was a lot of chattering going on and most of the talk was about the marathon. I ran for a while with Ingrid, talking about her objectives and the people in the club. She appreciated the cooler weather and the trail underfoot as we ran through the forest. The clocks went forward an hour at the weekend, so it means that there is enough light again for training sessions to take place in the forest.

I ran with Régis and Philippe to the track for the marathon training session which was 2 x 1000m at marathon pace. Again, tapering ensured that nothing too exhausting was going to happen tonight. Nick B joined us and we ran the session easily and I continued doing an extended warm-down waiting for the girls to get back to the club.

Laurence got back, having run easily including two intervals at marathon pace or slightly faster. She was pleased to be back out again and to feel that she had some energy once more.

10.5 km all up in 1:05. Very easy. Looking forward to Sunday.

Easy Sunday - 1 week to go

Paris marathon in exactly seven days and I'm beginning to get butterfiles thinking about it. I've never felt fitter, more confident in my ability to run this race in under 3 hours. I just have to wait until the day to test my resolve and to show myself what I'm capable of.

With this in mind, I went running with the old firends who I have tended to neglect lately due to the focus on "the race". Pierre-Henri, Ralf, Sophie and Philippe were all there for the usual Sunday run course and so I ran with them at a far more sedate speed than usual.

The forest was lovely again this morning as the sun had decided to appear again and the temperature was slightly milder than of late. It was very easy going and I ran with Pierre-Herni and Ralf for the first half until the barrier and then with Philippe and Sophie for the remainder.

10.8 km all up in 1:02. Felt good, very easy. Finished reading "Once a runner" this afternoon. Absolutely compelling stuff. So much to empathise with. Inspired me for next Sunday.

Saturday run

I woke up at 8:00 am at went for our now routine Saturday run to Cora lake with Nick again this morning.

The plan was to take the 15km run easily this morning with the Paris Marathon looming. Only 8 days to go to the big event and I didn't want to take any risks by injuring myself on a training run so close to the race. As it was, when I got up this morning I could feel a slight pull in my right buttock and so I did some stretching exercises to try and relieve this. These stretches only appeared to make the pain worse, so I gave this up as a bad job. The coaches are right that advise to do stretches after a warm-up first. I put my kit on and went for the run instead.

I picked Nick up and we ran into the forest at a leisurely 5:00 per km pace. As we warmed up, the pace picked up too. After 5km we were runing at 4:25 pace and we had to make a conscious effort to slow down. We ran at a steady 4:30 - 4:35 pace for a few more kilometres before slowing down for the last 5km and running these very steadily.

It was cold again this morning with a strong breeze. Hopefully the weather will improve next week as I wouldn't like to run the marathon with a strong wind. Hailstorm this afternoon - could do without this too please ! Stopped at Nick's to pick up 'Once a runner' by John L. Parker which I'm now reading. Really good novel with descriptions of races that I can empathise with.

15km this morning in 1:12. Average pace of 4:50 per kilometre. Fine as last weekend preparation.

Thursday intervals

Well it wasn't really the plan to do intervals this evening, since the Bible stated that it was a 20 minute warm-up followed by 2x10 minute at marathon pace, it's just that this never really happened.

I got to the club in a rush, having left work late and then driven like a madman to get to the training session on time. I arrived to a large round of applause, but it only took me a nanosecond to realise that I wasn't being encouraged in my tardiness but Thierry was for his marathon performance in Rome. I slipped on my kit and joined the crowds for the evening's session. Big turnout this evening with all the regulars except Régis present: Fabrice, Nick, Mireille, Alex, Philippe et al.

The warm-up went by quickly as I chatted to Jean-Claude (in his early seventies: V4) about his plans for races in the coming months. He's going to up his distances soon and run a few trails of 50 - 60 km before attacking some longer trails of just under 90km in the Summer. His real aim is to do the UTMB, the trail around Mont Blanc: 164km and 9000m of ascent. I hope my goals will be similar when I'm his age. Only one person in their seventies has managed to finish the UTMB, so Jean-Claude is motivated. I told him to keep it up as he regularly brings home the gold medals in his age category for the club. He finished the half-marathon in 1:39 a few weeks ago. Fantastic performance for a seventy year old.

Anyway, having chatted to Jean-Claude and most of the female members of the club who wanted to know about Laurence (getting better, having managed to go for a run this morning), we arrived back at the track for this evening's session. The plan was to do 4x1500m off 400m recovery. I said that I'd take part but at 4:00 per km pace in order not to tire myself out.

The group started fast and I tagged along towards the middle with Mireille. She picked up the speed over the last half and we overtook some other runners as, despite my plans, I hung on to her shoulder and stayed with her to the finish. 5:45 - not exactly the sedate pace I'd have chosen but I was still feeling good.

The second interval started slower. In fact, the group had been planning to run the first at VMA, the next 2 at 10k pace and the last at VMA. I followed Mireille around on the second interval too and then picked up the pace slightly when Miguel told us that we were taking it too easy. Finished spot on my target time of 6:01.

Third and last intervals, I could contain myself no more. I hit the front almost from the start and led the intervals keeping the pace very steady and trying not to lose everyone. Mireille and Fabrice followed me closely with Nick just afterwards, especially into the wind which had begun to pick up down the back straight. I was happy at the front, setting the pace and leading. Definitely my favourite position for these track sessions. Next two intervals were completed in 5:50 and 5:35.

Felt good at the end: not too tired and capable of running a few more. Everything looks promising for next Sunday.

13.75 km all up in 1:17.

Tuesday taper

Into the last 2 weeks before the Paris marathon and the tapering has begun.

I turned up at the club tonight having read the Bible which stated 2 x 10 minute marathon pace after a warm-up followed by a warm-down. Unfortunately, Fabrice wasn't there tonight, as I'd been expecting his version of tonight's events and to follow him. In fact, the turnout was rather low tonight with most of my usual running companions absent: Fabrice, Régis, José, Bruno, etc.
Instead, I asked Philippe what his plans were and then decided that a 6x800m threshold workout sounded fine.

A quick warm-up towards St Germain terrasse and by the swimming pool and we were back at the track for the workout. Mireille and Nick B had joined us so it was a small group of the 6 of us: Philippe, Nick, Nick B, Mireille, Adrien ( a new youngster) and myself who set off around the track.. Michel the old coach was watching our progress and giving us friendly but annoyingly unhelpful advice. Apparently, he was a really quick athlete in his day (1:09 over the half-marathon) but despite his 40 year's experience, his coaching methods tend to depress me rather than inspire: your stride is wrong, shorten your stride, run wider around the bends, etc. etc.

Anyway, we set off and ran the first 800m very easily (too easily actually) in 3:10. Following the 200m recovery, I took the lead in the second interval determined to pick up the pace and so we finished this one in 2:59. From then on, the aim was to make a second per interval faster over the distance, taking it in turns to lead the group over the 800m. Intervals went as follows:

3:10, 2:59, 3:00, 2:58, 2:57, 2:57

So I found it fairly comfortable and certainly wasn't pushing my heartrate to the max. Again, I far prefer leading the group at my pace than following at a pace imposed on me, which I find a lot harder to follow. Most enjoyable session though and a great warm-down for the marathon next week.

12.2 km all up in 1:06. Good fun.

Back to Grouchy

It's been a while but since the Bible said that I had to go for a run today, I followed the plan and went for a midday jog to Grouchy Castle.

I asked F-X if he was interested in coming along, but since he'd spent a rotten weekend arguing with his wife, thinking about work and, worst of all, feeling lousy when he went running, he wasn't at all interested in my offer. I set out by myself to the swimming pool and changed into my running clothes determined to go for an easy hour around the castle grounds.

The weather was lovely, with the sun out and the temperature around 15°C. Following yesterday's long run, the aim wasn't to set any speed records but just a recovery run at an easy 4:45 pace. It wasn't going to be easy to judge my pace as I'd left my Garmin at home but I set off with the intention of taking it easy and letting my body find a comfortable pace.

I could feel the kilometres in my legs as soon as I set off. What had seemed an easy pace yesterday, was 10 times harder today. Nevertheless, I climbed the short hill into the castle grounds and was out of breath already as I began my loops in front of the castle. The 4 loops I had intended to run initially turned into 3 as I cut my run short, not wanting to overdo things. The pace was steady, the shoes were fantastic and all pains in the legs have now disappeared.

Tired now this evening and feeling the effect of 3 days running in my legs. 9.3km all up today. No idea about the time but probably 4:45 pace per km. Good effort nonetheless.

Long Sunday run

I had planned this run for a while as it's the last real effort before the marathon in 2 weeks time.

The original plan had been for Laurence to accompany me on the mountain bike as I ran the 32 km trail into Marly forest around Feucherolles and St Nom la Breteche. Unfortunately, Laurence has fallen ill with a nasty throat infection and a slight temperature, and had to abandon her hopes of running a last long run this weekend and accompanying me at the same time. Luckily, Henry agreed to come with me on the bike and carry the water and energy gels.

We set off at 9:00 am and the weather, so lovely yesterday, had taken a turn for the worse. It was cool (5°C) and slightly misty. We set off through the forest at Le Mesnil and headed towards the St Germain training ground. I was running easily beginning at 5:00 pace and then speeding up to 4:40 then 4:30. I felt good through the forest with my new shoes on. Although they're not ideal for trails, they are excellent support along the roads. I'll definitely be wearing these for the marathon. Henry was a little cold at this point as it was easy going on the bike and so I pushed on as best I could without compromising the end of the run.

We went past the club and through the forest towards the agricultural school. We caught a group of mountain bikers up the hill here and they encouraged us as we overtook them. Henry had warmed up by now and I was beginning to sweat. A few minutes later, after 10km, I had my first gel and some water off Henry to wash it down. The gels were not strictly necessary but I wanted to test them before using the same in the marathon. Although not exactly tasty (blood orange flavour !), they went down without any problem and didn't cause any stomach cramps or anything else for that matter. I took one after every 10km, and the energy levels weren't a problem as a result. That first gel at 10km is the hardest as you don't feel you need anything but it does react before you go into the red and it's too late.

We left the flat ground now and headed into the hills of Marly forest. I ended up waiting for Henry at this point up the hills. The bike was harder going than on foot with tree trunks to climb over in places. It was towards Feucherolles that I began to have problems with my right knee. The ligaments behind the knee on the left side would click and I would lose support in the joint. This was most uncomfortable and I wondered if I wouldn't have to pull up and stop. I concentrated on keeping my leg movements straight as I ran and although this helped, it didn't stop the problem entirely. Only after St Nom la Breteche, after 19 km, did this ease as we reached flatter surfaces and faster sections again.

I'd been running between 5:00 - 5:30 kilometres in the forest but as soon as we got abck to the tarmac sections in the forest, I was able to push the pace to 4:20. Another gel later and I was running at 4:03, 4:08, 4:19, 4:02. We met Anne at this point on her rollerblades and she accompanied us for a few hundred metres which was lovely. I told her how far we'd gone and asked about the ladies long run yesterday which had been accomplished successfully. We left Anne at the St Germain corssroads and carried on back past the club. Henry had had enough of trails by this point and was beginning to be sore on the bike. We decided to run back along the roads to Le Mesnil and since home was within reach now, I pushed the pace again.

The last 5 kilometres were run in 4:19, 4:04, 3:54, 4:06 and then 4:25 back up the hill to home. Faster than marathon pace and not bad after 2 hours of running already under the belt. I was really pleased and this has given me plenty of confidence for the marathon and the 3 hour objective. Now only if that damn knee holds out ...

33.25 km all up in 2:37 or an average of 4:44 per km. Chuffed with myself.

Saturday recovery

I set off with Nick for our usual jaunt around the Cora lake again this morning. Andy had cried off, no real excuses forthcoming, so it meant that Nick and I would be fighting it out alone along the trails to the lake.

The first mistake this morning was to assume that blue sky and sunshine implied warm weather outside. I was already outside the house and half-way down the lane before I realised just how chilly it was still. I arrived at Nick's house to see him come out in long running tights and well protected on his top, informing me that it was only 2°C outside. Too late: I was in shorts and running shirt (OK, I had a second long sleeve top on too) but I was already feeling the cold.

We set off steadily, neither of us willing to push the pace as we were both recovering from the interval session on Thursday. This was very pleasant though as we were able to talk easily while running and enjoy the sunshine when we left the woody areas. I regretted my ski hat as my ears reminded me that it was only just above freezing. We picked up the pace after a few kilometres to start running at 4:30 pace from the 4:50 speed that we had started at.

I was trying out my new Asics this morning (Gel 2140 for those interested) which I bought in a fit of depression following my running aches and pains recently. Perhaps new shoes would resolve the problems. They were very comfortable, perhaps slightly less cushioned than I had been expecting, but fabulous on the road stretches. Nick was wearing in his new trail shoes which he seemd pretty satisfied with.

An easy run overall as we ran the 15 km in 1:10 or an average of 4:43 per km. Felt good to be out in the Spring sunshine. Looking forward to a longer run tomorrow.

VMA on track

I must admit that I hadn't been looking forward to this one : 20 x 400m on the track. Fabrice had insisted that this was part of the marathon programme that he'd been given and since we've been following his word, that was the plan for the evening.

It was a lovely evening too. The weather has improved vastly over the last few days and since it's getting lighter too, it was a real pleasure to get the running kit on and head off for a warm-up through St Germain. All of the normally constituted runners headed off right into the forest to do an hour 30 of easy jogging. The loonies turned left for a short warm-up before hitting the track. Guess which group I was in ? The temptation to turn right and forget about the marathon was tremendous and it took all my will to ignore the evil little voice in my head telling me to take it easy.

At least I was in good company: Nick had obviously lost all sense of reason and decided to stay with the marathon preparation runners tonight. Fabrice and Régis were there too - good job too since it was all Fabrice's fault that we were doing this in the first place. Yannick had joined also to run along with us, or rather run alongside, sprint off and then return and run a little further in our company.

We set off on the interval session after a few stretches and sprints up and down the back straight of the track. I set off at the front to start, running at a pace that I was comfortable with around the track. We split the remainder of the session between Fabrice and myself, taking it in turns to lead and to set the pace. The only exception was the last 400m where I set off with the intention of giving it a good blast only to be overtaken by Nick after 150m who was going like a steam train. I couldn't follow and I watched him from behind as he left me for dead around the final bend and down the final straight.

The intervals went as follows:

1:25, 1:25, 1:24, 1:24, 1:24, 1:23, 1:24, 1:23, 1:24, 1:25, 1:24, 1:23, 1:23, 1:23, 1:23, 1:23, 1:23, 1:23, 1:23, 1:14

So very consistent except for the last. Tiring session and very hard mentally to maintain the effort over so many intervals. No real pains to speak of - tired legs by the end though which needed stretching.

Almost 19 km all up in 1:36 so an average of 5:06 per km. Good preparation.

Back on track

Tuesday night training session at the club and the marathon runners had planned 5 x 2000 m threshold session.

The weather has improved remarkably over the last few days and it was a real pleasure to be running on a warm (16°C), sunny evening in the light. We warmed up by running towards the St Germain terrace and then back along by the swimming pool. Whether it was the nice evening, or just a coincidence, there was a large turnout with plenty of runners I had never seen before.

I was runing with Régis, Fabrice and Nick talking about St Patrick's day and the importance of beer in the marathon runners diet. Convinced that some serious research and a book on the subject could become a bestseller ! We ran back to the track and then began the interval workout.

Fabrice, Régis, Yannick, Mathieu (?) and I were running the 2000 m together while the rest of the club was doing some fartlek training. Fabrice acts as guardian of the training schedule and so he told us that we were supposed to run the 2k in 8:10. This seemed slightly slow to me for a threshold session, but he explained that the aim was not to kill ourselves.

These laudable intentions lasted for all of 3 seconds as Yannick set off like a bullet on the first interval. Fabrice was chasing after him and I just stayed on his shoulder, enjoying the pace which felt comfortable. I seemed to have plenty of energy last night and even as the session went on, I was extremely consistent in the intervals. It wasn't the first time, however, that I noticed that the Garmin is convinced that the track measures 420m instead of the 400m we assume. Since I was on autolap for every 1km, this meant that the 2km time would beep when there was still 100m to go to complete the 5th loop.

The 5 loop times for the intervals went as follows:

7:39, 7:45, 7:44, 7:38, 7:36

What is more interesting though is the kilometre intervals according to the Garmin (and not relying on the assumption that the track is exactly 400m):

3:34, 3:36, 3:41, 3:36, 3:41, 3:39, 3:38, 3:33, 3:38, 3:33

If this is true then I was running these intervals faster than my time over 10km and I still felt easy at this pace. I was really boosted by this session and I'm beginning to feel that everything is coming together for the marathon.

17.3 km all up in 1:21 or an average of 4:42 per km.

Glorious Sunday

Woke up this morning to bright sunshine streaming in through the window. Temperature was very clement too, with the thermometer reading 11°C already at just after 8:00 am. Laurence prepared breakfast for us both: a good thick porridge to enable me to keep going over the 2 hour endurance run that was planned for the morning.

We picked Nick up and headed off to the club to have our photos taken in our club tracksuits. We looked like real 'scousers' with our shellsuits on: white tops and blue bottoms. The photos took 2 minutes and then Laurence headed back off to the house running and Nick and I set off with a small group with the intention of a 2 hour run interspersed with 2 session of 20 minutes at marathon pace.

The group were the usual culprits: Régis, Fabrice, José, Yannick, Mohammed, Nick and I. We left the club and headed in the direction of the agricultural school and Princess Road; the road that cuts straight through the forest at Marly. By the time we got to the top of Princess Road after 30 minutes at an easy jogging pace, I was too hot and had to take my top off. It was the start of the first of the marathon pace sessions and so we all set off at around 4:10 pace.

4:10 pace was the general idea as this is 5 seconds faster per kilometre than the marathon pace planned. However, it soon became apparent that we were going a lot faster. First kilometre went by in 4:07, second in 3:46 and I was trying to chase down José and Yannick. José runs on instinct and rarely wears a watch so he has no idea how fast he is going. He's in a different league though and I knew if I went after him at this pace, I would soon be exhausted. The good news was that I was feeling no discomfort from any aches and pains. This was the first run in a long time that this had occured. We carried along the road into Feucherolles and completed the first 20 minute interval, having run just over 5 kms in this time. A 4 minute receovery period and then we set off again.

We headed out along the road from Feucherolles to St Nom la Breteche. With the sun shining and the glorious views over the countryside, the lack of pain in my legs and back, I felt on top of the world. It was a great feeling. Another 5 kilometres later and we were running up the hill through St Nom and back towards St Germain.

Got back at the club after 2:04 and 25 km. Average pace of 4:58 over the distance. Looking forward to the long run next week when I'll head off over some trails in the same direction.

Day was capped off with a fantastic victory by England over France in the 6 nations championship. 29-0 at half-time and it was all one-way. 34-10 final score. Great wrap up to the day.

Nick was happy too despite reaching 40 today: 4-1 victory by Liverpool over Man Utd; England winning the match against France; and a surprise birthday brunch at his house after the run! Happy birthday mate !

Saturday recovery

In the recent series of aches and pains, I started today with a sore left ankle (strapped up to protect it), small pain in the base of the back, blah blah. OK it's too boring to read so I'll skip the injuries. Suffice to say that I was looking forward to running with Andy and Nick and having a nice jog around Cora lake.

We set off at a moderate pace at around 4:44 per km and then over the next few kilometres through the forest, we picked up the speed a little to reach about4:40 pace. By the time we got to Cora, Andy was a little tired, having suffered from a bit of a cold this week, so we slowed down on the path home.

Weather was pleasant at around 12°C so it was ideal for running. The pain in my ankle disappeared, and I only felt a slight discomfort in my back and thigh. A new problem arose though with a small tightening in the left thigh. It's pathetic I tell you ! I'm beginning to believe that achange of running shoes will do some good.

15km all up in 1:17

Falling apart

Not long to write this session up, so I'll be brief.

Went to work with strapping on my left ankle as it was playing up and a sharp lancing pain every now and then reminded me that I'm not a robot but made of flesh and blood. The pain in my back has subsided and is now more a slight discomfort than anything more worrying.

With these injuries on my mind, I put on my running kit and prepared for a VMA workout with the club. The warm-up went really well and the ankle was sound and the back / buttock no problem. We got to the track and Fabrice wanted to run 20 x 200m (not the 20 x 400m originally planned - thank God) and this sounded fine.

We set off as a group of 4: Fabrice, Fabrice's friend, Mireille and myself. Mireille pulled out after 3 reps with a calf pain and didn't want to push it any further. At the same time, I was beginning to suffer from another problem in my right knee: I would reach 100m of the rep and then feel the ligaments behind my knee clicking together. It was most unnerving and I ran 6 reps before I decided to call it a day. The clicking sensation in the knee disappeared at a jogging pace and so I just jogged around the track to put in a little mileage to end.

12.5 km for the session. 39 seconds for the 200 reps but legs beginning to fall apart. When will this all stop ? I'm longing to be injury free again and just suffer from a little stiffness in the muscles after a session. Fingers crossed.

Threshold training

Bible said 10 x 800m for tonight in 2:53 off 1min30 recovery. Well actually it said 1hour recovery run but since I can't bear the thought of running track sessions by myself, I swapped the recovery for tomorrow's run.

All of this was to no purpose whatsoever since none of the other runners in the club were interested in 10 x 800 but were proposing 6 x 1000m instead. I thought that this was better for me anyway than a full blown VMA session so I followed the crowd.

We ran a 25 minute, 4.5km warm-up where we discussed the joys of training and the pain of racing with Philippe and Jocelyn. Jocelyn was tellling us that she wanted to improve so that one day, she wouldn't hurt in races. All runners go through pain in racing and we explained that no matter how good you get, the pain is always present. We talked about personal bests and how I'm now running better than when I was 17 or 18 years old. Jocelyn found this hard to believe and thought that all males performed less well after 18 when they were at their peak. I had to prove her the contrary ... !!! Laurence was running just ahead of us with her girlfriends but I could tell instinctively that she was listening in at this point !

We got to the track and started the 6 x 1000m with Régis, Fabrice, Philippe, a new guy Nicolas and myself. We took it in turns to lead and apart from a small pain in the right buttock and a very dodgy left ankle, I was feeling on form. I even felt that the first interval was easy which we completed in 3:50.

Intervals went as follows: 3:50, 3:51, 3:48, 3:52, 3:49, 3:39

Last one was a blast with the 10 second gap in times being made up over the last 400m when Fabrice and I stretched out racing each other to the line. Nice to be in a group of runners with all the same ability on this session. Good chatting with all of them.

Great session made me feel good to be back at the club and running well again. Some stretches tonight to ease the ankle and buttock.

Couple of photos of us at Rambouillet this weekend.

Rambouillet Half Marathon

Saw Jean-François, my physio, yesterday for another check up on the injury and to see whether the race at Rambouillet was still on the cards or not. I hadn't run since Tuesday and I was beginning to feel better, if a little stiff around the top of the thigh and the right buttock. After the session with Jean-François, I was feeling a lot better and we were able to pinpoint the muscle pain and he gave me some appropriate exercises to stretch these. Basically, the problem is with the sacro iliac joint , where the back joins the pelvis. The stretching exercises ease the pain and when I left the clinic, I was feeling better than I had done for several days. Based on this, I thought that I would give the semi a go and run with Nick who was aiming to go under 1:30 for the first time.

The weather was pretty lousy when we arrived at Rambouillet with a full car load: Laurence, Nick, Anne, Christèle and Jeff. We headed as quickly as possible to the changing rooms to pick up our numbers, get ready and shelter from the drizzle that was starting to fall. We met Régis, Fabrice and other runners from St Germain who I normally train with. They had picked up my number to give to another as they thought I wouldn't be running - sorry guys. Their aim was to go under 1:25 which would have been my objectives under better circumstances. As we changed Paul arrived and so Nick, Paul and I lined up together at the start with the intention of running together and getting everyone under 1:30. The back was playing up and I'd done some stretches after a short warm-up in order to relieve the tension in the muscles. This seemed to do the trick and there was only a slight discomfort.

The gun went, I started my watch and we were off. It took us about 20 seconds to cross the start line and then we headed off downhill into Rambouillet town centre at a leisurely pace. I say leisurely but we were probably running at around 4:15 pace but compared to the usual frantic starts for 10km races, this felt so comfortable. I concentrated from the start on my posture and ensuring that my back was going to be able to hold up all of the way round. The greatest fear was that I would reach the 10km mark and have to pull out of the race. I definitely didn't fancy a 10km walk back into town.

Paul, Nick and I ran together and I was able to chat a little as we ran. The pace was steady at around 4:08 per km until the fourth kilometre when we had to pull uphill out of town. At this point, the pace slowed to 4:29 but I pushed the pace at the top of the hill to make sure that we got back onto target. So what was the target though ? Actually, I had set the virtual partner to 4:12 per km which was slightly faster (one minute over the whole course) than the 1:30 objective. We were well on schedule and running well. This carried on over the next few kilometres until the 7th kilometre when I looked behind and saw that we had dropped Paul. He had been keeping up with us to begin with, but the pace was just out of his comfort zone and he had dropped back. Actually, I have doubts about the pace and think that this may have just been an excuse to run with a nice leggy blonde that we had overtaken a kilometre earlier. Anyway, Nick and I were on our own now.

The route through the Rambouillet forest was lovely and some photos of the course can be seen on the official website. The path wound through the forest and was a single track road, closed to traffic. We hit the 10km mark in 42:16, so spot on schedule and we began picking up and overtaking a number of runners from here on to the finish. The pace was very steady at just below 4:10 per km and I was really pleased with my condition as I knew that I had plenty of energy in reserve. The pace was comfortable for me and I was feeling strong. When we left the forest after 12.5 km we were having to run head on into the wind. I pushed the pace again here, letting Nick run behind me, worried that the wind would slow us down. In fact, I forced the pace too much as we ran this kilometre in 4:05, so as soon as we turned the bend around the roundabout, I eased slightly and dropped back to 4:10 pace again.

We carried on like this for the remainder of the course, counting down the kilometres to the end. The pain in my back and thigh was present but not unbearable. Another stretch through the forest and past some fisherman at the pond before a slower section where we had to pull up another incline before hitting the outskirts of Rambouillet. We could smell the finish now and we were picking off runners regularly. A sprint at the end and we crossed the line together in 1:28:31 - a new PB for Nick. Great run and most comfortable.

Having crossed the finish line the comfort faded instantly and I began to limp. The pain was back with a vengeance ! We got out of the steady rain that was now falling and I did some stretches in the changing area to find some relief. A couple of hot drinks later, a chat with Paul who finished in 1:30:45 and we went back outside to face the elements and watch Laurence and Anne arrive.

They had run very steadily too. Their aim was to run marathon pace around the course and they crossed the line in 1:56:58 still chatting easily as they went passed. Christèle later confirmed that they hadn't stopped chatting all of the way round which confirms my belief that they will both achieve their marathon objective of under 4 hours in a month's time.

The rest of the gang (Fabrice, Régis and Mireille) all finished within spitting distance of each other around 1:25. Mireille won the first female vet prize in 1:24:30 - good performance.

Good race, great course, shame about the weather but we shall be back next year.

Disappointment

Went running this evening with the club but the injury is still not better.

The warm up was painful with pains still in the top of my right buttock. I didn't feel comfortable at any point during the run. The group was running 10x600m with Régis, Fabrice, Nick, Philippe all together. I tried to start with them but the pain was too much from the start and I pulled up to stop before the pain became unbearable.

I watched the others run afterwards and decided that despite having told Nick that I would run Rambouillet with him, the most sensible idea is not to run at all and to try and recover asap.

Nick was running well sticking to the group and finishing the session on a sprint. Laurence ran well too, running her VMA session of 6x 2m30 at 4:14 - 4:20 pace.

Upset with myself and the fact that the injury isn't better. Drank a couple of rums to get over the worst of it.

Test run

I went out this morning to see if the osteopath's attempts to straighten me out had done any good or not.

Laurence volunteered to come along with me as she had managed a long run of 30km yesterday and wanted to ease off the muscle aches with a cycling sesssion. This has been an amazing week for her as she's run 95km in the week and is showing no sign of excessive fatigue. We set off slowly from the house and headed up to the forest for the standard Sunday run path to the barrier and back.

I felt easier from the start with the run. The muscle pain in my right buttock was still there but it felt as though the cause of the pain had disappeared. Unfortunately, the path through the forest had been churned up considerably by vehicles that are laying a water network to the next village. This meant that I was very cautious picking my way through the ruts in order to avoid throwing my back out of joint again. Once this section was over, I picked up the pace and began to feel a lot more comfortable running around 4:30 - 4:40 per km.

Towards the end of the route, the pain began to return to my lower back area so I'd probably forced a little too much again but it was definitely bearable and I'm not in any discomfort now, writing this 5 hours later.

Nice to get out again and put some kilometres in, even despite the lack of pace. Laurence enjoyed the outing too, very easy accompanying somebody at this pace on the mountain bike ! I really believe that yesterday's treatment has done me some good and that the muscle pain will wear off more quickly now. The big question is whether or not I can run the semi in Rambouillet. I'll take that decision after this weeks training sessions.

12.5km all up in one hour exactly.