LSR - long, slog of a run

We had friends around for dinner last night and I drank too much whisky, wine and grappa, finally getting to bed after 3:00 am. I woke at 11:00 am and decided that since Laurence wasn't showing any interest in me the only alternative was to go for a run. It was a hard decision, since frankly the thought of actually making any effort at all this morning was totally unnatural.

I think I was probably still hungover when I left the house, but I slurped down a glass of orange juice, threw the camelbak on and left with the intention of doing the same loop as last Sunday but more steadily.

The camelback was not comfortable and bumping around my back as I ran. I hate having any sort of accoutrement on me when I go running, and like to be able to swing my arms and feel free in my movements. I soon got used to the sack though and was happily coasting along at 4:50 pace for the first 8 kilometres.

Business was booming as I passed the prostitute beside the St Germain road near the clubhouse. What are all of these blokes doing at midday on a Sunday - don't they have homes to go to ? Anyway, soon I was pushing up the hill next to the horticultural college, managing my speed and being careful not to tire myself too early in the run. 5:05 for this km, then 5:11 and 5:06 as I went up Princess Road to the crossroads at the top. I felt a lot less tired than last week and was warmed up now. I turned towards Feucherolles and picked the pace up slightly along the top to around 4:40 pace.

At least with the camelbak, I didn't need to stop and was able to take on water as I ran. I carried on down the hill to St Nom, admiring the beautiful houses on the way, and was coasting at 4:38 pace. I felt a little more tired now as I reached the town centre and had to pull back up the hill. However, the temperature was a lot cooler compared to last week and with the water, I felt stronger about my ability to finish steadily.

The hardest part on the run was the steep hill in St Germain to go past Laurence's college, Debussy. The fatigue had finally got to me and the lack of energy was having an impact. I struggled to St Germain castle, stopping at the fountain to soak my cap in the water, and then carried on towards the swimming pool and the forest. I was determined to keep running now, and to carry on without walking. At just past the 29 km point, I walked for 10 yards up the hill on our usual Sunday run course. I couldn't help myself, but I picked up again and promised myself that I would just run slower rather than stop and walk.

The sick feeling in my stomach was very strong now but I only had a couple of kilometres to go, so I gritted my teeth and carried on. I managed to get back to the house in 2:39 having run just over 33 km. What surprised me most was that even though I felt I was suffering badly, I was still running at about 4:50 pace.


Average speed of 4:47 per km over the distance. Glad to have done it ! Certainly burnt off any excess alcohol.

Almost intervals

Andy's back from holidays looking fit and healthy and ready to get in some solid running training before our relay race in October. We managed to roganise to go running together yesterday and the idea was to head down to Maisons Laffitte track to get some intervals in before running back. I had planned a nice 5 x 1200m session in 4:30 per interval, just to see how I was faring up.

I picked Andy up outside his house and we ran easily down to the track at around 4:50 pace. We got to the stadium only to find that it was closed and not going to open for a good half hour. We headed off to Cora instead, chatting about the holidays and how well Nick is running at the moment. Nick wasn't around as he'd decided to take the easy option and take part in a raid in Normandy with Anne this weekend instead.

The pace was steady still at just under 5 minute kilometres, but despite Andy's intensive bike training, I could see that he wasn't used to the distance and was beginning to tire slightly. We ran up the hill to Pavillon de la Muette at a slower pace and then took it easier on the way home.

15 km all up for me in 1:16 or an average of 5:06 per km. Going to need to go faster than this Andy, if we're to beat the 3 hour marathon objective. Good week of training for me distance wise. I managed to beat the 80km barrier this week and do 84km in total for the week.

Recovery run

In my constant attempts to maintain mileage during the week, I decided to go for a lunchtime run around Grouchy castle grounds. I wasn't feeling up to much after last night's run with the club (almost) and my recent lack of sleep. Luckily F-X had decided to go for a run as well, so I convinced him that I wanted to take it easy and that we could run together.

We set out slowly from the swimming pool at Osny at a very easy pace down the hill. I wanted to show F-X that I wasn't joking when I said that I wanted an esay run and I let him set the tempo. He hasn't been training regularly for a while and he was telling me that it was already an effort to envisage a 10km run.

The first 2 km were really gentle in 5:02 and 5:11 before we settled into a more natural speed around a 4:40 pace. We took it very easily and when F-X told me he wanted to cut the course short, I managed to persuade him to carry on but at an easier pace.

The weather was really pleasant for a lunchtime run, with clear blue skies, a gentle breez and a temperature in the low 20°C. I finished the 10.3k in 49:38 or an average speed of 4:51 per km.
A nice pleasant run.

Late

Damn and blast. As I arrived at the club tonight, having been held up in a discussion with one of my team at work, I saw the others leaving for the evening session. I quickly grabbed some keys off Jean-Claude and changed in double quick time, hoping to catch them up.

Leaving the changing rooms behind, I ran to the end of the road, hoping to catch a sight of them as they headed into the forest but unfortunately, there was nobody to be seen. I crossed the road, narrowly avoiding a cyclist who had run the red lights, and started a zig-zag search across the whole of the forest between St Germain and Le Mesnil.

The whole session was spent searching for them at a speed of around 4:20 per km. There were slightly slower times, when I stopped to relieve myself of a late coffee from work and a couple of hills where the pace slowed to 4:40, but otherwise I was very consistent.

Towards the end, I ran around the 'Mare aux Canes' (literally the duckpond) and along the salamander trail, which we sometimes use for intervals with the club. It measures 2.6 km exactly, including the run around the outside of the pond. This should help me on the next interval session as I'm always wondering how far to go and how hard to push it around here. Knowing the exact distances should help me mentally.



14 km all up in 1:03 (including the pee stop) so not bad going. Another warm night and I arrived back home slightly dehydrated again. Looking forward to some cooler weather soon for training and racing.

Slogging it out

Tough session last night. You could tell that the holiday season is over by the number of participants at the club: a huge crowd last night. Anne and Nick were back from their holidays to attend the session, along with Bruno, Fred, Jean-Marc and Nico, to name but a few (and not the least).

Michel was taking the session, as unfortunately, despite the end of the holidays for most, Miguel was still away. Michel declared that since everyone had to work a little harder than last week that the session would be 2 series of 4x1 minute. This sounded fairly easy and most agreeable so it was a little bit of a disappointment when Nico asked if I wanted to carry on the specific 10k training programme he's been following. Sucker that I am, I agreed.

I wasn't the only runner to be convinced by Nico and both Bruno and Fred agreed to come along too. Nico's session was 2', 4', 6' off 1 minute rest and then 2 minutes rest over the longer 2 intervals. All of this was to be done twice. We warmed up easily enough for 25 minutes and then left the rest of the group to do our session in Le Mesnil forest. I was awarded the honour of chosing the track so we headed off towards the Mesnil car park and then Chateau du Val.

It was a warm evening, though slightly cooler than of late, and I was soon sweating freely. I set the pace with Nico over the first series and both Bruno and Fred seemed to struggle slightly as they been enjoying some rest over the Summer holidays. By the time we started the second series I was already suffering from tiredness, having pushed a little hard probably from the start. The garmin showed later that the intervals were all run about 16km/h average or 3:50 pace to be more precise.

The second series was harder going and on the last 6 minute interval both Bruno and Fred came past as they had been keeping some strength in reserve. I was shot and struggled to stay on the back, recovering slightly at the end to finsih a yard behind Nico and 15 behind the others. Niso has improved considerably over the Summer and he's going to prove hard to beat at Conflans. Bruno will be tougher still but I have to think positively.

Laurence had a good session with Anne and was pleased with her run. She's getting better and better by the day and I'm really pleased for her. She should beat her objective at La Rochelle if she carries on in this manner.

12.6 km all up in 1:08.

Dehydration

Long steady run planned for yesterday and when I woke up it was another beautiful day, confirming my choice to run out to Feucherolles and St Nom La Breteche in a long loop along the roads.

I got out of bed and before setting off on the run, I decided to weigh myself: 75.9 kg. This is fairly normal at the moment, so no great surprise there. Laurence was leaving for a long run too so we each picked up a 500ml Powerade and set off.

I headed up into the forest slowly as I could feel the tiredness in my legs from the previous day's efforts to Cora and back. Despite the great feelings that I'd had on that run, the exertion was taking its toll on me. I ran through the forest towards the clubhouse at St Germain at around 4:35 pace, telling myself that I would need to save my energy for later since I estimated the total course distance at around 32km.

5km and I passed the clubhouse, chasing another runner along the road, passing him and then carrying on towards the stables and then the agricultural college. This is a sharp pull uphill and I suffered the ignominy of being overtaken by another runner up the hill. The shame quickly passed as I recognised him as a runner who sometimes trains with the club and is in a completely different league to me. I continued my run to the top of this hill before a quick descent and then a long slog to the top of the Princess Road. This was the same run that we did last week when I went up easily in 4:40 pace. Today I was struggling at 5:00 pace and at the top, I allowed myself a breather and a slurp of Powerade.

The heat was constant now and the effort in getting to the top had further tired me, and quite frankly, my motivation was waning. I'd only done 11 km and knew that I still had around 20k to go. The raod was easier now and I ran along at about 4:20 pace. In retrospect, this was probably too fast because when I reached Feucherolles at 16km, I stopped again for a quick rest and drank some more.

Feucherolles is a lovely little village and the road that leads from Feucherolles to St Nom is fantastic: a gentle downhill with magnificent views over the surrounding countryside.

I ran into St Nom at about 4:30 pace and then struggled up the hill back out of the village, finishing my Powerade in the process. I was at 21 km now and wondering which would be the quickest route back. I finally decided on running alongside the road back into St Germain and then out by the castle and swimming pool to head home.

Having made the decision, and knowing I was heading home, my pace improved and I finally reached St Germain 5 km later after covering the intermediate distance at around 4:20 pace. Everything went pear-shaped from this point, however. There's a large hill to pull up into St Germain and with the sun and the heat and my general fatigue, I just walked most of this. I reached the top and then jogged through the town out to the swimming pool. Despite being so close to home, I just couldn't summon the energy to turn my legs over to get me back. I ran into the forest and reached 31 km before deciding to call it a day and walk again. The tiredness, the heat, the lack of water: it was all too much and I didn't want to repeat my last marathon experience.

I was furious with myself and unhappy that I didn't have the stamina to carry on. As I reached the clearing in the forest, I began to run again and to finish the last 1.5 km back to the house.

I reached the house in 2:35 after 32.75 km of running. This gives an average of 4:44 but is not the full picture since it doesn't include my walk in the forest or the rest in St Germain. I weighed myself when I got in just to satisfy my curiosity: 72.8 kg. I had lost 3.1kg of water during the run, which if I include the 500ml of drink absorbed, means that I lost 3.6 litres of water for 33 km or just over a litre every 10k. No wonder I was shattered as the dehydration had left its mark.

More can be read about the effects of dehydration here, but with 2% water loss the effects become noticeable and at around 15% water loss, death may occur. Since I weigh 76 kg and normally the electronic scales tell me that I'm 65% water, this amounts to 49.4 kg of water. 3.1 kg of water loss amounts to 6.3 % water loss which apparently is around my running limit. Will take all of this on board for the next marathon !

Cruising

Tom refers to it as the "purple patch": a period where everything goes just right. I'm having a purple patch at the moment, at least as far as running goes, and I feel great whenever I go out. This morning was no exception.

Some days, getting up to go for a run is a pleasurable experience. This doesn't happen very often as usually the alarm will ring and I have to force myself out of bed and to get my running kit on. Today was an exception as I awoke before the alarm and wanted to go out running immediately. Laurence wasn't too impressed, prefering to stay in bed until the alarm rang and complaining that I always woke her earlier than necessary.

After a glass of grapefruit juice, I headed out into a lovely morning: blue sky, cool temperature and a slight breeze. Unfortunately, Nick was still on holiday, but I decided to do our usual route out to Cora pond and back nevertheless. As I set off, it seemed slightly peculiar to be running this course without him. Normally, we are chatting so much that I don't feel the kilometres pass. This morning, I only had myself to chat to and the conversation wasn't exactly riveting, so I pushed the pace instead.

After the first 2 kilometres, run in 4:22 and 4:34, I settled into a faster rhythm on the well-defined forest trails leading to Cora. Without any conscious effort on my part, the pace was fixed at marathon speed at around 4:15 per km. This didn't feel unnaturally fast, so I picked up speed again, encouraged by the sight of other runners ahead of me who I was able to catch quite quickly. The next few kilometres were then run at 4:10, 4:01, 4:07.

It was at this point that I decided that I was exerting myself and that if I carried on at this pace, I wouldn't be able to make it all the way around and back home. I eased off, finding a more comfortable pace around the pond which was 4:28 before picking up once more before the uphill section to pavillon de la Muette. This uphill is the start of the harder sections. Not that the hill itself is steep, but the track becomes very sandy and every stride needs to be carefully measured to be the most efficient.

I was running with one eye on the watch again now. Having decided to run easily this morning before a longer run tomorrow, I was so pleased with my pace early on that I didn't want to let the average slip by easing off now. I finished the run at a pace of between 4:15 and 4:24 in the forest befoire getting abck onto the tarmac and speeding up to 3:55 pace to finish.

15 km all up in 1:04:23 or an average of 14 km/h (4:18 per km), so just a little over marathon pace. Delighted with my run and not overly tired having completed the course. Most encouraging for the forthcoming races and I can't wait to see how I'll do.

Usain Bolt

The highlight of my evening last night was not running with the club, nor watching 'The Magnificent Seven' with the family, but watching the world record for 200m fall again at the hands of Usain Bolt.


He was definitely more nervous for this race than for the 100m. There was less fooling around and a more determined look on his face prior to the start. He was obviously tired from the week's exertions as could be read easily on his face down the back straight. But what style, and what phenomenal speed: 19.19 for 200m. The boys kept telling me to shut up as I went on about his performance: I don't think they realise that this sort of speed only turns up in a human once every decade.

My own training was rather more mundane last night. There was only a small crowd out for training and Michel was leading the group again. We jogged for 25 minutes before doing some general exercises for loosening up: foot to bum running; knee high running; skipping and clapping (we all looked like a bunch of pansies - any onlookers would have thought that it was a rehearsal for gay pride!); and then running backwards.

After giving Michel some serious gip about his nambie-pambie exercises, we ran 3x3 minutes off 1:30 rest. Apparently, it was supposed to be run at marathon speed, but since I wasn't listening I did my intervals at 10k pace, and was clocking around 3:50 per km. I pulled Ephram round the intervals as he hung on determinedly, whereas the others (Nick B, Patrick, et al) just let us go. It was cooler last night, but it was still very hard, having been an intense week on both the running and work front.

We passed 4 Kenyans training in the forest, luckily we weren't skipping and clapping at this point. They were all about the same height (1.60m) and looked as though they weighed just over 50kg. I'd passed one of them training in the forest before and he just flew past in the opposite direction. My only chance of ever getting to their level and achieving their running times is by losing 20kg: fat chance.

10km all up in one hour. Now it's time to get back to the television and Berlin and watch the real athletes at work.

Hot... damned hot!

Probably the hottest day of the year here today. The radio warned this morning that 7 departments in France were going to face record temperatures of up to 40°C, and although the Paris basin wasn't facing temperatures of this magnitude it was still a scorcher today.


I decided to go for a run despite the weather and the temptation just to take it easy at the pool at lunchtime. I made a serious concession to myself, nevertheless, in promising that I would take it easy. The car thermometer indicated 34°C when I arrived at the pool and as I stepped out, it felt like an oven outside. I got changed and set off very easily, making sure that I didn't overheat as I ran down the hill.

I ran into Grouchy castle grounds and enjoyed running in the shade of the trees around my usual circuit. The rare open patches were horrendous with the temperature rising a good 5°C in the sun, and my cap did precious little to protect me. I was not pushing the pace at all, so it was with great surprise that I saw the Garmin showing 4:30 per km along the flat. The short hills were another matter and I eased the pace by a good 20 seconds per kilometre when climbing.

10.3 km all up in 47:57 so 3 minutes slower than my last run at the beginning of last week over the same course. I felt happy with the run, just to be able to get out was already an achievement. I kept telling myself how this heat training was good for handling the end of a marathon. Hopefully, I won't need this at La Rochelle.

Motivation

Laurence and I had a very long discussion 2 nights ago as to what motivated us to go running. Why did we start running in the first place ? And now we've been running for a while, what pushes us to continue training several times a week and competing in races ?

This discussion was brought on by a blog I'd been reading in the web by Iron Matron, a triathlete in the US. She brought up the subject of her own motivation here and and I could easily identify with a lot of what she'd written. My own motivation initially began with a need to be happy with my own body. I felt overweight and flabby and as I began training I could see the weight falling off me, making me happy too. My other motivation was to be recognised by others. Since I've been part of a running family since my early childhood, I felt this need to exist as a runner too. My own Dad used to tell us that he felt that "real" runners were those that could achieve 6 minute miles over 10k. This has haunted me ever since - I remember training once in Hexham years ago, striving to achieve that objective, and being horrified to find that I'd only managed 10 minute miles over the course.

My other main motivation is my sheer competitive instinct: always trying to do better, beat others and improve my performances. This is the largest part of my drive when I train. I'm always thinking of the next race, my next performance, hence my fascination with the Garmin and the kilometre lap times.

Tonight I turned up at the club session with plenty of time to spare, wondering where Laurence had got to since she was cycling in to the clubhouse this evening. She arrived just in time, paniting from the evening heat, which was still at 30°C despite it being 6:45 pm. The turnout was reasonable, but most of the top runners weren't around. Michel was taking the session (please return soon Miguel !) and the plans weren't clear (what a surprise). Nico asked me if I was interested in following his 10k training plan for the evening consisting of 7x1 minute x 2 off 1 minute rest. I told him no, as it was too hot, and that I would follow the session as planned by the club.

We ran for a 25 minute warm-up before starting Michel's plan of 5 x 1 minute off 45 second rest. This was organised chaos as nobody knew which rout to follow in the woods, the paths were too narrow to pass, and nobody was timing with any real degree of precision. After the initial 5 intervals, he decided to add a couple more. We did those and then I decided I would carry on with Nico after all and leave the group to jog back slowly with Michel. We finished the second series of 8 and so we completed a total of 14 intervals overall. It was extremely hard going with the heat and the forest paths, so I was well pleased when I saw on the Garmin that we'd be running at about 17.5 km/h over the intervals. Nico was happy to have some company and said that he wouldn't have managed the last 3 without me. So satisfaction all around.

11.7 km all up in 1:10 or an average of 10 km/h. I jumped on the bike at the end and rode back through the forest, leaving Laurence to drive home. Nice workout and good training for the next race !! The motivation is back.

Sunday club run

I managed to persuade Laurence to come out for the first club session in months today. She's been nursing her sore knee since the Paris Marathon, and since this has improved recently, she's been training all by herself, not quite ready to face the others at the club before she felt fully fit.

Today was the day. Nick had suggested the club session as an alternative to the usual Sunday run and since I wanted to do a little more distance this suited me fine. Laurence was very apprehensive as we waited for the session to start: all the runners tended to be fairly fit and fast and I could tell that she didn't want to slow the group down. She even proposed to run back to the house before we set off, but luckily I managed to persuade her to stay.

Michel was leading the session. Not my favourite coach, as I have already stated on the blog, and he intended to take us up to Marly and the Princess Road for the session. We set off very slowly at 6:20 pace and after 4 km we stopped at the old hunting lodge on the Princess Road to begin the session proper. The idea was to run a 6 km loop from here with one group starting 3 minutes before the others. The start, however, was up a steep hill, which we later found out continued for over 1.7 km. Laurence set off and we watched the group run out of sight before we set off ourselves.

I set the pace up the hill with Yannick and Benoit, with Nick, Alex, Daniel, Jean-Claude and Ephram just behind. I was feeling very strong on the hill, since we started steadily and gradually built up the pace. By the time we got to the top, I could see the others and pushed the pace to catch them as quickly as possible. We were running above 15km/h now and I still felt strong as I pulled away from all except Yannick.

My only problem now as I overtook the last of the preceding group was where I was supposed to be running to exactly. My pace was good but I slowed a little to let the others catch up and to get instructions as to where to go. Yannick had dropped off considerably but he came back again now and we ran hard into the last straight before the final downhill back to the start. We hit 16.5km/h (3:33 pace) down the hill as I let myself go and stretched for the finish. So much for a 6km loop as we'd been gone just over 36 minutes now and I had an extra 9 km almost on the Garmin.

Nick and then Laurence ran back in now and we jogged back to the clubhouse at an easy pace. The clouds that had menaced with some rain at the start of the run had by now totally disappeared and it was a beautiful blue sky again. The temperature had also risen and when we got back, I was glad that we'd left when we did.

17.25 km all up in 1:29. Good 10km training with a bit of speed and endurance in the loop.

P.S. Tom said that Kanser might be interested in running La Rochelle Marathon when he's over in Europe which would be great. It's supposed to be a good quality race and well organised. It would be nice to meet him.

Saturday routine

Since we're back from holiday, it only made sense to call Nick to see if he was available for a Saturday morning run along to Cora and back. Great news - he was. Not so great - he was overloaded with running training during the week and wanted to take it easy (please take note Andy and Paul - things are getting serious for the Yvelines marathon relay).

This suited me fine, since I felt like toaking it easy too after Friday's run in the heat. Saturday was going to be a scorcher so I put my cap on and met up with Nick for our run at 8:30. We took it easily into the forest to begin with, catching up on each other's news and how the holidays had gone. Looks like both of us had been training regularly over the break and it was nice to run together again.

It wasn't long before we were running at our usual rhythm of 4:35 per km. This is just the pace that we are both most comfortable at (well I speak for myself here but I didn't hear Nick complaining !) and despite all the talk about easy runs etc., we always tend to end up at this pace. Today was going to be exceptional however. We were just cruising towards the Cora pond when we cvaught up with a female runner in her early 50s heading in our direction. She was worried about a dog on the path: well an overgrown puppy would be more accurate; and asked if she could run with us for a while. We felt slightly suspicious about the chat up line but being polite gentlemen we said that that wouldn't be a problem. The pace slowed to 4:50 for the next 3 kilometres and it was a relief when she said that she didn't want to hold us up any more. Having said all of this, it's true that for a female runner in her 50s, this pace was already an achievement and she was a very good runner. She explained that she regularly finished on the podium for her category in the races.

Anyway, we left her going up the hill towards Chateau de la Muette and after the uphill at 4:45 pace, we settled back into our 4:35 - 4:40 rhythm to finish.

15 km all up in 1:10 or an average of 4:45 per km. Nice run on a hot day.

Back to work

First day back to work today after some lovely holidays. In order not to lose the benefit of all my running training that I've been doing over the last few weeks, and to ease myself back into office life, I took my running kit and went out for a lunchtime run in the Grouchy castle grounds.

The weather was lovely again today, with a clear blue sky and a temperature of about 27°C in the shade. I got changed at the swimming pool and headed out down the hill to the castle grounds at a comfortable pace. The intention was just to take it easy and enjoy the run and soak up some sunshine in the process.

My Garmin rang after the first kilometre showing 4:19. I was pleased since despite my impression that I was coasting, my pace was still relatively fast for a training run. Bang! The easy run just flew out of the window and I was now "scotched to the watch" (sorry French term - scotch being sellotape over here) for the remainder of the run. The kilometres went by at the same pace 4:09, 4:16 even a 4:20 up the steep hill until I got to the sixth kilometre. My abundant energy, from a couple of easier runs of late, left me and I started struggling for breath and cursing the heat.

I managed to keep the strides regular and continue making good progress nevertheless to finsih the 10.3 km in 44:59. This equates to an average pace of 4:20 which I'm still pleased with, especially since it includes 3 times up a steep hill and then a monster hill to finish.

10 lengths of the pool to finish (and no butterfly !)

Osny pool with the roof retracted.

Easy St Simon

I woke up after a bad night's sleep, having suffered from stomach cramps during the night. At first, I thought that I'd caught a stomach bug or some virus but by the end of the day I realised that it was a muscular pain. This was probably brought on by my swimming session with youngest son Paul on Wednesday at the pool in Aurillac where I swam 60 lengths of front crawl and then raced Paul for a few lengths of breastroke, backstroke and finally, butterfly. God knows what possessed me to try the butterfly, but since I was quite good when young, I thought I would show Paul how it's done. Well I'm not as young as I was and not half as supple. My stomach muscles are still aching today, 2 days later.

Anyway, since I was in no state to run hard, I suggested to Laurence to go for a run with her. She wanted to go on a loop of St Simon and I eagerly got prepared to accompany her. We set off steadily and Laurence told me that she wasn't feeling that enthusiastic. She was a little under the weather and lacking in energy. The first kilometre was steady enough and then the long, steep hill took its toll on the pace and we completed the kilometre in over 7 minutes.

Once at the top of the hill, I ecouraged Laurence to extend her stride down the hill and to let herself go. We ran into St Simon in this fashion without problems and maintained a decent rhythm over the first half of the course. This was marred in the second hlaf by Laurence contracting a stitch and where we normally be coasting away on the new road, down a slight incline, we were still running at the steady pace of around 5:40 per km.

9km all up in 53:25 or an average of 5:56 per km. Well outside Laurence's best time of 47 minutes over the same course.

St Simon tour

After yesterday's long run, I thought that I'd take it easier today with a shorter run. One of my favourite runs here in Aurillac is the tour along the old road to St Simon and then back on the new road on the other side of the valley. This route is 9 km in total, so I consider it as a short, speed session even though the hills at the beginning are extremely tough.

I set off fairly fast, completing the first km in 4:17 despite the fact that this section is slightly uphill. The second kilometre is where all the height is gained and the road rises steeply above the valley. I tried to keep a steady pace up the hill despite the tiredness in my legs from yesterday, and I was pleased to see a 5:06 on the Garmin at the top of the hill over the kilometre. This isn't bad as the watch shows a 75m rise in height from 650 to 725m over this section.

From here on, I stretched my legs and tried to increase my pace. I was feeling relatively good and the time and distance went by quickly and I arrived at the St Simon bridge and 4 km in no time. I thought that I could beat my PB if I kept this up over the back stretch back over the new road. There was no easing and I pushed harder and harder, reaching my fastest kilometre over kilometre 8 in 3:43 (after the 7th km in 3:48). The speed was a little hard and I had to slow down over the last kilometre to finish in 37:13 for the whole course, and a new PB.

My last record was 38:30 so this was a whole 1:17 faster over 9 km or 8.5 seconds a km faster. I am delighted and now looking forward to the race next month to see if I can transform this training into some good race performances.

Storm

We're back in the Auvergne now after our holidays in Venice and the Alps. We arrived in Aurillac on Saturday to some mixed weather: overcast and cool compared to the last few days in the Alps. Despite the bad weather, both Laurence and I decided to go for a long run on Sunday to make the most of the holidays and the opportunities to train.

We got up on Sunday morning and the weather was in the same state as the previous day: cool and overcast. I put on my running gear, including my cap to protect against any sunshine that might decide to appear and left for a run around Aurillac.

Laurence and I left together. She was heading to La Ponétie for a few laps around the track whereas I was heading for the long loop around the town. I headed off quickly, probably too quickly up the track leading to the top of the first hill of the tour of the town. For the first time in years, I could feel my lungs burning after this effort, and so I slowed down the pace a little along the top in order to recover. I ran back down into town and caught up with Laurence through the town centre. I was running about 4:30 pace now and feeling a lot better.

I had just arrived at La Ponétie when the storm started. It began by raining to begin with and then the thunder and lightning started. I have to admit that I was fairly scared by this storm: the lightning was striking all around me and I wondered how long before I would be hit. This was probably linked to our discussions in the Alps where we discovered that by running you increase the potential across the body and therefore increase your risk of being struck by lightning. I tried to forget all about this and keep on running.

My pace was steady along the flat at around 4:30 and then slowing to 5:00 up the hills, some of which were particularly steep. At long last the storm began to ease off and the end of the tour of Aurillac was in sight. I put in a last effort to finish in 1:33:28. This is actually the fastest that I've ever run this loop, with my previous best being 1:39 in February in the cold, so 6 minutes better. The average pace over the distance was 4:40 per km.

I feel really pleased with my run now that I've seen how much faster I ran this. I have improved drastically up the hills recently with the training in the Alps.

Personal trainer

I haven't done much running this week, well not proper running training, but rather running down mountains with walking boots on which doesn't really count. Yesterday was one such day. For the first time ever after years of pestering everyone, I finally managed to take part in a climb up the Pointe Percée. This mountain is fantastic: a clear 'V' shaped top with a sharp ridge and a strong reputation as being a difficult ascension. Last year, there was an accident when a walker slipped on the descent and fell off the cliffs that surround the summit, dying from his injuries. Its reputation is not unfounded.

The walk was fantastic with the last 250m of ascent being a rock-climb rather than a walk. I loved every moment of it and then finished the last 3 km of the descent by running. The guide didn't believe that I could get down under 20 minutes, so I proved him wrong by bounding down in 18min45 !

Pointe Percée in all its splendour

Today was a different affair, as I accompanied Laurence on a morning run to Megevette and back. I was acting as her personal trainer and encouraging her up the hills. It was extremely hot again today and I was really pleased not to be running hard. It's great to be able to run with Laurence again now that her knee has completely recovered. She has returned to form rapidly over the last month and is now running as fast as she could prior to the Paris Marathon. Her endurance is also improving quickly and next month she'll resume the full marathon training programme in preparation for La Rochelle.

We set off up the main road to Megevette, being careful on the bends where the road narrows and the rock overhangs. I ran just behind Laurence, letting her set the pace and watching her style. She runs so much more fluidly than in the past, it's a pleasure to run with her. We were running at around 10 km/h up the hill, slowing to 6:40 pace on the steepest section when we left the main road to take the minor road to Megevette.

On the way back down the hill, we sped up to 5:15 - 5:20 pace, letting gravity pull us along. Laurence intended to just run 10km, but I managed to persuade her to run another kilometre and include the last hill up to Les Chavannes to finish. Despite her initial reluctance, she ran well up the slope to finish at the holiday centre.

11km all up in 1:05 or an average of 5:49 per km. Most pleasant for me in the heat and following yesterday's exertions. I really wasn't motivated to running any further or harder today.

Marathon pace

We woke up this morning to see that the clouds that had covered the mountains yesterday, and that had spoiled our day's walk up the Tête de Colonney, had totally disappeared, leaving a clear, cristalline blue sky and views of all the mountains in the area. Mont Blanc and la Pointe Percée looked particularly clear and most tempting. The temperature was still cool at around 14°C so it was ideal weather to go for a morning run and to burn off the excess calories from 3 helpings of raclette last night.

I wondered about running back up to Col de Jambaz (pronounced "Jambes" by the way) again today, but a few strides into the run and I could tell that my legs were fatigued so I didn't want to push it. I ran up past Amoulin and then over the old bridge towards Megevette on the other side of the valley from the main road. This path takes you up a really steep little climb and so I was happy to run up this at 4:47 pace. I reached the top, panting heavily and then enjoyed the road as it flattened out towards Megevette, turning off right along the same back road that I ran along on Sunday.

I followed this road to the end but instead of turning right to run up Col de Jambaz, I crossed over the main road at Chauméty and along the road parallel to the main road in the direction of the col. This road is fairly flat and I ran until it turned into a dirt track and began to peter out. It was just over 8 km here and that was far enough, I thought so I turned round and starting running back. The breeze was behind me now and I increased my pace instantly running back towards Onnion in the following times: 4:16, 3:58, 3:56, 4:11 (as I slowed down to run around the roadworks!), 3:56, 3:51, 3:44. Great going and a lovely feeling to lengthen the stride and just push the pace.

15.6 km all up in 1:06:43 or an average of 4:16 per km, so marathon pace over the distance which is pretty good going for a training run at altitude. Pleased with my performances recently and looking forward to the next big test with a 10k race next month.

Pointe Percée in the foreground with Mont Blanc behind.

Col de Jambaz : the return

Sunday morning, we're back in the Alps after a lovely week in Venice. The weather is distinctly cooler here as firstly, we're now at 850m altitude and secondly, last night's thunderstorm has cleared the air wonderfully.

It had stopped raining by the time I had decided to go for my run. As it's Sunday and I hadn't been running for the last 2 days, I decided to go for a longer run and run up the col closest to Onnion and the holiday centre where we're staying, Les Chavannes. I rembered having run this course last year and estimated that the total distance was somewhere between 18 and 20 kilometres.

It was one of those days, I discovered as soon as I set out, that everything felt good. I set off at a reasonable pace up the hill towards Megevette and the temperature was ideal. The sun was hiding behind a veil of clouds and every now and then it would appear and the rain lying on the road would rise in a haze of steam. My Garmin was playing up over the first 3 km as it recorded my times as 4:02, 4:17 and 3:58. I estimated that my actual pace was around 4:35 which was still good going up the hill. I reached the plateau at Megevette and turned right at the church to take the road parallel to the main road along the side of the valley. At the end of this road, I rejoined the main road and carried on up to the top of the col. I was still progressing steadily with my slowest kilometre up the hill at 5:10. I felt really good and was happy to be out of the heat of Venice and running again at a good pace. All was not lost !

I ran into Jambaz at the top of the hill and then turned back and started running straight down again. Again, a good steady pace, relaxing my legs and letting gravity take me down as fast as possible. The next 3 kilometres went by quickly: 3:49, 3:50 then 3:55. I was thinking to myself that this was fast going and then realising that I still wasn't at 10 km race pace. I hit the plateau at Megevette and slowed down slightly, returning along the side road. But even on this flatter section of the course I still maintained a pace of 4:09 then 4:21 before increasing my speed again to over 15 km/h.

I got back to Les Chavannes in 1:20:43 with 19 km showing on the Garmin. Even taking into account the tricks the Garmin played on me over the first 3 km, I reckon that the distance was more likely 18.5 km but this was still an excellent performance. I compared this to my run over a slightly shorter course up to Col de Jambaz last year, when I ran 1:24:02. So, an overall improvement of around 4 minutes when I take into account the extra distance. Very pleased.

Garmin says I averaged the course at 4:14 per km, so marathon pace including 300m of ascension, which is pretty good going.

Col de Jambaz in the Winter. Obviously, there was less snow when I was at the top this morning. View is the same otherwise.