Grouchy again

Not me of course, as I'm an even-tempered bloke (except when severely riled), but back to the castle grounds for a lunchtime run.

Went out with F-X again. He's still a long way off his peak form but I'm doing my best to encourage him back into running seriously again. He lost a lot of motivation after doing the Paris marathon this year which took a lot out of him. His problem is that when he enters a race, it's all or nothing and when you don't have the training in your legs, a marathon can be lethal.

Anyway, we were just taking it easy around the usual course in the castle grounds. He was reminding me gently of how I should be enjoying these sessions as I won't be able to in a few weeks time (due to job change). I just let him set the pace and used this as a recovery run. It was most enjoyable, enjoying the park and feeling fitter then I've felt for a while. These long Sunday runs must be beginning to pay off (there must be some good coming from them as they're painful enough), and to paraphrase Nietzche: if it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger.

End result was that we ran the 10.3k in 48:36 or an average pace of 4:44. This was a minute faster than last week with F-X so it won't be long before he's back to full form.

Swim after was fantastic. Felt very strong in my arms. Triathlon in a couple of weeks time and can't wait to see how I manage.