Monday morning

Some days are harder than others. Monday's are always harder than the rest of the week. The anguish of returning back to work after a great weekend relaxing with the family. Whatever the reason, the run first thing Monday morning is a bugger.

Summer is over, well almost, since this weekend was still delightful, as it is now completely dark at 6:00am when I leave the house. The days are drawing in and this makes following the marathon training schedule harder as the body does not naturally want to exercise intensely while it is half asleep. I had only run a few hundred metres when I realised that the hills from yesterday's long run had tired my legs and that it wasn't going to be possible to run hard again today.

I ran the same route as last week: down to the Seine and along the river until the racecourse. I then headed up into the park at Maisons Laffitte and did a large loop in front of Maisons Laffitte castle. It was only here that the legs began to feel lighter and I found a little more energy. Not that my speed increased in the slightest, but mentally things became a little easier. I headed out of the park and into the forest after the railway line. I figured that after 40 minutes of running, the sun had risen sufficiently to reveal the roots and stumps on the forest paths. I was wrong.

I stumbled along in the forest, worried that a wild boar would cross my path at any moment. I pushed hard up the hill and out of the forest into Le Mesnil and finished strongly along the roads down to the townhall and then back home.

14.3km all up in 1:05, so 2 minutes slower than last Wednesday's run. Average pace of 4:37 per km.