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I woke up wondering what on earth was happening and which day of the week it was. Unfortunately it wasn't the weekend yet and when I looked at the alarm clock showing 6:00am, I knew I had to get up to go for a run. I was tempted for a few seconds just to turn the machine off and go back to sleep but since I am committed to the marathon, I knew I had to get up and put some training in.The moment I got out of the door, I realised it was going to be hard. Well not quite this soon, I ran down to the gate with an enthusiastic bound, hit start on the Garmin and ran off. 20 metres later I was already out of breath and my legs were like lead. It's recovery run so don't worry. Unlike yesterday morning, I didn't improve in the slightest. A glance at the watch every kilometre confirmed my struggle: 5:00/km was the best I could achieve.I ran the 10 km course just to keep up the mileage but it was a real struggle. One of those days when you want to stop and walk and wonder why you run in the first place. It was desperate.10.3 km all up in 50:20 so an average of 4:55 per km. To be forgotten.
I managed a new record last night for the club session.I left work a little later than usual and rang Laurence from the car who told me that she was still a little tired following the race at the weekend. With the rain that had started and the rest session on offer at the club, she decided that she was going to train by herself. I rang Nico instead to tell him that I was running late and would he be doing a track session. That was his plan so, since there was no way I'd be able to get to the start of the session in time, I planned on running the opposite way round the warm-up to join the guys as they finished. In the 30km drive from work to the club, I managed to get fully undressed (including socks and shoes) and put on my running kit so that when I parked the car at the clubhouse, I was out in 5 seconds and pounding the tarmac towards the other runners - a new record !After this exploit, the rest of the evening should have been easy. Jean-Marc and Nico were running 10x300m on the track but I chose the alternative, running 3x2000m with Bruno, Laurent, Nat and Charles. The pace was set at 4:15 per kilometre so easier than last Thursday. I ran the first kilometre with the others and then left them for the second to finish in 8:15. The second interval I carried on at the same pace and ran this in 8:00. I was feeling tired now and sweating from the effort, probably due to the after-effects of Saturday's run. I decided to run with the others for the last interval and stayed behind until 500m from the finish when I moved to the front with Nat and pushed him round until 1800m when I gave a last little kick to finish hard. So last interval in 8:10 probably. All times are approximate as I haven't had time to download the data from the Garmin and when we're on the track the Garmin indicates the kilometre laps too short.A quiet warm-down after this and I was pleased that I'd made an effort and had been able to stay ahead of the group. A good workout in preparation for London and this is the last week of hard effort before the 2 week taper.10km all up.
Went for a quick run this morning to get rid of the tiredness in my legs. Plan to go to the club session tonight to carry on the marathon training as this is the last hard week before a 2 week taper. My legs, most especially my thighs, had just about recovered from Saturday's ordeal. Yesterday, they felt like somebody at been at them with a hammer and tongs, but today they were bearable. The hills and the climbing had been hard on the quads and I understood what Tom felt like when he said that hills still scare him - I feel the same way. The slightest bit of uphill and I'm ready to stop running and walk.I left with the intention of taking it easily and I ran that way down to the river for the short route around town. The first 2 kilometres I didn't look at the Garmin and tried to focus on the 'easy' part of my recovery run. Nothing was easy this morning though. My legs felt as though I was dragging them along the road rather than them carrying me. It felt like running through a thick lumpy porridge, not that I do this very often I hasten to add. When I went through the 3rd kilometre, I allowed myself a quick glance at the Garmin. In the half-light, due to having put the clocks forward by an hour this weekend, I could only make out a '4' of the lap time and it looked like 5:04 for this interval. I wasn't surprised as it felt really slow too.At this point, my logic and reasoning, of which I'm rather proud I have to admit, went out of the window to my emotions. You can't let yourself run this slowly, you are worth more than this, etc., etc. went through my mind and the recovery run theory went out of the window simultaneously. I upped the pace and when the Garmin beeped to signal the next kilometre, it was too dark again to see how fast I'd run. I carried on heedless (in geordie this sounds as though no reasoning is involved which is a perfectly accurate description of my state of mind at this point) and continued to try and force myself to run just a little faster. At the next lap I was able to see the time of 4:37 which reassured me that my tiredness was not in total vain.I carried on and ran faster until the end as my legs began to wear off their tiredness. All up in 36:20 so an average of 4:46 per km. Could have been worse I suppose. I'll see how I fare up tonight at the club.
I called Laurence on Friday to let her know that I was surprised. Laurence had entered us both for the Ecotrail as she wanted a new challenge: something beyond a marathon to show what she was capable of achieving. At the time, before my achilles problem, I took all of this lightly and said that I would use this as a training run before the London Marathon and that I would be delighted to run this race with her. As time passed, Laurence decided that running 50km with her charming husband, nagging her to go faster, was not a good idea but that we would run at our own speed. I still had it in mind to treat this as a training run and I thought that an average speed of 5:00 per km would be reasonable. On Friday, I connected to the Ecotrail website, only to discover that the course was not 50km but actually 53km long. I called Laurence to tell her the good news.We were both very relaxed about the whole race. There were no times to beat, it wasn't a marathon where every kilometre is judged according to the watch, just some abstract notions about average speed that we had in our heads. I though 5:00 was feasible and that 4:30 would be good. Laurence thought that over 7:00 would be a pity and that to finish would be an achievement. We picked up our bibs on Friday night and celebrated with a meal out. We got back and went through the package carefully, preparing our tops, our shoes and the electronic tag and packing the rucksacks with the necessary equipment: waterproof, survival blanket, whistle and water. We took some food too: cereal bars, sugar tablets, apple compotes and fruit jellies. The rucksacks themselves must have weighed about 2.5kg each when ready.Saturday morning and we got into the car to drive to the start. A bit of confusion as to where best to leave the car and we arrived at the grand canal behind Versailles castle. In fact to call it a canal is a mistake as it's a small lake in the form of a cross in the Versailles gardens and we arrived to find crowds of runners already gathered there for the start. In fact, 1458 people started the race at 10:30 on a lovely day where the temperature was already about 13°C. We met our friends, Murielle and Daniel who were up from Avignon to take part and we chatted before joining the start about mid-way in the field.The race started and it took us just over a minute to cross the starting line but in the general atmosphere of a trail there was no pushing or shoving and everybody was very jovial about the affair. I left Laurence and company and began to run at my usual training pace around the lake at about 4:40 pace on average. This speed was already enough to take me past a few hundred runners and we left the Versailles grounds after just over 5 km and I was feeling good. We ran into the forest at this point which was just as well as the sun and the heat was already causing me some discomfort. I was still overtaking people but far fewer now and and soon as we were into the forest, the hills began. There was nothing too steep but just gradual climbs which I ran up by shorterning my stride and dropping the pace. I started to look at the people around me now and I was just ahead of 2 women who were in 4th (pink top) and 5th (blue top) place as bystanders would shout out this information to them.I had a new game and it involved staying with these women. I noticed that the 5th place woman looked fresher than her rival and both would overtake me as I walked up the hills and they jogged steadily. We'd passed 20km now and my pretence of a training run stopped short of running up hills. I focused on getting to the first feeding station at 27km and letting Laurence know how I was getting on and find out about her race at the same time. Yes, part of the necessary equipment was a mobile phone ! Blue top was a little way in front of me now while pink top was just behind making sure that I didn't slack when my brain was telling me to ease off as it's only a training run. We hit 27 km and there was no sign of the feeding station but I could hear Miguel's voice (our coach was acting as commentator for the race) over the loudspeakers so I knew we weren't far. A slight uphill and we got to the marquees and a refill of the camelbak. I rinsed my face and neck down and soaked my cap so as to cool down. My face and neck were covered in salt so I knew that I had to keep drinking as I was overheating. I spent 5 minutes in the feeding station and then summoned up some courage to run on.The water at the stop had helped me feel more refreshed but the only disadvantage was that now I stank. In fact, I smelt so bad that I was disgusted myself. Back into the forest and kilometre after kilometre passed, each one blurring into the next. I looked at the Garmin every time that it indicated another kilometre and my times varied between 4:50 and 8:00 depedning on the terrain. At 32 kilometres we ran past a little lake next to Ville d'Avray and I spotted two youths, both with cans of 1664 looking at us as we passed. I could see from their faces that they thought that they were far more intelligent than us relaxing with a beer in their hands sitting beside the lake. I thought the complete opposite. Who was right depends on your point of view. I chatted to a runner from the area who hadn't raced this before but was looking forward to leaving the forest and finishing on the flat down by the Seine. He looked good and I tried to stay with him but he left me on the uphills. I just stuck to my rhythm, running downhills and along the flat and walking the steeper uphills.The last feeding station was at 44km and I'd been looking forward to this for a while, at least 4km in fact. I'd run farther than a marathon now and my energy had gone. Even running along a road in the park didn't help my speed and I watched helplessly as a little 5 year old girl on a bike with her Dad beside her managed to cycle past me. I got a real lift when I saw a couple of friends from Maisons Laffitte about 800m before the feeding station and they ran with me before heading back to go and wait for Laurence. I warned them that she wouldn't be around for a while. Another 5 minute break at the tents in St Cloud park refilling the Camelbak and slurping some Coke before heading off again. I knew I couldn't wait for too long or my legs would seize up now. So it was a relief to leave this area and head off downhill to the Seine. Out of St Cloud park at the bottom of the hill and I was into known territory as I was running the exact reverse of the start of Paris - Versailles race along the Seine. 6 km to go now to cross the tape at 53km.Unfortunately, it wasn't as simple as that. The organisers made us follow the river and cross over bridges and run up and down steps along little paths and through parks. I had dropped to a 6:00 per kilometre pace as I had to stop and walk along the flat in places. I'd had enough. My legs were aching, I was out of energy and I only wanted to finish. Every kilometre semeed interminable now and I looked desperately at the runners in front. They were in no better condition than I was and I stopped to give water to one and to encourage a couple of others as I passed them at a plod, while they walked. It was at this point that I caught up and passed my friend from a few kilometres ago who passed me looking fresh and sprightly up the hills. He was almost on his knees now - even heros are mortal. I could see the Eiffel tower now and the finish. It was still a long way away and I concentrated on just getting there. My objective of 5:00 was beyond me now whereas it was still feasible at the last feed station. Who cares ? I couldn't care a less about anything anymore. Bir Hakeim and the railway bridge, I was close now. People were beginning to cheer me to the finish but I didn't show any recognition to them as I just concentrated on the finishing arch. I crossed the line and stopped my watch. 5:14:25 the furthest and longest I've ever run. No achilles problem just general fatigue all over.I had a massage and a shower before heading back out to see Laurence finish. I'd called her when my race had ended to let her know it was 54.5km and not 53. She was at 40.5 and I knew that it would be a while as it had taken me an hour to run the last 10km. It started to rain and I waited for 15 minutes in the rain before jogging back up to Bir Hakeim to meet her. She was exhausted too and fed up with the distance, just as I had been. She'd spent the last 10km swearing the worst swear words that came to mind so she still had some fight in her ! She finished in 7:07:03 and told me never again (this morning she was already telling me how she'd beat 7:00 next year!)Lessons learnt:i) 54.5 km is a very long way.ii) Speed is not essential. Endurance is.iii) Pack food so that it is readily available (I carried 3 compotes for 54.5km for nothing)iv) Put vaseline on your back where rucksack rubs. I'm raw today.Overall, I was pleased with my result. I finished in 35th place out of 1458 starters and 1294 finishers and was surprised by how far up the field I was. Looking forward to London now as the achilles is mended and I think I'm capable of running under 3 hours again.Photos to follow.
Turned up at the club tonight not knowing what to expect. Really pleased to get out of work early for once and not arriving in a panic as usual. The sunshine was present and the skies were blue and the thermometer was steady at 19°C. A fantastic spring evening.Good turnout at the club with the nice weather bringing out all of the runners. There seem to be more and more at these mid-week sessions and a good turnout of women too. The usual suspects were also there: Nico, Jean-Marc, Thierry, José, Bruno, Nat, Laurent, Philippe etc. I set off for the warm up with Nico talking about his race at the weekend at Voisins. A great run from Nico to put in a 56:57 for a 15k - I'm a little scared that he's moving into a different league from me at the moment. This is almost a couple of minutes faster than my time in Conflans before Christmas over the same distance and a week after he ran Rambouillet - pretty impressive. I also tried to extract some information/gossip after his evening at the pub after training last week, but he was unable to talk because ears were around. I need to corner him sometime to get the full banter.We got back to the track and I had the option of a hard session with the likes of Jean-Marc, Nico, José and Thierry or a marathon session with Bruno, Nat and Laurent. It was like choosing between a rock and a hard place. Speed or a slog - I chose the slog. A couple of straights to warm-up and the guys lined up for the off.I set off content to stay behind Nat and Laurent, shoulder to shoulder with Bruno. I wondered what the session was as Nico had said 10x1000m but when we went through 1000m and showed no signs of slowing I thought that something was up. Perhaps it was 5' intervals but that too was short-lived but then I caught something about 2000m intervals. I ran to the front now with Bruno and Nat following just behind. I felt very comfortable and we finished the first 2000m in 7:44. 200m recovery and we set off again.I ran to the front from the start this time and Bruno hung on to my shoulder as we went around the track. I could hear his breathing so knew that he was suffering and since I was feeling good I put in a little accleration to pass another group doing separate intervals. I dropped him here and carried on to finish this interval in 7:49. Another 200m recovery and we set off for the final interval. On this last one I ran from the front from start to finish and left Bruno and Nat behind by a good 100m. I was beginning to tire now butI still had enough energy to complete the 5 laps in 7:47. I waited at the finish line for the others. I was about to congratulate them when Bertrand and some others said that they'd had enough. Me too but apparently it wasn't over. The session was 4 x 2000m not 3!I jogged the 200m and set off again for the last time. Everybody else had finished their sessions now and were watching us complete the laps. I counted down the laps as I really could feel it now. My breathing was shorter and my relaxed style at the start of the session had degenerated into a grimacing 'grin and bear it' frantic pumping of the arms and legs style. Still, I was well in front of the others so I tried to look as cool as possible, especially when I passed in front of the women. I sped up to cross the line in 7:36 - not bad for a last interval having 6k in my legs already.Really pleased with the session and even more so when Nico told me that he'd not been able to complete his intervals. So much for the big hard man act, telling me that he'd be lapping me several times during the course of the evening. There's life in the old bugger yet.14.5k all up and rest now before the Ecotrail on Saturday. Got to be mad to do this.
No chance to write up my runs at the moment as I'm very busy at work and surviving on less than 6 hours sleep a night.Went for an early morning run on Tuesday as I couldn't get to the club session that evening. Still suffering from the weekend's efforts and the tops of my thighs were very sore from the hill training on Saturday followed by the marathon training on Sunday. This was enough to convince me to take it easy so I ran the usual loop but finished by running down to the townhall and up the little hill to end.11km all up in 51:38 so an average of 4:37 per km. Lovely crisp, fresh morning with dawn breaking and sun rise as I ran. The sort of morning that makes you feel good. Felt shattered at the end though...
I turn up at the club looking forward to either a 2 hour session with the leisure runners, or a 1h30 session with Miguel destined more specifically at the 10k racers. Laurence has decided that she will be running the 2 hour session and has taken the Cemlbak especially to practise as the last long run before the Ecotrail.At the club, I spot José, Thierry, Bruno, Laurent, Philippe and Nat and apparently there is a third option : a 2h20 marathon session with 3x20' at marathon pace. Since Marly's hill-training went well, I decide to do this and see how I fare against the marathon runners. Laurence also decides to do this with Christelle, Muriel and Katia.The session is up Princess Road and I set off on the warm-up with Philippe and we chat as we climb Princess Road at the front of the group until we reach the top where we wait for the rest of the group to catch up. I'm happy trundling along with runners that would normally be slower than me in the races but with my lack of training the most important aim at the moment is just to manage the mileage. We set off again along the road towards Feucherolles, when I bump into a couple of runners that are running the other way: Philippe and Anne. This is their last long run before the Ecotrail too and they're running for 75 minutes before they attack the 80km version of the race next week. We chat for a few seconds and then Laurence and I set off in pursuit of the rest of the 20 or so runners in the group who've run on ahead. Just as we catch them up 10 or so head off left on a shorter version and Laurence follows them, telling me that she'll wait for me back at the club. I head off right chasing the serious marathon runners, wondering how I'll manage with no food or water.I manage to catch the back runners since they already begun the first 20 minute interval at marathon speed and José and Thierry are well ahead in the lead. I focus on catching Philippe and Laurent and having done this push on to try and chase Bruno. Towards the end of the first 20 minutes (which I have no idea how long is still to go on for!) I finally catch Bruno and time is called. I've been running at 4:09 - 4:12 per kilometre for 5 kilometres now. 3 minutes recovery and we set off again. I'm prepared this time and I set off at the same pace with Bruno. I'm pleased to see that he struggles a little to maintain the pace and this gives me the motivation to push on and running this second interval between 4:05 - 4:08 pace with one kilometre in 4:14 up the hill from St Nom. Bertrand is pacing this interval and I catch him just before the end and drop him as he tires in the last kilometre.2 intervals down now and I'm tired, wondering how I'll manage for the last. Off we set again and this time I decide to ease off and follow Nat. The only problem is that Nat, having taken the first 2 intervals easier, decides to push this one and soon I'm on his shoulder running 4:02 - 4:10 pace this time, with the fastest kilometres at the end. The relief to finish this last sequence is tremendous and I'm happy with myself for being able to hold on for so long and also for finishing ahead of Bruno on each one. We just have to get back to the club now and we run down Princess Road, passing Paul in the process running the other way. I'm shattered and these last kilometres back to the club are interminable. I'm starving and my body is now totally devoid of energy. I run the last kilometre in 5:11 having been running the previous few at 4:45 pace. I collapse when I get to the club and flake out on a bench while Laurence hands me over her last cereal bar. Never has a cereal bar tasted so good and had such an immediate effect on my well-being.28 km all up in 2:20. Great run and really pleased with my progression lately. Wondering what to do about London marathon now.
I had forgotten to tell you that I'm entered for the Ecotrail from Versailles to Paris next Saturday. 50km of trail running in the Paris area with 1000m of ascent to be negotiated. It's not quite 6 foot track but it's not bad for around here. And it's 50km long. Whether I forgot or whether I've been trying to put it out of my mind is also another question that needs to be answered. I didn't enter the event. Laurence entered me when she decided that she wanted to run further than a marathon. I can hear you now : further than a marathon you must be going mad - probably.Well the race is fast approaching and I'm nowhere near to being race ready. Laurence and I decided that we needed some hill training for our final preparations and so we headed off to Marly, for the cross-country training route to hone our hill-climbing skills. Laurence had never run here before so we ran together easily for the first lap and I showed her the 3 different phases for the circuit.Phase 1: the long hill slog. This is a very steady gradient of around 8% which rises for 440m. My aim is to try and run up here as close to 2 minutes as possible before recovering on the downhill and the next phase.Phase 2: the short steep hill (aka green carpet or 'tapis vert'). Whereas the first phase is a wide track heading uphill, this is a path, or rather 2 paths with grass growing in between both path, hence the name. When we're cross-country training, we run 2/3 of the distance up this hill at top speed. With Laurence, we run to the top but at a slower speed and then recover coming down the path on the opposite side.Phase 3: the speed section. We run down a shallow gradient between the poplars and then around the lake to run back along the opposite side, ending up 2 short banks. Unfortunately, there is some conservation work going on at the lake so we have to continue up to the equivalent path on the far side running back up a shallow gradient between the trees.This completes the circuit and I tell Laurence that having warmed up we're now going to run this 3.75km circuit 3 times at our own speeds.I set off steadily up the first hill but, as always, the effort makes itself felt about 2/3 of the way up and the lactic and pain begins to set in. I make it to the top in 2:10 before the recovery. I struggle to the top of green carpet, wondering why on earth I didn't admit to Laurence that we only usually do 2/3 of this hill and then push the last section, imagining Mireille on my shoulder and Nico just ahead to keep me going.One lap down and 2 to go. I watch Laurence as she runs down the shallow gradient on phase 3 and set off on the second loop. It's harder now and I run the hill in 2:12, the steep hill is slower but the last section is roughly the same speed. Laurence is just coming down green carpet this time.Last lap and I comfort myself that I won't have to do this again. Hill in 2:14 this time, green carpet and my legs and thighs especially are crying for mercy and the fast section where I coast a little, happy to finish. I see Laurence coming down from the first hill and I run to catch her up back up green carpet. I could have waited at the bottom - I must be mad but convince myself that it's doing me good. We run the last section together and finish.17.5km all up in 1:34 or an average of 5:24, not that this means much over such a hilly circuit. Garmin reckons that there was almost 500m of ascent in total.Ankle held up nicely, but thighs sore from the exercise.
Increasing gradually the number of runs I fit in during the week so planned another early morning session for this morning. Since Laurence has been busy this week, she asked if I wouldn't mind accompanying her for the first couple of kilometres down by the river where it is still very dark at 6:00 am.It was cooler than yesterday but still dry. I was still trying to catch my satellites on the Garmin when Laurence sprinted off trying to build a headstart from the beginning. 30 seconds later, I was still standing beside the road looking desperately at my watch waiting for the little black bar to reach the right-hand side of the screen. Lord knows what the passing motorists think, seeing a guy in short shorts and a fluorescent orange top, standing on the pavement, looking intently at his watch at 6:00am in the dark. Anyway, the timer screen flickered into view and I pressed the start button and took off after my wife.I caught Laurence after 500 metres and ran down to the river with her and along the lane beside the Seine. We were running at about 5:15 - 5:20 pace and I felt very easy. The dawn was just breaking and I felt very easy running in the quiet here with only the birds to break the silence. At the roundabout in front of Maisons Laffitte castle, I left Laurence and started running at my usual training pace (well probably just a little faster to begin with just to impress her - don't know why I still do this as after almost 17 years of marriage very little still impresses her !). I ran at 4:23 pace for the next kilometres and finished fast at just over 15km/h.7.6km all up in 35:36 or an average speed of 4:39. Not bad for a quick run. Ankle slightly sore after the run but only a slight twinge while I was outside.
I actually looked forward to going for my run this morning. This is the first time in a while as recently, I've been depressed with the injury and the pain in my achilles was getting me down every time I went out. After Tuesday's training session, I've regained some determination to lose weight, and to improve my training schedule.My achilles is not the only element that is getting better as the weather as showing definite signs of spring lately. I switched to a sleeveless cotton top and some shorts and headed outside where it was 9°C. I decided to run my usual 10km route at a reasonable pace. Reasonable means not quite marathon speed, but just faster than 4:30 per km. So with all these good resolutions in my head, I lined up the satellites, hit start on the Garmin, and set off down the road. I felt good from the start: not brilliant as I was slightly short of breath but my achilles wasn't even aching - nothing. This was a good sign.I ran down to the river and ran easily listening to the birds welcoming in the dawn. This encouraged me too as winter is almost over and the days are getting longer. Living without regular sunshine is not an option for me any more. I need some good sunshine to feel better about myself and my running! I was still short of breath as I ran the second and third kilometres but I looked at my watch as the Garmin beeped for the third time : 13:10. This was good: averaging well under 4:30 for the first few kilometres. I was encouraged and more determined to maintain the pace now.I looked at the Garmin now for each kilometre - 4:24, 4:25, 4:24 again. I was running regularly and easier now. Still no pain or any unusual feeling from my achilles and this was to last until the end of the run. I ran through the park, happy to get off the road and onto a softer but still smooth surface. Back up through town past the church and a last faster kilometre downhill to finish. It was only when I stopped running that I felt a slight twinge from my achilles which was not painful, just a little sign to let me know that I'm not quite over it yet.10.3 km in 45:04 or an average of 4:21 per kilometre. I don't have the stamina to manage this for a marathon and London will be simply a question of soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying myself. If I go under 3:30 I'll be more than happy.
I finally made it to a club session last night having been treated to another sequence of ESWT on Monday night. It was a close call, leaving work slightly late but arriving just in time to get changed and be ready as the others were all heading out of the door. It had been a while since I'd made it to a mid-week session and there were plenty of faces I didn't recognise, but some more familiar : Nico, Bruno, Jean-Marc, Momo, Jérémie, Vincent and Miguel amongst others.As we ran our warm-up through the St Germain forest, the talk was about the various performances at the weekend over the half-marathon, either at Rambouillet or at Rueil. A pretty good show overall with José, Thierry and Mireille all doing very well at Rueil, to the extent that Nico and I did put into doubt the exact measurement of the course. Some of the 10km performances looked too good to be true too - will have to run this next year to achieve a new PB! We managed to avoid following Michel into the darkest sections of the forest and ran back to the track. I discussed running injuries with Bruno who appears to have taken a subscription to ESWT at the local physio's. Apparently, he appreciates the pain !By the time we got back to the track, I was already suffering from a slight stitch due probably to too much food at lunchtime and the 4kg of extra weight that I'm currently carrying. The options at the track amounted to trying to keep up with the big boys running 200m and 1000m intervals, or joining a group of lesser mortals to run 15 x 200m as marathon training. I chose the latter along with Vincent, Laurent, Nat, Alex and Bruno. These started off well and I felt very comfortable for the first 4 or 5 intervals which we were running at around 38 - 39 seconds and off 30 seconds rest. I didn't have a watch on (since I'd left it at home and wasn't initially going to run seriously anyway) and relied on the others to tell me how we were doing. By the time we reached 10, I was over-heating and suffering. 'Endurance' is not my middle name anymore - it's now 'curl over and die in agony'. I stripped my top off and let the others suffer by having to watch my pale flabby stomach trundle around the track for the last few intervals. By ythe time we finished, I was seriously tired and my achilles was beginning to show signs of wear.Pleased to have run the session overall and it's given me new resolve to reduce my weight. I'll need this if I'm to improve. Looking forward to getting out there again now that the weather is starting to brighten.About 11km all up and achilles is on the mend.
Laurence and I accompanied Hélène and Didier to the start of the Rambouillet half marathon this year. Everyone had their own objectives : Didier to beat 1:30, Hélène to beat 1:48, Laurence to beat 1:45 and last year's time, and me to finish without screwing up my achilles completely.We picked up the bibs and met a lot of runners from the club: Bruno, Brigitte, Jean-Michel, Christelle, Katia, Philippe amongst others. No sign of Nico though. I was beginning to think that his cold had got the better of him and that I would actually win this race by forfeit and a DNF on his behalf but Bruno told me that he'd spied Nico completely focused on the race and his 1:20 objective. Too bad but the real objective was to coach Laurence around the course and look after her at the feeding stations by getting her water and sugar if necessary.We lined up and after a quick chat with the other runners who had sneaked into the sub 1:30 sas like us from the club we set off down into Rambouillet town centre. The first 2 kilometres are downhill and along the flat through the centre and we ran these faster than schedule to pick up on the time that we lost in crossing the start line. 4:49 then 4:38 according to my watch but since it took 13 seconds to cross the start, that equated to 4:36 then 4:38. So above schedule but we were soon ahead of schedule.The first difficulty is in the 4th kilometre when you leave the centre of town and climb up a short hill into the forest. We ran this kilometre in 5:07 and so now cumulatively we were spot on target. We ran the next few kilometres at 4:52 and so although we lost a couple of seconds against the target speed, we were very close and I was watching Laurence closely to see whether the objective was feasible or not. This pace would ideally give us a total of just under 1:42 and a large improvement over last year, but I could see that Laurence was red in the face and I didn't want to push in case it compromised the race completely. Besides, Laurence was managing herself and if she thought I was going too fast, she would just let me run ahead. I would look behind, not see her in the crowds of other runners and ease off to be with her again.We ran like this for the next 8 km until the 10km mat which we crossed in 48:53. We slowed up after this point as there were a series of small difficulties such as some little uphills and narrower sections. Laurence was feeling the initial pace and we let a few runners past at this point. The pace slowed to just over 5:00 per km and this would be the situation until the last 2 kilometres when we approached the finish and we were able to raise the pace slightly until the end.The saddest part of the race was at the 15km mark, seeing Christelle on the side of the road with a survival blanket wrapped around her shoulder and some paramedic taking her pulse. She shouted out to me and I remembered being in exactly the same position myself in the Paris marathon in 2009.We finished the course together in 1:44:46 so 10 seconds faster than last year but slightly disappointed nonetheless. Nico ran 1:22:57, Didier ran 1:32:55 and both were also disappointed. I still really like this course and would be willing to come back next year to try again. Laurence seemed put off by her result and wants to try elsewhere now. We'll see.
Laurence and I are running the half-marathon at Rambouillet together. It's official ! Offered to run with her last week and she hesitated as she wasn't sure if she could cope with the pressure of me running beside her for 21 kilometres. Finally, she accepted, knowing that I have no chance of beating any records and since I was already entered at least we would have the enjoyment of running together and I could be helpful at the feeding stations. So the challenge between Nico and myself is off for tomorrow and since there were no longer any real obstacles tos top me training the day before, I decided to go for a run to Cora this morning.I told Laurence what I was preparing to do and she said that she could come with me on the bike as she was only looking to run about 5 km this morning. We hatched our idea of the bike and run then and there with me running the first 10km and then Laurence running the last 5km.I got up this morning and first thing to do was to mend the bike. One snapped chain and a couple of flattish tyres later and I was in the basement putting Laurence's bike back together. That done, we set off. I felt fairly good but my ankle was telling me from the start that it hadn't had its usual 2 days rest. It didn't hurt but I could feel it pulling from soon after the start.I had a great run nevertheless. I started easily running the first km in 4:52 and then gradually sped up to run the 4th km in 4:22 and then increase until I managed the 6th km in 4:08. I'd had it from here and slowed down slightly running the next 3 aroud 4:20 pace before easing off on the last kilometre to finish. 10km all up in 44:20. So not bad going. Ankle is not brill today though and hop it'll be feeling better by tomorrow. Next ESWT is Monday night so that will help.Looking forward to running Rambouillet tomorrow. Shame Nico isn't feeling too well as I was sure he was going ot beat his record and aim for a sub 1:21. Laurence and I will be happy with a sub 1:45. We'll see how it goes...
Who said running was a cheap sport ? I've been adding up the costs over these last few weeks and the totals are rising: €65 for the massage at the osteo; €60 for the ESWT treatment; and a cool €150 for the orthotics at the chiropodists last night. €275 spent on injury treatment and I haven't anything tangible for my money (well a set of insoles hardly counts does it?).I had been advised to go to the chiropodist by the physiotherapist who applied the shockwave treatment. The chiropodist advised to me is based just to the west of Paris and is specialised in feet treatment for sportsmen. I arrived in his clinic and was impressed by the range of equipment on display for the analysis. Firstly, he makes me stand on an electronic pad linked to his PC which measures all of the pressure points under the soles of my feet. Then he puts me on the treadmill and films me as I run. I'm watching my feet on the screen just in front of me and recognise my natural 'curving' movement as each foot lands in an outward arc from take off to landing. Then it's on to the foam cushions where the heated strips form a thermo-moulding of the shape of my feet and finally he makes the insoles as I wait.We have a long discussion as to the rise in running injuries that he's having to deal with over the last few years and he blames the shoe manufacturers for the problems they're causing in runners. The torsion bars in most manufacturers are excellent in providing a dynamic shoe returning the energy from the sole back through the ankle as the foot leaves the ground. However, our achilles tendons just aren't strong enough to take this sort of pressure on a permanent basis and it doesn't take much to cause tendonitis through overtraining, over-striding or just badly placing your foot while running. He advises me to drop the Mizunos and the Brooks and to adopt the Nike Lunarglides as they are one of the only brands not to have adopted the torsion bar in the sole construction. As this guy is also the chiropodist for one of the leading French female runners, I'm going to follow his advice when I replace my shoes in a couple of months. We also discuss the latest marketing in shoe sales on pronators, universal and supinators which he dismisses as pure b******t - I like the guy !Left the house to go for an early run and try my new insoles. The first few steps are a bit unusual as I feel as though I'm running on the shoes rather than in them. This is the first time that I've ever had orthotics made for me and it takes a little getting used to. I run a couple of kilometres around the usual loop and think about how my ankle is doing. For the first time in a long time, there is virtually no pain or discomfort from the achilles or the base of the calf. Whether this is due to the ESWT, the orthotics or just natural healing, I don't know but it's very pleasant to feel that I'm almost over this injury and that I'll be able to run properly soon.Ok, so I'm running pain-free now but my lungs are telling me that they're struggling to keep up. I'm running at 4:30 per km and the 4 extra kilograms hanging around my waist are taking their toll on my performance and my cardio-vascular system's capacity at this speed. I want to slow down but tell myself that I'm a lazy lump and need to carry on to work off the fat. I take the 10 km course option and run around the back of the park, enjoying the sun rise as Spring arrives and the course isn't totally pitch black anymore. I'm able to maintain my pace until the slight slope back through town in the last 2 km. I drop to 4:45 pace before picking up a little towards the end of the run.I finish the 10km in 44:40 or an average of 4:28 per km. Best run in ages and although there is a slight grating with the achilles, I can tell that it will wear off realtively quickly during the day.Life is looking up.
I wrapped up warmly this morning as the recent cloudless days have brought some much needed sunlight to the land but also mean that it is cold first thing in the morning. Yesterday, it was -2°C when I left for work in the car. I wasn't going ot be caught unawares when I left the house so I prepared some long running tights, a running top, a long sleeved polar fleece, and a windbreaker to put on over the top. I needn't have bothered: it was 6°C outside and after 200m, I realised that I was going to be too warm.The achilles felt far better than it had done in recent days. The first couple of kilometres were really pain-free and I only felt a slight niggle at the top of the tendon. I had set off at a reasonable pace since now that I'm only running every other day, I feel that I have to make the most of it and I have more energy compared to when I was training every day. I went down to the river and ran hard along the road from the 1st kilometre marker to the second. It was just after this point that I began to lose my energy and get out of breath. It was no longer a question of the pain in the achilles, but lack of training and endurance that was taking its toll.My pace dropped from 4:24 then 4:18 to 4:35 - 4:38 over the next 3 kilometres. I felt dreadful and it was if my legs were laden with lead and I was running in deep water. Obviously, my thoughts were black as I remembered my training sessions where I would run faster than this pace with ease and over longer distances. Still, I consoled myself with the thought that my first objective is to get better and to build back up the mileage gradually. The pace and the stamina will follow automatically. The good news is that the achilles is on the mend.
At least the 3 layers I was wearing kept me so warm that I was sweating profusely by the time I got back and able to measure a small weight loss since last weekend. Thank god for small mercies.
7.6km all up in 34:15 so 4:30 per km exactly. Will run Rambouillet this weekend with Laurence and hopefully we'll set a new PB for her over the half-marathon. I couldn't help wondering whether I'll be able to keep up with her after this morning's performance.
I was full of hope and excitement this morning as I got up to go for an easy jog around the short route of Maisons Laffitte. Yesterday had been a great day and had boosted me psychologically into thinking that the injury was almost behind me and that I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and whatever other overused cliché comes to mind. I was really looking forward to getting out again and putting in some mileage even if the quality training wasn't there yet.It was chilly when I left the house with the thermometer reading about 1°C. This may have had an effect on my tendon as it felt stiff and after the first few paces, I knew that the euphoria of yesterday would be short-lived. I told myself just to take it easy and not to push the pace so I contented myself with an easy jog along by the river and then back through the park. The achilles was tight and slightly painful after the first kilometre and I just kept waiting for the moment when the ankle would warm up and the pain would subside. This didn't really happen so I was a little disappointed, to say the least, when I got back home.7.6km all up in 38:00 so 5:00 per km average. I thought I'd been running faster than this even if I had been taking it easy so no solace here either.
So having suffered Friday night, the big test was this morning to see whether the ESWT had done any good as I was going to the club session with Laurence to run for 90 minutes.Nico had contacted me to see if I was interested in an easy run this morning. Too right I was, but very apprehensive as to how the ankle would behave after 45 minutes of pounding the road. We agreed that we'd go to the club to meet the others and just take it easy, avoiding the intervals and running at 12km/h. There was a good turnout at the club : Thierry, Bruno, José, Philippe, most of the trailers and Delphine, Christelle, Aude, Catherine amongst the women. Miguel was taking the session and leading the 10km training session with 3 blocks of 10 minutes and this was the group that we'd be joining while the marathoners headed off for a 2h40 session with 4x20'.We ran easily out to the Princess Road and the different groups separated at this point. Nico and I ran with Gérard, a seventy year old from the club who's still running 1h43 half-marathons, well down from his sub 1h20 record and 2h50 marathon bests. We let the women go for the first interval and then sped up to stay with them over the second. Nico was able to realise one of his fantasies by staying just behind the group, admiring their posteriors while I stayed in front acting as a hare for them. We were running at 4:35 pace now and when this interval finished, Nico and I continued on running and chatting until Anis and Nabil caught us on the last interval. Miguel caught us too at this point and since he was looking tired already, we rubbed salt into the wounds by picking up the pace and urging him to pull his finger out. I was tired now since we'd run 11k and the lack of recent training was felt, so it was a relief as he turned round to pick up the women and Nico and I headed back down Princess Road towards the clubhouse.We ran down the Princess Road at 16km/h (3:45) and I felt great. It was such a pleasure to be out on a sunny Sunday morning and able to run without pain. Sure my ankle was making itself felt, but the sharp pain had disappeared and it was more like an old bruise feeling at the base of the calf. We chased down Ephrem together and ran the last 3 kilometres back to the clubhouse as just below marathon pace (4:20 roughly).So I managed to run 18km in 1:31 and I was over the moon. The distance is the longest that I've run since before my ankle problem started and the sense of achievement and hope was immense. Life is looking up and I'm already planning a run tomorrow morning to celebrate.
So after a couple of weeks getting very depressed about my ankle situation and my inability to run over 10k without putting myself out of action for a couple of days, I heard about extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) from some guys at the club and Laurence booked me in for a session on Friday night.I turned up at the clinic and the doctor took me into the treatment room. There was a huge contrast between 'magic max's' room stuck in a timewarp in the 1970's and this whitewashed clinic with its state of the art Swiss Dolorclast machine ready for action. Before starting the treatment, I was made to lie down and the doctor made an ultrasound scan of both ankles. He was able to clearly see the slight swelling in the left ankle and the liquid around the tendon where the strain had occurred. After this initial analysis he made me lie down on my front and began the treatment proper.20 minutes of torture was about to begin. The start of the treatment involved holding my ankle and in his hand while he poked me around the tendon enquiring where the pain was greatest. Having ascertained that it was on the outside of the left ankle at the base of the calf he then reached for the Swiss Dolorclast and applied this to the tendon.Anyone having studied a minimum of latin will realise that this ESWT machine is very appropriately named - the Dolorclast. Dolor in latin evoloving into "douleur" in French meaning pain derived from the latin verb for suffering. This machine did exactly that - I suffered intensely. The only thought that was going through my mind was that with all of this pain, it must be doing some good. There had to be some consolation as the shockwaves blast through the flesh causing very intense, localised agony. I've had more fun eating glass (*). I gritted my teeth and buried my face in the tissue covering the bench on which I was lying. How long could this last?Just as the pain was getting really unbearable, the doctor informed me that I'd had enough. I'm glad he realised this because I'd been thinking exactly the same thoughts for 5 minutes at this point. He then applied gel to the area and wrapped up the ankle in clingfilm, telling me to leave this in place overnight to allow the swelling to subside. My ankle now looked like a knuckle of pork in the fridge, ready for roasting. I thought that he was supposed to be helping me mend and he's just explained that the bruising will be severe and that it needs gel over 12 hours to ease the swelling - great!So more pain, less pinching and the same cost. At least this time health insurance covers the cost - a small consolation. I booked in for another session in 10 days - I'm just a glutton for punishment.(*) kids please don't try this at home.
I ran to Cora and back with Nico last Saturday and again I didn't post as it was a blow to me.I was able to manage the pace, albeit a lot more exhausted on arrival back at the house than usual, but the pain in the achilles was a huge disappointment.How can I express this ? It's not that it truly hurts when I run. I begin by feeling a slight tension in the left ankle. This tension builds and builds and feels like a large bruise at the base of the calf. The pain gradually increases and I know that I should stop to let my body recover, but I don't. I carry on as I'm determined to maintain my fitness, to keep up the mileage and to keep down my weight. When I got back last Saturday though, I knew I'd gone too far and my ankle was sore all weekend. I put off my usual Monday run and delayed it until Tuesday to give me time to recover.Basically, the ankle grates and grinds as I move my foot up and down and no amount of ice on the ankle will stop this. This feeling gradually disappears with time. After a standard run (7.5k) this takes a day. After Cora last weekend it took 2 days. I knew I wasn't improving and I needed further treatment if I was to get rid of this burden.It was great to run with Nico but the disappointment was ovewhelming hence my silence. So why am I writing again ... this will take another posting by itself.
I haven't been writing up my runs for the last 2 weeks as there has not been much to write home about.I have been trying not to force the pace, not to put too much tension in the tendon and to just get out as often as the ankle will let me. This has been once every other day on average.7.6 km has been my standard run and I 've been running this between 43:55 and 47:00 minutes depending on the pain.To begin with I was able to run 4 km before the pain began to kick in, by the end of the 2 weeks I'd run just over a kilometre and I'd begin to hurt. Something had to be done.
