Sleep deprivation

Very nearly didn't make it up this morning to get this run in. Week started badly too, with business trips to Lyon and then Toulouse requiring such early starts that a run before travelling was impossible. Late nights back meant that I've been sleeping less than 5 hours a night and here I was in a hotel in Bordeaux seriously considering an extra hour in bed. My conscience git the better of me and the thought of a third day without going for a run was too much to bear so I pulled on my kit and left for a run at 6:00am.

Running in a strange place where you don't know the roads and the surroundings is difficult. This hotel was right next to the airport in Merignac and the first big decision was in which direction should I start running. It was pitch black and I headed down a road that had a path and some lighting. Unfortunately, this only lasted for 300m before the path and then the lighting fizzled out and I was running along the road, praying not to be knocked down by cars in the middle of the night. My only consolation was that I had my hotel key on me with the room number so at least the police would be able to identify me if I was killed in an accident. My mood was decidedly upbeat after 4 and a half hours sleep.

At the next roundabout I stumbled across a cycle path and some street lighting which I followed for 3.5 kilometres until I found myself back at the same roundabout. I'd completed a loop without realising and since I hadn't died or found myself in any severe difficulties, I went around again for good measure, even being cokcy enough to add on a little dog-leg this time to run around 13km back to the hotel.

I was feeling good and full of energy after 2 days rest and the pace was fairly fast with me running consistently under 4:10 / km now. I was still very happy to make it back to the hotel in one piece.

14.3 km all up in 59:46 or an average pace of 4:11 / km.

Long Sunday Run (LSR)

Ok, ok - LSR is supposed to be long slow run, but we all know that if you run with Nico this is just not going to happen. I'd texted him last night to see if he was interested in a long run and was pleased to see that he was with the only proviso that he was back for 11:00 am. I suggested a 2 hour run and he texted back that it was a good idea but we should include 2 x 20 minutes of threshold in the run just for the training.

We set out at 8:30 am as I allowed for a little slippage in our timing and didn't want to be held responsible for Nico missing lunch with the family at one of the best restaurants in Paris. Some people just have all the luck. We set off easily heading up inot the forest by Le Mesnil church and corssing the forest in the direction of the club. We gradually picked up the pace over these first 5 kilometres until we were running at 4:20 pace which I find is our natural pace.

We ran in front of the club and passed Laurence and friends off for a 30km run through the forest. Laurence pointed out that I was having a nosebleed which I hadn't noticed. The next bit of excitement was at the end of the road when we tried to cross, only to avoid being knocked down by Jean-Marc. This is probably due to the fact that he's now worried about how close Nico is getting to challenging him over 10km!

We ran towards the other section of the forest now, towards the pony club and we both decided that trying to run 2 x 20' of threshold would be too much for both of us: Nico having run a hard session yesterday and me because I still hadn't recovered from my week in the Alps. We still had Princess Road to manage though, so as to push our bodies a little, I made sure that we ran up the hill as honestly as possible. Whenver I flagged, Nico would push on and when he eased, I would take over. I used to think that if I could run these 2 kilomtres uphill in under 5' each that I was doing well. We ran them today in 4:37 then 4:40 - the best I've ever managed and with a rucsac and water pouch on.

The road flattens out at the top so we hit marathon pace and ran the next 5km at around 4:15 pace before accelerating back down Princess Road and hitting 3:57, 3:40 then 3:52 in the process. A quick breather up by the horticultaral lycée and then we headed home at 4:20 pace.

27.25 km all up in 1:57, including the last 300 metres at 3:30 pace. Average pace over the loop was 4:19 so a pretty honest effort all up.

A photo of the scenery from the centre in the Alps. Mont Blanc is in the background on the left.

 Photo of me in action at the end of the cross country race in Les Mureaux

Real recovery

Friday is normally rest day in the marathon training programme. Since we'll be driving back from the Alps tomorrow and we might not make it back before dusk, we decided that we'd go for an early morning run from the centre before we had breakfast and put the skis on. Laurence slept badly and was worried about running alone at this time in the morning so in a fit of gallantry and eager to take it easy, I volunteered to accompany her on her recovery run.

We followed the same route that I ran on Wednesday and ran up the back roads to Megevette higher up the valley. The morning was fabulous with not a cloud in sight and the views along the valley to Mont Blanc were beautiful. We took it easy up to Megevette and then admired the layer of mist lying in the valley bottom with the snow-covered hills towering above the valley on both sides.

I convinced Laurence that we should run beyond Megevette despite the fact that her programme only scheduled a 45 minute run and this route would take a little longer. Laurence agreed, returning the favour for running with me, and we ran up to Chaumety before running back down the main road. We both stretched out down here and Laurence and I ran the last 3 kilometres in under 5 minutes each in 3:49, 3:40 then 3:32.

11.5 km all up in 1:03 or an average pace of 5:34 over the distance. Lovely relaxing run and a great start to our last day on holiday here.

12 x 200m

An easy session on paper, especially if you respect the marathon plan which demands a 200m recovery between each interval. There are only twelve intervals which is probably a concession in a tough week of training otherwise. However, the combination of cross-country skiing, downhill and marathon training was taking its toll on my body.

I tried cross-country skating yesterday. This is where the skis are completely smooth underneath and the skiers glide from side to side with a graceful skating movement. I put the skis on and spent the next hour looking like a dork waddling with pathetic little steps trying my hardest not to fall over. I was passed by pensioners, by 3 year olds, by everybody in fact. I felt like a twerp. After an hour and 5.5km, I took the skis back and replaced them with classical cross-country skis. In the meantime, Laurence, who had been miles behind me on Monday, had finally got the hang of classical cross-country skiing and elatedly waited for me at the top of every slope as I struggled up valiantly but gracelessly. Going running and doing intervals this morning would be a rest in comparison.

I started the warm-up with Laurence and I knew I was in trouble. Despite the large breakfast, as I'm permanently famished at the moment, I had very little energy and even running 5:15 pace was hard work. The altitude was affecting me and I started the run accompanied by a slight nosebleed which happens occaisionally when I'm in the mountains. Even though it wasn't the hardest of sessions, I really couldn't envisage picking up the pace to start.

After half an hour of warming up, we found a quieter spot to run and I began. The intervals went:

37, 41, 39, 38, 36, 38, 36, 40, 40, 40, 37, 38

I ran the rest of the session with Laurence who was doing 6 x 1000 in 4:30 before heading back to the car. I was glad to have go this under my belt and felt better running with Laurence towards the end of the run than I had at the beginning and during the intervals. I'm just made to run 4:30 pace - full stop.

14.25 km all up in 1:12 or an average pace of 5:03 / km.

Another recovery

I don't know if calling these recovery runs fully conveys the effort necessary to run in conditions such as these: -10°C, hills everywhere, early morning after a day's skiing, and ice on the roads. Whatever, I'd set the alarm to 7:00 am and I was going to run for an hour, just like the programme stated.

I almost changed my mind when the alarm rang and it was barely daybreak outside. I put on my skins, a couple of tops, some gloves and my new running hat. I headed out in the direction of Monday's route, up the back roads to Megevette, along the valley and then back down the main road.

The start was similar to Monday with the first kilometres run at 5:00 pace and then 5:30 up the hills. Once the uphill behind me, I was running along the valley at 4:30 pace. I reached the main road, this time avoiding the traipse across the snow-covered field, and coasted back down the hill to Onnion. There is a real difference in temperature between the plain at Megevette and a few hundred metres lower in the valley towards Onnion. This was really appreciable as I raced down the last section of road to the centre. At least I avoided frostbite where it hurts most.

11.7 km all up in 54:47 or an average pace of 4:41/km. Now for the cross-country skiing again.

8 x 1000m

The marathon training plan says 8 x 1000m at 80% max HR. I've never really tried to work out what this session is all about and I've mostly tried to run this as close to max HR as possible. Today, I was taking a morning off skiing to find a flattish stretch of road and run these intervals at 3:45 pace instead. My reasoning behind this was that with the altitude and the cold, I'd have to compensate in terms of pace.

I programmed the Garmin for the intervals and set off up to Megevette along the main road for my warm-up. I was still tired from last night's recovery run and I hadn't been looking forward to this morning's session anyway. My worst fears were confirmed from the start: this was going to be tough.

I left Megevette on the main road and thought that I'd better start here. The road beyond this village is a long straight section over 1 kilometre long and after a fairly flat start it then rises gently before heading up to a col some 4 kilometres after this. I set off and tried to push the pace, imagining that I was on the track at St Germain and chasing Nico, leading Fred and Thierry and in shape. Unfortunately, this didn't translate into any performance today on the road and my legs started to tire after a couple of hundred metres. I looked at the Garmin and saw 580 metres .Great, I've only got 400m to go, just a lap of the track. I looked again at the Garmin a minute later and saw 190m. Marvellous, it works as a countdown and I still hadn't finished my first interval. I finished the first and looked forward to the slight downhill back. The idea was to run this up and down 3 times and then continue for the final two intervals back down the road towards Onnion and benefit from the downhill. It was a real relief to complete that third uphill interval and for me, the sesssion was virtually over from that point on.

The intervals went as follows:

3:54, 3:40, 3:55, 3:37, 3:52, 3:40, 3:44, 3:34

You can spot the uphills easily in the times above. The temperature was a good -10°C and I was a real sight with frozen snot around my nose and mouth by the time I got back, completely shattered.

16.2 km all up in 1:14 or an average pace of 4:36 / km. This was a tough one.

Recovery (!) run

We arrived in the Alps on Sunday evening and it was good to be back. There is plenty of snow and the views are fantastic. We dumped our bags into our rooms, had some dinner and then planned the activities for the following day. After getting all of our ski gear sorted, we decided we'd start with downhill, do some cross-country skiing in the afternoon and then I'd go for a recovery run just before dinner.

ALl went according to plan and we drove back from the cross-country skiing and I slipped into my running gear and set off. I headed back up my old route towards Megevette on the back roads as I fugured that this loop was about 13 km and would take me an hour.

It was tough from the start. Whether it was the day spent skiing, the altitude, the cold temperature or the hills, I struggled to run at a reasonable pace. I started off at 4:46 but soon dropped to 5:00 then 5:30 as I attacked (relatively speaking) the hills. The road was icy but I managed to avoid slipping on the patches of black ice that spotted the track up to Megevette. The best part was after 6 kilometres when I normally run along a track through a field to Chaumety at the far end. This was covered with a layer of snow about 40 centimetres deep and as I ran I was up to mid-calf in snow, slowing me down to 6:00 for this kilometre :/

I ran back down the main road through Megevette and back down to Onnion. I was shattered at this point and my vision blurred with the tiredness, causing me to see double. I knew I was struggling as on this downhill section I can usually exceed 15 km/h but today I was struggling to maintain 4:15 pace. Really pleased to get back to the centre and have some dinner.

13.1 km all up in 1:00 exactly or an average pace of 4:39. I struggled out there today.

Etampes 10 km race

I was very relaxed going into this race. I was going to pace François and I was looking forward to the run. Laurence, on the other hand, was very stressed as she was attempting to beat her record set in Paris XIV and to go under 46 minutes for the first time over the distance. Would she be able to cope with the pressure and pull it off when it counted?

We had delayed our departure for our skiing holidays just to take part in this race and I gently reminded Laurence of this fact as we drove there just to increase the pressure on her. I am sure that this was appreciated. We met the others (François, Katia, Pascal and Sandra and the competition: Benjamin) when we picked up our bibs and we set off around the 5km course for a warm-up. The race would involve 2 loops, but they were relatively flat and the only obstance around the course was the patchy ice which hadn't melted in places.

We lined up at the start with the other 1000 runners and the gun went quickly and in the confusion I lost François. Luckily, he hadn't lost me and was a couple of metres behind but with the initial crowds, I found it difficult to spot him. We instantly set off at the designated pace of 3:49, passing the first kilometre in 3:43, which I thought wasn't bad going as pacing efforts go.

The next couple of kilometres were at the same pace around 3:45/ km, but after the fourth kilometre, François had to tell me to slow down so that  I wouldn't lose him. I had spotted the first female runner only a few metres ahead and I thought that this would spur François on, but we don't all act the same way when it comes to racing.

We finished our first loop and set off on the second. François was slower now and the initial pace had taken it out of him and he was paying the price now. I had no regrets as we gone out at the right pace but unfortunately, it's still slightly too fast for his level of training at the moment. We ran the next few kilometres at around 15 km/h and it was only in the last kilometre that he increased the pace slightly to 3:55 to cross the finishing line in 39:03, just behind the first 2 female runners. He'd beaten his PB but not his objective unlike Benj who had run a stormer with a final time of 36:43 and a new PB.

We ran back along the course and saw Pascal (41:56), and then Sandra (44:34) and not far behind her Laurence. I ran with Laurence to encourage her, but it wasn't the moment and so I kept my distance as she ran a new PB in 45:23 and was thrilled to bits with her result. Katia finished 6 seconds behind her to complete the club outing.

A warm down with Benj together and then I picked up the bags for a quick shower before we set off to the Alps for our skiing holiday, feeling that the delayed departure had been well worth the while.

 Taking my pacing duties for François very seriously after the first loop.

Laurence at the end of the race. Notice that she did not appreciate my accompanying her due to fatigue so I was obliged to run between the cars!








A big thanks to Paul for taking the photos.

Corra alone

Nico deserted me this morning, pretexting some prior arrangement elsewhere so I was left to run Corra by myself. No worries, I thought, this was the ideal opportunity to run at my comfortable speed and not be forced along by my younger running mate, obliging me to follow or be cursed by a litany of accusations from his blog later on in the day.

I set off easily running up through town with the Garmin recording the first kilometre in 4:42 (it had played up and recorded at least 50 metres short of the official distance) and then the second in 4:50. This did feel good and I relaxed into my run. I was so relaxed that I sped up to my natural pace and was soon enough running at 4:25 / km. Still Nico wasn't alongside me to pick the pace up further was he? I could just relax now and preserve myself for my official pacing duties tomorrow.

I had volunteered with pleasure for a 10km race in Etampes to accompany François in his attempt to better his record of 39:22 and try and achieve the official McMillan equivalent time for a 3 hour marathon: 38:21. SO to run this pace, I didn't want to arrive shattered after a recovery run around Corra. I looked at the Garmin for kilometre 6 - 4:08. Ok so it wasn't just Nico who drives the pace around Corra. The next 3 were the same: 4:11, 4:04 then 4:09. I was on a roll. It was only the uphill to Pavillon de la Muette which slowed me down. I picked the pace up again back in town to finish.

15 km all up in 1:04 or an average pace of 4:16. Come back Nico - all is forgiven!

10 x 400m

This session was the one that I thought would be easy last year when I was preparing for Florence. I thought then that I should be running these in 1:25 or 10 seconds per rep faster than the 3 hour marathon plan. I've revisd my opinion since then and this time I set out with more modest objectives, thinking that if I managed all under 1:30 then I'd be doing alright.

I ran down to the roundabout at Maisons Laffitte and I was so happy running at recovery speed, daydreaming at 6:00am that I almost forgot to start. I woke with a start and began the first interval. The impression wasn't good and this felt like hard work. I think that I probably preserved myself a little with the first few intervals and it was only towards the end, when I was still suffering after a 30 second recovery that I ran better. They went as follows:

1:27, 1:27, 1:22, 1:24, 1:22, 1:23, 1:24, 1:23, 1:20, 1:20

This was a a vast improvement on last year so I'm chuffed but not entirely surprised. I know that I've improved in my training since Florence and the real test will be with the half-marathon in Rambouillet against Nico.

10.3 km all up in 45:52 or an average pace of 4:26 per km.

Treadmill

I hate these sessions but there was no alternative. I wasn't going to run around Brussels airport first thing in the morning by myself. I headed up to the fitness room at 6:00 am and got onto the one and only treadmill in there. It was a very basic affair and I was so tired that I couldn't even be bothered to work out all of the limited functions so I just pressed quick start, set the speed to 13 km/h and began running.

I was very bored by 6:15am as the screen in front of me was sowing MTV but without headphones there was little point in watching. I was still tired and only taking in half of what I was seeing anyway. All of this changed 5 minutes later when this gorgeous young blond lady entered the room and proceded to use the stepper machine.

I tried to look as good as possible but after a late night, sleep deprivation, an excess of alcohol and 20 minutes exhausting myself on the treadmill, I definitely wasn't looking my best. I found the fan function at last and at least I was able to reduce the number of beads of sweat that were dripping from my face onto the machine. I pitied the person who was going to use this after me. I'd been running for 45 minutes now and finally found that there was a distance function on the machine so I could have worked out how far I'd run. This would only work if I restarted and I was well past this point so I ran for 51 minutes and hit stop.

A glass of water and a quick glance at the stepper machine and I left, ready for work.

11km all up very approximately !

4 x 1500m

Another early morning run to fit in my interval training. Work is such that I haven't been able to make it to any of the club sessions recently so I've missed out on running with the guys and pushing the pace. I had to skip Tuesday's run due to travel for work and so I rescheduled the intervals for this morning.

I was too tired to set the Garmin before the run and it was too early to do it before heading out. I headed out with a bit of trepidation as I don't like these intervals of 1000m or 1500m. Anyhow, there was nothing else to be done and it was part of the plan. So I kitted up and headed out.

My 1500m were a little approximative to begin with as I didn't pay attention to exactly what the mileage was when I set off for the first interval. But with this in mind, the intervals were roughly as follows:

5:49, 5:45, 5:42, 5:36

The intervals were slightly long so the pace was a bit faster than this and I wasn't too upset by the last interval which was in line with what was expected.

12.7 km all up in 55:59 or 4:24 per km.

Recovery run

Tried to make up for yesterday's poor performance by going on a longer recovery run than usual. Laurence runs a similar route to me to Maisons Laffitte but she runs past the horse racetrack and then turns back whereas I cut left before getting to the end. I combined the two routes to make for a longer run.

I took it easy to begin with end then gradually warmed up, speeding up in the process. I suppose I was compensating for my lousy run but everything went really well. I soon settled into a 4:20 rhythm and even faster as I punished myself for taking it easy.

Finished the course at 3:46 pace having run 14.3 km in total in a time of 1:01. Average pace of 4:19/km over the route. Laurence is so used to me coming back in 55 minutes dead that she was worried that I'd been knocked over in those extra 5 minutes that it took me to finish the run. No slacking allowed with my wife.

LIFA cross country - Les Mureaux

I didn't want to run this and I wasn't disappointed. I'll keep the story short as I was unhappy with my run, unhappy about the pace and unhappy by beaing beaten by Mr Moustache from Houilles.

I turned up for the veterans race and was surprised to see that there were only 3 of us from the club: Eric, Robin and myself. José, Bruno, Thierry and Olivier had all pulled out, leaving us without a team (4 runners necessary). I warmed up feeling fairly lousy as I had a heavy stomach from breakfast which had not worn off. I wondered if this would disappear as soon as the race started.

I lined up and it was a fast start from the gun. My stomach was ever present and I was heavy in my legs, just not in the race at all. We had 2 medium laps to run and then 2 big laps. I was ahead of Mr Moustache from the start and Nico warned from the sidelines that he was just behind me at the start of the second lap. He overtook me shortly afterwards and I never had the capacity to pull back the ground he made at this point. The distance didn't grow as the laps went on but I couldn't pull up the energy to accelerate and chase him down.

The pace was very similar to Montesson despite the course being a lot flatter and faster in theory. I averaged 3:53 over the course and just felt that I under-achieved. I was never in the race mentally and really just hanging on from the start. Very disappointing and a pathetic performance that I'll try and put behind me.

Nico ran a good race in the seniors. He set off slowly letting the leaders pull away before accelerating in the second half of the race and slowly clawing his way back through the field beating Guillaume R, a good road-runner in the process. Wish I could have done the same.

Corra

Usual route with Nico to Corra and back on this Saturday morning. I've been finding it hard to keep to the marathon training schedule with the different races programmed for every weekend at the moment and also a heavy work schedule which stops me from keeping my blog updated.

Anyway, Nico was present for our usual Saturday jaunt and we set off at an easy pace for Corra with the final (at least for us) round of the cross country in Les Mureaux forecast for the next day.

We did set off easily and reasonably enough but by the time we crossed over the road into the forest towards Corra we had accelerated again as is our wont and we were soon running our 4:10 pace. We hit kilometre 7 in 3:58 before I called it a day and told Nico to ease off. I wasn't motivated nearly enough by the final round of the cross-country without arriving at the race exhausted. Nico stopped for his usual toilet stop (it's becoming a permanent feature of our weekend runs (no pun intended) and I jooged on easily waiting for Nico to catch up.

He caught me by Pavillon de la Muette and we finished together at around 4:20 pace before the final kilometre in 3:26.

15km all up in 1:07 depsite a ocuple of kilometres run very slowly in the middle at slower than 5:00 pace.

6 x 1000m

Following my marathon training still. 6 x 1000m this morning around the usual route through the park in Maisons Laffitte.

Cold morning and feeling alright despite the fact that I never want to start these intervals. Push on nevertheless and run with a 300m recovery after a warm-up of 2.6km. Intervals go as follows:

3:38, 3:36, 3:37, 3:32, 3:38, 3:42

Pleased with the result with the recoveries all around 1:45.

12;8km all up in 56:15 or an average pace of 4:23

Recovery run

The only real rest day, in running terms, during the marathon training programme, is on Wednesday where rest and recuperation are the dish of the day. I look forward to these sessions as it reminds me of why I like running. I'm only running for my own enjoyment, not to improve my times, not to push myself to the limit but just for the pleasure of getting out and doing some exercise. Admittedly, the pleasure is unimaginable for some when it's -10°C outside, but for us masochists, it's not a real problem.

I felt good from the start and set off at a steady pace, but not too slow so as to avoid getting frostbite. I sped up gradually over the first half of the course, moving through the gears from 4:30 pace to 4:08 for the 7th kilometre. I then eased off slightly before accelerating again towards the end.

Not many people out and about with the early start time and the cold. I finished my loop in 55:05 for the 12.8km so an average pace of 4:18 / km. Faster than yesterday on average so pleased with my recovery run.

2 x 3000m

Another early morning. Another freezing morning. Days pass and the routine remains the same. The only difference is the session that is planned each day and today was 2 x 3km at marathon speed. I planned to apply my usual ambitions over this distance: 11:30 per interval; the time I use for my 3-2-1 sessions.

I ran down to the Seine in the freezing cold and wondered if all those reports I'd read about the impact of the cold on your heart-rate had any truth to them. I defintiely wasn't tempted to hang around as the cold on my face was freezing my smile into a grimace. My mouth felt swollen and I couldn't have spoken anything more than an unintelligible mumble even if I had wanted to. I started the interval after this kilometre warm-up, to get it over with more than anything else.

I don't know how fast I was running. I was just running as fast as it seemed possible for 3km. It was hard but it wasn't as bad as an all-out sprint session. I prefer these longer intervals where you are just out of your comfort zone as opposed to the full-out max HR sessions which fill me with despondency even before I start.

After 1.5km I'm already thinking that this is hard but the legs keep flowing and sooner than I expect the Garmin beeps for the third time and the first interval is over (3:50, 3:55, 3:51 so I miss my target by 6 seconds but I don't discover this until afterwards). A 3' recovery and I set off again. This second interval feels harder and easier at the same time. Harder because my legs are pushing faster and the ground is slippier, forcing me to shorten my stride with the patches of ice underfoot; easier, because my heartrate is not quite so high as before.

I finish the second interval (3:49, 3:54, 3:44 and well within the target this time)  and can now relax for the remainder of the run home. 12.8 km all up in 55:18 or an average pace of 4:19 / km. Long live the summer.

Freezing

No rest for the wicked and the marathon training programme imposed a run for today. As usual, I ignore the schedule for the Monday run and go and run a recovery around my 13km route. It's hard enough to get out of bed at 6:00 am to go for a run with the thermometer hovering around -10°C, but to have to run at tempo pace too is just too much to bear.

It takes me longer than usual to pull my clothes on due to the extra layers and perhaps due to my lack of motivation to leave the warmth of the bedroom. I get outside and the cold instantly registers: the cold grips you all over your body and squeezes the breath out of your lungs. It is very cold and I jog from the house to get moving as quickly as possible.

I run at 4:30 pace to begin with but then as I near the park in Maisons Laffitte, I speed up a little and down Avenue Albine, I'm running at 4:10 pace. There aren't many other souls about and even the woman I normally meet in the park walking her dogs is nowhere to be seen. The cold is too much for everyone and they're all insides for once, keeping warm.

12.8km all up in 55:00 or an average pace of 4:18. Too cold to hang about.

10k race almost

We had all registered for the 10km race in Vincennes this morning. I'd picked up a spare bib from Régis who was injured and the intention was to run with François, taking him under 39 minutes for the first time. Laurence, Sandra and Katia were all aiming to beat their records over the distance and with their recent training, this was looking very feasible.

We woke up to a layer of white. It was still snowing and at -8°C the snow was showing no intention of disappearing immediately. We decided we'd meet up at the carpark at St Germain before making a decision, but by the time that Laurence and I arrived there having slipped our way through the forest in the car, it was clear that we wouldn't be able to make it as conditions were just too dangerous. We transformed our race into a session in the snow and at this point Nico rang to say that his race in the Yvelines had been cancelled and that he'd join us for a training run too.

We headed from the club to the Croix de Noailles through the forest on the Poissy side of the road before heading down to Pavillon de la Muette and then on to Corra in the snow. The conditions were lovely with the fresh snow crunching beneath our feet and the sky gradually brightening as the snow stopped falling. There was a good layer of between 5 and 10 cm of snow and although we were running easily, it wasn't too long before we could feel the extra effort necessary with each stride in our calves.

The garmin ran out of battery on me just before the end but I'd covered 18.5 km at this point and the whole run was probably just under 20km. So with the total time for the run at 1:45 this implied an average pace of 5:15 over the distance. Laurence and Sandra finished a little behind with Sandra running on empty for the last 10km.

Shame for the race as François had been looking forward to it aswell as the girls, but a nice run in the snow for the start of the season.

Malakoff - 5km

First race of the James - Nico challenge for 2012 and I was happy to go an run even if I felt that my chances of beating Nico over this distance were very slight. It was another cold crisp day and the temperature was around -1°C at 1pm when we arrived in Malakoff. We had registered for the race under my company's name and Nico and I jogged to the start to pick up the bibs for everyone before heading back to the offices where we got changed.

Another rapid warm-up and we were lined up for the start. Nico was right on the starting line and I was placed just behind him, on his shoulder. The gun went and we got off to a fast start. One of the runners shot off at the front and I just thought that he was going to lap in 15:xx so just let him go. I saw that Nico was just in front of me so I tried my best to stay with him and as we went through the first kilometre he was only a couple of metres in front. I started to believe that it was possible ot stay with him now and as we entered the stadium for a lap before exiting on the far side, I overtook a runner and kept Nico in sight.

The ramp out of the stadium slowed me down and that was sufficient to lose a couple of metres again and I concentrated on catching and overtaking the young runner who'd shot off at the start. So much for 15:xx, he was heading backwards now. After this second kilometre my legs began to tire and my stomach felt heavy from the late breakfast. I sincerely regretted having eaten that almond croissant that had been so tempting at 10:30am, as it was weighing in my belly. I eased off slightly, sparing my body the pain that I'd endured over the first couple of kilometres. Time was passing slowly now and each kilometre seemed interminable.

Nico was a good 30 metres in front now and he was pulling away slowly, while I was just trying to maintain the pace and not be caught. I couldn't even manage this and towards the end of the fourth kilometre, the young runner caught up with me followed by the runner that I'd overtaken in the stadium. 2 runners that I'd written off as ahving gone into the red from the start where now back on my tail and overtaking me. I took some solace from the fact that my virtual partner on the garmin was still showing a 17 second lead on the 3:30 pace that I'd programmed at the start. I focused on trying to maintain that now.

The last kilometre I let slip again and the 2 runners pulled ahead slowly making 5 metres on me at first and then 10 etc. I pulled into the final straight and didn't even sprint to the line, too tired to make any further efforts. I crossed the line in 17:34, my second fastest 5k ever and only 6 seconds behind my PB. I ended 21 seconds behind Nico (17:13) and with the impression that I could have run faster still if I'd been more focused and prepared to pull out all of the stops. Garmin registered the course as 5.1km hence my lead over the virtual partner.

Good race and further proof that I've moved up a level at the start of this season.

Cool Friday

I might have been complaining about snow earlier in the week, but this was worse. A chill wind has blown in from eastern France, straight from Siberia and temperatures have plummeted. When I left for my early morning run on Friday, it was -9°C and bloody cold.

All thoughts of intervals and other tempo runs flew out of the window. I was just going to get around the loop as quickly and as safely as I could without losing any body parts in the process. I had 3 layers on top and pants and skins for bottoms. A ski hat and a buff completed the ensemble. It took me 4 minutes longer than usual to leave as I had to put all of this extra kit on.

Not much to report once I was out. There was nobody around, not surprisingly, and I ran at a good pace after the first 3 or 4 kilometres. I finally managed to discover how to work the backlight on autolap on the Garmin which was a miracle. You need to put the light on and then lock the bezel before setting off and change the backlight setting to data entry and other. Too complicated by far and apparently it's a lot simpler on the 605 - which sounds like a good excuse to buy one.

12.8km all up in 53:39 or an average pace of 4:10 / km. Cold spell is set to stay for a while which is a pity as it's going to hamper my marathon training.