Cycling

I got the mountain bike out this morning and cycled over to the club to accompany everyone on their Sunday run.

Weather was lousy this morning and the rain fell almost constantly. I was pleased to see that cycling didn't impact my calf at all and this will have to be the exercise of choice for the next couple of weeks now. Small turnout at the club due to the holidays and the weather. Nico, Ylies and Wilfried were out for the men while Laurence was running with Stephanie and Muriel.

23 km all up but in pretty atrocious conditions.

Nice photo of me taken at the end:

Still injured

I had planned with Nico to go for a jog with him to get out and enjoy the fresh air. The doctor had diagnosed a calf strain, usually caused by inadequate stretching before exercise, tiredness, and old age. Well I recognised all 3 of these factors so it's amazing that I've been so injury free for so long.

I hadn't exercised since Tuesday evening when the damage was done and the limping and pain in the calf had now worn off. It probably wasn't the best of ideas but it surely couldn't do that much harm, could it?

I felt fine for the first couple of kilometres, running at a very easy 12 km/h. Nico and I chatted easily but then when we were passing in front of the sports facilities by the Seine, I could feel the muscle pulling and tightening.

It was time to call it a day. The 2 weeks rest imposed is not to be taken lightly and 3 days was not sufficient time to let anything mend. Despite feeling better initially, I would have to be patient.

8 km all up in 42 minutes. No running now for a couple of weeks while I let this mend properly. I'll just have to find some other form of exercise.

Injured

I was in England for business. I'd arrived that afternoon and having made a couple of phone calls and sent some mails, I'd unpacked my bags and taken my running kit out. I was going to go for an easy run befor dinner so that I could enjoy myself without feeling guilty.

It was a pleasant evening and the rain that had been falling in France was nowhere to be seen here. I was staying at the same fantastic hotel near Bagshot as last time and I was looking forward to the evening meal. I ran out of the hotel drive, admiring the hundredsof bunnies playing in the evening light, and headed up the hill towards Camberley. I took it fairly easily, running the first kilometre in just under 5 minutes to the top of the hill. The road flattened out here and I ran aong this flat and then began the downhill into Camberley.

I was looking to the left to see if I could make a circuit out of the run, rather than the put and back efforts I'd managed last time in the dark. I ran the next kilometre in 4:15 and then the third in 4:10. It was easy going down the hill and I thought I was coasting. I'd just run into town when disaster struck. All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in the base of my calf and at the top of my achilles. It was if someone had stabbed me with a dagger in this zone and I was forced to stop immediately. I tried to do some stretching thinking that it was some form of cramp, but to no avail. Nothing I did made the slightest bit of difference and I resigned myself to the fact that I'd pulled a muscle.

I walked the 3.3 km back to the hotel, cursing myself the whole way. I was so frustrated at the thought of losing my current form and all of the lost training that I was almost beside myself. How serious was this injury and what would the consequences be? I lost all interest in the fantastic surroundings and no meal, however great, was going to compensate for this.

Early morning run

After the Sunday training, it was a pleasant change to run by myself at my own rhythm. Despite it being early in the morning, it wasn't too cold and the dawn was beginning to break. I felt good and soon settled down into a fairly sustained tempo, running the first kilometre in 4:30.

I sped up now, accelerating to 4:20 pace and then 4:10 and faster as I headed into the park. It was one of those mornings where everything felt right and although I wasn't comfortable at this pace, it didn't feel as though I had to prove anything or push myself harder. I ran back through the forest as it was light now and it meant that I could enjoy a softer surface. I slowed a little as I ran back up the slope from the railway line but pushed on as it wasn't far back home now.

13.4 km all up in 56:52 or an average pace of 4:14 /km. Good start to the day.

Sunday club run

A longer night's sleep and Laurence and I headed off to the club for this morning's session. We both had very different objectives though: Laurence was in marathon recovery mode and was going to run with Katia and Stéphanie for an easy 45 minutes; whereas I was planning to run whatever session that Miguel had concocted for the day.

There was a fairly small turnout today with the Easter holidays and post-marathon recoveries having reduced the numbers for this morning's workout. Nico, Ylies and Jean-Marc were there along with Thierry and Philippe for the men (François having decided to put in a few miles on the bike instead). Laurence met up with Katia, Stéphanie, Delphine and Aude from the female contingent of the club. We all ran together for the warm-up for the first 25 minutes before the marathoners turned back and I carried on for a 2 x 15 minute threshold session off 3' recovery.

Nico was still tired after another evening out and getting up early to man one of the St Germain polling stations in the French presidential election. We were running at 15 km/h to start and he was already complaining about the pace. I was feeling good, probably due to the lack of mileage this week and when I felt that we could run faster than this. I took the lead and ran with Ylies and Nico just behind me before they overtook me towards the railway line and then gapped me as the path went slightly uphill and then onto the bumps. I felt the pace now and eased off slightly, looking at the Garmin to check how long was left to go. Another 3 minutes, so I gritted my teeth and stuck in and then pushed a little harder as we came off the bumps and then uphill alongside the railway line. First interval was over with Nico and Ylies 25 metres ahead and Thierry and Jean-Marc a good distance back. I'd been averaging 3:45 pace over the interval with 2 kilometres at 3:35 pace along the flat and then downhill.

The 3 minute recovery passed quickly and we set off again, with Nico left behind as he was caught short relieving himself against a tree :)  This wasn't enough though to put him off as Ylies took the lead and Thierry followed shortly behind with me tagging onto Thierry's shoulder. Nico came past after a few hundred yards and ran on with Ylies down to the St Simon cross. Thierry gapped me and mentally I didn't have the willpower to stay with him and it was only on the last straight to Croix de Noailles that I began to reel him in. I averaged 3:50 pace on the second section and overall I was pretty pleased with my performance but still slightly concerned as Ylies and Nico gapped me significantly over the second interval.

17 km all up in 1:28 and it was good to get back to the clubhouse and have a nice coffee with Laurence, Katia and Stéphanie in the bar to relax. Good start to the day.

Corra variant

After a long party to celebrate the Paris marathon results of our little team, I told Nico that we would take it easy this morning for our run out to Corra and back. We also agreed that in the interests of our respective waistlines that we could extend the run to burn off a few extra calories.

It was tough out there at 9:00am this morning. I hadn't had enough sleep after going to bed after 2:00 am and having tasted 5 different whiskies during the evening, not to mention the different wines on offer, I was a little sluggish to say the least. However, Nico looked as rough as I did so that was a relief. For once, we kept to our promises and set off easily and didn't push the pace too hard, too early.

It was a lovely sunny morning but not too warm and it wasn't too long before we arrived at Corra and having almost finished the loop we changed directions instead of running up to Pavillon de la Muette, we headed parallel to the path by which we arrived, running back in the direction of Maisons Laffitte. This path skirts the wall that defines the limits of the commune and heads towards the racecourse in Maisons Laffitte. The path is fairly direct to begin with before it narrows considerably and winds it way through the trees, turning left and right alternately every 6 or 7 metres or so. This is great fun but hard work on the knees and thighs as you have to push off and pick up speed again after every bend.

We were averaging between 4:10 and 4:20 pace now and arrived back alongside the road that runs perpendicular to the Maisons Laffitte - Achères road through the forest. Some more twists and turns before we hit the bumps beside the railway line and it was the last run uphill through the forest before getting back into Le Mesnil. This last section, we felt the call of home, knew that we had almost finished and so both pushed the pace running just under 15 km/h up the slope.

18.9 km all up in 1:21 or an average pace of 4:20 / km.

Belgium bis repetita

Another early morning run with Bruce and Jason around the Ardennes countryside. Beautiful scenery and it was considerably warmer this morning, making the run all the more enjoyable. The hills in this area are rolling but non-stop making the run either a relaxing jog downhill or a hard slog pulling oneself up the next.

We ran the same route as yesterday except instead of turning back to use the back entrance to the hotel, today we carried on using the route that I discovered at the end of yesterday's run making a full circuit of around 10km long. Bruce was in fine shape despite the fact that he almost broke his ankle in a quad accident yesterday when it turned over and fell on him.

I promised that I'd provide him with the splits so here goes:

5:34, 5:33, 5:10, 5:26, 5:28, 5:13, 5:29, 6:06, 5:37, 4:57

10 km all up in 54:38.

Wallonie - Belgium

In Belgium on business, staying in a fantastic hotel in the middle of nowhere: Chateau de la Poste. Plenty of hard work on the cards, but also the opportunity to go for an early morning run with Bruce and my new boss, Jason.

We set off at 6:00 am from the hotel and ran down the drive which lasts for almost 1 kilometre. I was already fully aware that I'd under-estimated how cold it gets in the Ardennes, and the frost in the fields only highlighted my inadequate level of clothing as we ran. It was cold and dark.

I followed the pace set by Bruce and Jason at about 5:30 / km which was very pleasant to run at but didn't help in getting me any warmer. We decided that we'd head away from Brussels direction and run along the small road that headed uphill, thinking that the road would be quiet at this time in the morning. It was actually surprisingly active and we had to take care not to be mown down by mad Belgian motorists starting their commute into Brussels.

We ran a large loop around back to the castle/hotel getting back their after a little more than 8 kilometres and several hills. I decided to carry on and did another loop in the opposite direction from the end of the drive, taking the total distance to just under 14 kilometres in 1:10. I ran the last few kilometres at 4:10 pace along the road, before climbing some pretty monster hills to get back to the hotel on top of the ridge.

Great run overall.

Paris Marathon

I was assuming pacing duties for the girls today around the Paris marathon course. I had arranged to meet them just before the 5 km marker and run the rest of the marathon with them. A modified photocopy of Laurence's bib would hopefully ensure that I wouldn't be ejected from the end of the circuit by the marshals and would allow us all to finish together.

I stood waiting in the cold (6°C) just before Bastille watching the elite go past and then searching hopefully for François and Benj on their quest to beat 3 hours. No sign of them at all but it's so hard to spot individuals in the mass of runners and if you don't concentrate really hard, all you notice is a blur of bright shoes and running gear passing in front of your nose. For Laurence and the girls, we'd specified the spot where I'd be but it was still a relief when I saw Laurence in her Florence marathon running top and Katia and Sandra beside her. I left the pavement and dropped in behind them.

The aim was simple 4'58 per km for 42.2 kilometres and they were slightly ahead of schedule when I met them. I was happy to just sit in behind them to start with and chat easily while they focused on the race. I would act as the gofer at every feeding station, picking up 4 water bottles at each and then sharing out the Gu chomps that were appreciaed by all. We went through 10km in 44:33 and the pace was steady and all of them looked pretty fresh.

We were joined by Stéphanie at this point, who was recovering from an injury with sore ribs (don't ask!) and was looking to run a marathon easily with her girlfriends. A capable runner, she has the potential to run a good 10 - 15 minutes faster than the objective for today. We headed into Vincennes and admired the staging set up for François Hollande's presidential rally in the afternoon. Both he and Nicolas Sarkozy had chosen today to hold their Paris meetings, with the marathon too it wasn't the best day to be in town if you wanted to get anywhere in a hurry.

We had been running for over an hour now and Laurence and Katia were slightly red in the face, whereas Sandra still looked very composed and relaxed. She was suffering from a bad hip but this didn't show at all in her stride or her running today. There was a glimpse of sun from between the clouds and I was happy that the temperature was beginnning to rise as I was feeling the cold. This feeling wasn't shared by all as the girls were obviously more strained and looked slightly warm now. I proposed to share a sponge at the next sponge station situated every 5km but no sponges were to be found. You had to carry them from the beginning or find an alternative. Mine was a piece of cotton cloth I found beside a bucket which I dampened and passed to Laurence to cool her down.

We left Vincennes and through the 20km mark in 1:38 so still slightly ahead of schedule but nothing outrageous compared to the pace fixed for the race. Sandra would shout out every now and then to slow Laurence or Katia down if she thought that they were pushing the pace too hard. I was happy tyo sit at the back of the group and watch as they ran. They had plenty of admirers in the field too. Several male runners would come and latch onto the group, passing on encouraging remarks to the girls. I told one bloke to stop chatting up the women as they were my groupies!

The group held together until 30km when Laurence who had complained of a stitch just before fell back slightly, and Katia who had suffered herself just before, pushed on in Sandra and Stéphanie's wake. Pascal accompanied Sandra from the 22km mark and I dropped back now just to accompany Laurence through her wall and to get her to the end. The pace dropped as we left the Seine, heading up to Porte d'Auteil, and whereas we'd been running at under 5'00 per km until then, we now ran at 5'07. The marathon starts at this point and I could see that Laurence was going to find the end hard. The road rose before getting to Roland Garros and we slowed to a 5'30 pace before picking it up again as the road flattened out.


The last 7 kilometres were a case of gritting your teeth and getting on with it. Katia had disappeared from sight now too, accompanied by Michel the girls' coach. I encouraged Laurence onwards, telling her that it was only 3km to go, a short track session before the finishing line. We passed this point in 3h16 and I knew that we wouldn't go under 3h30 but we wouldn't be far off. It was only a case of hanging on in there which Laurence did admirably, passing literally hundreds of runners in these last kilometres as they were racked with cramps and crying out in pain. The last roundabout appeared and I told her that there was 300m left to run. We managed to accelerate slightly, recovering the 5'00 pace to end the course in a time of 3:33:29. Once over the finishing line, she burst into tears and told Katia, who we saw limping a few metres past the line, that she couldn't breathe.

A great race by all, capped by the news that François had beaten the 3h00 barrier to finish in 2:59:23. Benj missed out by a couple of minutes having suffered from cramps after the 35km mark. Marvellous race for all overall. Sandra and Stéphanie managed to beat 3h30 by a handful of seconds, with Katia finishing a minute ahead of Laurence.

37.6 km for me in an average time of 5'03 per km, completing a good week for mileage with 92km on the clock. Congratulations to all on an excellent marathon and looking forward to Amsterdam now to take part myself and share in the record-breaking attempts.

Saturday session

I received an SMS from Nico yesterday: "Let's do Sunday's session tomorrow". Oh no! I'd been hoping secretly for an easy run to Corra and back before accompanying Laurence for 37km around the Paris marathon course. Worse, there was more: "and I've asked Ylies to come too". Running intervals with Nico is bad enough but I now had visions of being left behind by both of them chasing them over the 6', 10', 12' then 3' intervals that had been planned. I was not a happy bunny.

Nico drove me to the club this morning where we were to start the run and I had the first piece of good news. Ylies was not feeling well and probably wouldn't be coming. Obvious concern about his health but internal jubilation that I wouldn't see them both disappearing off into the distance.

We set off towards Princess Road and once at the top, we had a quick stop to stretch before we set off on the first interval. I told Nico that by my reckoning his plan of running 2 loops on the top would be 10km plus the 6km to the top of Princess and 6 km back meant a 22km run for the morning. He decided that this was too long and furthermore, he wanted to end on the downhill section so we decided to run 1 loop and then the long straight before heading back.

I set off quickly over the first interval and was surprised to see Nico behind me to begin with. I wondered how long this would last before he came charging past. I managed a kilometre and the Garmin showed 3'16" before a few hundred yards later he came past and I just hung on. I was counting down the seconds to the end of the first interval but was pleased with the speed I'd managed to start. 2 minutes recovery and we were off again.

Nico led this for a few yeards before I pulled ahead again. We were closer now and every time he came past, I'd put in a little spurt to stay with him, even pushing him hard on the slight uphill sections where he'd tire. This was most unusual. We ran a the first kilometre in 3:29 before a 3:40 uphill and then back to 3:34 for the last section and again looking at the Garmin, wondering how long I could hold on for. 10 minutes is interminable at this pace...

Nico slipped into the bushes for this recovery and I jogged on really slowly for the 3 minute recovery. When I turned around to see where he was, he'd only just finished and was 200m behind. I jogged towards him but too late, we had to start again for the last long interval of 12'. I was knackered now and just trying to hold on as best I could. The pace slowed as I ran by myself and I only managed 3:37, then 3:39 when Nico joined me as I turned back at the end of the long straight. We got back to the top of Princess Road and ran down to end this interval - 3:34/km. 24 recovery and off for the final sprint downhill. Nico had more speed downhill and pulled away. He managed 3:04/km while I could only muster 3:14/km.

A quick jog back to the clubhouse and I ran on to do a round 20km in 1:26 or an average pace of 4:19 over the distance. A tough session to start the weekend and some good practise for a 10km race soon.

All the best to the Paris marathon runners tomorrow. Firstly Laurence and the girls (Katia and Sandra on their 3h30 attempt); followed by François and Benj on their run to break the 3h00 barrier for the first time. I'll be running with Laurence from 5km to the end and Nico will be adopting pacing duties for Benj and François from the half-way point onwards.

Lyon morning run

I was on business in Lyon this week and staying at a hotel in the north of the city. I set the alarm for 6:00 am but when it rang I was still so tired that I was in half a mind to get back into bed. It was only the thought that I hadn't been running for 3 days that bossted me out of bed, into my running kit and out of the hotel.

It was raining outside and dark. As usual when staying in a new hotel, I didn't have a clue as to which direction to take and I decided just to fall the main street as it was lit, the traffic wasn't too heavy and at least I wouldn't get lost. I'd been at the Mercure hotel in Chabonnières-les-Bains which was towards the north of Lyon and seeing a roadsign towards Roanne, away from Lyon, I thought that this would be a quieter route for an early morning run.

The main street soon turned into a main road and I discovered that I was running along the Nationale 7, one of the oldest and most important main roads in France, linking Paris to Lyon and the south. I was running without my Garmin, since I'd left that acciedntally back at home, and all I had was a normal watch with the time. I headed into Salvagny la Tour and ran through this little town while the traders were preparing their stalls for the market. It was fairly hilly around the area and I struggled uphill and coasted down.

I turned back on the far side of Salvagny and ran back the way I'd come as the rain fell heavier and the dawn broke. Faster run back to the hotel and 11.7km all up in 53 minutes. Approximate pace of 4:30 / km over the distance.

Easter Monday

I made the most of the Easter holiday to go for a long run again this morning. The idea was to put in some kilometres at an easy pace and to enjoy a later start to the day compared to usual.

I ran out of the house in the direction of Corra. My idea was to run the same route as a few weeks ago, heading out to Corra and then back through the forest along the wall towards Maisons Laffitte before finishing with lap in front of the castle and alongside the Seine back to the house. The run started well enough with no apparent signes of tiredness in my legs after yesterday and I enjoyed the route down to Corra.

I had put on my Gore over-jacket again this morning and regretted this by the time I reached Corra. I was too warm with the temperature hovering around the 12°C mark. I had increased my pace from 4:30 to start with to 4:10 - 4:15 pace now. There were plenty of other runners around as they were all enjoying their day off by putting in a bit of exercise. I slowed down back from Corra as I began to pay for my relatively fast start. I ran a few kilometres at around 4:20 - 4:25 pace before raching Maisons Laffitte park where I picked up the rhythm again.

I ran a loop of the park in front of the castle before heading down to the Seine and running alongside the river. I went through the half-marathon point in 1:32 and then struggled the last couple of kilometres into the wind and uphill to home.

23km all up in 1:40 so an average pace of 4:24/km. Good start to the week which will be a bit disturbed with business travel. Met Caro on the way back who told me that Nico was busy playing tennis on the playstation. When it comes to the crunch, he just can't take the pace...

Sunday club session

I turned up at the club to enjoy the Sunday session for the first time in ages. What with all of the marathon training and races, I haven't made it to one of these sessions for several weeks and it was nice to see everybody again. The turnout was not a large as usual due to Easter weekend with some people away but some of the usual faces were there including Nico, Gérald, Momo, Ylies and Nat. There was an even larger turnout for the women with Laurence and the girls running their last marathon training session together before next weekend's event.

A threshold session had been planned involving 8', 14', 8' off 3' recovery. After a 30 minute warm-up we began the session. I ran the first interval with Nico, Ylies and Eric feeling good and not too tired despite the pace which was around 3:45 per km. After this first interval though the second began and faster than before. I dropped off this front group as we ran up the "bumps" besides the railway line towards Maisons Laffitte and I never made it back from then on.

This second interval took us alongisde the railway line and then back up the path to the car park in Le Mesnil. I struggled up the hill, catching a stitch in the process, and running at 15 km/h. I was in no-mans land too with Nico, Ylies and Eric in front and the next group a good 300m behind me. I struggled on and was glad when the whistle went to end this second interval. I was tired now and even the last interval was a struggle too. It was the same story as before as I ran about 3:55 pace.

16.8km all up in 1:25 or an average pace of 5:04. A tough session for me and I suffered from yesterday's run and the fact that I ate breakfast too late before starting the run today. I should be aiming to run at threshold pace more often and made a mental note to try and include this in my weekly training schedule for the future.

Corra and back

Normal run with Nico to Corra and back today, but we had a guest for a change in the shape of Benj, Nico's brother.  Benj is preparing for the Paris marathon and like François is attempting to beat 3 hours for the event for the first time.

A later start than usual and I met with Nico and Benj outside the house and the first surprise was to see Benj with his leg strapped up. He was suffering from periostitis or shin splints and had his shin strapped up with bandages covering patches that were transfusing pain killers into the affected area. This is the sort of treatment that can get you a ban from competitive running if controlled next weekend.

We set off easily along the usual route and I was really happy with the relaxed pace but of course, this was just too good to last. Nico gradually increased the pace until we were running at 4:15 pace and then we began the 25 minute stretch for Benj that was supposed to be run at his marathon pace of 4:15 per km.

Despite several cries of protest from Benj, Nico forced the pace and I did my utmost to follow.

3:59, 3:54, 3:57, 4:04 (uphill!), 3:56, 3:49 and then 3:59 pace until the end of the interval.

So much for marathon pace and this was along dirt tracks in the middle of the forest. Benj hung on too and was just behind us when we called time. With a performance like this, with shin splints to boot, it looks as though that 3 hour barrier should fall easily. Fingers crossed on the day.

15km all up in 1:06 or an average pace of 4:26/km.

Thursday club session

Got off to a great start this evening by smashing the car before I arrived at the club.

I was in a hurry, leaving work slightly too late to be comfortable for the drive to the 6:45 pm club session. I left at 5:55 and 50 minutes is just a little tight with the evening traffic coming out of Paris. With this in mind, I negotiated the roadworks around the Paris périphérique and then just as I turned left to stop at a traffic light the woman on my left who I'd been overtaking (on the wrong side admittedly), decided to change direction and drove into me. 20 minutes later, having filled in the insurance declaration together, I was back in the damaged car, in a bad mood, and wondering why I'm always in a hurry for these sessions.

I turned up 30 minutes late, got changed in the car and headed to the track. François was doing a marathon training session with Nat of 6 x 1000m at 4:15 pace. I decided that I would run with them and set off almost immediately.

It was a really good session and François has been training hard to achieve his 3h00 marathon in Paris next week. I'll be disappointed for him if he doesn't pull it off because he's followed the plan that I've used for the last 4 marathons most diligently.

The times for the intervals were as follows:

4:14, 4:11, 4:07, 4:09, 4:08, 4:08

So all very consistent and both François and Nat looked fresh at the end. 11 km all up in 50:21 so an average of 4:36 for the session. A whiff of scandal surrounded the session though following the declaration that one of the latest female runners to have joined the club (and closely watched by other married women runners) invited a male runner to share the female changing romms with her before the other runners arrived to open the male changing rooms. This is the sort of news that could change the reputation of the club permanently... and we wouldn't want this to happen, would we. Would we? Anyway, my only risk following this announcement is to smash up the car more frequently in an attempt to arrive earlier!

Early morning run

Decided that it was time to get back into the old habits and start my early morning training sessions again. 6:00 am start and out of the house in the dark to go for the 13km usual run through Maisons Laffitte before breakfast.

Felt great from the beginning, probably due to the easier runs I've been doing lately. Without pushing it too hard, my legs decided that they wanted to have a real workout and the first kilometre was completed in 4:17. The second and third were even faster and then disaster struck. My right knee jarred and it was as if an electric shock had been applied just below and underneath the kneecap. I hobbled for a few steps and then had to reduce the pace drastically to avoid the pain.

This had been threatening to happen for a while now. The build-up in mileage and effort has caused the knee to stiffen and sometimes it feels as though there is a lack of cartilege and a grinding between the different bones, causing me to ease off the pace or stumble downstairs. It seems to occur mostly when I'm overstriding or going up or downstairs. Anyway, I was most disappointed to have to ease off the pace now when I'd been feeling so good from the start of the run.

I took it easy for the next 3 kilometres and the pain gradually eased. I was able to accelerate back to 4:15 pace and finish the run at this speed, having had to ease off to 4:40 pace after the jolt. 12.8 km all up in 54:23 or an average pace of 4:15/ km. Concerned that this knee problem will be with me for a while now.

Early morning run with Laurence

A last minute decision persuaded Laurence not to run by herself this morning but to head out with me for a 10km route around Maisons Laffitte together. Since the clocks went forward last weekend, we were obliged to set out in the dark again and the sun began to rise only when we were nearing the end of the run.

An easy run down to the Seine in the dark and then along to the racecourse where we did a series of 6 x 1 minute intervals at max speed for Laurence. I was most impressed with her speed as she ran the intervals at around 4:10 pace up until the park. A jog back home to end the run.

10.3 km all up in 55:15 or 5:20 / km on average. Most pleasant start to the day.

Long Sunday run

Having accompanied the girls in their marathon training session yesterday, I decided that it would be nice to take part in François marathon training session today which comprised of a long run with 3 x 20' intervals at marathon pace. It was the occasion to do a long run and compared to the 80km of the Ecotrail, this was virtually a sprint, no?

We set off from the club and headed down towards the Seine at Le Pecq where we figured we would meet up with the girls who were doing their own long run along the banks of the river. We ran along the terrasse at St Germain before heading down to the river and finally catching the girls there. We were a small group with François, Wilfried, Bruno, Charles, Philippe and Bertrand. At Le Pecq we began the first interval and although I had initially intended to run with François, seeing Wilfried just ahead was too much of a temptation and I ran with him. This was my first mistake.

I find at the moment that I'm able to run 4:15 /km comfortably without undue exertion. This is 3 hour marathon pace and the speed that François had set himself for the intervals today. Wilfired is training for a 2:48 marathon and was therefore running his intervals at 15km/h or 4:00/ km. This may not seem much of a difference but believe me I felt it. I was happy to end the first interval after 20 minutes and when we turned to run back towards the others they were nowhere in sight. It took us 3 minutes running back along the river to catch them.

The second interval I eased off slightly letting Wilfried do all the hard work and towed along behind him. We average about 4:08 / km now and I was sweating heavily and feeling the tiredness in my legs. I'm sure that this is not advised as part of the recovery process one week after an ultra-trail. I was grateful when we finished this interval and had rounded the half way point at Rueil and were heading back along the other bank of the river now. Hold on, François indicated that for the last interval we were to run back to the girls and then back along the same side of the river so as not to put too much distance between us before accompanying them back to the cars. We were already over 15km now and I could see a 30km run on the cards. This is not what the doctor ordered and I was worried about my state. Needless to say that after 10 minutes when we caught up with the group of women again, I threw in the towel and ran with them. Enough was enough and I wasn't prepared to kill myself in training at the moment with no defined objective in place.

I ran back easily with the women to the car and then lay down sunning myself as they carried on to run the prescribed time (2:10). I'd already run for almost 2:30 by this time and 31 kilometres. That was more than sufficient for the day. An average pace of 4:46 wasn't bad going and I was happy with the result despite feeling the familiar pains in my thighs.

A call from Nico woke me from my sunbathing to tell me that he'd not managed to beat 35 minutes for the 10km in Houilles (36:39). I could tell that he was disappointed with his race but the last few days training and probably been excessive in the build-up.