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.

Triel - 5km

I lined up for this race thinking and hoping that I'd be able to beat one of the objectives set by Nick before year end. I have to achieve 4 of the 5 and so far, I've achieved nothing. With this in mind I picked up Nico and Nick this morning heading off to Triel for the 5 km race.

Nico and I had decided to enter the 5km race, as opposed to the 10km distance, since we're aiming to achieve a podium in our next relay race in Vincennes towards the end of next month. As a bonus, I thought that it would be good to get one of the objectives in the process, but several had warned me that this would be hard.

The course is not flat and after a 300m slope downhill from the start, things get serious immediately with a steep uphill that lasts for over a kilometre. This slope lessens in intensity after a kilometre before you turn a right-hand bend a find a real wall in fornt of you with 200m to climb to the top. From then on, there is a succession of downhills and slight uphills, punctuated with bends and sharp corners. This is Gérald's training ground and he'd told me that the likelihood of me beating 18:01 was approximately zero. Being an optimistic chap, I wasn't inclined to believe him.

The would be no excuse due to the weather today as it was a cool 13°C and the high clouds were only just disappearing as we lined up for the start. I stood just behind Nico and when the gun went I set off at what I felt was a moderate pace. The downhill was easy and having run a warm-up loop with Nico, I knew what to expect from the start. I settled into the long pull uphill and found a rhythm I was comfortable with, passing a few youngsters who'd set off like rockets and were quickly paying the price. Nico pulled away slightly but was only about 20 - 30 metres ahead as we finished the climb to the highest point of the course.

I had overtaken a few runners up the hill and was pleased to still be feeling relatively comfortable but I was overtaken now by a couple of runners, both veterans as we headed down the hill. We formed a small group and one of the runners shouted out to keep together and speed up. I was unable to latch on and let them go (which I regretted bitterly afterwards) and both began to gap me. The runner who'd called out dropped the other too and he almost caught Nico at the end. I was not able to push the pace on the downhill and not prepared to make any more effort on the uphill stretches.

I almost pulled back the runner who'd come past towards the end but he was still too strong and I finished in 18th place in 19:04, 30 seconds exactly after Nico who was 3 places ahead. A good run overall and pleased retrospectively to have managed this time. The runner who passed me and called out announced to me after the race that he runs 10km in 35:00 so I wasn't too bitter.

A good race in the 10km too when Régis just beat Robin on the line to mark his come-back to competition. I'm going to have to look out for Régis in future races.