Back to work

First day back to work today after some lovely holidays. In order not to lose the benefit of all my running training that I've been doing over the last few weeks, and to ease myself back into office life, I took my running kit and went out for a lunchtime run in the Grouchy castle grounds.

The weather was lovely again today, with a clear blue sky and a temperature of about 27°C in the shade. I got changed at the swimming pool and headed out down the hill to the castle grounds at a comfortable pace. The intention was just to take it easy and enjoy the run and soak up some sunshine in the process.

My Garmin rang after the first kilometre showing 4:19. I was pleased since despite my impression that I was coasting, my pace was still relatively fast for a training run. Bang! The easy run just flew out of the window and I was now "scotched to the watch" (sorry French term - scotch being sellotape over here) for the remainder of the run. The kilometres went by at the same pace 4:09, 4:16 even a 4:20 up the steep hill until I got to the sixth kilometre. My abundant energy, from a couple of easier runs of late, left me and I started struggling for breath and cursing the heat.

I managed to keep the strides regular and continue making good progress nevertheless to finsih the 10.3 km in 44:59. This equates to an average pace of 4:20 which I'm still pleased with, especially since it includes 3 times up a steep hill and then a monster hill to finish.

10 lengths of the pool to finish (and no butterfly !)

Osny pool with the roof retracted.

Lunchtime run/swim

I went out with François-Xavier for a lunchtime run. The instructions were very simple: 45 minutes not too fast, aiming for an average speed of around 13km/h.

We set off from the swimming pool in Osny and the sun had come out for a change. I had been expecting the worst and was wrapped up with 3 layers on top plus my fleece hat. Obviously as soon as we started running, I realised that I had gone over the top and that half of the layers I was wearing were unnecessary. The hat came off and went in the pocket but the 3 layers on top stayed on, meaning that I lost a couple of kilos in weight in sweat during the session.

We set off to Grouchy Castle and ran around the grounds 3 times. Despite the easy pace that we had set ourselves as a target, the going felt tough and my legs were still heavy from the previous night's training. We ran fairly steadily with the only variations in pace coming from the steep hill at the far end of the grounds that has to be climbed steadily.

We managed the course and I was thinking about the marathon and the pace that will be necessary for the 42 km. This began to daunt me. 9.3 km all up in 42:34 so an average of 4:36 per km. The pace was spot on target but the legs were feeling it today.

Back to Grouchy

Grouchy by name and grouchy by nature today.

Depressed by work both for specific and general reasons, which I won't bore you with here, I decided that I would make the most of the opportunity of the midday run to burn off all that frustration and anger and convert it into speed and accelerations. Well, so much for the plan.

The reality... went running with François-Xavier on our usual swimming pool run. The day has been cooler than usual and it is very overcast. Perfect weather for running, we decided and despite F-X's pitiful attempt to convince me that he was feeling a little tired after yesterday's run and that we shouldn't force the pace too much today, we set off at a lively canter.

Down the hill from the pool into Osny centre and then the first effort as we climbed the hill on the far side to go up to the Chateau. I pushed the pace up the hill just to see how F-X was really feeling (I know - I'm a nasty piece of work...) and then we coasted around in front of the Château for the start of the first loop. I was feeling really good: the pace was comfortable; the temperature was pleasant; and the scenery is lovely in the grounds. At the end of the first lap, there is a sharp rise back up to the entrance of the grounds and I could feel that F-X was lagging slightly on the hill.

The problem running with F-X is that there is never any rest periods. Normally, on a solitary run, whenever the going gets tough you reduce the rhythm and catch a breather. Not so today, whenever I tired, F-X would pick up the pace and I'd be obliged to show him that he wasn't going to drop me. I'd then feel a little better and push the pace myself, and so it went. By the third lap F-X had begun to warm up and we pushed it hard up the hill at the end of the castle grounds and onto the final stretches on the road.

The effort was constant now and the final 1.5 km went by far faster than the previous kilometres. We both pushed hard to the roundabout before making the U-turn and down the other side of the railway track back through the town. The last 300m is a killer as we turned up the final hill back up to the pool. I used my last bit of energy to pull away again in my best effort at a sprint finish. All up in 46:42 so another 17 second improvement on last week's run. What on earth made me decide to take part in the hill run this Sunday?

Best part of this run is the cool down in the pool at the end. I definitely need to invest in a 25m pool at home - now where's my Loto card gone ?

Monday swim

A standard swim at lunchtime at my old favourite, Osny pool.

Very overcast today so the pool roof was well and firmly closed. Don't know whether everyone has left for the Summer holidays already but the pool was almost empty when I arrived. I dived in the cool water (as opposed to the usual near scalding temperature that they usual have) and swam my 60 lengths.

1.5 km: no watch, no stress, no pressure. I was stopped at one point to be asked if I was the owner of a white Peugeot 106, but that was my only interruption for the session.

This is a great way to relax after a race the previous day and it kept me alert for the beginning of the afternoon - well for half an hour at least !!

Grouchy running

Grouchy - perversely irritable: synonym for crabby, cross, grumpy, bad or ill-tempered.

Well this was the site of the lunchtime run today with François-Xavier. We got changed at the swimming pool at Osny and then ran to Grouchy Castle before doing 3 laps of the grounds and then heading back in a convoluted way to the pool. The route can be seen here: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2026316 .

François-Xavier had his Garmin 305 on, which he dutifully programmed before we set off so that we could run constantly at 13 km/h for 50 minutes. Marvellous, the wonders of modern technology. We set off and I was happy to follow F-X, having neither run around Osny before and having forgotten to pack my own watch. It was rather a warm day (about 24°C) and after a little while, I began to sweat heavily. This is par for the course so I knew that I'd already run over 2km. "How far ?", I asked F-X. "2.5 km" was the reply. "What speed ?", I enquired as already I felt that we were a little fast. "13.5km/h" was the reply. So much for technology as F-X had decided to ignore his virtual trainer and to test my pace and endurance !

However, the grounds of the castle are lovely as can be seen in the photo below:

It was really pleasant to run with someone and to be able to talk as we did so. When we came out of the grounds, I asked F-X if we could extend the run slightly by taking a longer way back to the pool. He gracefully obliged and halfway along this long stretch of road informed me that he was beginning to feel good now. I was beginning to feel shattered so this last piece of news was really depressing. Putting a brave face on, I tucked in behind him and let him set the pace. We turned the bend and headed back and were now running above 14km/h (so much for the Garmin 305!). A last pull up the hill to the pool and finished the 10.7km in 47:17.

A quick change then 12 lengths of the pool to cool down before heading off to the canteen for lunch. Great lunch-break - must do this more often. The run definitely did not live up to its name.

Swimming outdoors

Summer has arrived.

Well it actually arrived at the weekend and since then the skies have been blue (or blueish!), the sun has shone and the temperature has risen by a few degrees. All of this has had a disastrous impact on my race performance for the running but it has had a significantly positive performance on my other activity - swimming.

I visit the pool close to my work at Osny: a small, 25m long pool which has the advantage of not being too popular as it is housed in a 30 year old building that has seen better years. In the Winter it is dark and oppressive and frankly, it is only because I've taken an annual pass to the pool and am conscientious about training regularly, that I go. Recently, however, all of this has changed ...

The pool has one huge design advantage: a retractable roof, that slides forward over the administrative part of the building, leaving the pool open to the skies. Lunchtimes are now transformed as I trundle down to the pool to swim my 1.5 km in full sunshine. It is amazing the effect that this has on my whole outlook - a few rays of sunshine, a swim in an outdoors pool and life is full of hope. I can forget about work for a moment and arrive back after the swim refreshed and full of energy for the afternoon. Unfortunately, the positive effects of the sun stop there: I'm still not swimming any faster, or finding it any easier but there's hope ...

To try and improve my technique, I did some research on the web and found this video. One day I might be able to swim in a similar fashion, in the meanwhile just watch the real thing, it's amazing:

Here's hoping that I improve over my next few sessions.