2h40 with 3 x 30' @ 85% MHR

A long run in perspective for this monster session where we begin to train at marathon pace. I can't say that I was looking forward to this but then I haven't been looking forward to any of the training runs on this marathon programme really. I was lucky enough to have Laurence to accompany me on the bike and she agreed to carry the water and food bars so that was a one worry less, having to manage a rucksack too.

I set off easily on a cool, damp morning and ran through the forest at around 4'45" pace until the club and then through the forest on the other side of St Germain and up Princess Road. I calculated that with over 90 minutes of effort the usual long loop was going to be too short if I started from the top so I changed my intended rout with a double back to St Gemme before heading back down Princess Road home.

I set off from the top of Princess Road as planned and the sensations were fairly good. I definitely wasn't comfortable at this pace but I wasn't distressed either. It was hard work but manageable. Laurence kept a close look at the watch for the 30' and when she called time, I was almost at St Nom la Breteche after 7.7km of running and an average pace of 3'52" / km. The second interval was going to be harder as I would have to run uphill to start.

The uphill section was hard after this initial effort and the first kilometre was managed in 4'29". I almost gave up there and then but I reached the top of the hill back towards St Gemme and I thought I'd see how it panned out along the flat. My pace went up to under 4'00/km and I carried on. It was easier now but definitely harder than the first interval. I gritted my teeth and ran to the end of the 30' finishing on the uphill just before the flat section at the top of Princess Road. 3'57" / km average pace for this section.

Another 5' recovery and some more water and cereal bars and I set off again. I started on the flat section and after the first kilometre headed down Princess Road where I ran a couple of kilometres at 3'35" pace. The hill up to the Lycée slowed me down but I still covered the kilometre in under 4 minutes and I ran on until just after the club before stopping. An average pace of 3'50" over this section, aided by the downhill of Princess Road.

39.5 km all up in just over 2h52 so an average pace of 4'22" for the session. Pleased to have finished and happy with the distance.

Long run

Nico was running the Paris St Germain course tomorrow and I wanted to put in some distance to try and achieve a 100km week. Sunday's run was going to be hard to fit in as Laurence was running the same race as Nico and I'd promised to accompany them both on the bike and make the most of the race as a spectator.

François agreed to come along with me and although he wasn't keen on doing the 30km that I proposed initially, he would run 20km with me. That was decided: I would run t the club and meet him there for a 20 km run together and then I'd run back. This way I'd get my 30km in and he'd run 20km with me.

With the prosect of the CCC approaching, I decided on running in Marly forest to put in some hill training. I ran through the forest to the club and picked up François there and we set off together in the direction of Princess Road.

It was a very pleasant run together at a very relaxed pace. François had eaten a large breakfast and this was obviously weighing on him to begin with but after the first 8 km, he began to feel better and the pace picked up. We ran around Joyenval golf course and then through the forest on the far side of the A13 before coming back and contourning around the south side of the golf course on the way back to the club. Realising that if we headed straight back to the club from the lycee horticole, we ran towards down some little paths through the forest back to St Germain golf club and then back to the club.

I left François at this point and headed back home. I'd been feeling great all of the way around the run despite having only eaten a cereal bar before leaving. All of a sudden, I could feel that my energy levels were running low and it was a relief to finally arrive back at the house. I still managed to run these last 5km between 4:00 and 4:20/km pace.

30.7 km all up in 2h30 or 4:55 / km on average.

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...

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.

Saturday long run

I made the most of the fact that Nico was runing in Aubergenville the following day to concentrate on my mileage and to get another long run in before coaching Laurence and the girls over the half-marathon course tomorrow.

I decided not to make to many changes and headed off down the usual route to Corra. I'd had a couple of days off running and was feeling so much better than Wednesday night. It's amazing how much good a bit of sleep does to you and the 2 days rest did no harm either. I set off easily enough but after a couple of kilometres in the forest I was soon running at 4:10 pace and since I felt good, I just decided to see how long I could keep this up without feeling tired. In fact, there were only a couple of kilometres where the pace dropped and this was due to the narrowness of the track rather than fatigue on my part.

I ran around Corra and then back along the wall towards the far end of Maisons Laffitte, near to the racecourse. The track is very narrow here and particularly deserted so I only saw other runners when I got back to the park in Maisons Laffitte. I was still feelig good so I put in a couple of kilometres under 4:00 and ran through the half-marathon distance in 1:29. Not bad for a morning jog.

I ran back along the Seine towards home and then a lap around the house as I pushed to run over 24k to finish. 24.1km all up in 1:42 or an average pace of 4:17/km. Pretty much 3 hour marathon speed all the way around.

Long Sunday run

I wanted to get the mileage in before attempting the Ecotrail at the end of the month. I'm very conscious that I'm running after 2 hares at the same time (French expression): I want to beat my record at Rambouillet and go under 1:20; secondly, I want to be able to complete the 80km run through the forests of western Paris. So on one hand I need some pace training and now to taper until the race next weekend, and then I also need to keep up the mileage so I don't suffer terribly on the long run.

I chose a compromise by heading out on my long run to St Gemme and St Nom by myself with the firm intention of taking it easy and not pushing the pace too hard. Laurence had told me that François and Philippe were running a 2:15 run from the club and as I ran through the forest from Le Mesnil towards St Germain, I thought it could be a good idea to stop at the club and then to run with them.

I did just this and said hello to the girls and Nico who were doing their own plans for the morning. Laurence and the girls were going for a 2 hour run, and Nico was doing the club session. The turnout was not enormous with the Paris half-marathon on this morning and Thierry and Miguel notably absent. I set off with Philippe, François, Antoine (a friend of François) and Pascal. We headed off to St Gemme too and they informed me that they were running 3 x 15' at marathon pace which suited me fine. We took it easily up the hill to the top of Princess Road before beginning the first of the intervals.

I assumed my pacing duties for François and we set off at 4:15 pace in order to be in line with his 3 hour marathon objective. We did the first interval pretty much in line witht he objective, in fact it was run at 4:10 pace, the start pace defined by François for the next marathon. We then had a 5' recovery during which we were overtaken by a mystery runner going at a fair lick which turned out to be Thierry. He said hi as he passed but didn't stop or chat. The next interval which was a lot harder as we had to run the uphill through St Nom to finish and I began to lose François towards the end as the hill began to hurt.

Another 5' recovery now and for the last interval I headed off at my own speed as I was feeling full of energy and eager to push the pace a little. The first kilometre was 3:56 which was resonable and then I was surprised to see the second in 3:49. The was a slight uphill now and I kept the pushing the pace to see if I could maintain this speed and managed a 3:51 before heading downhill for the last section. A 3:29 pace down the hill to top off the session for the day before the warm-down back to the club with the others.

30.75 km all up in 2:23 so an average pace of 4:40 which is fairly honest. I waited for Laurence to get the lift home from the club although I had enough energy to run the 5km back through the forest. 90km all up this week.

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

LSR (Long Saturday Run)

First, the good news. In fact it was good news from yesterday that I forgot to tell you about: I weighed myself yesterday after my run and the scales gave me some excellent news - 73.4 kg. I'm not obsessed about my weight but after several weeks weighing in at 75.4 kg, I began to lose hope about the marathon training programme having any impact on my weight. Just when I thought there would be no change and that I'd reached my optimal weight for the training at the moment, I lose 2 kg overnight almost. I was so encouraged by this that I suggested that Laurence should weigh herself too. Nothing doing - she refuses to approach the scales, in fact she barely glances at them in the bathroom.

I switched my marathon training for Sunday to Saturday so that I can run with the girls (Laurence, Katia, Sandra) again tomorrow. They actually wanted to run with both Nico and I as they feel that it's encouraging to run with superstars such as ourselves (this is not invention but a quote from the girls - not sure whether tongue in cheek or not). Nico has decided that the attraction of running with 3 attractive women is not enough for him and has left for Chartres for the weekend to run with a couple of blokes. There's no accounting for taste.

The plan for today was the last long run before the marathon. 2 hours 30 minutes of effort including 3 x 20 minutes at marathon pace and the remainder at endurance pace. I thought that I would run my usual long route through the forest to St Germain, up Princess Road into St Gemme, down the hill to St Nom la Breteche and along the main road to St Germain before heading back home through the forest. It's a 33 km loop and would be just perfect for the running time alotted. I set off easily as I didn't want to tire myself out before starting the first interval which I planned once I was at the top of Princess Road. So I jogged easily through the forest, pulling my running top down constantly to stop the camelbak rubbing against the base of my back.

It was a lovely morning and clear blue skies with a crisp temperature of about 9°C. It was nice to be out but I could tell that yesterday's recovery session was still in my legs and that I would be struggling to push the pace today. I crossed the paths of a couple of runners, including Guy from the club, but generally it was very quiet and peaceful. I reached the top of Princess Road in just over 52 minutes, managing both of the uphill kilometres at the end in under 5 minutes, my reference for this section. A quick recovery and I set off for the first 20 minutes. It was a struggle from the beginning and my pace went 4:11, 3:57, 4:05, 4:08, 4:06. I had problems holding the pace at the end and I just wanted the interval to finish. By this time I had gone through St Gemme and was heading downhill to St Nom during my 4 minute recovery. This ended all too soon and I set off again: 4:00, 4:01, 4:00 and I stopped there. It was too much. My left achilles was feeling sore and I was hurting too much. I missed the challenge of running with somebody, suffering together and I wsan't prepared to push myself alone today.

I spent the next couple of kilometres taking it easily, recovering as I ran the uphill through St Nom la Breteche. It wasn't that I was tired from the distance (and this would be the case right until the end of the run) but tired in my legs despite the 'skins' that I was wearing. Once I reached the top of the plateau above St Nom and St Germain, I relaxed again and pushed on to 4:20 then 4:05, 4:11, 4:18 before getting to the hill in St Germain where my pace dropped to 5 minutes again. I ran through the town centre, avoiding the Saturday traffic and then back besides the swimming pool and into the forest. My pace quickened to 4:25 on average here until home.

So 33.4 km all up in 2:31 and an average pace of 4:32 over the distance. Just to compare with my run last year 2 weeks before the Toulouse marathon where I ran the same course - I did exactly the same time!

I jumped on the weighing scales when I got back home, thinking that with all the fluids that I'd lost over the run that I'd be lighter than ever. The result ? 73.4 kg. I'm taking those scales back.

Sunday run

For this first official Sunday run of the marathon training programme, I decided to run with Nico and to do some specific marathon training rather than running with the club and doing some specific 10km training. The idea was to run for 2 hours today at an easy pace so that the max HR remained around 70%.

When I woke up this morning with Laurence who was heading out earlier with some girlfriends, the weather was clearly not on our side. What has recently been sunshine and temperatures in the 20°C, was returning to traditional autumnal weather with some drizzle and heavy cloud cover. I put on an extra layer with my Gore waterproof top and half-filled a camelbak with some orange/water mix and a couple of chocolate bars in case energy levels ran low. The discussion as to where we were heading had already taken place and we were heading up to Princess Road and the long climb up before heading back left and back through St Germain.

We set off at a very easy pace completing the first kilometre in 5:24 and then sped up running the next just under 5 minutes, before falling into a steady rhythm at around 4:35 per kilometre. We chatted easily and the comparison with yesterday where we were unable to talk to each other with the effort was flagrant. The first difficulties came at the foot of Princess Road, where there is a 2.5km pull uphill until the crossroads at the top. I fell in just behind Nico and was happy to see the first kilometre uphill in 4:57 and then the second in a record 4:43! I knew we were pushing the pace because I was already hurting when we got to the top.

The road flattens out along the top and we fell back into our cruising pace immediately. I caught my breath back now and with plenty of other runners along the route, the temptation to catch and overtake them was just too great and we sped up again first to 4:20 pace before the main road and then around 4:05 pace along the road. It was now Nico's turn to hit a harder patch and he dropped off the pace slightly while he had a gel and some water. Taking on water while running at pace is some marathon training that he has yet to master and after recovering from a quick coughing fit, he accelerated again and ran alongside me.

It was the usual coast down the hill into St Germain and we went under 4:00 minutes here for a couple of kilometres before the big hill by the Musée de la Prieuré stopped me in my tracks and left me gasping with our last over 5 minute kilometre (just) for the day. Nico took the pace now and we ran through town and then back through the forest at 3 hour marathon speed, covering the half-marathon in 1:36 and then running all kilometres from here on in in 4:15 or under.

Even the last kilometre where Nico called time-out to recover before we got back home was covered in 4:31 showing that there was clearly energy left in both of us. Another great run proving the shape we're in at the moment and my last pleasant surprise was to see that I weighed under 75kg on the scales back at home, which hasn't happened since the beginning of the year. Things are definitely looking promising.

27.25 km all up in 2:02 or an average of 4:29 per km.

Sunday run

I wanted to maintain some mileage this week as part of the marathon training and to increase these Sunday runs gradually until I'm running 35km prior to Florence marathon. With this in mind, I decided to jog over to the club session and back today adding an extra 10 km to the distance that the club was organising. Nico decided that this was too much for him at the moment, as he's still in the process of wearing in a new set of orthotics. Despite his relatively young age, he does act like a pensioner sometimes.

I ran quietly through the forest to the club, managing to avoid being run over by a few hundred cyclists as the forest was once again turned over to their mercy for the annual Mesniloise mountain biking event. This involves cycling for just over 3 hours in relay around an 8 km loop in the forest. It was a perfect day this year and a great change from the usual windy, muddy, rainy affair most years.

Once at the club, I listened to the prep talk and Miguel's programme of a gentle start to his coaching sessions with some 10km preparations involving 6', 3', 6', then 3' off a recovery of half of the time of the intervals. We set off and I chatted to the women who all wanted to know why Laurence wasn't running on her birthday with them. My wife had decided to make the most of her birthday by having a lie-in and finding an alternative gentler run to Maisons Laffitte instead.

We began the session with the keener runners while the others split into 2 groups: one with Michel involving 2 blocks of 20 minutes at half-marathon pace (12 km/h); and the other just running easily for 75 minutes. We started our intervals with a small group involving Ilyes, Jean-Marc and Nico running straight to the front. I followed just behind with Simon and a new runner to the club. I felt good and although I wasn't able to keep up with the first group they weren't far in front. I was running at between 3:30 - 3:40 pace which meant that by the end of the first 6 minutes they finished 15 metres ahead.

Anis joined for the second interval of 3', sprinting off from the start down the hill through the forest towards the railway line. I was running 3:15 - 3:20 pace here and he still gapped me easily with the 3 others slightly in front. The most interesting interval was the next 6' block where the gap between m and the 3 others narrowed after 4 minutes and I caught Jean-Marc and was closing on Nico. Final 3' to finish and this session felt fairly easy after some of the intervals I've been running lately.

We headed back to the club now and Anis decided that his recovery speed was above 15km/h and he proceeded to run away from Ilyes and myself, taking Nico with him. It wasn't to last though and Nico drifted back to us and we ran back at 14km/h and I continued back home at marathon pace.

25.25 km all up in 2:03 and a good run at a very pleasant temperature in the forest.

Stockholm long run

A tuna sandwich. That's right, a 2 1/2 hour flight, a 2 hour delay and all I got to eat on the damn plane was a tuna sandwich accompanied by a can of Heineken. The best part of Sunday spent on a plane and all I ate was a tuna sandwich. This is not the sort of treatment that endears me to Air France.

I checked into the hotel and 5 minutes later I checked out in my running kit and hit the streets. I had imagined a nice scenic route around Stockholm and now it was time to try it out. I don't know whether it was the pent up frustration with the journey, with airplane companies in general, or with wasting Sunday for business, but I started out at marathon speed, completing the first few kilometres at 4:15 pace. I then told myself to slow down as I knew that with the few calories that I'd ingested, the distance after 20km would be difficult to manage at this pace.

The weather was humid but the rain that had been forecast held off leaving the temperature around 20°C. I headed to the east of the city to begin with along Lake Malaren and along to Djurgarden. This was the route that I'd run in June so I knew what to expect and it's very pleasant along by the canal and then back along the south of the island. When I came back off the island, I'd already run 13km and calculated that with the 3 km back into the centre of town and then the 7km around my circuit of Malaren, I was on for a 23km run. I was feeling a little more tired now and my pace settled down to 4:30 speed.

I pushed on back through town and then it was a relief to head to the south side of the city and beside the lake where the city is a lot quieter. I relaxed along here and maintained my pace at 4:20 - 4:30 pace except for the few hills where I dropped the pace dramatically. It's quite amazing the impact that hills have on me when I'm tired like this as een the slightest rise causes an immediate drop in pace. I headed up over west bridge and back to the north side of the lake and an extra loop of the park to increase the distance before heading back to the hotel.

24 km all up in 1:50 or 4:35 per km on average. I was pleased with this especially as the 1900 calories burnt more than eliminated that tuna sandwich.

LSR - again

It had been a hard night with the boys. Nico, Nick W and myself had decided to go into St Germain to watch the match in the pub. To be perfectly civilised, we thought that we could get a burger there and eat out. Unfortunately by the time we got to the pub there was no space left at their tables so we had some pasta next door accompanied by a nice bottle of red wine. Things became less civilised from then on when we went back into the bar and met Nick B and a mate over from Oz for some beers while watching the match. Man Utd took a well-deserved beating much to Nick W's delight, being a long-time Liverpool fan. So when I woke up this morning, the last thing that I wanted to do was go for a 33k run with a camelbak on my back.

Laurence saved me at this point by saying that she wanted me to run with her over the first portion of the course as it's a little isolated in the forest and she was a little concerned about who she might meet. I instantly comforted her by telling her that Nico had met a guy in the middle of the forest while out for a run last week who was wandering around completely starkers. Personally, I think that Nico came up with this excuse as he was worried that somebody had caught him on camera with a naked bloke... Anyway, I was the perfect gentleman and eagerly agreed to accompany my lovely wife around the course.

We set off easily at a pace just below 10 km/h. I thought that Laurence was capable of getting around the course in 6' kms though and by the 5km mark we were running regularly 5:45 pace. I was perfectly happy at this speed as I needed to recover from yesterday and was just keen to burn off the calories and alcohol from last night's excesses. When we got to the top of Princess Road, Laurence stopped for a quick rest and told me that she didn't want to run with me anymore as I "stressed" her. I was ordered to run on and finish at my own pace and even to beat last week's time. I announced that this would be difficult as at the same point last week I had passed some 11 minutes earlier. But, since there was no point in arguing I set off again; this time on my own.

The next few kilometres to Feucherolles were far more comfortable than last week and I managed them at 4:40 pace. I'd run 16km now and I was tired so I stopped to walk for a while. I just didn't have the energy to continue running permanently and it was this for the rest of the way around the course. When I was running, I was a lot easier and faster than last week but my legs and head were telling me to stop whenever it got a little hard. I accepted the fact and just focused on getting around. In the end, I finished the loop in 2:55 so 11 minutes solwer than last week and exactly the same time difference as at the 11km mark. So despite the more frequent stopping, I managed to complete the last 22 km at the same pace as last week.

33.3km all up in 2:55 or 5:15 per km. This brings the total mileage to the week to just under 97 kilometres. Another week like this before I taper for a week before the trail.

LSR - and I mean slow !

Something went wrong today. It was not immediately obvious but not everything clicked into place as I wanted. I'm not able to identify the causes either. Was it yesterday's run and trying to do too much, too soon? Was it due to the excess of alcohol with Laurence, Dad and Liz last night? Was it due to the lack of sleep accumulated during the week and the stress of work at the moment ? Whatever the reason, it didn't feel good and all the recent enthusiasm I've been having with the improvements in my training on the track went right out of the window.

I've got a couple of races coming up very soon: the 10km on Friday evening and then the 58 km trail in Brittany in June. I reckoned I needed to get some distance in for the trail and I was quite happy to run the long course around Feucherolles and St Nom la Breteche for a little over 30km to put some distance training in.

I filled up the camelbak and set off running the first kilometre in 5:11 into the forest. I increased the pace very gradually to run each kilometre in 4:50 after 5km. I wasn't able to increase the pace but I wasn't too bothered to begin with as I was focusing on completing the circuit in good conditions. By the time I got to the top of Princess Road after 11km, I was still feeling fairly fresh, if unable to go any faster. It was peculiar the feeling that I still had energy, but I wasn't able to summon any to increase my speed and I stopped looking at the Garmin at this point and just concentrated on maintaining a steady pace.

The highlight of the circuit was going through Feucherolles and seeing the end of the 24 hour running race: 24h des Yvelines.The runners looked surprisingly spritely and fresh despite the 24 hours on their feet, running around a 1600 metre circuit in the St Gemme quarter of Feucherolles (the winner managed to run 217km in this time or 135 loops of the circuit!). I pushed on and ran back into St Nom la Breteche and back up the hill towards St Germain. This was the killer for me and by the time I got to the top, I was exhausted and my energy drained from me. I was just looking to finish now. My fastest kilometre was in 4:18 downhill into St Germain whereas I normally run this in 3:50 or thereabouts.

I ran/walked quickly up the hill into St Germain and then limped home the last 7 or 8 kilometres. It was not impressive and I felt that not only had I not managed to run steadily, I hadn't managed to run reasonably at any point. It can only get better.

I ran the 33.5 in 2:44 which is my slowest time ever for this course and 17 minutes slower than my record. Average speed of 4:57 over the distance. Will try again next Sunday. Hopefully, it'll be a lot better.

Bike and run

Struggling to find time to write up my training runs at the moment what with odd-jobs to be completed around the house and the workload for my job. However, this is no excuse for not keeping a track of what's been going on in the exciting world of running here in Le Mesnil.

Laurence is training hard, preparing for the big event in June when we head off to Britanny to run a 58km trail in Guerledan. She's been building up the mileage and mentally I've never ever seen her so strong. When we first started running, she'd prepare herself for a run by saying that she'd run for 20 minutes. If we weren't back at the house within those 20 minutes all hell would break loose. This evolved afterwards into running for 5km and then 10km and so on. If I dared suggest that we add in an extra loop or anything involving a little extra effort that she hadn't prepared for a week before mentally then she'd become furious with me and then sulk for the following week (there is a slight bit of literary exageration in this desciption - but believe me, it's minor).

Recently though, I've been noticing some major changes. A little extra loop to fit in a scenic detour? No problem. A few extra kilometres to keep up the mileage? Why not! It must be the three shredded wheat in the morning that are doing the job. Laurence has become seriously addicted to runnning and charts all of her mileage in copy books that are full of colours indicating different efforts, paces, weekly mileages and outings per week. She decided that it would be nice to go out together last Sunday for a long Sunday run. Since her biggest regret in life is not to be able to run a marathon in under 3 hours, we decided that the easiest way to spend time together on a long run and to enable both of us to obtain maximum benefit was to do a bike and run.

We packed a camelbak and planned my long 35km running route into sections of around 5km. Laurence ran the first section, beginning slowly and then building up the pace to 5:30 kilometres. I enjotyed the forest scenery, peddling easily beside her on the mountain bike. I ran the next section of 6 kilometres finishing at the top of Princess road after 2 kilometres of uphill achieved in in under 10 minutes (a good gauge of my fitness is to beat this time so I was well chuffed). Laurence set off on another 5 km section running faster than ever at around 5:15 - 5:20 pace. And then I took oever again.

The sun had risen by now and the morning that had started coolly was beginning to warm up considerably. Laurence was running faster and faster and I was wilting in the heat. I ran 5km to St Germain terrace and decided that 16km was enough for me. I finished at 4:40 pace along the flat, dehydrated and deprived of energy. Laurence took over and since her goal was to run 26 km in total she ran the last 11km back home in a convoluted loop from St Germain. Not only did she manage the distance far better than me, she was running at 5:20 pace at the end which she considers to be marathon pace. Impressed ? I would have been even more impressed but I was too busy feeling sorry for myself and my sore bum, unused to riding a bike for so far and for so long...

3h35 of effort in total to cover a marathon distance. I was well and truly beat.

Long Sunday Run (LSR)

It was hard to get out of bed after a night out last night and getting back to bed late. We decided not to set the alarm and it was 10 o'clock when we finally got up.

Laurence and I both decided to run our long runs this morning as this was the last one scheduled before the marathon in 2 weeks time. I had been so disappointed with my run last Sunday that I decided to run the same course and to just run it steadily to see how I would fare.

I set off slowly so as not to burn myself out too early and ran the first kilometre into the forest in 5 minutes. I sped up gradually from then on getting to the top of Princess Road in 52:30 almost a minute faster than last week. Despite this faster time, I felt a lot more energy and I didn't stop at all pulling a chocolate bar from the rucksack as I ran (no mean feat either as I fumbled with the zip for a good 3 or 4 minutes) and eating this with a slurp from the Camelbak.

I didn't try and attempt any intervals this week but carried on running steadily, just accelerating slightly to around 4:20 pace. I maintained this speed to Feucherolles and then sped up again downhill before easing as I hit the hill out of St Nom la Breteche. This in fact was my slowest kilometre at 5:08 and I could feel the fatigue settling in. I had some more water and took on sugar and I instantly felt better again. This was probably the best managed run I've achieved in taking on solids and I need to remember this for the marathon.

Back up to marathon speed (4:14) along the plateau and then a fast descent into St Germain (3:50) before another long slog up into St Germain and back to marathon speed through the forest to finish. I was pleased with my speed at the end despite the tiredness which just goes to proved what you can achieve when you think you're beat.

33.5 km all up in 2:31 or 4:31 average per kilometre. This brings my total mileage for the week to 103 km and a nice taper now for the next 2 weeks. I'm as ready as I'll ever be.

Long Sunday Run

A deviation from the marathon running schedule for today which only required 1:40 of effort with three intervals of 10', 12' and 14' at threshold speed. I decided I would go back to my long road route through the forest to St Germain, along to Feucherolles down through St Nom la Breteche and back through St Germain to home.

Good news was that I was not alone for the run: Nick had agreed to run at least the first 11km with me up to the top of Princess Road. He would then head back and I would carry on. Further good news: Laurence was accompanying me on the mountain bike with a camelbak and so I wouldn't need to carry a bag and I had somebody with me to encourage me.

We set off easily enough and did the first km in just over 5 minutes. In fact, this would be the only kilometre that I would run under 12km/h. It was a nice morning and there was some sunshine but the temperature was probably hovering around the 14°C mark. We gradually built up speed until we were running steadily at 4:35 per km until the hills began. The first climb was up to the lycée horticole which we ran well and then the long slog up util the top of Princess Road. I felt good going up the hills and was concentrating on not bending my back but trying to run as upright as possible.

We left Nick to run back home from the top and we carried on to Feucherolles from there. I tried to run at marathon pace from this point and was covering each kilometre at about 4:15 - 4:20 pace. I carried on until St Nom la Breteche, enjoying the downhill sections to maintain the pace. I felt slightly tired but not excessively and was happy with the feelings as this was my first long run for a while.

By the time I got to St Germain, I was a lot less fresh and taking on water more frequently. The hills had taken it out of me and I just wanted to finish now. I managed to continue running and not to stop and everything was going well until about 2.5k to go when Laurence punctured. I offered to stop and help but she waved me on and ran with the bike back home. I was able to find a little bit of energy to actually increase the pace (now that I knew that the end was in sight) and finished at 4:26, then 4:10 then 3:58 for the last kilometre.

34 km all up in 2:33 or an average pace of 4:31 per km. Very pleased that I was able to get around and thrilled to manage in this time. I was probably better trained just before Paris as I was able to run faster the "marathon pace" stretches but definitely not in this shape at this stage of the preparation. Total mileage for the week 103 km - second week ever where I've managed over 100k!

Laurence got back safely 18 minutes after me ! Puncture still needs repairing - any offers ?

Long Sunday

The Sunday training plan for the club stated that a 1:40 training run with 3x12' intervals was on the cards. I decided to run over to the club to add a few extra kilometres and then run back at the end in order to put in a good long run this Sunday.

I ran over to the club and spoke to Laurence who'd arrived in the car. It was at this point that Miguel announced that 2 sessions were on: the initial 1:40 run and a marathon training session of 2:40 with 4x20 minutes off 4' rest. I chose the latter and ran off, leaving Laurence for the first session and headed off with Thierry, Fabrice and Bruno B. We met up with José, Nathaniel and others at the Lycee Horticole after a 3km warm-up to get there.

We all ran to the top of Princess Road and instead of turning right to go to St Gemme, we turned left to take the long way round to get there. We started the first interval and I ran with Nathaniel just behind Thierry and José at around 4:05 pace. I felt really good, despite the tiredness of the week and I found the pace fairly comfortable.

The second interval was into St Gemme and I was running by myself now, behind the same 2 in front and just ahead of Fabrice and Bruno. I finished this interval and I definitely didn't feel as fresh as the start. No, I definitely felt knackered already. I'd been averaging 3:57 per km over this interval, admittedly mostly downhill. I wasn't looking forward to the next interval as we had to run uphill through St Nom la Breteche now.

My worst fears were confirmed as both Fabrice and Bruno came past me on the uphill section through the town. I felt like giving up but as soon as the road flattened out and we were heading back to St Gemme through the forest my feelings came back and I caught back up with them both. I ran just behind them for a while catching my breath back and then I pushed on past them. We were running at 4:08 per km pace now and I was shattered. I didn't know how I was going to manage the last interval. My legs were very heavy now, but my breathing was still relatively fine.

Another 4 minutes rest and we were off on the last interval. Hell on earth. I'd already run about 28km now and I was wondering how on earth I was going to get home. We were heading back to the top of Princess Road and it's precisely 11km back home from here. If I couldn't find a lift back, I was on for a 44km run. This weighed heavily on my mind, plus my heavy legs and my heavy breathing, all of this made the going hard. I concentrated on staying ahead of Fabrice and Bruno. At this point José pulled up and started walking with an Achilles problem. I carried on and was relieved to begin the downhill down Princess Road and finally stop. I'd managed the session depsite the mileage in my legs and I'd stayed ahead of Fabrice on every interval. I was pleased and confident in my running at the moment. A good marathon performance is definitely on the cards if I can hold my body together.

Garmin ran out before the end of the run, but I'd already clocked 33 km when the battery gave out. Around 40 km all up in just over 3 hours. Definitely a long Sunday run.

Oh and the really good news: Laurence picked me up from the club at the end of the run. I was on my knees by now and my knight in shining armour showed up! Best part of the run.

Long Sunday Run - LSR

This was to be the last long Sunday run before the taper for the marathon in 2 weeks time. I was really looking forward to it, a nice long run before 2 weeks rest. The normal route was planned over 33 km, and this too meant that I'd be running over 100k in 7 consecutive days.

We woke late since we been out at F-X's last night. We had a great evening where we talked about running and eaten and drunk well. Especially drunk: the Bollinger, the Puligny Montrachet, and the Moulis all went down very easily. The Aloxe Corton was frankly unnecesary, but we drank it all the same ! As a result, it was almost 9:00am when we woke and the thought of going for a long run was slightly less appealing than it had been yesterday. We headed out nonetheless.

I set out with Laurence beside me on the bike. It was very regular for the first 8 km when I was within 2 seconds of 4:30 per km for each kilometre. I slowed down going up Princess Road and it was there that we ran into (almost literally) the club doing some hill training. Most of the runners were there: Jean-Marc leading José, Nico and Régis. Bruno trailing a little behind. Miguel was training the group and he greeted us as we went past. I pushed harder to finish the hill and then it was a right turn towards St Gemme and the prettiest part of the route through the forest.

The forest is magnificent at the moment with the trees taking on their autumn colours. It was nice to run through this part of the forest when the sun was out, the temperature mild and the wind not to blustery. I sped up a little here completing the kilometres in around 4:20. It was only after St Gemme that we were more exposed to the wind and the going got tougher. Laurence was struggling too at this point. She had a bad stomach and being bent over on the bike wasn't helping. In fact, after St Nom on the road to St Germain, I actually wondered if she hadn't had an accident or had to do a "Paula". I was feeling relatively fresh here and my pace improved again as a consequence. I was running at 4:10 pace and then to 3:50 down the hill into St Germain. These sensations continued as far as the forest towards Le Mesnil and it was only at the 30 km mark that I began to lose energy.

This morning when we left, we had run out of isotonic solution, so I watered down some orange juice and put this in the Camelbak. I now know for sure that orange juice is not half as efficient as Decathlon's powder for maintaining energy while exercising. The last 3 km was an effort and I could feel my reserves depleting with every step I took.

A relief to finally arrive home and look forward to the taper over the next couple of weeks. 33.5km in 2:27:25 or an average pace of 4:24 per km. I'm better prepared than I've ever been for the marathon, and if I don't achieve my objectives this time around, I'll frankly be very disappointed.

LSR - Long struggle of a run

Guilt - it is the only explanation. Guilt, my guilt, is perhaps not the main cause for my suffering this morning but it is definitely one of the causal factors.

The long run for the week is always on Sunday and for a few weeks now I've been running the same route from Le Mesnil out through the forest, past St Germain, up the Princess Road to Feucherolles, back down to St Nom la Breteche and then back through St Germain, through the forest and home. It's a pleasant route with a mixture of trails and road sections, uphills and downhills and some lovely scenery in places. Nick was starting the run with me again this morning, with the intention of runing 25k, while I was running the full circuit of 33k.

So what went wrong ? Well, things got off to a bad start due to my guilt. Laurence normally accompanies me on these long runs on her bike and she carries the isotonic solution in the rucksack. I seriously messed up yesterday and she wasn't coming with me this morning. So what was all the guilt about ? I ran to Cora yesterday with Andy and when I got back, Laurence wasn't in the house. She had gone on a long run with a friend with the intention of running 30k, so I wasn't to expect her back for 3 hours. I got back to the house and decided that I really fancied some croissants and pain au chocolats with some fresh bread. I jumped in the car and bought 3 of each for myself and the 2 boys. I didn't buy one for Laurence. How could I be so stupid ? I assumed that since she would be back from her run just before lunch that she wouldn't want a croissant and that lunch would suffice. Big mistake. Laurence loves croissants and she would have liked nothing more than to have been welcomed back with a nice cup of tea and a croissant. As it was, she had neither and I was in big trouble. Hence, my start this morning with the rucksack on my back and a litre of isotonic solution inside. Laurence stayed in bed.

It was tough from the start. I met Nick and Anne (on her bike - Nick doesn't make mistakes about croissants apparently!) and we ran together through the forest and up the Princess Road. We got to the top of the Princess Road (11k) in 55 minutes this morning, compared to 52 minutes last week. I felt that I'd been holding Nick up all the way along. He was running very well and appeared to have lots of energy. I didn't.

We carried on along the top towards Feucherolles and then Nick and Anne turned off left to get back to St Germain the short route whereas I continued on to Feucherolles. We were running at 4:30 pace now and I didn't improve on this pace for the rest of the run. What a difference to last week when I was running 4:10 pace over this section. The route continued and I continued to suffer along with it. I was sore in my shoulders from the sack, tired in my legs and the motivation was lacking. I couldn't figure out what had gone wrong since 7 days ago when I had energy abounding.

I managed to carry on all the way around the course without walking although the temptation was great in places. As soon as there was a rise in the road, I would suffer and the tempo would slow from 4:30 pace to 5:00 pace. It was a real relief to get past St Germain and back into the forest for the last 5 km. I could see the finish now, the end to my suffering.

I completed the 33.6 km in 2:38 or an average of 4:42 per km. I put all of this suffering down to the guilt, or at least having ot carry the rucksack all the way around. I'm sorry love. It won't happen again.

LSR - Feucherolles

It was the first time in a few weeks that I have not had a race organised and was able to go for a long steady run on Sunday. I was really looking forward to it as I believe that so much of my recent improvement is due to this weekly run and the associated increase in mileage. I can't say that I was frustrated by the recent week's races but I did feel that I'd been missing out on a vital part of my training programme. My intentions to go out after the races and to run a few more miles all came to naught, as I was either too tired, or too hurt to get out.

Today was different: back to the long loop through St Germain to Feucherolles, back through St Nom la Breteche and St Germain to home. I had asked Nick if he wanted to come along for his long run too, but he only had enough time to fit in a 22km run today, so we agreed that we would run the first 11 km together before he turned back. Laurence was accompanying us with the isotonic drink solution on her bike.

As we set out, we appreciated the beautiful clear blue sky with not a cloud in sight. There was a slight breeze which turned into a definite wind a little later on but we were protected by the forest and didn't really notice this to begin with. The temperature was warmer than of late as it was almost 15°C, similar to the 18°C that we had last night at dusk. Nick and I ran slowly to begin with as we warmed up the first couple of kilometres were at 5:15 then 4:47 pace. We then settled into a pace around 4:40 per km which we kept up until the hill behind the lycée horticole, a 2 km slog uphill where we slowed to 5:11 then 4:56 for these 2k.

We said goodbye to Nick at this point, after 11km which we had covered in 52:48 or an average of 4:48 per km. He turned back down the hill and I carried on with Laurence along the flat in the direction of Feucherolles. I picked the pace up here, telling myself that I would run for 30 minutes, or 7 km at marathon pace, just for training purposes. I felt really good along here, as I still had plenty of energy, having started the run at a moderate pace. In fact, I averaged these next 8 km at 4:08 per km until I reached St Nom and the hill up out of the town. I slowed down a little here, before speeding back up once I got to the top of the hill. I had run these last 11km since leaving Nick in 46:30 or an average of 4:14 per km.

The run along the plateau above St Nom is beside the main road. The great advantage of this section is that there is a wide cycle path just beside the road so you get the benefits of a smooth main road, without the exhaust fumes of the traffic. On a Sunday morning, this road is also fairly quiet, so the traffic noise isn't an issue. I sped up again here running at 4:09 along the flat and then 3:59, 3:48 and 3:52 down the hill into St Germain. I was still feeling fresh and had energy left at this point. I was pleased by this as on my previous runs around this course, I was always shattered by this point. I crossed the main road into St Germain and then negotiated the steepest hill of the course, slowing to a fast walking pace as I struggled the 300m to the top. This takes a lot out of me and my pace dropped to 4:54 then 4:35 as I recovered after this section.

I left St Germain and ran through the forest back home, happy to be heading back and thinking of the nice cup of tea that would be made shortly. In fact, these last 11 km were also run in 46:30 or 4:14 per km. So I managed 22km at marathon pace. I should be able to manage my first marathon in 5 weeks time in under 3 hours barring a major disaster.

33.38 km in 2:27:33 or an average of 4:25 per km overall. Great run and pleased with my progress. All bodes well for La Rochelle on November 29.