Photos

Just a couple of photos for the blog following the marathon in Amsterdam.

Firstly, the reason for our success as a group in running marathons is probably down to the trust and confidence that we have in each other. The only way to build such confidence is to be very close... and here's the proof :

 First of all a bed big enough to sleep 6 in guaranteeing an excellent night's sleep in (or not as the case may be!)

Secondly, plenty of food and beer to build up the complex sugars necessary to run a good marathon























Finally, the event itself and looking easy (and lonely!) at the 30km mark.

Amsterdam marathon

We'd been planning an autumn marathon for a long time after the success of Florence last year. The decision was taken to try and do as many international marathons as possible, starting in Europe and perhaps moving further afield in the future. Amsterdam was decided upon as the course was flat and fast and the date was perfect allowing everyone to begin marathon preparation after the summer holidays.

My own race schedule this year has been very chaotic and not very logical. I started with good intentions and try to plan my race calendar around 2 marathons per year: one in the spring; and the second in the fall. Any more than this is simply too tiring and the preparations are not feasible if you really want to do your best over the distance. However, my spring marathon was dropped in favour of the Paris ecotrail, an 80km jaunt from St Quentin to the Eiffel Tower, and so the only marathon on the programme for 2012 was in Amsterdam. What I hadn't realised when I made these plans was just how tired I would be after the CCC and how little time I would have to prepare this race seriously.


Our group of Laurence, who wouldn't be running as she's still injured, myself, Sandra, Pascal, Katia and François made our travel plans to the city. Pascal and Sandra would take the plane, while the rest of us would drive there. We left early Saturday morning and by lunch time we'd arrived in the Olympic Stadium to pick up our bibs and explore the marathon exhibition stands.It was relatively quick to pick up the race numbers but the organisation was less successful for the race t-shirts where a huge queue had formed. Whereas there were around 30 people distributing race numbers, there were 2 for the shirts. This was a sign of some of the failures in the organisation that we would come across later. The stands in the pick-up area were scarce and not that interesting either in the products, the presentation or the special offers. We didn't waste any more time and left to check into the hotel and see a little of the city centre.

There are a few things to avoid before running a marathon :

i) Spicy food - too many spices can upset your stomach causing cramps and lack of sleep.
ii) Alcohol - causes dehydration to the body and impacts sleep
iii) Late nights - rest and recovery is essential before the race and a good amount of sleep can help performance.

Of course, I knew about all of these but the temptation of a fantastic Indonesian meal (where only Laurence, Pascal and I ate the really spicy dishes) and a few beers was just too good to avoid. This combined with lack of sleep from getting up early to drive to the city was not the best marathon preparation but what the hell...

We woke up early for breakfast and ate what was available at 6:00 am - not much unfortunately as the restaurant wasn't yet open. Sandra hadn't slept all night, anxious about the race and her and Katia's attempt to beat 3:30 and their PBs over the marathon distance. We got the bus into the city centre and then a metro from Central Station. The first of our problems began. Several hundred runners got on the same metro and the doors wouldn't close. We stood on the train for a good 10 minutes like sardines while the train driver made a further 15 attempts to close the doors to no avail. We changed trains but were now heading east out of the city so had to change trains again at a station 5 stops down the line. Unfortunately, several hundred runners who were on our initial train had the same idea and we then waited with an additional several hundred more runners who were arriving in from the east in the first place. I've never been so squashed for so long on a train before and it was a relief to get out of the metro at Amstelveensweg just a few hundred metres from the stadium and the start of the race. We now had almost a thousand runners trying to get out of the metro station with no officials around and nobody to open the barriers, just the automatic barriers controlling each ticket individually to leave the station. This could have been a disaster with runners pushing from the top of the escalators and stairs, conscious that there was very little time until the start now due to the train's delay.

We walked to the stadium and after a quick toilet stop (many thanks to the Total service station for a lovely clean, warm toilet - gosh that meal last night was spicy !), we entered the stadium, or at least we tried to. We had to queue here too in order to get into the stadium with hundreds of other runners (presumably the same as those on the train with us) and we were actually getting quite anxious as the organisers had stated that the stadium access would close 15 minutes prior to the start of the race. We were in and I left Pascal, François, Sandra and Katia to go their starting pen while I went to mine. I looked for Bruno from the club but there was no sign. I wasn't really surprised as due to my late arrival, I was actually quite a way back from the start line. I did see a former colleague from Mitsubishi, Armel, and I chatted to him and his friends before the gun went. They were attempting to beat 3 hours and were all wearing t-shirts with 'Under 3 hours or death' which was probably a little radical and something they might regret a few hours later.

The race started and we were off. Well ,almost, I jogged to the start line was the field was too dense to go any faster. Leaving the stadium was just as bad and the roads beyond were no better. I was disappointed as the start was so difficult and I spent the next 3 kilometres cursing the organisers for their route choice. In retrospect, it wasn't as bad as I felt and my split for the first 5 kilometres were as follows:

4:20, 3:56, 4:00, 3:58, 3:51

The route had come through the first park, Vondelpark, and was now heading down to complete the first small loop before doubling back on ourselves and heading back out to towards the east of the city.

I saw Laurence cheering me on at this point with Stéphanie. I had been looking for her earlier at the spot where we had arranged for her to stay so I was a little surprised (and slightly annoyed admittedly) when she shouted out. It must have been at this point that I overtook Bruno too although I never actually saw him and was disappointed not to have met him all day :)

Bruno in white, while I head off around the bend in red!

I settled into a rhythm now at around 4:00/km. I wondered if it wasn't slightly fast given my preparation but I thought that I was breathing easily enough and I felt relaxed so I just went with this. My legs were tying up slightly: every now and then I had a problem with my right knee blocking, causing me to limp for a few strides; and my calf muscles felt tight too but nothing too painful. I was still passing other runners regularly and happy with the situation and it was only towards 15km that I started to feel some tiredness creeping in.

3:59, 3:56, 3:55, 3:59, 3:57, 3:56, 3:51, 3:59, 3:56, 3:47

This 15th kilometre was too fast as the Garmin played up when we went underneath the ring road. It's a good job that I didn't see this one as I would have scared myself but I watched the timing block that the organisers had put at every 5km interval and this showed 1:00:24 and with the 20 seconds it took me to cross the start line, I knew that I was running a 15km/h average pace and on track to compete with my time in Florence.

We were heading down the canal now and the wind was slightly behind us. I remember wondering what it was going to be like on the other side when we had to run back into it. I'd deal with that problem when it happened. I was focused on staying with a couple of runners at this point, firstly a female runner (Jenny Knass a British female elite athlete) and an Israeli (Yossi Elia). The Israeli looked the strongest and I tried to stay with him and the small group that he was with. We turned at the bottom of the canal and headed back into the wind which wasn't as bad as I'd feared. I was able to hide behind some of the bigger runners and avoid the worst of it. I was beginning to tire seriously now though and I was focused on passing each 5km marker at my 15km/h pace. I went through the half marathon in 1:24:49, faster than my half marathon at the Great North Run a month ago, which pleased me no end. Now I only had to finish the race and preferably under 3h00.

The 15 - 25km actually went relatively well and despite the fact that I knew I was tiring and slowing, my lap times were fairly steady.

 4:01, 4:03, 4:00, 4:00, 3:59, 4:04, 3:56, 4:00, 3:59, 4:01

From this point in, it was simply a case of grinning and bearing it. I let Yossi go as he accelerated from this point to finish in 2:47 and Jenny dropped off the pace slightly. I was on my own now and running with a couple of English runners. Laurence and Stéphanie were at the 30km mark and that was a real boost as they cheered me on while I went past the electronic time board in 2:00:57 so an effective 2:00:37 in real time. I was almost a minute down on my Florence time now and this would be how it would stay until the end. I was calculating how much slower I could go and still make it under 3h00 but since this seemed easy I then recalculated to see the pace necessary to go under 2h55. I could afford to drop 30 seconds per kilometre and still make it so I relaxed and just maintained my pace. I looked at the Garmin and I was still running under 4:10/km so I knew that I wasn't suffering too badly. The mental arithmetic was still working too so I wasn't in too bad shape.

4:01, 4:11, 3:58, 4:01, 4:02, 4:06, 4:07, 4:11, 4:09, 4:08

At 35km we headed back westward towards the finish and the wind was behind us now. This was a refreshing change and it helped over these last few kilometres. I was eating a chunk of Ritter Sport every 5km and washing this down with water since I forgot all of my almond bars and sugar tablets in my bag that morning at the hotel. Idiot! They worked well though if only a little hard to swallow while running.

4:09, 4:04, 4:06, 4:10, 4:11, 4:09, 4:08 and 3:51 to the finish.

We ran back through Vondelpark and it was then only 2km to the stadium and the end. I counted down the kilometres as it was hurting now. My right foot had been hurting for a while under the sole of my foot just before my toes. It was getting worse and I wanted to stop. I entered the stadium and as I rounded the final bend a Belgian caught up with me and grabbed my hand so that we could cross the line together. Since I hadn't seen him in the race up until now, I found this rather peculiar but he was Belgian so that probably explains matters.

I crossed the finish line in 2:51:15 in 192 place out of 10 144 finishers.

Result James Highnam

Pleased with this time as, despite the comparative lack of marathon preparation, I was still able to pull off my second fastest marathon ever showing my improvement in form of late. Oh and by the way, Jenny came in almost exactly a minute later in 2:52:11.

Katia and François came in next, closely followed by Sandra, in 3:24:22 and 3:24:59, both smashing their PBs by 5 minutes and posting some excellent times whilst finishing in 14th and 15th place in their category. Pascal followed closely in 3:28:55 suffering from his achilles and lack of specific preparation.

So a good, flat and fast course only to be let down by a lousy organisation that could do a lot better. We'll definitely have to try Berlin next year.

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.

Florence Marathon - showdown

I am not doing well in the 2011 Nico v. James challenge. We have run 8 races so far this year and he's won 7 of them. I have excuses of course: we always have excuses when we fail to do well. But the truth is that I am not able to run as fast as he can over the shorter distances. We knew this when we pulled the challenge together. It was supposed to be a mix of events ranging from 5km to marathon. I wanted the longer distances as I knew I had a far better chance whenever we race over 15km. I also wanted to take into account the time difference in the various races rather than just taking a win over a loss. Whatever, he is now 6 races up and it looked as though he was entering the marathon with some solid training and a good chance on paper of beating me over this distance too.

As members of the St Germain running club we also have our supporters. As a veteran I tend to find a lot of support from the older members of the club but also veteran marathon runners (thanks Gérald), whereas Nico has plenty of support from Jean-Marc. So basically, Jean-Marc was betting on Nico while 90% of the club was behind me (average age in the club is close to 50 so this wasn't surprising). Nico had been doing plenty of swaggering prior to the race about how he would beat me hollow, pick me off the road at 35km, etc. but I could tell that his mouth was talking but his brain didn't believe a word he was saying. The race was on.

Laurence and I flew into Pisa Saturday morning and picked up a car to get over to Florence for lunch-time. The adventure started here. The Italians are great at many things: food, wine, opera, art but they are lousy at one thing - road signs. It took us an hour to get around Florence and to finally find the stadium to pick up our bibs for the race the following day. I'd had enough of driving by this point and just wanted to dump the car. After a quick tour of the marathon expo and utter disappointment at seeing my bib for the race with my number 223 and then 'James Highnam FRA' written beneath it, we drove into Florence centre and to the hotel. Lunch in the city centre calmed us down nicely and we were finally able to soak up the atmosphere of this amazing Italian city that must be one of the most beautiful in the world. The sun was shining and the temperature hovering around the 16°C mark and the light on the buildings and the river Arno was just incredible. A quick shop in the centre and we headed back to the hotel to meet the others.

We'd only just digested lunch when we attacked dinner with Sandra, Pascal, Katia and François and their families. Talk about carbohydrate loading: the pasta starter was enough for a regiment, let alone the chicken and roast potatoes that followed. Nico and his family had also arrived safely in town as I'd exchanged texts wth Nico earlier. Despite my initial worries that he'd had problems arriving, it turned out that his delay in answering the phone was due to the fact that he'd turned it off while enjoying a long siesta. He was obviously dead serious about the race and determined to be as ready as possible.

Laurence and I got up the following morning fully prepared for the race. This was not like Marseille. We'd learned our lesson and packed cream, safety pins, caps, the whole caboodle. A quick breakfast with François and Katia and we headed off through town to the start down by the river. We met Sandra and Pascal as arranged and bumped into Nico, Benj and Greg. The day was perfect: sunny, blue skies, no wind and about 3°C. As the sun rose above the skyline, it elt warm on your body and the cold temperature was not a problem. Nico was nervous and had slept badly, whereas I was eager to start and to get running, not having trained since Tuesday previously. The organisation was good and runners disclipined as they entered the different timing pens. 30 minutes wait in here and a couple of pee stops later and we were ready to go.

I had the Garmin on virtual partner mode with 4:05 entered as the pace to stick to. Nico was going to head out faster and I thought that I'd be picking him up at about 35km as he suffered over the final stages. That was the race plan - clear cut, simple, straight-forward. This was redemption time as with my marathon experience, there was no way that Nico could beat me over this one. Despite his training, I wasn't convinced that he would be able to hold on at the end when the going gets really tough. We would see if I was right.

So much for the plan. I set off and after a few hundred metres I was behind schedule. No problems it was a slow start and I missed the first kilometre as I concentrated on not running inot other runners and trying to find a pace I was comfortable with. I relaxed and stretched out into the second kilometre and when the Garmin showed 3:56 I wasn't surprised but since it felt that comfortable, I decided not to worry and to just go with it. I began looking ofr runners that I could tag along with now but at this stage in the race this can be risky. I spotted a Scandinavian (Swedish I thought but he turned out to be Norwegian) in a red top and I judged my pace by him. If I got too close, I would ease off but judging how relaxed I felt, I figured that I had the pace about right.

There was no sign of Nico now and I came to the conclusion that has behind me. I'd been running a few kilomtres under 4:00 each now and there was no sign of him in front. This was confirmed at 6.5km when we went around a hairpin before entering Le Cascine park. He waved and shouted out to me. I stuck a thumb up at him in return, happy to know he was behind and feeling great about my shape. This spurred me on and my next few kilometres all hovered around 4:00 with my slowest in 4:03 and my fastest in 3:54 depedning on whether it was a slight uphill or slight downhill. At 11km, I was caught by a small group of 4 Italians, 2 from the same club sharing the lead, with another talking to the spectators or his fellow runners. I tagged along on their shoulders and as we passed the feeding station, I ran to the front and shared the lead. I looked at the Garmin as the pace felt slightly uncomfortable: 3:55. In fact this was a series of kilometres where I was flirting with the danger zone but too happy to be with the group and to ease off the pace - 3:55, 3:55, 3:57, 3:57, 3:56, 3:53. It was this last kilometre that decided it, I had to let them go. We were at 19km now and I couldn't afford to overheat now. I relaxed and ran a 4:03 watching the group ease ahead and then I saw the clock as I ran through the half-way point: 1:24:13 - I was averaging under 4:00/km. I wondered now if I could keep this up until the end and beat 2:49. Still, I figured that going under 2:50 would also be fantastic.

My Norwegian runner came past me again at this point and he looked stronger than when I'd passed him around the 18 km mark. Apart from another runner who passed me at around 30km, I would not be overtaken by anybody from the 15km point onwards. I still felt good now and the first signs of tiredness set in after 28km. I began a countdown in my head now. Only 14km to go - that's not too far! They had a clock set up for the 30km mark and another thrill here as it showed 1:59:51 as I hit the timing mat. Still on for the 15km/h target. Only, there's no esacaping the general fatigue that settles in over the last 12km and I was no exception. My feeding had been well planned and I'd excecuted strictly: sugar tablet every 5, 15, 25, 35 km and then almond paste sweet at 10, 20, 30 km. Water every 5km and sponge every 7, 12, 17, 22, etc. There was always something to look forward too !

I slowed imperceptibly now and I couldn't fight. The Garmin was showing 4:03 more often now but that was soon stoppped when we headed back into the town center and the crowds around the cathedral. What a boost a bit of crowd support brings: the next 2 kilometres went by in 3:54 and 3:57 and thoughts about the target reappeared. It wasn't to be though and as we headed back out of town westards for the final loop before heading back in over Ponte Vecchio the little slopes and the sun got to me and I slipped back to 4:05 - 4:07/km. I wasn't bothered though as Nico wouldn't be coming back now. I'd thought about him at 30km when there was still a chance but at 35km I knew I just had to finish and win. The last 500m were amazing: I managed to finsih at 3:39 pace and clinch the sub 2:50 result. I was thrilled ecstatic. I saw Henry and Paul and put my forefinger in the air to show that I'd done it - I'd beaten Nico and my PB. This race was worth 10 in the chellenge and the first thing that Nico said when he crossed the line was that he was cancelling his entry to New York. He's suffered in the final stages, as predicted and the minute difference at the half-way point had extended to 5 minutes by the end - 2:55:02.

The others came in shortly afterwards: François ran a blinder in 3:06, Katia and Sandra finished together in 3:38, Laurence just afterwards in 3:45 having suffered an optical migraine at 30km with the tiredness and the sunlight. Pascal and Greg ran together in 3:27 and Benj was a little disapppointed with 3:11 having dropped 10 minutes due to cramps in the last 5km. However, everybody beat their record, if not their target and overall we were all pleased with such a good event. My honour is safe and sound now until next yearwhen we start the challenge again. Now where did I put that entry form to Millau 100km - Nico ?

Marathon relais - Val de Marne

It's a week later and I've only just got around to writing up my account of the marathon relay that we entered last Sunday with Nico, his brother Benjamin and an old friend of theirs, Greg. I'd been scrutanising the weather forecast for a few days as the mild weather was due to end to be replaced by a very hot, sunny spell with the peak temperatures to be recorded on the Sunday. The weathermen weren't wrong.

I picked Nico up and we left in the car at just after 7:00 am. The thermometer was already hovering around 20°C and a clear blue sky and hot sun promised worse to come. By the time we arrived and the race was due to begin the temperature was in the low 20°C and heating up rapidly. Nico lined up to run the first leg involving 3 laps of the circuit around the lake, with each lap a little over 4km, this gave a first leg of 12.5km in total. Nico set off prudently, in the first 30 runners in a field of just over 300. By the end of the first lap, he was in 27th place and I calculated an average speed of around 3:45 per km for him. He looked easy and in control of the situation.

A lap later and it was a different story entirely. He'd moved up the field and was now around 20th in a small pack, but was clearly suffering from the heat, looking less controlled and not so easy in his stride. His average lap time had slowed too with a 7 - 8 second per km drop over the first lap. Despite the sunshine, he managed to maintain his speed well, finishing his relay in 15th place before handing over to Greg.

The next 2 legs were run by Greg then Benjamin and both had 2 laps to do before passing the relay. The story was the same each time with them looking fresh on the first lap and then fading in the second. I ran a warm-up lap just to see what the course was like and realised that after an easy start which was mostly in the shade, you rounded the end of the lake and then had to run over 1.5km beside the lake in full sunshine. The far end was slightly shaded but this didn't last long before the path wound its way through a little park and back to the start.

I wented in the sun for Benjamin to come in and watched the other relay teams hand over just ahead of me. Most were on the 2nd to 3rd man changeover with only a few teams on the last leg. Benj came in and handed over to me and I set off prudently too, not wanting to burn myself out after a couple of kilometres. It was 11:00 am now and the temperature was in the high 20°C and probably a full 10°C higher in the sun. I focused on a runner who set off 15 seconds before me and watched as I closed in on him, finally catching him after 2.5km into my leg. I voertook him and then heard him running just behind me as I finished the first leg. I ran the first km in 3:43 and then 3:51 before running the next two in 3:54 and 3:55. I could feel my energy ebbing and the sun sapping all the motivation from me. When he came back past me, I was unable to respond.

The second lap was a nightmare and I just wanted to finish to run the last lap with the others at a more comfortable pace. The back straight with no shade was a killer and my splits dropped below 4:00 per km without me being able to do anything about it. I'd lost interest in the fight and just wanted to get the ordeal over with. I fought to run reasonably to the end of the second lap and into the finishing chute for the last relay.

We then set off as a team of 4 and the pace slowed again. I thought that I would be able to relax and that the pace of the weaker runner in our team would be a relief. I was too tired though for this to be the case and even running a couple of kilometres at 4:30 pace was an ordeal. I even wanted to stop and drink at the feeding station, I was so uncomfortable with the heat. We managed to finish at a slightly faster pace, especially when we realised that we'd been overtaken by another team who was running just slightly faster than us. Despite our efforts, we were unable to catch them and ended the race in 15th place in a total time of 2:49.

There was a great atmosphere for the event and I really enjoyed this, despite the heat. Post-race festivities were excellent too with a barbecue at Benj's house washed down with a few beers and a swim in his pool. Probably the best part of the day!

Photos

Just a few photos that Laurence has found, searching the web today for photos of us both. She has declared that the photos of her don't show her at her best

Thanks to Pyrros and especially Isabelle for the photo of me in action !

Marathon de Toulouse

I haven't had any time to write my blog this week due to the activity going on at work, but it seems pretty pointless now that the marathon is run and all of this is superfluous. Needless to say I only went out twice during the week and both runs were very easy. So I benefitted from a good taper and was supposed to arrive fresh and ready to go for the marathon.

Neither Laurence nor I felt fresh and ready when we got up this morning. What had been a glorious, sunny, warm Autumn day on the Saturday when we arrived had turned into a grey drizzly cool Autumn day for the marathon. Not that we were complaining about this as it was very calm on the wind front and it was fairly ideal conditions for the race. Jean-Pierre drove us into Toulouse and we met up with some of his running friends from the St Sulpice club who were also taking part. I don't know what Jean-Pierre had been saying to them about me, but I felt a large weight of expectation on me as he explained that he wouldn't be able to take photos of me as I 'd be running too fast.

Anyway, I had more immediate problems to deal with as I tried to find somewhere to go to the toilet yet again that morning. I'd been preparing the marathon in the usual with with a carbo drink for 3 days to take on calories and energy in the muscles. I was now trying to empty my bladder of what felt like 3 litres of liquid before the race started. Apologies to the owners of the nice house in the centre of Toulouse but the entrance gate set back from the main street was just too tempting.

Laurence and I wished each other good luck and we went to our different starting pens. I met Gérald at this point and we discussed tactics. He was set on his 4:15 pace and going under 3 hours whereas I was going to attempt 4:08 pace and the 2:55 target. I set my Garmin and the virtual partner to this pace and I blocked the bezel in this mode. The gun went and we set off very easily. Gérald and I ran side by side with another runner from Bordeaux (Patrick Darche - 52 years old) who was also aiming for 2:55 but at 4:10 pace. The race is not a big affair compared to Paris or even La Rochelle as only 5000 runners were supposed to be taking part (the actual number of finishers was half this amount so there must have been many no-shows) and I was surprised by how long we were able to see the head of the race with the Kenyan contingent.

The course was flat and urban, and Gérald and I ran together until 6 kms when I had to stop for another pee stop (a nice white van this time ;) ). Patrick shouted out about errors of youth as he ran past and Gérald was just behind him. I lost 30 seconds for this manoeuvre but it was worth it as I soon felt a lot better and caught them both up a couple of kilometres further on. Gérald announced that he was stopping at this point to relieve himself and I just pushed on.

I'd set the Garmin to virtual partner mode and so I couldn't see the time just the gain I had on the target pace and by 10k, I was about 1 minute up, going through in 40:56. I was not looking too closely at my split times per km, but they were around the 4:00 mark at this point and I thought that I should pull back slightly, not wanting to burn myself out. A couple of runners passed me at this point, noticeable since they were both about 1.95m tall. I almost followed them until I saw that my splits were well above target pace and I let them both go. I felt very comfortable and was breathing very easily. It was the first time ever that I was able to judge my pace correctly, staying within my comfort zone and easing when I got carried away by the runners around me.

The next few kilometres were unremarkable: the scenery was still urban and I was running with a small group of 4 runners, trading places to lead the group. The lap times were still showing between 4:00 and 4:06 and I was happy just keeping it in this zone. The virtual partner was showing a lead of 1:40 at this point over the target pace, and I didn't want to push this any harder, worried that I'd go into the red and blow my race. I was concentrating on taking on liquid regularly since the marathon provided feeding stations not only every 5k but also water stations at every 2k and 7k (ie 7k,12k,17k, etc.). This was great and with the drizzle and the mild temperature of around 12°C, I felt very comfortable and not too sweaty. I was eating fruit jellies every 10k in order to keep up my sugar levels. All of this seemed to be working for the moment ...

We went through the half-marathon in just under 1:26 and then I saw Jean-Pierre at 22k who asked if I was still alright. He was waiting to accompany a friend from St Sulpice over the last half of the race and I just stuck my thumb up to show that I was still fine. There was a nice downhill section at this point and I managed a 3:59 over the kilometre as we started heading back to Toulouse through some more rural areas. I still felt good and wondered how long this could last. I had a 2:00 gain now and I was calculating just how much slower I could run and still beat the target. It was reassuring to know that I could still manage some mental arithmetic and that the energy levels weren't too low.

In fact, even at 30km I still hadn't hit the wall and wondered when this would happen. I'd left our little group behind and was running with a couple of younger runners, one of whom still had enough energy to talk. It was only at 35km that the fatigue began to set in. I'd been counting down the kilometres for a little while now and they seemed to be taking longer despite the Garmin still showing a 2:15 advantage and 4:06 pace. The split time came up for the 36th km : 4:15. Ok, so I was slowing, but I only had 6km to run and 2 minutes of leeway. I could drop to 4:28 pace and still beat 2:55. This encouraged me mentally (probably because I was still composed enough to calculate!) and I knew that despite the tiredness my pace was still strong.

The end of the marathon was long and I was eager to get it over with now. The kilometres went by regularly at about 4:08 pace and I knew I'd made it, I just had to get to the finish line. The last sentence sounds ridiculous, but this is exactly how I felt. I'd made the effort and done the job it was time to stop ! I just focused on maintaining the rhythm and not pushing too hard so as to avoid cramping in the thigh. I could feel the muscles hardening all over the leg, but most particularly down the inner thighs in both legs.

All of a sudden, Henry, Paul, Marion, Chloe and Isabelle shouted out to me and this was a great boost about 400m from the finish. I raised the pace to finish stronger and crossed the line in 2:53:27 and a new personal best. I wasn't even that shattered at the end - sure the legs were fatigued, but no cramps and I didn't feel the need to sit down and rest. Gérald crossed the line a few minutes later in 2:59:50 so he was happy too after the last 2 marathons in 3:01.

I had a massage and then a shower before watching Laurence finish in a new record time for her of 3:51:48. She did brilliantly, suffering a little towards the end, but still shaving 6 minutes off her PB. All thrilled to bits with our performances despite all the doubts we had beforehand. Great weekend all round.

PS. according to McMillan off my PB of 36:57 over 10k, he predicts 1:22:13 for a half-marathon, and 2:53:24 for a marathon. My times : 1:22:12 and 2:53:27 - the guy's a genius !!!

Marathon training

I've been reading Nico's blog regularly recently and the training that he's putting in at the moment is scary. He's obviously very determined and has even gone so far as to put in 2 sessions per day on some days. This has spurred me into action as I know that if I don't start taking this seriously, then there is no way that I'll catch him over 10km in the next few months.

Toulouse marathon is in 11 weeks, so I've started my 3 hour 10 week programme again but a week early in order to be better prepared for the 10k in Conflans in September. This has always been my favourite 10k race and where I've run my 2 fastest times ever. I'm lacking the interval training at the moment and I'm well off my peak, so the marathon training is destined to lick me into shape.

Today was supposed to be 2*2000m off 300m rest. I ran over the usual route around Maisons Laffitte and started the first interval.

The kilometre times were 3:58, then 3:58. So very constant if not quite as fast as I'd have liked. It was supposed to be run at threshold speed less 5 seconds. This should have meant target times of around 3:50.

I rested for 300m then started again, knowing that I had a little uphill stretch in this second interval. Perhaps it was because I knew that I had to try harder to stay under 4 minutes or the first interval loosening me up, who knows but these were run in 3:48 then 3:34.

Just compared these times to the start of the marathon training in February for Paris and I'm faster. This has been a real boost.

I was really pleased as I'm not as shot as I thought! Will probably go out this evening just for a warm-down run with Nico - that'll soon bring the morale back to normal.

La Rochelle Marathon - Serge Vigot

La Rochelle marathon used to be organised by Serge Vigot, a marathon runner himself, before his untimely death in 2005 at the end of the Marakech marathon. La Rochelle was the second biggest marathon in France after Paris, but has now been surpassed by the Nice-Cannes race. Over 7500 runners had signed up for the race this year, slightly down on the 8800 runners registered last year. The quantity is there but the quality of the runners is also very high. Last year 452 runners went under 3:00 for the race or 6.3% of the finishers compared to 1009 in Paris or 4% of the finishers.

So, I wasn't going to be alone in my quest to break the 3 hour barrier. As the commentator in this year's race says quite clearly: "In a marathon, there are those who can finish in under 3 hours and they'll never forget their race, and there are those who finish just outside and they'll never forget either but for the wrong reasons". We arrived in the TGV with Nick and Laurence from Paris on the Saturday morning into La Rochelle station. The weather was lousy: a real gale blowing, decidedly cool and humidity in the air. The weather forecast wasn't showing any sign of improvement for the Sunday either. Before we checked into our hotels, we went into town to get something to eat.

La Rochelle is a lovely town, centred on the old port on the Atlantic Ocean. We figured that there must be plenty of bars and restaurants around the port and we headed off in that direction. There were plenty of bars and restaurants but they were all ful of runners who'd just arrived in town. The first restaurant told us that we'd have to wait half an hour ot be served so we left for the next. A plate of pasta later and we split up to go to our hotels to check in and then meet up later at the marathon village.

Laurence and I checked into the Mercure hotel in La Rochelle which is ideally situated for the women's start, approximately 2metres50 from the front door. We left our luggage and met up with the others at the marathon village just a few hundred yards from the hotel. We found this to be the most practical aspect of the race: everything was just so close to the course, the town centre and it was all so practical. 9 of us from the club were entered in the marathon and we all met up at the village: Nick, Laurence and I, Patrick, Patrick V, Marie-Laure, Christèle, Damaso and Marjo. Christèle had come down with some supporters: Madeleine and Norbert, her husband. We arranged with them to eat in the restaurant that evening while the others organised a pasta party between themselves.

Sunday morning started at 6:00 am for breakfast. I'd slept really badly, worrying about the race and thinking about work. Laurence and I met Christèle for breakfast in the hotel and ate as much as we were able to hold down at that time in the morning. I promptly went back to the room in order to get some more sleep while Laurence had a paracetemol for her sore throat and then had a shower. The wind was still as fierce as ever aznd our motivation was at its nadir. I really couldn't picture myself running in these conditions: dark, damp and utterly windy. The sort of day where you can quite happily stay in bed until midday with no regrets.

I lined up on the start line by myself in the cold. Laurence and the women had a different start point in front of the hotel, whereas I was lined up with the men, just behind the elite runners. I waited patiently for the gun, eager to be off and running. We waited for what seemed like an eternity, being blown about a little but admittedly less affected as part of the crowd. The gun finally went and I set off at what seemed like a moderate pace. I knew that there was a long distance to be run and I didn't want to blow it all in a mad start. I felt good and the climb out of the town centre wasn't too bad. I set off at 4:03 pace for the first kilometre and then 4:11. In fact, 4:11 was the pace that I'd set on the Garmin as my virtual partner so this wouldn't have been too bad but for the fact that this second kilometre was uphill out of the town centre.

I let other runners past me here and I was slightly depressed by this but since I was already well ahead of my average time I let them go. We joined up with the women's start after 3.5 km and I saw some veteran's (V2 and older) flying past at the junction ahead. The race was into the wind at this point so the aim of the game was to find a group of runners to huddle behind to find some shelter from the blast. This wasn't always possible though and it was tiring struggling against it. I was overtaken by a couple of women runners just before the 5 kilometre marker and I wondered just how good they were. Mireille, from the club, is one of the best club runners in France over a marathon and I couldn't help thinking that these 2 were probably overdoing it. We pased under 5 km in 20:31 or 2:53 pace for the marathon and I reassured myself that McMillan predicted a 2:52 time for me on recent performance so I wasn't overdoing it.

McMillan is excellent for me over 5, 10 even 20 km. I still hadn't managed to beat 3 hours so how reliable was this over the marathon distance ? I kept running at 4:07 pace until 15k and then slowed slightly to 4:13 pace to the half-marathon stage as we ran around the southern and most exposed part of the course, around the docks to the south of the port. The half-marathon was achieved in 1:27:27 (a new PB for me in the process) and I set out on the second loop of the course. Once again there was a climb out of the town centre and it felt a lot harder this time around. I caught up with the 2 female runners at this point Agnès Deleume (who later pulled out after 35k) and Annick Petinon. I felt happy to be catching runners when I knew I was beginning to tire and satisfied too in my judgement that they'd gone off too fast.

I was starting to tire too now and every kilometre felt as though it was taking longer, which it was, but in terms of perception it felt a good 50% longer. I had some glucose and kept drinking well at every feeding station. The hills seemed harder, the kilometres longer, and the end as far away as ever. The worst arrived after 30 kms, now the tiredness in my legs was noticeable. It was mental before, now it was physical. I'd been running for 2 hours and still had an hour to go.

My pace had slowed between 25 and 30 km to 4:18 per km and it was all downhill from now on. At 35 km, I turned the virtual partner off on the Garmin and switched to the real time in order that I could calculate just how slowly I could still run and still make the 3 hour objective. At least my mind was working sufficiently well in order to do wome mental arithmetic and I worked out that I could run around 4:30 per km and still make it. This felt like a reasonable objective but it was so hard to keep going. I really did think about throwing the towel in several times but knew that these impressions are misleading and that despite the tiredness, I would regret making a rash decision afterwards, so I bore the pain and continued.

The final straw was just around the 40 km marker when the 3 hour flag bearer passed me with a group of runners. As he passed he tripped and fell to the ground, leaving his little group leaderless. They picked up the pace again, not waiting for him and I did my best to keep with them. I was just aiming for that last feeding station at 40.5km and some more water and a little walk before heading to the finish. I didn't mind as they pulled away as I had no energy left to try and stay with them. The flag bearer caught them up and led them away as I calculate dthat I had 6 minutes for the last 1.5 kilometres.

When I saw the barrier with the one kilometre to go sign, I knew that it was now or nothing. The loudspeakers around town were filled with the commentator pushing the crowds to encourage the last runners to go under 3 hours. I lengthened my stride with new determination, not wanting to have come all of this way to finsih outside the target again. It was all or nothing. The Gamrin recorded this last kilometre at around 15.8 km/h so under 4 minutes. I was desperate to see the finish line and thought that it would be between the twin towers to the port. As I reached these, still no sign and it was another 50 metres around the corner. I could see the clock 2:59:50 as I sprinted for the line and as I crossed the clock was around 2:59:59 or 3:00:00 - I just couldn't tell.

The end result my official time was 3:00:01 but my real time (allowing for the time to cross the start line) was 2:59:56. I achieved my objective and beat 3 hours. The satisfaction was big but not quite as big as I'd expected. I will be really satisfied when I can achieve this time without the last minute panic and run a more consistent race. But brilliant news nonetheless.

I had a massage afterwards which was most relaxing and helped get some of the stiffness out of my calves and thighs and then met Nick in the tent, sheltering from the rain that had begun to fall. He'd run 3:11:31 which was brilliant and better than he'd been hoping for (3:15 objective). I was thirlled for him since he'd been running so well recently that this was a deserved result.

I started walking back to the hotel alongside the course route in order to spot Laurence at the end. She'd was to run with Philippe who'd offered to help her to achieve her target of under 4 hours. I was thrilled when I saw her at 3:53 with less than a kilometre to go as I knew that she'd done it then. Philippe was running with her and many thanks to him for his support to Laurence during the race. She finally crossed the line in 3:57:44 - a new PB for her too.

So to sum up: great race; great organisation; hotels and showers afterwards were brilliant. Laurence would like to run this again (which she didn't say about Paris). I prefered the Paris course and didn't appreciate having to run 2 loops, but the rest was fantastic. All objectives were met and new targets will be set for next year as our marathon running experiences aren't over yet. Thanks to everyone who sent in messages of support before and after the race.

Marathon relais des Yvelines

This was a great event from start to finish and I really enjoyed my day.

It started early, too early for a Sunday morning, with Nick picking us all up in his car at 7:45. The temperature was just above freezing at 2.5°C in Le Mesnil but only 0°C when we got to La Queue lez Yvelines for the race. We picked up our numbers and got changed in the gym, watching all the other runners arrive and sussing out the competition. A slim, athletic type was changing into his running kit and we told Nick that he was the guy to wath and he should stck with him over the first leg. The athletic type then pinned on his number on his vest: n° 1. We were spot on in the race strategy !

Nick and I warmed up a little while around the track outside. Actually, that isn't strictly true. Nick and I froze our asses off, running 3 laps of the track is the precise truth. I went back inside, regretting not to have brought my ski cap and gloves along. Nick lined up at 9:30 with 500 other runners and we stood by the road and cheered me on as he set off.

The next stage of the race involved jumping in Nick's car and driving to the relay point 12km down the road. A large convoy of cars from the relay teams (55 teams in all) followed each other to the first handover. The first marathon runner came through in 40 minutes, and it was only just under 4 minutes later that the first runners started appearing. Nick came through in around 49 minutes, having run the hardest section of the whole route. He handed on to Andy who was clearly stressed from the pressure that we'd been putting on him to perform and from the excitement of the race. He set off in seventh position from the relay teams.

Back in the car and this time we drove on to the half way point. The first runner came through in 1:12 and we had to wait a good 6 minutes this time before we saw anyone else. Andy turned up in just under 1:28 and I was pleased as this meant that a 2:55 time was looking very possible. Andy had run a solid leg, clocking between 4:10 and 4:30 per km. He set off fast with the adrenaline pumping, but slowed down to a more reasonable pace. He had overtaken 3 relay teams, but been overtaken by 2 others so he handed the baton (sorry, it was actually a red elastic hairband) to Paul in 6th position in the relay race.

We drove back to the first handover point, where the last handover was to take place. I warmed up a little by myself, watching the race. we wondered where the lead runner had gone to as he seemed rather slow compared to his time so far. It was then we learnt that the lead motorcycle had taken him the wrong route and that he'd been overtaken by the first relay runner when the mistake had been realised. I couldn't imagine how he was feeling - to be taken the wrong way in a marathon must be miserable. He'd lost at least 6 minutes as he was now just trailing the first relay team.

I was taking it easy when Paul appeared out of nowhere. I wasn't expecting him already and he'd run a stormer, gaining 2 places and handing on to me in 4th position. I set off quickly, not really knowing how to run my leg and not really prepared for a race where the other competitors were all so strung out already. I pushed the pace early on from the adrenaline flowing and the sight of a marathon runner ahead. I was gaining on him steadily and I concentrated on pulling him in as fast as possible. First kilometre sounded from the Garmin and I glanced down: 3:34. I didn't think that I'd be able to hold this pace so I slowed up slightly and concentrated on the runners ahead. Having gone past the first marathon runner, I focused on the next groups in turn. They were well spread out, every 200m or so, so there was always somebody to aim for. The second km passed in 3:49, but I was feeling good and the road seemed to head slightly downhill so I stretched out and ran faster.

I passed a good 5 runners before I spotted a runner with his number on his back: a relay runner. If I pass him we'll be in third position and a medal. This thought spurred me on and I was determined that he shouldn't latch on to me as I passed. He was following a marathon runner but running well and steadily, and the thought that he could push the pace was a real possibility. I passed him after 4.5k and put on another spurt and I left them both behind. I was really blasting it now, feeling wonderful and enjoying the slight downhill. I thought about Nick as he had run this leg in the opposite direction and the effort necessary must have been far greater.

3:44, 3:43, 3:41, 3:42 - the kilometres went by quickly and then I came to a steeper downhill section. I let fly down here, catching several runners and then catching sight of another relay runner. This time I was catching him very fast and I knew that he wouldn't be able to catch me once I overtook him at this speed. 3:33 for the kilometre, followed by 3:29. I felt fantastic. I flew past him and concentrated on putting in some serious effort as there was a steep uphill section to manage now. I remebered this section from the marathon last year when I was knackered at this point. I knwe that there was less than 2 km to go before I met the others again and we could all run together over the last 1.5k. I managed the hill section in 3:57, so still over 15km/h.

I was glad to see the others as I ran over the top of the hill and I was hoping that they would be ready to go. I didn't want the team behind to catch us now and kept running at the same pace. Andy, Nick and Paul were thrilled with the position and the thought of a podium, as was I. We ran down the final straight, into the stadium and tried a sprint finish to go under 2:50. No good - 2:50:10. but an excellent result and 2nd team in the race. First veteran team, but unfortunately no category for that.

I managed a 10km stretch in the race in 36:54 from the Garmin which is my fastest time ever over this distance. I'm sure that I'll beat my PB in the next 10k race that I do. Great result, great team , great fun. We'll have to come back next year to defend our position.

Paris Marathon

I was starting my second Paris Marathon this year with the clearly defined objective of getting under the 3 hour barrier. Training had gone well overall and I was convinced that this time I was going to achieve my objective. Like all good management schemes, the goal was realistic, realisable and reasonable. First lesson: never under-estimate your adversary, especially when it is a marathon.

I am not entirely a novice over the distance now. As those of you have been folloowing this blog know, this was my third attempt at the distance. Now, I don't consider myself as an expert either, but I'd already paid the price for over-estimating my abaility over the last marathon and I'd learnt my lessons well: drink from the first feeding station, take on food every 40 minutes, cut your toenails the week before the race, and so on. No, this time I was prepared both physically and mentally.

After an agitated night and little sleep, due to the excitement of the race to come, the sun rose beautifully at dawn and the temperature was clement at around 10°C. In fact, it was too nice. As a true-blooded Englishman, I would have prefered more clouds and a little light drizzle. It was decidedly too nice outside and before the start I made my first mistake of the day by refusing the offer of a cap that Laurence proffered before leaving the house.

We met up with Paul, Anne, Louise, Christèle and Hélène to drive to the race together. There was much excitement and everybody dealt with the stress in their own manner. At the Arc de Triomphe, I left Laurence and friends to walk down to my starting block with Paul. I wished him the best of luck for his 3:30 objective and entered the "sas" for the 3 hour position. Major problem: too much tea at breakfast and the queue for the toilets is endless. I relieve myself against the toilet but outside and meet Mireille from the club who is having the same predicament. The gun goes off for the start of the race and I see Fabrice a few rows ahead of me. I accelerate slightly to catch him up and we run together for the first 3 kilometres. Bruno B catches us up too in his St Germain vest and we all set off at 3 hour pace: 4:15 per km.

I'm feeling good and I leave Bruno and Fabrice at this point after 4 kilometres to run at my rhythm. I had set the garmin to run at 4:12 pace in order to leave me with 2 minutes margin for the end of the race. I'm running easily at this point, relaxed and happy to be on the course. The kilometres go by and I take care to drink deeply at 5 then at 10 kilometres having taken my first gel just before. There are many runners around me and it isn't always easy to get by but I stick with my pace. We leave Paris in the East and pass in front of Vincennes Castle: it's pleasant to see some trees and more greenery which makes for more shade. This is when I begin to notice the heat of the day for the first time and I avoid the sun and try to keep to the shade as much as possible.

I go through the half-way point in 1:28:05, an average of 4:10 per km - perfect. The crowd supporting the race is dense and the atmosphere as we head back into Paris at Porte de Charenton is electric and gives me a real boost. I make the most of the downhill here before heading back up towards Bastille. We head down to the Seine and I see Nick on the riverside waiting to run the end of the race with Anne. We run together for a few hundred metres and he encourages me on. I leave him at the entrance to the first tunnel alongside the river. I didn't remember just how painful these tunnels are, all enclosed and lit by artificial light. The air isn't good down here and I begin to feel slightly claustrophobic. It's a real relief to get back into daylight again after a kilometre underground, even if you have to climb a few metres uphill to find it. These little climbs are wearing : four in all and I finally get to the 30 km point in 2:05:51. I'm very tired now and my motivation is beginning to flag slightly. Nevertheless, I do a quick calculation and figure that I can drop my pace to 4:25 per km and still finish under 3 hours. The thought cheers me up and I feel that I've already conquered the distance.

At 32 km, as I run through a sponge station, I drink down an energy drink and this wakes me up and my pace recovers to 4:10 speed again. I feel good again and I start to look forward to the 35 km mark and having another drink. I finished my last gel at 30km and it feels like an eternity ago. I lost 2 other gels in the tussle at the start of the race and now I'm regretting that I have no more ressources on me. The feeding station at 35 km is a welcome sight and I take another bottle of water on the move, thoroughly disappointed, however, that there is no energy drink available. Only 7 km to go now - the end is in sight and the goal achievable. I start slowing relentlessly and between 35 and 36 km Mireille overtakes me and I increase my pace to stay with her. Another kilometre down the road and I overtake her again as she starts to slow too.

The next few kilometres are infernal. I get confused with how many kilometres are remaining and I run out of energy. My motivation is at rock bottom and I can only think about resting, stopping the effort of running and relieving my aching legs. At 39.4km I stop my watch and I begin to walk, hoping that someone will come to help me. I wander down the road in zigzag fashion and my head is spinning with dizziness. Mireille overtakes me again and then the 3 hour pacemakers come past - my objective leaves with them. I want to get to the 40km feeding station to find some assistance but as I cross it the usual tables are still not visible so I stop right there by the side of the road and lie down. At this point, people come towards me and try to help. They bring me some sugared water to drink but I'm not too thirsty. I just want to close my eyes and sleep but I tell myself that it's not the most reasonable thing to do - too frightened to not wake up I suppose. I look at a couple watching me and the scared look on the woman's face. I imagine that she thinks that we must be completely mad to pay to take part in this sort of amusement. If pushing your body beyonds its natural limits can be considered an amusement. Personally, I'm not amused at all and I worry about the consternation I would cause Laurence if whe was to see me in this state. They ask me if I want to be transferred to the first aid tent and I accept willingly.

I ask someone to pour some water over my head to cool me down and it is an enormous relief. The first aid personnel arrive and put me on a stretcher to the first aid tent 100m down the road. I feel a real idiot having caused so many problems and having so many people around me, looking after me. In the tent, I rest for 35 minutes and start to chat with a Belgian runner in the same state as me on the stretcher next to mine. They take my blood pressure (9/6) which is as close to death that you can get, and my temperature - normal. I want to leave now, not to finish the race as I have no particular objective or goal to achieve, but to meet the others at the arranged meeting point. The first-aiders won't let me go until my blood pressure has returned to normal and when it does I accompany my new Belgian friend to the finishing line. I jog easily with him over the last 2 km to finish in 3:47 !!

What an exploit ! Mireille finishes just under the 3 hour barrier and my only regret is not to have been able to stay with her until the end and to finish together. So close yet so far!

Too much sun and too hot for my liking. Better luck next time.

The others all fared better than me. Laurence finished in 4:06, disappointed not to have gone under 4 hours, having lost her girlfriends in the crowds at the 15km feeding station. Anne and Hélène finished in 3:57, Louise in 4:00. Paul achieved a PB going under 3:30 for the first time to finish in 3:27:59. An excellent performance and a well deserved result.

Conclusion: I'll be back next year to beat the bugger.

Footing

Very French expression for running slowly: "footing". This is even slower than jogging.

Did this today with Laurence, Anne, Nick and Alex their son. 4.3 km in 26:23.

Weather was nice and sunny. Temperature was just under 10°C. Weather forecast is similar for tomorrow but slightly cooler at around 7 °C so ideal conditions for the race. No excuses now !

Best of luck to everyone in the marathon tomorrow: Laurence, Anne, Hélène, Louise, Paul, Australian Ingrid and all the runners from the St Germain club. Should be a good one !!

Long Sunday run

I had planned this run for a while as it's the last real effort before the marathon in 2 weeks time.

The original plan had been for Laurence to accompany me on the mountain bike as I ran the 32 km trail into Marly forest around Feucherolles and St Nom la Breteche. Unfortunately, Laurence has fallen ill with a nasty throat infection and a slight temperature, and had to abandon her hopes of running a last long run this weekend and accompanying me at the same time. Luckily, Henry agreed to come with me on the bike and carry the water and energy gels.

We set off at 9:00 am and the weather, so lovely yesterday, had taken a turn for the worse. It was cool (5°C) and slightly misty. We set off through the forest at Le Mesnil and headed towards the St Germain training ground. I was running easily beginning at 5:00 pace and then speeding up to 4:40 then 4:30. I felt good through the forest with my new shoes on. Although they're not ideal for trails, they are excellent support along the roads. I'll definitely be wearing these for the marathon. Henry was a little cold at this point as it was easy going on the bike and so I pushed on as best I could without compromising the end of the run.

We went past the club and through the forest towards the agricultural school. We caught a group of mountain bikers up the hill here and they encouraged us as we overtook them. Henry had warmed up by now and I was beginning to sweat. A few minutes later, after 10km, I had my first gel and some water off Henry to wash it down. The gels were not strictly necessary but I wanted to test them before using the same in the marathon. Although not exactly tasty (blood orange flavour !), they went down without any problem and didn't cause any stomach cramps or anything else for that matter. I took one after every 10km, and the energy levels weren't a problem as a result. That first gel at 10km is the hardest as you don't feel you need anything but it does react before you go into the red and it's too late.

We left the flat ground now and headed into the hills of Marly forest. I ended up waiting for Henry at this point up the hills. The bike was harder going than on foot with tree trunks to climb over in places. It was towards Feucherolles that I began to have problems with my right knee. The ligaments behind the knee on the left side would click and I would lose support in the joint. This was most uncomfortable and I wondered if I wouldn't have to pull up and stop. I concentrated on keeping my leg movements straight as I ran and although this helped, it didn't stop the problem entirely. Only after St Nom la Breteche, after 19 km, did this ease as we reached flatter surfaces and faster sections again.

I'd been running between 5:00 - 5:30 kilometres in the forest but as soon as we got abck to the tarmac sections in the forest, I was able to push the pace to 4:20. Another gel later and I was running at 4:03, 4:08, 4:19, 4:02. We met Anne at this point on her rollerblades and she accompanied us for a few hundred metres which was lovely. I told her how far we'd gone and asked about the ladies long run yesterday which had been accomplished successfully. We left Anne at the St Germain corssroads and carried on back past the club. Henry had had enough of trails by this point and was beginning to be sore on the bike. We decided to run back along the roads to Le Mesnil and since home was within reach now, I pushed the pace again.

The last 5 kilometres were run in 4:19, 4:04, 3:54, 4:06 and then 4:25 back up the hill to home. Faster than marathon pace and not bad after 2 hours of running already under the belt. I was really pleased and this has given me plenty of confidence for the marathon and the 3 hour objective. Now only if that damn knee holds out ...

33.25 km all up in 2:37 or an average of 4:44 per km. Chuffed with myself.

Glorious Sunday

Woke up this morning to bright sunshine streaming in through the window. Temperature was very clement too, with the thermometer reading 11°C already at just after 8:00 am. Laurence prepared breakfast for us both: a good thick porridge to enable me to keep going over the 2 hour endurance run that was planned for the morning.

We picked Nick up and headed off to the club to have our photos taken in our club tracksuits. We looked like real 'scousers' with our shellsuits on: white tops and blue bottoms. The photos took 2 minutes and then Laurence headed back off to the house running and Nick and I set off with a small group with the intention of a 2 hour run interspersed with 2 session of 20 minutes at marathon pace.

The group were the usual culprits: Régis, Fabrice, José, Yannick, Mohammed, Nick and I. We left the club and headed in the direction of the agricultural school and Princess Road; the road that cuts straight through the forest at Marly. By the time we got to the top of Princess Road after 30 minutes at an easy jogging pace, I was too hot and had to take my top off. It was the start of the first of the marathon pace sessions and so we all set off at around 4:10 pace.

4:10 pace was the general idea as this is 5 seconds faster per kilometre than the marathon pace planned. However, it soon became apparent that we were going a lot faster. First kilometre went by in 4:07, second in 3:46 and I was trying to chase down José and Yannick. José runs on instinct and rarely wears a watch so he has no idea how fast he is going. He's in a different league though and I knew if I went after him at this pace, I would soon be exhausted. The good news was that I was feeling no discomfort from any aches and pains. This was the first run in a long time that this had occured. We carried along the road into Feucherolles and completed the first 20 minute interval, having run just over 5 kms in this time. A 4 minute receovery period and then we set off again.

We headed out along the road from Feucherolles to St Nom la Breteche. With the sun shining and the glorious views over the countryside, the lack of pain in my legs and back, I felt on top of the world. It was a great feeling. Another 5 kilometres later and we were running up the hill through St Nom and back towards St Germain.

Got back at the club after 2:04 and 25 km. Average pace of 4:58 over the distance. Looking forward to the long run next week when I'll head off over some trails in the same direction.

Day was capped off with a fantastic victory by England over France in the 6 nations championship. 29-0 at half-time and it was all one-way. 34-10 final score. Great wrap up to the day.

Nick was happy too despite reaching 40 today: 4-1 victory by Liverpool over Man Utd; England winning the match against France; and a surprise birthday brunch at his house after the run! Happy birthday mate !

Threshold session

Thursday night with the club. I was able to escape early from work and get to the session with enough time to get into my running kit for a change. The bible stated that the plan this evening was to do 3 x 5 minutes threshold off 1:30 rest. The club was taking it easy due to the cross country championships on Sunday, in which I'm taking part too, so I was on my own.

Well actually, there are quite a few runners training for the marathon at the moment, but since they were running other distances and schedules, I decided that I would run 3 x 1600m off 200m recovery. I was aiming for a 3:45 / km pace which meant 6:00 minutes for each interval.

I set off steadily at a sustained pace just to see what time this would give per kilometre. I had forgotten to take off autolap on the Garmin so it was a little tricky calculating my split times as I was running round the track but they went something like:

6:04, 6:08, 6:06

So not quite the 6:00 minute pace I had envisaged but I felt good at this speed and not too exhausted. Very happy with the session and feeling that I'm progressing well and coming back into form. I haven't felt this good since September / October time last year in fact.

12.4 km all up.

Brass monkeys

I've been reading Tom's blog a lot recently and wondering about how he manages to run in the heat. Well, at the moment here in France, the problem is quite the opposite as it's almost 40°C cooler.

I didn't realise how cold it was to begin with. I set out my running kit the night before and this entails at least 3 layers for the top, my fleece skiing hat and some long running tights or tracksuit bottoms. Today this was capped off with the frontal headlap so I must have looked very fetching as I set off in the dark for my 1 hour endurance session.

I was aiming for 4:43 pace or thereabouts as this corresponds to 70% of my max HR. So basically, 13 km in an hour before going to work. I managed the first few kilometres with difficulty as my legs were still tired from last night's session. This and the cold, as I learnt that it was -5°C when I got back to the house, meant that I did the first 2 km in 4:45 then 4:40 despite the fact that it was downhill to the Seine. Once I warmed up a little with the effort, I was much better and by the end I was able to push the pace slightly finishing the last 2 km in 4:25 and 4:23.

13.3 km all up in 1:01 or an average of 4:37 per km. So still on target and happy with my progress. Roll on Springtime and some warmer weather.

VMA session

This is the hardest session of the week, no doubt about it. I begin to get tense even before I start running hard over the intervals. Mentally, it is just about as tiring as it is physically. But it might be the toughest session of the week, but it sure as hell does you good.

An easy warm-up with the club around St Germain. There were a good few participants tonight but Bruno and Jean-Marc were missing notably. Nick and I had a good chat on the warm up especially about Mo Farah and the return to form of some British athletes. He mentioned the Steve Cram write-up in the Guardian, which I've just read. Most disappointing though as it's more of a rant against Dwain Chambers than an interesting piece on Farah's run.

Anyway, once the warm-up came to its end, far too soon of course, it was time to face the track. The planned session tonight in the marathon training schedule (hereafter known as the Bible) was 10x500m in 2 series. Each 500m was to be run in 1:45 for a 3 hour marathon objective. Unfortunately, the club session was 10x400m, so I was on my own.

I set off and found the first interval relatively easy and finished it in 1:42. This was looking promising and in my mind, I had set my objective on 1:40 intervals. This never happened.

They went as follows:

1:42, 1:43, 1:45, 1:44, 1:45, 1:44, 1:44, 1:44, 1:43, 1:43

What was worse, was being overtaken by a runner on 400m intervals running each one in 64 seconds. I felt a real loser !

I had a nice warm down and ran 15km all up. 1163 calories burnt so I deserved my chocolate this evening.

Long Sunday run

The bible said: "Thou shalt run for 1 hour at a steady pace and then thou shalt speed up a little to marathon pace before slowing down again to run for a total of 1hour 40 minutes". James did as God did command and he saw that this was good.

Well, in actual fact, it didn't feel quite as good as the above would have you believe. I ran the first loop of the usual Sunday course with Nick and Philippe. Nick was complaining of having nothing left in his legs (all down to the beer I think, but don't tell Anne as it was a bone of contention between them already when we met up first thing) and Philippe was champing at the bit, asking what pace we were running at. I just took it comfortably for the first lap going around the course at a 4:40 pace on average. We sped up a little towards the end, to keep Philippe happy mainly, but it was a pleasant run, if a little cold when the wind picked up in places.

The second lap, I was supposed to put in the famous marathon pace effort for 3 kilometres. I set off after 14 kilometres and then managed to push the pace to 4:07, 4:14 and 4:11 for the next 3. My target marathon pace is 4:16 in order to achieve a 3 hour marathon, but I'm aiming at 4:10 pace just to maintain a small safety margin. Those 3 kilometres today were hard to achieve and I fully appreciated the effort that will be involved on race day. The following 2 were managed in 5:04 and 4:50 as I recovered and then I was back down to 4:35 where I feel comfortable.

All up 24 km in 1:52 so an average of around 4:42. I was pleased and it ends a good week of training where I have managed to cover 84 kilometres. I am convinced that the objective is achievable and that the training programme is appropriate. Time will tell.

Club session

My marathon bible stated for tonight: thou shalt run for 4x4 minutes at a speed equal to that for a 10km race. Thou shalt not run any faster and thou shalt not slacken neither.

I decided that the club session was close enough to this threshold training and that I would do that instead. This, at least, gave me the chance to run with other runners and to motivate me mentally to put the effort in.

We started with a 25 minute warm-up and then got down to business. The plan for the evening was 5 x 200m off 100m + 1000m + 5 x 200m + 1000m + 1600m. The rest between the 1000m and the next interval was 300m. The 200m intervals were to be run at VMA and then the longer distances at threshold, ie. 10 km race pace.

First problem this evening was that the Garmin decided to die on me. No battery left: I don't know what happened to the watch in my bag but it was dead to the world this evening (thankfully now recovered after a recharge).

Two groups quickly formed for the intervals: Miguel, Thierry and Jean-Marc in front; followed by me, Bruno, José and Fabrice. I pushed the first series of 200m's, leading the second group and then took off on the 1000m to finish this in 3:33. So I was well above threshold pace for the first one. I led the 200m intervals again in front of the second group but all 4 of us were closely packed together which was motivating.

We started the second 1000m interval and Bruno was leading all the way round, with me on his heels. He stopped 100m short of the finish, in his confusion, and I carried on pulling José around just behind me. We finished in 3:35 so a very similar time to the first interval. The last 1600m was very hard mentally. I was hurting already now and my energy and enthusiasm was waning. I'd felt so much better than recently up until this point that I was really pleased to be running well again.

I started leading over the 1600m and after one lap, José took the lead expecting me to follow closely. I wasn't ready mentally and I let him go slightly with a gap of 2 metres bewteen the 2 of us. The last lap was a killer and my sprint finish deserted me. Bruno came past 200m before the end and then Fabrice overtook me in the last 100m. I finished in 5:59 which was spot on schedule for me based on a 3:45 km.

Good session and my legs are tired again now. Can't help but feeling that all this is doing wonders to the legs and endurance. I really feel that my form is returning.

Good substitute for the official marathon plan. The mix of VMA and threshold training in the one session is a good combination. Switching from 1000 m pace to 200m pace is interesting !

Recovery run

As I wrote yesterday, marathon training has begun and I have a schedule to follow. However, in order for the training to be appropriate I calculated all of the running speeds that I needed to use for the different training blocks during the week.

My maximum heart rate is 192 and I reach this rhythm when I'm running at 18km/h or 3:20 per km. Based on this I calculated the following:

HR % ----- Level ----------- Speed ----- Seconds / km ----- Minutes/km

100% ----- Max Speed ----------18 km/h ---- 200 s/km ----- 3:20
90% ------ Top threshhold ----- 16 km/h ---- 225 s/km ----- 3:45
80% ------ Threshhold -----------14.4 km/h -- 250 s/km ----- 4:10
70% ------ Active Endurance -- 12.6 km/h -- 285 s/km ----- 4:45
65% ------ Basic Endurance --- 11.6 km/h -- 310 s/km ----- 5:10

Max speed is based on a 2 km race speed which for under 7 minutes is the longest time that you can keep your heart rate at its maximum effort. Top threshhold is roughly 90% of this value and equates to your time per km over a 10 km race. Threshhold is the level that you start to run anaerobically and the lactate levels rise within the body. This equates to my marathon speed (slightly above). Active endurance and endurance are training speeds to let the body recover after the threshold sessions during the week. This was the speed for the day.

It was supposed to be an hour's recovery run so I figured on a 13km loop. This involved the normal Maisons Laffitte route with an extra circuit thrown in half-way round in front of the castle.

I took it very steadily and enjoyed the run. What seemed relatively easy to begin with became tiring in the joints by the end. However, I wasn't breathless at any point over the run.

13.3 km in 1:02:30 - perfect. An average speed of 12.8 km/h or each km in 4:41. Spot on !