Conflans - 15km

The objectives were laid out. I knew the course and everybody turned up and then some. I managed 2 of my 4 objectives and am globally pleased with the end result.

I drove Nico to the race and he seemed to have fully recovered from his cold. He was obviously rested, not having run since Tuesday evening but what impact would the marathon have on his legs, his mental state, etc. We would soon find out.

Having looked at last year's results and even 2010, we figured that we had a fair chance with a team result too. Ilyes, Nico, myself then Gérald or François were all running and the first 4 counted for the team result. Gérald and François are both capable of running this distance under an hour which would normally put them in the top 30 places and leave us a chance of carrying off the trophy. Fred Poirier had turned up too and he was my main rival for the day and number 2 on my list of objectives.

It was a clod but sunny day. The temperature was somewhere around 5°C but there was little wind and it was actually quite pleasant in the sun. We went out for a quick warm-up with François and then lined up for the start. It only took a few minutes to get everybody in place and we knew that the standard of the race would be higher than in previous years.

The race started and there was a little pushing but I was soon able to sort myself out and get into my stride. I quickly noted where Fred, Nico and Ilyes were and then stuck to Fred as my main objective for the afternoon. The pace felt quick but since Fred has a habit of starting relatively conservatively, I had some doubts at the start as to whether I'd be able to stay with him. We'd have to wait and see. The course heads slightly downhill over the first kilometre but even so, when the Garmin beeped and showed 3:17, I thought I was a little too fast for the distance.

Nobody showed signs of easing and Fred overtook me here and gained a few metres but as soon as the road rose slightly uphill, he came back to me and we ran shoulder to shoulder. Nico had put some 25 metres on us already and was with a small group of 4 - 5 runners. I told myself that he was too strong to envisage making an effort to catch him and resigned myself to racing Fred instead.

As you can see from the course profile above we dropped down in the 3rd kilometre to the Seine, down a steep incline., In fact, this slope is so steep that you can't gain much time in terms of pace as you have to hold yourself back to stay in control. We went through kilometres 2 and 3 in 3:32 then 3:38. Along the flat stretch towards Conflans town centre now and the pace was steady at 3:33 and then in the 5th kilometre, we started the climb up towards the museum and the little park. The pace slowed here with a succession of 2 hills and Fred and I were still taking in turns to take the lead and apply the pressure on each other. Nico was a good 200m in front now and I figured that, bar a major mishap, I would not be able to catch him before the end.

We dropped back down to the river and I settled on finding a good pace to maintain for the next 6 kilometres. This pace was about 3:42 /km and I admit that I was a little disappointed that I wasn't going any faster. Last week, I'd been running at around 3:38 pace and I figured that I should be going faster. It was still cat and mouse with Fred along the Seine. He would surge ahead and then fall back as I ran steadily. He would come back at me and take the lead again - it was non-stop. At the same time that I was racing Fred, I noticed that Nico's group of runners was getting closer and the gap was narrowing. Not sufficient to give me hop of catching him, but narrowing nonetheless.

We turned back up the Sente des Laveuses, the steep 16% incline that leads back up to the plateau and the finish. Nico was just ahead, but as I began to climb the gap grew again and when we left the slope, the distance between us was back at around 100 - 120m. Fred took off again and I focused on following him, digging in deep to my reserves. I looked up and Nico was coming back rapidly, so rapidly that I was convinced that we would catch him. We went past the 13km marker and I told myself that I wanted this and I should have no regrets so I had to push now. I dropped Fred at this point and focused on Nico and another runner ahead. Unfortunately, Nico had caught back the other runner and although the gap was closing slightly, I wouldn't have enough distance to catch them both. 14 km and the stadium came into sight. I knew that there was 400m to do on the track inside the stadium and I tried to get within striking distance but it just wouldn't be. I was at 3:33 pace now to finish and I had 2 of my objectives in hand: a sub 56' race and beating Fred. Beating Nico and getting a podium would just have to wait another year.

Gérald finished just ahead of François in 1:01:XX and with a good race from Ilyes in 54:11, we picked up second team prize behind Conflans. This was always going to be tough and without Momo or Mustapha, it wasn't possible. I ended in 21 place in 55:39, 11 seconds behind Nico. 8th vet though with the first 3 going under 54' this year. The standard of the race was far beyond previous years wher my performance would have put me in the top ten and on the podium. Tough !

A great race and I was pleased with myself for having tried hard and having given everything. This must have been visible on my face because in the changing rooms afterwards, a guy came up to me and asked if I was a V3 runner (over 60!!!!). Cheers !

Taking it easy

I'm posting this video that I really appreciated after having seen it on Dave's blog and now Scott's. It's just the usual stuff showing a runner ranting and raving about his injuries:

It's the Conflans 15km race tomorrow and there should be a good turnout from the club. Nico is pretending to be ill, preparing his excuses early prior to the race.

My objectives for the race are here, in order of priority :

i) Beat 56 minutes. 55:XX is a good time for me and looking at past results and the times of runners who achieved this, I think that it's a feasible proposal.

ii) Beat Fréd Poirier. He's beaten me over the past 2 years by a few seconds and despite his improvement this year, he is the man to beat for me.

iii) Get on the veteran podium. This is ambitious and depends on the field that turns up tomorrow.

iv) Beat Nico. This is my last opportunity (bar Houilles but I don't particularly appreciate this race) to claw back a race victory over Nico this year. He's feigning illness but if he turns up, he will push it hard to the end, even having run Florence marathon last Sunday.

Andrésy 13.5km

It was a last minute decision to take part in this race. It's Katia's home territory and she convinced Laurence to take part, so I decided to come along for the ride. It's been 4 years since I raced here in the race  in Andrésy and I thought that with my recent form that I could finish in around 50 minutes and with a bit of luck even go under this time. I'd also noticed that Olivier from the club had entered  and that I could give him a run for his money. Since he's a member of the club elite, this could be a little "feather in my cap" and an added bonus.

It was a perfect day for running with the temperature hovering around the 11°C and only a little wind to make the going hard on some stretches. The whole town had been cordonned off for the race and Laurence and I jogged a couple of kilometres to the start line to register and pick up our bibs. Due to our late decision to enter, I was runnning under another vet's name from our club and when I explained this to the organiser, they couldn't be bothered to make the changes and asked if I minded. Since the distance wasn't officially recognised and I knew the club would make the changes on their website, I let this go.

A quick warm-up with Katia, her nephew and Laurence and we lined up for the start. I stood next to Olivier and told him my plan to stick with him throughout the race. He said I should try and beat him instead! That was enough to spur me on. When we set off, I sat on his shoulder and felt comfortable with the pace. So comfortable that I upped the ante immediately and overtook him after 500m, taking off after the front runners. I was in 7th position here and the 2 leaders had made a large gap immediately and there was a group of 4 just ahead. The garmin beeped for the first kilometre, showing 3:28 which I felt happy with. I wasn't going to explode at this pace and I knew that we'd soon settle down.

The race was over 2 loops with a first loop of 6km and then a longer loop of 7.5km which takes in a steep hill which I remembered from last time. I ran that first loop which is practivally flat at a steady pace watching the group ahead as one guy pulled up and stopped while the 3 runners he had been with carried on and now had a 15 metre lead on me. I contemplated moving up a notch just to protect myself from the headwind but the effort necessary was just too much for me to muster. I finished the first loop with the following splits:

3:27, 3:30, 3:38, 3:40, 3:38, 3:37

I kept thinking about Olivier and wondering how far behind me he was. I dared not look in case that this should spur him on and I just watched as a runner from Andrésy dropped back off the group ahead and I wondered if I could catch him. The hill came: a 300m long wall at 16% gradient. I'm not a good hill runner so it was a surprise when the gap between me and the runner ahead shortened to 5 metres by the time we got to the top. He accelerated away though at the bend at the top and I paced it a little easier as I figured that there was still 5 km to go to the end. I chased him the rest of the way and I really thought that I could catch him as I closed down the last hill before the final straight with the wind in our backs. He knew I was there though and as we slalomed between the other back enders doing the 5.8km race, he pushed the pace just sufficiently to discourage me from making a move. I think that had he been a veteran himself, I would have sprinted to try and beat him to the tape. The motivation wasn't there though and he crossed the line 5 seconds before me while I managed a 49:26 and 6th place from scratch. I was second veteran and waited 50 seconds for Olivier to cross the line a place behind me and 3rd veteran. What elation!

3:39, 3:42, 4:25 (with the hill), 3:49, 3:43, 3:35, 3:33 and 3:31 pace to finish.

I ran back along the course now to encourage Katia and Laurence. Katia was first woman and Laurence was a couple of minutes behind in 3rd place for the women. I could see that she'd given everything and I ran into the finish with her, chuffed to bits. 1h00 for Katia and 1h02 for Laurence in 1st and 2nd place as vet women and 1st and 3rd place for overall women. What a great result.

Photos of the podium. Too bad that my moment of glory was spoilt slightly by being called Philippe!











A quick warm down and 21.5km for the day.

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.

Hell starts here - Marvejols Mende 22.4km

The half marathon of Marvejols Mende is a classic in the French running calendar. About 5000 people take part in this 'half-marathon' as they like to call it while the official distance is 1.3 km longer than the description would lead you to believe. This race has been the favourite of Dominique Chauvelier for many years, he having won it on 5 occaisions and having finished 2nd another 4 times. It was a race that had to be run and I can't remember now if it was Nico or Jean-Marc who suggested that we all took part, but whoever, we were all now in Marvejols picking up our numbers on the eve of the race.

We had run a warm-up on the Saturday morning along the start of the route and had seen the beginning of the the first hill. When I was young, we used to live on a hill overlooking Hexham and for me Causey hill was the worst hill that existed. Living half-way up meant that every run either started with a nasty uphill or finished with one. There was no escaping it. Well, next to this hill Causey hill was a piece of cake. 400 metres of uphill over 4km so an average slope of 10%, with sections over 16% in gradient. This was no joke and had to be taken seriously. We were warned from the start and the writing was on the wall (well the road actually)

So having done a recce of the route both by foot and then later by car, we lined up for the race some 45 minutes before the start in order to get a good position behind the elite. Laurence, Nico, Jean-Marc, Greg and myself waited patiently for the start wand we were joined by Stéphane from the club who was on holiday in the region. The gun went and with it some joker had set off a tear gas or pepper gas bomb. I spent the next 500 metres coughing and spluttering to get rid of the awful taste in my mouth and throat. Not a good start to the race.

Profile of the race with the 2 hills to be managed.









Nico had pushed his way through the crowds in an agressive fashion to get a better start and I only caught him after 500m telling him that he would have to do better than this if he wanted to lose me so quickly. The first 5 kilometres before the hill were relatively flat and I was trying to make the most of this section to run at marathon pace before the hard work began. The kilometres went as follows:

4:11, 3:53, 3:58, 3:56, 4:03

I hit the hill and just grinned and bore it! Knowing that uphills are not my strong point, I shortened my stride and concentrated on running at a pace where my heart rate didn't race too hard and that I knew I could maintain for a while. I was just waiting to see Nico who'd I'd left behind me at the start come past me. I was actually surprised that most of the runners around me were not overtaking me and that I was maintaining my place and actually gaining a couple of places, passing runners who had obviously set off too hard. Ireached Goudard where the road flattens for about 500m before continuing uphill again for the final section of the first hill. I began to believe that I would get to the top of the hill before Nico and that I wasn't beaten in this race just yet. Someone on the side of the road shouted out that there was 800m of uphill to the top and I pushed again eager to begin the downhill where I knew I was stronger. The last few bends were completed and I passed the feeding station on the top of the col, gulping down some water before the downhill.

I'd got to the top in the following times:

5:44, 5:30, 5:32, 5:27

And now it was downhill and I let blast. I just let myself go and stretched as far as I could down the slope, letting gravity do the work for me. I was easy on my lungs but my legs were hitting the orad hard and I tried to improve my stride to reduce the road slap as my feet and legs turned over. I couldn't believe it when I caught up with another St Germain top and passed Mustapha on the downhill. I had a couple of words and told him that Nico was behind and he dropped back to run with him.

3:20, 3:17, 3:22, 3:38

The downhill was over too soon and we turned left onto the main road which roase steadily before the second hill a few kilometres beyond. This transition was hard and I now realised how much energy I'd lost in the downhill and the going became very tough, very quickly.

4:00, 4:21, 4:43, 5:44, 5:43

and I walked. I just couldn't take any more :too hot and too tired, I stopped running for 15 seconds and walked before jogging again. I figured that if I could reach the top of the second hill before Nico then I had a very good chance of beating him. Unfortunately, the walk was just enough to lose the ground I had over him and he appeared on my should towards the top of the second hill. I was running again but I didn't have his pace uphill and he managed to put another 20 seconds on me before the top of the second hill and the last downhill section.

3:56, 3:41, 3:24, 3:46

and I was catching him down the hill. He had about 20 metres on me as we truned into town to run the last 500m up the hill to the finish line. I'd lost in my head though by here as I knew that I couldn't stay with him uphill. Sure enough he gapped me again and passed the line 25 seconds in front of me. It had been our closest race in a while and I was thrilled to have gotten so close to pulling it off but a little disappointed with myself not to have run to the top of the second hill and to have grit my teeth when it counted.

I finished in 1:37:30 in 168th position, 9 places behind Nico in 1:37:08. Jean-Marc finished in 1:41:00 in 232th place, Mustapha in 1:42:42 in 269th position, Greg in 1:57:33 in 863rd place and Laurence in 2:01:58 in 1176th place and 32nd in her category.

A great run by all and the hardest road race I've ever run. My muscles are still aching 2 days afterwards and I'm wonderinng how on earth I'm going to complete the CCC with all of the uphill (5600m +).

Thanks to Caro for the photos and for finding the short cut through the cemetary to take us home. It really was one hell of a race.

Etampes 10 km race

I was very relaxed going into this race. I was going to pace François and I was looking forward to the run. Laurence, on the other hand, was very stressed as she was attempting to beat her record set in Paris XIV and to go under 46 minutes for the first time over the distance. Would she be able to cope with the pressure and pull it off when it counted?

We had delayed our departure for our skiing holidays just to take part in this race and I gently reminded Laurence of this fact as we drove there just to increase the pressure on her. I am sure that this was appreciated. We met the others (François, Katia, Pascal and Sandra and the competition: Benjamin) when we picked up our bibs and we set off around the 5km course for a warm-up. The race would involve 2 loops, but they were relatively flat and the only obstance around the course was the patchy ice which hadn't melted in places.

We lined up at the start with the other 1000 runners and the gun went quickly and in the confusion I lost François. Luckily, he hadn't lost me and was a couple of metres behind but with the initial crowds, I found it difficult to spot him. We instantly set off at the designated pace of 3:49, passing the first kilometre in 3:43, which I thought wasn't bad going as pacing efforts go.

The next couple of kilometres were at the same pace around 3:45/ km, but after the fourth kilometre, François had to tell me to slow down so that  I wouldn't lose him. I had spotted the first female runner only a few metres ahead and I thought that this would spur François on, but we don't all act the same way when it comes to racing.

We finished our first loop and set off on the second. François was slower now and the initial pace had taken it out of him and he was paying the price now. I had no regrets as we gone out at the right pace but unfortunately, it's still slightly too fast for his level of training at the moment. We ran the next few kilometres at around 15 km/h and it was only in the last kilometre that he increased the pace slightly to 3:55 to cross the finishing line in 39:03, just behind the first 2 female runners. He'd beaten his PB but not his objective unlike Benj who had run a stormer with a final time of 36:43 and a new PB.

We ran back along the course and saw Pascal (41:56), and then Sandra (44:34) and not far behind her Laurence. I ran with Laurence to encourage her, but it wasn't the moment and so I kept my distance as she ran a new PB in 45:23 and was thrilled to bits with her result. Katia finished 6 seconds behind her to complete the club outing.

A warm down with Benj together and then I picked up the bags for a quick shower before we set off to the Alps for our skiing holiday, feeling that the delayed departure had been well worth the while.

 Taking my pacing duties for François very seriously after the first loop.

Laurence at the end of the race. Notice that she did not appreciate my accompanying her due to fatigue so I was obliged to run between the cars!








A big thanks to Paul for taking the photos.

Malakoff - 5km

First race of the James - Nico challenge for 2012 and I was happy to go an run even if I felt that my chances of beating Nico over this distance were very slight. It was another cold crisp day and the temperature was around -1°C at 1pm when we arrived in Malakoff. We had registered for the race under my company's name and Nico and I jogged to the start to pick up the bibs for everyone before heading back to the offices where we got changed.

Another rapid warm-up and we were lined up for the start. Nico was right on the starting line and I was placed just behind him, on his shoulder. The gun went and we got off to a fast start. One of the runners shot off at the front and I just thought that he was going to lap in 15:xx so just let him go. I saw that Nico was just in front of me so I tried my best to stay with him and as we went through the first kilometre he was only a couple of metres in front. I started to believe that it was possible ot stay with him now and as we entered the stadium for a lap before exiting on the far side, I overtook a runner and kept Nico in sight.

The ramp out of the stadium slowed me down and that was sufficient to lose a couple of metres again and I concentrated on catching and overtaking the young runner who'd shot off at the start. So much for 15:xx, he was heading backwards now. After this second kilometre my legs began to tire and my stomach felt heavy from the late breakfast. I sincerely regretted having eaten that almond croissant that had been so tempting at 10:30am, as it was weighing in my belly. I eased off slightly, sparing my body the pain that I'd endured over the first couple of kilometres. Time was passing slowly now and each kilometre seemed interminable.

Nico was a good 30 metres in front now and he was pulling away slowly, while I was just trying to maintain the pace and not be caught. I couldn't even manage this and towards the end of the fourth kilometre, the young runner caught up with me followed by the runner that I'd overtaken in the stadium. 2 runners that I'd written off as ahving gone into the red from the start where now back on my tail and overtaking me. I took some solace from the fact that my virtual partner on the garmin was still showing a 17 second lead on the 3:30 pace that I'd programmed at the start. I focused on trying to maintain that now.

The last kilometre I let slip again and the 2 runners pulled ahead slowly making 5 metres on me at first and then 10 etc. I pulled into the final straight and didn't even sprint to the line, too tired to make any further efforts. I crossed the line in 17:34, my second fastest 5k ever and only 6 seconds behind my PB. I ended 21 seconds behind Nico (17:13) and with the impression that I could have run faster still if I'd been more focused and prepared to pull out all of the stops. Garmin registered the course as 5.1km hence my lead over the virtual partner.

Good race and further proof that I've moved up a level at the start of this season.

Paris XIV - 10km

I really thought that I would beat my record over the distance today. McMillan was forecasting a 36:06 and I was hoping to break the 36 minute barrier for the first time ever. I'd even announced this to Nico, Laurence and others so there was no hiding my ambition but how would it go?

I first ran this race 3 years ago and it was the first time that I managed to go under 40 minutes over the distance. I remember my feeling afterwards, elated by my race and with the distinct impression that there was more downhill than uphill despite it being 2 loops of 5 kilometres with the finish line just next to the start. Laurence was running this year too and had convinced Sandra and François to take part aswell. François was aiming to beat 40 minutes in his first ever 10km race. He was totally convinced that he would do it as McMillan predicted a 39:40 for him off the back of his marathon performance in Florence (3:06). McMillan is now his running bible and if he sees it there then it's the gospel truth.

We drove into Paris and my first disappointment was to see that the swimming pool changing rooms were no longer used to get changed and to store your clothes in. There were 2000 runners taking part this year some 800 more than when I last ran. So a quick inspection of the site and then we dropped all of our stuff off and ran a warm-up around the 5km course. The weather was quite clement with the temperature around 7°C and after the warm-up we went immediately to the start area and jumped over the barriers to push in near the front.

Despite these efforts, it still took me almost 10 seconds to get over the start line and to begin to run. I spent the next 1.5km weaving in and out of other runners while François was less lucky and tripped over a stray leg falling down and cutting his hand open. Unfortunately McMillan couldn't predict this sort of event. I focused on getting into a stride, looking at the Garmin that showed the first km in 3:33 and then the second in 3:25. The third kilometre takes you past the only big tower in Paris (beside Eiffel's of course), Montparnasse. I struggled after this point as there was a slight uphill follwed by a flat to end the fourth kilometre and then a long slight uphill back to the start point and the end of the first loop. I only managed these in 3:40, 3:35 and then 3:49.

I began the second loop and my heart wasn't really in it. It was exactly like the cross country last weekend where I went through the motions but I was preserving myself. I could feel the tiredness and I just told myself to ease off and that the pain would go away. So too much thinking and not enough racing really. During the sixth and seventh kilometres, I suffered from a slight stitch in my right-hand side and told myself that it couldn't be as bad as the runner 15 metres in front who kept holding his right hand to his side. A funny way to run but I still couldn't catch him and a couple of runners passed me at this point.

Back past Montparnasse and the 8 kilometre marker. 3:35 again for the kilometre but that was after having benefitted from the downhill. The last hard work was to come but I had already eased. I could see from the virtual partner that I was 21 seconds behind schedule putting me on course for a 36:21 but I knew that I wouldn't be able to hold it up the hill as I was supposed to be running 3:35 pace. I was right and the seconds ticked by. At the end, I didn't even bother to sprint completing the tenth kilometre in 3:54, my slowest over the course.

I just managed to hold on to 36:57 on the official clock and a real time of 36:48 as there was a timing mat at the start. François finished in 39:22 qualifying for the French nationals in the process (under 40:00 for V2), I qualified for V1 (under 37:00) and both Sandra and Laurence qualified with their times of 35:00 and 36:12 respectively (under 48:00 for V1 women). Satisfaction all round for everybody who beat their PB except me. I was relatively satisfied as it's my second fastest time ever and I can't state truthfully that I bust a gut in the process. I know that there's more yet to come.

At least there was hot soup at the finish line so some of the traditions hadn't died out. We've created our own traditions by declaring that every time a personal record is broken, we celebrate with a meal out. I think it's going to be an expensive year.

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 ?

Ekiden - 5 km first leg

The marathon training plan for today was 1h30 with 20 minutes at marathon speed. This was a short session for the Sunday runs in the marathon training programme but since it came after the race last weekend and before another long, hard training session next weekend, perhaps this was logical. Anyway, logical or not, the club was entered in the French nationals for the ekiden race today and both Nico and I were necessary to complete the senior and veteran teams. Just to keep us on our toes and to ensure that we ran as fast as possible, we were both running the first leg in competing teams.

The race was at St Amand des Eaux in the north of France, just like last year when we ran in scorching heat. Only this year, it's November and we would be lucky to avoid the rain. Three teams were qualified for the event: the seniors (2:23 in Pontault Combault), the veterans (2:39 in Pontault Combault) and the women (2:59 in Pontault Combault) and we would be racing against some of the best teams in France.

We all met in St Germain to begin with and drove the 2 1/2 hours to the event. Nico and I talked with the others for a while and then decided to begin our warm-up / marathon training plan with a 45 minute session which we thought we would cover approximately 10 km. We ran from the finish line up to the start and then looked at the hill from the start which comprised most of the first kilometre. Lovely, the windiest section with a regular uphill and the wind in our faces: things were looking promising. After this first kilometre in which we turned off the main road into the forest we then hit a downhill section, winding its way gently through the forest before flattening out and ending in a long straight. At the end of this straight we took a right at the junction and ran along the forest road before turning right again onto a gravelled forest track. This section lasted for about a kilometre before turning into road again and heading back to the start.

Our warm-up comprised of a couple of loops before I arrived back at the start line and had 10 minutes to spare before the begining of the race. I had to call on Françoise to help undress me by removing my trousers and then my top and I was ready to start. There were about 200 teams in all at the start from the 3 categories. I was looking especially closely at the veteran runners who were obliged to have a "VE" bib stuck to their backs. Nico was in sight on the right hand side of the field, concentrating on the road ahead with an intent look on his face. I was slightly further back, wondering how many runners I would have to slalom from the start. The gun went and we were off, the field setting off very suickly and the slaloming I imagined was limited as all of the runners around me were at the same pace.

I passed Nico quickly up the hill and he looked to be starting easily. I pushed on and turned right into the forest where the road continued uphill to the kilometre marker at the top of the hill. Nico passed me back just after this point and I was unable to keep up on the next downhill section, but I knew that we were running fast. We went past the 2nd kilometre marker and I looked at the Garmin - 6:40. Ok, this was fast, even with the uphill. I was pleased at my progress now and knew that a PB was on the cards. I just had to keep going and runas steadily as possible without losing pace. Nico was well ahead now and running a stormer. I could tell that I wouldn't catch him unless he blew a gasket seriously which over 5km was fairly unlikely. I concentrated on staying with the veteran runner beside me. He would go ahead and then tire slightly and I would overtake him before he would pass me again, ad nauseum.

This continued for the next couple of kilometres and  the end was now in sight. Miguel was encouraging us on from the side now and told me to take the veteran and to push on. I, however, was spent at this point and was just running as fast as I could to hold on in there. We rounded the final corner and pushed on around the barrel where we swung round 180° and ran the last 100 metres back up to the finish line. I gave it all I had and passed the bracelet to Thierry for the next leg, stoping my watch as I did. Finish time for the 5km : 17:28 and a new PB with an average pace of 3:30 per km. Chuffed to bits and went over to Nico to congratulate him. He'd increased his lead at the end and finished around 30 seconds ahead of me. The first run I've seen from him where he's realised his true potential.

I was coughing my lungs up now and had evidently given everything I could. I calmed down a little and then nico and I set off for the warm down. I ran another 2 loops and a bit of the course, completing another 11 km in total. Marathon training completed, I spent the rest of the race watching our teams before heading down to the finish line to get something to eat. Never has a sausage and chips tasted so good.

The senior team finally finished in 2:29 and the veterans in 2:36 which was pretty good and in line with expectations for the teams that we'd pulled together. I ran the fastest 5km for the veteran team beating Olivier and José in terms of speed over the course. Nico ran the fastest 5km for the seniors. The women finished in 3:06 ending up about halfway through the field, down on their qualifying time due to Mireille's absence.

27 km all up in 2:03 or an average pace of 4:37 for the day. A good session and a great race.

Marseille - Cassis

I really thought that I would fly this one. I've been running really well recently in training, I've just beaten my PB over 10km and I thought that this would be the next step. It was hard to arrive and run this one with an objective due to the hilly nature of the course and the peculiar length (20.3 km) but from what I'd read, this should be run only slightly slower than a half-marathon. With this in mind, I reckoned that I should be close to 1:20 over the race and a good chance of beating Nico.

It just wasn't to be. In fact, this race was pretty much a curse for me. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. It startedn on the Saturday when I turned up for registration thinking that I'd got myself a preferential bib. Despite arguing with the organiser for 15 minutes, there were no more preferential bibs and he wouldn't do anything to help. I would have to start with the masses and I mean masses as apart from the 1000 preferential bibs, the 14 000 other participants all start together.

The second upset was discovered later that evening when we undid the contents of the running packs: there were no safety pins. For once, we'd brought a running bag that had no safety pins in either. To make matters worse, the timing chips were included in the bibs and not as chips to be strapped to the laces. Despite a last minute race around Marseille at 11:00pm, we couldn't get hold of any safety pins having tried at a chemists, the firemen, and numerous corner shops. Disaster. I was tired, fed-up and hot and wondering what we doing here.

The next morning began a little better as the first runner we saw coming out of our hotel room had spare safety pins: first problem resolved. We arrived at the start 90 minutes before the race was due to begin at 8:00am. We'd had nothing to eat as we'd not come across any bakers and we were hungry and starting to get warm. Despite the early hour, the sun was rising and it was getting warm. We sat in the road with thousands of other runners and waited for time to pass by chatting with a German living in Marseille and a Marseillais, both giving us advice on the course and the expected time compared to a standard half-marathon.

We stood up about 30 minutes before the start and got as close to the front as we could. When the gun went it took us just over 30 seconds to cross the line and to begin to race and I set my virtual partner to 3:50 per km and used that as my basis. It was tough from the word go as first of all I had to slalom my way through the runners for the first kilometre and then as the road was still flat, I was disappointed when I saw my split for the second km at 3:59. I could feel the fatigue in my thighs from the sitting and waiting. I was short on energy too and I knew from the start that this wasn't the day. I had forgotten my cap and the sun beat down now so I ran as much in the shade as I could wherever I could find it.

The road began to climb after 5 kilometres and the splits began to slow too. I'd averaged 15 km/h until now but as the road rose, my splits dropped to 4:35, 4:42, 5:04, 5:11 and there was nothing I could do. At this point, Nico ran up to me from behind and asked how I felt. The truth was that my lungs were alright but my legs tired, so I told him not good and then saw him pull away slowly up the hill to the summit of the col. I pushed on over the top and caught back the 5 seconds that separated us down the slope. I lengthened my stride and began to feel better but all too soon another slight uphill arrived and I dropped off the pace immediately. Nico pulled away again at this point and I wouldn't see him again.

I started to relax at this point and just told myself to enjoy the views and the scenery which were fantastic. I was still hot and taking on water and each feeding station but now I stopped to drink some powerade before continuing, losing 10 seconds in the process. I could see the sea now and the port of Cassis could be imagined behind the outcrop of rock protecting the town. The atmosphere was great as we arrived on the outskirts with literally hundreds of supporters cheering us on. I spotted Caro (Nico's wife) up the last hill and then we dropped down into the port and a last sprint to finish in 1:23:41 just under a minute behind Nico (1:22:44).

Extract from Sportstrax showing the route and the splits on the left.

We both waited for Laurence at the end who crossed the line in 1:49:53 having suffered from lack of energy and the heat in much the same way as me. We will have to come back to improve on these times but we all agreed that the race was most enjoyable. Best part was having lunch after a shower at the house where Nico and family were staying in Cassis. A beautiful town well worth visiting.

Vélizy 10km - 36:32 and new PB

I've given it all away in the title and there'll be no suspense in the race description now. I have nothing to suprise my readers with but since most of them were at the race anyway and know the results, I'll just get on with it.

I picked Nico up this morning to drive him to the race. We discussed our respective form and how the day was perfect for achieving a new record. He was aiming for 35:00 and I was aiming to beat my record and be not further than 30 seconds behind him. In fact the 30 seconds was a lie to myself as internally I was ready to accept a gap of up to 1 minute. If he was going to achieve 35:00 then I would have to do 36:00. I've been running well in training recently and I was convinced that I could beat my record. My intervals and reps and distance work have helped build up my speed and stamina and the weather was perfect: sunny, dry, no wind and a temperature between 8 - 10°C. There were no excuses for not achieving.

Neither Nico nor I knew the course nor where to park in Vélizy for the start and after a little visit of the town (thank God Vélizy is not a big place) we found the stadium and the start of the race. We were both focused on our marathon training and although we were here to run the race, we were also aiming to complete the training for the day of 1:45 with 25 minutes at marathon pace. The 10km would resolve the marathon pace issue but we decided on a 30 minute warm-up followed by a 40 minute warm-down after the race. All was set.

We warmed up around the small loop of the course to begin with after having picked up our bibs and met with a number of other runners from St Germain including Gérard, Françoise, Thierry, Simon, Robin, Aude and Gérald. The course was organised into 2 loops: the first a short loop of 3 kilometres, followed by an extended loop through town and then through the forest back to the stadium for a 3/4 lap to finish.

We got in line for the start about 8 minutes before the race was due to begin. In all of my racing experience, which admittedly is not extensive, this was by far the worst start I've ever been in. The officials forced us to back up so that nobody was over the start line and we were compressed like cattle in a pen. I was leaning over backwards with the pressure from the runners in front and I couldn't move my feet backwards as there was no space behind me. We "stood" there praying for the race to begin so that we could be released from our misery. Finally the gun went and we were off and miracle of miracles, nobody fell in the first 10 metres and was trampled to death.

I was behind Thierry, Simon and Robin and I could see Nico and Gérald well in front. However, there was no way through and I didn't want to slalom the first kilometre. I held back on the pace and waited for the gaps to appear dso that I could slip through. After a 90° left bend and then a 90° right bend the road widened out and I was able to pass down the left-hand side where there was plenty of space. I noticed that Nico had gained a little lead and after passing Thierry, Simon and Robin, I focused on Gérald who was running well and tried to pull him in.

I caught Gérlad after 1k and put some space on him immediately so that he didn't decide to tuck in behind me. I now looked ahead and watched Nico run with Fred, a former St Germain runner, who had told us just before the start that he ran 36:50 last Sunday, qualifying for the French nationals over 10k in the process. This was my time objective for today's race and I figured that I wasn't running as well as I thought or I should be with these guys ahead. Having thought this, I carried on at my pace which felt fast enough for me and the virtual partner showed that I was already 20 seconds up on the 3:40 pace I had programmed on the Garmin.What really surprised me though was that after the first short loop, I could see the gap between Nico and me reducing with Nico dropping off the pace set by Fred and others in their little group.

It was really happening. At about 3.5km, I knew that I'd catch Nico. The gap was now about 8 - 10 metres and my only thoughts were whether I could keep this pace up and how would he react when I pulled alongside. At 4km, I caught him and didn't even make a sign to let him know I was there. I was too worried that he'd tuck in behind me and I wasn't sure how I could cope with this mentally.I saw on the Garmin that I was 33 seconds up on my virtual partner at this point and although I was tiring, I still felt that the pace was not unsustainable. I passed Nico and made a mental effort to dig in and to keep pushing.

I don't have many recollections of the race for the next couple of kilometres only seeing Momo looking as though he was leading as one section doubled back on itself and the leading pack came past going the other way (he was in fact in 5th position but the first 4 were well ahead). We went past the 6th kilometre now and the gap between Fred and myself was closing. I focused on reeling him in and when I pulled alongside at 7km, he spoke to me "I'm not going to give in easily James" and the bugger tucked in behind me. We took it in turns to lead through the forest and the last track section with a slight uphill. He gained a couple of metres on me and despite my acceleration over the last kilometre, I couldn't pull him back. The motivation wasn't there as I knew I was on for a new PB and overtaking him was not going to give me any more satisfaction (Complete bo**ocks of course as I regretted this after the race - but I wasn't thinking this at the time).

I entered the stadium and half-sprinted the last 300m to finish in 36:32 a new PB by 25 seconds. Really pleased with the time as it confirms my form at the moment and is promising for Florence. Nico finished in 37:46, having walked at one point and almost DNFed, before deciding that he wouldn't drop out of a race and ran to the end. Gérald did much the same but ran slower finishing in 40:40 and one of his slowest 10k race's ever, but he'll be back soon. Pleased to beat Thierry and Mireille which is also a new first and finsihed 2nd from the club behind Momo.

Splits went as follows:

3:29, 3:28, 3:35, 3:38, 3:39, 3:36, 3:42, 3:42, 3:46, 3:34 and then 18 seconds for the last 100m to the finish.

23.5 km for the day including the warm-down and 98km for the week. If I'd known I was so close, I'd have insisted on another 2km today!

Paris-Versailles : the 25 second story!

It's been a tough week. In fact, it's been worse than a tough week: it's been a 'kick a man when he's down' week with marathon training at 6:00am all week, working on integration at work until all hours and then trying to decorate the flat and fit a parquet floor before the new tenant arrived yesterday. The pressure has been high and my sleep deprivation has risen to all time highs.

This wasn't the ideal warm-up to the race this morning but before I get onto that race report, I'll give you all a brief summary of what has been going on during the week.

Last Sunday was the Chasseurs du Temps race in Vincennes and we lined up a solid 3 man team in the shape of Nico, Benj (Nico's brother) and myself. We set Benj off first and then me and the final leg was run by Nico. We hit our objective almost spot on with Benj and myself running 26 minutes legs for the 7.1km and then Nico running a 25 minute final leg. Well, actually we only have Nico's word that he ran under 26 minutes since he forgot to stoop and register the timing chip over the mat in his excitement to finish. The poor lad was extremely embarassed and had to go and discuss with the race officials as to our team position. We finished in 4th position in a total time of 1:18 being beaten by some very competent teams on the day who were beyond our league. Still we enjoyed the run and the atmosphere was pretty good on a lovely sunny day.

Monday - a 13km recovery run around the park in Maisons Laffitte pre-dawn in just under the hour

Tuesday - 2x 2km long interval session pre-dawn which was supposed to be run at threshold - 5 seconds per km. I ran the intervals in 7:30 then 7:29 and was chuffed to bits. Feeling good and marathon training is going better than I've managed previously.

Wednesday - a 13km recovery run around the park in Maisons Laffitte pre-dawn in just under the hour

Thursday - 2x 12x200m. I managed this session a whole lot better than in Stockholm. Intervals went as follows:

40, 40, 48 (wtf !), 40, 43, 42, 38, 42, 41, 35, 41, 39
40, 39, 41, 39, 39, 41, 39, 40, 39, 41, 39, 40

So, a good week's training but I skipped the Saturday session as I had too much work on my plate sorting out the flat at the last moment. I woke up this morning refreshed physically but stressed mentally as on top of all of the other things going on, I managed to lose the single set of car keys I possess for my car and smashed the passenger side window to see if I hadn't left them in the boot - they weren't.

I rode in with Paul B. and we left his car in his office carpark before jogging a couple of kilometres across Paris to the start at the foot of the Eiffel tower. We met Hélène and Brigitte here and then I left them to head off to the start of the race as I'd managed to get a preferential bib for the first time ever and had the pleasant sensation of being able to warm up easily without worrying about shouldering my way through the crowds to get a decent starting position. I met Nico and Benj here and we headed off for an extended warm-up picking up Greg and a friend Jérôme on the way.

We lined up behind the elite and then we were off. I felt good from the start: fresh and relaxed and I took the lead from Nico and Benj just focusing on how I felt and not worrying what they were doing behind me. I ran the first 2 km in 3:36 for each and then slowed slightly in the 3rd km to 3:42 as there was a slight rise as we ran under one of the bridges over the Seine. Another couple of kilometres along the flat by the river which I ran in 3:43 then 3:50 and at the end of the 6th kilometre we began the climb up Cote des Gardes, the 2km long landmark hill of the race.

It was a long pull up and I suddenly began to feel the tiredness. I lost a few places as people I'd been running with pulled away from slightly up the hill. I wasn't unduly worried and just concentrated on using small regular paces, without stopping but it was a hell of a relief when I reached the feeding station at the top. I'd been expecting Nico to come past me up the hill but still no sign, so he must have been further back than I thought.The uphill I managed in 4:59 then 4:54 and I remembered my last blog account as I ran when I was slightly over 5 minutes / km on this section. I may be tired but I'm running faster than before.

We hit the forest section now and it was a relief as the air was decidedly cooler than through Meudon up the hill. I tried to pick up speed quickly and push on with the pace now that the hills were behind me. I looked at the garmin as I passed the 8km barrier and saw that it showed 32:57. I quickly calculated that I only need to run the rest of the course at 15km/h to beat my record and get under 1:05. This spurred me on. However, it wasn't as straightforward as it appeared. The 9th kilometre was managed in 4:07 and then the next in 3:53.

It was just after 10km when Nico caught me. It wasn't a total surprise as I'd been losing touch with the runners around me as fatigue set in. The hill had taken it out of me and now Nico ran up to me and I gave him the thumbs up sign, too tired to talk.He pulled ahead at 11km and I couldn't give any more. I was running 3:48/km now and I was beat. I began to count down the kilometres willing the legs to hold out. This was exacerbated at the end of the 14th kilometre when we had to run up the hill past the cemetary - pace slowed to 4:16 and I felt like walking. I resisted the temptation and forced my legs to turn over. I could feel the lactic now and any thoughts of catching Nico over the last couple of kilometres were disappearing fast. He looked behind to see where I was and this encouraged me as I thought he must be hurting too.

It just wasn't to be though. I held on but the last 1.5 km were just too much: the main avenue in Versailles rising steadily towards the finish line was the last straw. 4:01 to achieve this kilometre and Nico remained stubbornly 50 metres ahead. I tried to pick up the pace but even the sight of the finish line didn't help. I gave it all I had and finished in 1:04:20 some 43 seconds faster than my PB. Nico finished 25 seconds ahead of me in 1:03:55. 25 measly seconds and another victory to him. My determination is set though and I know I can beat him now over the longer distances. Next attempt in Marseille.

Triel - 5km

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Malakoff 5km

Something had gone wrong somewhere. I had been quite excited and looking forward to this event, but something had snapped, almost literally, and all the expectant pleasure had all but disappeared for the event yesterday. There were two reasons to be excited about this race: firstly, it was the opener for the challenge with Nico. Although, I didn't really fancy my chances against him on such a short distance, I tought that I would give it a good shout and that anyway I would be able to achieve a PB and beat my objective of 17:45 (or even 17:30 in my wildest dreams). Secondly, I had managed to persuade, convince and cajole a dozen other guys from work to participate in their first ever (for most of them) running race situated in the same town as work. I just couldn't pull out now but was my achilles really up to it.

The answer to my last question was resolved almost as soon as we arrived. Laurence, Nico and I jogged from the office to the main square to pick up everybody's bibs for the race. Laurence was looking at me expectantly as we jogged, knowing that it wasn't sensible to take part and trying to convince me to run with her instead and 'take it easy'. After those first few steps, I realised immediately that she was right but didn't want to tell her as I'd put myself into a position that I couldn't readily back down from now. My achilles pulled hard and was very uncomfortable. the pain wasn't enough to convince me to stop but sufficient to inform me that I was doing myself no good at all. Still, I'd got this far, I wasn't going to back down now.

We ran back to the office with the bibs and met everybody who was taking part. We were 9 in all. The three off us, sporting our St Germain tracksuits and 6 almost complete novices to running. Nico asked if we shouldn't go for a warm-up so I told him that he should but that for the others, 5kms in itself would be sufficient challenge, let alone a couple of extra kilometres to get the muscles warm. We lined up at the start, Laurence and I thankful that the weather was far warmer than last year when we'd stood in the very same spot, freezing cold waiting for the gun. I joked with Nico about my shape and told him that the guy who finished just ahead of me in Conflans, Fred who was also there, would take my place in the challenge as I wasn't up to it.

The gun went and we set off. 2 weeks without running meant that I had plenty of energy from the start. I told myself to take it easy and after 500m, I was wondering where Nico was when I saw him just to my left as I was on his shoulder. This didn't last long though as I saw Nico move ahead and was unable to respond with Fred following him just afterwards. When we went through the first kilometre they we already 30 metres ahead of me. My Garmin beeped a little early and I saw 3:15 for the first km. There was a clock visible too so I was able to see that the actual time was closer to 3:25 but it was still fast.

There is then an uphill section in the second kilometre as we ran up to the stadium and around the track before leaving the stadium on the far side. The Garmin beeped again, showing 3:49. This was understandable that the time had slowed but I was losing my energy and from then on I just lost the fight to push it. My achilles was a constant nag, not actually hurting but pulling. It would be easy to say that this caused me to slow, but I think it was the lack of go from 2 weeks running abstinence that was the bigger problem. The achilles didn't help.

I settled then into an uncomfortable dissatisfaction: not happy with my pace and not really able to do anything about it. The Garmin beeped 3 times for kms 3, 4 and 5 all showing 3:50 or just faster than my half-marathon pace. Nico and Fred had long since disappeared and the final blow was being overtaken by a guy in the final kilometre and not responding and then by another 2 with 300 metres to go. I lost 3 places in the space of 2 minutes with no reponse available or forthcoming. Total depression. My final time was 18:47 in 26th place, a minute slower than where I wanted to be and almost 30 seconds down on last year. Nico had finished in 17:43 and in 14th place. I would have been thrilled to achieve that.

The real satisfaction was in hearing Laurence's name being announced at the finishing line, crossing the line in 22:29 a full minute faster than last year. She was chuffed to bits, quite rightly and had beaten all the other guys from work. She delighted in telling me afterwards how they'd all gone out fast and then she picked them off one by one throughout the race. She was over the moon.

We went back to the office for some drinks and a chat over our respective races and it was then that I realised exactly how bad the achilles was again. The ache was back and now matter how much Voltaren I rubbed in this wasn't going to disappear. This is perhaps why it took me a day to write this blog as I worry about how long this will now take to mend. My marathon in London now strikes me as being very close if I'm to prepare for this properly. I was supposed to start the 10 week preparation this week. It'll now be an 8 week preparation at best. All other objectives are now out of the window as I concentrate on getting over this injury. 'Damn and blast' for lack of a stronger expression. Depressed, miserable and full of self-pity. Luckily Laurence is understanding as I'm not much fun today.

Foulées de Malakoff

13 February - Laurence and I had decided to run this race in Malakoff where my new offices are situated. It started off as a work event - organising a team of 5 from work to participate in the race and represent our employer. As it turned out, I was the only runner from work to take part and Laurence volunteered to run herself as a small event to try out some speedwork over 5 km.

We turned up at the event and registered. There were 200 runners taking part in the 5km race and the weather was not exactly the most enticing aspect of the race. It was freezing cold (-2°C) and windy gusts adding to the chill. We managed to find some changing rooms to get ready and which we were very reluctant to leave before lining up for the start.

Race tactics were simple: head out fast, accelerate and then sprint for the line. This wasn't so far from the truth as over 5km you just need to head out fast and keep it up.

The gun went and I set off at the front of the field. There were some good runners taking part and they soon left me, despite the fact that I was at full pelt. I saw the first kilometre marker and didn't have time to look at my watch. I knew that my heart rate was high (maxing more then likely) and I wondered how long I could keep this up for. We turned left and pulled up a slight hill, about 2/3 of the way up I followed the leaders left into a road and ran for about 20 metres before I saw some stopping and heading back towards me. I looked around and realised that the route actually continued up the hill so I turned around and joined the race. I was in 4th position now.

I told myself to run steadily and to not do anything silly. I would have loved to have maintained this position but I couldn't keep up with the runners coming past me at this point. We left the stadium we had entered at the top of the hill and then ran back down a hill parallel to the first road. I was still flat out and couldn't find any more pace to stay with the others. I was hanging on now and so glad when I saw the 4km marker flash by and knew that there was only 1k to go.

I pushed again, determined not to lose any more places and then rounded the last bend and saw the finish 250m ahead. I sprinted now and crossed the line in 18:21. Slightly disappointed with my time as I'd wanted to beat 18 minutes. However the Garmin had recorded 5.14 km due to the extra distance when I turned left by mistake. Average time of 3:34 per km. 17th position and 4th V1.

Lap times went as follows: 3:20; 3:47; 3:36; 3:36; 3:36 then 25 seconds to finish. Can see the slow down in 2nd kilometre as I wondered where to go !

Laurence finished 5 minutes later in 23:26 and was first V1 woman. Really pleased with her result.

Full results here: Malakoff