Back again

Too long to catch up on everything I should have written about but haven't had the time to manage.

Life at the moment seems to rotate about work, sleep and running, with the 2 former taking up the most time. When I'm not doing any of these 3 activities, I seem to be too exhausted to manage anything else.

I have been running regularly and the highlight was my run last month in the Paris marathon where I beat my record finishing in 2:57:40, (with a gun time of 2:58:05 - thanks for asking Tom!). My only regret is that I ran this race under another guy's bib so I'll have to do it again in order to be officially recognised.

Ran today with Nick. A very easy 8 km this morning so as to not be exhausted for the Ekiden tomorrow at Pontault Combault. I'm supposed to be running 10k in the 2nd leg. I'll update with a post tomorrow to say how I got on.

Tapering

No time to write my blog anymore, let alone go for runs. Anyway, since I've started tapering, I have less to write about anyway.

Last week:

Stockholm, Sweden - Tuesday morning saw me pounding the treadmill of the hotel I was staying in. I'm thinking about writing a book on running treadmills around the world. Could be onto a bestseller here. 10km in 47 minutes. Felt pretty awful. Don't know if this was due to the 1% slope I put on the machine or an excess of beers and schnapps from the previous night. Either way, it was uphill all the way.

Stockhom, Sweden - Wednesday morning. Another workout on the treadmill. Only 7km this morning but in 30 minutes as I set the machine to 14.2 km/h. Highlight this morning was some company in the fitness room (a young lady on the nordic ski machine) and the fact that the TV was working. View was a darn sight better than staring at the diving photo stuck on the wall in front of me for 40 minutes. Still hard work and still uphill - it just lasted shorter though.

Friday morning. Back home at last and able to run in the real world again. How pleasant to feel the air in your face and to see the road beneath your feet. Real running. Set off slowly and then got carried away by how good I was feeling (fewer beers and less uphill). By the end I was running at 3:44 pace. 10.15 km in 43:29 or 4:18 per km.

Saturday morning - back to Cora with the lads. Nick and Andy can't compete with a Swedish lady in her workout gear but they were far better company. Nice to see Andy again who actually admitted being in bed last weekend when we called by. His shame knows no boundaries. Nick and I both decided to punish him severely and dropped him after Cora up the hill. He arrived back home looking far easier than he has in a while and at a good pace too. Perhaps a Saturday in bed did him so good. Anyway, this weekend he'll be training alone while we're in La Rochelle. 75 km this week in total so a 25% reduction on the previous week. Good tapering.

6 days to go before the race. All the worries are there. Am I fit enough ? Can I stay the distance ? Am I too ambitious ? What should I wear ? Will it be windy ? Do I take gels or not ? Etc., etc. Too late now.

2008 in review

I thought I'd list some of my most memorable running achievements of last year, now that the year has closed, so that they can be listed for posterity :

The 3 most memorable races :

10km - Paris XIV (January 2008): This was the first 10km race in which I managed to go sub 40 and was the spur to get me to start training more seriously. It all started thanks to a bet with my brother - thanks Al !!

Marathon - Paris (April 2008): My first ever marathon and I didn't know what to expect. I ran comfortably just about the whole distance, but the atmosphere, the crowds, the excitement of it all made it a fantastic memory. A marathon is something special and is the reference for all non-runners.

10 km - Conflans St Honorine (September 2008): My best 10km race of the year and just the race where everything seemed to go right. I wasn't too tired, the weather was good and the course is fast and flat. I loved it. The first signs that I was capable of further improvement with suitable training.

Records achieved:

10 km - 37:28 at Conflans in September (see above)

15 km - 1:03:33 at Le Puy in May. This record will fall this year if I can find a 15km race to run!

Marathon - 3:07:15 at La Queue Lez Yvelines in October. An achievement, yet a big disappointment at the same time. This record has to be beaten in 2009 by a sub 3 hour run.

Other achievements :

Improving my 10km PB by 5 minutes 47 seconds over the year. This is unrepeatable!

Seeing Laurence improve her running too and beginning to believe in herself. 10km race at Houilles last week was brilliant in this respect. First marathon for her this year will be another memorable experience.

Taking pleasure from other running friends achieving their objectives too: Nick in running all those races with me over the year and improving with each one; Paul in beating 40 minutes for 10km and 1:30 for a half marathon; and Andy taking up running seriously again and entering his first running race in several years.

Thanks to all of you for the fun we've had together. Looking forward to another great year, this year and to another load of race memories. Vive la course à pied !

Showdown !

Today was the big one - no that's not true as I'd been telling myself recently that the real big one, the race where I want to do really well is next Sunday on the Hexham Hobble. This was just supposed to be a warm-up.

That was the plan anyway. The plan, however, was well and truly scuppered when I learnt from F-X on Wednesday that he was entered too. Since our challenge series stands at 2-2 at the moment, this race was vital in showing the other who was on form. Laurence had entered both of us for the 13.5 km course at Andrésy, renowned for the "big hill". The distance was fine, it was just the idea that I'd have to go fast over the course to keep up with F-X that was depressing me, especially when I'd been treating it as a last major training session before next week's race.

Nick picked us both up first thing and Andy had decided he was going to take part too, so all 4 of us arrived in Andrésy about 50 minutes before the race began. The weather was fairly lousy: 3°C, a fine drizzle and no sign of a let-up in sight. we picked up our numbers, found a place in the gym to leave our stuff, then set out to brave the elements 15 minutes before the start.

We made our way to the start line and I searched for F-X amongst the faces. I spotted him right at the front of the crowd on the start line so I pushed in alongside him for a quick chat before the start. He asked what my objective was so I told him: to beat you ! No point beating about the bush. The race tactics were to follow him all the way around the course and then to outsprint him over the last 500m.

The gun went and F-X set off like a bullet. I tagged along on his shoulder and wondered if the pace was going to ease. I didn't look at my watch as I told myself I didn't care: the sole objective was to beat the man in front of me. The course comprised a first small loop of just under 6km, followed by a longer loop of 7.5 km which included the infamous hill. We were in the first 15 runners in the race and the pace over the first loop was sustained and I didn't feel as though I could go any faster. I began to wonder how long I could keep this up, especially when there were times when F-X would up the pace slightly and I would just try and tag on. We went through 7 km and to my surprise F-X turned and said to me to carry on as he couldn't keep up any more. As he eased off, I pushed a little at this point and tried to catch the runner immediately ahead of me. In fact, I wasn't to see F-X for the rest of the race despite my fears that he would recover and start chasing me down in the final kilometres.

We attacked the hill just after 8 km and my pace slowed, luckily it wasn't as steep as I'd imagined and it didn't seem to be too hard an obstacle. We turned right and downhill over 150m and then took a sharp left-hand bend. Oh my god! That's the hill - I was taken by surprise to see this 15% slope rising before me for 300m. I shortened my stride, put my head down and just forced myself to keep running. My heart rate must have maxed at this point and the effort was tremendous. Once at the top, it was just a question of holding on and counting down the kilometres to the finish line.

I kept it steady, tried to catch up a few places and finshed the 13.5 km in 21st position in a time of 52:42. An average speed of 15.37 km/h or 3:55 per km. I was pleased considering the hill to have managed this speed over the course. F-X finished 4 places behind me in 53:54. 3-2 in the challenge to me: I'm on a roll!

Splits were the following (thanks Tom for the tip):

3:34, 3:45, 3:54, 3:50, 3:53, 3:53, 3:56, 3:59, 4:43, 3:58, 3:50, 3:44, 3:53, 1:43

Guess where the hill was ?

Other results: Nick finished 64 in 56:59; Andy 150 in 1:02:41; Laurence 259 in 1:08:08.

Laurence ran a great run despite her Garmin letting her down after 6km and then concentrated on picking off runners ahead of her. She managed a great sprint finish to beat another female runner on the line.

Official times here: http://www.topchrono.biz/course.php?idc=3585&cr=13km500&an=2008&cr_nom=20%20Bornes%20d'Andresy

Looking forward to next Sunday's race now against the lads.

Amsterdam run

Was in Amsterdam this morning, and since F-X was with me, we went for a training run together around the hotel before the business review.

It was well lit around the industrial zone when we set off at 7:00 am for our jog. It was supposed to be a jog anyway, and F-X told me that I could set the pace. The only problem is that when we start like this, there's always one of us urging the other on and soon we were running around at over 15 km/h, with our fastest kilometre in 3:53.


However, it was a good method of evacuating the stress before the meeting and we did a couple of laps around the block, completing 8.5 km in 35:24 or 4:09 per km. Having finished the jog outsides, we inspected the gym in the hotel which was absolutely fantastic and fully equipped with all the latest equipment. We ran another 1.5km on the treadmill at 14.5 km/h just to wind down !! 10 km all up.

Some photos of my feet before and after toenail removal - just for your viewing pleasure. Who said running was good for your health ?

Les 4 Chateaux - Chevreuse

One of the most enjoyable races that I've done in a while: a great course; good atmosphere and a fantastic organisation.

The worst part of the race was the early start, especially for a Sunday. I's almost criminal to start races this early on a Sunday. Laurence and I were both taking part and we turned up at the club at 7:30 am to meet with the others entered from the club. It was very cold (-3°C) going through the forest this morning, and the prospects of running at this temperature were not appealing.

We arrived at Chevreuse with plenty of time to spare as the women were setting off at 9:30am and the men 15 minutes later for the 18.5km course. We hang around as long as possible in the gym before braving the cold and crossing the playing fields to the start line in the centre of town. I wasn't taking any risks and had both my ski hat and my neck warmer on. Even with these on, it was still too chilly to hang around and we all eagerly set about our warm-up routines.

I gave Laurence a kiss for good luck as she lined up at the start, the gun went and the women's race set off; all 700 of them. The men lined up now and there was a lot of chatting and banter before we set off in turn , 15 minutes afterwards. The total field amounted to just over 2 400 runners and a good number had dressed up in fancy dress for the occasion. First prize to the "Joker" for his outfit, which was spot on, face paint and all.

I set off steadily, passing many runners since I was fairly back in the field when the gun went. I didn't want to tire myself out early so I used the same tactics as last week's race and sped up as the race went on. I didn't take any splits and didn't even look at my watch until 15 km had already gone. I even forgot to set the automatic lap marker after every km that Tom had explained how to do on his blog.

The course was very scenic with 60% on tracks and 40% on the road. The big hill was from 6km to 7.5km and this wasn't as bad as I had imagined. It was just a case of shortening my stride, not pushing it so hard that I was breathless and trying to hang on to my position. I had set off on this portion in about 85th place as a man was shouting out the positions as we went past. It must have been fairly complicated as we had begun to catch the last of the women's race at this point and there was a lot of mingling.

Having caught the tail end of the ladies race was very motivating as I was now chasing Laurence down. I knew that she was running well when I passed the 11 and 12 km markers and there was still no sign of her. I cheered on the other St Germain runners as I went past and their shouts of encouragement in return were most welcome. I finally caught Laurence at 13 km and wished her good luck as I ran past. 2 km later, I passed Muriel and Catherine and I looked at my watch at this point 1:01 for 15km, I was going well and very pleased.

The last 3 km were the hardest as we left the forest again and hit the open road, slightly uphill to finish. I concentrated on trying to catch a couple of men runners ahead of me at this point but I was too spent to make any more efforts. Past the 18km marker and a final burst to the finish: all up in 1:14:48 at an average speed of 14.5 km/h. This was a good performance when the uphill is also considered of almost 300m. 66th position and 23 V1 out of 1713 men.

Laurence finished in 1:35:47 in 120th position in the women's race. She was also pleased with her run and the race.

Profile of the course shown here:

Short Maisons Laffitte run

It's the weekend and the work still hasn't let up but I managed to take a few minutes to go running with Henry around my old route through Maisons Laffitte and the park

Henry had the choice of the town or the forest route and since he's now an urban teenager, the town route it was. This is my old 7.7 km path down to the Seine, behind the castle, back through the park and skirt around the back of Maisons Laffitte to Leader Price and then home past the cemetary.

I was pleased to see that we went through 2 km in 11:00 and then we slowed slightly to do 4km in 23:30. All around the loop in 44:59 and not one complaint from Henry about any pains or the run itself. Praise the Lord - a miracle !!

Maisons Laffitte run

Another busy week in perspective, causing me to miss all of the training runs with the club this week. I've had to programme in my early morning runs again between business travel arrangements just so that I don't lose out on the mileage front.

Left at 7:00 am on the early morning route around Maisons Laffitte park in the dark. I felt good from the outset and was happy to be running since the last training on Sunday. I went through 2 km in 8:31 and felt very easy and comfortable. I wondered how long this would last, but wasn't worried as my main objective was to enjoy myself. I seemed to have too many races planned at the moment: 1 per weekend for the next 3 weekends and I need to go easier on the mid-week training.

I left the park in 27:10 and I knew that this time was one of my best over this course. I had been chasing another runner through some of the streets through the park and was disappointed when he turned off my route before I could catch him.

I relaxed running back through Maisons Laffitte and up to Leader Price where I looked at my watch again: 34:34. I know that it takes under 11 minutes to run back from this point and that my PB for the course was 35:xx so I thought that I'd be in with a chance if I pushed it. So push it I did, clocking a 17.8 km/h running down the hill to the town hall and then a steady 15.5 km/h over the last kilometre back to the house.

45:12 all up for 11.1 km so an average of 4:03 / km. Felt good all of the way round and set a new PB over the course, beating my previous record set in September by 5 seconds. Interesting to note how much faster I finished today compared to the last record run.

Toto Vermet

Toto Vermet was the first president of St Germain's running club and every year there is a cross country race organised by the club for all members in memory of him and his contribution to the founding of the association.

Laurence had decided that another run after last night's efforts was too much and she went back to bed after I left with Nick this morning for the race. The race was to take place in the St Germain forest over a 3 km circuit for which the ladies had to run 1 loop and the men 2 loops.

We warmed up for the race by running slowly to the start from the clubhouse and then running one loopof the course to show everyone the circuit. So, a 5 km warm-up before we'd even started racing. It was a warm day and I stripped off down to my running vest as I was already sweating buckets after the warm-up. All the serious competition was there: Jean-Marc, Thierry, Francisco, Bruno and some others that I didn't recognise. I joked around with Nick before the start and he told me that his initial tactic was to stay with me until I tired (probably quickly after last night's race) and then beat me to the line. He decided against this as he knows that I tend to start fast and he would probably explode before he could start his sprint for the line !!

The gun went and I did start fast as the course was slightly downhill to begin with and I felt good. This feeling was to fade rapidly though and by halfway on the first loop, I could feel how tired my legs were and I had nothing to respond with as Bruno and Fred went past. I was in 7th place now and this was how it would stay until the end. The gap between Bruno and me grew and I finished the first loop in 11:19.

The second loop was worse and all the uphills became a painful exercise for the legs and I just wanted it all to end. As I was on the last km of the race I could hear footsteps approaching from behind and it was all I could manage to put in a little extra effort to stop the runner from coming past me. I finished the course in 23:34 for 6.05 km so at an average pace of 3:56 per km. Not bad after last night's efforts and just enough to hold Nick off who finished not long after me.

Still no place on the podium with a trio of very good veterans ahead of me: Francisco, Thierry, and Bruno. If I had been on form, I should have been able to give Bruno a good run for his money. Another target for the next race.

Photo of Bruno beating Fred in a sprint finish. You can just see me as a dot on the far left of the photo, 40 seconds behind !

Montfort l'Amaury - Les flambeaux

My first race in the dark and what an experience. Laurence, Anne and I arrived at Montfort l'Amaury about an hour before the start and picked up our numbers ready for the race.We waited in the warmth of the gym before the race started and looked at the growing number of runners preparing for the event. 2 races had been organised, the first, over 18km with 400 participants, set off at 8:00 pm and the second, over 10km with 300 entries, 15 minutes later. To further complicate matters, in the 10km race there were runners and walkers.

We listened carefully to the brief and then went outside to line up at the start. The start line was at the foot of the town and the route set off up through the town to the towers. The route was lit by flaming torches and the sight of this initial climb was most spectacular.

The gun went off and I started easily. My race plan was to take it very steadily over the start of the race and not to tire myself on the climbs. I would then see how I felt and take it from there later on. The first climb was very steep and the roads through the town were slippy from the drizzle that had been falling during the afternoon. The streets were cobbled which didn't help at all. At the top we ran past the towers and then down the steps back through the town before heading out on another road that was a long drag back out of the valley.

Having taken it easy to begin with, but having managed to avoid the bottlenecks too, I now began to pick up places as we ran along the road. The road then became a muddy path and visibility even with the headlamps was poor. The sight of hundreds of headlamps bobbing along through the night was very pretty and the whole atmosphere was quite special. I settled into a comfortable pace and was still picking up places regularly, catching runners who had set off too fast and were now paying the price. The terrain was varied from flat to steep downhills followed by steep uphills, all of which took a heavy toll on the legs.

By 5 km, I reckoned I was in the top 15 places and was chasing down a small group of 4 in front of me. It was here that disaster struck. We hit a sharp incline and I pushed the pace to catch them on the hill, by the top I was just behind but then we hit a road at the top and the way wasn't clear. We asked a marshal whcih way to go and if we were on the right route for the 18 km race. She replied in a positive manner and we followed the road down the hill. It was now apparent that this wasn't the route and we had a further 50 runners who had followed us making the same mistake.

We carried on back into town and around to the track where we had begun the race. We had run over 8 km by now and it was obvious that the race was finished for us. There was some discussion as to what to do and I set off back on the 10 km loop with some other runners just as a training run. We quickly caught the walkers on the 10km loop as they had set off 15 minutes after us. I pushed the pace and left the rest of the group behind with just 1 runner following me closely. We then began to catch the tailenders of the 10 km race and the fun began. They were really enthusiastic about the obstacles, shouting "Careful mud!" or "Watch the barrier", "Hole" etc. We overtook them and I had an amazing impression of speed as we flew past on narrow paths in the middle of the night.

The rest of the run was very good, with some great paths through the forest in the middle of the night. I completed the 10 km course in 1:18:10 having completed 16.36km. There was some discussion with the organisers as to the marshal who had left his position causing us to miss the turn on the hill, but there was nothing to be done. Very frustrating but unfortunate.

Laurence and Anne finished the course in 2:02; Laurence having lost her shoe at some point in the process causing Anne to light up the mud bath while Laurence went fishing !

We'll be back next year to do the race again properly and I might have a shout at achieving a podium if I find the route around next time.

Picture of the route with the marker showing where I ran straight on instead of turning right.

Back to the park

Woke up this morning and wondered why on earth the alarm had gone off so early. Then I came to gradually and remembered that I was supposed to be going for an early morning run. I put my running kit on, including an extra warm top so that I was prepared to face the cold and went outside.

It was still pitch black outside so I turned the headlamp on and headed down to the river. My legs felt heavy from the interval session so I decided very early on that I would just take it easy and enjoy the run. The 2 km mark was passed in 8:36 so despite all my efforts, I couldn't bear not to look at the Garmin. The rest of the run was very steady though. I left the park in 27:51, which was fairly average and this was the last time that I looked at the watch.

I remember running up the road towards Leader Price thinking that even the slightest hill was painful to climb so what would this Saturday's race be like. Laurence and I entered the 18km night trail at Montfort l'Amaury yesterday and then read some of the accounts of last year's run on the web. Good job we didn't read these first as we may never have entered !

Anyway, a quick run down the hill to the town hall and a good pace to finish. 11 km all up in 46:51 so no great shakes. Conclusion: still too warm to necessitate 2 running tops - far too hot and uncomfortable; 4:16 per km feels comfortable now.

Bank holiday Tuesday

The club session for today had been set for a 9:00 am start due to the bank holiday today in France. Laurence had persuaded Anne to take part so Nick and Anne picked us up this morning to take us to St Germain.

Luckily the wind had calmed this morning since lat night it had been blowing a gale and frankly during the night there were times when we wondered whether the roof would stay on the house. Laurence heard a few tiles moving during the night and slept badly as a result. When we checked this morning, everything appeared to be alright though.

It was an excellent turnout for this morning's session and a good 70 souls had decided to exercise rather than spend the morning in bed. The programme for the day was 7 x 1 minute twice. We set off easily and chatted to the usual faces as we warmed up over the first 4.5 km. The hard work then began and I tried to stay in the leading group with Thierry, Francisco, Miguel - the trainer, and Bruno. There were a couple of other faces who were also pushing at times and the competition was fierce.

The first set of 7 were extremely tough and I was very tired when we finished this block. According to the Garmin, I managed to achieve 25 km/h during the first set on intervals 3 and 4. This was the impact of Miguel who was pushing Thierry and Francisco and both Bruno and I were hanging on due to sheer determination only.

The second set was less rapid as I was already spent by then. The big hill on interval n° 3 didn't help either. My heart rate must have maxed at this point and for once it would have been interesting to have a cardio on to see what I got to. Anyway it was a relief to finish the set and to jog back to the clubhouse with Nick.

Laurence and Anne had had a good time and Anne had enjoyed her first session with the club, chatting easily to the other members. Highlight of the morning was having breakfast afterwards at Nick and Anne's house, relaxing with a nice coffee.

15.3 km all up in 1:28. Nice way to spend a bank holiday morning.

Sunday run

Went to bed too late last night, so it was a real effort to motivate Laurence and myself to leave the comfort of the duvet and our bed this morning to go for a run. In fact, we spent so long debating who was going to get up first that we almost never made it at all to the 9:15 am rendez-vous.

I jogged up to the church with Laurence and I could already feel the tiredness in my legs from yesterday's run. I was hoping that Nick would be tired as well so that we could take it easy but it just wasn't to be. As we ran up Rue de la Marne, we saw Nick and Anne ahead so I sped up to join them as they jogged slowly along. Nick was in fine form and had run everyday this week, so running slowly today wasn't going to be a problem for him: the problem was elsewhere.

We were 8 at the start: Nick, Anne, Laurence, Louise, Ralf, Sophie, Philippe and myself. We set off at a moderate pace and then Nick and I sped up a little with Philippe just behind. It was the usual tactics, understand by both of us, of racing to the barrier at 5km and taking the second half of the course easily. We got to the barrier in a record speed of 21:27, leaving Philippe about 50m behind by then.

Philippe took his revenge on the second part of the course when he pushed the pace most of the way around and I had to work hard just top stay with him. A quick blast at the end and I finished at around 16km/h. It was a good run considering yesterday's efforts. 13 km all up.

Saw Paul's marathon time on the web this evening for Nice - Cannes and he managed 3:37 which he will probably be disappointed with. Judging from the splits, he was bang on schedule until 30km and then tired at the end. Hard luck Paul on the objective - missing by 7 minutes isn't so bad: I can tell you about it !! Feel free to comment. Would love to have your news on the race.

Long Saturday run

It's been a busy week at work and I seem to have spent most of the week having big business lunches or dinners with different business contacts this week.


I got up this morning and knew that I'd put on wait what with the dining out and the lack of training. There was only one solution - a long Saturday run without breakfast and burn into the fat reserves that had built up.


I grabbed an orange juice from the kitchen before I left and then headed outside into a cool, bright morning. I had decided to run 2 loops of the usual Sunday run course, intending to run just over 22km to get back into some long run training since it was now almost 2 weeks since the marathon. I intended to run these fairly easily, working my way back into it and just seeing how I would fare.

I headed up the road towards the forest, my head full of thoughts about work and the tasks that lie ahead. In fact, it was a combination of early morning tiredness and preoccupation with the job that meant that I ran 2 km before really waking up and seeing how I was doing. The recent rain didn't help either as the horse track in the forest was very heavy underfoot and it was a bit of a slog avoiding the largest puddles and the heaviest, sandiest areas. As soon as that section was over, I stretched out a little and enjoyed the sunlight filtering through the trees.

I felt very easy all of the first loop and I knew that I was running well. I passed Thierry Mazoyer from the club on his morning run and we encouraged each other as we passed. I managed the first loop in 48:30 so it was confirmed that I was running well. With Nick we usually do this in around 48 minutes but this time I'd run an extra 1 km to get to the forest to begin with.

The second loop was harder than the first. I could feel that my legs were tiring now and a few niggles began to show themselves: a tension at the top of the right thigh in the groin area and a sore left foot, convincing me that as soon as I have a few euros (that the tax man doesn't grab from me - as is his wont in France at the end of the year), I will invest in a new pair of trainers.

Despite this, I carried on and went though the half-marathon mark in 1:29:40. I was thrilled as I was still running at my marathon pace in training. I must surely be capable of going sub-3 with a little more endurance ! I got back home in 1:36:29 for 22.7 km - an average of 4:13 per km or 14.1km/h. Felt good then; shattered now !

Lunchtime workout

It's been a quiet week on the running front and a very busy week on the work front hence the lack of messages on the blog this week.

On Tuesday, I knew that I wouldn't be able to get out to the Tuesday night session with the club so I asked F-X if he wanted to go for a lunchtime run around the Grouchy castle grounds. Luckily, he had his kit with him so we set off for a run from the swimming pool with the idea of doing a 10km run.

I told him that I was still recovering from the marathon so we weren't to run too fast and we then promptly set off down the hill at warp 9. I wasn't too aware of the pace until we passed in front of Grouchy castle and F-X asked if we shouldn't slow down a little. I looked at the Garmin to see 1.94 km in 7:45 or something close. We were averaging around 15 km/h when we were supposed to be taking it easy. We eased off a little from then on but the pace was still brisk. The day was ideal for a run: gloriously sunny, just warm and bright blue skies lighting up the Autumn leaves on the trees in the castle grounds.

On the third lap, F-X had to stop or slow down for a breather and he told me to continue and that he'd catch me up. I carried on back to the swimming pool and stopped the watch: 9.4 km in 38:51 so an average of 4:08 per km or 14.5 km/h. Not really the relaxing training I was expecting but I was really pleased to find that I was happy training at this speed.

Shame I couldn't enjoy a power-nap to recover in the office that afternoon !

Sunday classic

Just the usual Sunday run through the forest with the gang before heading back to the house to celebrate Henry's birthday today.

Since it was the holidays, the turnout was a little smaller than usual with only Ralf, Louise, Philippe Gendre and Laurence along for the ride. Ralf had to run the long loop since nobody was prepared to do the short-cut with him today as Pierre-Henri was away ! He suffered as a consequence and wasn't comfortable running with Philippe and me despite us slowing a little. I don't often run with Philippe but he has a lot of potential and with some more training could be a far better runner than me. Anyway, we enjoyed the normal Sunday loop getting to the barrier in 23:12 before running back to pick up Louise and Laurence.

We took the second half of the course easily bumping into Paul part way through, out training for one of his last runs before the Nice - Cannes Marathon next Sunday. Best of luck to him as he tries to beat 3:30 over the course. Speaking to him afterwards, I am convinced that he will do it, bar an incredible upset on the day, as he went under 1:30 for the half-marathon a few weeks ago. I was told a nice rule the other day to work out potential times: every distance that you double, take off 1 km/h. For Paul, this works out at a 3:15 marathon which seems feasible. McMillan says 3:09:54 which seems a little optimistic. Best of luck anyway Paul.

I enjoyed the end of the run particularly as Philippe ran ahead up the last slope and pushed the pace. I think that he thought he would show me as I had said I was still recovering from the marathon. I wouldn't let him go though and caught him up and then pushed hard until the finish, catching Ralf in the process. Philippe finished a good 90 seconds after me ;o)

I can't let that competitive instinct go, even in training !

Easy Saturday

Still not back into a full running schedule after last weekend's marathon. I decided that I would take it easy on my legs (not so easy mentally that's for sure) by taking Henry out on his weekly 7 km run through the forest.

We set off easily but he had already started moaning after 500m. He complained that we were going to fast and I had to reassure him that we were not. We went through the first kilometre in 5:48 which was proof that the pace was definitely not too strenuous for him ! By 2km, Henry was complaining of a stitch and a sore stomach so we slowed down again. This was to continue for the rest of the course but during the intervals when he felt alright, he was able to show a good turn of speed.

We finished the 7.2 km in 42:14 so not a record for him but a better than average performance and one that I hope he will soon improve on.

Marathon des Yvelines

Well it was the big one. The one I'd been training for and my first real attempt on the 3 hour objective for the marathon. So what went wrong ?

I did everything I was supposed to: easing off on the training runs the week before the race; drinking the malto supplements for 3 days before the event; even eating the carbo cake 3 hours before the race - it just wasn't to be.

I got up at 6:30 this morning, ate my cake and had a cup of tea. I waited for 40 minutes and woke Laurence with a cup of tea as she was accompanying me on the bike around sections of the course. We hopped in the car and headed off to La Queue Lez Yvelines, a small village in the south of the county for the race. The weather was overcast, misty and windy. We hung around in the gym next to the start for as long as possible before facing the elements. I checked the number of runners entered for the race: 460 individuals and 65 relay teams. So not a huge race and the entries were very similar to last year's event.

I eventually lined up at the start and waited patiently for 5 minutes before the gun went and we were off. Having set the garmin to 4:10 per km, I watched the virtual partner all the time at the beginning of the race. I was running with another runner on his first marathon who was also aiming to beat the 3 hour barrier. At about 4 km, he must have decided that he was feeling fresh and he accelerated slightly and left me. I wasn't going to follow him as I was already about 8 seconds up on the watch which was set for a 2:56 total marathon time. This continued over the next 10 km and by the feeding station at 15 km, I was 30 seconds ahead of my VP. I stopped for a glucose drink losing about 15 seconds in the process and set off again. There was a group of 4 of us running together now and this was to remain like that for the next 10 km. We left the shelter of the forest after 18 km and had to run 3 km head down into the wind until the half-way point at Les Bréviaires. I went through the semi in 1:28:06 (almost setting a new PB in the process) and I could feel that I was tiring but I thought that I would be able to hold the pace for a while longer.

Big mistake. By the time I saw Laurence again at 24 km, I knew that my energy levels were dangerously low and she gave me a gel to replenish them. This helped slightly but it wasn't enough and after the 25 km feeding station our group of 4 runners had disentegrated. By 28 km the situation had worsened distinctly and I felt like giving up at this point. My pace was slowing and I switched the Garmin to timer mode, refusing to look at my VP racing off into the distance. I went through 28 km in 1:57:34 so the sub 3 hour course wasn't unfeasible but was looking decidely optimistic now. I spent the next few kilometres walking at times, stopping at the feeding stations for dirnks and progressing slowly. My legs were extremely tired and I couldn't manage the pace. I really was a whisker away from giving up completely but thought that if I slowed at least I could have the satisfaction of finishing.

At 33 km, Laurence was still cycling beside me, offering me water when necessary and trying to encourage me. I was angry and disappointed with myself and fed up with the whole affair. Then Nick appeared. He had promised to turn up and run the end of the race with me and it was a real pleasure to see him. Unfortunately, it didn't help me find any more energy but it did put all thoughts of giving up out of my head. He described the road ahead (flattish) and the hills to come (steep). Marvellous !

I struggled to keep up with him and he had to slow frequently not to lose me. I was cramping in my legs now: first the toes, then the calves; and finally the thighs. The hills were an agony and I had to walk up the last of the steepest. I was conscious that if I pushed too hard the cramps would become too much to bear and I would be forced to abandon. A quick stop at the 40 km feeding station and then the last 2 km down hill to the finish. What a relief. I crossed the line in 3:07:15 and promptly sat down to rest my legs.

So a new P.B. but still a disappointment with the objective not reached. I was on target at the half-way stage and the pain as it slipped out of my grasp was immense. Still I gave everything and the course was hard. It's not the flattest marathon and I had been warned. I'll have to wait until Paris in April 2009 for the next attempt.

Thanks to Nick and Laurence for their sterling efforts. It was a pleasure to have you with me. I'm not sure that this was reciprocal as I wasn't much fun out there today.

Here's a few photos to put you all off thoughts of marathons in the future:

The small group of runners at the 24 km mark

A view of my lopsided running style at 25 km

Beginning to look tired at 25 km
Nick looking decidely worried about my ability to complete the course !
One of the last sections of hills at 39 km.
The advert against ever running a marathon !

Tapering

Tuesday night session with the club but I was under strict doctor's orders not to exert myself before the race on Sunday so a very quiet workout.

A warm-up through the forest of St Germain to the terrasse and back past the swimming pool before heading to the track. I ran with Laurence and accompanied her all evening both on the warm-up and around the track. The interval session tonight was 12 x 200m with 100m rest in between. Laurence's VMA test (still don't know the translation of this in English - can anyone help me here ?) showed that her equivalence over 200m was 50 seconds. So we set off doing each 200m in that time. Laurence did very well and was very stable over the intervals finishing each one between 48 and 50 seconds with a final sprint in 43 seconds.

Easy session for me running with the ladies - most enjoyable.

Picked up the club jersey at the end of the session and will now wear this on Sunday for the marathon. The pressure's really on now !

Sunday run

Just the usual run around the standard Sunday route through the forest yesterday. I took it easy since the marathon is looming and Nick was running a 10km race in Velizy.

Set off quietly with Laurence and Louise, listening to them chat away as they ran. Since I wasn't involved in the conversation and they were jogging at too slow a pace for me to be comfortable, I left them and picked up the pace to the barrier. I jogged back to fin them again and then ran the second half of the course with them as they'd picked up speed too.

All up 13 km in 1:05 so an easy 12.2 km/h average. Just what the doctor ordered ! I met Paul at the end of the run who was out for a morning walk with his daughter and the dogs. He was running a half-marathon in the afternoon so was enjoying a bit of R&R before the race.

Nick managed 39:55 over the 10km course in Velizy with a sprint to finish under the 40 minute barrier. Paul ran a great race to finish his race in 1:29:58 just under his target of 1:30. Brilliant result.