Coaching the girls

I'm running the cross country this weekend for the club veterans with the veterans, so I was supposed to be taking it easy tonight. Miguel, moreover, had arranged an easy session for all the crossmen so I decided that I'd accompany Katia and Laurence as they've begun their training for the 80km Ecotrail mid-March. Tonight's session had been concocted by the other coach, Michel, and it was a real humdinger. 30 minutes of warm-up, followed by 7km at marathon pace, and then finishing with 15 x 200m off 100m recovery. This was going to be a 90 minute training session and well over 16k all up.

We started with François and Stéphanie who were also taking it easy and we warmed up with everyone to begin with and then completed a quick tour of St Germain in a loop bringing us back to the club. Another shorter loop and we completed the warm-up and then the 7km at around 4:45 - 4:50 pace.

We then started the track session with the aim to run each 200m in 48 seconds and recover for roughly the same time over 100m. They ran very consistently starting at 48 seconds per interval and speeding up to finish the intervals in just under 45 seconds. They've both improved so much in running ability that it no longer feels slow to run alongside them but a pleasant, comfortable pace. Katia was trying to talk Laurence into a 3:20 marathon attempt in Berlin and they're both capable of doing this based on their current form.

18km all up in 1:35.

Better recovery

I met Nico driving out of his house as he set off to work while I was setting off on my recovery run after last night's intervals. I was doing the usual route around Maisons Laffitte with a slight detour due to the letter I had to drop off en route.

I felt pretty lousy to begin with, mostly due to having eaten a large breakfast with Laurence prior to setting out. This lay heavy on my stomach and I wasn't comfortable in the slightest so it was a bit of a surprise to see the Garmin flash up 4:36 for the first kilometre. I thought that I'd been running slower than Monday as no effort was involved and it was a real boost to see that I was close to the magic 4:30 training speed.

The pace quickened kilometre after kilometre and I felt better after 5k when my stomach stopped aching and I was able to run more freely. I soon hit 4:20 pace and then 4:15 where I stayed until the end of the run. Even the uphill section through the forest was negotiated in 4:19.

A nice dry but cold day and a great recovery run. I felt a lot stronger in my legs during the run (if a little tired now afterwards). 14.5k in 1:01 or an average pace of 4:24 / km.

Recovery run

After the effort of the 2 hard training sessions at the weekend, I thought that it was time to get back into the routine and return to my old haunts around Maisons Laffitte for a recovery run this morning. It was dry but still dark when I left but the passages down to the Seine weren't too waterlogged following the rain we have had here lately.

I saw that the Garmin was showing a 4:46 split for the first kilometre and I initially thought that I should speed up a little but, after a moment's reflexion, decided that it was a recovery run after all and I was perfectly happy at this pace. It was only as I ran alongside the racecourse that I sped up slightly and reached 4'30 pace where I remained for the rest of the run.

I ran alongside the railway line and into the forest on the way home avoiding the early morning streets and the constant stream of mothers dropping off their kids at school on their way to work. It's amazing how, whether it's due to time pressure or not, these ladies think nothing of stopping their vehicles in the middle of the street, blocking the traffic behind them, to allow their kids out of the car and into the schoolyards. No wonder child obesity is on the rise. We had to run to school when we were their age. Apparently the streets are more dangerous nowadays, or at least this is the argument put forward most of the time. However, when I see the accidents caused by cars blocking the traffic around the schools, I understand why the streets are so dangerous... Catch 22!

13.4km in 1:01.

Club session

Back to the club this week after the Christmas break for the Thursday evening session and it was good to see a sizeable turnout trying to eliminate the excesses of Christmas and the New Year. Both coaches, Michel and Miguel, were there and I listened to Miguel announce a fartlek session around Poissy with the faster runners.

Nico had decided that he was focussed on a 10k race preparation and as such he'd be staying around the track with Michel's group while they ran 8x800m, he'd be running some 400m intervals followed by a couple of 2000m. I headed off slowly with Yoann, Jean-Marc, Sébastien, Frédéric, Jérôme, François and Gérald amongst others towards Poissy. We started the session proper in Poissy where Miguel announced that we were to run 5 x 2' in 2 blocks off 1' recovery.

I had brought my new Garmin Forerunner 910XT but I had stupidly forgotten to check the battery and it was flat. So much for being able to check the intervals and the pace during this exercise. I just gritted my teeth and tried to keep in touch with Jean-Marc. The advantage of fairly short intervals such as these is that the gap between the runners isn't huge and the recoveries allow everybody to regroup before setting off again. I was pleased with the first block of 5 intervals where I was just behind Jean-Marc and ahead of Jérôme. The second block was a lot harder and I could feel my lack of mileage recently which was showing in my level of endurance. The pace was around 3:25/km for the intervals and probably 5 seconds slower in the second block.

Around 11 kilometres all up in an hour. Good session but I could feel the lactic in my legs by the end.

Recovery run(s)

It's now a tradition on New Year's Day to begin the year with a gentle run around the forest of St Germain. The purpose of this is twofold: eliminate the excess of alcohol accumulated from the previous night; and secondly start the year on the right foot (so to speak).

Laurence, Alec and I begin the first loop to Chateau du Val with Sophie, my niece and what was intended as an easy run soon becomes a full blast run for Sophie. Laurence is impressed by her speed and manages to beat her own record around the course in the process in 36' or an average pace of 5:02/km.

We start again but with Jack this time. Laurence runs her own route to complete a 10km run for the morning while Alec, Jack and I set off for the same route as before. We get in the forest and I stretch my legs to see how Jack responds and we run together through the forest at a quick pace, leaving Alec behind in the process. Whether it was the fuzz of the alcohol or the simple pleasure of pushing Jack along, we abandon Alec and I check over my shoulder every bend to check that he doesn't get lost over the route. We finish the circuit in 31:37 or an average pace of 4:25/ km. Alec arrived a couple of minutes later and was not pleased to have been left behind when the initial intention was to all run together (which I understand completely and I don't know what overcame me).

So a good start to the year with 15km clocked up for the morning.

Photo of the gang:

Aurillac circuit

I told Laurence that we would get off to a good start in Aurillac with a long Sunday run around the town so the Aurillac loop was decided on. This loop is 20km around the extremities of the town and not only is it a very pleasant circuit with some excellent views, but it also has a load of hills, especially towards the end making it an excellent work-out. There is around 300m of uphill that has to be negotiated over the last 8km of the loop, just when you're beginning to feel it.

I told Laurence that I wanted to accompany her around the circuit as after the Corra run yesterday, I had made all the effort I wanted to for the weekend. We set off and I felt easy whereas Laurence assured me that she was already at 5:35 pace which was not the relaxing start she wanted. I adjusted my pace to hers from then on and we continued to accelerate over the first half of the course. The flat sections would be run at around 5:10 pace and then on the uphills we would slow to around 5:50 pace.

Just after half-way, I began to tell Laurence that she would beat her record over the loop if she continued on at this pace. I had to manage my communication carefully at this point as we have an unspoken agreement that I am not to push her or in fact say anything that can be construed in any manner possible as either a criticism or encouragement when she is beginning to feel tired and hungry. We have started this tour of Aurillac several times in the past and only on a couple of occasions have we managed to finish the circuit together. In fact, possibly all I ever learnt about tact and diplomacy was thanks to running with my wife.

However, the improvement in Laurence's running is really noticeable now and it was obvious that the circuit was less tiring on her at this faster pace than on any of our previous runs. We finished the 20km loop in 1:49 or an average pace of 5:29 per kilometre and I promptly told her that within the next couple of years she'd be able to run this circuit another 10 minutes faster. Damn, I knew I should have waited until after breakfast before slipping this in. A refresher course in tact and diplomacy is definitely necessary...

Map of the loop:

Corra

After a few days off with the achilles tendon still sore from the trail, I felt it was time to try and get back into the usual training routine with Nico and head out to Corra. I can't remember who invited who, but I do remember that I made Nico promise to take it easy.

It was my first session back after a while and I didn't want to kill myself. We set out and I had energy abounding. After being cooped up in the house for a while, it was a relief to be out again and feeling good on a run. The niggle in the achilles was still there but it wasn't such a distraction that I felt the need to ease off or stop running.

Caro and Laurence were out with us too, but both on their bikes. It was drizzling lightly and we were all equipped for the cold but it looked as though it would be the wet and not the mild weather that needed to be dealt with. We set off esaily and after a couple of kilmetres Nico started to push the pace unconsciously. I followed and then moaned after a couple of kilometres that quite frankly 3:49 pace was not easy in anyone's books. He promised to ease off after Corra which is what we did and then we gradually increased the pace again on the route back.

We arrived back home with the girls completely soaked on the bikes. We'd completely the circuit in 1:01 whch was an excellent time by anybody's standards.We had to strip all our clothes off in the basement before traipsing through the house and sitting down to breakfast after a relaxing shower. The Christmas holidays could begin...

Sunday run

I woke up this morning feeling slightly the worse for wear. I'd missed the club session and had preferred to spend an extra hour in bed, encouraged by Laurence who got up to go running with Katia. The excess of alcohol from the previous night still hadn't worked its way out of my system and I decided that a good easy run should do the trick.

I headed down to Corra with the intention of coming back along the wall so as to run 18km and complete my week with over 100 km of running. I set off steadily at 5:00/km pace and after a couple of kilometres, I was into my stride at 4:30/km pace. It felt very easy and my breathing was effortless with the legs feeling slightly fatigued.

It was a beautiful Sunday morning with a clear blue sky and crisp temperature of about 2°C. It was great to clear my head, just what the doctor ordered, although when I bumped into Andy out on his mountain bike, I wasn't able to express myself clearly at first. Steady run back after that slowing to 4:40 pace as I went through a part of the forest I haven't run through before, only recognising my path when I was back alongside the road to the military camp next to Maisons Laffitte.

I was just starting to get very hungry when I reached home after 20k in 1:32 so an average pace of 4:35 for the run. 102.5 km this week in total.

1000 + 3000 + 2000 Club session

No Nico this evening at the club session. This was a complete surprise. Apparently the marathon has taken more out of him than he could cope with and the thought of an evening on the track, attempting to keep up with me was just too much to bear and he copped out. I was sorely tempted to go around to his house to see if he was slouched on a couch, playing CoD with a tub of M&Ms beside him. It's so sad when you see a highly strung athlete go over the edge like this, and I couldn't stand to see another human being in such distress so I left him alone and concentrated on the job in hand.

There was a smaller turnout tonight (obviously with Nico at home with his M&Ms) with no Wilfried from our little group either. José, Jérôme and Mireille were there to act as sparring partners and after a short warm-up, we were on the track ready for the off. Miguel had announced that the workout was supposed to be done at half-marathon pace less 5 seconds, so a sort of threshold plus pace. I figured that we whould be attempting 3:40 / km pace and to take it easy on the first 1km in order to not explode on the longer distances after.

José, Jérôme and Mireille were fine with this and as we watched Momo and Yoan set off  with a small group including Sébastien and Frédéric just behind, we took off ourselves. Jérôme set off fast and I let him go, figuring (correctly) that he'd be with us for the longer distances. I ran very steadily with José on my shoulder all the time and Mireille just behind me - 3:36. Perfect.

It was the same scenario for the second interval except this was 7 and 1/2 laps of the track. José running wide on my shoulder and Mireille and Jérôme just behind. 10:56 for this interval (3:38/km) and so we were very consistent with the pace. For the last 2km, following our 200m recovery, I set off again as per the previous 2 intervals but José came past me with 400m to go and I couldn't stay with him. It was his turn tonight to show us all who the man in form is and it's great to see him running hard again in the club sessions. Mireille was encouraged from the sidelines by Momo and she stayed with us until the end too - 7:10 (3:35/km)

Another good session and running very consistently on the track with a good little group to emulate and stimulate each other. 13km all up.

Now, where's my tub of M&Ms ?

Hills - club session

I even checked the training schedule before setting off to the club with Laurence today. And hills were definitely on the programme. This was confirmed by Miguel with the pre-session speech. Luckily we were only going to do 8 short hills. The big question was where?

Laurence and Katia decided to take it easy following Michel's advice, while I set off with Nico, Mireille, Momo, Romain and others towards Chamburcy. It was a long warm-up and we eventually got to the place where the action was to take place - the far end of the golf course at Joyenval with a suitably steep hill.

Miguel did a quick recce and decided that we'd run 4 short hills (roughly 100m) on the odd reps, and 4 long hills (roughly 200m) on the even reps. Clear ? Well Nico was struggling with the maths as he's obviously still suffering from the after-effects (or the jet-lag?) of his excursion to Florence this weekend. He wasn't letting me forget that he beat my marathon time by 90 seconds and is now the man to beat over the distance. He went on and on about it and how he can reduce this time by another 5 minutes at least that we almost beat him up and left him in a quiet ditch in the forest. I'm surprised he was still able to run with his head swollen so big.

I thought that he'd be pushing the hills too just to shove my nose in it but he was obviously very tired and taking it easy. He just ran a couple hard to show that he's still a contender but we could see that his heart wasn't in it and he's obviously very worried about the forthcoming showdown in Conflans this Saturday. I ran average with some tiredness in the thighs still from Sunday but overall not too bad. Give me a track session over this anyday though.

The best part was running back to the club for our warm-down afterwards when Nico and I decided to run along the road rather than crossing through the forest. The last kilometres went 4"40, 4"10, 3"50, 3"48. The traffic shooting by in the dark less than 10 centimetres from us as we ran in dark tracksuits probably influenced the pace somewhat. Visages of being mowed down by a reckless driver were only too vivid as I ran along. I made sure that Nico was behind me along this stretch so that he would take the force of the shock from the vehicle first...

13.9km all up in 1'18.

Recovery run

A run around Maisons Laffitte this morning along the usual route to try and eliminate the toxins after yesterday's race. The breathing was easy enough but the legs were definitely tired.

I was running at just under 4:30 / km pace after the first kilometre down to the Seine and I managed to maintain this pace to the end. In fact, I felt as though I needed to run a little farther than usual to get the legs back to normal so I carried on down to the town hall and back along the main road to complete the circuit.

Lovely morning and wam for an autumn day. Legs are still suffering though with the thighs particularly tired. So much for a recovery run. I just seemed to have prolonged the agony.

14.3 km all up in 1:02.

Marly cross country training

Laurence agreed somewhat reluctantly to come with me for the annual cross-country training sessions that take palce in Marly park prior to the start of the cross-country season. The improvement in form of the girls (Laurence, Sandra and Katia) has encouraged a healthy pressure to be put on them to take part in the races this year to represent the club. I encouraged them to do some specific training as, even if the cross-country season is not a specific objective as such, these races do help in general performance with the hills and cardiac work in training.

We arrived in Marly to find a smaller turnout than the usual track sessions (thank goodness as the track is very crowded at the moment). Miguel was there to encourage everybody on and to make sure that there was not too much slacking. I chatted to François, who was there for the first time, and we spoke about the benefits of this training. We warmed up around the course, showing the newcomers the difficulties: the first long slope lasting 440m with an average gradient of around 8 - 9%; the second stepper slope lasting 200m at 15% and then the final 1.5k with it's fast downhill and then the long slog in the tall, wet grass before the final bumps to the end of the loop.

Miguel had decided that since it was the first session that we'd only be doing 2 loops instead of the usual 3. Yoan arrived at this point and ran to the front with Ilyes. We set off up the first hill and they both distanced me immediately. A new guy, Stéphane, comes past me up the first slope but I'm closing on him towards the end and I catch him up again on the recovery. I resolve to stay with him and on the next slope I can see that he's suffering already, having gone into the red too soon. On the last section of the first loop, he passes ahead again but I catch him in the grass and overtake, gaining the satisfaction of finishing the first loop ahead of him.

We set off on the second and this time I'm in no-man's land. Yoan and Ilyes are way ahead on the hills, Stéphane is behind. I ran at my own pace and am slightly slower than the first loop, going up the first slope in 2:00 compared to 1:55 for the first time around. I missed the competition from José was was taking it easy before a half-marathon race tomorrow.

I ended the session by running the last section again behind Laurence and Sandra and could see that Laurence was enjoying herself and finding it easier than she had imagined.

13.3k all up. With a long run tomorrow morning, I should hit the 100k again for this week.

Recovery with Nico

I agreed to accompany Nico again tonight as long as we didn't do his 2 x 30' marathon pace session. He wasn't too keen either and he agreed to an hour at 4'20 pace. Perfect.

We ran the usual route around Maisons Laffitte adding on a little extra as we ran down to the town hall and back along the main road to complete the loop. We ran easily, chatting about plenty of subjects and all of the time telling each other to slow down; which neither of us did.

Hitting 3'45 for the kilometre down the hill chatting as we went was probably the highlight of the run which was most enjoyable. It's so good to feel so fit that you just want to make the most of it as you always have this feeling that it won't last.

13.7km all up in 57:43 so 4:12/km on average. So much for an easy 4'20 pace. Good stuff though.

Out and about

I spent most of the week travelling on business and as alaways I packed my running kit and trainers and made the most of the places and hotels where I was staying.

This week was mostly Lyons and Marseille :

Tuesday 12th June: my favourite run to Dardilly and back in the evening. Since I had no pressing obligation I was able to get to the very top of the hill in Dardilly beyond the church and admire the view. 15km all up and a very fast return which saw me completing the last kilometre in 3:24. Wish I could keep this up for 10km.

Thursday 14 th June : Marseill next to the airport and a very disappointing run where I struggled to find a decent road away from the traffic to run. I spent most of my time beside the airport running down the side of the runway. I'm sure there are better places to run around Vitrolles. 11 km all up in the early hours of the morning.

Friday 15th June: Headed back up to Dardilly and then explored slightly to the west getting lost in the fields and forest between Dardilly and Charbonnières. Lovely run and some steep hill training. 11 km all up at 6:00 am.

Saturday 16th June : trail training again with Nico, Pascal, Laurence, Katia and Sandra. Same route as last week up around Joyenval and along the golf course having passed under the A13. 25 km all up at a very steady pace.

Sunday 17th June: dopped Laurence off for her trip to the Auvergne and met up with Nico and his family and friends in Creteil for the marathon relay. Weather was milder than previous years and I managed to run a 8.5 leg in 31:29 before finishing with the others. A lovely meal and great fun chatting and messing around with the group. 16km in total for the day.

A total of 80 km for the week.

Catching up

It's been a busy time and I've found it hard to wite my blog these last few weeks. Whenever I'm not working or running I'm sleeping and trying to recover from work and running. It's definitely a Catch 22 situation. Joseph Heller eat your heart out!

Main objective at the moment is putting in the distance for the CCC at the end of August. The second objective is doing well in the club outing and beating Nico in the process. In order to achieve both of these I've been trying to complete 100 km weeks and this was the first.

Friday 8th June was on my own around town for 11km.

Saturday 9th June was running with Laurence around a long trail route around Marly forest that I'd run with François a week earlier. 25 km all up as I couldn't be bothered to run back this time

Sunday 10th June was the club event and I'd volunteered to cycle ahead of the race. To get my kilometres in I ran 19km early Sunday morning and then hopped on the bike to the St Germain terrasse where the race was set. I cycled ahead of Mustapha as he ran to victory in 30:34. A very pleasant pace to cycle at !

100 km all up for the week.

Dardilly

I was in Lyons on business at staying in the Holiday Inn on the outskirts to the west of town. As a well prepared runner, I had all of my training kit with me and decided the night before to imrpove the preparation by actually looking for once where I would run the following morning. A quick look on Google maps and I decided to head off over the motorway and towards the north west of the city so that I could catch a glimpse of some scenery quickly and leave the urban sprawl behind.

At 6:00 am the next morning I almost changed my mind. Lack of sleep, extreme weariness, and little motivation almost saw me climbing back into bed but I forced myself to get my trainers on and headed out of the hotel. It was one of my first runs back from injury and I spent the first 3 kilometres thinking about my calf and the aches, sprains and other slight niggles I could feel down there. Apart from that I was enjoying the scenery and heading up out of town towards Ecully, then in the direction of Dardilly.

I soon realised that the countryside around Lyons is not flat. I'd been climbing for 3 kilometres now and there was still no sign of any respite in the uphill. The rare downhill sections only lasted a few hundred metres again before I found myself climbing uphill once more. A scary moment at 3 km when I saw my life flash before me as I was almost run over by a Securitas van - how ironic! - and then I was running back uphill into Dardilly a lovely village on the west side of Lyons overlooking the Lyons basin.

I turned back after 6.5 km and ran back exactly the same route that I'd taken on the way out, bar a little incident when I got lost in Ecully losing a few hundred metres in the process.

Times out:

5:33, 4:40, 4:48, 4:35, 4:32, 4:42, 4:41

Times back:

4:07, 3:54, 4:25, 3:51, 4:02, 3:53, 3:51

So a total distance of 13.6km in 1 hour exactly. Average pace of 4:25 over the course. Excellent hill training but a real effort first thing in the morning. Legs are back to normal and felt good by the end of the run.

Back again

It's certainly frustrating to be forced to retire from running for a while. Mind you, there have been that many business trips and early starts recently that even if I had wanted, finding time to get a run in would have been difficult enough anyway. I had compensated by doing a couple of mountain bike rides, but this had only resulted in me straining the base of my back and walking around like Quasimodo for a few days. I told myself that I would take it easy over the weekend and then start again today with Laurence agreeing to accompany me on the bike.

Laurence had been worried about letting me go out for a run on my own, thinking that I wouldn't be reasonable and continue running even if my calf started hurting. She proposed an alternative: a bike and run whereby she'd accompany me on the bike and if at any time I felt that I needed to stop, rest or take it easy than the bike would be there to take me home while she ran. This sounded like a sensible proposal and I wasn't sure how my calf would hold out so I seetled for this.

It was a fairly nice day although the clouds were looming and the rain didn't seem to be far off. I put on a waterproof top (later discovered that this was a mistake) and set out with Laurence in the direction of Corra. I ran the first kilometre easily enough although the Garmin was playing up and beeped at least 100m beyond the usual spot, recording 5:30. As is often the case after an injury, you focus largely on the areas of the body where you've suffered and I spent the next 20 - 30 minutes analysing internally every little ache and pain coming from either leg. The calf was holding up though and despite a few pulls every now and then, there was nothing untoward and I was happy with how it was doing.

I felt good along the path towards Corra and I stretched out to see in what sort of shape I was after 2 weeks of forced rest. My breathing was actually not too bad but my legs were finding the going harder, especially in the thighs. I ran 3 kilometres at 3:55 pace before easing off towards Corra and dropping down to a more sedate 4:15 pace. I tried to maintain this pace up the hill to the Pavillon, running in 4:20 and then accelerating again to 4:13 then 4:08 back up to Le Mesnil.

We took a longer alternative route back home, running past the church in town before getting back in 1:04:45. I reckon that this equates to just under 1:03 over the usual route. 15.3 km all up or an average pace of 4:15 /km. Good to be back and although I didn't feel as fresh or as easy as I have been recently, I was pleased with this run as it shows I haven't lost too much pace.

Injured

I was in England for business. I'd arrived that afternoon and having made a couple of phone calls and sent some mails, I'd unpacked my bags and taken my running kit out. I was going to go for an easy run befor dinner so that I could enjoy myself without feeling guilty.

It was a pleasant evening and the rain that had been falling in France was nowhere to be seen here. I was staying at the same fantastic hotel near Bagshot as last time and I was looking forward to the evening meal. I ran out of the hotel drive, admiring the hundredsof bunnies playing in the evening light, and headed up the hill towards Camberley. I took it fairly easily, running the first kilometre in just under 5 minutes to the top of the hill. The road flattened out here and I ran aong this flat and then began the downhill into Camberley.

I was looking to the left to see if I could make a circuit out of the run, rather than the put and back efforts I'd managed last time in the dark. I ran the next kilometre in 4:15 and then the third in 4:10. It was easy going down the hill and I thought I was coasting. I'd just run into town when disaster struck. All of a sudden I felt a sharp pain in the base of my calf and at the top of my achilles. It was if someone had stabbed me with a dagger in this zone and I was forced to stop immediately. I tried to do some stretching thinking that it was some form of cramp, but to no avail. Nothing I did made the slightest bit of difference and I resigned myself to the fact that I'd pulled a muscle.

I walked the 3.3 km back to the hotel, cursing myself the whole way. I was so frustrated at the thought of losing my current form and all of the lost training that I was almost beside myself. How serious was this injury and what would the consequences be? I lost all interest in the fantastic surroundings and no meal, however great, was going to compensate for this.

Early morning run

After the Sunday training, it was a pleasant change to run by myself at my own rhythm. Despite it being early in the morning, it wasn't too cold and the dawn was beginning to break. I felt good and soon settled down into a fairly sustained tempo, running the first kilometre in 4:30.

I sped up now, accelerating to 4:20 pace and then 4:10 and faster as I headed into the park. It was one of those mornings where everything felt right and although I wasn't comfortable at this pace, it didn't feel as though I had to prove anything or push myself harder. I ran back through the forest as it was light now and it meant that I could enjoy a softer surface. I slowed a little as I ran back up the slope from the railway line but pushed on as it wasn't far back home now.

13.4 km all up in 56:52 or an average pace of 4:14 /km. Good start to the day.

Corra

Usual route with Nico to Corra and back on this Saturday morning. I've been finding it hard to keep to the marathon training schedule with the different races programmed for every weekend at the moment and also a heavy work schedule which stops me from keeping my blog updated.

Anyway, Nico was present for our usual Saturday jaunt and we set off at an easy pace for Corra with the final (at least for us) round of the cross country in Les Mureaux forecast for the next day.

We did set off easily and reasonably enough but by the time we crossed over the road into the forest towards Corra we had accelerated again as is our wont and we were soon running our 4:10 pace. We hit kilometre 7 in 3:58 before I called it a day and told Nico to ease off. I wasn't motivated nearly enough by the final round of the cross-country without arriving at the race exhausted. Nico stopped for his usual toilet stop (it's becoming a permanent feature of our weekend runs (no pun intended) and I jooged on easily waiting for Nico to catch up.

He caught me by Pavillon de la Muette and we finished together at around 4:20 pace before the final kilometre in 3:26.

15km all up in 1:07 depsite a ocuple of kilometres run very slowly in the middle at slower than 5:00 pace.