Club session 5 x 800m + 500m + 300m

Managed to make it to the club session by the skin of my teeth tonight. Stuck in a jam coming off the motorway and thought that I'd miss it but arrived just in time to hear the team talk as I rushed into the changing rooms.

Miguel and Nico came to see me to tell me that it was recovery run for the guys having participated in the cross-country and that the session was cancelled. Nico then asked if I was still interested and I replied in the affirmative not knowing what the session involved. It was only one that I'd committed that I found out that it was 5 x 800m off 300m recovery followed by 500m then 300m.

Nico and I ran the warm-up together catching up with the others who'd left 5 minutes earlier. We chatted about the weekend and Nico's performance which was very ggod since he finsihed the same course in a time faster than José by 1 second and 8 seconds behind Gérald in the same race. We discussed why he hadn't stayed with Gérald and it's always the same debate: do you take the risk and accept that you can overheat and explode or do you run more prudently and wait the opportunity that might not re-appear. No real answer and it's always easier to analyse after the race, knowing the final results. It sounded like some good races with Mireille finishing second in the women's x-country and first in the vet category and Momo finishing 4th in the race and 3rd in his category.

Back to the track where things were to get serious. Tom was back from injury and ready to give it a blast and José was on for the session too. So 4 of us took off together to start the 5 x 800m. The first went well with Nico in front an Tom following until the final bend when I managed to pull alongside and finish neck and neck with Nico. He was able to accelerate after tis first whereas I was close to my VO2 max and was only able to improve slightly. I didn't have the Garmin on so was only able to judge by Nico's times:

2:45, 2:41; 2:41, 2:42, 2:43 for the 800m.

I was pleased as I managed to stay in front of José for all of them and Nico was at most 3 seconds ahead over the distance.

As for the 500m and the 300m these were harder to judge. Suffice to say that I was well behind everyone on the 500m and then stayed in front of José for the 300m.

Great session in that it was tough and demanding but satisfying as I was consistent and in touch with Nico and José. I feel that I'm improving and am happy with my recoveries which are quicker and quicker.

13k all up in 1:10.

Back on my feet

Felt better last night after a couple of days of stomach gurglings and severe threatenings of a full-blown attack of the squits. I set the alarm for 6:00am and concentrated all my thoughts on getting back out onto the road and building up the mileage again.

It was a mild morning as winter had disappeared as quickly as it arrived and although it is only mid-January, it feels as though spring is already upon us. The first pleasant surprise was the lack of rain and the warm(ish) temperature, and the second was how good my legs felt to be out again. They felt rested and full of energy so I just enjoyed myself and ran faster than usual to test them out.

After the first kilometre in 4:49, I accelerated and managed the next kilometres at around 4:25 pace and then stabilised at this speed before another acceleration towards the end to finish at close to 4:00 pace.

10.3km all up in 45:38 or an average of 4:25 per km. Great feeling and hopefully I'll be able to get out tonight too to see what's going on at the club.

Easy run

Went out for a pre-race easy run with Nico yesterday prior to the cross-country races today. I managed to persuade Nico to postpone his jog for an hour so that we could run together.

He'd planned a 45 minute jog at 12km/h with 5 series of 30/30 in the middle, so we headed out into the forest and ran up to the pond, 'La mare aux Cannes'. It was a good morning, not too cold as the temperature was around 10°C. Nice run, good chat and then the series of 5 accelerations and I managed to keep up with Nico (I was sprinting whereas he was just coasting fast!).

Got back in 48 minutes and ran just under 10k so it was ideal.

Unfortunately, the day went pear-shaped after that and I felt awful in the afternoon with a dodgy belly. A bad night's sleep and I had to recognise that I was in no fit shape to race the cross-country this morning. I went along just to see the veteran's race and to show my support. Eric, Bruno W, José, Thierry, Nick B, Yves, Charles, Gérard and Adrian all took part and ran good races. A very fast course with almost no mud and few real difficulties. I would have found it hard to beat Thierry over that terrain.

Early start for a birthday

Birthdays are days when you look after yourself. Days when you pamper yourself and relax, take it easy and let others do the chores for you (I can already hear Laurence telling me that this isn't just for birthdays - it's every day ;) ). Anyway, birthdays are not supposed to be made for getting up at 6:00 am and going for a run. So why did I ?

Obtuse, masochistic, and determined are the first 3 words that spring to mind. Fool is the 4th. It was a pleasant surprise to leave the house and find that the temperature was actually quite warm,: a very mild 12°C in fact. I rand around my usual route by the river and through the park at a comfortable pace around 4:45 per km. Sylive was in the park running her intervals at 6:25 this morning, complaining that she felt tired. Frankly, I felt tired just looking at her do the session, let alone try this myself.

12 km all up in 55 minutes or an average of 4:41 per km. Felt pretty good once I'd warmed up in the legs and the stiffness had disappeared.

The last crusade

I amde it to the club session again last night and another full turnout awaited me. Well, when I say awaited me, I was actually a few minutes late and the only person who was waiting was Laurence. She had kept the changing room key for me and I got changed quickly and we warmed-up together until we met the rest of the club on their way back round the warm-up route.

The usual warriers were there: Thierry, Jean-Marc, Gérald, Momo, Jérémie, Romain, José, Bruno, Mireille - so basically all of the fastest runners in the club. But hold on: there was a little area of Gaul that resisted vainly - Nico. When the going gets tough, the tough are nowhere to be seen! Apparently, the speech made by Miguel, the trainer, before the session was to explain that after a lengthy exchange of mails, our "tough" boy Nico had decided that last week's training was too hard for him so he decided to stay at home. Award for big girls blouse of the week is no contest this week. He's even got a special title now: big girls blouse with lace.

Miguel had decided that tonight would be an easy session (too easy for Nico apparently) of 2x12' with 3' recovery around the track. The initial idea had been to run this along the road, but the vast majority preferred the track option, so track it was and 10km pace decided. The crusaders lined up at the start didn't include Momo and Mireille who were doing 400m intervals instead and as prepared to go I wondered who I'd be able to run with.

We set off and I saw that I ran the first lap in 1'26 which is slightly faster than 16km/h but still not sufficient for me to be able to stay with Jean-Marc, Romain, Jérémie, Thierry and José. I let them go as I considered that 12' effort was too long to stick to a pace close to VO max. Miguel and Gérald joined me before Gérald got bored and sprinted off following Momo on one of his 400m intervals. We were steady now at 90" per lap (16 km/h) and I felt almost relaxed. This was 3'45 per km and well above my usual training pace. Miguel dropped out after 2km and I ran the last 3 laps by myself, completing just over 8 laps in the allotted time.

3' recovery and off I set again, this time with Gérald and Thierry who'd been left by the leading group. I ran at the same pace, leading both of the others with Thierry breathing heavily on my tail. Gérald was obviously comfortable and decided to run with us but ran wide around the bends to push his pace slightly. The pace was very steady at 16km/h and it was only with 3 laps to go that Thierry took the lead and increased the pace slightly, meaning that I had to make a little effort to keep up. I counted the laps down now and forced myself to stick with him until the finish. Another 8 laps and a bit and I was done; tired but satisfied. Jean-Marc, Jérémie and José finished 250m ahead in their little group, Romain having dropped out.

Another great session and I feel that I've improved distinctly for a year ago at this time. Too bad that Nico wasn't there, not man enough to take the pain. This bodes well for Malakoff when I can show him that there's life in the old dog yet.

13.5km all up so 25.6km for the day. Not bad going.

Wet Wet Wet

I checked the thermometer before leaving the house this morning. Seeing it showed 4°C, I considered that it was warm enough with a couple of layers on and I went outside. There was a light drizzle falling, so I stepped back inside, grabbed a cap and left for a recovery run.

My legs were still tired and the muscles aching with that dull ache that comes after heavy exercise. I decided that the recovery programme was to get the legs turning over to eliminate the toxins and to put in a bit of mileage. Pace was not an issue. So it was the usual route through Maisons Laffitte with an extra loop in the park in order to run about 12km in all.

The first few kilometres were heavy going, but since I wasn't worried about the pace, I just concentrated on exercising the thighs and running efficiently in order for the aches and pains to disappear. I was having such a good time, despite the drizzle that at one point, I suddenly woke up from the daydream to discover that I was going slower than ever and my feet were almost dragging along the ground. So much for the efficient running style ! I kicked myself awake and upped the pace slightly, for my own pride rather than anything else.

The rain began to fall more heavily now and my shorts were clinging to my thighs. My cap had reached its maximum capacity to protect me from the rain and was now dripping constantly down the back of my neck. My upper layers were drenched and prevented my arms from moving freely as the weight of the water restricted the movement of the clothes. I was happy with that feeling of satisfaction you get from doing something extraordinary that nobody else is able (or willing more appropriately) to do. My legs were numb from the rain and the cold and I had to look at them to see how they were and if I still had my shorts on. The shorts had moulded themselves to my legs and were now an integral part of my body. In summary, I was drenched.

I got back and Laurence asked me if I'd enjoyed my shower. A shower ? That was a complete immersion that I'd had. I was that close *closes finger and thumb together* to drowning.

12km in 56 minutes or an average pace of 4:43 per km.

The killing fields

Remember the film set in Cambodia where the Khmer Rouge take power and commit atrocities in the deep mud - well that was today's session. We had mud, guts and glory this morning.

I ran over to the club as promised this morning after a late night last night and a few whiskies too many. I left Laurence in bed as she tried to make the best possible use of her time under the duvet! As soon as I left the front door and began to run, I knew that I was in trouble. My thighs had not recovered from yesterday's training and even at a slow pace I was still hurting.

I ignored the pain and hoped that as I warmed up that this would ease. I gradually sped up as I ran through the forest going from 5:10 pace to 4:45 pace by the time I got to the club. OK - it wasn't exactly fast but it was a distinct improvement. A big turnout at the club with all the blokes from cross-country training present plus a few more: Gérald, Bruno, Anis and Robin. Fewer women today as all the ladies from yesterday had gone missing. I even wondered if Laurence hadn't fallen back asleep but she wandered in after the official start time, looking slightly worse for wear.

The session today was 3x10' at threshold pace off 3' recovery. I told Nico that I wouldn't be pushing it today and would keep to the programme : threshold pace and not 10k pace. He told me that he was suffering slightly and had been in the wars. Apparently, he'd taken a hit to the crotch (although he claimed he was unaware of the cause ...) and was in need of medical assistance. Miguel told him to ask a member to sort him out (fnarr, fnarr) but he refused when he was told that he couldn't choose which one.

After this period of comic relief, at least for Gérald, Miguel and myself as Nico wasn't in any mood to laugh, we got down to business and started the first interval. We set off easily enough but then Jean-Marc ran to the front and started to show us that threshold for a serious runner such as himself is a good 2 km/h faster than my own perception. Gérald, not wanting to let the side down, sprinted off to catch him up and that set the others off too... José, Nico and Thierry. I had to respond and followed at a reasonable distance of 10 metres. Having set off initially at around 13km/h, by the end of the interval we were at almost at 16 km/h - so much for threshold. We corssed over into the Poissy side of the forest and started again.

This interval was worse as we started immediately at 3:40 pace and Gérald chased Jean-Marc from the start. Nico, Thierry and José followed close behind and built a small gap on me immediately. We left the forest and the muddy paths to hit a road section, heading slightly uphill. I flagged immediately and was caught by Anis (who was only jogging !!) and Miguel. I stuck to Miguel as he came past and we then ran together, chasing the group ahead and staying very steady at 3:50 pace.

Last interval and Thierry had tired of running at the front and ran with Miguel and I while the usual suspects stayed in front. Both Miguel and Thierry upped the pace at the end and made a few metres on me while I ran steadily at 3:50 pace to finish. Another hard work-out on muddy paths, with little grip in the forest. My biggest problem is the uphill where even the slightest of inclines causes me to flanch and to slow. I need to work on this mentally.

An easy run back to the club where we crossed one of the usual female forest workers and Nico almost stopped to request some professional assistance for his war wound. We were able to encourage him on and made it back to the club and then I carried on to run the last 5km home back through the forest.

26.1 km all up in 2:13 making the tally 80km for the week. Good quality sessions all week which has left me tired but in a satisfied manner. The real battle will be in the mud next weekend with Thierry.