Cross country training at Marly

What happened to the usual Corra run today? Saturday is reserved for running to Corra lake and back with Nico unless there is some major world crisis that means that we can't manage it. Until now earthquakes in Japan, bushfires in Australia and the current world economic crisis have not influenced this weekly ritual so it was with some surprise that I received a reply to my text to Nico suggesting we run at Marly instead.

Marly is reserved for corss country training sessions with Miguel and the last time I looked at the training schedule, there were no more Saturday sessions before late 2013. However, since I'm not an avid reader of the training schedules, I was prepared to admit that I'd overlooked this session and would accompany Nico and the others nonetheless. I then listened to my voicemail. In fact, the session was just with Yoan, Nico and Jean-Marc and possibly Sébastien. I felt worse now. Training with the best athletes from the club and knowing that I'd be struggling behind on my own was not motivating and a long lie-in in bed was looking infinitely more preferable.

We arrived at Marly park and Jean-Marc and Yoan turned up just after accompanied with the plan for the morning. 5 hills to begin with (roughly 100m), then 12' threshold, 6' threshold, 6' threshold and 5 hills to end off 2' recovery between each block. An easy warm-up around our usual cross-country training route and then we began. The 5 hills were straight-forward but I could already feel a little tension in my hamstrings from forcing up the slope. We then attacked loops of the pond, heading down through the trees to begin with before turning left across the grass and then back along the conifers in the long grass and then a couple of short slopes to end the loop.

The first interval saw Yoan loping away in front, Nico being gapped behind and me being gapped by Nico. Jean-Marc had run off to do a couple of slopes instead. I was running slightly under 4' pace due to the uphill slopes at the end of each loop. They were taking their toll on my legs and I'd end each loop in trepidation of the uphill to finish. A couple of minutes recovery and Nico and Jean-Marc (back from his slopes) ran back to me so that we could start on the next interval. This was exactly the same story and the following 6 minutes I'd run at the same pace as the first interval. Bis repetita for the next interval too and it was a huge relief to finish this and to just have the last 5 hills to complete the session.

Nico said that we were late for the interval. Sorry ???!! It was now he announced that we still had another 4' of threshold to run before we attacked the hills. I'd missed this completely and I now ran the last loop using sheer willpower uniquely. My legs were shot, my achilles was aching and I was hungry to boot. What a session. The last hills were hard but quick and we then warmed down to complete the 16.5k run for the morning in 1:29. Give me a fast run to Corra anyday over this...

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:

Houilles - 6.9 km popular race

There are 2 races at Houilles, the last 'corrida' or town centre race to finish the calendar year in France each year. The most important of these is the 10km race, open to registered club athletes and providing a spectacle for both those participating and those watching from the sidelines. This year was no exception with 10 runners finishing under 29' and a sprint to separate the first 3 runners who cross the line within 2 seconds of each other.

This year however, I had decided to enter the popular race over 2 laps of the same circuit as the 10km race. Paul, my son and my brother and nephew, over from Australia also decided to run so we set up a little France v. Australia challenge to spice up the event. A quick warm-up and then we were down to the start line where I struggled to get a decent position. I was a good 10 - 12 rows back from the start with probably 400 hundred runners ahead of me. The streets around Houilles are narrow and I knew that the first kilometre would be difficult.

The gun went and we were off. Well almost. I shuffled forward for a few seconds before I crossed the start line and only then was I able to break into a jog. The next 500m were spent slaloming through the crowds with some other club runners who were obviously in the same situation as myself. I saw the split for the first kilometre - 3:59 ! I was only just managing marathon speed for a 7 km race.

As the runners spread out over the next couple of kilometres I was able to accelerate but I couldn't maintain either my motivation for the race, or my pace for that matter. The splits went as follows:

3:59, 3:28, 3:37, 3:40, 3:44, 3:42 and 3:34 pace to finish.

I was disappointed with myself as I couldn't bring myself to run faster and to push the pace or my heartrate any higher. I ran faster splits at Andrésy which was almost twice this distance. I finished the race and saw Jahom (or Philippe) who blogs regularly and who I follow. He ran a good 30 seconds faster than me to finish 8 places ahead and I spoke to congratulate him on his run and to tell him face to face that a sub 3 hour marathon was surely on the cards.

For the record, Australia won the challenge easily with my nephew running just under 2 minutes slower than me followed by my brother another 2 minutes behind and then Paul who ran 9 minutes less than me but off no training whatsoever. Paul and I need to improve by 3 minutes to beat them next time around.

Some photos of the race:

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...

Forest run with club

It was an easy choice tonight: a track session with Miguel or an easy run in the forest with Michel and the girls. My ankle has not improved much from Tuesday and I decide that it's not wort risking further injury or prolonging the injury I have by running hard over a track session. This was a shame as José and  Jérémie were there and I'd been enjoying our regular track sessions these last few weeks.

I put on the headlamp and ran with Katia and Laurence after the usual warm-up run around St Germain. We set off and ran towards Poissy at the end of the cycle track, we waited for the slowest member of the group to catch up and then we set off again. And then we repeated the exercise. It wasn't as though we were running fast either. At an average pace of 6'45/km, we weren't exactly pushing it. So, I was basically very frustrated, regretting my choice of sessions for the evening, despite the fact that it was pleasant to chat with Katia and Laurence. The achilles felt alright and the dull pain that was present at the start of the session had virtually disappeared by the end. I did, however, have other niggles that started such as pain in my right knee and pain under the sole of my right foot.

A couple of laps around the outside of the track when we got back to the club with Katia and Laurence and we managed to complete 12.2 km in all. It just took us 1:22 to manage this though! I'll just count this as a very slow recovery run, helping the achilles back into shape.