5000m + 3000m

I wasn't looking forward to this session. Not one little bit.

The 5km was supposed to be run in 19:30 so an average pace of 3'54" /km and the 3km was supposed to be run in 11'15" or an average pace of 3'45" / km. There was 3' of recovery in between the intervals but you were wupposed to speed up between the two.

I left the hotel and it was a warm evening so I took along a bottle of water to keep me hydrated after the intervals. It is unbelievably annoying to run with a bottle in your hand. However you seem to hold it, you can never get comfortable. If it wasn't so warm, I would have thrown it away after 500m but I figured that I'd need this later on so I held on to it.

I warmed up for 4km at 4'45" pace before setting off along the main road to Charleville Mézières. Although there was a fair amount of traffic, I decided that it was one of the flattest roads in the area and I wasn't going to make this session any harder by throwing in some hills too.

A slight decline to begin with and a good fast start for the first interval :

3'33", 3'36", 3'39", 3'39, 3'37" and I'd finished the first one with the last 1.5km a bit of an effort and I had to grit my teeth to maintain my pace. 18'07" in total for a target of 19'30".

The 3 minute recovery went by far too quickly and I was off again :

3'35", 3'38, 3'35" and it was all over. 10'48" in total for 11'15".

I almost gave up after the first kilometre on this last session. I was hurting badly and I desperately wanted to throw in the towel. My legs were aching and I was overheating. It was a real relief and a pleasure to have smashed the allotted times with some very regular running. These times confirm my form for the moment as they are in line with the 8k I ran on Sunday at around 3'38" pace.

A jog back to the hotel and 18.2km all up in 1h17. Average pace of 4'14"/km for the session. Going well.

Marathon training - 45' @70% MHR

Ran from the hotel this morning for 45' at an easy pace. Had managed to get a good night's sleep in and was fully hydrated after the 1h20 that I ran yesterday in the heat.

I set off on a shortened version of my loop around Sedan as I was only aiming to run 10km and the normal loop is 13k. The morning was cool at around 8°C so it was a refreshing change from most of my runs recently. I felt the tiredness in my legs from the marathon training. This is the third week now and the fatigue is starting to accumulate, having clocked up 122 kms each week for the first two.

The watch showed 4'35 for the first kilometre and I tried to keep just under 4'30 for the remainder of the loop. Mission accomplished with a loop of 10.7 km run in 47:22 and an average pace of 4'27" this morning. Lovely weather for a morning run - just what the doctor ordered.

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.

More intervals

Regular Tuesday night club session with a strong attendance this evening. All the regulars were there. In fact anybody who counts was there, with the notable exception of Jean-Marc. Miguel had some more fartlek planned for us with 2 blocks of 7 x 1'/1' but since I was still negotiating the participation in the Berlin marathon for September 2013, I missed the brief.

I ran the warm-up with François who is getting stronger and stronger in swimming for the June Ironman, while I'm getting more and more worried and not doing much about it for the moment. So how will this Ironman go ? Well if I manage not to drown in the Mediterranean during the 3.8km swim, I'll probably collapse of heat exhaustion following François' rear wheel on the 180km bike ride but I should at least be able to complete the marathon if I get that far. François is putting me to shame so I need to pull my finger out and get to the pool and on my bike.

François followed Katia and Laurence on their trail training half-way round the warm-up while I headed back with the others to the track. I hesitated for a while about the fartlek before following Nico around the track on his 10k preparation with a 4 x 1000m session off 2' recovery. He set off like a bullet and left me in his wake and it was all I could do to struggle around 60 - 70m behind him.

The intervals went as follows:

3:19, 3:24, 3:23, 3:27

I was pretty consistent and pleased with the result. I was feeling the lactic on the last interval but closing on Nico which cheered me up. I probably could have managed another 2 at the same pace as the last.

11.5k all up in 1:15.

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.

Sunday club run

Another short night after dinner out with friends and Nico and I drove to the club for the Sunday run. We both said that we'd take it easy after yesterday's session but we knew that this would be hard as we were running to Joyenval around the golf course with Michel's group. There was another good turnout with notably the return of José after some hamstring problems. The plan for the session was to run up to the golfcourse at Joyenval and then do 3 x 8' at cross-country pace around the golf course before heading back.

After our warm-up to the edge of the golf course, it was obvious that the session wouldn't be as straight-forward as it appeared since heavy rain had turned the paths into mud pools. In fact when Miguel blew the whistle for the first interval, Nico put his foot in a mudbath and promptly lost his shoe to the mirth of all around him. I ran with José, seeing how he was doing after a few days off and in his normal trailer style, he ran hard up and down the hills, shortening his stride and it was all I could do just to stay with him.

The second interval saw the same runners ahead with Yoan running from the back to the front of the group followed by Ilyes, Sébastien, Jean-Marc and Frédéric. I was just behind with José who started to slow as the pain reappeared in his thigh. Nico caught us at the end of the interval and we all started together for the third. 8 minutes later and it was finished. I hadn't run too hard, feeling the stiffness in my legs from Marly and the hills. My breathing was easy but the legs were tired and it was nice to run back to the club at a comfortable speed (4:20 pace) with Yoan and Ilyes.

18km all up in 1:42 and it brings my total mileage to the week to around 60km so not too high. My achilles is improving but still aches at the end of each run at the moment.