Paris-Versailles : the 25 second story!

It's been a tough week. In fact, it's been worse than a tough week: it's been a 'kick a man when he's down' week with marathon training at 6:00am all week, working on integration at work until all hours and then trying to decorate the flat and fit a parquet floor before the new tenant arrived yesterday. The pressure has been high and my sleep deprivation has risen to all time highs.

This wasn't the ideal warm-up to the race this morning but before I get onto that race report, I'll give you all a brief summary of what has been going on during the week.

Last Sunday was the Chasseurs du Temps race in Vincennes and we lined up a solid 3 man team in the shape of Nico, Benj (Nico's brother) and myself. We set Benj off first and then me and the final leg was run by Nico. We hit our objective almost spot on with Benj and myself running 26 minutes legs for the 7.1km and then Nico running a 25 minute final leg. Well, actually we only have Nico's word that he ran under 26 minutes since he forgot to stoop and register the timing chip over the mat in his excitement to finish. The poor lad was extremely embarassed and had to go and discuss with the race officials as to our team position. We finished in 4th position in a total time of 1:18 being beaten by some very competent teams on the day who were beyond our league. Still we enjoyed the run and the atmosphere was pretty good on a lovely sunny day.

Monday - a 13km recovery run around the park in Maisons Laffitte pre-dawn in just under the hour

Tuesday - 2x 2km long interval session pre-dawn which was supposed to be run at threshold - 5 seconds per km. I ran the intervals in 7:30 then 7:29 and was chuffed to bits. Feeling good and marathon training is going better than I've managed previously.

Wednesday - a 13km recovery run around the park in Maisons Laffitte pre-dawn in just under the hour

Thursday - 2x 12x200m. I managed this session a whole lot better than in Stockholm. Intervals went as follows:

40, 40, 48 (wtf !), 40, 43, 42, 38, 42, 41, 35, 41, 39
40, 39, 41, 39, 39, 41, 39, 40, 39, 41, 39, 40

So, a good week's training but I skipped the Saturday session as I had too much work on my plate sorting out the flat at the last moment. I woke up this morning refreshed physically but stressed mentally as on top of all of the other things going on, I managed to lose the single set of car keys I possess for my car and smashed the passenger side window to see if I hadn't left them in the boot - they weren't.

I rode in with Paul B. and we left his car in his office carpark before jogging a couple of kilometres across Paris to the start at the foot of the Eiffel tower. We met Hélène and Brigitte here and then I left them to head off to the start of the race as I'd managed to get a preferential bib for the first time ever and had the pleasant sensation of being able to warm up easily without worrying about shouldering my way through the crowds to get a decent starting position. I met Nico and Benj here and we headed off for an extended warm-up picking up Greg and a friend Jérôme on the way.

We lined up behind the elite and then we were off. I felt good from the start: fresh and relaxed and I took the lead from Nico and Benj just focusing on how I felt and not worrying what they were doing behind me. I ran the first 2 km in 3:36 for each and then slowed slightly in the 3rd km to 3:42 as there was a slight rise as we ran under one of the bridges over the Seine. Another couple of kilometres along the flat by the river which I ran in 3:43 then 3:50 and at the end of the 6th kilometre we began the climb up Cote des Gardes, the 2km long landmark hill of the race.

It was a long pull up and I suddenly began to feel the tiredness. I lost a few places as people I'd been running with pulled away from slightly up the hill. I wasn't unduly worried and just concentrated on using small regular paces, without stopping but it was a hell of a relief when I reached the feeding station at the top. I'd been expecting Nico to come past me up the hill but still no sign, so he must have been further back than I thought.The uphill I managed in 4:59 then 4:54 and I remembered my last blog account as I ran when I was slightly over 5 minutes / km on this section. I may be tired but I'm running faster than before.

We hit the forest section now and it was a relief as the air was decidedly cooler than through Meudon up the hill. I tried to pick up speed quickly and push on with the pace now that the hills were behind me. I looked at the garmin as I passed the 8km barrier and saw that it showed 32:57. I quickly calculated that I only need to run the rest of the course at 15km/h to beat my record and get under 1:05. This spurred me on. However, it wasn't as straightforward as it appeared. The 9th kilometre was managed in 4:07 and then the next in 3:53.

It was just after 10km when Nico caught me. It wasn't a total surprise as I'd been losing touch with the runners around me as fatigue set in. The hill had taken it out of me and now Nico ran up to me and I gave him the thumbs up sign, too tired to talk.He pulled ahead at 11km and I couldn't give any more. I was running 3:48/km now and I was beat. I began to count down the kilometres willing the legs to hold out. This was exacerbated at the end of the 14th kilometre when we had to run up the hill past the cemetary - pace slowed to 4:16 and I felt like walking. I resisted the temptation and forced my legs to turn over. I could feel the lactic now and any thoughts of catching Nico over the last couple of kilometres were disappearing fast. He looked behind to see where I was and this encouraged me as I thought he must be hurting too.

It just wasn't to be though. I held on but the last 1.5 km were just too much: the main avenue in Versailles rising steadily towards the finish line was the last straw. 4:01 to achieve this kilometre and Nico remained stubbornly 50 metres ahead. I tried to pick up the pace but even the sight of the finish line didn't help. I gave it all I had and finished in 1:04:20 some 43 seconds faster than my PB. Nico finished 25 seconds ahead of me in 1:03:55. 25 measly seconds and another victory to him. My determination is set though and I know I can beat him now over the longer distances. Next attempt in Marseille.

Paris - Versailles

It was another lovely morning when I woke up. It has been a real Indian Summer lately, with temperatures still regularly above 20°C during the day and no rain for the last few weeks.

I had prepared all my kit last night, and having woken up, I slipped all of this on quickly and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast before jogging down the road to the station. I wasn't the only guy in shorts and t-shirt on the platform this morning and there were a good 10 runners already waiting for the train when I arrived. When I got on the train, it was more of the same with half of the passengers dressed in running gear ready for the race. This year the event had managed to complete its quota of 20 000 participants one week before the race, as opposed to last year when only 16 000 runners had entered.

I arrived at the Eiffel Tower where the race was due to begin just after 9:00 am for a 10:00 am start. There were already crowds of runners lined up in the pen waiting for the off and this was an hour before it was all due to happen. It was a lot busier than last year with crowds already waiting for the off. The usual staggered start was in place with 300 runners being released every minute, or rather 150 - 175 every 30 seconds. I slipped as far as possible through the crowds to approach the start line. I managed to get as far as the urinals where I waited with other runners quietly, listening to the announcer talking non-stop and keeping my nerves as calm as possible before the start.

I was just looking around at this point, when I spotted Fred from the club relieving himself in the toilets just beside me. I waved, but he had difficulty in waving back, but he came over to join me. He was supposed to be meeting work colleagues but had missed them in the throng. We had a chat and I told him that he couldn't use his excuse of having to stop for a pee after the last time I beat him on the 4 Chateaux race. I told him my race plan of running about 3:55 pace for the first 6 km before the big hill and then seeing how I felt once that obstacle was completed. Fred said that he'd follow me and see how long he could hold on.

We finally set off about 6 minutes after the elite runners and the relief to set off was tangible. All of the tension and nervousness is released in those first paces and we settled down into a steady rhythm. The first km was slower due to the msucles being cold from 1 hour of standing, waiting around and also due to having to swerve around slower runners who start at the same time.

I made sure that I didn't tire myself out too soon after the start and the pace for the first 6 kms alongside the Seine, running West out of Paris was as follows:
3:57, 3:45, 3:49, 3:54, 3:58, 4:01

The last kilometre was the start of the Cote des Gardes, the big hill pulling out of Paris, up through Meudon which lasts for 2 kilometres. Fred was still with me here and I shortened my stride and took it easy up the hill. These 2 kilometres were negotiated at 5:03 and 4:56 before we reached the top and stretched away again.

The road was undulating from here on in, through the forest on tracks and then back onto the tarmac. Fred would pull away from me on the downhills, and I would reel him back in on the slight uphills. I finally thought that I'd got the better of him after overtaking him at the 11 k marker, but after passing some other runners from the club, including Patrick and Philippe, he came past me again and I tucked in behind him.

We were neck and neck to the final straight at the outskirts of Versailles and I wondered then if we shouldn't agree to cross the line together. Fred had other thoughts however and pushed hard again from 14.5 k onwards and so I just followed him. I could see he was tiring and I had the advantage knowing where the finish line was after an extremely long straight. Apathy set in at this point and I reminded myself that my objective was to beat last year's time - full stop. I'd run 90km this week and the race was not an objective in itself. Fred put in a sprint for the finsihing line and I let him go, completing the course about 5 seconds after him in 1:05:03 or one minute faster than last year.

I am pleased with the result as this equates to an average of 4:02 per km over the 16 km course, including the 2 km hill where I was running at 12 km/h. As I was running in, I felt that I could manage this pace over a half-marathon and so the objective of 1:24 is totally feasible.

Video of the course below:

Paris - Versailles

Second most popular race in France, after the Paris Marathon is Paris - Versailles, a world classic. The particularity of the race is the staggered start. There are no starting positions based on predicted times, but once the elite runners are set off at 10:00 am the rest of the particpants are set off in blocks of 300 runners at 1 minute intervals.

Laurence and I picked up the rest of the Le Mesnil crowd at 8:15 this morning and drove everyone to the RER to get the train in to the Eiffel Tower, where the race begins. Paul, Didier and Hélène were also taking part and we arrived at the start, smartly dressed in our bin bags and old T-shirts 45 minutes before the race was to begin. We thought we would be early but there were already a good 3500 people queued up in front of us in the starting area.

The elite got away at 10:00 for the 16.3 km with a predicted time for the winner in the 46 minutes zone. This means that they run every km around 2:50 on average including the huge hill between 6 and 8 km. I'm not just impressed but in total awe before such performances. My own aim was a more modest 1:07:00, Paul 1:12:30 and Laurence and Hélène under 1:30:00. Didier didn't pronounce his objectives.

We got split up at the start and Paul and Didier set off a minute before the rest of us. In fact, I didn't see them again until the end of the race. I set the Garmin to 4:00 per km which was ambitious after yesterday's efforts but I thought I would see how I could do. We set off and I headed to the front of our group of runners quickly chasing down the group in front. Because there is a huge range of abilities in each group it wasn't long before I was overtaking people and weaving in and out of the crowds on the South bank of the Seine. The course was flat along here and the kilometres seemed to flash by. I was running steadily at just under 4:00 per km and holding back before the hill, La Cote des Gardes appeared.

Sure enough, just before the 6km marker appeared, we turned left and began the climb up the hill.

As you can see from the profile, 140m of uphill over 2 km. I slowed down to just over 12 kmh going up this hill as I just couldn't summon the energy to get up any faster. Part of the problem was other runners blocking the way as I had to weave between people throughout the course and the roads aren't very wide in places, hence the staggered start. Part of the problem was 23 km yesterday, which I could still feel in my legs. Once at the top, I stretched out again and concentrated on regaining my previous pace. The kilometres were passing more slowly now and as I reached 10km in 42:18, I was counting them down to the end.

2 runners came past me at this point and I pushed on to stay with them. In fact, this was perfect as they were running only slightly faster than me and we stayed together until the final kilometre when they pulled away slowly to finish 10 seconds ahead. I crossed the finish line and stopped my watch. I had no idea of the time as I'd been running in virtual partner mode and just knew that I was 1:22 behind my allotted 4:00 speed. 1:06:01 showed on the watch and I was delighted. That was a minute better than target.

I saw Paul at the finish too and he'd run a fantastic 1:09:55 and was chuffed to bits. We walked backed to meet our supporters, Ally and the kids and waited for Hélène , Laurence and Didier to cross the line. Hélène and Laurence had run together and Hélène just left Laurence at the end to finish 4 seconds ahead in 1:25:06 to Laurence's 1:25:10. We missed Didier who had run slightly faster in 1:23:24. Laurence came in very red in the face and it was obvious that she had given everything over the course. She was thrilled with her result.

Official result can be found here: http://www.parisversailles.com/resultats.php

I was 271 out of 13652 finishers and 65 V1. Really pleased with result as I ran at 4:04 pace over the distance including the hill or 14.7 km/h.

Not bad for a training run !