Lisbon

Spent a week in Lisbon on holiday with Laurence and one of our sons, Paul together with some friends and their daughter. Great week and enjoyed a little bit of running with lots of eating and drinking (mostly whisky!).

Sunday:

Easy jog around Lisbon discovering the city with Laurence and Katia. 11.3 km in 1:02 so an average pace of just over 5:30 / km. Boy the city is hilly though. Unless you're running alongside the river there are hills wherever you turn.

Monday:

Hill training with a 15 minute warm-up around Edward VII park and then 6 hills lasting 550 metres up the right-hand side as can be seen in the photo.

Reps went as follows:

2:42, 2:34, 2:29, 2:27, 2:26, 2:24

Completely knackered by the end.

12 km all up in 58 minutes.


Tuesday:

Went out in the evening with Katia, Laurence and Jacques around Lisbon. We did a couple of reps up the hill in the park and then headed off around town, almost getting lost in the process. Very easy pace and we did just over 10km in an hour.

Friday:

Laurence wanted to test her leg after the thigh injury she's been suffering from for over 2 months now. We down to the river and along to Belem before turning back and heading diagonally across town back to the flat. 16 km all up in 1:24 - a really good effort.

Easy week overall but lovely to be able to run in reasonable temperatures again instead of the autumnal weather back home.

Hill session

Bank holiday today in France so the club session was at 9:00am instead of in the evening. I cycled in on my mountain bike and saw that the turnout was fairly scarce in the absence of both of our trainers Miguel and Michel. Still François, Philippe, Jean-Marc, Ilyes, Romain and others were there so there was plenty of runners for company.

We decided to respect the programme that had been posted by Miguel and head up to Princess Road to do 10 hill repeats. It was a long warm-up at just over 30 minutes when we reached the last section of the hill up Princess Road before the crossroads at the top. This is the steepest part of the hill and although it is just over 200m, it begins fairly shallow at first before reaching a gradient of around 10% by the end. Perfect for training.

The first repeats went well and although I was slower than Jean-Marc and Romain, they were slower on the downhill recovery and I was soon ahead of them and they would pass me on the uphill. Ilyes was well ahead and intent on running 12 repeats instead of the 10 for us mere mortals.

After 5 repeats Jean-Marc and the others called for a longer recovery before re-starting. I didn't feel that I needed this and it was a good incentive to keep going and to stay ahead. The last 5 were difficult with my breathing a lot shorter and tiredness settling in. The last 3 were hard as the lactic rose in my thighs and I wondered if I could keep running to the top. Happy to finish them and satisfied with the quality of the session.

Jogged back with Ilyes at recovery pace (4:30/km !) and got back to the club after 16.4km and 1h26. A short bike ride back home to finish.

Back to Dardilly

Some days are just perfect and this was one of them. I'd enjoyed a day's rest from running yesterday and altough I was on business in Lyons, when I woke up I felt in great shape, if a little tired and was happy to go out for a run.

Back up the hill through Ecully from the Holiday Inn where I was staying and then past the main business school in Lyon: EM Lyon. I knew the route better by now and as usual, when you're no longer wondering about which direction in which to run and focusing just on the run itself, then you run a whole lot faster.

I was running 4:20 - 4:30 pace up the hills on the way out and at 6.5 km I lloked at the watch and decided that it was time to turn back. I was at the same place as last time: Dardilly.

I turned round and although I was far more tired than last time, I just let fly and stretched out the stride going downhill. 3:50, 3:48, 3:43, 3:47 punctuated by a 4:18 for an uphill section in between. In fat, I was back at the hotel before too long and it was all over.

12.7 km all up in 53:05 or 4:11 average pace for a hilly course. I was feeling on top of the world. Excellent training ground for Marvejol Mende race at end July.

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.

Recovery (!) run

We arrived in the Alps on Sunday evening and it was good to be back. There is plenty of snow and the views are fantastic. We dumped our bags into our rooms, had some dinner and then planned the activities for the following day. After getting all of our ski gear sorted, we decided we'd start with downhill, do some cross-country skiing in the afternoon and then I'd go for a recovery run just before dinner.

ALl went according to plan and we drove back from the cross-country skiing and I slipped into my running gear and set off. I headed back up my old route towards Megevette on the back roads as I fugured that this loop was about 13 km and would take me an hour.

It was tough from the start. Whether it was the day spent skiing, the altitude, the cold temperature or the hills, I struggled to run at a reasonable pace. I started off at 4:46 but soon dropped to 5:00 then 5:30 as I attacked (relatively speaking) the hills. The road was icy but I managed to avoid slipping on the patches of black ice that spotted the track up to Megevette. The best part was after 6 kilometres when I normally run along a track through a field to Chaumety at the far end. This was covered with a layer of snow about 40 centimetres deep and as I ran I was up to mid-calf in snow, slowing me down to 6:00 for this kilometre :/

I ran back down the main road through Megevette and back down to Onnion. I was shattered at this point and my vision blurred with the tiredness, causing me to see double. I knew I was struggling as on this downhill section I can usually exceed 15 km/h but today I was struggling to maintain 4:15 pace. Really pleased to get back to the centre and have some dinner.

13.1 km all up in 1:00 exactly or an average pace of 4:39. I struggled out there today.

Sunday club session

I was eager to show off my now highly tuned mountain climbing skills at the club session on Sunday and so when Michel Z proposed a circuit towards Marly forest, I was really pleased. The turnout was fairly good with Miguel, Jean-François, Simon, Philippe and a new guy Wilfried in attendance. It turned out that I'd already run once with Wilfried as he lives in Le Mesnil and we'd run to Cora with Nick a while ago.

As we ran around, I began chatting to Wilfried who's preparing for the Millau 100 km race in a couple of months. He runs at very much the same pace as me with a marathon PB of 2:53 (although slightly slower over 10 km race where he's never beaten 38 minutes). The path through the woods to Marly was very sinuous, as always with Michel as he tries to find the narrowest most overgrown sections of the wood, and we took it easily enough for the first 6km out before stopping with the group for a breather.

We'd reached the road to St Nom now and we headed back towards the top of Princess Road before cutting down diagonally to meet the road about half-way down. There was a break away group at the front led by Jean-François and Philippe so with Simon and Wilfried, we accelerated to catch them. This was already no small feat and we were now running at about 15km/h. We hit Princess Road now and ran downhill. I ran to the front with Jean-François and we ran shoulder to shoulder down the hill managing this kilometre in 3:36. I was surprised that the group stayed together at this pace and when the uphill approached, I decided to show how much I'd improved up the slopes too. I accelerated again but I just couldn't drop them and then Jean-François overtook me, followed by Wilfried and Simon. I just cracked and eased off the pace to finish the hill.


A fast pace to finish the route and we ran about 14km all up in 1:10. This was more than enough for me and I was shattered. So much for the altitude training!

Retour à la Pointe

Laurence, having picked Bertrand and me up at Ajon in the car, decided that she too was going to conquer la Pointe de Méribel by running there and back on Friday morning. The rest of the week having been filled with long hikes and cycling, Friday was the last day possible before our departure from Onnion.

Having seen Bertrand accomplish the ascent in 1:15 earlier in the week, Laurence decided that she would need slightly longer and was eager to take on the 800 metres of ascent and a total circuit of close to 15km. She prepared herself mentally and physically by having an extra large helping of breakfast and a couple of extra slices of bread and she was ready for the challenge. She kitted herself up and without further ado, she headed to the entrance hall, primed the Garmin and set off.

I'd told her that I'd give her 15 minutes start before setting off myself in pursuit and so in turn, I got ready and set off. I took it far easier on the lower slopes on the road than last time with Bertrand. I focused on trying to run every section, even the steepest parts, despite having to reduce my pace considerably to do so. This worked well and I arrived at the Rocher Blanc in just over 27 minutes, only slightly behind Monday's time but having been far more regular and a lot less tired.


I negotiated the road across the plateau now and was surprised not to see Laurence at all ahead of me. From half-way over the plateau, you're able to see the road section right up to Ajon and since I couldn't see Laurence, I wondered if she hadn't taken the route on the east side of the plateau, along the tracks. I continued along the road past the foyer on the plateau and then took the right trun up the road to Ajon, staying on the road permanently this time as opposed to Monday when I took a short-cut across the fields. It was only in the final section just before Ajon that I saw Laurence walking up the road as I plodded steadily. I overtook her just before Ajon and told her that I'd wait at the top.

I checked my watch again now. I'd been running for 49 minutes and I wondered if I could make it to the top under the hour. I kept it steady and followed the track around the hill rather than heading straight up like last time. A final effort when I saw the line of crosses and I finally reached the top in 59:52 - oooph - by the skin of my teeth ! Laurence finished 5 minutes later in 1:20 and was really pleased to have managed the achievement. We ran down the road easily together to finish back at the centre.

14.5km all up in 1:50. I felt better about my achievement this time having been more regular despite the slightly slower time for the climb up.

Pointe de Méribel

The above photo shows La Pointe de Méribel, the highest point above the plateau at Plaine Joux. This summit is 1581 metres high and, despite its relatively low height, gives an amazing view of the surrounding countryside from Lake Geneva to Mont Blanc. This was also the destination of the challenge between Bertrand and myself in our ambition to set the target for the fastest climb from Onnion to the top, 800 metres above the start.

The challenge involves running up a first section of road and then onto the path up to Plaine Joux at Rocher Blanc before heading up to Pointe de Méribel from the plateau. The old quarry at Rocher Blanc is the half-way point both in terms of difficulty and height gained but there is still more distance to be covered in crossing the plateau and the final climb to the summit. I wondered how to approach the final section with a choice of using the tracks around the east side of the plateau or carrying straight on up the road. I finally settled on the road which although it added almost an extra kilometre of distance, it provided stable footing and more regular inclines.

Bertrand and I met at 7:15am for the start of the challenge and we'd arranged to be picked up by Laurence at 8:15am at Ajon, the last hamlet below the summit, so we could get a lift back down in time for breakfast. My strategy was clear: I'd follow Bertrand up the road and path until the Rocher Blanc and then accelerate on the road section and leave him behind here to win the race to the top! We set off from the centre and as happens too often, I forgot all about my pre-race strategy and pushed a steady pace up the road with Bertrand following just behind. When we left the road and joined the steep path that cuts up the montainside, I was already too tired to run and had to walk. Bertrand had fallen behind on the road section but he caught me again now as I put my hands on my thighs and tried to push my legs to move faster as I climbed the slope.

Bertrand didn't overtake me as I feared and I saw him slip further and further behind as I ran where I was able and walked as quickly as possible when the slope became too steep. This section up to Rocher Blanc is only 3 km in distance but with almost 430 metres in height difference, the average slope is just over 15 %. I think that I ran all of the sections where the slope was less than 20% and walked the rest. I arrived at Rocher Blanc after 27 minutes and then carried along the road.

I could see Pointe de Méribel ahead of me now and I wondered if the road option was the best solution, rather than taking a short cut across the fields. There was no sign of Bertrand now, so I stuck to the road as originally planned and tried to pick up the pace along the flatter section here. As I came to the end of the flat section, the road turns left and I succumbed to temptation by running up through a field full of cows as I cut off a good 800 - 900 metre of distance if I'd followed the original plan. At the top of the field, I was no longer sure that I'd saved any time as it was impossible to run due to the steep slope and the tiredness in my legs and thighs was now intense. I put these thoughts behind me and trudged jogging up the final section of road to Ajon.

I looked at the watch as I arrived at the hamlet : 47:00. Some wild ideas had been thrown around at the holiday centre by the guides that it was possible to get to the top in 45 minutes. May well be, but not in my shoes anyway. I focused now on pushing as hard as I could to climb the last 180 metres in height to the summit. Too steep to run, I concentrated on pushing down on my legs with my hands and forcing them up the slope. Another quick check behind and Bertrand was still nowhere to be seen. I wondered if he'd taken the same route or given up somewhere en route. I saw a small car winding its way up the road below and knew that this was Laurence arriving to pick us up and take us back down to the centre. I crossed the last fence and arrived at the 14 stations of the cross which lead the path up to the summit and the statue of the Virgin Mary. I had my own cross to bear though as the garmin showed 57 minutes and I had a last effort to make. A quick jog and a last scramble up the final gulley and I was at the top in 58:12 exactly.

I sat on the summit, catching my breath and admiring the views in all directions. To the west, I could see Lake Geneva, Geneva and Lausanne and to the east, Mont Blanc was rising, snow-capped above the clouds. The Aravis summits including La Pointe Percée were all visible and closer to home Pointe de Chalune and Chavasse were also clear. It was a beautiful morning. I waved to a figure stood next to the car on the road below, figuring that it was Laurence and watched Bertrand finally appear along the road and slowly jog up first to Ajon and then up the final slope to the top too. He made it in 1:14:59 some fifteen minutes behind me and his first words were: 'James - you're a war machine!'. Made my day !!

Just under 7 km to the top using this route and just under an hour to manage this distance and almost 800 metres of ascent. I was elated to have finished in under the hour and using the 100m=1km converter equated this run to a 15km flat course. The time appeared correct in this respect. A new record for the course and should now be written down for posterity in the holiday centre's annals to be beaten in the future.

Col de Terramont

I ran on Saturday with the intention of running up col de Jambaz and then on to col de Terramont from Onnion before heading back to the holiday centre. It looked good on paper as Terramont is only a couple of kilometres from col de Jambaz and I fugured that this would make for a 22 - 23 km round run. However, like all of my best plans, I could tell as soon as I started running that this one wouldn't pan out as I'd initially planned.

My legs felt heavy from the start which was a bad thing. I ran a kilometre up the hill to Laitraz in 5:50 which was a very bad thing, and I felt absolutely bloody awful running with even slight hunger pains, which was an extremely bad thing. This was the same route that I'd run a week earlier feeling in the best shape of my life, the same route that I'd run with Alain, chatting top him all the while, talking about marathon and semi-marathon training. This was the same route that I was now traipsing around wondering when I would begin to feel better.

My old injuries were playing up: the right thigh was still aching (I must go and get this sorted out properly now); the knees were a little shaky and the calves were fatigued from hill-walking. Nevertheless, I soldiered on, determined to add some distance and some more hills to the basic training. I got to the top of col de Jambaz in 47 minutes so no great shakes but not completely useless after all as I'd been dreading. The lack of performance was more in my head than in the legs so I carried onto the next col. From Jambaz the road turns off left and winds its way easily up the left fork of the valley before gaining rapidly in steepness on arriving in Mouilles. I stopped here before making the top of the col as I was worried about getting back in time for breakfast and I was rapidly running out of energy. The watch was showing just under an hour's running and I figured I needed at least 40 - 45 minutes to get back. Breakfast ended at 9:15am and it was now 8:20am - time to turn around.

I didn't accelerate outrageously downhill but let myself get into a steady rhythm without pushing it. I was running at around 4:15 pace compared to the 4:00 pace I'd been running a week earlier over the same section. By the time I got to Mégevette, I realised that I was seriously cooked and dangerously close to running out of energy completely. I lifted off the pace over the last 3 kilometres and the last hill back to the Chavannes was a killer as I was now wasted.

I managed to get back just in time both for breakfast and before collapsing. 20.5 km all up in 1:39 or an average of 4:52. Not a  brilliant time but a real reflection of the state I was in when I finished.

Challenged Bertrand to a race up Pointe de Méribel after this so I need to improve over the weekend.

Mégevette - easy

After a couple of days in the mountains, with a night in Refuge de Folly and a day's walking spent in the snow (up to 15cm deep at 2300m), we arrived back at the centre tired but happy after a successful walk. I have to admit that it was probably one of the most worrying excursions that Laurence and I have done, where I wondered several times whether we shouldn't turn back as the path was lost under fresh snow and the cairns disguised by a thick blanket of white. some of the descents are hairy enough as it is (Pas de l'Ours; Pas de Boret) without the added complexity of the snow and the mud.

It was a relief to have a day off running on Thursday, where we went for a day walk on the plateau des Glières. Unfortunately, this was spent in the pouring rain for the best part of the day. So when Bertrand proposed an easy run for Friday, Laurence and I accepted with pleasure.

The group was composed of Bertrand, Alain, Laurence and I and we were joined by Philippe and his wife Dominique. Laurence was really pleased by this as it meant that she would be far from being the slowest member of the group.

We set off to Amoulin by the track and then crossed the bridge to Laitraz before heading up the valley to Mégevette on the east side. I accelerated up this first hill which goes up for about 1 kilometre before flattening out along the valley side. I ran back with the others and ran the rest of the route with Laurence and Alain. We ran easily and both Alain and Laurence have improved considerably since the beginning of the week, looking much easier both up and down the hills.

10 km all up in 57 minutes. Good recovery run.

Plaine Joux plateau

There's a guy here at the holiday club in charge of the adult's activities called Bertrand. He runs regularly and proposed to all of the holiday-makers to go training together. Laurence and I committed to going this morning with him along with a few others. The only problem was that it was a 7:15 am start. It's bad enough getting up early in the morning to go for a run when I'm working, but to get up at this time on holiday is nightmarish.

We stood waiting for the others at the allotted time and Laurence was devastated when she found out that the weaker runners had all decided to have a lie-in and that we'd be accompanied by Alain and Bertrand only. A quick exchange of marathon times and general level of fitness only further deepened Laurence's sense of gloom and foreboding. I promised that I would run with her.

We set off on the plateau above Onnion and Laurence's fears were quickly confirmed. Not only did Bertrand like running, he liked trail running and as soon as he could, he left the road and headed off across the fields. We all followed. After running up a little slope in muddy conditions, Bertrand found an even steeper, muddier slope with large ruts, cowpats and electric fences. Bertrand was in his element. Laurence was sulking and even walked up some slopes, visibly disappointed with the lack of tarmac.

After 3 kilometres of mud and rain, the route flattened slightly. Oh yes, I forgot to mention the rain. Despite the improvement promised in yesterday's weather forecast, it began to rain as soon as we started to run. It began lightly and then settled into a steady, heavy drizzle. The path flattened and we headed around the hill to a farm before finding a stretch of tarmac and a long descent down the road back to the plateau. Laurence's face brightened and she ran alongside Alain, chatting happily. She carried on chatting despite the acceleration to 4:27 per km and then 4:30 per km for the next 2 kilometres. Unfortunately the downhill section ended here and we ran back up a steep hill where I pushed the pace just to see if Bertrand could follow. He was just behind me as we were still on the road, as soon as we left the tarmac, he would leave me up the hills easily.

We followed a little path and ran back to the road to finish. A little acceleration at the end to get back to the car and we ended our first accompanied run. The plan is to run the same route at the end of the week starting from the holiday centre. This will add another 10 kilometres with an extra 300 metres of uphill. Hopefully, it will be drier next time.

9 km all up in 53:00 so not fast but the conditions and the route were far from ideal.

Plaine Joux in the sunshine with a clear blue sky. Didn't even see the top of La Pointe today as it was covered in cloud.

St Simon - steady run

The old classic to finish our short stay here in Aurillac. It's been a tough week running-wise and I didn't want to force it with too long a run today, especially before the drive back home.I thought that I would give it a shot at running the St Simon loop at speed to see how I was going and to see if I could approach my PB for the course.

I soon realised when I set off that it wasn't to be. My legs were tired and my heart wasn't in it after the distances covered recently. I went well enough to begin with: 4:36 for the first kilometre, then 5:11 up the hill, but then when I should have been stretching away down the hill towards St Simon, I just had nothing left.4:17 then 4:32 into the village for the next 2 kilometres and I knew that the PB was unachievable today.

From St Simon back I just tried to run as steadily as possible without pushing it too hard. I covered the 5 km back along the main road in 4:49, 4:26, 4:18, 4:07 then 4:10. So I managed to build up speed along the way back feeling comfortable as I ran.

9km all up in 40:34 or an average of 4:30 per km. Total mileage for the week is around 105km. Good tough week and IO now need to take it easy before the long trail next weekend in Britanny.

Laurence ran by herself this morning doing the same loop. She was trying to beat her PB too and managed 46:32. Still waiting for official confirmation but it looks like a new PB by some 30 seconds.

Hill training

I'd run 50km in 2 days and decided that today I needed to ease off slightly. Not too much as I still want to do as much mileage as possible before Guerledan nesxt weekend, but not so much that I exhaust myself completely. Laurence was taking it easy today and running a flat route through town. I decided to head off in the opposite direction and to run Thursday's route or just under 20km.

I set off at a steady pace, feeling the tiredness in my legs from the previous 2 days. I headed out on the old road to St Simon and then headed up the hill on the southern side of the Jordanne valley. The trail leaves this road after a kilometre but since I was feeling adventurous and didn't want to repeat a run with so many other options available, I continued on up the hill towards Boussac. This hill was a killer and I climbed 300 metres in 4 kilometres of non-stop uphill. I told myself that this was good training for the trail combined with everything else I'd done over the last 3 days.

I got to the top of the hill at Salesse and then carried on to Boussac before turning left and running along the crest towards Velzic further up the valley. I knew this road from a mountain bike ride a couple of years ago and my only concern was that it winds its way uphill even further before heading back down the valley. I'd remembered seeing a mountain bike route off the left back down into the valley and I ran along looking for this. It was a lot further than I thought and I realised that my 20km run was going to be a little longer than initially planned.

I found the path off the road with a sigh of relief and headed down this into the valley. This was my slowest kilometre of the run with the distance run in 6:30 as I picked my way gingerly down the path trying to avoid slipping on the wet rocks and bashing my head open. I reached Velzic after 2 kilometres of downhill along some lovely paths towards the bottom of the valley and back onot the main road. I picked up the pace again now and was running at 4:30 pace as I knew I had to manage my energy to get back home. Having left with no water bottle or food bars, this was going to be a major worry.

I had to ease off even this average pace with the sun beginning to warm up the valley bottom considerably. I was hot, sweaty and tired and I was just gasping for water, in fact it was the only thing that I could think of now. I ran into St Simon and remembered that there are some public toilets beside the church where I could wash my face and drink some water. The relief was amazing and when I set off again, I felt like a new man. I ran back a long the old road now and even the last steep uphill stretches were not painful as I knew that I was almost home and dry. I last stretch downhill and I was back.

24.75km all up in 2:07 or an average of 5:09 per km. I'd probably run another 400 metres of uphill on this route too and my hill training is all over for this week as I'll take it easy tomorrow after running almost 75km in 3 days! Tired after these last few days but happy to have managed so much exercise.

LSR with hills

The tour of Aurillac is a 20 km route marked out on the roads that encircle the town. The last time I ran this was a year ago when I did the 20km loop in 1:33. The idea today was to run with Laurence around most of the loop and then carry on up the crest of the hills and along the tops to the crossroads before dropping back down into St Simon and then back to the house. An ambitious run, as the tour of Aurillac is already tiring enough with plenty of hills to manoeuvre skirting the town, but the added loop around St Simon was going to add severely to the overall difficulty.

I set off with Laurence around the loop at a steady pace. She's been running very well recently and improving constantly. We were running around 5:30 pace and she looked easy. We ran around to La Ponétie, onto the park at the far side of town and then back to Belbex in the second half of the course which is a lot hillier than the first half. Gmap shows this nicely. Laurence only started to slow down at the 14 km mark. I say slow down but she maintained her pace but was looking slightly more tired. I left her with 2 km to go after 1:43 of effort and she was chuffed as she knew that she'd beat the 2 hour barrier, something she's never achieved before for this course.

I ran up "la route de cretes" at this point: 3km of constant uphill and 150m of height gained going from 676m to 826m in altitude. I caught another runner on the top who'd been walking at this point and he started running again as I passed him. This was an encouragement as I'd been resisting the urge to ease my muscles by walking for a while uphill and the company now made this impossible. I ran easily with him along the top chatting about the weather and the beautiful countryside. We came to the crossroads on the top and swung right heading back down into the valley and St Simon. The road down goes down for 2km, losing the 150 altitude that I'd struggled so hard to gain minutes earlier! My new running companion was heading back through St Simon and out the other side back up the hill on the other side of the valley to Boussac. I ran with him through the village and then back on the old road to Aurillac, including another 50m of uphill for good measure.

30km all up in 2:42 or an average of 5:23 per km. This doesn't sound very impressive but I reckon there is also approximately 500m of uphill over this route and when I got back I was exhausted and ready to drop. The fact that I'd only had a glass of orange juice before heading out didn't help either. Pleased with the run and thrilled to hear that Laurence had finished in 1:54 her tour of Aurillac.

Tuesday Hills

I was able to get out of work early enough on Tuesday to make it to the club session and I didn't regret it. I hadn't been feeling that fresh in my legs since the weekend and the thought of a club session was a little daunting.

I arrived at the club to find a fairly small turnout, despite the beautiful blue sky and the warm temperature, hovering around 21°C. Out of the fastest group only Thierry, Vincent and Simon were there and Gérald announced that he was going to do a track session and he wasn't intending to do the hills. Nico rolled up late despite having had the day off work: apparently he works harder when he's not in the office! We left for the warm-up without him and he muttered something about doing a track session too.

We warmed-up with a little route to the St Germain terrasse and then made our way to the bottom of the slope where Miguel announced that we would be running 2 blocks of 6 hills. I had been chatting with Philippe and we had both experienced the same sensations over the weekend with the after-effects of the marathon still in the legs, hampering training. I decided that I would take it easy and let the fastest runners go ahead. Nico turned up unexpectedly at this point and said that on second thoughts a few hills wouldn't do any harm and he then proceeded to lead the session up the hills with only Simon able to keep in touch. After a couple of hills I couldn't even see Nico any more as he'd already built up such a gap.

Despite my initial misgivings, the session went fairly well for me and I completed each hill in 53 - 54 seconds, just behind Vincent and just in front of Miguel and Thierry. The long run back down the hill gave plenty of time for the heartrate to calm down before the next interval. The temperature cooled too and so the 22°C to start with must have been a good 4 to 5°C cooler in the forest which also helped.

13.2km all up in 1:23 and a really good session. Shame that Gérald insisted on staying at the track as I would have liked to compare my efforts to his up the hills.

Week 3

This week started with the departmental cross country chamionships in St Quentin en Yvelines.

Sunday morning saw me at the Parc de Loisirs running over the embankments in the wind and the mud. I warmed up with Nick and the other veteran runners from the club: Fabrice, Régis, José, Thierry, Nick B etc. My aim was to stay (well) ahead of Régis and to get as close to Thierry as I could. I honestly thought that I was in with a fighting chance of beating him over this sort of distance especially through the mud. Thierry is still probably untouchable on the road, but a nice muddy, hilly course would discourage him and I thought that I might be able to sneak past.

As it turned out, I wasn't so far off. After a tough race, he finished just in front of me by 3 seconds and I lacked the mental grit and determination to make the real effort over the final loop. I set off fast (3:43 for the first km) and paid the price afterwards. I'm still lacking the endurance and VMA training to keep up this sort of speed at the moment. The biggest blow was Régis (henceforth known as Crossman!) coming past on the final lap. He's just so constant that despite my efforts (feeble and meagre due to tiredness), I just couldn't stay with him and he first went past me then Thierry to finish a good 30 seconds ahead. So much for revenge for last year's race. Anyway, I considered it as good training as cross-country has never been one of my major objectives for the season.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were all early morning runs (6:00am). Same course (10.1k) in 42:45, 43:24 then 44:45. The first run was good as I set off fast (4:04 pace) for 2 k then eased up for 1k before running 1k fast then 1k slow for 3 intervals. Fast intervals were run at 3:53 pace.

Saturday went back to Cora with Nick and ran 15k in 1:15. 54k for the week.

Régis just about to sneak past me !

Sunday club run

I was getting fed up after a week of inactivity. It wasn't that I was eager to get out as I had plenty of work on my plate and other things to think about, but I began to feel guilty. I felt bad about not going out and getting some mileage in.

Monday and Tuesday were spent coping with the aches and pains in my legs. The recovery was easier than the last 3 marathons and I wondered whether this was due to the massage at the end of the race or the higher level of training and preparation. By Wednesday I wondered if I couldn't fit an early morning run in. I actually told Laurence that I'd be going for a run Thurday morning but she talked me out of it. A week of late nights didn't make me push the subject any further. Saturday and I was back to doing DIY and a meeting with the bank put pay to any thoughts of going for an easy run. So a sunday run with the club was the ideal opportunity to get out again and meet the others.

I initially thought about running to the club, but a late night Saturday night convinced me that this was unnecessary (together with a few whiskies and some light rain on Sunday and I was more than convinced). I turned up at the club to see a large turnout and plenty of congratulations from everybody on beating my objective.

The plan for the session was hills. 11 x hills to be precise and Miguel took us out to the Princess Road to do them. I know this section very well from my long Sunday runs so there were no surprises. We had a 300m section of uphill to run and then jog back down for the recovery. Thierry, José, Eric, Bruno and Bertrand were all there and they led the attacks on the hill. I was between the group of 3 at the front and just in front of Bruno and Bertrand behind.

So much for an easy receovery run to get over the marathon. I could feel my hamstrings tightening to begin with and a pain in my right calf. In fact, I could feel small aches and pains all over my legs and I knew that you can't under-estimate the damage that a marathon does. My legs hadn't recovered still and I was glad when the hills were over and we could just jog back easily. Still it was good to be out and I was pleased that I managed to stay in front of Bruno until the last 2 hills.

16.3 km all up in 1:37. The hills were run at above 15 km/h at just under a minute for each rep. Tough but good to be back.

Sunday club run

I managed to persuade Laurence to come out for the first club session in months today. She's been nursing her sore knee since the Paris Marathon, and since this has improved recently, she's been training all by herself, not quite ready to face the others at the club before she felt fully fit.

Today was the day. Nick had suggested the club session as an alternative to the usual Sunday run and since I wanted to do a little more distance this suited me fine. Laurence was very apprehensive as we waited for the session to start: all the runners tended to be fairly fit and fast and I could tell that she didn't want to slow the group down. She even proposed to run back to the house before we set off, but luckily I managed to persuade her to stay.

Michel was leading the session. Not my favourite coach, as I have already stated on the blog, and he intended to take us up to Marly and the Princess Road for the session. We set off very slowly at 6:20 pace and after 4 km we stopped at the old hunting lodge on the Princess Road to begin the session proper. The idea was to run a 6 km loop from here with one group starting 3 minutes before the others. The start, however, was up a steep hill, which we later found out continued for over 1.7 km. Laurence set off and we watched the group run out of sight before we set off ourselves.

I set the pace up the hill with Yannick and Benoit, with Nick, Alex, Daniel, Jean-Claude and Ephram just behind. I was feeling very strong on the hill, since we started steadily and gradually built up the pace. By the time we got to the top, I could see the others and pushed the pace to catch them as quickly as possible. We were running above 15km/h now and I still felt strong as I pulled away from all except Yannick.

My only problem now as I overtook the last of the preceding group was where I was supposed to be running to exactly. My pace was good but I slowed a little to let the others catch up and to get instructions as to where to go. Yannick had dropped off considerably but he came back again now and we ran hard into the last straight before the final downhill back to the start. We hit 16.5km/h (3:33 pace) down the hill as I let myself go and stretched for the finish. So much for a 6km loop as we'd been gone just over 36 minutes now and I had an extra 9 km almost on the Garmin.

Nick and then Laurence ran back in now and we jogged back to the clubhouse at an easy pace. The clouds that had menaced with some rain at the start of the run had by now totally disappeared and it was a beautiful blue sky again. The temperature had also risen and when we got back, I was glad that we'd left when we did.

17.25 km all up in 1:29. Good 10km training with a bit of speed and endurance in the loop.

P.S. Tom said that Kanser might be interested in running La Rochelle Marathon when he's over in Europe which would be great. It's supposed to be a good quality race and well organised. It would be nice to meet him.

Easy St Simon

I woke up after a bad night's sleep, having suffered from stomach cramps during the night. At first, I thought that I'd caught a stomach bug or some virus but by the end of the day I realised that it was a muscular pain. This was probably brought on by my swimming session with youngest son Paul on Wednesday at the pool in Aurillac where I swam 60 lengths of front crawl and then raced Paul for a few lengths of breastroke, backstroke and finally, butterfly. God knows what possessed me to try the butterfly, but since I was quite good when young, I thought I would show Paul how it's done. Well I'm not as young as I was and not half as supple. My stomach muscles are still aching today, 2 days later.

Anyway, since I was in no state to run hard, I suggested to Laurence to go for a run with her. She wanted to go on a loop of St Simon and I eagerly got prepared to accompany her. We set off steadily and Laurence told me that she wasn't feeling that enthusiastic. She was a little under the weather and lacking in energy. The first kilometre was steady enough and then the long, steep hill took its toll on the pace and we completed the kilometre in over 7 minutes.

Once at the top of the hill, I ecouraged Laurence to extend her stride down the hill and to let herself go. We ran into St Simon in this fashion without problems and maintained a decent rhythm over the first half of the course. This was marred in the second hlaf by Laurence contracting a stitch and where we normally be coasting away on the new road, down a slight incline, we were still running at the steady pace of around 5:40 per km.

9km all up in 53:25 or an average of 5:56 per km. Well outside Laurence's best time of 47 minutes over the same course.

Storm

We're back in the Auvergne now after our holidays in Venice and the Alps. We arrived in Aurillac on Saturday to some mixed weather: overcast and cool compared to the last few days in the Alps. Despite the bad weather, both Laurence and I decided to go for a long run on Sunday to make the most of the holidays and the opportunities to train.

We got up on Sunday morning and the weather was in the same state as the previous day: cool and overcast. I put on my running gear, including my cap to protect against any sunshine that might decide to appear and left for a run around Aurillac.

Laurence and I left together. She was heading to La Ponétie for a few laps around the track whereas I was heading for the long loop around the town. I headed off quickly, probably too quickly up the track leading to the top of the first hill of the tour of the town. For the first time in years, I could feel my lungs burning after this effort, and so I slowed down the pace a little along the top in order to recover. I ran back down into town and caught up with Laurence through the town centre. I was running about 4:30 pace now and feeling a lot better.

I had just arrived at La Ponétie when the storm started. It began by raining to begin with and then the thunder and lightning started. I have to admit that I was fairly scared by this storm: the lightning was striking all around me and I wondered how long before I would be hit. This was probably linked to our discussions in the Alps where we discovered that by running you increase the potential across the body and therefore increase your risk of being struck by lightning. I tried to forget all about this and keep on running.

My pace was steady along the flat at around 4:30 and then slowing to 5:00 up the hills, some of which were particularly steep. At long last the storm began to ease off and the end of the tour of Aurillac was in sight. I put in a last effort to finish in 1:33:28. This is actually the fastest that I've ever run this loop, with my previous best being 1:39 in February in the cold, so 6 minutes better. The average pace over the distance was 4:40 per km.

I feel really pleased with my run now that I've seen how much faster I ran this. I have improved drastically up the hills recently with the training in the Alps.