Not long now...

Just under a month to go till the 100k; I am far from convinced that I should be doing this run with recent injury issues but as I write this I am 100% sure that I will be there...

I have started to look forward to it; after reading the route notes over and over again I have started to get a feel for it: I know it will read easier that it'll run.

Before this test I have a 30km run with 1350m of ascent. I hope, simply, to finish strong and ahead of at least a handfull of racers. This image from 2006.

http://www.verticausse.com/parcours.html

More mischief managed

I'd set the alarm for 5:30 but was awake ahead of it. All my kit was laid out the night before so I dressed quickly and headed for breakfast of porridge and coffee.

My family were coming too so as to kill two birds in one hit: we have relatives in the environs and, after seeing me off, they would visit with them till the end of the race.







It was an unexpectedly cold start at -3°c but with the sun rising I thought it may warm some. In fact it stayed around zero and I was glad of the layers I'd opted for, especially with my slow pace.



This was to be my first race in close to five years; I was really looking forward to being part of an event particularly one like this: local, friendly and directly befitting the local community.



I met a number of old friends and acquaintances and made more on the trail too.

Before the off there were refreshments to be had. I have never seen anything quite like what was on offer: this was truly a French paysan event in the heart of the terroir! Coffee, bread, foie gras, red wine and water...

Harbouring doubts about forefoot pain and overall fitness meant for a predictably slow start. Further, seeing this as something of a preparation for a longer trail I was to hold back until it clear I was out of danger before exiting the comfort zone.




The trail, after leaving the village was a mixture of wide earth compacted track, railway sleepers ( about 750m) and a good portion of narrow, technical, rock and stone strewn trail of variable ascent.

The terrain and pace was easy till 11 or 12k after that, for me, the run started. I'd been well hydrated at the start and kept topping up; I'd taken on some cake and chocolate at the aid station after 9k. From 12k I'd started to breath a little deeper and begun to work the climbs; I was pleased to feel the benefit of my training and found that despite being slow I was comfortable.




This really was valuable experience for the longer run in April and gives me confidence in my being able to continue my training to reach the start line for the 100k.




OK, to the business end of the run - the course was undulating for the most part, rarely steep, so I was able to run all but a very short, punchy climb. This will be different on a longer run - but not today!

I'd been running with a group on and off for about 5k and, realising I had it in me, I said 'au revoir' and pushed. Two things were evident. I'd been more cautious than necessary - hindsight is so cool, and I had better trail skills than the rest of the group. I am sure it was those skills rather than my reserves that opened the gaps in the last 10k. Some of these guys clearly hadn't trained on trails and it showed.

I pulled in 123rd from a field of 133 with a time of 3:06 (26.5km) The winner was under 2 hours - RESULTS. I expected being out more than 3 hours after looking at last year's results but am delighted to have run my first trail race, my first race in five years and to have had a taste of competition, comradery and some small amount of pain.











In conclusion, I had a strong finish, I recovered quickly after the race and even finishing well down the field I take a lot of positives into the next few month's training.

28km

That's the distance of my first trail race. In truth, I'm not fully prepared: lingering discomfort in my forefoot is likely to play a part in this run.

I am familiar with most of the course having lived there for three years and run most of the parts separately; this will, however, be my furthest run in 15 years and will be a great indicator of how my prep is going towards the longer trail in April.

Having looked at the times posted for 2007 I expect to be one of the last of the hundred or so runners; I'm trying not to think too much about how that is likely to feel. One might ask why do this run if there is little to be taken from it in terms of performance; for me, it's clear: I want to take part in a race; I want to see what effect spectators and other runners have on my 'strategy'; I want to put the constraints on myself which insist I turn up at a particular time, start running for a set distance and not stop till I've given my current best. This is a necessary discipline and I want a taste of it.

Wish me luck!

Trail busting

Training has drifted away from 'the schedule' but I don't feel I need to be too anxious. I am convinced that with the addition of some extremely testing trails in terms of ascent that a shortfall in weekly mileage not will be detrimental.

I headed off yesterday with Guillaume toward Le Vacquerie to take on a 12km trail with 700m ascent; from my position today I see how tough it was as my calves are complaining and demanding an altered gait: I'm delighted to be suffering some and look forward to reaping the rewards of such labour.

Well hello again......has it been that long?
The last (and first) of my posts was back in June so I must have been too busy running to post anything new........
I have recently given up the 'carpet running' after a successful trip to John down in the south of france. I went down with wife and kids and managed to get 3 or 4 decent runs in with John and Anita (wife). The runs were a mix of off road trails and road runs around the fantatic countryside near Johns house. We were also introduced to a new gadget (garmin 205 forerunner) which I had to buy as soon as we landed back in England and this has motivated me to continue with my outdoor running. I didn't realise what I was missing - cold, wet, windy and downright miserable and we are only in November, bring on February and all the snow you can throw at me. I am now running 2 or 3 times a week outdoors with distances ranging from my short 7k run to longer 19k run which I did last week. I have run a number of different routes, however due to the time of year and the time of day I generally run (in the dark) they have all been on the roads. I am looking forward to longer days when I will be able to get on to the downs which are right on our doorstep. Anita is in training for next April's London Marathon so I need to keep up my running just to keep up with her.....not that I'm competative :)

Happy running

Nothing to report except that all is going well. Today's 17km trail was taken on as if it were part of a longer run. I walked a number of hills but had bags of energy. It was a pleasure to be out despite wind and cold.

I am going to make a decision soon about my next shoes; the extra mileage will eat shoes and budget for a mid morning snack. I stuck now between going for Inov8's Terroc 330 and getting another pair of the Sauconys. Problem is, I feel, that I've not seen enough adverse weather to test the Triumphs and I'm still not convinced there's enough protection from the trail.

Long and winding road.

Temperatures have stayed at 7° or 8° ; the cold has not had an impact yet.

Training is from this day onwards is being approached differently. Until now I have, without exception, ran when I felt like it. This has left me languishing in low mileage-ville with little clue that progress was limited! Yes, I was relatively fit but, no, I wasn't quick, committed or capable of real endurance.

To arrive at the start line in April next year something had to change. For me, I needed a schedule that I could read, anticipate and tick boxes. The chosen numbers give me a day off from running and a day of cross-training each week. The mid-week mileage will increase over the months to bolster the week's total miles run as will the weekend double. The schedule starts at just under 60 kms for the week; at the most I should attain 120 kms.

The fact that I've run somewhat below the level expected on engaging the schedule means that I'm prepared to take a 'hit' on the mileage over the weekends until I can do it without risk of injury: there isn't enough time for recovery.

Here we go!

Johnny