Auviour Paris: So long and thanks for the cobbles

Hey Choisty - there were plenty of kids there last week and they have kids "Play Time" activities for ages 3-12 (I think) though they stress that it's not a babysitting service so I guess that means a parent has to go too. Last week they did baking, a family beach and surf day, an Olympic day, a Treasure hunt and they did a little show thing.  They have all sorts of other stuff going on too and a pretty cool soft-obstacle course type play area. The restaurants all cater for kids and little littleys (under 4) eat free in one of them (a buffet type place which had some amazing seafood salads).

I personally prefer a small town called Famara (if you know it?) just north of La Santa - you can run much further off road along the coast there but CLS is great if you want to do a whole mix of stuff that you wouldn't otherwise have access to. And there are a lot of English speaking staff which helps if your Spanish isn't too good.

Nice mileage btw!

Great report SB - I'd love that place, Qi Gong is one of my faves. 

Oxford Mail XC race day - Rd 4/5 on a hilly, slippery and very muddy course in Swindon. 5m at race pace with my HR knocking on the red line all the way round and my quads exploding on the hills...real XC as a marshall shouted out as we stumbled past him on the final lap. Pacing good though as I picked up at least 5 scalps in the last 800metres or so and finished 6th in our team.

Then, mindful of the need to pack in 18m for the day, I returned home, quick shower, bowl of soup and a lump of bread and after an hour or so went out for a tempo session of 11 miles in the lanes. Managed 3x1m @ MP interspersed with 3x1m at MP + 1min in between. A couple of these were in fact close to HMP which I was pleased with after the mileage in my legs this week......

OK so not quite 18m on the day but I did parkrun and a second lap as a shakedown on Saturday and ended the week with 53m in the legs, so enough!

Sports massage first thing tomorrow then a slight cut-back week leading into Wokingham HM next Sunday

whoop whoop guys - nice work!!!!

Nice running guys and great to see this thread getting back to running topics and not the R word. Comisserations to you AC rubbish aint it and a shock too.

Had an interview today went great at the top of the Monsal Trail near Buxton was going great till they mentioned the cash they are paying, ouch!! But would be a nice commute again!! Any way got another one on Wednesday half an hour away so not too bad...........Redundancy notice letter being delivered by the Dutch boss on Thursday am and told I dont have to work my three months notice period so thats a bonus.  Running tomorrow and did a steady 8 miles yesterday which wasnt too bad. The head is struggling at the moment but hopefully after Thursday will be able to sort my head out a bit more.

Sports massage - the agony & the.......agony.

That was a toughie but serves me right for putting it off for so long! Monday is always a rest day for me so I can switch off for 24 hrs and just glance at the weather forecast without trying to work out whether to run at dawn or dusk.

Bliss.....while I sit here I'm recovering and getting fitter.....

MCS, good to get the practice if nothing else from the interview, enjoy the running while you can.

I'm interested to here how things go at wokingham, I've never done it and hear it's quick

Mike what work do you do anything interesting?
Interview back in printing which I was in for twenty years, bit stressful and agro but hopefully might pay abit more than yesterdays interview at Tarmac.
Nice run to work in a blizzard this morning with daughter.  Will miss my commute!

mcs - workwise I am a business adviser and chartered accountant, although I do less of the traditional accounting than most. Right now busy in getting some funding into a business I set up with a partner 2 years ago.......never done till the money is in the bank in this environment!

Looking round there are alot of folk losing their job and the government is ploughing money into big construction and road jobs to try and keep things bouyant but the high street is dead on its knees.

Morning all

mcs - keep thinking positive - who's to say that you won't find something even better than what you had previously... all fingers, toes and paws are crossed for you here!

75 minute bike ride for me today - bit blowy out, my quads are gonna have to earn their lunch!

I managed a 7m GA run last night in the wind and drizzle/sleet.

Felt quite tired so will rest again today....

Been taking my HR just as I wake up for the past couple of mornings i.e. while still horizontal in bed. So far, two consecutive days at 57bpm - anyone else do this?

RR, flinkin blip what time were you up?

Mike, I did until I realised I was bradycardic

4:30 Choisty, but that meant leaving everything ready last night, and military precision. I am an early person though, tomorrow I will go to Pilates at 8 before a meeting at 10 [bit of a lie in there!]

Mike I do that and it's a top indicator for me.  I am usually 46-48, 50 sometimes, and up to 53 when I muck about too much putting BBC news on for the clock [don't laugh!], and then haven't time to relax again.  If I go over 55 I've either had caffeine or am recovering from something requiring respect, or am fighting a bug. 

When it's back to 46 like today after Sunday, I'm happy.

Morning

Yip Mike - I take mine most mornings too - normal for me 48 - 56, anything above that and I take it easy! (ok - not that I do much else these days LOL - not much longer now though - "official" training starts for me 4th March whoop whoop)

2 hour session for me today - wimped out and went on my turbo yesterday - was feeling really smug when I looked out of the porch window and saw not only a howling gale but also horizontal sleet - not good on a bike!  I think I prefer running when it's like that - can't get blown off!  Today is however, a stunning day so I'd best get a move on!

Have a 2:24 marathon runner coming for a massage at the end of the month - really looking forward to chatting with him and finding out his take on the massive miles vs training smart debate that we often have in our house.  Will pass on any tips I glean ...

Hope everyone has a positive day!

SB...purposeful practice...but lots of it, so even slow runs should be about technique, but for a very fast marathon you can't beat miles

Choisty - shall we start a debate about high miles or low miles for marathon results?

It's a tough one because I know you are about 40-45mins faster than anyone else on here so it is difficult to compare.

Just to spice it up (and confuse the debate!), I sometimes wonder if age grade isn't ultimately the best measure?