End of the Blog!

Sorry Jan , the whole race report of last week's 4 Villages 1/2 marathon won't be posted anymore.

I have decided after a few months of consideration, to stop writing this blog! I use Facebook to stay in touch with friends and post training messages and now also use www.dailymile.com to post training. This blog, my AOL one and brother Pascal's have all been fun but I had to 'draw the line' somewhere about the amount of time I spend online.

Thanks for all the comments & support over the years!!! Please visit www.facebook.com or Daily Mile to see my running results and photos.

Best wishes

Nathalie

Good result in @ Four Villages Half Marathon!

Today's test at the Four Villages Half Marathon has been successful! I ran just over 2 minutes faster than last year on the same course, so feeling much more positive now about the Tokyo Marathon in 6 weeks time.

My chip time was 1h50'59". More about the race tomorrow as I'm too shattered now.

Hoorah: The Snow has gone!

Snow on the drive - Rebecca's footprints

Rebecca building a snowman

Here's another post - apologies for the blog followers that it's taken so long. December-March is the busiest time at work and with all the rest going on, there isn't much time left to update this blog. Another reason for the lack of training has been the snow, followed by ice on the pavements. The last ice has just gone now - yipee!!

Anyway, didn't want to take too many risks running on slippery pavements, as the Tokyo Marathon is now only 6 weeks away. If you haven't sponsored me yet for Cancer Research UK, please visit: http://www.justgiving.com/nathalierees

I am worried about finishing my second marathon, as the training has been far from adequate. January so far:

Week 1: 19km

Week 2: 11km

and this week with tomorrow's Four Villages 1/2 marathon: 41km.

Hopefully I will get 4 weeks of good training in and then I need to start winding down for the big day on 28th February!

The big challenge for my knee will be at tomorrow's 1/2 marathon race. I will be putting the Superfeet insoles in my trainers and have also decided to wear my knee strap. I tried this one out last night and it felft quite comfortable.

Initially, my aim was to run 1h50 but now I will be happy to finish the race pain free.

More on the race tomorrow with hopefully some nice photos. 70 City of Chester Triathlon Club members are taking part so hubby will be busy taking shots!

Btw - have decided to keep the posts in English from now on, so all my friends can understand:-)

Greetings Nathalie

Runner V Canoe, Chester Tri Club Event: 1st January 2010

31st December 2009: 2hour training session on Four Villages 1/2 marathon course!

Chester Triathlon Club 9.5mile TT: First lady in dreadful weather!

Off I go & yes, saddle need to go higher

Nearly there & can't feel my finger tips & toes!

Not a happy face!

Couldn't see where I was going! (double click to see full size!)

As for the duathlon on 6th December, the weather for today's 9.54mile (15.35km) TT was dreadful during the second part of the course. Certainly the fight against the wind on the way back was something I did not enjoy!

Although I ended up winning the ladies event (4 ladies present), I'm not too happy with my time, as it was 20" slower than when I did the duathlon. Never mind, I took part and also managed to go for a 10km run tonight.

Worried about my left leg though! Felt a slight pain again after 30 minutes of running and than much worse when I'd covered 8.2km. I did manage to complete the full 10km in 55'49" but will have a rest tomorrow and rub the knee (think that's where the pain comes from) and maybe also put some ice against it.

Hopefully I can do a short run with the club on Tuesday eve. I might leave the interval session on the track on Wednesday and stick to the plan of trying to run for 2hours non-stop on Thursday.

Will complete the reports below tomorrow - promise!

Ciao - Nathalie

Round the Roodee Boxing Day 2009!

First race in my new Chester Triathlon Club vest!

Official result not available yet but Garmin one: 5.81km in 28'57".

Today was supposed to be the Shell Round the Walls race, 4.5 miles around the Chester City walls. However, black ice on some parts of the walls meant that the organisers decided to cancel the walls run and we had to run around the Roodee, the Chester Racecourse. So instead of going up and down stairs, we had a cross-country race on our plate today!

Hubby Dave dashed home after his fun run and got my spikes in the nick of time!!

Above this post are some photos of the race. I will update with a report tomorrow and also complete last week's one!