It seems an age ago that I did the run above Ilkley, but then it seems an age ago that I was running in the sunshine past Bergerac vineyards and that was only this morning!
Its been a strange but largely enjoyable couple of weeks in the Bouriane and my running exploits have followed that pattern.
Its 2 weeks worth so I'll just give a resumé day by day of week one for now:
Sunday - Travelled from Bergerac to the cottage near Concores, arriving early afternoon. Rest day after yesterday's run. Went to Gourdon for a rather rich and grand meal in the evening.
Monday - Plotted what looked (from the map) like a 6 mile run and completed that. In the event it proved to be 8.68 miles including 2.35 mile steep climb to the finish. Pleased to have seen a deer and equally pleased that the weather was dull. Had planned to take the climb easy - with breaks - but bravado of seeing Sue driving down to the boulangerie kept me running and I was pleased with that afterwards though it seemed bloody long at the time!
Tuesday - Legs a little tired/sore so planned what I hoped would be a flatish 4 miles after yesterday's climbs but proved to be 4.75 miles of descent into a valley then back out again - steep. Pleased that I found the long uphill easier despite it being brighter and warmer. Later found the climb/descent was the same as previous day's - just that I missed the 2 flatter/undulating sections that the former included! Felt pretty 'buff' when we headed to Saint Germain for dinner. In the afternoon I did a 3.5 mile hilly walk and saw another deer.
Wednesday - Legs still a bit sore/tired so as the week had started tougher than planned I hoped to do a 3 mile very easy run with Bethan down in the valley bottom by way of recovery ahead of a rest day. Beth made it clear running wasn't on her agenday for the holiday and Sue showed little inclination to join me so (on the back of the confidence of yesterday) did a 'normal' 4.11 miles in the valley bottom instead - undulating not flat. Went to the gardens at http://www.marqueyssac.com/ in the afternoon - again felt good - then a dissapointing meal at a Logis in the evening.
Thursday - Calves a bit tight/sore today but its a rest day. Went off to Domme market in the Dordogne. Great views, enjoyable day and bought a 'buff' to keep the sun off and to wear in winter.
Friday - Legs feel almost completely back to normal so decided to do the week's long run of about 12 miles by adding a loop onto Monday's route. Proved to be another long descent and climb that was added and it took about 5 miles before my legs felt accustomed to running again. On finishing climb it became clear the run wasn't going to get much above 11 miles so I added another undulating loop on and took it up to 14.01 miles - longest run since Paris. Felt very tired afterwards but not too bad.
Saturday - Calves very tight and sore. Outside of quads and glutes also a little sore - hamstrings abstaining from the grumbling though. 'Rest day' but I did a couple of walks totalling about 7 miles and worked my calves with the massage stick a number of times. Had a really nice meal at Peyrilles on our own in the evening.
Sunday - Found a genuinely flat stretch of road on which I could do an out and back of 3.02 miles. Legs feel absolutely shot. Calves and anterior tibialis especially. Lunch en masse at Peyrilles afterwards.
Week finished on 34.57 miles - highest ever mileage. Wasn't a very big increase on recent weeks though but the hills have really taken it out of me. No spring in my step and calves and AT still sore & tight - though glutes & hamstrings seem ok now.
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