First race since Le Marathon

The name of the blog is Royal Runs, partly inspired by this race in particular, a 15km jaunt through the gardens of the Chateau de Versailles, La Course Royale, no less. Full transparency divulged, I haven't really hit my stride since the marathon. Nor have I have been anywhere within walking distance of my stride. It's been a tough few weeks, professionally and personally, and running has taken somewhat of a proverbial backseat. I did know, however, that this race would be the follow-up to the marathon, and I've always enjoyed the course and the atmosphere. It would be my fourth Course Royale in total. Preparations were sound:

and I felt relatively confident, despite having very little preparation. I went for the 1h00-1h15 SAS, something I hadn't done in previous races. The atmosphere was fantastic:

There was even a mention of Father's Day!

The race itself was pretty much standard. A lot of grass and cobblestones during the first 5k, which eased into flat paving and some magnificent views of the Chateau. I finished in 01:10:08, 20 seconds down on last year's time, but enough to motivate me to book my place for Paris Versailles this year, and to continue Royal Runs. A la prochaine, Dec.