It's been over two months since I last posted an update.

Every year the feeling is that the summer months will see an increase in the amount of km's I put in, but once again July and August have been pretty sparse. This has been down to holidays but I think it's more the lingering effect of the marathon. I had hoped to get out much more during two weeks in and around the Périgord, but losing one of my runners soon put paid to that. A measly 6k around our gite was my only holiday run.

 I have begun to begun to put the miles in again, however, with lot of short evening runs, and my first 'long' run this afternoon (well, 16km). It was a beautiful day to run in and around the park surrounding the Chateau de Versailles, with both small airplanes and hawks buzzing overhead.

I chose 16, because it's the distance of my next race, La Grande Classique Paris-Versailles, a real Royal Run. It's a race I've already run twice, with my most recent participation being last year.
 

The race starts at the foot of the Eiffel Tower and finishes on the Avenue de Paris in Versailles, just before the Chateau. It's wonderful but a real challenge, including a 3km steep incline after 6k, which is a real test (The Cote des Gardes, which even has its own Twitter account!).

I'm looking forward to it and I hope to continue putting in the hours and kms beforehand.