2016 has easily been my best year since returning to running in August 2014. But it didn't really go as planned and really I ended up making it up as I went along.
2016 - The plan
The plan was to go back to running a race a month with my "A" race being the Kielder marathon in October. Things started well when I did the Buchlyvie 10k in January in 59 minutes. But after that I didn't run another race till Killearn 10k in June. Some of it was illness but I found mainly its because I found it really difficult to increase my long runs. I get stuck in what I call 5k syndrome where most of the runs I have done this year are 5ks. Now there is not anything wrong with this but when you want to run longer races it does cause a problem. I think one of the reasons for this is running parkruns full out leaving no energy for longer runs on Sundays. I know some people successfully can do both but I am not one of them at the moment.
Killearn was a tough race on a warm day and I finished in 1.02. Crieff 10k in July was even tougher but this time it was the course rather than the weather. But at the same time it is one of my favourite 10ks I have ever done. I finished this one in 1.02 too. And that was it for the year - 3 races.
Challenges
Something I didn't plan on this year was undertaking 2 challenges that took up over a third of the year. First of all there was the steps challenge with work where I covered at least 10,000 steps every day for 100 days from the end of May through to the end of August. I really enjoyed doing this and combined walking with running to get the steps done. This improved my running massively which I'll go on to cover further down.
The second challenge was just this month where I did the Marcothon which is a challenge to run everyday in December 3 miles or 25 minutes which ever comes first. After a slightly lazy November I wasn't going into this maybe as fit as I should have been. Plus it is a big jump going from running 2-3 times a week to running 7 times a week. This was definitely tougher than the steps challenge as when you need to have a rest day in the steps challenge you just need to walk 10,000 steps. But in the marcothon you need to run or attempt to run which really took it out of me especially early on. But I really am starting to feel the benefit of it and beginning to enjoy running everyday.
parkruns
I didn't do as many parkruns as last years' 35 but I still managed 26. However where the quantity may have been less, the quality increased dramatically.
2 runs under 26 minutes (Lowerstoft and Great run local)
8 runs between 26-27 minutes (including trips to 2 new parkruns - Livingston and Linwood)
4 runs between 27-28 minutes
3 runs between 28-29 minutes
6 runs between 29-30 minutes (including the new Drumchapel parkrun)
4 runs over 30 minutes (Just to put this into perspective I ran 21 parkruns in over 30 minutes in 2015!)
Another thing which I got frustrated at last year was my lack of mid week runs. But due to the challenges and also running with Andy at lunchtimes this is no longer an issue.
When I realised my plans were going out the window I did set up some additional goals - to run under 27 minutes at Pollok parkrun which I managed 3 times with my best time being 26.15. The second was to run over 500 miles. Which in the end I just left myself too much to do even with the Marcothon but I was in the right ball park. 454 miles in the end.
So overall not the best year in terms of racing. But parkruns, completing the challenges and training runs in general has more than made up for it.
Saturday 24 December 2016
Wednesday 21 December 2016
Marcothon Week 3
Day 15: After the high of the end of last week, it was going to end at some point. Today was a tougher run. I did my usual 3 mile route and added a 0.7 mile loop round Newlands park. I still managed to get quicker every mile though.
Day 16: Completely different route today taking in some of the southsides toughest climbs. They were early on in the 3 mile route. And yes they took it out of me! But I persevered and managed to get round without walking.
Day 17: Today I headed for Pollok parkrun and it was a bit of a mess to say the least. A restless night meant I was really tired going into this. And when I'm tired I might as well be drunk which is exactly how I approached this run. No real warm up. Didn't realise it at the time but started too quickly and my body just felt ill which I think was due to the lack of warm up. Over the first 2 miles I found myself getting slower and slower. Then I resigned to run/walking the rest. I did feel better after a hot shower so will hopefully be ok for tomorrow.
Day 18: Worked hard again today in what on paper was an easy run. But ran all the way and got faster every mile so job done.
Day 19: Today I did my usual 3 mile route..... with a twist! For the first time ever I did it clockwise. It was weird as it just felt like a totally different run. It does feel easier in this direction as there is only one long big hill. Whereas the other direction there are more gradual uphills with running the big hill downwards. Took a while to warm up but once I got going it felt good.
Day 20: I enjoyed yesterday's run so much I decided to do the same again. But this time I did it quicker with a couple of sub 9 minute miles. Got into my stride and felt good. Lucky I went out in the afternoon as it was frosty in the morning and downpours in the evening.
Day 21: Tonight was one of those runs I felt like I was going like Mo Farah but I was actually running probably the slowest pace I have run since the Marcothon began. It wasn't a bad run by any means. I did my clockwise route like the last 2 days but threw in a couple of laps round Newlands Park making it a 4.5 mile run. It was a wild night with both wind and rain which is probably one of the reasons I was running slower.
Not the week I thought it was going to be due to having a few bad days early on but I definitely finished strongly again. Really want to get a 10k run in before the month is over so will see how that goes. I have a funny feeling Barbara might have something to say about that though....
Day 16: Completely different route today taking in some of the southsides toughest climbs. They were early on in the 3 mile route. And yes they took it out of me! But I persevered and managed to get round without walking.
Day 17: Today I headed for Pollok parkrun and it was a bit of a mess to say the least. A restless night meant I was really tired going into this. And when I'm tired I might as well be drunk which is exactly how I approached this run. No real warm up. Didn't realise it at the time but started too quickly and my body just felt ill which I think was due to the lack of warm up. Over the first 2 miles I found myself getting slower and slower. Then I resigned to run/walking the rest. I did feel better after a hot shower so will hopefully be ok for tomorrow.
Day 18: Worked hard again today in what on paper was an easy run. But ran all the way and got faster every mile so job done.
Day 19: Today I did my usual 3 mile route..... with a twist! For the first time ever I did it clockwise. It was weird as it just felt like a totally different run. It does feel easier in this direction as there is only one long big hill. Whereas the other direction there are more gradual uphills with running the big hill downwards. Took a while to warm up but once I got going it felt good.
Day 20: I enjoyed yesterday's run so much I decided to do the same again. But this time I did it quicker with a couple of sub 9 minute miles. Got into my stride and felt good. Lucky I went out in the afternoon as it was frosty in the morning and downpours in the evening.
Day 21: Tonight was one of those runs I felt like I was going like Mo Farah but I was actually running probably the slowest pace I have run since the Marcothon began. It wasn't a bad run by any means. I did my clockwise route like the last 2 days but threw in a couple of laps round Newlands Park making it a 4.5 mile run. It was a wild night with both wind and rain which is probably one of the reasons I was running slower.
Not the week I thought it was going to be due to having a few bad days early on but I definitely finished strongly again. Really want to get a 10k run in before the month is over so will see how that goes. I have a funny feeling Barbara might have something to say about that though....
Wednesday 14 December 2016
Marcothon Week 2
Day 8: I decided today to take things a little easier. Normally in 3 mile runs i do tend to pick up the pace as the run goes on. But today I deliberately kept it even pace in the hope that I'll be a bit fresher for parkrun on day 10.
Day 9: In work today and yesterdays plan was already out the window. My legs are really starting to feel tired and today was probably the toughest run yet. Still managed to run all the way though and changed the route so only half a mile on trails and the rest on pavement.
Day 10: Decided to go to Pollok parkrun today as I haven't been in 2 months. My legs were feeling it so this wasn't a seasons best chasing run. After the warm up I felt loosened up a bit and when we got started a got into a pace which meant I was putting in a decent effort at least. Really the aim of the day was to keep up my streak of doing parkruns under 30 minutes(currently at 19) which I achieved by running 28 minutes bang on.
Day 11: My legs were feeling tired today so decided to try and make things as easy as possible by doing 3 mile loops which are almost flat as a pancake. Even though this was the easiest I could make it, it still wasn't an easy run! Afterwards my stats showed that I gradually increased the pace per rep but I found this really tough going. So much so afterwards I really did start to think whether this is the right challenge for me to be doing right now. Am I actually getting fitter? Am I just beating my body up for a month and not actually getting any benefit? As usual though I'm not giving up without a fight.
Day 12: A different Monday to usual. Now my work on client site has finished for the year I am free to run when I want. So what time did I go out for a run? The same time I would if I was working from home lol. 5pm. So after "work" today I went out for possibly my best run yet! Not only best but it was also my longest so far this month at 4 and half miles. Everything just clicked today, it was nice and easy and just pure joy. After Day 11 it was exactly what the doctor ordered!
Day 13: Today was one of those days I just could not decide what to do. Even when I reached the end of my street to start the run I hadn't decided. I just started running and made it up as I went along. In the end I did my usual 3 mile route with 0.8 mile fast because it covered some Strava segments.
Day 14: Easy 3 miles today and honestly this was easy and just really enjoyable. It was raining and everything which just added to it.
I really feel I have reached a turning point in my Marcothon experience this week and maybe even running generally. Things are starting to click and next week hopefully this is a sign of things to come and I can push a bit more.
Day 9: In work today and yesterdays plan was already out the window. My legs are really starting to feel tired and today was probably the toughest run yet. Still managed to run all the way though and changed the route so only half a mile on trails and the rest on pavement.
Day 10: Decided to go to Pollok parkrun today as I haven't been in 2 months. My legs were feeling it so this wasn't a seasons best chasing run. After the warm up I felt loosened up a bit and when we got started a got into a pace which meant I was putting in a decent effort at least. Really the aim of the day was to keep up my streak of doing parkruns under 30 minutes(currently at 19) which I achieved by running 28 minutes bang on.
Day 11: My legs were feeling tired today so decided to try and make things as easy as possible by doing 3 mile loops which are almost flat as a pancake. Even though this was the easiest I could make it, it still wasn't an easy run! Afterwards my stats showed that I gradually increased the pace per rep but I found this really tough going. So much so afterwards I really did start to think whether this is the right challenge for me to be doing right now. Am I actually getting fitter? Am I just beating my body up for a month and not actually getting any benefit? As usual though I'm not giving up without a fight.
Day 12: A different Monday to usual. Now my work on client site has finished for the year I am free to run when I want. So what time did I go out for a run? The same time I would if I was working from home lol. 5pm. So after "work" today I went out for possibly my best run yet! Not only best but it was also my longest so far this month at 4 and half miles. Everything just clicked today, it was nice and easy and just pure joy. After Day 11 it was exactly what the doctor ordered!
Day 13: Today was one of those days I just could not decide what to do. Even when I reached the end of my street to start the run I hadn't decided. I just started running and made it up as I went along. In the end I did my usual 3 mile route with 0.8 mile fast because it covered some Strava segments.
Day 14: Easy 3 miles today and honestly this was easy and just really enjoyable. It was raining and everything which just added to it.
I really feel I have reached a turning point in my Marcothon experience this week and maybe even running generally. Things are starting to click and next week hopefully this is a sign of things to come and I can push a bit more.
Wednesday 7 December 2016
Marcothon week 1
Day 1: Had my work Christmas lunch today so this was going to be the day on paper where it would be the toughest day to fit in a run. But the venue was so close to the train station and I just boosted off after lunch while others went onto pubs. So I ended up getting back at 7.30. So it was straight out for an easy 3 miler to kick things off. The only challenges I now face are my fitness and the weather. I really shouldn't struggle with time for the rest of the month.
Day 2: Working from home today and I wanted to try and get as much rest as possible before parkrun tomorrow. So I did the unthinkable and ran before work. Now I don't think I have ever done a training run so early in the morning before. But I woke up and was off out the flat just after 7am. My legs were feeling a bit stiff after the night before but that went away after a mile. Another 3 miles in the bag.
Day 3: Today I went to Strathclyde parkrun. This was my 24th time at Strathclyde since I started going there in August 2014. But I haven't actually ran it since June. Even having run 2 days previously I was feeling pretty good going into the run. I got into a good pace and managed to run each mile quicker than the last. I was following the 27 minute pacer for most of the run till the last km when I pulled away. I finished in 26.27 which I was pleased with considering I haven't done a parkrun in 3 weeks, meaning I wasn't as use to running at that pace.
Day 4: Usually Sunday would be my rest day after parkrun the day before. But rules being rules the marcothon does not accept rest days! So after a nice long lie I got out and got this done. I decided to go for mile laps today and was 30 seconds quicker on each mile than the previous. Felt so much better after I finished.
Day 5: Plan for today was to run a 5k at lunchtime round Gogarburn with Andy. That plan went out the window at 6.40am. Trains cancelled and further trains delayed meant I decided it wasn't worth the hassle going into work today so I just worked from home instead. On the plus side this meant that I was logged on for 7.30am and logged off at 4pm. But during the day it wasn't quite as simple as that. I had one of those "can I really do this" days. I was sore from yesterday but in the end I forced myself out the door in full winter gear. I decided to go for a new route today. Basically an out and back with a loop round Newlands park at the turning point. I just took it easy but I found on the way back I was actually feeling really good and all in, managed 3.7 miles. I'm hoping to keep edging this mileage up every now and then.
Day 6: This will probably go down as one of the most controversial marcothon runs of all time. Today I ran round Gogarburn with Andy. I didn't take my watch as it takes too long to get a signal round there. Andy has his phone but it ran out of juice. I found it tough underfoot going round the trails but as always good fun. In the end I mapped out the route when I got home and we did 2.5 miles. Now how fast was it? was it below 10 minute mile pace?! I don't know for definite but I'm saying it was above that pace meaning I ran for over 25 minutes lol.
Day 7: Working from home today so straight out for an easy 3 miles after work. I say easy but it was actually quite warm so was sweating buckets by the end of it!
So that's the end of week 1. Overall a solid start to the marcothon and probably my longest streak of running I have done since I last did the marcothon back in 2010!
Day 2: Working from home today and I wanted to try and get as much rest as possible before parkrun tomorrow. So I did the unthinkable and ran before work. Now I don't think I have ever done a training run so early in the morning before. But I woke up and was off out the flat just after 7am. My legs were feeling a bit stiff after the night before but that went away after a mile. Another 3 miles in the bag.
Day 3: Today I went to Strathclyde parkrun. This was my 24th time at Strathclyde since I started going there in August 2014. But I haven't actually ran it since June. Even having run 2 days previously I was feeling pretty good going into the run. I got into a good pace and managed to run each mile quicker than the last. I was following the 27 minute pacer for most of the run till the last km when I pulled away. I finished in 26.27 which I was pleased with considering I haven't done a parkrun in 3 weeks, meaning I wasn't as use to running at that pace.
Day 4: Usually Sunday would be my rest day after parkrun the day before. But rules being rules the marcothon does not accept rest days! So after a nice long lie I got out and got this done. I decided to go for mile laps today and was 30 seconds quicker on each mile than the previous. Felt so much better after I finished.
Day 5: Plan for today was to run a 5k at lunchtime round Gogarburn with Andy. That plan went out the window at 6.40am. Trains cancelled and further trains delayed meant I decided it wasn't worth the hassle going into work today so I just worked from home instead. On the plus side this meant that I was logged on for 7.30am and logged off at 4pm. But during the day it wasn't quite as simple as that. I had one of those "can I really do this" days. I was sore from yesterday but in the end I forced myself out the door in full winter gear. I decided to go for a new route today. Basically an out and back with a loop round Newlands park at the turning point. I just took it easy but I found on the way back I was actually feeling really good and all in, managed 3.7 miles. I'm hoping to keep edging this mileage up every now and then.
Day 6: This will probably go down as one of the most controversial marcothon runs of all time. Today I ran round Gogarburn with Andy. I didn't take my watch as it takes too long to get a signal round there. Andy has his phone but it ran out of juice. I found it tough underfoot going round the trails but as always good fun. In the end I mapped out the route when I got home and we did 2.5 miles. Now how fast was it? was it below 10 minute mile pace?! I don't know for definite but I'm saying it was above that pace meaning I ran for over 25 minutes lol.
Day 7: Working from home today so straight out for an easy 3 miles after work. I say easy but it was actually quite warm so was sweating buckets by the end of it!
So that's the end of week 1. Overall a solid start to the marcothon and probably my longest streak of running I have done since I last did the marcothon back in 2010!
Wednesday 30 November 2016
October/November - well overdue an update!
Been a while since I posted so thought i'd give an update on where I have been at.
Went to Great Run Local in Glasgow city centre for the first time. The course is 2 laps which includes going over the Clyde 4 times. I had a really good run and ended up with a seasons best 5k time of 25.36. In saying that I probably won't be back as although its a good atmosphere I wasn't a fan of the course. Especially when there is a really narrow bit and you've got runners coming the other way and a low railing on the other side where the Clyde is. I'm really not good with drops like that.
Also I did Pollok parkrun. On the way round I wasn't sure how well I was doing as on the first lap Liz overtook me and was winding me up for being slower than her. But at the time I was thinking I was going alright. Then on the last uphill I saw myself catching her and overtook her on the last steep bit of the incline. I maintained a good pace and managed to stay ahead. That'll teach her lol. Joking of course. But I did actually have a really good run and finished in 26.15 which is my fastest Pollok time since my return to running in August 2014.
Then I did the Victoria parkrun which since it was Haloween they did it in reverse. This did mean that everyone is kinda crammed round the narrow paths before it opens up when it goes into the loops of the course. So pace is very much dictated and I clearly started too far back. 26.43 though so course best and a good time considering.
Then I did Springburn. In contrast to Victoria I started way too fast on this one. 7.30 pace. Now even though its a down hill start its still too fast for me. For the final 2 1/2 miles (ie most of the race lol) I was struggling but was very surprised to cross the line in 27.05. Showing I can still dig in when I need to.
At the start of October I went to Pollok and had a terrible middle section of the run. I just was not in the game at all. But the positive to take from it was that I still did it in 28 minutes which I was trying to do the whole of last year which would have been considered an amazing run if I did it then. So really does show progression.
Bit disappointed to only have managed 5 "races" in the last few months, some missed out due to illness, some missed out due to laziness (I refuse to run on black ice too), some cancellations etc but I have still been running a fair bit. My mate Andy from work and I have started lunch runs in work which we have been doing 2-3 times a week. They have been great as we are totally spoilt to have trails actually going round the building. On my run the other day i actually saw baby deer. Andy's 5k times are very similar to mine which helps too.
Last weekend I did my first junior parkrun with my niece at Roukenglen. She was one of the youngest there and did really well. The standard was amazing - even if I was at peak condition there would be kids beating me left, right and centre. Hopefully in future more kids her age would join in though, so she has more folk to run against. I get the feeling she likes competition!
Marcothon starts tomorrow and logistics wise tomorrow is going to be the hardest day due to a work Christmas lunch. Fitness wise though at the moment I think everyday will be a hard day lol. I'll just see how far I get with it.
Went to Great Run Local in Glasgow city centre for the first time. The course is 2 laps which includes going over the Clyde 4 times. I had a really good run and ended up with a seasons best 5k time of 25.36. In saying that I probably won't be back as although its a good atmosphere I wasn't a fan of the course. Especially when there is a really narrow bit and you've got runners coming the other way and a low railing on the other side where the Clyde is. I'm really not good with drops like that.
Also I did Pollok parkrun. On the way round I wasn't sure how well I was doing as on the first lap Liz overtook me and was winding me up for being slower than her. But at the time I was thinking I was going alright. Then on the last uphill I saw myself catching her and overtook her on the last steep bit of the incline. I maintained a good pace and managed to stay ahead. That'll teach her lol. Joking of course. But I did actually have a really good run and finished in 26.15 which is my fastest Pollok time since my return to running in August 2014.
Then I did the Victoria parkrun which since it was Haloween they did it in reverse. This did mean that everyone is kinda crammed round the narrow paths before it opens up when it goes into the loops of the course. So pace is very much dictated and I clearly started too far back. 26.43 though so course best and a good time considering.
Then I did Springburn. In contrast to Victoria I started way too fast on this one. 7.30 pace. Now even though its a down hill start its still too fast for me. For the final 2 1/2 miles (ie most of the race lol) I was struggling but was very surprised to cross the line in 27.05. Showing I can still dig in when I need to.
At the start of October I went to Pollok and had a terrible middle section of the run. I just was not in the game at all. But the positive to take from it was that I still did it in 28 minutes which I was trying to do the whole of last year which would have been considered an amazing run if I did it then. So really does show progression.
Bit disappointed to only have managed 5 "races" in the last few months, some missed out due to illness, some missed out due to laziness (I refuse to run on black ice too), some cancellations etc but I have still been running a fair bit. My mate Andy from work and I have started lunch runs in work which we have been doing 2-3 times a week. They have been great as we are totally spoilt to have trails actually going round the building. On my run the other day i actually saw baby deer. Andy's 5k times are very similar to mine which helps too.
Last weekend I did my first junior parkrun with my niece at Roukenglen. She was one of the youngest there and did really well. The standard was amazing - even if I was at peak condition there would be kids beating me left, right and centre. Hopefully in future more kids her age would join in though, so she has more folk to run against. I get the feeling she likes competition!
Marcothon starts tomorrow and logistics wise tomorrow is going to be the hardest day due to a work Christmas lunch. Fitness wise though at the moment I think everyday will be a hard day lol. I'll just see how far I get with it.
Sunday 25 September 2016
September adventures
Sat 3rd: This was a parkrun like no other I have done and I have now done 84 including this one! I was down in Lowestoft for my Aunties wedding which was the previous day and luckily enough the B & B we were staying at had the parkrun start pretty much right at the front door. Also my cousins were keen on doing it too as they usually do the Harlow one. Unfortunately my cousin Karen picked up an injury so she came along to watch. Along with a lot of the family who were scattered along the route as the hotel where the wedding was, was on the route too. So it was myself cousin Rachael and her son Jack doing the parkrun today. The route basically goes along the promenade for half a mile, then you reach the split point. You start off going onto the lower promenade probably for about 3 quarters of a mile. Then at the end of it you turn off onto a path up to the upper promenade then back along the upper promenade, round the gardens and you start on the lower promenade again for the second lap. Jack absolutely bombed off, at least I thought it was him. But as we went back along the upper promenade for the first time he overtook me so I'm not sure if I overtook him at some point before or not. I then managed to get back in front as he was starting to struggle. It is a pretty flat course with only the path up to the upper promenade being the only hill. It is a stingy one especially the second lap. The promenade is so wide and with 160 people running today there is plenty of room for this run to expand. The path to the upper promenade is the only narrow bit and lasts for about 50 meters. Overall I had a great run and finished in 25.59. Jack finished in just over 30 minutes and said he struggled a bit with the heat later in the run as normally he is about 26-27 minutes too. Then Rachel was just over 32 minutes and was pleased with her efforts. Delighted with my own effort and topped off an excellent weekend.
Sun 10th - No parkrun this weekend as I was feeling a bit rough on the Saturday. On Sunday though I did a run which I was looking to do all week. Well in my head I wanted to do it but actually getting out to do it was a different story. I wanted to do an 8 1/2 mile long run. I haven't run that distance in many a year so while wanting to do it, the thought of it was quite daunting. But today I managed to get out and at least give it ago. The first 3 miles is mainly flat. Then the 4th mile up through Thornlibank begins to climb. At the end of this mile I was done in and had to start walking. For the rest of the run it was a battle and I pretty much walked the uphills and ran the flats and downs. You may look at this run and think it was a failure but I see it as a success and a stepping stone. I got out there and went further than I have in over 5 years. I still completed the run in an hour and half. I know I can run 10k non stop so maybe it was physiological that I had to walk after 4 miles or that I have had a bit of lazy week compared to the 100 days before. But this is definitely something I can build on.
Sat 16th - No parkrun again. But this time it was because my brother was free for the day so we decided to climb Goatfell in Arran. It was such a nice day. The walk itself was fairly easy until you got to the ridge. Then it got tough! Very rocky and steep. Unfortunately when we got to the top it was cloudy so didn't get much of a view but we got great views going up and down so can't complain. One of the reasons I chose to do Goatfell was because I quite fancied doing the hill race one year but after this I think I'll give it a miss. I struggled walking down the steep bits never mind running down it lol.
Sat 24th - I quite fancied doing a flat parkrun this week but then got a message from my brother on Friday night saying he quite fancied doing Pollok and since he had not done a parkrun since last July I went with it. It was a nice and wet parkrun. I started off at a good pace but running well within myself. I did feel stronger today than previous parkruns and managed to get round in 26.41 which is only 3 seconds short of last months time at Pollok. 5 of my last 10 parkruns have been in the 26 minute bracket and one in the 25 minute bracket which is pretty pleasing. But I know to get in that 25 minute bracket more speedwork is required.
I have been doing more in September than these adventures but they have all been been training runs or in todays case a nice cycle.
Sun 10th - No parkrun this weekend as I was feeling a bit rough on the Saturday. On Sunday though I did a run which I was looking to do all week. Well in my head I wanted to do it but actually getting out to do it was a different story. I wanted to do an 8 1/2 mile long run. I haven't run that distance in many a year so while wanting to do it, the thought of it was quite daunting. But today I managed to get out and at least give it ago. The first 3 miles is mainly flat. Then the 4th mile up through Thornlibank begins to climb. At the end of this mile I was done in and had to start walking. For the rest of the run it was a battle and I pretty much walked the uphills and ran the flats and downs. You may look at this run and think it was a failure but I see it as a success and a stepping stone. I got out there and went further than I have in over 5 years. I still completed the run in an hour and half. I know I can run 10k non stop so maybe it was physiological that I had to walk after 4 miles or that I have had a bit of lazy week compared to the 100 days before. But this is definitely something I can build on.
Sat 16th - No parkrun again. But this time it was because my brother was free for the day so we decided to climb Goatfell in Arran. It was such a nice day. The walk itself was fairly easy until you got to the ridge. Then it got tough! Very rocky and steep. Unfortunately when we got to the top it was cloudy so didn't get much of a view but we got great views going up and down so can't complain. One of the reasons I chose to do Goatfell was because I quite fancied doing the hill race one year but after this I think I'll give it a miss. I struggled walking down the steep bits never mind running down it lol.
Sat 24th - I quite fancied doing a flat parkrun this week but then got a message from my brother on Friday night saying he quite fancied doing Pollok and since he had not done a parkrun since last July I went with it. It was a nice and wet parkrun. I started off at a good pace but running well within myself. I did feel stronger today than previous parkruns and managed to get round in 26.41 which is only 3 seconds short of last months time at Pollok. 5 of my last 10 parkruns have been in the 26 minute bracket and one in the 25 minute bracket which is pretty pleasing. But I know to get in that 25 minute bracket more speedwork is required.
I have been doing more in September than these adventures but they have all been been training runs or in todays case a nice cycle.
Sunday 4 September 2016
Day 99........Day 100!!! MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Day 99: Working from home today so went for a run after work. I started off running easy but the more I got into the run the better I felt and in the end I'm even calling it a tempo run as my average page for the 4 1/2 mile loop was 8:50 minute miles. Some runs everything just clicks and today was one of those runs. 10,487 steps.
Day 100!! Didn't do anything special today as had to cram the steps in, in the morning because I was heading south with the family for a family wedding. So just made the steps up by walking to my parents and then hitting the road from there. 11,921 steps.
Final stats
My average: 13,137 steps
My total steps: 1,313,675 steps
My total miles covered: 522 miles
Team average: 13,520 steps
Leaderboard for teams: 9,269 out of 48,000
Leaderboard for mini league - 4th out of 8 teams
Summary
Overall I think I have well and truely surpassed my expectations on how much my fitness has improved and how I have managed to keep this going for the last 100 days. To give you an idea, here are some before and after park run times:
21/05/16 Tollcross parkrun: 29.01
27/08/16 Tollcross parkrun: 27.08
28/05/16: Pollok parkrun: 28.29
20/08/16: Pollok parkrun: 26.38
So it shows I have improved my 5k times by 2 minutes! I know at the start of this I said I didn't want to turn this into a walking blog and I think it has to an extent. But at the same time I think the walking has played a big part in my improvement.
Going forward
I am going to have to try and find a balance between walking and running. When I was working in the office all the time I was pretty much running once a week as I was more concerned about getting the steps in. So I think now that steps are irrelevant I can change my routine so I'm getting up later and I don't have to walk from the station to the office and back. I should be fresher to run at nights. When I was working from home this wasn't a problem as I was getting out for 3 sometimes 4 runs a week. I think the biggest thing I have learned though is that it is important to do something each day in terms of exercise and that you will improve you just have to be patient and keep plugging away.
For this blog going forward I won't be posting any more about walking unless its hillwalking. I think I'll go back to the monthly blog summarising parkruns and other races.
In terms of where my running is going and my goals. To be honest I wish I could go in quite a lot of directions. Stick with parkruns and 10ks, go for half marathons, marathons - ultras again?! I even have a hankering to try out uphill races. I'm not sure which one to take right now. So for now I have decided to try and extend my long runs and hopefully be in a position by new year where I think I am fit enough to attack some different races. Then I'll decide what races to apply for based on my fitness then.
Day 100!! Didn't do anything special today as had to cram the steps in, in the morning because I was heading south with the family for a family wedding. So just made the steps up by walking to my parents and then hitting the road from there. 11,921 steps.
Final stats
My average: 13,137 steps
My total steps: 1,313,675 steps
My total miles covered: 522 miles
Team average: 13,520 steps
Leaderboard for teams: 9,269 out of 48,000
Leaderboard for mini league - 4th out of 8 teams
Summary
Overall I think I have well and truely surpassed my expectations on how much my fitness has improved and how I have managed to keep this going for the last 100 days. To give you an idea, here are some before and after park run times:
21/05/16 Tollcross parkrun: 29.01
27/08/16 Tollcross parkrun: 27.08
28/05/16: Pollok parkrun: 28.29
20/08/16: Pollok parkrun: 26.38
So it shows I have improved my 5k times by 2 minutes! I know at the start of this I said I didn't want to turn this into a walking blog and I think it has to an extent. But at the same time I think the walking has played a big part in my improvement.
Going forward
I am going to have to try and find a balance between walking and running. When I was working in the office all the time I was pretty much running once a week as I was more concerned about getting the steps in. So I think now that steps are irrelevant I can change my routine so I'm getting up later and I don't have to walk from the station to the office and back. I should be fresher to run at nights. When I was working from home this wasn't a problem as I was getting out for 3 sometimes 4 runs a week. I think the biggest thing I have learned though is that it is important to do something each day in terms of exercise and that you will improve you just have to be patient and keep plugging away.
For this blog going forward I won't be posting any more about walking unless its hillwalking. I think I'll go back to the monthly blog summarising parkruns and other races.
In terms of where my running is going and my goals. To be honest I wish I could go in quite a lot of directions. Stick with parkruns and 10ks, go for half marathons, marathons - ultras again?! I even have a hankering to try out uphill races. I'm not sure which one to take right now. So for now I have decided to try and extend my long runs and hopefully be in a position by new year where I think I am fit enough to attack some different races. Then I'll decide what races to apply for based on my fitness then.
Wednesday 31 August 2016
Steps Challenge Week 14
Day 92: Working from home today for the first time in 4 weeks :-) So I got a run in. I wasn't going into it feeling too optimistic and thought that it may be a run walk. The reason for this is because I was in calls from 9am to 1pm so I wasn't really eating or hydrating as I would usually do. Despite this and that it was a bit warm, I actually had a remarkably good run. I was very surprised that all my mile splits were below 10 minute miles even for the first one which is always above 10. Really positive run all round. 10,161 steps
Day 93: Another day working from home and I was feeling really optimistic about the run after yesterday. I felt recovered and ready to go. But this run was a lot tougher. In fact the 4th mile I had to take walking breaks. Think it was the humidity and maybe not fueled enough but I really did struggle. If you took out that fourth mile and replaced it with a 9.20 minute mile it would actually look like yesterdays run on paper. So I will leave it like that :-) 10,147 steps
Day 94: In the office today and hoping for some monster bank holiday weekend stepage. 12,983 steps.
Day 95: Parkrun day! This time I was off to Tollcross. To be honest I didn't really have any targets or expectations going into this run. I did think I should be able to go round in under 29 minutes which would beat my course best. But I thought just take it as it comes. At the start I thought I was quite far back but the pace early on up the first hill did feel pretty fast even where I was and I just let them go and enjoyed the space around me. After a lap and up the hill again I was pulling people in quite quickly as they were either very slow jogging or walking up the hill. It was good to have these targets. Some of them would catch me again on the downs but quite often I would do the damage on the next uphill. I love that feeling when you reach the top of the hill for the third time and you know its only a wee kicker hill to go, then all down hill and on to the grass for the finish. I really did pace this to perfection today and was again rewarded with a great time of 27.08. Beating my previous best for the course which was set in May earlier this year, by almost 2 minutes. When I got home I wanted to majorly boost my steps so went out for a 6 1/2 mile walk. 22,274 steps - a new steps PB!
Day 96: Today is normally the day I do a recovery walk but usually I just do 4 1/2 miles to get the 10,000 steps in. But as I said in the last post I really want to average more the 13,000 steps for the challenge and its going to be a close one. So today I decided to go for it and went for a 10-11 mile walk, which I think is nearer 11 miles. I don't think any form of exercise where you cover 10 miles plus can really be called "recovery". Anyway 3 hours and 10 minutes later I was done. And with it a new steps personal best of 24,407 steps!
Day 97: Had planned to do a long run of just over 10k today but woke up and my legs felt really achy from yesterday. But after getting up and pottering about for a few hours I decided to give it a go and just see what happens. I just took it really easy and after the first few miles I did actually feel really good. It was quite warm and I didn't realise till afterwards that I was covered in sweat. I did actually stop at a shop after 3 and 1/2 miles to get some water. Only to find that every bottle they had was over a pound! ... and I only had a pound. Now there was plenty of shops for the rest of the way which probably sold water for under a pound but as I reached them I just thought - I'm fine I'll just go to the next one. etc etc. Once up the hill to Clarkston toll, I knew it was only 2 miles left. I still felt good despite that I could have done with a bit of water. I increased the pace a wee bit in what was a very satisfying run. In fact my mile splits showed that I actually ran each mile quicker than the last. It was also my longest training run since January. In terms of steps I was expecting to see 14-15 thousand. Forgetting that running takes less steps than walking. So it was actually about 11 thousand. So I went out for a walk later to boost the average a bit. 13,679 steps.
Day 98: And back in the office. 13,476 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 14: 13,343
My overall average: 15,304
My team's average steps overall: 13,642
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 14: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 14: 9,379 out of 48,444 - Down 955 places on last week.
Well the last full week of the challenge and it really couldn't have gone any better! Thanks to the bank holiday weekend I managed some monster mileage meaning a record number of steps for the week. Of course you look back and think I could have done that every week. But I guess it shows how much my fitness has improved since the start of this.
Only 2 days to go and as I write this, tomorrow is the last day! Report on Day 99 and Day 100 along with short summary of the challenge to come later in the week.
Day 93: Another day working from home and I was feeling really optimistic about the run after yesterday. I felt recovered and ready to go. But this run was a lot tougher. In fact the 4th mile I had to take walking breaks. Think it was the humidity and maybe not fueled enough but I really did struggle. If you took out that fourth mile and replaced it with a 9.20 minute mile it would actually look like yesterdays run on paper. So I will leave it like that :-) 10,147 steps
Day 94: In the office today and hoping for some monster bank holiday weekend stepage. 12,983 steps.
Day 95: Parkrun day! This time I was off to Tollcross. To be honest I didn't really have any targets or expectations going into this run. I did think I should be able to go round in under 29 minutes which would beat my course best. But I thought just take it as it comes. At the start I thought I was quite far back but the pace early on up the first hill did feel pretty fast even where I was and I just let them go and enjoyed the space around me. After a lap and up the hill again I was pulling people in quite quickly as they were either very slow jogging or walking up the hill. It was good to have these targets. Some of them would catch me again on the downs but quite often I would do the damage on the next uphill. I love that feeling when you reach the top of the hill for the third time and you know its only a wee kicker hill to go, then all down hill and on to the grass for the finish. I really did pace this to perfection today and was again rewarded with a great time of 27.08. Beating my previous best for the course which was set in May earlier this year, by almost 2 minutes. When I got home I wanted to majorly boost my steps so went out for a 6 1/2 mile walk. 22,274 steps - a new steps PB!
Day 96: Today is normally the day I do a recovery walk but usually I just do 4 1/2 miles to get the 10,000 steps in. But as I said in the last post I really want to average more the 13,000 steps for the challenge and its going to be a close one. So today I decided to go for it and went for a 10-11 mile walk, which I think is nearer 11 miles. I don't think any form of exercise where you cover 10 miles plus can really be called "recovery". Anyway 3 hours and 10 minutes later I was done. And with it a new steps personal best of 24,407 steps!
Day 97: Had planned to do a long run of just over 10k today but woke up and my legs felt really achy from yesterday. But after getting up and pottering about for a few hours I decided to give it a go and just see what happens. I just took it really easy and after the first few miles I did actually feel really good. It was quite warm and I didn't realise till afterwards that I was covered in sweat. I did actually stop at a shop after 3 and 1/2 miles to get some water. Only to find that every bottle they had was over a pound! ... and I only had a pound. Now there was plenty of shops for the rest of the way which probably sold water for under a pound but as I reached them I just thought - I'm fine I'll just go to the next one. etc etc. Once up the hill to Clarkston toll, I knew it was only 2 miles left. I still felt good despite that I could have done with a bit of water. I increased the pace a wee bit in what was a very satisfying run. In fact my mile splits showed that I actually ran each mile quicker than the last. It was also my longest training run since January. In terms of steps I was expecting to see 14-15 thousand. Forgetting that running takes less steps than walking. So it was actually about 11 thousand. So I went out for a walk later to boost the average a bit. 13,679 steps.
Day 98: And back in the office. 13,476 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 14: 13,343
My overall average: 15,304
My team's average steps overall: 13,642
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 14: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 14: 9,379 out of 48,444 - Down 955 places on last week.
Well the last full week of the challenge and it really couldn't have gone any better! Thanks to the bank holiday weekend I managed some monster mileage meaning a record number of steps for the week. Of course you look back and think I could have done that every week. But I guess it shows how much my fitness has improved since the start of this.
Only 2 days to go and as I write this, tomorrow is the last day! Report on Day 99 and Day 100 along with short summary of the challenge to come later in the week.
Wednesday 24 August 2016
Steps Challenge Week 13
Day 85,86,87: Another few days in the office - all walking - 12,555 steps, 12,708 steps, 13,137 steps
Day 88: Parkrun day today and I have to say even though I didn't have the best warm up, I was feeling well up for giving it a good go, despite having not run a parkrun in 4 weeks. I tried to position myself a bit further forward this week and think I was in about the right position in the pack. The start was still a bit stuttered as always, as everyone crams into the narrow road. But after that its ok. There were quite a few puddles today but as usual I just plough straight through them so no time lost. Just before the km mark I got a shout from one of my old clubmates Gordon and we breifly chatted before he pressed on. He is normally a lot faster but he has got the Paisley 10k tomorrow. Just before the second km mark I caught Pamela. On my last outing at Pollok it took me till the final sprint to catch her and she is usually pretty consistent in terms of times so I knew I was running well. I just tried to remain focused and take each section at a time. I was running strong up the hills and using the downhills to take my foot off the gas a bit to recharge for the uphills. I did have thoughts of walking parts but today I won those mental battles and kept going all the way to the end.
I was well and truly rewarded as I crossed the line in 26.38. A seasons best time at Pollok. 4th fastest 5k this year and achieved one of my goals for the year of going sub 27 minutes at Pollok. So a very satisfying performance. When I got home I went out for a 4 1/2 mile walk to up the steps a bit. 17,700 steps.
Day 89: Recovery walk today - my legs were actually feeling alright after yesterday. 10,815 steps.
Day 90,91: Back in the office - 13,268 steps, then 13,216 steps
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 13: 13,343
My overall average: 13,013
My team's average steps overall: 13,554
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 13: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 13: 8,424 out of 48,444 - Up 824 places on last week.
A week and 2 days left! My overall average is dangling just above the 13k mark so I'm going to try and keep it that way. It will be a bit more challenging as I'm not in the office as much over the next week so I'm going to have to do some big walks and longer runs to ensure I do stay ahead.
Day 88: Parkrun day today and I have to say even though I didn't have the best warm up, I was feeling well up for giving it a good go, despite having not run a parkrun in 4 weeks. I tried to position myself a bit further forward this week and think I was in about the right position in the pack. The start was still a bit stuttered as always, as everyone crams into the narrow road. But after that its ok. There were quite a few puddles today but as usual I just plough straight through them so no time lost. Just before the km mark I got a shout from one of my old clubmates Gordon and we breifly chatted before he pressed on. He is normally a lot faster but he has got the Paisley 10k tomorrow. Just before the second km mark I caught Pamela. On my last outing at Pollok it took me till the final sprint to catch her and she is usually pretty consistent in terms of times so I knew I was running well. I just tried to remain focused and take each section at a time. I was running strong up the hills and using the downhills to take my foot off the gas a bit to recharge for the uphills. I did have thoughts of walking parts but today I won those mental battles and kept going all the way to the end.
I was well and truly rewarded as I crossed the line in 26.38. A seasons best time at Pollok. 4th fastest 5k this year and achieved one of my goals for the year of going sub 27 minutes at Pollok. So a very satisfying performance. When I got home I went out for a 4 1/2 mile walk to up the steps a bit. 17,700 steps.
Day 89: Recovery walk today - my legs were actually feeling alright after yesterday. 10,815 steps.
Day 90,91: Back in the office - 13,268 steps, then 13,216 steps
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 13: 13,343
My overall average: 13,013
My team's average steps overall: 13,554
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 13: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 13: 8,424 out of 48,444 - Up 824 places on last week.
A week and 2 days left! My overall average is dangling just above the 13k mark so I'm going to try and keep it that way. It will be a bit more challenging as I'm not in the office as much over the next week so I'm going to have to do some big walks and longer runs to ensure I do stay ahead.
Wednesday 17 August 2016
Steps Challenge Week 12
Day 78, 79, 80: Another few days in the office, so all walking. 13,528 steps, then 13,482 steps, then 13,262 steps.
Day 81: No parkrun today. Didn't even plan to go. Thought a nice lie in then a longer run would be better, but got up then just didn't feel like running so just went for a walk. I hit such a good rhythm with running the past 3 months and its a shame that I have lost that. As well as being in the office all the time for the last few weeks, one of the reasons is probably that I don't really have any goal races at the moment. I say "lost that" but i suppose to put it in perspective last year I was running once a week for many months which is what I am doing with my "bad patch" this time. 10,887 steps.
Day 82: Got out for a run today, felt totally up for it. Fresh legs and raring to go. When I got out it was a different story. My legs felt fine but after the first mile I really was struggling with the heat. It wasn't sunny but very muggy. I did think at parts that maybe I was ill but afterwards I was fine so must have been the temperature. I'm glad I managed to keep going all the way round though and get the 4 1/2 miles in. It was actually the same route I walked yesterday but this time it tallied up to 8000 steps compared to yesterdays 10,000. Meaning I would need to go out later and do another 2000. Thing is, once I got home from having dinner at my parents, I managed to totally forget until I settled on the sofa for the night to watch the Olympics. I had an "Aw naw" moment when I realised I still had to do another 2000 steps! So it was out and round my estate 3 times to make up the difference. 10,328 steps.
Days 83, 84: Back to the office so 13,000 then 12,887 steps all walking.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 12: 12,482
My overall average: 12,985
My team's average steps overall: 13,524
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 12: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 12: 9,248 out of 48,444 - Down 142 places on last week.
So only the one run this week but at least with all this walking you can't say I'm being lazy! I've been thinking more about what lays ahead after the challenge and I'm considering getting the later train and not walking to and from the office, so I've got more energy to go out running after work. Clearly working from home days I have been fine going out those days. But when I'm in the office I get 6,000 steps without the walk to and from the station so will probably end up getting the bus again. I won't be focusing on getting 10,000 steps in, as long as I do something everyday.
As for future goals I'm still thinking about it all the time, especially goal races for next year. Some may depend on whether I can get in and whether I get my fitness up more for the rest of this year giving me the confidence to go for the longer races.
Anyway 2 weeks tomorrow and this challenge will be complete! The countdown is well and truly on.
Day 81: No parkrun today. Didn't even plan to go. Thought a nice lie in then a longer run would be better, but got up then just didn't feel like running so just went for a walk. I hit such a good rhythm with running the past 3 months and its a shame that I have lost that. As well as being in the office all the time for the last few weeks, one of the reasons is probably that I don't really have any goal races at the moment. I say "lost that" but i suppose to put it in perspective last year I was running once a week for many months which is what I am doing with my "bad patch" this time. 10,887 steps.
Day 82: Got out for a run today, felt totally up for it. Fresh legs and raring to go. When I got out it was a different story. My legs felt fine but after the first mile I really was struggling with the heat. It wasn't sunny but very muggy. I did think at parts that maybe I was ill but afterwards I was fine so must have been the temperature. I'm glad I managed to keep going all the way round though and get the 4 1/2 miles in. It was actually the same route I walked yesterday but this time it tallied up to 8000 steps compared to yesterdays 10,000. Meaning I would need to go out later and do another 2000. Thing is, once I got home from having dinner at my parents, I managed to totally forget until I settled on the sofa for the night to watch the Olympics. I had an "Aw naw" moment when I realised I still had to do another 2000 steps! So it was out and round my estate 3 times to make up the difference. 10,328 steps.
Days 83, 84: Back to the office so 13,000 then 12,887 steps all walking.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 12: 12,482
My overall average: 12,985
My team's average steps overall: 13,524
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 12: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 12: 9,248 out of 48,444 - Down 142 places on last week.
So only the one run this week but at least with all this walking you can't say I'm being lazy! I've been thinking more about what lays ahead after the challenge and I'm considering getting the later train and not walking to and from the office, so I've got more energy to go out running after work. Clearly working from home days I have been fine going out those days. But when I'm in the office I get 6,000 steps without the walk to and from the station so will probably end up getting the bus again. I won't be focusing on getting 10,000 steps in, as long as I do something everyday.
As for future goals I'm still thinking about it all the time, especially goal races for next year. Some may depend on whether I can get in and whether I get my fitness up more for the rest of this year giving me the confidence to go for the longer races.
Anyway 2 weeks tomorrow and this challenge will be complete! The countdown is well and truly on.
Wednesday 10 August 2016
Steps Challenge Week 11
Day 71: Today felt like a very long day. I was just feeling very tired and not sure why. Just walking again but will try a run tomorrow. 12,868 steps.
Day 72: Still tired so no running. Think its because I am in the office all the time at the moment which means long days. Its going to be like that for the next few weeks but will hopefully be working from home again more after that. 13,427 steps.
Day 73: Its Friday thank goodness. Hopefully some parkrun magic will manifest itself tomorrow. 13,232 steps.
Day 74: Well the parkrun magic did not show up. I turned up at Pollok and had some stomach issues. Unfortunately the facilities at Pollok don't open until 10am so would mean either having a very uncomfortable run or head home, then go out for a run. Easy choice really, I chose the latter. Once out I just did a very easy 3 miles which took about 30 minutes. I say just 3 miles but this was my best run in a while after a few false starts the past couple of weeks. In the afternoon I went to the Dundonald highland games with the family and met up with relative Liam and his girlfriend Ava who were over from Canada. Liam was over with his pipeband and was competing. He is also taking part in the World pipeband champs next weekend in Glasgow so this was a good warm up gig for him. Needless to say this was also good for my step count. 11,635 steps for the day.
Day 75: Three quarters of the way there! On my feet all day so you would expect to see a record number of steps. But no most of it was standing about watching very fast cars. It was great. Went to the ignition festival of motoring in Glasgow which totally took over the SECC. Always stuff happening and the showroom was huge. 10,970 steps.
Day 76: Just in the office day and all walking. 13,209 steps.
Day 77: Same as yesterday. 13,216 steps. But this was a landmark day as I broke the 1,000,000 steps mark for the challenge! This means that even if I do nothing for the next 23 days I will have averaged 10,000 steps a day for 100 days. Of course the plan is to do over 10,000 steps a day for the 100 days so I'll keep plugging away.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 11: 12,651
My overall average: 13,031
My team's average steps overall: 13,515
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 11: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 11: 9106 out of 48,444 - Up 1,970 places on last week.
Most people entered there steps up to this week hence the wee boost up the rankings.
It wasn't a good week running wise but still getting the 10k minimum and nice to hit a few landmarks - 75% of the challenge complete and 1 million steps. It has got me thinking about what I am going to do once this has finished. Should I keep with doing the 10k steps a day? Should I stop, baring in mind that if I replace it with running I can do less steps? I think what I have learned from this is that you need to do something each day. But at the same time I can't do everything.
Day 72: Still tired so no running. Think its because I am in the office all the time at the moment which means long days. Its going to be like that for the next few weeks but will hopefully be working from home again more after that. 13,427 steps.
Day 73: Its Friday thank goodness. Hopefully some parkrun magic will manifest itself tomorrow. 13,232 steps.
Day 74: Well the parkrun magic did not show up. I turned up at Pollok and had some stomach issues. Unfortunately the facilities at Pollok don't open until 10am so would mean either having a very uncomfortable run or head home, then go out for a run. Easy choice really, I chose the latter. Once out I just did a very easy 3 miles which took about 30 minutes. I say just 3 miles but this was my best run in a while after a few false starts the past couple of weeks. In the afternoon I went to the Dundonald highland games with the family and met up with relative Liam and his girlfriend Ava who were over from Canada. Liam was over with his pipeband and was competing. He is also taking part in the World pipeband champs next weekend in Glasgow so this was a good warm up gig for him. Needless to say this was also good for my step count. 11,635 steps for the day.
Day 75: Three quarters of the way there! On my feet all day so you would expect to see a record number of steps. But no most of it was standing about watching very fast cars. It was great. Went to the ignition festival of motoring in Glasgow which totally took over the SECC. Always stuff happening and the showroom was huge. 10,970 steps.
Day 76: Just in the office day and all walking. 13,209 steps.
Day 77: Same as yesterday. 13,216 steps. But this was a landmark day as I broke the 1,000,000 steps mark for the challenge! This means that even if I do nothing for the next 23 days I will have averaged 10,000 steps a day for 100 days. Of course the plan is to do over 10,000 steps a day for the 100 days so I'll keep plugging away.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 11: 12,651
My overall average: 13,031
My team's average steps overall: 13,515
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 11: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 11: 9106 out of 48,444 - Up 1,970 places on last week.
Most people entered there steps up to this week hence the wee boost up the rankings.
It wasn't a good week running wise but still getting the 10k minimum and nice to hit a few landmarks - 75% of the challenge complete and 1 million steps. It has got me thinking about what I am going to do once this has finished. Should I keep with doing the 10k steps a day? Should I stop, baring in mind that if I replace it with running I can do less steps? I think what I have learned from this is that you need to do something each day. But at the same time I can't do everything.
Wednesday 3 August 2016
Steps Challenge Week 10
Day 64: Well this week didn't get off to the best of starts. Missed my train connection which meant only walked into work and got the bus back. Also my legs still didn't feel fully recovered from the hill session I did a few days ago so ended up not running either. Still made the 10,000 steps though......10,302 steps.
Day 65: Well if I thought yesterday was bad, today was worse. Train problems this morning meant I missed 2 trains at Queen Street. So I had to get the bus both ways from the station to the office. This is the first time I have had to do this since the challenge started. I learned from this though that I do about 6000 steps at the very minimum when I go to the office. Then when I got home I went out for an easy run which turned out not to be so easy. In fact I stopped running after about quarter of a mile and walked the rest. Just no energy and very tired. On the plus side I just had to do 2 miles to make it up to 10,000 steps. 10,597 steps altogether.
Day 66: More energy today and walked both ways from station to the office as no train problems. No running as saving myself for the weekend. 12,855 steps.
Day 67: This week is getting quite amusing. Another stinker of a day running wise. Slept in for parkrun. Then went out to go for a run. Quarter of a mile in and I was just feeling rubbish so just walked 2 miles. Then spent an hour at home before going out for another 2 mile walk to get the majority of my 10,000 steps in. Sleeping in for parkrun turned into a blessing in disguise I think! 10,475 steps.
Day 68: Still not feeling right so just a 4 1/2 mile walk. Felt better for it but wasn't even going to attempt a run. 11,045 steps.
Day 69: In the office day. Trains were running late but just decided to walk both ways to and from the station and just get home later. No running again but I think I'm on the up. 12,766 steps.
Day 70: You may as well re-read Day 69 as I would just type the same thing again. Except the step count which was 13,011 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 10: 11,579
My overall average: 13,069
My team's average steps overall: 13,670
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 10: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 10: 11,076 out of 48,444 - Down 1,342 places on last week.
Well this week certainly didn't go to plan. 2 terribly bad attempted runs and that was it. Think I may have just needed to re-charge the batteries a bit. Whether the batteries have been re-charged or not, since I still have been hitting the minimum of 10k a day, we will have to wait and see. Through not running though it has actually made me more excited about my running. Thoughts are starting to turn to plans for the rest of the year and next year. 2017 may end up being a 5k-10k year again and try and get faster times which don't get me wrong I do enjoy running fast. But I am getting an itch to go higher and longer. So we shall see.
Day 65: Well if I thought yesterday was bad, today was worse. Train problems this morning meant I missed 2 trains at Queen Street. So I had to get the bus both ways from the station to the office. This is the first time I have had to do this since the challenge started. I learned from this though that I do about 6000 steps at the very minimum when I go to the office. Then when I got home I went out for an easy run which turned out not to be so easy. In fact I stopped running after about quarter of a mile and walked the rest. Just no energy and very tired. On the plus side I just had to do 2 miles to make it up to 10,000 steps. 10,597 steps altogether.
Day 66: More energy today and walked both ways from station to the office as no train problems. No running as saving myself for the weekend. 12,855 steps.
Day 67: This week is getting quite amusing. Another stinker of a day running wise. Slept in for parkrun. Then went out to go for a run. Quarter of a mile in and I was just feeling rubbish so just walked 2 miles. Then spent an hour at home before going out for another 2 mile walk to get the majority of my 10,000 steps in. Sleeping in for parkrun turned into a blessing in disguise I think! 10,475 steps.
Day 68: Still not feeling right so just a 4 1/2 mile walk. Felt better for it but wasn't even going to attempt a run. 11,045 steps.
Day 69: In the office day. Trains were running late but just decided to walk both ways to and from the station and just get home later. No running again but I think I'm on the up. 12,766 steps.
Day 70: You may as well re-read Day 69 as I would just type the same thing again. Except the step count which was 13,011 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 10: 11,579
My overall average: 13,069
My team's average steps overall: 13,670
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 10: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 10: 11,076 out of 48,444 - Down 1,342 places on last week.
Well this week certainly didn't go to plan. 2 terribly bad attempted runs and that was it. Think I may have just needed to re-charge the batteries a bit. Whether the batteries have been re-charged or not, since I still have been hitting the minimum of 10k a day, we will have to wait and see. Through not running though it has actually made me more excited about my running. Thoughts are starting to turn to plans for the rest of the year and next year. 2017 may end up being a 5k-10k year again and try and get faster times which don't get me wrong I do enjoy running fast. But I am getting an itch to go higher and longer. So we shall see.
Wednesday 27 July 2016
Steps Challenge Week 9
Day 57: Working from home today so did an easy 4 and half mile run after work. As I said in my last post I stripped out the hills and tried to make it as easy as possible. Hoping that i'll be able to get out tomorrow for a harder session. 10,623 steps.
Day 58: Well my tactic worked perfectly. My legs felt fine today and I was raring to go after work. I decided to go for one of my old sessions which is about a 0.3/0.4 mile rectangle. Where I go fast the 2 short sides and one long side - then walk the other long side to recover. So it basically worked out as 2 minutes fast running followed by 2 minutes walking for recovery. I did this 10 times. It felt good up until the last few reps and I was really pushing it. In total including warm up and warm down it came to just over 6 miles. Total steps for the day was 12,409.
Day 59: Easy day today so 59,394 steps. Only joking - 10,612 really. :-)
Day 60: Headed through to Livingston today to meet up with one of my work mates Andy. We meet up for lunch in the office canteen and chat a about parkrun a lot so it was good to see what the Livingston parkrun was like and hangout. Andy likes to start nearer the front and since going by our times we are about the same pace I joined him. For the first km he was running just in front of me until we reached a short, sharp hill. Then I overtook him and never saw him again until the finish. I really liked the route. It does a wee loop, then goes out along the river, turning into a trail, then crosses a bridge and you go back down the other side of the river. Then you do half of the loop you did at the start. I would say its an undulating course. All the hills seemed to be short and sharp and same with the descents. I crossed the line in 26.11 which I was delighted with. Andy ended up getting a PB too in 27.14. In the afternoon I went for a nice 4 1/2 mile walk to get up the step count a bit. 17,520 steps.
Day 61: An easy day today. 6 and half mile walk round the southside of Glasgow. 15,608 steps all together.
Day 62: In the office today but one of my trains was running late so I got in later. I still walked from the station to the office on the way in but decided to get the bus on the way back so I could get my usual train home. Once I was home though I did an excellent hill session on one of the toughest short hills in the area. I did it 10 times and was pretty consistent averaging around a minute per rep. Steps total for today was 18,864 steps.
Day 63: In the office again. Legs were stiff from yesterday so a well deserved recovery day. So all walking - 12,748 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 8: 14,055
My overall average: 13,234
My team's average steps overall: 13,973
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 8: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 8: 9724 out of 48,444 - Down 1,540 places on last week.
So still slipping down the leaderboard but again that is because people leave it a few weeks and then upload their steps all at once.
For me it has been my best week yet. 4 really good runs. If I can get into a routine of doing this that would be amazing.
Day 58: Well my tactic worked perfectly. My legs felt fine today and I was raring to go after work. I decided to go for one of my old sessions which is about a 0.3/0.4 mile rectangle. Where I go fast the 2 short sides and one long side - then walk the other long side to recover. So it basically worked out as 2 minutes fast running followed by 2 minutes walking for recovery. I did this 10 times. It felt good up until the last few reps and I was really pushing it. In total including warm up and warm down it came to just over 6 miles. Total steps for the day was 12,409.
Day 59: Easy day today so 59,394 steps. Only joking - 10,612 really. :-)
Day 60: Headed through to Livingston today to meet up with one of my work mates Andy. We meet up for lunch in the office canteen and chat a about parkrun a lot so it was good to see what the Livingston parkrun was like and hangout. Andy likes to start nearer the front and since going by our times we are about the same pace I joined him. For the first km he was running just in front of me until we reached a short, sharp hill. Then I overtook him and never saw him again until the finish. I really liked the route. It does a wee loop, then goes out along the river, turning into a trail, then crosses a bridge and you go back down the other side of the river. Then you do half of the loop you did at the start. I would say its an undulating course. All the hills seemed to be short and sharp and same with the descents. I crossed the line in 26.11 which I was delighted with. Andy ended up getting a PB too in 27.14. In the afternoon I went for a nice 4 1/2 mile walk to get up the step count a bit. 17,520 steps.
Day 61: An easy day today. 6 and half mile walk round the southside of Glasgow. 15,608 steps all together.
Day 62: In the office today but one of my trains was running late so I got in later. I still walked from the station to the office on the way in but decided to get the bus on the way back so I could get my usual train home. Once I was home though I did an excellent hill session on one of the toughest short hills in the area. I did it 10 times and was pretty consistent averaging around a minute per rep. Steps total for today was 18,864 steps.
Day 63: In the office again. Legs were stiff from yesterday so a well deserved recovery day. So all walking - 12,748 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 8: 14,055
My overall average: 13,234
My team's average steps overall: 13,973
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 8: 4th out of 8 - same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 8: 9724 out of 48,444 - Down 1,540 places on last week.
So still slipping down the leaderboard but again that is because people leave it a few weeks and then upload their steps all at once.
For me it has been my best week yet. 4 really good runs. If I can get into a routine of doing this that would be amazing.
Wednesday 20 July 2016
Steps Challenge Week 8
Day 50! Yeah half way. Working from home today so went for a run after work. Added another couple of more hills to my old 4 1/2 mile route. So ended up doing 5 1/2 miles. It was one of those runs where I actually felt better and better as the run went on. Not sure what the legs are going to be like tomorrow but I was pleased with the way this one went. Unfortunately my pedometer fell off at some point during the run so I would guess I did 12000 - 13000. I just entered it as 12,000 into the website.
Day 51: A new day another new pedometer! Working from home and decided that my legs needed a break after yesterday. So after work I did a 4 1/2 mile walk. Ended up with 12,635 steps altogether.
Day 52: Easy day today as I rest up for the weekend but had a walking meeting so that boosted the steps a bit. 14,713 steps.
Day 53: Today I went to Linwood parkrun for its second ever event. The course is 2 laps of paved/gravel paths. I positioned myself probably about 3/4 of the way back. When we got started although the path is narrow, there is plenty of room to run on the grass. So by the time we enter the woodland bit where the grass is replaced by bushes either side. I would say most people sorted out where they should be in the pack. As we turned to go along the back straight it turns into a very narrow trail where there is really only enough room for one at a time and at a stretch 2. But it soon increases to 2 a breast. As I found when the next 2 guys in front started chatting side by side. For a while I thought just to stick to their pace and save myself for the next lap. But then I realised I had plenty left and I was feeling strong. So said "excuse me please" and I was on my way.
As we got to the 1 lap, 2 lap split, I looked ahead and noticed the next runners ahead of me were way in front. So when I got round to the narrow bit again there was absolutely no problems of having to get past people. After that bit I caught quite a few people and I was thinking to myself whether I should start going for it more and if so when. In the end I felt like I could of gone for it more but I was more than pleased with my time of 26.34 which is my second fastest 5k this year. I did like Linwood parkrun. It's fast, flat and it is a nice course too.
In the afternoon I went for a 6 mile walk. So a pretty monster day with the step count. 21,491 steps which is my second highest step count for a day since I started doing this.
Day 54: Just a nice leisurely 4 and half mile walk today. 11,266 steps.
Day 55: Very tiring day today due to a dodgy night sleep so no running today. 13,268 steps.
Day 56: annnnnnnnd all walking today but I had a good sleep! 13,234 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 8: 14,087
My overall average: 13,132
My team's average steps overall: 13,960
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 8: 4th out of 8 - down 1 place on last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 8: 8,184 out of 48,444 - Down 1,509 places on last week.
Quite a few of the team haven't updated there steps for this week hence the big drop in places. But overall I had a good week with my second highest step average for one week. Day 53 with the parkrun and 10k walk certainly boosted it.
But at the same time I am slightly disappointed as I wanted to do more running. Thursday I was still recovering from Wednesday, then Monday I was just too tired full stop. So I'm planning on making sure my easy runs are easy so will be stripping back out the hills for now. Then hopefully build up to doing easy/hard days alternately.
Day 51: A new day another new pedometer! Working from home and decided that my legs needed a break after yesterday. So after work I did a 4 1/2 mile walk. Ended up with 12,635 steps altogether.
Day 52: Easy day today as I rest up for the weekend but had a walking meeting so that boosted the steps a bit. 14,713 steps.
Day 53: Today I went to Linwood parkrun for its second ever event. The course is 2 laps of paved/gravel paths. I positioned myself probably about 3/4 of the way back. When we got started although the path is narrow, there is plenty of room to run on the grass. So by the time we enter the woodland bit where the grass is replaced by bushes either side. I would say most people sorted out where they should be in the pack. As we turned to go along the back straight it turns into a very narrow trail where there is really only enough room for one at a time and at a stretch 2. But it soon increases to 2 a breast. As I found when the next 2 guys in front started chatting side by side. For a while I thought just to stick to their pace and save myself for the next lap. But then I realised I had plenty left and I was feeling strong. So said "excuse me please" and I was on my way.
As we got to the 1 lap, 2 lap split, I looked ahead and noticed the next runners ahead of me were way in front. So when I got round to the narrow bit again there was absolutely no problems of having to get past people. After that bit I caught quite a few people and I was thinking to myself whether I should start going for it more and if so when. In the end I felt like I could of gone for it more but I was more than pleased with my time of 26.34 which is my second fastest 5k this year. I did like Linwood parkrun. It's fast, flat and it is a nice course too.
In the afternoon I went for a 6 mile walk. So a pretty monster day with the step count. 21,491 steps which is my second highest step count for a day since I started doing this.
Day 54: Just a nice leisurely 4 and half mile walk today. 11,266 steps.
Day 55: Very tiring day today due to a dodgy night sleep so no running today. 13,268 steps.
Day 56: annnnnnnnd all walking today but I had a good sleep! 13,234 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 8: 14,087
My overall average: 13,132
My team's average steps overall: 13,960
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 8: 4th out of 8 - down 1 place on last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 8: 8,184 out of 48,444 - Down 1,509 places on last week.
Quite a few of the team haven't updated there steps for this week hence the big drop in places. But overall I had a good week with my second highest step average for one week. Day 53 with the parkrun and 10k walk certainly boosted it.
But at the same time I am slightly disappointed as I wanted to do more running. Thursday I was still recovering from Wednesday, then Monday I was just too tired full stop. So I'm planning on making sure my easy runs are easy so will be stripping back out the hills for now. Then hopefully build up to doing easy/hard days alternately.
Wednesday 13 July 2016
Steps Challenge Week 7
Day 43: (Still in Paignton) Today we went to the Eden project which was about a 3 hour round trip on the train. I've always wanted to go but have not been down this part of the country in years. I was not disappointed incredible place. And lots of walking too plus the usual post tea walk making 12,012 steps for the day.
Day 44: Today we went to Okehampton castle in the morning then Canonteign waterfall in the afternoon. I especially enjoyed the waterfall as we hiked all the way to the top of it and it was quite a dramatic drop. Then we had a walk along Dawlish sea front followed by the usual sea front walk after dinner at Paignton. 14,930 steps.
Day 45: Today was the day I left my folks and traveled back up to Scotland by train. They dropped me off just after 9 am at Newton Abbot train station so I had an hour and a half to kill. So I had a walk around Newton Abbot. Then I had to change train in Birmingham and had a couple of hours to kill there. So got some lunch and then had a look round the shops there. So even though I traveled a fair chunk of the country I still managed to hit 10,000. :-)10,428 steps to be precise.
Day 46: Easy day today as I rest up for tomorrow's race. 12,161 steps.
Day 47: I did the Crieff 10k today which has its own blog. 15,158 steps.
Day 48: Recovery day today. 13,195 steps all walking.
Day 49: Legs almost feel recovered from Crieff now. Hopefully be out running tomorrow. 13,323 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 7: 13,030
My overall average: 12, 846
My team's average steps overall: 13,957
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 7: 3rd out of 8 - Same as 2 weeks ago
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 7: 6,594 out of 48,444 - Up 304 places on 2 weeks ago
So due to everyone updating there steps onto the website we actually went up in the rankings this week!
Although I only had one run this week, it was still a good week. But with Kielder marathon and Dunoon half marathon out of the picture I do feel I need some new races to target which have realistic time frames to train for. I still have my goal of sub 27 minute at Pollok parkrun which can't be far away and also 500 miles for the year. I think I may try the marcothon again in December which is running at least 3 miles every day in December.
Day 44: Today we went to Okehampton castle in the morning then Canonteign waterfall in the afternoon. I especially enjoyed the waterfall as we hiked all the way to the top of it and it was quite a dramatic drop. Then we had a walk along Dawlish sea front followed by the usual sea front walk after dinner at Paignton. 14,930 steps.
Day 45: Today was the day I left my folks and traveled back up to Scotland by train. They dropped me off just after 9 am at Newton Abbot train station so I had an hour and a half to kill. So I had a walk around Newton Abbot. Then I had to change train in Birmingham and had a couple of hours to kill there. So got some lunch and then had a look round the shops there. So even though I traveled a fair chunk of the country I still managed to hit 10,000. :-)10,428 steps to be precise.
Day 46: Easy day today as I rest up for tomorrow's race. 12,161 steps.
Day 47: I did the Crieff 10k today which has its own blog. 15,158 steps.
Day 48: Recovery day today. 13,195 steps all walking.
Day 49: Legs almost feel recovered from Crieff now. Hopefully be out running tomorrow. 13,323 steps.
Here are the stats for the week:
My average steps for week 7: 13,030
My overall average: 12, 846
My team's average steps overall: 13,957
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 7: 3rd out of 8 - Same as 2 weeks ago
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 7: 6,594 out of 48,444 - Up 304 places on 2 weeks ago
So due to everyone updating there steps onto the website we actually went up in the rankings this week!
Although I only had one run this week, it was still a good week. But with Kielder marathon and Dunoon half marathon out of the picture I do feel I need some new races to target which have realistic time frames to train for. I still have my goal of sub 27 minute at Pollok parkrun which can't be far away and also 500 miles for the year. I think I may try the marcothon again in December which is running at least 3 miles every day in December.
Sunday 10 July 2016
10/07/16 - Crieff 10k
After the Killearn 10k last month, I was looking for another 10k in July. I literally searched something like "10th July 2016 10k in Scotland" and up came the Crieff 10k. Fast forward to today and I find myself on the start line. I had done a bit of research on the course. From the map it looked like there was quite a big hill early on then the second half seemed quite flat as it runs along beside a river.
We set off bang on 11 am. The start is in a grassy field so everyone is quite spaced out. That is until you have to run round the back of an astro turf pitch after about 100 meters. This would slow the pace down anyway. But even more so that it turned into a mud fest and everyone was walking through it. Then about half way people started trying to avoid it by going either side of it. I took this opportunity to go straight through it! The race then goes onto a road and continues on it for the first km before turning up right on to a path. This is where it starts to get interesting. This was the hill. I managed to run most of it. Then just when I nearly reached the top the incline got steeper and I had to start walking. Obviously I did not know I was near the top at the time having never done the route before. Plus its all forest so you can't actually see any peak or anything.
Up until half way from the peak I didn't walk as it was more rolling terrain on trails. It was a lot of fun and there was enough space to pass people or be passed. There was also muddy bits too to negotiate or go straight through. There was also pipers dotted about the course to which was a nice touch.
After half way I was really pleased to see a drink station as I needed one by that point. I did expect the course to flatten out here but there was another hill to go up. I wasn't really prepared for it mentally or physically and just walked up it. I got going again at the top of it and after about 6k the course drops down to the river till about 8k. This was a wide well used trail now. No mud or rocky bits or anything like that. Just flat and easy running where I managed to start picking off people. Just after 8k there was another hill. I decided this time that there can't be much more in the way of hills so went for it. This one seemed to last forever and after breaking the back of it, I had to walk the last incline. But after that the final km was all flat/downhill. Back along the road we went along at the start/round the astro turf pitch which was a lot quieter this time! Then across the field to the finish in a time of 1.02.35 (watch time).
The time I got was actually pretty much exactly the same time I ran in the Killearn 10k. But this was a lot more tougher course with over 500 feet ascent. So probably the toughest 10k I have ever done (barring hill races) but it was also the most fun. Trails, mud, long ascents, long descents, flat bits to stretch out a bit, forest, river, pipers - it has everything!
Now I'm off to practice hills more!
We set off bang on 11 am. The start is in a grassy field so everyone is quite spaced out. That is until you have to run round the back of an astro turf pitch after about 100 meters. This would slow the pace down anyway. But even more so that it turned into a mud fest and everyone was walking through it. Then about half way people started trying to avoid it by going either side of it. I took this opportunity to go straight through it! The race then goes onto a road and continues on it for the first km before turning up right on to a path. This is where it starts to get interesting. This was the hill. I managed to run most of it. Then just when I nearly reached the top the incline got steeper and I had to start walking. Obviously I did not know I was near the top at the time having never done the route before. Plus its all forest so you can't actually see any peak or anything.
Up until half way from the peak I didn't walk as it was more rolling terrain on trails. It was a lot of fun and there was enough space to pass people or be passed. There was also muddy bits too to negotiate or go straight through. There was also pipers dotted about the course to which was a nice touch.
After half way I was really pleased to see a drink station as I needed one by that point. I did expect the course to flatten out here but there was another hill to go up. I wasn't really prepared for it mentally or physically and just walked up it. I got going again at the top of it and after about 6k the course drops down to the river till about 8k. This was a wide well used trail now. No mud or rocky bits or anything like that. Just flat and easy running where I managed to start picking off people. Just after 8k there was another hill. I decided this time that there can't be much more in the way of hills so went for it. This one seemed to last forever and after breaking the back of it, I had to walk the last incline. But after that the final km was all flat/downhill. Back along the road we went along at the start/round the astro turf pitch which was a lot quieter this time! Then across the field to the finish in a time of 1.02.35 (watch time).
The time I got was actually pretty much exactly the same time I ran in the Killearn 10k. But this was a lot more tougher course with over 500 feet ascent. So probably the toughest 10k I have ever done (barring hill races) but it was also the most fun. Trails, mud, long ascents, long descents, flat bits to stretch out a bit, forest, river, pipers - it has everything!
Now I'm off to practice hills more!
Friday 8 July 2016
Steps Challenge Week 6
Day 36: Working from home so I did a run after work. Included an extra hill so it was 4.7 miles in total. Unlike the last time I did this route I did manage to take it easier for the first few miles. But then ended up speeding up for the last 2. Which is bound to happen as they are predominantly downhill miles. 10,864 steps.
Day 37: Wanted to get out running today, but everything I should have learnt last week about diet I did not apply today! Got up too late to have breakfast. Then was going to get my mid morning/afternoon snacks which are bananas. Only to find I had no money on me so just left it. Got home and was just absolutely exhausted. So 13,473 steps all walking.
Day 38: My usual Friday, easy day - 13,000 steps exactly.
Day 39: My first visit to Drumchapel parkrun today. Its a 3 lap course with 2 main hills to contend with on each lap. By the third lap I was pretty much crawling up them! I would call it shuffling but definitely not walking! It is a tough course but I like it. The path is generally the width of your average pavement all the way round. So it doesn't really have the capacity to become a big parkrun in terms of numbers but that doesn't really matter as long as not too many people turn up. I wore my new trail shoes today which I didn't really notice - which is a good thing! Even with throwing in some more hills into my training runs it didn't really prepare me for this but hopefully next time I have a go at this parkrun I'll feel stronger up the hills and recover better on the downhills. Still managed a sub 30 mins again so all good. 12,882 steps.
Day 40: Sore legs after yesterday's run but I was going on holiday in the afternoon so needed to get the steps in early. Thought I might as well try a run and just see how it goes. Worst that could happen is I end up walking! I took it very easy and managed 3 miles then had 2 short walk breaks in the next 2 miles. So 5 miles and 10,000 steps done before 10 am. :-) 12,397 all together for the day as the folks and I headed for just south of Birmingham.
Day 41: Travelled between Birmingham and Paignton which was to be our home for the week. In between we visited relatives in Bristol and went to Cheddar Gorge for lunch and a nice stretch of the legs. When we got to Paignton we went for a nice walk along the sea front both before and after dinner. I did have concerns about reaching 10,000 steps on holiday, especially on the travelling days but had no problems at all. 12,725 steps today.
Day 42: Lots of exercise today. Went to Babbacombe model village in the morning which is an amazing place. So well done. Then a walk round Exeter in the afternoon. When we got back to the hotel which was on the sea front I had time to go out for a run before tea. Route choice was actually decided the moment I entered the town. The road which goes into Paignton starts off really high up before having a long and at times steep descent towards the sea front. So my plan was to see just how far I could run up it. The answer? Well after 3/4 of a mile of relentless uphill I had to take a walking break. About a minute later the hill levels out a bit to a more gradual ascent but I was done in by then. So decided to run/walk up to 1 and 1/2 miles then turn back giving me 3 miles. I flew back down. It was a lot of fun. Then after tea went for a nice walk along the sea front again. Second best steps day so far with 20,625. A very good day!
Now I would normally do stats now but as I was away I didn't take the stats on Wednesday. To summarise personally I had a very good week averaging 13,708 steps. My team is really starting to slip down the rankings sitting at 9000 + place at the moment. Some have not updated for a while but it seems as well like other teams are gradually doing more too. I'll try to resume usual order next week.
Day 37: Wanted to get out running today, but everything I should have learnt last week about diet I did not apply today! Got up too late to have breakfast. Then was going to get my mid morning/afternoon snacks which are bananas. Only to find I had no money on me so just left it. Got home and was just absolutely exhausted. So 13,473 steps all walking.
Day 38: My usual Friday, easy day - 13,000 steps exactly.
Day 39: My first visit to Drumchapel parkrun today. Its a 3 lap course with 2 main hills to contend with on each lap. By the third lap I was pretty much crawling up them! I would call it shuffling but definitely not walking! It is a tough course but I like it. The path is generally the width of your average pavement all the way round. So it doesn't really have the capacity to become a big parkrun in terms of numbers but that doesn't really matter as long as not too many people turn up. I wore my new trail shoes today which I didn't really notice - which is a good thing! Even with throwing in some more hills into my training runs it didn't really prepare me for this but hopefully next time I have a go at this parkrun I'll feel stronger up the hills and recover better on the downhills. Still managed a sub 30 mins again so all good. 12,882 steps.
Day 40: Sore legs after yesterday's run but I was going on holiday in the afternoon so needed to get the steps in early. Thought I might as well try a run and just see how it goes. Worst that could happen is I end up walking! I took it very easy and managed 3 miles then had 2 short walk breaks in the next 2 miles. So 5 miles and 10,000 steps done before 10 am. :-) 12,397 all together for the day as the folks and I headed for just south of Birmingham.
Day 41: Travelled between Birmingham and Paignton which was to be our home for the week. In between we visited relatives in Bristol and went to Cheddar Gorge for lunch and a nice stretch of the legs. When we got to Paignton we went for a nice walk along the sea front both before and after dinner. I did have concerns about reaching 10,000 steps on holiday, especially on the travelling days but had no problems at all. 12,725 steps today.
Day 42: Lots of exercise today. Went to Babbacombe model village in the morning which is an amazing place. So well done. Then a walk round Exeter in the afternoon. When we got back to the hotel which was on the sea front I had time to go out for a run before tea. Route choice was actually decided the moment I entered the town. The road which goes into Paignton starts off really high up before having a long and at times steep descent towards the sea front. So my plan was to see just how far I could run up it. The answer? Well after 3/4 of a mile of relentless uphill I had to take a walking break. About a minute later the hill levels out a bit to a more gradual ascent but I was done in by then. So decided to run/walk up to 1 and 1/2 miles then turn back giving me 3 miles. I flew back down. It was a lot of fun. Then after tea went for a nice walk along the sea front again. Second best steps day so far with 20,625. A very good day!
Now I would normally do stats now but as I was away I didn't take the stats on Wednesday. To summarise personally I had a very good week averaging 13,708 steps. My team is really starting to slip down the rankings sitting at 9000 + place at the moment. Some have not updated for a while but it seems as well like other teams are gradually doing more too. I'll try to resume usual order next week.
Wednesday 29 June 2016
Steps Challenge Week 5
Day 29: Working from home today and decided to do the opposite of what I did on Monday. So I did a 3 mile run at lunchtime then a 2 mile walk at night. The 3 mile run was again really good. Thing is though I think 3 miles is the max I could do at lunchtime unless I was to go over the hour and work more in either the evening or the morning. So I think going out after work is the better option. 11,140 steps.
Day 30: Today was my first PB attempt day. During the day I racked up a lot of steps because I was in the office but I think I was still tired from yesterday's run so decided to give running a miss. 14,429 steps.
Day 31: Easy day today as I get rested up for the weekend. 13,801 steps.
Day 32: My second attempt at a PB today. I woke up feeling sluggish and my legs were feeling tired. But dragged myself out of bed and headed for Pollok parkrun. I parked outside the park and jogged in and lowered my expectations of a fast run today and hoped just to get under 30 minutes. When we got on our way I settled into a good relaxed pace. Had a chat with one of my parkrun buddies Alan for a bit after the first km, then when we got to the glade which is the start of the 3rd km, he picked up the pace up the hill. I was quite happy with how fast I was going. When I got to the first lap/second lap split it was good to get shouts from Ian and Richard. I was feeling good at this point and started picking off people on the second lap. As I went up the glade for the second time I saw Pamela in the distance. I was thinking I must be doing well as she normally runs 26/27 minutes for the 5k. I kept picking off people and on the last downhill to the finish I managed to catch and pass her. Turns out we were both running well and I finished in a seasons course best of 27.28. Delighted with that and even more happy that I think I could have gone faster.
But that made up only 7000 steps. To get a steps PB I still needed to do another 11,000! So I opted for a 6 mile plus walk round the southside, stopping off at subway for lunch. Ended up absolutely smashing my PB by over 4000 steps. 22,164 steps.
Day 33: Recovery day today. Took a different route on my walk but reckon it was just over 5 miles. 12,545 steps.
Day 34: Working from home today and decided in order to make myself try a longer run at night I would just do short walks throughout the day. I was going for 4 1/2 miles and looking back I haven't actually ran that far since the first few days of this challenge barring the Killearn 10k. And they were run/walks. So I had it in my mind that I would just take it easy. But I ended up giving it a pretty good effort, running all the way round and almost getting a stitch on the final stretch home. Overall a pretty pleasing run. 11,172 steps.
Day 35: Rest day today so all walking. 13,408 steps.
Here are the stats for week 4:
My average steps for week 5: 14,094
My overall average: 12, 846
My team's average steps overall: 14,194
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 5: 3rd out of 8 - Same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 5: 6,898 out of 48,444 - Down by 1427 places on last week
So overall a very good week with easily my highest step count including 3 very good runs.
Day 30: Today was my first PB attempt day. During the day I racked up a lot of steps because I was in the office but I think I was still tired from yesterday's run so decided to give running a miss. 14,429 steps.
Day 31: Easy day today as I get rested up for the weekend. 13,801 steps.
Day 32: My second attempt at a PB today. I woke up feeling sluggish and my legs were feeling tired. But dragged myself out of bed and headed for Pollok parkrun. I parked outside the park and jogged in and lowered my expectations of a fast run today and hoped just to get under 30 minutes. When we got on our way I settled into a good relaxed pace. Had a chat with one of my parkrun buddies Alan for a bit after the first km, then when we got to the glade which is the start of the 3rd km, he picked up the pace up the hill. I was quite happy with how fast I was going. When I got to the first lap/second lap split it was good to get shouts from Ian and Richard. I was feeling good at this point and started picking off people on the second lap. As I went up the glade for the second time I saw Pamela in the distance. I was thinking I must be doing well as she normally runs 26/27 minutes for the 5k. I kept picking off people and on the last downhill to the finish I managed to catch and pass her. Turns out we were both running well and I finished in a seasons course best of 27.28. Delighted with that and even more happy that I think I could have gone faster.
But that made up only 7000 steps. To get a steps PB I still needed to do another 11,000! So I opted for a 6 mile plus walk round the southside, stopping off at subway for lunch. Ended up absolutely smashing my PB by over 4000 steps. 22,164 steps.
Day 33: Recovery day today. Took a different route on my walk but reckon it was just over 5 miles. 12,545 steps.
Day 34: Working from home today and decided in order to make myself try a longer run at night I would just do short walks throughout the day. I was going for 4 1/2 miles and looking back I haven't actually ran that far since the first few days of this challenge barring the Killearn 10k. And they were run/walks. So I had it in my mind that I would just take it easy. But I ended up giving it a pretty good effort, running all the way round and almost getting a stitch on the final stretch home. Overall a pretty pleasing run. 11,172 steps.
Day 35: Rest day today so all walking. 13,408 steps.
Here are the stats for week 4:
My average steps for week 5: 14,094
My overall average: 12, 846
My team's average steps overall: 14,194
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 5: 3rd out of 8 - Same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 5: 6,898 out of 48,444 - Down by 1427 places on last week
So overall a very good week with easily my highest step count including 3 very good runs.
Wednesday 22 June 2016
Steps challenge week 4
Day 22: I was planning to go for a run after work today so did the minimum in and around work. Then when I was on the last of my trains home decided to ditch that idea. My legs still haven't recovered from Monday's hill session. I haven't put that much effort in to a session in quite some time so decided to not run and instead this meant I was walking about aimlessly trying to get my steps up till I hit almost 10,000 before heading home. Then walked around the house a bit ot make it up to 10,007 steps
Day 23: No running again today - just felt I had no energy. The website for the steps challenge has started a nutrition segment where you put in what you are eating each day. I was under the recommended calories for the day. Which means maybe I need to eat more during the day. 13,256 steps.
Day 24: Saving myself for the weekend so all walking. But managed to throw in a walking meeting so managed second highest steps in a day since this started. 15,148 steps.
Day 25: Today means that I am now quarter of a way through the challenge. And what better way to celebrate than getting a huge course best at Strathclyde parkrun. I really wasn't expecting to be as fast as I did but I started strongly, felt good for the first 2 miles and really hung on in the last mile. In the second half I passed a number of people too, which was satisfying. I finished in 26.04 which is almost a minute and half faster than any parkrun I have done in the last 2 years. It must be this step challenge that is making the difference! But that only took up 5000 steps. So the rest of the steps were made up at my mates bbq and then a walk after dinner. - 10,253 steps.
Day 26: 6 mile plus walk today which racked up the steps. New second highest steps day, knocking Day 24 down to 3rd. 15,971 steps.
Day 27: 2 mile walk at lunch time then 3 mile run after work. For a change an "easy" run felt easier! 11,630 steps.
Day 28: In the office and all walking today. Felt full of energy too during the day which was good. 13,236 steps.
Here are the stats for week 4:
My average steps for week 4: 12,792
My overall average: 12, 534
My team's average steps overall: 14,694
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 4: 3rd out of 8 - Same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 4: 5,471 out of 48,444 - Down by 667 places on last week
Not my best for average steps this week but not my worst either. Only 2 runs this week but at least i have nailed down what I need to be doing/eating to be able to up the running a bit. The runs I did do were just so satisfying and I feel like I have stepped up a level. Now I just need to find the mindset that I can do longer runs. As I think the only thing that is stopping going longer is my mind!
Next week its beat your PB week where you try and beat your PB over the next four days. So I'll be going for over 18,000 steps on Thursday, if not Saturday. I should have it in the bag by then but if not there is always Sunday.
Day 23: No running again today - just felt I had no energy. The website for the steps challenge has started a nutrition segment where you put in what you are eating each day. I was under the recommended calories for the day. Which means maybe I need to eat more during the day. 13,256 steps.
Day 24: Saving myself for the weekend so all walking. But managed to throw in a walking meeting so managed second highest steps in a day since this started. 15,148 steps.
Day 25: Today means that I am now quarter of a way through the challenge. And what better way to celebrate than getting a huge course best at Strathclyde parkrun. I really wasn't expecting to be as fast as I did but I started strongly, felt good for the first 2 miles and really hung on in the last mile. In the second half I passed a number of people too, which was satisfying. I finished in 26.04 which is almost a minute and half faster than any parkrun I have done in the last 2 years. It must be this step challenge that is making the difference! But that only took up 5000 steps. So the rest of the steps were made up at my mates bbq and then a walk after dinner. - 10,253 steps.
Day 26: 6 mile plus walk today which racked up the steps. New second highest steps day, knocking Day 24 down to 3rd. 15,971 steps.
Day 27: 2 mile walk at lunch time then 3 mile run after work. For a change an "easy" run felt easier! 11,630 steps.
Day 28: In the office and all walking today. Felt full of energy too during the day which was good. 13,236 steps.
Here are the stats for week 4:
My average steps for week 4: 12,792
My overall average: 12, 534
My team's average steps overall: 14,694
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 4: 3rd out of 8 - Same as last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 4: 5,471 out of 48,444 - Down by 667 places on last week
Not my best for average steps this week but not my worst either. Only 2 runs this week but at least i have nailed down what I need to be doing/eating to be able to up the running a bit. The runs I did do were just so satisfying and I feel like I have stepped up a level. Now I just need to find the mindset that I can do longer runs. As I think the only thing that is stopping going longer is my mind!
Next week its beat your PB week where you try and beat your PB over the next four days. So I'll be going for over 18,000 steps on Thursday, if not Saturday. I should have it in the bag by then but if not there is always Sunday.
Wednesday 15 June 2016
Steps Challenge Week 3
Day 15: Had my first walking phone meeting today for our weekly team meeting. So I went outside and walked round my estate countless times which tallied up to 2500 steps. This is actually encouraged now if you don't need to look up anything on your PC during the meeting which is great. Then at night I went out for a 3 mile run which was a bit different to the usual route by throwing in some more hills. 10,967 steps today.
Day 16: Working from home again today. I got up earlier so I could have an hour for lunch. My legs did feel very tired but I made sure I went for wee walks and a 2 mile walk at lunch time. After work I wanted to do 4 miles but decided at the decision point for my 3 mile route just to do the 3 miles would be the sensible option and hopefully set me up for a good weekend run. 12, 507 steps today.
Day 17: "Rest day" today - meaning all walking. 13,310 steps.
Day 18: No running again today. Legs are still feeling it so decided just to have a very leisurely 4 mile walk. 11,407 steps.
Day 19: I wanted to do a longer run today but right from the off I didn't feel good. My legs felt fresh which was good but it was the upper body that was the problem. After half a mile it just turned into a walk with bits of jogging. Eventually I made it up to the 10,000 steps for the day. - 10,207 steps.
Day 20: Missed my connection again this morning. So this changed things totally today. I decided not to walk from the station to the office in either direction. The theory being I would save myself for a good training session later. And. It worked! Did about 6,500 steps during the day. Then went out at night and did a brilliant hills session which I just made up today. It was 5 times up a kind of gradual slope where I averaged about a minute. Then went to another hill which was a shorter steeper hill which averaged about 35 seconds and did that 5 times. Plus warm up and cool down. So a good day. 12,848 steps today.
Day 21: Easy day today so just walking - 10,386 steps.
Here are the stats for week 3:
My average steps for week 3: 11,662My team's average steps overall: 14,438My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 3: 3rd out of 8 - Same as last weekMy team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 1: 5,359 out of 48,444 - Down by 112 places on last week
My overall average: 12, 448
So not as many steps as the first 2 weeks, but I am gradually introducing quality running sessions. So I expect less steps. 2 good runs, 1 ok run and one absolute stinker is still progress. As far as the team is concerned it looks like everyone is still going. Its just some people leave at a while then upload multiple entries at once. So good news there.
I reached my first major milestone in the challenge this week which was getting to 250,000 steps. The aim is to get 1 million in 100 days so I am ahead of target at the moment. :-)
Day 16: Working from home again today. I got up earlier so I could have an hour for lunch. My legs did feel very tired but I made sure I went for wee walks and a 2 mile walk at lunch time. After work I wanted to do 4 miles but decided at the decision point for my 3 mile route just to do the 3 miles would be the sensible option and hopefully set me up for a good weekend run. 12, 507 steps today.
Day 17: "Rest day" today - meaning all walking. 13,310 steps.
Day 18: No running again today. Legs are still feeling it so decided just to have a very leisurely 4 mile walk. 11,407 steps.
Day 19: I wanted to do a longer run today but right from the off I didn't feel good. My legs felt fresh which was good but it was the upper body that was the problem. After half a mile it just turned into a walk with bits of jogging. Eventually I made it up to the 10,000 steps for the day. - 10,207 steps.
Day 20: Missed my connection again this morning. So this changed things totally today. I decided not to walk from the station to the office in either direction. The theory being I would save myself for a good training session later. And. It worked! Did about 6,500 steps during the day. Then went out at night and did a brilliant hills session which I just made up today. It was 5 times up a kind of gradual slope where I averaged about a minute. Then went to another hill which was a shorter steeper hill which averaged about 35 seconds and did that 5 times. Plus warm up and cool down. So a good day. 12,848 steps today.
Day 21: Easy day today so just walking - 10,386 steps.
Here are the stats for week 3:
My average steps for week 3: 11,662My team's average steps overall: 14,438My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 3: 3rd out of 8 - Same as last weekMy team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 1: 5,359 out of 48,444 - Down by 112 places on last week
My overall average: 12, 448
So not as many steps as the first 2 weeks, but I am gradually introducing quality running sessions. So I expect less steps. 2 good runs, 1 ok run and one absolute stinker is still progress. As far as the team is concerned it looks like everyone is still going. Its just some people leave at a while then upload multiple entries at once. So good news there.
I reached my first major milestone in the challenge this week which was getting to 250,000 steps. The aim is to get 1 million in 100 days so I am ahead of target at the moment. :-)
Wednesday 8 June 2016
Steps Challenge Week 2
Day 8: I had an away day with work today which involved going to the driving range and doing pitching and putting. It was fun and needless to say it was a pretty easy day for getting the steps in. 14,323 altogether.
Day 9: Working from home today so wanted to get a 4 miler in somewhere in the day. It didn't happen first thing so I went out at lunch time. I struggled right from the off, might have been the heat. Anyway did nearly 3 miles. But I still needed to get up my step count more so after dinner went out for another 1 mile run which was a lot better to finish the day on 10,487.
Day 10: Pretty much the same step count as day 9 but achieved in a completely different way. Today was all walking. Would have been more but missed my train connection this morning which meant took the bus instead of walking to the office. 10,510 today though so still above target.
Day 11: Today has its own blog entry and throughout the day managed to clock up 13,768 steps all together. Expected it to be more than that to be honest!
Day 12: Nice recovery walk today in the sun. Legs felt stiff for starter but felt good by the end. 11,371 steps today.
Day 13: In the office today so managed 12,700 steps.............then I went for a 3 mile run at night. Totally nailed it. It was strange I was feeling it but felt strong at the same time. So new steps PB of 17,857 :-)
Day 14: In the office again and just walking today so 12,675 steps.
Here are the stats for week 2:
My average steps for week 2: 12,997
My team's average steps overall: 14,955
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 1: 3rd out of 8 - Down 1 place on last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 1: 5,359 out of 48,444 - Down by 2,561 places on last week
My overall average: 12, 841
Bit down on last week because 1 of the guys hasn't updated his steps for the week. Hopefully he hasn't stopped already! But generally we are still doing great.
Day 9: Working from home today so wanted to get a 4 miler in somewhere in the day. It didn't happen first thing so I went out at lunch time. I struggled right from the off, might have been the heat. Anyway did nearly 3 miles. But I still needed to get up my step count more so after dinner went out for another 1 mile run which was a lot better to finish the day on 10,487.
Day 10: Pretty much the same step count as day 9 but achieved in a completely different way. Today was all walking. Would have been more but missed my train connection this morning which meant took the bus instead of walking to the office. 10,510 today though so still above target.
Day 11: Today has its own blog entry and throughout the day managed to clock up 13,768 steps all together. Expected it to be more than that to be honest!
Day 12: Nice recovery walk today in the sun. Legs felt stiff for starter but felt good by the end. 11,371 steps today.
Day 13: In the office today so managed 12,700 steps.............then I went for a 3 mile run at night. Totally nailed it. It was strange I was feeling it but felt strong at the same time. So new steps PB of 17,857 :-)
Day 14: In the office again and just walking today so 12,675 steps.
Here are the stats for week 2:
My average steps for week 2: 12,997
My team's average steps overall: 14,955
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 1: 3rd out of 8 - Down 1 place on last week
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 1: 5,359 out of 48,444 - Down by 2,561 places on last week
My overall average: 12, 841
Bit down on last week because 1 of the guys hasn't updated his steps for the week. Hopefully he hasn't stopped already! But generally we are still doing great.
Saturday 4 June 2016
04/06/2016 - Killearn 10k
At last, another race! Since Buchlyvie 10k in January I had plenty of races lined up but didn't actually do any of them due to this that and the next thing. Today I had no excuses, not even my 10,000 steps a day challenge, which I seem to be adjusting to now. Plus I was so intrigued by this race as there is much buzz around it and has sold out for the last few years.
So I made my way up in plenty of time, arriving in Killearn about half 9. So I had an hour and a half to kill before the 11 am kick off. Registration was slick and got my t-shirt, number and chip. Then when it got to half 10 I did a wee warm up. Then about quarter to 11 people started to gather outside the primary school and we were piped up to the start line. Quite a novelty! The race director then went through her speech focusing on the route. But there was so many signs and friendly marshals, no navigating was required - phew!
I positioned myself at the back of the pack and we were off down the main street. The start was downhill then it started to climb. In between 1 and 2k we turned left off the road on to the forest track. There was a tough zig zag hill here which took a bit out of me. But once on the hill it is undulating with some flat sections up to 4 and half k where you turn round and go back. But hang on what was at the turnaround - another piper! GREAT STUFF! About 6k I started to realise how hot it was and I was pretty low on energy. There was a water station just after 3k and on the return just after 5k where I took water and just kept it with me as I did need it with the heat.
So next I did what I hate to do in races and walked for a bit. I knew there was a hill coming up at 8k so I used that as motivation to try running as much as possible to there. The 8k mark is where the hill at 2k finishes. But instead of going back down this hill we went straight ahead. There was actually quite a few people sitting here watching the race and cheering on the runners which was great. I tried to thank them by waving in my exhausted state! It motivated me to keep running so all good. From 8k to 9k it is a gradual climb but it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong I still needed to take walking breaks but I knew with a bit more training I could have nailed it. (said every runner who hasn't done enough training ;-) ) .
Then at 9k the route takes a right turn down the hill into Killearn. I picked up here and when we got to the main road and turned up the hill I was determined I was not going to walk again and I didn't. A few meanders through the streets and another piper! Then we came out at the park where there was tonnes of people about the finish line. Weird thing was I didn't actually notice the chip mats at the start or the finish. Need to pay more attention - the finish itself was obvious though! Great medal, t-shirt, fruit and water at the finish.
I finished in 1.02.28, so pretty pleased with my time given the terrain, hills and my lack of long runs in preparation. A great race, very well organised and I do want to go back and run it all next time.
So I made my way up in plenty of time, arriving in Killearn about half 9. So I had an hour and a half to kill before the 11 am kick off. Registration was slick and got my t-shirt, number and chip. Then when it got to half 10 I did a wee warm up. Then about quarter to 11 people started to gather outside the primary school and we were piped up to the start line. Quite a novelty! The race director then went through her speech focusing on the route. But there was so many signs and friendly marshals, no navigating was required - phew!
I positioned myself at the back of the pack and we were off down the main street. The start was downhill then it started to climb. In between 1 and 2k we turned left off the road on to the forest track. There was a tough zig zag hill here which took a bit out of me. But once on the hill it is undulating with some flat sections up to 4 and half k where you turn round and go back. But hang on what was at the turnaround - another piper! GREAT STUFF! About 6k I started to realise how hot it was and I was pretty low on energy. There was a water station just after 3k and on the return just after 5k where I took water and just kept it with me as I did need it with the heat.
So next I did what I hate to do in races and walked for a bit. I knew there was a hill coming up at 8k so I used that as motivation to try running as much as possible to there. The 8k mark is where the hill at 2k finishes. But instead of going back down this hill we went straight ahead. There was actually quite a few people sitting here watching the race and cheering on the runners which was great. I tried to thank them by waving in my exhausted state! It motivated me to keep running so all good. From 8k to 9k it is a gradual climb but it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. Don't get me wrong I still needed to take walking breaks but I knew with a bit more training I could have nailed it. (said every runner who hasn't done enough training ;-) ) .
Then at 9k the route takes a right turn down the hill into Killearn. I picked up here and when we got to the main road and turned up the hill I was determined I was not going to walk again and I didn't. A few meanders through the streets and another piper! Then we came out at the park where there was tonnes of people about the finish line. Weird thing was I didn't actually notice the chip mats at the start or the finish. Need to pay more attention - the finish itself was obvious though! Great medal, t-shirt, fruit and water at the finish.
I finished in 1.02.28, so pretty pleased with my time given the terrain, hills and my lack of long runs in preparation. A great race, very well organised and I do want to go back and run it all next time.
Wednesday 1 June 2016
Steps Challenge Week 1
Day 1: 1 walk in the morning and 1 in the afternoon. Then 4.3 mile run after work which was a bit of a struggle and had to run/walk after 3 miles. But still 10,307 steps in the bag for the first day.
Day 2: A walk in the morning, lunch and afternoon. Then 4.3 mile run after work, same as day 1 but a lot wetter. This time not surprisingly I had to walk earlier than day 1 but somehow got round 30 seconds faster so all good. Another 10,165 steps in the bag.
Day 3: Rest day from running. So of course I get a steps PB of 13,701 with all walking involved in my journey to and from work and going about the office.
Day 4: I was all set to go down to Ayr today for their parkrun but luckily checked the website to find out it was cancelled. So it was off to Pollok instead. My legs were feeling really tired after the warm up so I lowered my expectations today. But I really shouldn't have because although my legs were feeling it all the way round I actually had a great run finishing in 28.29. I have finally got below the 29 minutes at Pollok which I haven't managed to do since returning to running in 2014. There were bits of the course especially on the 4th km where I felt I was slowing so hoping I can take another chunk off this time soon. Managed 12,704 steps today.
Day 5: Wanted to go for a longer run today but woke up and decided that I need to try and rest my legs a bit so 6 mile walk instead. 14,743 steps. new pb.
Day 6: I woke up this morning thinking to just completely rest today and just go for the average of 10000 steps a day, instead of minimum 10000 steps a day. But after running round a park after my nieces took up 5000 steps, I decided to just bite the bullet and walk home from my parents meaning well over the 10,000 for the day. I may still go for average but not yet. I'm hoping my fitness will pick up and I will recover quicker if I keep going. 14,023 today.
Day 7: In office today so 13,148 steps all walking. Hopefully as time goes on I'll have more energy to do a run after work too with these ones,
So that's a wrap for week 1. Here are the stats:
My average steps for week 1: 12,684
My team's average steps for week 1: 15,034
My team's ranking in our department mini league after week 1: 2nd out of 8
My team's ranking across all companies competing in GCC after week 1: 2,798 out of 48,444
So my team are doing great! Can't believe how good the team average is. My steps PB is 300 steps off our overall average!
Saturday 21 May 2016
All set for the challenge...
The Global Corporate Challenge or GCC for short starts this Wednesday. Since my last post I have been trying to work out what I do now and how I am going to achieve 10,000 steps a day for 100 days (basically from this Wednesday the 23rd May until the end of August).
I have made a change to my routine for going to work which means instead of getting the work bus from the station, I now walk both ways. This means on average going to and from work and all the walking while at work i do about 13,000 steps a day which equates to about 5 miles. So all good there. The issue, and I can't believe I would ever complain about this, is when I am working from home. Literally I can average about 500 steps! So this is where I am going to have to go for walks and runs whether it be before, at lunch or after work. At weekends it should ok as parkrun plus warm up and warm down mean I am well on my way there for Saturdays. Then Sunday I can go for long walks/runs so that should be fine.
Overall I am really looking forward to it and I hope the website where you enter your website gives you all the stats so I can see how I am doing compared to others. Not that I am competitive :-P I am a bit concerned that I'll end up doing too much walking instead of running. And the last thing I want to do is to have to change the title of this blog to "Walking, walking and other adventures...". So there's motivation right there to get the running shoes on! I've got my team of 7 too so will be following how everyone in my team and people outwith my team get on too. It would be good if we can spur each other on and get a friendly rivalry going. I've already got a few mini leagues set up. My main aim with this though is to try and get healthier.
Since the last post I have also had quite a few good runs including equalling last years best at Pollok parkrun for a 29.10.and an amazing one down at Eglinton parkrun. It's such a nice park with some fun trails. Plus I managed to record a time of 27.33 for the 5k which is my fastest 5k since 2011. I was really pushing it and was pleased with the result. Photo by Kenny Phillips
Today I was at Tollcross parkrun which I have not run since New years day 2015. I remembered it being tough and today was tough too! I was breathing heavily after the first hill and that first hill comes immediately! But I stuck it out and unlike last time I didn't have to walk at all. I came in at 29.01 so was very pleased.
Killearn 10k is 2 weeks away and I would like to get up to 10k distance in the next week just to know I'm in the right shape for it.
I have made a change to my routine for going to work which means instead of getting the work bus from the station, I now walk both ways. This means on average going to and from work and all the walking while at work i do about 13,000 steps a day which equates to about 5 miles. So all good there. The issue, and I can't believe I would ever complain about this, is when I am working from home. Literally I can average about 500 steps! So this is where I am going to have to go for walks and runs whether it be before, at lunch or after work. At weekends it should ok as parkrun plus warm up and warm down mean I am well on my way there for Saturdays. Then Sunday I can go for long walks/runs so that should be fine.
Overall I am really looking forward to it and I hope the website where you enter your website gives you all the stats so I can see how I am doing compared to others. Not that I am competitive :-P I am a bit concerned that I'll end up doing too much walking instead of running. And the last thing I want to do is to have to change the title of this blog to "Walking, walking and other adventures...". So there's motivation right there to get the running shoes on! I've got my team of 7 too so will be following how everyone in my team and people outwith my team get on too. It would be good if we can spur each other on and get a friendly rivalry going. I've already got a few mini leagues set up. My main aim with this though is to try and get healthier.
Since the last post I have also had quite a few good runs including equalling last years best at Pollok parkrun for a 29.10.and an amazing one down at Eglinton parkrun. It's such a nice park with some fun trails. Plus I managed to record a time of 27.33 for the 5k which is my fastest 5k since 2011. I was really pushing it and was pleased with the result. Photo by Kenny Phillips
Today I was at Tollcross parkrun which I have not run since New years day 2015. I remembered it being tough and today was tough too! I was breathing heavily after the first hill and that first hill comes immediately! But I stuck it out and unlike last time I didn't have to walk at all. I came in at 29.01 so was very pleased.
Killearn 10k is 2 weeks away and I would like to get up to 10k distance in the next week just to know I'm in the right shape for it.
Sunday 24 April 2016
Catch up
As you can probably guess since I ran Buchlyvie in January (last time I posted!) things haven't gone to plan. Mainly illness and not managing to build up the long runs meant that Glentress and Alloa were out. Each time I got ill it felt like I had to start from scratch again. Which maybe physically I didn't but mentally I did. I am still trying to learn how to build up fitness after all these years. Today I was meant to do Balfron but after doing parkrun yesterday, my legs were a bit sore this morning so just decided to leave it as I thought I would be struggling from the start. I did go for a 2 mile run this afternoon which was ok. Think it would have been pushing it to do a 10k on a hilly course especially as I haven't run over 3 miles for a few months.
On a positive note even with the missed races I have been running more than this time last year. I should reach 100 miles for the year in my next couple of runs. I have run 5 parkruns over March/April all averaging about 30 minutes at Strathclyde and Pollok.
I do really need to make some changes though to become fitter and healthier. My weight has started to creep back up a bit and if you look at my diet you can see why. It really is awful.
So the plan is to cut out the crappy food.
Take part in the corporate challenge at work where you enter a team of 7 and you compete with other teams to complete the most steps a day for so long. The aim is to cover 10000 steps a day. I think this starts towards the end of May but I aim to start this as my own challenge tomorrow. Its going to be a challenge with my work situation but its for the best.
I have an aim to run 500 miles this year and also to run under 27 minutes for Pollok parkrun.
Although I'm dropping out of the Edinburgh half and quite possibly Kielder marathon as I think they are unrealistic for this year. I still plan to do the Kilearn 10k in June and Dunoon half in August though.
So onwards and upwards. Hopefully all these challenges will add motivation and bring about a healthier lifestyle.
On a positive note even with the missed races I have been running more than this time last year. I should reach 100 miles for the year in my next couple of runs. I have run 5 parkruns over March/April all averaging about 30 minutes at Strathclyde and Pollok.
I do really need to make some changes though to become fitter and healthier. My weight has started to creep back up a bit and if you look at my diet you can see why. It really is awful.
So the plan is to cut out the crappy food.
Take part in the corporate challenge at work where you enter a team of 7 and you compete with other teams to complete the most steps a day for so long. The aim is to cover 10000 steps a day. I think this starts towards the end of May but I aim to start this as my own challenge tomorrow. Its going to be a challenge with my work situation but its for the best.
I have an aim to run 500 miles this year and also to run under 27 minutes for Pollok parkrun.
Although I'm dropping out of the Edinburgh half and quite possibly Kielder marathon as I think they are unrealistic for this year. I still plan to do the Kilearn 10k in June and Dunoon half in August though.
So onwards and upwards. Hopefully all these challenges will add motivation and bring about a healthier lifestyle.
Sunday 24 January 2016
23/01/15 - Buchlyvie 10k
I was going into this race slightly blind as to what my current fitness levels were. I haven't done a 10k since last October and I have not even done a park run since Christmas day. Nevertheless apart from the week between Christmas and new year where I caught a wee bug. My training has been going better. I have been getting out between 2 and 4 times a week. I was thinking sub hour might be a possibility but after speaking to folk at the registration bit they did say it was muddy so I thought I would be over that.
So on to the race. The start was a bit bunched. It starts behind a primary school and everyone is trying to squeeze into a narrwow path, made worse by people trying to avoid puddles so you couldn't get going until you get out on the road. The first kilometre is downhill on the road before turning right onto the forest track which continues on for 4 kilometres. The first time I saw a kilometre marker it was 2km, which was a nice surprise. The forest track which although there was lots of puddles it was quite easy to avoid them by going to down the centre of the road. When I got to the 5k turnaround I was surprised at how good I was feeling and on the way back I gradually picked people off.
Up until 9 km I was still feeling good and I made a strong effort up the hill in the 10th km to finish off. Looked at the time and it was 59.13! 5 minutes quicker than my fastest time last year for 10k and felt loads better. Sometimes you don't realise you are progressing but this was one of those moments that I can see it clearly. It was actually 59.00 chip time.
I wouldn't say this race is the most scenic but it was nice to be out in the open countryside and because there is only the one hill it does make a pretty fast course. It is well organised and had a nice atmosphere. I would like to do it again at one stage.
Next stop is this time next month at the first Glentress trail 10k. I expect it to be a bit tougher than today.
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