It's been a while...

In fact over 3 years since I last posted! Since I stopped running I lost fitness pretty rapidly and the weight piled on. When I did try to get back into it, running a mile was tough and I found I had to walk, losing the motivation again in the process.  Why is this attempt to get back into it different? For the first 6 months of this year I was down in Leeds where they had a free gym in my work which was basically on the floor below me. So really there was no excuses.  I didn't run, just used the cross trainer and rower. But it was good to feel that buzz you get from exercise again.

Last month I went on a couple of hill walks which I found very tough and took me half of the next week to recover from them. So I decided I really need up it and get out running again.  I thought I'd throw myself in at the deep end and try Strathclyde park run.  I'd never done it before but knew it was flat especially compared to Pollock park run. I was surprised and pleased that I made it round without stopping.  I have made it down to Strathclyde 3 times since and yesterday I was back at Pollock parkrun.  I had to walk yesterday but still managed a time of just under 32 minutes. At the moment I'm experimenting with my runs during the week to see what days are best for me in terms of recovery from previous runs and trying not to do too much too soon.

It has been great to see all the faces again that I have not seen in years and receiving all the encouragement from fellow parkrunners.  I feel park run is really pulling me out of the lazy hole I found myself in and I really hope I can keep this going now...

The Rebound

That’s what this week has been all about. Getting myself back on top of things. Mentally I took a pretty major blow at Kintyre as if I’d been in a boxing match for a full 12 rounds and the referee wasn’t stopping it. But as always, best thing to do is just get straight back up – look back – learn – move on. Thanks to Santababy for the comment on my last blog talking about her DNF and saying how its not always about finishing. It's so true in the world of ultras and you've just got to pick yourself up and look to the next challenge.

So that is what I've done; I’ve got back into my training this week and I have been building up my mental strength again . Due to the experience I felt the need to make some changes; the first one being pulling out of LAMM. This was obviously a decision I did not take lightly as I knew I would be letting my partner Stephen down. The reason for pulling out was because of the lows I have hit on the last 2 times I have been away, combined with the remoteness of LAMM and how we would be spending all weekend in each other’s pockets. It would be selfish of me to go as I just don’t know if I’ll hit another low. So I let Stephen know and who was really supportive and understanding and we pulled out. The other being Hardmoors 60 as well as I just don’t want to travel too far just now to a race and to do it justice I would need to go down to do recky runs too. I’m thinking River Ayr at the moment but I’ll leave it for a bit before making a final decision. 

So for the moment Kilpatricks hill race will probably be next. But my overall focus will be on Clyde Stride and hope to get under 7 hours 30 minutes or even closer to 7 hours and have the bronze goal of 9 hours. But have the approach which worked for me last year with all races up to half marathon and just take every ounce of pressure off myself and just see what I can do on the day. I'm also thinking of mixing up my training a bit by doing some cross training. Also getting back to the club for speed work which I definitely neglected in the run up to Kintyre as I was focusing on the longer runs at the weekend. Going to draw up a plan and try and get some balance.

It’s always good to read things too about people deal with the mental side of ultras. Like this from Geoff Roes’s current blog (well worth a read):

“For me I think I end up a little burnt out (mentally) before I even start a race when I focus on one specific event for too long. I operate a lot better when my most important run is my next run and not some run several months in the future.”

I'm going to go on a similar approach too. So for the rest of the year, although I have loads of ideas on what I want to do, I'm just going to focus on the next few races at the moment and decide on the rest later.

It's always nice to get a 'Win' which is what I got today at park run. I was the timer and out of 400 people running I didn't miss a click :-)

Crazy rest of week

Wednesday I did a nice and easy 4.5 miles.

On Thursday I couldn't go to the club as I had a work night out. So I went up to the Kilpatricks just before and did a run up to the trig point and back. This time I wore my Inov8s and I definitely feel a lot more confidence going down the steep hills with them over the Hokas. I think its because the rubber studs on the Inov8s give a lot more grip. But over longer distances Hokas would provide a lot more comfort and less damage to the joints.

On Friday I did between 2-3 miles round Gogar with Alex. Alex wanted to mix it up a bit so we went in the opposite direction. It's amazing how running the same route in the opposite direction can give you a completely different run.

On Saturday I helped out doing the park run where I did registration this week and it was good fun. In the afternoon I headed up to the Old Kilpatricks - to get my hattrick of the Kilpatricks this week. I again went up to the trig point and back and was nice and easy.

Today, I think I'm going to have a rest day. But I said that last week and ended up going out at night so see what happens and how I feel.

Now running has not made this a crazy week. It's been crazy because my mood has been up and down like a yo-yo. One minute I would be fine and laughing away. Next I would be down and just keeping to myself. I looked it up and it's called 'Rapid Cycling'. The good thing about this though is that you are not in a low for too long so it's easier to stay positive as I believe the next high isn't too far away. It's harder to deal with when you are in a low for days/weeks and you are just wondering when you are going to get out of it.  I think I'm getting better at dealing with it but I am still learning.

Anyway comedy is always a good one to cheer me up:

19/02/11 - National Cross Country Championships

I LOVE IT when a plan comes together – Hannibal from A-Team

What a day. It started early as I wanted to support one of my clubmates who was doing a 24 hour spinathon. I didn’t actually do the spinner, just chatted for a bit before I headed for park run. I have to say considering she had already been going for 15 hours when I saw her, she looked fresh and was in great spirits which was great to see.

I then headed down to park run. I wasn’t actually assigned a job this week – I just acted as a general dogs body providing extra help at the start and the funnel. It was fun and a good laugh as always.

I headed home had a snack before heading to Falkirk with White Lies new album on loud to get me psyched up for the race. I arrived just in time to see the Women completing their first lap. I cheered on the Giffnock women and new ultra buddy Silke who was in her Greenock Glenpark colours.

I went for a warm up then headed for the start. There was a 30 second applause at the start for 3 runners who had unfortunately passed away. I then went through the course in my head and the plan of action. The gun went off and I blanked out everyone and just concentrated on finding a nice sustainable pace for the first lap. I knew from my warm up that the course was a lot more muddy and chewed up this year. So I re-evalutaed my expectations, as a PB was probably not on the cards. So the first lap was all about working out the best line to take – through the middle of the deepest mud or to the left or the right. Then you have to decide how far left or right! All part of the fun and I was pleased that I was getting really muddy on the first lap.

After the second hill the course flattens out then goes on an up and down dip. I used my hill running knowledge here and went to the far left going down the hill then went diagonally up and right. This meant that I was going up a less steep gradient than I would have gone up if I chose to go straight up. I was running along the other side of the banking and looked over to where I had just come from and realised there was very few runners and I was quite far back.  This was the plan though. At the corner just heading left where Callender house is. Hazel who is David L from my club’s partner was there so I threw the gloves over to her. As now I was getting into it. I started gradually overtaking. I think I must have been 2^nd or 3^rd last Giffnock at this point. 

Now I figured out short and long term targets. Short was the person in front of me regardless of club. Long was the person in front of me in a Giffnock vest.  I went up the last big hill and Alan the team captain was there and shouted encouragement -  he always seems to know what to say at the right times to get me going!  I kept going with my short term targets all the way round then all the way round the second lap. Up the last big hill Alan shouted “catch Neil” who was in sight but I still had a bit of ground to make up. Just on the straight before the home straight on the second lap. Lots of cheering was going on. It was the leader. Now last year it was a Shettleston guy and Alistair Hay of Central going for it neck and neck. This year it was a guy from Kilbarchan who absolutely romped home to victory. In fact second and third didn’t overtake me. They were crossing the line as I was turning up the hill for my third lap. At last as I was going up that hill I overtook Neil. Next in sight but still far off was David L. I remember before I went up the hill into the forest. I saw Hazel and joked that I had a fishing rod and was reeling him in. It wasn’t until after the steep up down going along the straight to Callendar house when I overtook him.

Next up was Hugh. Who said he hasn’t been training much recently. I knew instantly when I saw him he wasn’t performing like he was capable of. A) because he is a sub 19 minute 5k runner usually and B)I should be nowhere near him!  But up the last major hill I overtook him. Next up was Billy but he was way ahead and I thought there was a slim chance of catching him. I stayed positive though and went back to my short term targets and knocked them off one by one. Then in the finishing straight I realised Billy was next up! I cranked on the gas into full sprint mode giving it everything I had left. I must have been about 40/50 meters to the line when I drew level. He glanced at me and then also went into full sprint mode. He was getting away when the blaze turned to grass and he tripped up and fell over. I didn’t even try not to laugh! This was brilliant! What a finish Billy got overtaken by another guy too but there must have been seconds between the 3 of us.

We had post race analysis and I was pleased to get under the hour although not sure my time exactly as I forgot to stop my watch at the finish due to the madness! We all shook hands and I reckon Billy will be back later in the season for a revenge race – I can’t wait!

Overall a great day, I appreciated all the support – It was very nice of the Giffnock women to stay behind and support the men. Also the wives, girlfriends and Alan the men’s team captain for all the motivation round the course.  And thanks to the marshalls, organisers and everyone else involved in making this a great event.

Slowly but surely getting there

This week has been tough but I'm slowly but surely getting there. On Monday I went to the doctors and Tuesday I went to the Psychiatrist, so I'm getting the right help and the doctor gave me a sick line.

I have been running every day and just trying to get back to my normal self. I've left the garmin behind and not counting miles for now as at the moment my priority is to get better which I definitely am compared to this time last week but I just need to be patient.

Yesterday I did the park run. Usually when I ask to volunteer I just say give me anything. But this week I decided to be tail runner as it is a job I've never done before. I really enjoyed it. There were a few late comers which I let go pass and the usual good banter was had between runners and volunteers. Then the runners spread out and two girls were in last place. I just let them chat amongst themselves until the split where they informed me they were just doing 1 lap. Cool I thought, now I get a bit of a run! I didn't catch up with the next girl until the bottom of the glade and we got chatting and I told her 'don't worry, I'll be last today so you don't have too!' Then going up the last small steep climb caught up with another girl and chatted until I let them go ahead just before the finish.

In other news my brother's wife got a PB by nearly a minute! She has just joined Giffnock North too so looking forward to seeing her times improve even more.

Today I had a nice long lie in and will just been trying to rest more while keeping up the running. Onwards and upwards :-)

Kilpatrick Sandwich with not much filling

The week started with a run in the Kilpatrick hills and ended in the Kilpatrick hills.

Monday was my last day of my holidays so I wanted to make the most of it. I looked at the weather forecast and it was to get worse as the day went on so I got up early, checked what time the sunrise was and timed it to arrive at the foot of the hills at half 8. I headed up the long road hill and found I was walking earlier than usual. I still managed bits of running after. I was surprised to get to the top, 1.6 miles in 19.47 which is not far off my PB of 19.25. As I continued, I realised that although there was a flatish bit after, I was still ascending. In fact it doesn't actually stop ascending till the 2.2 mile mark. I had a look at Runnning ahead after for the elevation to find that it was 1000ft which is about 300 meters. I know the elevation isn't always accurate with these programs but I find with hills they tend to be more accurate than in cities. After the 1.6 mile mark I actually felt stronger and was able to run all the way up to the end of the road, round on to the small hill. Then down to the resevoir. As I was descending off the small hill down to the resevoir I landed awkwardly and felt the inside of my knee twist. It was fine to run on but sore if I landed in the same awkward position which didn't happen much for the rest of the run so I didn't think that much of it.

It was icy in places but it was all easily avoidable. I decided then not to go along the side of Greenside Resevoir but to go up Cochno Hill. The grass was a lot longer than I remember and not really any bits I could run until I reached the path at the top. Last time I just turned right along the path and down to the resevoir. This time I decided to go to the top of the hill so turned left. I must have been about 30 metres from the top when I saw three runners just coming over the top of the hill. The first people I had seen on the hills all day.

I was getting ready to say Hi when they came closer I realised one of them was Marco who I'd met at the run at Pollok Park the previous Friday and was out with a couple of his Garscube buddies.  They were heading down and then up the slacks which is where I was going to go after going to the top of Cochno. So I decided to join them and watched Marco flying down Cochno showing us how it was done. They were just going for an easy run so we walked most of the slacks. When we reached the trig point he said if I would like to join them for the rest of their run. But I decided 7 miles that was enough for my first run in the hills in a few months. So I headed south while they headed west. I had a good descent considering the ice and managed to complete the descent in 15.31 so thats my new PB as before it was 16.11.

Afterwards that niggle was getting sorer but I couldn't figure out if it was an injury I could run through or not. I went for a 4 miler in the evening and I could feel it at times so I decided after to lay off running until it was fine. Tuesday and Wednesday I had off and by Thursday it felt like it had gone so I went to the club for a session round the Merries. I decided to join the C group again tonight because it was icy and wanted to be careful with the leg. Good news was that it was fine. To be honest I'm crap with what things are called in the leg apart from calf, hamstring quad so I still don't really know what it was. It did feel more like a joint thing.

I took Friday off too just to be sure. Saturday a nice layer of snow came so I ran down to park run in my mircospikes. Did registration which was challenging with the cold. When I used to do registration I hardly recognised anybody. While I still don't know a lot I am recognising more and more names. One of which this week was Colin Knox whose blog I've been reading for a while. Unfortunately didn't get to chat as it was during the busy time.  I decided after to do the park run as it's a good session at the moment with the 10 hills which I didn't expect to be included in this weeks report!

Today I headed back to the Kilpatricks. As the pavements looked dodgy so it actually looked safer to head for the hills with my microspikes. What a glorius day! Looking at the hills from the bottom most of the snow had gone but as I headed up the road, it was still a thin layer. Today I was slightly slower to the 1.6 mile mark taking 20.22 but ran for longer till I had to walk. Then the run turned awesome. The snow was still there as the sun hadn't got to the other side of the hills. The loch was frozen over and it was just a pleasure to be running in such amazing surroundings. I got to the end of the road where I usually turn right up the small hill. On a non snow day there is a path which goes over this hill but today it was untouched snow. As I pondered what to do I realised that my feet were getting cold just standing there as I was only wearing one pair of socks. So I decided just to turn back down the road which means I still covered 6 miles with a good amount of ascent.

I have been thinking a lot about ascent, training, the fling course and pacing which I plan on posting something about in the future. For now I'm planning another few jaunts on the WHW including a group run which Marco suggested going on at the end of the month. I realise that his training pace is probably my tempo pace but hopefully there will be "slower" people there and even if there isn't - just absorbing as much knowledge and tips as I can before blowing up, will be a training run worth while. I'd rather make the mistakes on the training runs than in the actual race.

Marcothon complete plus first race of 2011

This week has been a lot of fun on the running front.

Monday I headed to Roukenglen Park and did 5 times half mile reps on the grass, plus warm up and warm down. The route was interesting with the thaw kicking in, so there were big puddles to run through in places and there was still snow in other places.

Tuesday I thought the track might be on so I headed up to Williamwood school. I turned up and Neil who is one of the coaches and an excellent runner too, was there. The problem was the lights were all off! Another guy turned up but left again. After chatting to Neil for a bit I headed off for my own run. I wanted to get some speed work in so ended up doing a mini Fartlek session.

Wednesday I was already thinking about Thursday's run so I just did an easy 3.25 miles.

Thursday has its own blog

On Wednesday night, Debbie who set up the Marcothon challenge on Facebook sent everyone doing it a message saying they were planning on going down to Pollok Park and doing the park run route to celebrate completing the Marcothon. I sent one back saying maybe because I had a bed being delivered that day so wasn't sure if I was going to make it. But the bed was delivered at 8am so I headed down. 14 of us made it down and Richard, one of the park run directors was down too, to recce the course for tomorrows run. I thought my legs would be tired from yesterday, but although tired I was running fine and chatting took my mind completely off what my legs were doing anyway. It was great meeting everyone and I really enjoyed the run where we ended up doing 5 miles which equated to 2 big laps and 1 small lap.  The course was still really icy in places and we were slowed to a walk to cross some of the bits or had to go in the mud at the side in places.

Picture of the Glasgow Marcothonees:

Marcothon complete! It was by far my best ever training month and I ended up doing 218 miles with 2 really good long runs. I've really enjoyed the challenge of running each day especially in this weather and also reading about how everyone else has got on with it.

I went to a friends for New Year but was up and out early back down to Glasgow park run. I felt it was quite appropriate to finish 2010 doing a park run and start 2011 doing a park run. So Saturday I was going to run it too. I parked outside the park so I could get a warm up. I then mingled and said happy new year to folk before we headed off to the start. It was the second choice cross country course today which is 5 times 1km laps with 2 hills on each lap with the course following an 'n' shape. I had no idea how to pace this one so I set off at a pace I thought I could maintain. I have to say I absolutely loved this route, especially as I got really muddy and the trail which goes back down to the start is just awesome! I ended up finishing in 24.14 which was 30 th place out of 103. A great start to the year. Afterwards I went on another lap of the course for a warm down, talked to Martin who was marshaling and then chatted to more folk at the registration area where there was plenty of food since the Burrell was closed quite a few people brought some. Needless to say I made the most of it!

I went on a warm down back to the car and was just changing my shoes when Gillian and Alan, 2 of the directors pulled up. They were going to Richards for a post race coffee and asked if I wanted to join. So I went along for some more chat, drinks and biscuits. Then Francis gave out some parkrun t-shirts! Not the 'I've done 50 park run' ones obviously - but volunteer ones! It might be a while till I'll be wearing it due to the weather but come summer it will be out in force.

Today - I did no running! Yes I had a rest day, the first in 36 days.

Roll on 2011!

Marcothon - the end is in sight

This has definitely been the toughest week so far, maybe not physically but for sure, mentally. I was in two minds at the start of the week whether to keep going with the high mileage or have a more relaxed week after 3 big weeks. That in the end was dictated to me.

On Monday I got home from work at 8.15pm, taking me 4 hours to get home and that was after getting rescued from Holytown where the train stopped and we were all told to get off. Luckily my Dad said he would come and pick me up as I had no idea where I was and not many trains stopped there. My parents cooked me dinner and by 9pm I set off for a run and ended up doing just over 4 miles. I wore my microspikes but didn't really need them as the pavements were well gritted and it was harder to find good stretches of ice to run along. In bed by 10pm back up at 7, this time it took 3 1/2 hours to get into work. By the time I got home it was 7.30pm.

This was Tuesday and already things were starting to take its toll. I set off for a run as soon as I got home, then half way round I actually felt myself falling asleep and by the end I think I may have been sleep running for small sections! So in bed by 9.15pm, this time up and out the door by 6.30am to try and get in at a respectable time, and ended up getting in at the time I usually got in but took 40 minutes longer. Got home at 7.30pm again and set out for another very tired 4 miler.

Thursday and the holiday begins! I have never been so relieved to be on holiday. I had a long lie and went to the club at night. Not only that but we did our first proper session in over a month. There was a back road which is about a km in length we used to do km reps. Its a long gradual uphill, followed by a short but not too steep downhill and we just went back and fourth along it. It was the first time in a month I dipped below 7min mile for 2 of the reps so a good session.

Friday I still had to buy Christmas cards so I did my 4.5 mile run stopping off on the way.

Saturday I went up to park run in Pollock Park and had great fun marshalling, as I had some good banter with the runners and everyone was in a good mood being Christmas. Even better was that Giffnock won the mens and womens races this week. Afterwards there was drinks and baking which people brought to celebrate Christmas which was fun. I had planned to run up to my parents but after skidding along to park run I decided just to go on a short run round the block.

The main road pavements which I have been using a lot as they have been in good condition had now become ice sheets. It was a very stop/starty run as i pretty much had to skate across ice patches and hop on and off roads which were a bit safer in terms of less ice but of course more dangerous because of the cars. The problem with the ice was that it was such a thin covering over the concrete I didn't think spikes would be much good and could end up damaging them. The run was my slowest ever at 48 minutes for 4 miles but this run was all about staying up right which I managed.

Today I decided to do something I've wanted to do in ages and that's to do a full golf course run. I headed off to Linn Park and as soon as I reached it put on my spikes. My brother had been there yesterday and said it was fine in terms of ice. Today was a different ball game as it was just sheet ice but thick enough for my spikes to sink into. The golf course was good fun, although I did lose track of which hole I was on and I think I missed out a few as the hole numbers weren't clear. I then headed down some good trails before heading home. It was just a relief after yesterday to have a safe run away from roads and the dangerous ice.

So good news is I am still on course to complete the Marcothon 26/26 and I'm up at 30 days consecutive running which is a new record for me.  I can safely say I probably would have run about 2 days this week if I wasn't doing the Marcothon!

100th Glasgow Parkrun + Marcothon - the Beginning

Well this has been a fun week for all sorts of reasons.

One being the snow and ice making runs more interesting. Due to the cold, I changed from doing my 0.2 mile walk warm up/warm down to running straight away to get warmed up as quickly as possible. So a wee bit of extra mileage onto my usual loops. Marcothon also started on Wednesday and so far so good!

Monday - 6.7 miles easy

Tuesday - 6.8 miles easy

Wednesday - 7.6 miles easy

Thursday - Was club night and I thought they would be doing a short session given the conditions so ran the 2 miles to the club and back and we did the clubs handicap route which is 4.7 miles.

Friday - 6.8 miles easy. On Friday night it was my clubs awards. What a night, such a good laugh and was great to see everyone getting awards. I even got a mention when Charlie was reviewing Giffnock's year for doing updates for the website which was cool.

Saturday - Firstly I went down to parkrun. I decided not to cycle due to the ice and just park outside and walk in. Today was the 100th parkrun and 2nd Anniversay for Glasgow. What a day, they were using the alternative course which is basically a 3 lap cross country. Alan was doing the announcements at the start which were funny and fitting to celebrate this fine landmark.  In the Burrell afterwards, was the awards for volunteer of the year which deservedly went to Christine and also the points winners got certificates and alcohol too. We were a bit taken a back by the amount of runners who turned up in the Burrell! It was about 4 times as many people as usual with pretty much all the tables in the cafe taken. Richard did a brilliant job of going through the last couple of years, thanking people and with giving out the awards.

West Districts got cancelled so 4.1 miles up to my parents for dinner and a slightly longer route back of 5.2 miles. I'm glad in the end it was cancelled as I was planning on doing a long run in the afternoon but I ended up sleeping on the couch for the afternoon I was so tired from the awards night.

Sunday - I had wanted to do a long run and I got to Williamwood golf club, put on my microspikes which I just got through the post and ran round three holes. I was planning on doing more but felt really dehydrated so just called it a day. To be honest I didn't really notice the spikes when I did the three holes which can only be a good thing. They are also really easy to carry and put on/take off.

So a great week in all, somehow I managed 50 miles which I was not expecting at the start of the week but when you add it up and do an average of 7 miles a day, 7 days a week that is how it adds up!  I missed doing a long run which i really need to start building up now but at the same time I have got a good base so shouldn't be too hard to build up by the end of the month. As long as I am up about 20 by the end of the month that'll put me in good stead for the longer longer runs in January.

This weekend was also very successful for British ultra runners. Jez Bragg came 6th in the North Face Endurance 50 in San Francisco which really is a totally awesome result given the field. Another fantastic result was that Lizzy Hawker came 2nd female behind New Zealands Anna Frost. To be honest I knew she was good but I didn't realise Lizzy was this good. I knew she won UTMB many times and finished on the podium in the world 100k championships this year. But I thought Kami Semik was better (who came 3rd). This result to me shows that Lizzy is one of the best females in the business at the moment.

Another great result was William Sichel who came 2nd in a 48 hour indoor race in France breaking 10 age group records!

Longest Running streak ever - plus looking forward to next weekend

Well Monday was the end of my longest streak of consecutive days running ever and quite possibly my best period of training ever too. I really got into a great rhythm and routine and just makes me want to run everyday all the time. I lasted from the 31^st October to 22^nd November meaning 23 days on the trot. I was planning on doing everyday in November but I have been off with the flu since Tuesday so I am now gearing myself up for trying to run every day in December (Better known as Marcothon).

I did get out for a 7.4 mile run on Monday which was nice. I had a sore throat but thought nothing of it as I have run through it before. But Tuesday the bug went down to my stomach and knocked me for six. So no running, no nothing, Tuesday to Friday. Friday my legs started to get restless again. 

Then Saturday morning I woke up and felt the same as I did Monday. So opened the curtains – Snow! I decided to take the bike to park run to save scraping the car. I was never going to go for it today anyway with my cold but the conditions meant no-one was able to go for it. But still a great turnout of 119 runners with loads of Bella Harriers vests as they were using this particular run as part of their club championships. So I went round at a steady pace and finished in 23.34. A good solid run considering and it was good just to get back out there especially with the snow making everything so pretty. Now time for the fun that snow brings, that every run feels like a cross country event. I got pretty good at running on ice at the start of this year, here’s hoping that continues!

Today I woke up and felt better than yesterday as my throat is nowhere near as sore now and I feel I’m gradually getting back to 100%. I still didn’t want to overdo it today. So just went for a 4.5 miler. More snow overnight meant it was harder work than usual but it’s so nice running in the snow. It was heavy when I was out and sometimes blowing right into my face, I was thinking I should have wore my ski goggles!

I can’t wait for next weekend for 4 reasons. First its Giffnock North awards night where I know loads of people who are getting awards. Secondly it’s Glasgow parkrun’s 2^nd anniversary and 100^th parkrun! What a landmark! They were thinking it would be a big turnout but if it’s anything like today it might be another low key event. Next its West Districts cross country down in Irvine in the afternoon – If I can get there?! Then finally and probably most confusing as to why I’m looking forward to it; It’s the North Face Endurance 50 miler in San Francisco! Now this may seem like another ultra in the states. But with $10000 prize money for first male and female, this has attracted the top ultra runners from around the world. Making it potentially the most competitive ultra ever, even more so than Western States earlier in the year.

I won’t go through all the contenders as there is too many but Jez Bragg and Lizzy Hawker are representing Britain! Both won at UTMB and will be really interesting to see how they do. Maybe this event is not as bigger stage than UTMB but they will certainly up against some bigger names than who ran the UTMB revised course this year and probably the people Jez and Lizzy want to test themselves against most. Here is an article that sums up the main contenders nicely!

Mens preview

Womens Preview

Renfewshire XC and the magic of running

Another solid week. Monday I did my 10k loop which I'm gradually extending so its about 6.6 miles now. Usually I don't write much about these runs as generally there isn't much to write.  But I do love these runs. After a day at work it's great to get out for an hour, cruising round the streets and pressing the refresh button on my brain. Some how I have totally recovered from Tinto too and enjoyed every step of this run.

Tuesday I did a session which I haven't done in ages. After a mile warm up, I do 434 meter reps times 10. I started off easy and got quicker as the session went on.  Its actually a loop of just over 600 meters and I use the remainder to do a jog recovery. I was surprised when I got home to find that my fastest rep was at 7 minute mile pace and I averaged about 7.10 pace.  But this run was more than times, I managed to work through a few problems that were starting to get to me. Not only did I get perspective while running but also worked out a solution and felt so much better once I finished to when I started. Then it all came back to me why I started running again in the first place.

Wednesday I went out and did the 6.6 mile loop and felt good again.

Thursday at the club, I wasn't too sure what I was going to do as I had the Renfrewshire cross country at the weekend. The session this week was 3 times 2 mile, which is one hard sesssion. After speaking to a few people who were going to run on Saturday they said to just do 1 times 2 mile. So after a mile warm up, I was ready to go with the B group. The first half mile was down hill and I felt already like I was running at my threshold pace. The next half mile was up hill, which is usually my strength but tonight I was struggling to keep with the pace. One of the guys actually stopped to tie his shoelace and overtook me again before the end of the first mile. The second mile was flat/downhill and saw the other guys in the B group shoot off in the distance. I was gubbed and just pushed to the end knowing that it was my only rep. I managed 6.52 pace which if I remember right was what I averaged last time I did the session too, however last time I was more even paced.

Friday, I jogged 2 miles with Alex round the grassy paths of gogurburn. I had recovered fine from the short session on Thursday but the underfoot conditions made this a bit more effort than usual. Each step just sank right in and you could see that only one other person had made foot prints on the paths that day.

Saturday I went down to park run in the morning and gave out the numbers which was a good laugh. Then I went home, had some lunch then straight out to Gourock for the Renfewshire cross country. I've never been to Gourock that I can remember but I was told it was pretty hilly. I had memorised the route to Gourock High School and navigating was made even easier by the fact that when I got into Gourock, I looked up and there was the school at the top of the hill. I thought this is going to be fun! I got there and reported to base camp. It felt a lot quieter than other races I'd been to but still seemed to be a good turnout for the seniors race.

I went on more warm up and went round the course. Already I could see this was a very up and down course with only a few stretches of flat bits. There is one point where the course goes round this tower/monument thing and from it you had great views across the mouth of the Clyde and could see across to Arran. I made sure I made the most of the views in the warm up as I knew I wouldn't have time during the race.

We then assembled at the start and for a change the women would start with the men but would still do there usual 2 laps while the men did 3. I forgot my garmin, so no idea about lap splits. I got into a good pace, would totally let go down the hills and actually found myself overtaking down the hills. I had a pretty solid race and it felt like I maintained the pace across 3 laps. The only real basis I had on how I was doing was David M for Bella Harriers. He ran Bella 10k last week in just over 42 minutes so we are about the same standard. David took off ahead and I kept him in view. I managed to overtake him in the middle of the second lap, then put my focus on the next person on front, then the next. The last person I overtook was an Inverclyde runner in the middle of the 3rd lap. Unlike all the other people I overtook, I could not shake this guy off! His breathing was heavy and every time I thought I was getting away, his breathing got louder again as he gained on me.  The last bit of the course is a gradual down hill, then a long uphill. I pushed as hard as I could down the hill. Then on the uphill which is long, gradual and very slippy. I felt I was finally getting away on the uphill then once I was up I put on the sprint finish and was happy to finish. Shaked hands and caught up with a few folk.

This was probably the toughest XC I have done yet, i would probably say its about the same hillyness as Cumbernauld but because you are doing 5.6 miles instead of 4k this probably pips it. At the same time I do think these races suit me and I look forward to West Districts in 2 weeks time. On the way home I popped into Sweatshop to get my prize of a pair of running shoes. I was delighted when they had my size in 2150s! Had a good chat with fellow ultrarunner Gavin who works in there too and coincidently ended up speaking to a women who is friends with Vicky who I met at Clyde Stride. Small world!

Sunday I was thinking how my recovery would go. When I woke up I was surprised to feel fine so I decided to do my 6.6 mile loop. The difference with this run though was that right before it I did a 27 mile cycle up round the Eaglesham moors. So it was all up for the first half then mainly down for the second half. I enjoy this cycle and use to do it quite a bit. I use to be so close to doing this in 2 hours but that was the days I had a road bike. With strong winds and a mountain bike it was a lot tougher and I got round in just over 2 hours and 15 minutes. Unlike the road bike I felt I was putting a lot more effort on the down hills. But fitness wise I think this is going to very beneficial. Once I had finished on the bike, I got changed into my running gear and was back out. My legs were stiff and took 3 miles to shake off some of the soreness but all in all a great session!

Tinto - the before and after

This week saw another week off work. This one was a bit more relaxing compared to my week off in September, but made sure I had some fun adventures nevertheless. The main reason for having a chill week was yesterday was Tinto Hill race, so I wanted to make sure I was rested up and raring to go for my race for November.

On Monday, my legs had recovered really well from the West Highland Way on the Sunday. So I went out an a comfy 4.5 mile easy run.

Tuesday I went to the Kilpatrick hills in what was a perfect day, cold and no clouds. I have decided that the road going up to Loch Humphrarys is my favourite hill just now. The reason being is that it is so long at 1.6 miles. It starts off on tarmac then gradually/ diagnonally makes its way up and then round. About half way it turns in to a forest track, where it gets a wee bit steeper, then just as it turns up and has a steep ascent to finish. Each time I have attempted this so far I have had to walk the steep bit. But thats what I like about this - it is a work in progress. One of the things I have decided to do is have a PB for this ascent, as this is what Anton Krupicka does for his ascents up Green Mountain. Often people think of PBs just for races, but I like the idea of having a PB for certain stretches of training runs like this. So my PB is set at 19.25.

The next section I can usually run all of, around loch Humpharys till the forest track runs out. But today I struggled and found myself run walking until the downhill stretch. I then followed the Kilpatrick hill race route round and down to the reservoir. This bit was fun as it was really boggy and the burn is getting wider. I think soon I'll have to jump in and out its getting so wide.  Then up the slacks I seemed to be getting a second wind and was run, walking quite strongly up it. From the trig point to the bottom I've also decided to have a pb so that is 16.11. I went way faster than this in the actual race but never set a split so this is the official PB for that stretch. Going down was fun and lots of boggy bits so got nice and muddy.

On Wednesday again I was surprised by how quickly I recovered from running on the hills the previous day. I fancied something a bit different today so I cycled down to Pollock Park and did the mountain bike loop which was fun. Then I chained up my bike and ran round some of the trails in the park. The thing was with all the leaves, some of the trails you could not make out so it was a case of making my own route. Afterwards since it was quiet, I ran round the mountain bike track, then cycled home.

On Thursday I decided to go to the club. I had intended to turn up, say hi, then do the handicap route by myself. But the weather was so wild that the D and E group said they were going to do the handicap. So I started out with them and then I found out the B and C groups were not doing mile reps anymore but doing 0.7 reps round Newlands park so I thought I'd do that instead and just take it easy. So I just hung on to the back of the C group running between 7.12 and 7.30 pace for 4 reps.

Friday I just did 3 miles and had plenty of carbs.

Saturday, I went down to park run and did the timer which I believe was another perfect game! Number of clicks on the timer equaled, number of tokens given out and never went out of sequence. I got home to find an email saying that I have won the Sweatshop Parkrun monthly prize! Which means a new pair of trainers fitted at sweatshop! I was delighted and still can't believe it!  To top it off I headed to Tinto hill race in the afternoon but that deserves its own post.

Sunday, my legs were pretty sore but not as sore as I thought they would be. I did my 3 miles and that was that.

A wee cough

Yep I was off all week and it was awesome. I had some big adventures planned and to be honest thought it would be all go.  Forgetting that my body might want some rest too, so it was a nice balance between chill days and go days.

I wanted to get out on the hills to start building up a base. So Monday I managed to get up and out the door for half 6! To avoid the rush hour and was up just north of Killin for half 8. There is loads of munros round here, so to start with I did what I think are deemed easy munros - Beinn Ghlas and Ben Lawers. It feels like cheating but the car park for these two is a fair bit above see level so although these 2 are 1100 meters for Ghlas and 1200 odd meters s for Lawers. The total ascent on the route over the 2 munros is 968 meters. So a good couple to start off with. So I was the first one on the mountain and made my way up Beinn Ghlas which is reasonably steep once you get through the nature reserve. Seems clouds today were above 1000 meters so no view from either summit. When I went along the ridge between the 2 which dips down enough to call them both munros there was views from either side but know 360s today. As you can see from the photo of the top of Ben Lawers below.

There is actually another 3 or 4 munros you can knock off after Ben Lawers in a continuous ridge but due to no views and the theory that I wanted to save myself for the rest of the week I left them for another day.

On the descent I went to the bottom of the ridge and took the north path round Beinn Ghlas instead of going up it again. One of the reasons I am doing these munros, is to scout out potential running spots and this route down was definitely in the good bag. Its a nice long gradual one so hopefully one day I will be able to run up and down it, at least to the ridge, then run/walk the rest. On the way down, I met 2 walkers with 10 dogs running free. Oh great! I like dogs I know but those I don't know, I wish I could see there CVs! One of them started running towards me, seriously what do you do?! Not really anywhere to go, so it came up ran back to the owners then I thought it was going for me again as I was past then it lost interest. Then another dog ran up after, so more fun! I got down and it was 11.30am! So 3 hours, 2 munros and a fun day out apart from the dogs, ha.

On Tuesday I was suffering I think more from getting up at 6.30 the previous day so just had a lazy day. Wednesday I went out for a run but turned back after a mile because I was feeling groggy and felt like I had no energy, weird how you get days like that.

Thursday the weather was bad but I thought I'll head to the Pentlands and see what happens. Well on the way through the weather got worse and worse. When I got on the Edinburgh ring road I couldn't actually see the Pentlands and I was right beside them. Maybe I'm just not a hardened hill runner yet but I just thought it wasn't worth it today.  So instead, I headed up to the club in the evening to find the weather had cleared in Glasgow and also one of the women in my club is going to run for Scotland in some Vets championships! WOW! The session tonight was the Merries. Yes my favourite. Tonight I decided to stick with the B group but not to overtake them just try and hang in there. It was all going well until the 5th Merry (hill). Then I got a stitch and really felt I had nothing left. It was a funny night as the C group all were near enough keeping up with the B group. Then 4 of us dropped off and I actually missed out a hill as I was so far behind them. My legs felt ok but the top half just had nothing. So I really slogged it out and that was that.  I still think I should be trying with B group, as the way I see it, if I make it 6 times next time I do the Merries that's an improvement. Also made me realise I need to get the road hills sorted first then start moving on to proper hills. So I'm going to make my easier runs more hilly, but still at an easy pace.

Friday my legs didn't feel as sore as normal after a club session and it was a peach of a day. So I headed up to Tyndrum to climb Beinn A'Chleibh and Ben Lui. Now this was a proper adventure! First of all you have to wade a river (well it was that or walk a kilometer to the bridge!). Which wasn't too deep. Then follow a river through a forest where the path was almost a continuous bog. I knew I had to cross the river at some point and noticed the path was disappearing and it started again on the other side. So I crossed followed it, then it seemed to disappear. Then the bogs got almost knee deep! Which is great training for Mugdock trail race in a couple of weeks. I finally got to the edge of the forest which is fenced off. Its too big to climb and on my notes it said that there are stiles to climb over. It was annoying because I could see the path on the other side I just couldn't get to it! Eventually I found a gap in the fence and went for it. From here the navigating was easy. Climb up to the ridge through more bogs, turn right for A'Chleibh and left for Ben Lui. Being the smaller I went for Beinn Chleibh first. Its only when you get to the top of this one you realise how big Ben Lui is at it is 1100 metres which is 200 meters higher than A'Chleibh. So once I hit the top it was straight down and over to Ben Lui which was tough as it was really steep in places. But at the top you could see for miles and yes 360 views!  Top of Ben Lui

The descent was fun. Even though I asked a few people about where the stiles were, what I though was a path into the forest wasn't. So it was more deep bogs and fun through the forest. I found the river easily and from there it was plain sailing to the car park and no nutter dogs either :-) Another 2 bagged in just under 3 half hours.

Best place to take a picture of a river - in it!

So an absolutely brilliant day!

On Saturday I felt like I was all over the place and was very tired due to lack of sleep as will still buzzing from the day before.   Still had fun down at Park run where I helped manage the funnel.

On Sunday, on recommendation from Phil from my club (who randomly found this blog!) and my parents; I did a run up at the Windfarm just south of Eaglesham. One thing I did forget was my garmin, so I don't know how far I went but I think I was out for about an hour or so. So it was probably about 7 miles. Will need to go back to find out the distances. I have to say this was brilliant. You go from turbine to turbine on forest tracks which I would describe as undulating but I think general public would probably say its hilly. I really enjoyed the views and just being right up beside these massive structures. I say I think I went 7 miles in a loop finishing with a nice hill. But I think you could cover way more miles as it extends for miles and miles.

So an excellent way to finish the week!

Almost a solid week of pure illness

Monday I went out for a 4.5 mile run and felt groggy, I knew a cold was coming. Tuesday I went out a mile then turned back as my throat was jumping up and down and getting sorer. I know they say if its the neck and above run but this was making running a trial so just decided to leave it until it got better so no activity all the way through to Saturday.

I am always in denial that running causes any of my illnesses. But I think this time looking back it may have. From Wednesday to Sunday the week before I did 4 hard sessions in 5 days. I don't normally do that and think that must have been it.

Saturday I went along to park run and helped marshal the 1 lap/2 lap split point. It was fun again cheering on all the runners and talking to Stephani and David. I have decided not to take up the director role for the time being. My ultra plans along with wanting to run the park run more mean I'll be busy enough but it is something I want to do in the future and if I get injured it is a no brainer.

Another decision I have taken this week is to pull out of the Loch Ness Marathon. I just haven't got in the long runs I would have liked to since Clyde Stride due to this, that and the next thing. Also I looked at my schedule for September and I realise I am just not doing focused marathon training and marathons are definitely not a race to underestimate and even if I said I would take it easy I know that would change the minute I hit the start line. So instead I have signed up for the Mugdock Trail race the week after - more mud filled madness!

Which brings me nicely on today. I feel a lot better but didn't fancy a long run today as didn't want to push things too soon. So I drove up to Arrochar and climbed Beinn Narnain. Although the weather forecast said Sunny intervals/good visibility. It was raining the whole way up and couldn't see more than 20 metres in front of me. I was planning on doing Beinn Ime but decided to take the easy option, a) because of the weather, b)just back from illness, c) save Ime for another time. I managed 3mph for the first 3 miles up to the cobbler/ime/narnain three way junction, taking a gel every half an hour. Then turned up the steep slope to the top of Narnain, through boulders and marsh. When I got up to the top, I couldn't actually believe it when I saw the trig point. It almost felt too easy to be a munro. It took me 1 hour 25 mins to get to the top. So after sorting myself out and taking a clif bar I headed down. I took a slightly too much to the north route off Narnain and ended up on the path to Beinn Ime. I took my time over the boulders but as soon as I got to the marsh I was running. It was so much fun running through the marsh as it is just so soft! Due to the poor visibility I took a quick compass check at the turn style and headed south back to the three way junction so I hadn't gone that far off course as you can see from the map:

After running for a wee bit down the path, I took off my trousers so that I could run freely down the rest of the trail in my shorts. The bit where the path divides on the map and just goes straight is just where I forgot to start the garmin after changing! But it was only about 5-6 minutes. I really enjoyed the descent down the trail, jumping over rocks and burns. I am still not that good at the steeper bits but that will come.

Overall a great day and is really getting me in the mood for more hills. It was also the first time I used my inov8 back pack which was really good. Shoulders are fine and the zip pockets in the bit that clips across your waist is really handy for gels.   I want to get to the stage where I can jog up the hills or at least the less steep bits.

Next weekend is the biggest weekend of the year. UTMB!!! no not really (although it is the biggest ultra in Europe).  It is the biggest weekend of the year for me, cos my brother is getting married!

But I will be looking at the results for after. Geoff Roes and Scott Jurek are coming over from the States for it. Killian Journet is looking to make it 3 in a row. Britain have Jez Bragg who claims he has had his best stint of training ever. Will also be interesting to see how West Highland way race winner and Scotland's own, Richie Cunningham gets on. Obviously there will be loads more people to look out for as this is such a competitive race.

Anyway, hopefully I am now over this cold and can have 1 more week of good training before a taper week for the Great Scottish Run.

14/08/10 - Glasgow Park Run #85

After pulling out of the Helensburgh half marathon at the start of August, I decided to go for a park run for my race for August. I was meant to go on a long run with Alex today but he pulled out due to a foot injury. So I had a look at the volunteer roster and it was full to the brim so decided this would be my race for August.

I got to Pollock Park about ten to nine and immediately went on my warm up which was about a mile. I felt a bit sick as my breakfast hadn't quite gone down but I thought with half an hour before the start it would be settled by then. When I got back I got chatting to Sue from my club who did the Devil O'highlands race last weekend, so we were trading stories and talking about plans for next year. Then I headed up to the start where I lined up beside Martin from my club.

Before we knew it we were off and as expected Martin flew off in front down the gentle slope. I got into my relaxed stride which has worked wonders in training. When we turned up the hill I got alongside Martin and then as we turned the corner again I started pulling away. Then I passed Ian Goudie, who I would have a good race with today. As we started going down the hill he went back past me. Although I didn't know it at the time as I never looked at my watch I did the first mile in 6.38. Then got down to the glade and back up to the split where I overtook Ian again along with quite a few other people. I was feeling really strong on the uphills. I thought I might be pushing it too much but I thought I might as well try and keep it going and see what happens.

So I got to the lap 1/lap 2 split where there was a good crowd of people including the marshals cheering which was a good boost. Then I went down the hill and you guessed it, Ian passed me. Going back up the slope and round up the gradual hill I overtook him. That was mile 2 done in 6.45. It should really be slower than the first mile as over half the first mile is totally flat/slightly downhill. As I went down the hill towards the glade I expected Ian to overtake again but this time he wasn't there to my surprise. I thought then I might finally get to beat him as the rest of the course was mainly uphill now. Somehow I was still runnning strong on the uphills and overtook quite a few people. When I got to the lap 1/2 split, I turned towards the finish down the hill and tried my best to go down without getting overtaken and no one did. Last mile I did in 6.44. Plus you have the .1 of a mile to make it up to 5k.

I crossed the line thinking. a) that must be a PB and b) although pushing it, I still had something left in the tank. I looked at my Garmin 20.43!! Amaaaaaaaaaaaazing! I still can't believe it. I knocked 48 seconds off my PB which for a 5k is ridiculous and I know will not happen again by that kind of margin. Sue gave me my position and it was 32..out of 279! The even funnier thing is that back when I set the previous PB in April here is a quote from my blog:

I have a bit of a way to go before touching Jacqui and Steven's PBs which are in the 20.40s but it is good to have something to aim for :-)

Jacqui's PB for the course is 20.40 and Stephen's is 20.48 so I am now sandwiched in between them on the Giffnock list of parkrun PBs

Although I had something left in the tank I don't think I could go that much faster at the moment but I could go on for longer.

Afterwards I shook hands with various people including Martin and Ian. Turns out Ian got a course best and just missed out on a sub 21 minute run. I have ran in the same race as Ian, four or five times now and he has beaten me every time, so it was nice to finally get one on the board! Martin was a bit slower this week but last week he got a course best too. Due to this being the only course I have run still for 5k it is my pb overall.

Overall I am so happy with this run, as I say I still can't believe it and it is another gold target met which was a sub 21 minute 5k.

I really can't wait for the Great Scottish run now!

Down but far from out

Well that foot injury I picked up has gradually got better as the week went on and I think I am now at the point where I can introduce some light running as it is pain free now.

Has that stopped me? Well it stopped me running but that gym membership I got last month suddenly came in extremely useful! So I have been walking to the gym and back some nights and driving others. My foot was totally pain free when no pressure was put on it so here was my week:

Monday: 60 mins cross trainer - easy
16 minutes rowing - too long ago!

Tuesday: 30 minutes cross trainer - hard
18 minutes rowing - 3800 metres

Wednesday: 60 minutes cross trainer - hard

Thursday: 60 minutes cross trainer - hard
20 minutes rowing - highest strength - 4200 metres

Friday: Decided to rest just in case I was doing Helensburgh on Sunday - I so nearly went to the gym again though as my recoverys from each session have been literally overnight.

Saturday: I went down to park run, helped marshal the start then did registration with David and Hamish. Then had drinks in the Burrell with the gang and sorted the numbers. I then went for my test run to see what my foot was like and from that would decide whether to do Helensburgh. I was a lot better but when I went up to half marathon pace I did feel it a wee bit (maybe just my mind) so decided it wasn't worth it and when I look back it was a good decision anyway not to do Helensburgh this year. I was looking forward to Helensburgh as I knew a lot of folk from park run and my club doing it but at the same time though it would have been daft to do a race when I'm literally on the brink of returning from injury.

Sunday: I headed straight for the gym and did possibly the longest gym session I have ever done:

2 hours on the cross trainer - gradually increasing intensity throughout
1500 metres on the rower - I was planning on more but set off far too fast.
Some weights and small circuit session ( I did this on all my sessions through the week)

So overall a great week considering and its made me think about a lot of things too. Like I haven't really tested myself, road race wise since Troon 10k in early May. So I do wonder what all this different stuff I am doing including all the ultra stuff will affect my road race times. So I have decided as long as my injury is cleared up completely, I'll do a parkrun as my race for August. For this reason too, although I want to go more into ultra and hill running, I could never completely let go of road running. I have also been thinking about Loch Ness in October and I was hoping to get my tempo runs and longer runs in (no walking) but this hasn't happened for various reasons so I may just go up to Loch Ness for an easier run than planned (if there is such a thing in a marathon!). Instead of going for 8 min/ miles. Maybe start off 8.30 - 9 minute miles and because I blew up in Lochaber, I could even get a PB! But will just have to see how training goes.

In other news it has been great watching the European Athletics championships with all the British success, it is inspirational. A few things though have as always gone under the radar, not because of this, just because it is a minority sport. The Snowden hill race was on last weekend which is one of the biggest/famous hill races in Britain. The most amazing thing about this race this year was that not only did Scots win the male and female race. But the winners, Robbie Simpson and Catriona Buchanan are both 18! What amazing prospects for Scottish hill running. If you want to see a programme about it (click on English subtitles) follow this link:

Also further a field and I know she is not Scottish but Jamie Donaldson was first female and 3rd overall in Badwater 135 mile race for the 3rd year in a row breaking her own course record by half an hour! Zach Gingerich won the race, in just over 24 hours!

Next weekend it is the Devil O'highands race which is a 42 mile ultra from Tyndrum to Fort William. Looking forward to hearing how Sue from my club gets on. And looking at the line up I think the women's course record could go. Jez's men's record should be safe but who knows!

Anyway I'll be out for an easy jog tomorrow night and hopefully will be back training again proper by the end of the week.

Almost the perfect recovery

One thing I always seem to forget is to document how I have recovered from big races. So this is what I aim to do now being a week and a day after Clyde Stride.

On the Sunday I not surprisingly had stiff legs and Monday it was worse. I expected this though and its like having a good hangover. Limping about the office knowing that you have achieved something amazing. Tuesday most of the stiffness had gone and it was just like I had rusty legs. It felt like they were just about ready to go again but I thought it would be better to have a full recovery so I just left it.

Wednesday I went for an easy gym session and I felt great. My legs felt completely recovered.

Thursday was club night. The usual proceedure for a club night is that we turn up at 7.20, have a chat then about 7.30, everyone gathers around and they do the roll of honor for the week which is basically what people have achieved in the club in the last week. Being July there weren't many races on. So my fellow clubmate Jim did a speech about my run, really building it up and then there was a big round of applause. I was slightly embarrassed about it the same time it was a very special moment getting the respect of my peers like that. It kind of put things into perspective and how people view ultras. I really just saw it as a fun day out. Other people see it as a massive challenge and some can't really comprehend going for that long or covering such a distance in one day. I suppose that is why it is a minority sport. After that we started the session and it was down to Pollock Park for a tempo run. A 2 mile warm up down to the park, turned into a faster and faster pace after the first mile. By the time we got down to the park, Stephen and I were a bit behind and thought they were going to stop, but they kept going so we had to work hard to catch up. Once we did though I felt I was running really well and felt no niggles at all. Overall we did 7 miles in 54 minutes and that was including doing the 2 mile warm down at a slower pace.

Friday, I ran the cross country loop in gogarburn at lunch time with Alex H, which was about 2 miles.

Saturday, I went down to Pollock Park to marshal at the Park run. I was at the 1 lap, 2 lap split again, directing runners and also chatting away to Rodger from my club who was also help marshal. The leader came past and he was way out ahead. One of the Bella Harriers who was standing with us noticed that he took a wrong turning. When you turn left down the hill at the split you are meant to turn right down the bottom and there is a sign saying so which I could see from where I was standing. But he went left up to the pond. We tried shouting but to no avail. We decided to leave it to the funnel who would be able to tell by his time. Funny thing is I am sure he has done the course before.

Anyway a big congratulations to Ian Goudie who completed his 50th Park run, a great achievement! Ian is the one that gave me the idea that you really don't need to treat every park run as a race. Use it as part of a longer run, recovery run or be the tail runner. He has done them all and now will have the t-shirt which you get in recognition of this.

After that I had a dentist appointment and headed up to Milingavie to meet Alex. We dumped stuff in my car and headed up to Drymen in his. We headed off down the WHW across the field. We followed this cyclist who turned left and ended up back at the road. Should have really learnt from the Clyde Striders not to follow people! So turned back and went along some very undulating roads before turning onto a path. We decided just to go for the 12/3 strategy. We were doing good up to the Beech tree inn. I started to have a niggling pain just under where the lace is on my shoe. I had a salt tablet which I was experimenting with today. Then we headed off up the hills towards Mugdock Park. When we got into Mugdock we were both feeling really good, so upped the pace alongside the lake. Then we got into the foresty bit and down the really fun slope. At the station we refueled and I ate a muller rice and another salt tablet. The muller rice went to fine which was good. We walked for a bit to make sure everything digested then got running again. We took it a bit easier up to Beach Tree Inn as my foot was starting to get sorer and Alex had a hot spot on is calf which was bugging him. I tried to re-tie my shoelaces thinking they were not tied tight enough but that made them even sorer so re-tied them again more loosely.

At the Beech Tree in we stopped in and ate brownies, lucazade and re-filled our bottles. When we got to the roads section we decided to do things a bit different and run the flats/uphills and walk the downhills. So overall about 5 1/2 hours including stops for just over 24 miles.

Today my foot was still sore so just a short gym session. I did try to go running but was sore instantly so will just be sticking to the gym at the moment. I have been reading up on the issue and it sounds like it occurs when you tie your shoelace too tight for a long run and you just need to ice it. So hopefully I'll be ok for Helensburgh Half next Sunday. Overall though apart from the foot niggle, I couldn't have really asked for a better recovery. There were people in my club who weren't expecting me back for weeks!

Looking forward to Clyde Stride

I have decided not to dwell too much on this week and just give a brief overview of what happened rather than the usual depth. 2 reasons for this - 1. I think its still important to document weeks even if there not so good and 2. I want to channel all the positive energy into looking forward to next Saturday.

So in brief last week
Monday - Really good 7 mile run with gym session sandwiched in between
Tuesday - Ate too soon before the run even though it was just a muller rice so had to cut hard session short
Wednesday - day off
Thursday - Woke up with extremely sore back (think it might have been a trapped nerve) so another day off but loads of back stretches
Friday - day off but back was remarkably better
Saturday - Marshalled at Park run then a light gym session
Sunday - Went up to start of WHW did a couple of miles out and back

So glad to get this week out the way and probably a blessing in disguise as training is winding down anyway. I plan for next week is just easy runs on Monday and Wednesday then 2 days off before Saturday. Its getting close now and it is pretty much all I'm thinking about at the moment. Overall I am pleased with how my training has gone since Lochaber, getting in 1, 25 miler, 2, 30 miler and 1, 40 plus mile run. But during those runs I have run with the same person all the way. So in that respect, it is going to be a completley different race to anything I have ever done before.

I know for starter everyone is going to have different strategies and I need to make sure I stick to my plan. In the first 10 miles in particular and for the rest of the race there is going to be lots of yo yo ing (people overtake you, you overtake them). I fully expect the first leg to be the fastest leg of the race for me, as it is the flatest, but I need to make sure to find that easy rhythm and take walk breaks every 15 minutes at least. I don't really want to carry a watch but for that I will need it. So I think I might just reset it at each checkpoint. From Cambuslang onwards there are small steep hills dotted about which I will walk all of, but there are also some long flat stretches like through Strathclyde Park and beyond it for quite some time. Crossford onwards is where most of the hills are and I am prepared for them. I like how the race now finishes in New Lanark as it means a downhill finish.

I will be using the drop bag system meaning I put food drink in to drop bags at the start and they will be waiting for me at the checkpoints. On top of this I am getting my parents to meet me at Crossford with extra water to see me through to the end. I am also going to have extra supplies in case things don't go according to plan. The way I see it, if I can do the first 10 miles in 2 hours. Then I have 9 hours to go 30 miles which would be just over 3mph/3 hours for 10 miles, so should be walkable from there. This is of course the back up plan and I would like to finish slightly quicker!

I am also excited to see how this race pans out up front as since it is the first time it has been run, course records are up for grabs! Three names stand out in both the men and female categories as those I think will end up on the podium. In the mens, Grant Jeans, Paul Hart and Ritchie Cunningham. Grant Jeans won the D33 and came second in the Glasgow to Edinburgh Double marathon. On the flat I think he would be clear favourite but I am not too sure how good he is on hills. Paul Hart on the other hand, I have seen with my own eyes at Kintyre way relay that this guy is a machine on hills. Ritchie Cunningham just won the West Highland Way race so will be sure to be in amongst it at the end. The thing is with these sort of races is that some of these guys might just treat it as a training run as they have bigger things later, so that will play a factor too. I know from speaking to Paul he plans to do the 24 hour race in Perth in September and Ritchie is down for UTMB in August, I'm not to sure about Grant apart from I don't think he'll be treating it as a training run if he is planning on running it in under 4 hours 10!

In the womens race, Lucy Colquhoun has to be the favourite, with Gail Murdoch and Sharon Law I think will come 2nd and 3rd but again depends on who is treating this as a training run or a race etc. There are probably people I have missed that could also be up there but just not familiar with at the moment.

In other races, the Hardrock 100 took place last weekend and almost had a female winner. Diana Finkel was leading going into the last checkpoint but looked like she blew up or got injured meaning Jared Campbell took the win, with Diana coming second and 1st female. Badwater starts tomorrow and I am looking forward to seeing how Jamie Donaldson, whose blog I follow gets on, as she goes for 3 in a row. She is so enthusiastic and a real inspiration, I hope she does it.

So its onwards to Partick train station for the start of Clyde stride........Bring it on!

14th to 20 June + WHW extended edition

This week was an up and down one.

Not surprisingly it took me till Wednesday till I was out running again and the good news is shin splints are completely gone and legs were only a wee bit stiff. So I just did 3 miles and felt good so upped it for the last 2.

On Thursday I went to the club thinking I was just going to do the warm up and warm down. One of the reasons for this is because it is the longest warm up/down at just over 2 1/2 miles down to Pollock Park. The actual session was daffodil hills which are right next to the back of Pollock Park House. I decided to start the session and see how I got on. It was 2 sets of 7 with 10 minutes rest in between. I actually got stronger as the session went on and the second set was faster than the first so very pleasing.

On Friday, Alex was up for a run round work at lunchtime which was about 2 miles. He did say at the start he just wanted to take it easy, but by the end he was saying he wanted to go out longer! But due to time restrictions it was just a short one today.

On Saturday it was down to Park run to help out with registration, then ran down to the gym to join as my upper body is seriously week at the moment and needs some work. So I have taken the plunge and if it benefits my running that will be a bonus but really its just to get some strength in my arms.

Today I had big plans for a long run but I knew as soon as I left the flat it just wasn't going to happen. I felt sluggish, sore throat and decided that instead of slogging out miles just for the sake of it and potentially make things worse. I came back after a mile and that was it.

So I have now done the extended edition of the WHW video from last week. Unfortunately the interviews with Stephen during it I could barely hear so decided it wasn't worth putting them in as even at the highest volume I'd no idea what he said. But there is some extra stuff in there. But apparently Stephen can hear them fine so will try and make another version at some point. Also tried to improve the volume balance between music and videos so hopefully that is better this time.


Half the West Higland way in a day from Stuart McBeath on Vimeo.

Weekly Summary - 31st May to 6th June

Photo by someone who knows Chris Upson

This going to be the shortest post for a while because of the hill race in midweek.

On Monday I just did a leisurely 4 miles which felt good considering the previous Saturday's long run. Tuesday I was tempted to go out but decided against it because of the hill race the next night. I knew that I would need all the energy I could muster so resting was really the sensible option. Wednesday, deservedly had a post of its own and I'm still buzzing from it. There was quite a difference of opinion about the race amongst fellow club members. Some vowed never again while others are either already converted or are now. I actually enjoyed it so much I am trying to throw in other hill races. Cort ma law is this Wednesday but again I have put the sensible hat on and am going to miss it as a very long run is planned for next Saturday. The thing is as well, hill races are so easy to enter! You just turn up! Red Moss Revolution is another tempter as it is handy for me to get to and is later in the month so may do that.

Anyway, Thursday was a good day for another reason I have been converted to the hills. I felt pain in my legs! For the last few months training has been going so well that I have been recovering overnight. But because of using slightly different muscles and pounding more, I got that happy pain feeling. Ok maybe I'm just weird :-)
Anyway Thursday night I still went to the club and after the mile and a half warm up my legs had loosened up and was ready to go. We were doing the Roukenglen 10 route tonight. I was kind of stuck in the middle tonight. The A and B groups were away and everyone else was taking it easy as quite a few were doing the 10k on Sunday. But I managed to get one of the new guys Paul to go along at a steady pace. Once we reached half way though it was clear he was suffering and had a stitch. I was trying to get him to run though it but turns out he had a fish supper before he came out so lesson learned! So we took it easy till Whitecraigs train station. I was feeling great and my legs were litrally begging me to go fast. So I said to Paul to go straight down the road and I would take the long way round and meet him at the Eastwood toll. It was great to bash out a few fast miles as it doesn't feel like a Thursday session unless you speed it at some point.

Friday res... nope not this Friday. One of the guys fancied starting doing jogs on Friday lunch times, so I took my stuff in only to find a text saying he injured his leg. But it was such a nice day I did a quick 1.5 mile run round the office which is so nice as its got its own cross country track! It is awesome.

Saturday I went to the Park run with my bro and just went round with him at the pace he wanted. Didn't even look at the watch in the end and the way he started sprinting down the hill at the end maybe he paced it a bit too well! As last time he did it he went out so fast he was nearly walking down the same hill. He'll get it right eventually, it is on every week after all.



Photo by Shirley Tulloch

On Sunday I was planning a long run but I started running to the Roukenglen 10k and my legs felt like rubbish. So I just did 3 miles there and 3 miles back. The actual event went really well as Giffnock not only put on the event so there was tonnes of people I knew. They also had winners in the 5k for both men and women completely dominating the podiums. Then in the 10k, Luke Traynor from Giffnock won the race with Graeme Croll also from Giffnock third. My duties during the 5k was to shout out the numbers on the vests of the finishers and in the 10k I was marshalling the Deaconsbank golf club entrance which was interesting to say the least as some drivers were more patient than others!

Ok so maybe it wasn't such a short post :-)