Running is good for you?

As I hobble round this evening with my back out of sorts and my scabby kneepit looking inflamed and infected, I'm wondering, just a teensy bit, whether running is always a healthy pursuit. ;-)

Today was my first run since the WHW training run last Saturday. That definitely took a bit more out of me than usual what with all the sliding round on the ice and my tumble.

My leg seemed to be healing up okay but last night it started to get a bit more swollen & red so I'm pretty sure it's a bit infected. Fortunately I had some leftover antibiotics in my cupboard that should hold things at bay until I can see a doctor tomorrow.

Today was the traditional "Turkey Trot" 10K and 5k fun run. For family reasons running the 10K would have been difficult, largely because I had to rush home and finish preparing lunch for 16 people. Consequently I ran the 5K.

It was really windy this morning and the race started head-on into the wind down along the seafront to the halfway point where we turned tail and headed back with the wind behind us now. Being a relatively small field there were precious few runners to hide behind so it was pretty much a case of battering into the wind on my own. It was almost spooky the way that the roaring of the wind in my ears stopped completely when I turned round. Suddenly I was running in eerie silence. From about 10th position at 1km I had worked my way up to 6th by the turn-around but the best I could manage on the way back was one more scalp and I finished in 5th place and 21:05.

Not a great time but given the wind, post-christmas lethargy and a dodgy leg, I was happy enough. Sadly, being a fun run meant no age group medals. Looks like I have to enter "proper" races if I want a medal. Well that or finish in the first three. ;-)

A couple of photos

Here's rather atmospheric shot that I took on the return to Milngavie. The sun had come out and much of the surrounding landscape was cloaked in mist.

The other photo is for fans of the gruesome. ;-) I couldn't resist taking a picture of the back of my knee as it's the only way I can see what's happening back there! As you can see, the bruise is developing quite nicely now.

2nd WHW training run

Today about 20 runners met in Milngavie train station's car park for the second training run. The sub-zero temperatures and freezing fog over the previous day had lent an almost magical winter wonderland look to much of central Scotland (even East Kilbride!) but last night's warm front meant that it was drizzling when we arrived at the start.

Although the drizzle went off, the effect of the rain and warmer temperatures was to convert dry slippery icy paths into wet & extremely slippery icy paths. Still, it was good to join up with up with the WHW crowd again and we all did our best to keep upright as we slithered and slid our way up to Drymen.

As usual, I went off with the lead group, only to regret it as the pace picked up. It wasn't that it was particularly fast but every step took more effort than nomal as I struggled to keep my balance in shoes that felt like they were soled with ball bearings much of the time.

Amazingly, I stayed upright until we came to cross the small footbridge just before the last field before Dryman. I went down the steps to it extremely gingerly until I got down to the bridge and then must have dropped my guard for an instant. The next thing I knew I was hanging half off the side of the bridge over the stream with a rusting metal upright hooked behind my left knee and clutching another upright with one hand.

I don't know quite why I didn't slip right over the side but fortunately apart from some bruising, I don't think I did any serious damage other than to my pride. ;-)

We stopped in the Pottery coffee shop (as usual) in Drynmen. Quite what the proprietors think about having their shop suddenly filled with malodorous and muddy runners I don't know but that's never stopped them being welcoming and keeping the coffee flowing. (Free top-ups in Scotland! Why don't more places do that?)

After half an hour is was time to head back up the road and again I set off with the lead group but this time is was clear that I wasn't going to keep up. The run up had clearly taken its toll! Still, I was keeping a fairly steady pace although for some reason all the hills seemed much steeper on the way back. ;-) About halfway back, my left knee started aching when walking up hills but fortunately running was okay.

Got back to Drymen about 10 minutes slower than my trip up but given the conditions, I'm happy enough. Hopefully my knee will be recovered in time for the Turkey trot races on Boxing day.

5K time trail report

It was our 5K time trial last night and I was hoping to to get back to the "right" side of 20 minutes again (it was September '06 that I last ran a sub-20 5k).

Alas, it was not to be, and perhaps (indeed probably) never was going to be. My time last month was 20:50 (and I didn't spare the horses then) so it was going to need a 50 second improvement so it was a big ask.

It was windy last night in Troon, almost straight up from the south. This gave us all a boost at the start (where I was going almost worryingly quickly) for the first kilometre. Sadly I missed timing that split (daydreaming too much) but my 2 kilometre split was 7:52. Given that we were running into the wind for much of the 1-2km stretch, I must have been well under 4 minutes for the first km.
2-3km was like driving with the handbrake on though and I had to resort to mental tricks to avoid slowing to a crawl, mentally pulling myself hand over hand along a rope. This enabled me to maintain some form if not speed over this stretch head on into the wind. My time for this km was a miserable 4:24. Ugh!
It wasn't until we reached the seafront that we had the wind on our backs but even then, my 3-4km stretch (which was partially against the wind) didn't improve much (4:13) and there was too much damage done my then to hope for a sub-20 5K. I did manage a 3:56 for the last km but given that I had the wind at my back, I should have been quicker. I *felt* like I was flying along over the last km but clearly I wasn't going that quickly.

Finished ahead of everyone else with 20:26 in windy conditions which is still 24 seconds better than last month so I shouldn't complain but it would have been nice to regain sub-20 form before the end of the year.

Hopefully come the new year as I ramp up the mileage and frequency of my runs a sub-20 will be mine again. I know it's only an arbitrary milestone but that doesn't stop me ruing losing what I had back in 06. ;-)

Weekly report

Only managed 3 runs last week. Fewer than usual but more than made up for by a great run on Friday. On Tuesday I ran a series of 8x3 minute reps. The first three went well but as I frequently do, I misjudged my speed at the beginning & went off too fast. Consequently I really struggled over the last five. I really do envy folk who can judge these things well!



A trip to Edinburgh on Tuesday & Wednesday for my daughter's interview for Vet School put paid to any running on those days so by Friday I was itching for a run. It was decidedly drizzly & damp but a good friend offered to run me up to Failford for my current favorite run back down the River Ayr



It's 20.5 miles from here to home and the great thing about it is that once I've been dropped off, there's no wussing out. ;-)

I was raining steadily as I was being driven up there and my friends clearly thought I was mad but it wasn't a cold day and I quite like running in the rain. My two days off had clearly reinvigourated my legs which seemed keen to go bounding down the riverside path.
Unlike last week when it was beautifully frosty and sunny, it was wet, slippery & muddy but it just didn't seem to matter. Indeed, once my shoes fill up with water, I ceased worrying about the puddles and just enjoyed getting good and dirty.
The river was much higher this week and the fisherman's path between Privick Mill & Tarholmbridge was underwater. I tried wading past the flooded point that you can see in the picture but beyond that point, there was a much deeper flood where the water was swirling violently. Knowing that the path at that point is very uneven, I wimped out an took the high-level path. There were plenty of bits of the path further on where I was running through running water but my feet were fine as I'd given my feet a good slathering of vaseline before I set out.

Despite the wet & slippery conditions, the first 15 miles down to Ayr harbour just seemed to fly by. As I was passing the fields below Kyle academy I startled a heron who dropped his prey as he took off. I was surprized to see not a fish or a frog but a very relieved looking vole jumping around on the grass. Even the last 5.5 miles along the seafront and back home were relatively easy. A great run!

I finished the week off with a nice and easy 7 miler with my wife & the dogs on Sunday. Our oldest dog Roger is coming up to 11 years old now but he's still game to go out running. I just have to be careful not to overdo it as he does get a bit stiff the next day. Our little Yorkie suffers no such problems, she's like the Everready bunny. She just seems to go on and on! ;-)

Response from Scottish Athletics

Well, I emailed Scottish Athletics yesterday with my thoughts on the discrimination inherent in the present way that Cross Country racing in organised and received a reply this morning. Apparently my views are being forwarded to the Cross Country Commission for them to discuss internally (and hopefully respond).

A tiny step forward maybe but a step forward nonetheless. I've also suggested to them that they might want to consider scrapping the existing senior women's event and replacing it with a "sprint distance" event open to all. This would be appreciated not only by new runners nervous about being able to complete the full distance of a normal XC event, but older runners as well who may find that declining abilities make the full distance a daunting prospect.

Meanwhile, my poll on the Scottish Athletics forum seems to have plateaued out at 23 for to 3 against. Still no response from the nay voters.

Sexism in running

I mentioned in a previous post (Run with the wind race report) that the choice of age groups for that event was inherently sexist (i.e. a 15 year Vets group for women, 10 year age group for men).

Well it occurred to me that I've been accepting a much worse example of sexism in the sport today without thinking about the unfairness of it all. Namely, the way that women aren't allowed to run the same distances in cross country racing.

The days when we worried about women's ovaries falling out if they over-exerted themselves are surely long over. We look back at the time when women weren't allowed to run the marathon, pole vault etc. with disbelief, and yet, apparently, cross country running is in some way too hard for women to be allowed to run the same distance as men.

Why on earth can't women be allowed to run in the same event at the same time as men over the same course? Maybe I'm missing something obvious but I'm willing to bet that in 10 years time (hopefully much sooner) we'll look back in incredulity at the present situation in the same way we look back at the ban on women running marathons etc.

I've started a thread on the Scottish Athletics forum (80% in favour of women being allowed to run the same distance as men) that you can view here. Rather disappointingly, none of the "Nay" voters has offered any explanation for their views which I'm genuinely interested to hear.

Feel free to vote or let me know your views. Maybe I'm missing something obvious but it seems unfair to me.

St Andrew's Hospice 6K

My plan to take it easy on Friday's long run to spare my legs for today seems to have worked - insofar as I didn't crash'n'burn. ;-)

It was nice conditions for racing, cool without being too cold and with only a very light breeze. Apart from a couple of hillocks in the first couple of km it's a nice flat fast course. Being a fund-raising fun run, there was no timing. In previous years they have had a big clock at the finish but even that has gone now. Still, I suppose it means more money for the hospice so I shouldn't complain.

Apart from the usual hoards of football strip clad kids going off like the clappers at the beginning, it's a good run and I feel I ran it well. Not being too used to running 6K, the plan was to just treat it like our regular 5K time trials and just hold on as best as possible for the last Km.

During the northward "outward" leg I had fun chasing down some Hamilton Harrier runners (always good to have a target) and when we turned for the return leg we found that we had a slight tailwind which made the finish feel slightly downhill.

In the end I didn't feel like I pushed quite as hard as I do for our 5Ks but I was pleased with my 24:35 (4:06 pace) which is my best pace this year. Would have been nice to get back to sub-20 5K shape before the end of the year but I guess that'll have to wait for the new year.

Slow'n'easy

I decided to miss out my usual Thursday tempo run as my legs still felt a bit tired after Tuesday's mile reps & Wendesday's easy 7 miler. With a race planned for the weekend that left the problem of fitting in a "LSD" run in (Long Slow Distance). Given the glorious weather (and the offer of a lift to Failford) it seemed silly not to do it today. This is becoming my current favourite run. About 19.5 miles, mostly off road and great scenery.



These pictures were all taken with my mobile phone so they're not great but hopefully capture a little bit of what the River Ayr Way is like along this stretch.

(about 1 mile west of Failford)

(one of the more open stretches of the river)





(Weir & sluice gates just above Stair Bridge)

(Frozen path just west of Stair - normally waterlogged & boggy)

(Railway viaduct upstream of Gadgirth Bridge)

(One of several stretches of boardwalk along river)

(Gadgirth Bridge)

(Sign not to be missed at bottom of Mill Road out of Annbank)

(Fisherman's path above Tarholm bridge - flooded when river in spate)

(Tarholm Bridge)

(Waggonway through woods south of Auchincruive)

(Oswalds Bridge)

(Ayr harbour and the sea at last!)
(Nearly there)
(The oblisk at the finish on Ayr seafront)
(The old "Brig O' Doon" and the newer road bridge as seen from the old railway bridge)

This last picture has nothing to do with the RAW, it's just on the cycle path that leads back to my home in Alloway. I took it nice an easy as I didn't want to take too much out of my legs in advance of this weekend's racing. Much as I'd like to, it's not going to be in Girvan though. For complicated reasons it's going to be the St. Andrews Hsopice 6K

The ages of woman

I mentioned the Strathaven Striders new "Run with the Wind" 10K in my last post. This was an excellently organised affair and a great addition to the running calendar.

One thing rather took the shine off of the event though, and that was some rather muddled thinking by the organisers about the womens age groupings. Ever since the SAF dropped the male vet age to 35 for championship events, one has never really known what to expect at club level. We're all used to the old age divisions, whatever their faults. I can see the logic behind dropping the age for male vets if that really does correspond to the level at which men cease being able to compete with their juniors but it's a bit irksome if you're 51 say, to find that at some events, you're no longer a junior supervet but you're more than halfway through your term!

Anyway, that's not what happened in Strathaven (just a general grumble at messing with accepted standards). On Sunday, the female vets were lumped into a 15 year age group (35-49) rather than the usual 10 year group (35-44). I've queried this with the organisers but they haven't really cleared up whether this was a mistake or a deliberate choice.

Having produced more than a few dodgy results myself over the years, I can easily understand that it could have been a mistake but if it was deliberate, it seems more than a bit unfair to female athletes who may find themselves as vets competing against runners up to 15 years their junior. You could just about justify it if you were to impose the same age grouping to the men but that wasn't the case, male vets were the usual 40-49 age group.

Of course I probably wouldn't have paid any attention to this if it hadn't been for the fact that one of our club runners almost certainly lost out on a first lady supervet prize because of it. It's probably too late to do anything about it now but hopefully next year they'll use a more conventional age grouping.

I think I'm getting fuddier and duddier by the minute. ;-)

Bad news, good news

The bad news is that my dream of running the MOB is no more, a big disappointment but one that I'll get over. (Maybe I'll just have to organise my own multiday event? Anyone up for the "Marathon of Scotland"?)



The good news is that Rory (Coleman) the race director has done the honorable thing and said that he's refunding my deposit. Assuming he can find folk prepared to stump up £1,500 pounds, it makes economic sense for him as he can resell my space for a profit. If he can fill the places then who am I to say that it's too expensive? Clearly the market will decide how much is too much.



In some ways, it's nice not having both the WHW and the MOB hanging over me next year. I feel I can now give the WHW my full attention (and appreciation) and then enjoy the period afterwards without the nagging worries over whether injury might sideline me from the MOB again. I've also received an email from an ex-director of the MOB who is setting up a new slightly longer multiday event in Canada that looks interesting. Here's a taster of what he's planning.



We are putting the final touches to a new 6 day race over here in Toronto. The Maraton of Ontario Summer Edition (MOOSE). We have taken all the best bits of MOB and made them better. The course is more stunning and testing, and is slightly longer, 302km. We are keeping the numbers down to keep the village atmosphere, and for competitor safety. The price is similar to MOB, and even with the flights included it works out less that any of the RAW events. We also a have additional things included, like hotel nights in Toronto before and after the event, and maybe a baseball game. We are also planning excursions during the event (Niagra Falls, CN Tower etc) for friends and family who come over too. It is going to be the ultimate competitors.

The dates are 15th – 23rd August 2008. We are in the process of finishing the website and well send a mailing out when live.


Richard Price
Director

richard@aprod.com

Other news, I ran a race today! Strathaven Striders had organised a new downhill 10K which was a bit different. Not all downhill but sufficiently so to ensure that the times were fast. Kind of pleased (but also a little disappointed) in my time of 41:51 but the organisation was excellent and the course great. Definitely one to do every year.

Here's the route and the course.

The last km was great! Unlike a normal 10K where you're really struggling over the last km, here you had the help of gravity which was much appreciated by this runner. ;-)

Good news, bad news.

First the good news. On Thursday, my daughter came out running with me! Whilst I've frequently teased my children about their lack of physical activity, I've always known that like most youngsters, they're going to do the exact opposite of anything I really want them to do so I've never pushed the issue. To do so would be hypocritical considering I didn't get into running until my late 30s.

Anyway, my eldest daughter who's been at uni for a year (and like most students, discovered the joy of beer) has been trying to lose a bit of weight. She'd asked me about running so we went into town to buy some running gear and some proper shoes. I felt it was important that she have some shoes that were just for running, nothing else. Just lacing up a pair of running shoes gives you a little boost I think and helps to make you feel like a runner.

To cut a long story short, she's been out twice this week. Once with my wife and once with me (3 miles of 3 minutes walk/90 seconds run) and plans to go out again tomorrow morning before she returns to uni. I'm dead proud of her. Of course I have to be realistic and accept that she might (probably) won't keep it up but it's a start.

The bad news is that I'm seriously p*ssed off with the MOB. For those who don't know what those 3 little letters stand for, it's the Marathon of Britain. It is (or rather was) a 6 stage 175 mile trail event across the heart of England. I've dreamt about doing it ever since I first read about it in Runner's World years ago. I enter this years race and paid my £500 deposit at the end of last year. (The full price of the event was around £700). Unfortunately, due to injury, I decided I had no option but to defer my entry until 2008 (something that you're allowed to do once without losing your deposit).

Now I knew that the entry price would almost certain be higher in 2008 (as it had risen every year) and I was prepared for a £100-£200 increase but when I checked the site today I found that the event has changed its name, changed its date, has reduced the number of stages to 5 and reduced the mileage to 156. The organisers have also stopped supplying pre & post run food morning and evening as they used to.

In exchange for all these "improvements" they're now asking £1,500 for the entry fee!!! I fear I'm going to have to write off my £500, not because I don't want to do it but because I think the price hike is just unacceptable. There's just no way I can justify spending that kind of money on a UK event. Whilst I knew that the deposit was "non-refundable" I'm seriously wondering if I have a case for reclaiming it on the grounds that the event I entered no longer exists.

I'm not a happy bunny. :-(

First WHW training run..

On Saturday about 15 intrepid souls gathered at the Drover's Inn for the first training run/social event of the 08 WHW training season. The forecast had been poor and annoyingly, the forecast was right. Still, if you didn't leave home for a training run because of how bad the weather might be, you'd never leave home.

As ever, it was great to see old faces again and lots of new ones too. I just wish I had a better memory for names!

For a first training run, it was a bit of a toughy. In past years' it's usually been the Milngavie to Drymen (& back) route but it was nice to get out on the WHW again. I felt good on the way up, finding the hills relatively easy and a group of us pushed up the hill a bit faster than the rest of the pack. With hindsight though, I think I would have been better off taking it a bit easier. Despite avoiding the Cullen Skink & bacon sandwich and keeping to what I thought would be an easily digestible snack, my stomach was a bit uncomfortable and I couldn't match the pace of the pack on the return leg. Looking back on what I ate, it was was, I think, more of a problem of quantity rather than quality. It's just not easy running on a full stomach!

That wasn't the only problem though, My legs were a bit wabbit on the way back and I think it was just a reflection on the relatively low mileage that I'm running at the moment. I was a full 1 minute/mile slower on the return than on the ascent which is slower that I would have liked.

I still need to work on my gear. No problems with chaffing but I lack the confidence to wear shorts on long runs like these. The weather, despite the rain, wasn't that cold and the downside to wearing tights is that when you stop, you get cold quickly as the water evaporates off of them. Bare skin carries very little water and my legs never seem to feel the cold anyway. I think in future I stick to shorts & carry lightweight waterproof over-trousers should I need to stop for any length of time. Of course it does depend on ambient temperature too but it's rarely as cold as we think it's going to be.

Foodwise, I think I'll try and keep the quantity down but the frequency up although I know that, in practice, predicting what you'll actually feel like eating on the day is very difficult. I'm going to give "real" food (but in small doses) a try out on my next WHW long run.

Hydration is still something I'm tinkering with too. Whilst I find I can happily drink the likes of Lucozade sport pre-run (and sometime post run), during the run, the taste of it sickens me and I crave water. On my run back on Saturday I emptied my bottle of Lucozade that I was carrying and filled in from local streams. No harm done apparently but I was careful not to fill it anywhere downhill from where cattle had access.

Apart from a slightly dodgy ankle in the morning, I seem to have recovered well. Went out for a easy 7 miler tonight (Monday) and ended up having one of those nice runs where the running just feels easy and you just want to run faster and faster. Of course, the clock doesn't lie and my pace wasn't that great but it felt good, and sometimes that's all that matters.

NEXT time, I'll do my best to stick to my "easy run" plan as I felt decidedly guilty at not spending more time with the main group of runners

I HATE THIS WIND!

I can put up with all sorts of weather when I'm running but the moment you add in wind, it becomes a whole lot less enjoyable. I should imagine that the only people who hate it more than runners is cyclists but that just serves them right for indulging in such a perverse activity. ;-)

Strangely though, I rather suspect that the wind was responsible for me running a PB on my tempo run today. I decided to forsake my favourite tempo run around Auchincruive as it's really become too slippery to either run as fast or as safely as I'd like. It's a shame as I really do enjoy it but it's probably not doing a tremendous amount to help me build speed at the moment so I went back to an old road route that I've not run for a while (http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1440483). Again, it's not a enormously fast route as it has a pretty serious hill on it but I like the odd hill to break things up a bit.

Anyway despite being a circular route whenever I should have been hindered by the wind, the local topography was sheltering me from the wind. A bit of a win/win situation with the wind for once.

Fingers crossed that this wind subsides a bit before this weekend's long run on the WHW.

Hair shirts

hair shirt: a penitent’s garment of haircloth.

I'm sure that to non-runners, it must seem like runners are only happy when they're suffering. Whilst we don't usually go as far as wearing a hair shirt, it does contain more than an element of truth. The old saying "No pain, no gain" is undoubtedly true if we want to excel (or at least improve) in any competitive physical sport. Whether we're happy when we're suffering, I leave for the philosophers, all I know is that I willingly accept the necessity of pushing myself out of the comfort zone.

Getting back to the hair shirt though, on Sunday my long run was somewhat spoiled by a bad choice of running top. It was a nice Running Bear wool/synthetic mix running top that wicks nicely and is very comfy. What it isn't good for is wearing underneath a rucksack as I discovered. Thanks to my customary nipple tape, my nipples were fine. It was everywhere else that suffered! I've never had so many abrasions over my chest and around my waist before. Showering was a veritable scream-fest. It just goes to show how easy it is to make a bad choice and how important it is to find out what works before an important ultra event.

The run itself was a great release after the stresses of the previous week and I enjoyed all but the last mile or two when the hills had ceased being challenging and had just become annoying. To give me some incentive to do a long run I decided to run up to the Failford Inn from home, a distance of just over 19 miles where my wife and friends were going to join me for some beer and dinner. From my point of view it worked out fine, what the other folk in the bar thought I don't know. ;-) As I didn't set off until 3:30, I was using my headtorch from Oswalds Bridge onwards, laregly due to the heavy tree cover that effectively brings an early nightfall.

Despite having run that section of the River Ayr Way several time, I still managed to get lost on a couple of occasions, once just before Stair where the path appears to carry on along the river side (but actually turns sharp left) and once between Stair and Failford where there are multiple paths in the river gorge, all of them looking equally valid when covered in leaves. Fortunately I didn't make any major misjudgements or lose too much time. I did start to worry about what I would do if my torch failed as it was very dark by this time, there was no mobile phone reception and feeling ones way out of the River Ayr gorge at that point would be a very dodgy exercise. Fortunately my torch was fine but I think if I'm going to go running on my own again in such a remote spot I'll carry a back-up torch just in case.

All in all though, it was a nice run and I feel a bit readier than I did before it for our first 24 mile training run on the WHW this weekend. I'm still agonising over whether to have my traditional bowl of Cullen Skink & bacon Sarnie at the halfway point - in the past, the cause of considerable suffering on the return leg of the run. ;-)

On Tuesday it was the club 5K time trial and I was hopeful of improving on my time back in September (20:53). Well, I did improve, but not by much (20:50). It was a much windier night though and nearly everyone's time suffered so I suppose I should be happy that my time was better despite the wind. I reckon I could have been nearer 20:30 had it not been so windy. Still, it seems a long time since I was able to knock out a sub-20 5K without too much difficulty. :-(

Mud, mud, glorious mud...

...or should that be glaurious?[1] Whatever, there is no doubt that being dressed for running gives one the perfect excuse to go out and get good and muddy with impunity.


Yesterday I took myself back to Auchincruive for my weekly tempo run. Last week's crisp and crunchy leaves were this week's sloppy slippery mess concealing puddles of mud beneath. Once I realised that there was no avoiding the puddles I relaxed and enjoyed getting good and dirty.


Last week, my legs had felt a bit dead and I didn't enjoy my run but this week, despite the trickier conditions underfoot, my breathing felt easier, my legs felt fresher and I enjoyed the run a whole lot more. I rather misjudged the timing though and the combination of failing light and slippery conditions underfoot meant that I really would have been better off with my headtorch in the shadier bits.


Despite this, I was a good half minute faster than last week and I'm sure had it been drier & lighter, I would have been a full minute faster. I'm still not completely happy about cutting my running back to four times a week but if my speed continues to improve on this route I'll stick with the plan.

For anyone in the area, here's my route.

Running though the middle of Annbank is less than ideal but overall it's a nice six & a bit mile route with some good hills to test your legs on. The big hill at about 1.3 miles is a small lane that joins with Brocklehill Avenue (presumably named after all the badgers in the area) in Annbank. Getting to the top of it without slowing to a jog is the challenge every time I run it. Quite how to define what "slowing to a jog" is something I haven't worked out yet. ;-) All I know is is that as long as I feel like I "powering" up the hill, I'm think I'm running. "Jogging" is when I've "given in".

After my run I remembered that I'd promised my wife that I'd pick up some oil for her car. Being a high-tech bit of German engineering, it meant I had to go the the main Audi dealer in Ayr by the Whitletts roundabout. Quite what they thought of having a smelly muddy man wearing not much more than shorts, singlet and mud cluttering up their nice showroom I don't know but they were happy enough to take my money. ;-)

[1]
GLAUR, n.1, v.1 Also glar, glaar, glawr, glair, glare. [glQ:r, gl:r, gle:r] I. n. Also in n.Eng. dial. Dims. glaary, glairie. 1. Soft, sticky mud; ooze, slime.

Winter training plan, a walk on the wet side & a scare

I was sent this photo by Susan, a clubmate who was taking photos at the XC race in Irvine. It's doesn't quite capture my handsome features but it's a vast improvement on the last one! At least I look like I'm moving. ;-)

In last Thursday's message I mentioned that I was thinking of cutting back on my running. Well, the current plan is to try and stick with 4 runs a week. A long run at the weekend(10-15 miles), an easy run on Mondays (^-8 miles), a speed session of some sort with the club on Tuesdays and my 6.2 mile tempo run on Thursdays. Rinse and repeat. ;-)

Having no sooner devised my plan, my long run this weekend got sacrificed on the alter of marital harmony, a sacrifice I was happy to make as we'd decided that we'd walk another section of the River Ayr Way from Stair to Oswald's Bridge. We not long set off when we were passed by Drama Queen himself, out for his long run, obviously determined to drive me crazy with envy. ;-). He did sort of succeed but as I've discovered, walking isn't just slow running, it's a darned sight harder! I'll never forget how easy the first 17 miles of the River Ayr Way seemed when we jogged it in 3 hours back in August. Walking the same stretch with my wife later

took six and a half hours and I was knackered afterwards. So, one way or another, it's probably doing something for my fitness and endurance, if not my speed.

Anyway, after all the heavy rain on Saturday the river was in spate but overall, the conditions underfoot were pretty good and we enjoyed it. Best part though was driving back up to Stair to recover the "sacrificial" car and then going on to Failford for some excellent beer and a bite to eat.

The horrible fright was due to a tragic accident and involving the death of a local club runner in a motorcycle accident. By one of those horrible quirks of fate, he shared the same name as another runner in the same club who I know. I didn't know this at the time though and it was only later that I found out that it was the one I didn't know who had been killed.

Of course now I feel a bit guilty at feeling hugely relieved that it wasn't the person I thought it was but we can't spend our lives feeling devastated about the deaths of people we don't know. My sympathies obviously go out to his family, friends and clubmates. Having travelled this road so recently I can imagine what they're going through.

The joy of Google Video

This has got absolutely nothing to do with running but I thought I'd post it anyway.

I was browsing Google Video yesterday and stumbled across this little gem, a rendition of "Where my guitar gently weeps" by George Harrison. No doubt done to death by any number of different artists but this was the first time I'd heard it done on this particular instrument.

Beautifully & movingly played. Go on, have a look.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=O9mEKMz2Pvo

If you search by the artist's name you'll find plenty more.

Autumn sun & tired legs

My run today, lovely though it was crunching over fallen leaves and bounding up the River Ayr at Auchincruive, was harder work than it should have been. I've come to look forward to my weekly tempo run up the river but today my legs would only go grudgingly.

My own fault of course, running intervals on Monday & Tuesday followed by another slow 6 miles on Wendesday just wasn't enough recovery time for my legs. Although I've thought about it many times, this is bringing me closer to cutting my number of weekly runs than I think I've ever been before. The trouble is, once you get up to 5 or 6 runs a week, running becomes so darned addictive. Like an addiction, it's moved my running beyond a healthy passtime into something that is actually counterproductive.

Of course compared to real athletes, my mileage and sessions wouldn't amount to much but for me, running like I am at present isn't bringing about the benefits that I'd like to see. I've read of marathon schedules that only call for three runs a week. I don't think I could cut back to that level but I'm pretty sure that cutting back to four or five quality sessions would mean that I'd be getting more of my training.

With nothing major in the offing, this is probably the best time of year to try a change in my training. If I take the plunge, I'll keep you posted. ;-)

Begone foul photo!

Gotta post something just to move that awful picture down the page if for no other reason! ;-)

I was advising another runner on a USENET group to vary his running a bit more as he only had two training distances that he repeated regularly, a sure recipe for boredom and possibly injury. Looking back on my log for the last two weeks shows that over that period at least I've not been guilty of the same sin. (Always a worry when offering advice is that you find you're guilty of "Do as I say, not as I do").

Since the Loch Ness marathon apart from two XC races over the same course, I've been mountain biking in Glentress and Kirroughtree, done a 5 mile short hill rep session, a 10 mile run over the Carrick hills, a 7 mile tempo trail run along the river Ayr, done an easy 13 miler, a 5 mile fartlek session and a 7 mile reps session with 40 second reps and 80 second recoveries.

It might not look much like a training plan but at least it has a bit of variety! I would like to be able to say hand on heart that my training is always so varied but the mountain biking which I enjoy probably won't happen that regularly if only because it's such a long way to the great 7Stanes tracks. For anyone who has a mountain bike and has ever wondered "What is this thing really for?", visit one of these great Forestry Commission tracks. Some have more forest road than others (which is boring) but many have some great "single track" which is a one-way track specially constructed for maximum fun. Not without its dangers of course but the adrenaline buzz is quite addictive.

Do I really look like this?

Yesterday was the Ayrshire XC races at Irvine, the same 4K course as last week and the same disconcertainly pleasant weather. Kenneth Phillips was there again taking photos and snapped me. I suppose we all have preconceptions of how we look when we're running but this is way different from how I imgine myself! I'm not sure if it's the manboobs, the windswept grey hair or the fishmouthed gasping but it's not a pretty picture!

Ghastly picture aside, it was a harder race than last week as this time I ran around with no one to chase which make it far harder to maintain the impetus on some of he lonelier stretches. Despite this I ran 14 seconds faster than last week so I shouldn't complain. I also own an apology to last week's first man who I accused of jogging round. According to his time he was a lot faster than me! Just shows how different our running looks from a different perspective.

Being the Ayshires XC it was a much smaller affair than last week but there was a great atmosphere with much mutual interclub support. Kerry Wilson from Girvan ran in one of our teams giving, for possibly the first time in history, the Troon Tortoises a lead into the second leg. ;-) It couldn't last of course but it made for a fun day.

Not thinking too mch about WHW training at present, just enjoying a bit of relative rest & recreation after Loch Ness. First training run on the WHW is scheduled for the 10th of November which, truth be told, is really a bit early but it'll be great to meet old friends again. More a social gathering than a training run.

Moving on

On Wednesday we said goodbye to Fergie at a packed (to overflowing) service at the crematorium. It was an emotional service lightened by the choice of "Simply the best" as the closing music for the service which raised a smile all around. Hard though is was, it was good to be there and meet the family.

Saturday was the West District XC relay races at Irvine beach park. The weather was all wrong for XC, sunny & warm which was a bit distracting but we coped manfully. ;-)

I drew the 3rd leg of our 4 man relay team and thanks to a slowing lap by own first man, had the pleasure of chasing down three men on my lap. Despite my recent marathon, the short hills felt much easier this year than in previous years, I suspect due to my hilly tempo runs which have been a good match in distance & elevation wise for this sort of racing.

Went out for a nice 10 miler over the Carrick hills on Sunday, not just for the uphills but for the great downhill running workout that it gives. I was flying down the seaward side of the hill dodging cows at every turn of the road. At this time of year the road seems to be their favorite spot. Fortunately none of them seemed capable of doing the maths and realising that they had me outnumbered. ;-)

Yesterday was spent mud-plugging on my mountain bike down at Kirroughtree. Slippery conditions and a new bike meant that I wasn't overly adventurous on the tricky bits. Perhaps just a sign of getting older. Got another day out planned today at Glentress on my bike. Here's hoping all this cross-training does me some good.

Post Loch Ness

I must admit to feeling a bit depressed the other day after my poor showing at Loch Ness. It rather took the shine off of what should have been a great weekend. However, it's no good dwelling on "what ifs" when what I should be doing is working out what went wrong.

In essence, the old adage "If you fail to prepare, prepare to fail" pretty well sums it up. Racing a marathon is never easy and I was probably guilty of approaching this one a little too casually. I only entered 5 weeks before the race and although I had a few long runs under my belt, the training in terms of quality and quantity wasn't there.

I think also if I had spent more time studying the course profile (which I didn't map until after the race) I might have been better prepared. I had always assumed that the course leveled out after about 4 miles when in actual fact it doesn't level out until 8 miles, the point at which I felt I was struggling. With hindsight I probably mentally "threw in the towel" when I felt the running becoming harder which wasn't just due to tiredness but also down to the fact that the course levels out at that point.



Such was my mood yesterday I almost considered not going along to the club last night. In the end I did go and ended up being so glad that I did. No one could quite summon up the enthusiasm for running last week's cancelled 5K so we did our usual "hills" session (which consists of a series of short sprints over all the short hills & bridges in Troon). I rather suspect that speed work two days after a marathon isn't to be recommended and I went out full of good intentions just to jog round with the back-markers. That resolve lasted all the way to the top of the first of ten hills. ;-) After that, I was sprinting up all the rest and absolutely loving it. I almost feel sorry for non-runners who can't know the sheer joy of getting up on to your toes and hoofing it to the top of a hill whilst racing your club-mates. One of the greatest feelings in the world.

Of course all this competitiveness is probably why I keep injuring myself but last nights session was great therapy and I feel good about my running again. Last night was also my first run in a long time without my orthotics that I had made for my plantar fasciitis. The PF has given me no trouble whatsoever for several weeks now and my foot was absolutely fine during (and after) the marathon so , touch wood, I'm fully recovered. Of course I probably should carry on using the orthotics for a few months yet but I didn't like the way that they forcibly reminded me every time I put my shoes on that I was an "injured runner". I'll take extra care to watch for any signs of recurrence but the psychological benefits of casting them off outweigh the physical risks for me at the moment.

Loch Ness - No fool like an old fool...

I came, I saw, I c*cked up. ;-)

Conditions couldn't have been better for the marathon yesterday, sunny but deliciously cool to start with, then overcast and then sunny again but never even slightly uncomfortably warm and no wind to speak of.

The first few miles felt ever so easy despite the hills that I forget about every time. Where I went wrong was in not sticking to my stated goal (3:30) and instead chasing a fantasy gaol of 3:20-3:25 based on nothing more than "feeling pretty good at the start". The lack of decently paced long runs and pre-marathon race experience really began to show around the 8 mile mark when I started to struggle way earlier than expected. I think I hit the halfway mark around 1:42 but I was going backwards fast and when I eventually hit the big hills after Dores, I pretty much lost the will to live, or to run at least. From then on it was a case of walking the hills and jogging the rest to the finish line which I crawled over in 3:41:56. Of course, despite my lousy race, I couldn't resist out-sprinting a fellow runner for the finish and flew over the line, and then threw up!

So, all in all, not one of my better performances. Still, as ever, the organisation was great (although I think runner numbers have been allowed to creep up faster than portaloo provision) and whilst yesterday I was thinking "never again", I'm already thinking "Next time I'll do it properly!".

Time for a rant though.

Most races ban the use of MP3 players for safety reasons. How serious these risks are I wouldn't like to say but I lost count of the number of times yesterday when I was about to offer a word of support, encouragement, comisseration etc. only to find that the runner was shut off from the outside world behind a pair of headphones. It really annoys me that people come to a mass participation event like the marathon and then deliberately choose to be antisocial. What people do when they're training is entirely up to them but I really dislike the way that folk seem to feel it's okay to opt out of interacting with their fellow runners in an event like this.

I really would like race organiser to take a stand on this blight before it gets any worse or at least make their position clear so that I can choose not to run their event if they're going to allow them.

I think that's enough from the grumpy old man. ;-)

A letter to Fergie

First of all, to anyone who stumbled into here looking for a running blog, I apologise. Events have rather overtaken me and I know I'm running away off at a tangent.

Today, I found myself thinking about what I wanted to say to Fergie (assuming he could hear me). I'm still trying to come to terms with his premature demise and putting my thoughts down on paper (or blog at least) seemed to crystalise some of the thoughts running round in my head at the moment. I think it's been a therapeutic exercise for me. If you knew Fergie, maybe it'll help you too.

Fergie,

I don't know if they have the internet where you are, but working on the assumption that you can have whatever you like where you've gone, I'm going to guess that you've got a decent broadband connection. If you've only got dial-up or worse still, AOL, I fear you may have gone to the "other place" (and I don't mean Parkhead) .

You're probably wondering why I'm writing to you when we didn't really know each other that well, what with me living in Ayr, you in Troon and me not being a football fan. Well, after all the messages that have been left for you, I wish I had known you a lot better so this is a kind of "better late than never" letter.

You left us in a bit of a rush, no doubt as big a surprise to you as it was to us. I know you're thinking "But I'm not ready!" but then, neither were we. You gave us a hell of a shock going off like that and we're all struggling to come to terms with the fact that you're not here. When you do it like that it's hard to find any comforting thoughts to cheer ourselves with but having got over the initial shock, I'm beginning to think that there are worse things than leaving us the way you did.

For a start, I don't think old age is all it's cracked up to be (although you have to smile at George Burns's famous riposte "It's better than the alternative"). You'll never have to suffer the indignity of cancer, heart disease or alzheimers. Never have to be helped with the most basic of human functions, never have to worry about losing that fine figure of yours.

Yes, you were certainly short-changed in terms of years but years are a poor measure of a life. It's not the years you put into your life that count, it's the life that you put into your years and I think you put in plenty. I sometimes think that the most important thing we can do between the cradle and the grave is to bring happiness to others and all these messages prove that you did this time after time after time.

So yes, we will grieve for you, we will miss you, but most of all, I hope we'll remember how much happiness you brought to so many.

Wherever you are, take care.

Tim

Apologies, condolences & marathon preparation

It occured to me that I was being more than a bit unfair questioning the sincerity of spectators at big city marathons. Who am I to pass judgement on the motives of all those people who turn out to cheer on the runners? All I know is that I appreciate the folk who turn out for the Loch Ness marathon more than the ones who turn out for London. Perhaps it's a sign of my age but I find loud noise very wearing and the cheering in London is positively exhausting! Anyway, if you've ever been a spectator in London and felt slighted by my comment yesterday, my apologies!

Messages of condolence continue to come in thick and fast for Fergie (over 50 messages since I set it up late Monday night and read nearly 2000 times) and it brings me (and I'm sure others) some comfort to know how well regarded & loved he was by so many people. I'll take along a printout of all the messages of condolence to the club tonight for the members who don't have (or don't use) internet access.

It's now only 3 days to go until Loch Ness and I'm going to have a last easy run with the club tonight. After that, it's in the lap of the gods!

Life goes on...

...and no sooner does it do so, it brings feelings of guilt. It seems that we either grieve or feel guilty about not grieving enough. I suppose it's inevitable that those of us who weren't close friends or family should move on with our lives but that doesn't stop me feeling that there's something wrong with moving on so soon.

I am pleased though that as the club's webmaster, I think I've helped other folk a little bit by setting up a specific message board for messages of condolence. (You can visit it here) It's clear that people want to talk about Fergie and the board has given people an outlet. There have been nearly thirty messages since I set it up late Monday night so clearly it's fulfilling a need.

Last night at the club we heard a little more about the accident and held a minute's silence in the gym hall where we meet. Our customary 5K time trial was also abandoned to allow folk the chance to just jog and talk, something we all needed to do. Apparently a minute's silence was also held in France before the start of the race that the club members had gone over to participate in. By all accounts, the French hosts couldn't have been more supportive and helpful.

Still, as I said, life goes on and I'm looking forward to my trip to Inverness this weekend for the Loch Ness marathon. It's a great event, superbly organised and so unlike big city marathons like London. Some runners seem to revel in the crowds and noise of big city events but I've never seen the attraction myself. I've only run London once and felt quite exhausted from the noise long before I got anywhere near the end. At Loch Ness supporters are few and far between but somehow their gesture in turning out to support runners seems so much more sincere.

Also going to Loch Ness are a number of WHW runners and with luck, I'll catch up with a few, socially if not in the race. ;-)

Trying to make sense of it all

It's been a day of turbulent thoughts, trying to make sense of the senseless, find reasons for the unreasonable and each time, coming back to the conclusion that there is no sense, no reason, nothing to rage against. Life just isn't fair. Sh*t happens.

Fergie, my clubmate, was only a couple of months older than me and consequently I identify with his death more closely than I might otherwise. The only consoling thought that I can draw from his sudden death is that whilst I doubt that he was ready to die (is anyone?), there are worse ways to go. This thought will provide little comfort for his wife and family though and I wish I could think of the words that would make sense of it, make it all better, but I just can't find them, probably because they just don't exist.

Regarding yesterday's weird attack of nocturnal cramp and muscle tear, rest and elevation wasn't going to be on the cards for family reasons but I applied some tubigrip and iced it three or four times through the day and by the afternoon, the pain had completely vanished which rather begs the question "was it ever a tear?". All I know is that it was darned painful and I was limping with it until midday.

Anyhow, I decided to go out for a gentle jog this evening and ended up doing a quickish 9 miles with nary a niggle. Not a good idea I'm sure but sometimes running seems to be the best therapy for both physical and spiritual problems.

Just when you're feeling sorry for yourself...

...something happens that completely changes your perspective.

When you take on the job of webmaster for your running club the one thing you really don't expect to have to do is to announce the sudden accidental death of a clubmate but that it exactly what's happened today.

Tragically one of my clubmates on a visit to Troon's twinned town of Villeneuve-sur-Lot slipped on some stairs and suffered a fatal head injury. It's hard to come to terms with the fact that someone I was chatting to in the street on Monday isn't coming back to the club, his wife or his family all due to the randomness of an accidental slip. Suddenly my concerns about my calf, my training, my time in Inverness, seem massively inconsequential. And yet, despite it all, no matter how awful I feel for his wife and family, I know that in a week's time I *will* be worrying about my time. I can only hope that my clubmate, wherever he is now, will, as a runner, understand the obsession that drives all runners to challenge themselves and to push the boundaries. I shall be thinking of him during my run and if possible, running a PB in his memory.

B*gger!

There I was, lying in bed last night where I was assailed by an attack of cramp in my right calf. As the muscle went into spasm I felt a tearing "pop" of muscle fibres being torn asunder.

I suppose yesterday's run (and a lingering cold) must have had something to do with it but I can hand on heart say that yesterday's run was easy and there wasn't a hint of any calf problem during or after.

Darned annoying!

Chicken, egg. Egg, chicken

As I probably mentioned, I had a rather cr*p run last Saturday. Part of me would like to believe that I was "brewing" something before my run which led to my poor run but another part would rather believe that the exertion of my run (and the previous week's training) was what led me to develop the streaming nose that I've had most of this week.

The problem with theory A is that I had no symptoms or signs of anything brewing and if something *was* brewing, I certainly wasn't aware of anything before our run. The problem with theory B is that it means admitting that I wasn't as fit as Ithought I was before our run. Consequently I'm not too keen to accept either theory.

The good news is that my cold is much better now and I went out on my jaunt around Auchincruive today, my 6.22 mile trail run that I've been using for tempo runs. Concious that I'd done very little running this week I set off at a nice easy pace and just pushed gently on the hills, anxious not to do naything that might provoke any sort of relapse. Either my mind is wandering more than usual or the hills are getting flatter but by the time I'd finished without feeling I'd pushed myself that hard, I had knocked another 34 seconds off my PB for this circuit. Just goes to show what you can do after a few days rest!

Anyway, feeling a bit more optimistic about Loch Ness. Still be happy with a 3:30 but part of me feels that I might surprise myself. Having said that, with no race results lately to actually measure my progress with, any estimate is a bit of a "shot in the dark". Whatever happens, it'll be good to get together with a few WHW'ers and clubmates.

I suppose like most runners I'm rather obsessed with "times" but family events recently have reminded me lately that people are far more important. Really looking forward to a planned training run on the WHW in November with a number of other WHW runners.

My name is Tim and I am a shoeoholic

I was struggling to close my wardrobe door the other day and noted that there seemed to be an awful lot of running shoes lurking in the darkness. A quick rummage turned up this lot.



I'm sure I'm not alone in hoarding the odd old pair of shoes "just in case". Personally, I blame the WHW race. You just never know how many times you might appreciated a change of shoes during the race so old pairs get kept that otherwise would have been binned. Still, I need the space and I think I'd better get rid of some just to improve the air quality in my wardrobe if nothing else! ;-)

Nose continues to stream (worse today). Went out far a very little jog last night (3.5 miles) just to keep the legs ticking over. Fingers crossed this cold doesn't linger too long.

Taperitis

Taperitis: noun illness induced by the sudden reduction in training load.

Okay, I know it's a load of cobblers. It's much more likely that it's got something to do with maximal training just before the taper weakening the immune system but still, that's what it seems like. Nary a cough or a sniffle over the last six months and the moment I take a couple of days off, my nose starts streaming , I'm sneezing everywhere and my right achilles decides to niggle for no reason at all. :-(

Still, in the big scheme of things it's hardly a disaster. I should be thankful I've not got Foot and Mouth or Blue Tongue!

Taking risks

Andy's comment on my last message got me thinking about running and risk-taking. I think I am probably less "risk averse" than many folk. Whilst I know that wearing a lightweight shoe for a marathon carries an increased risk of injury, I also know that I will get a lot more pleasure out of the race by running in them.

What I don't think anyone can quantify in any meaningful way for any runner in general and me in particular is how great that risk is. I'm not a great beliver in "conventional wisdom", not because I think I'm smarter or "better" in any way, but more because I have more faith in the idea that we are all "an experiment of one". By that I mean that the only way to find out what works for you (and what doesn't work) is to try it. Maybe I'll get injured but with 9 months still to go until the WHW race I think the risk is small and acceptable.

I'll just have to wait and see!

I am such a heel...

Just one day, yep, ONE day into my taper and I hate all other runners. Okay, maybe hate is a little strong. More "resent" than hate. Why? Because they're running and I'm not.

When I'm out running, all other runners are my brothers (or sisters) who share my pain, share my pleasure. The moment I stop running though, I'm instantly resentful of the fact that they're working to build their fitness whilst I'm not running. It doesn't matter if I've just come back from a 20 miler, I still feel like they're gaining an "edge" over me by training while I'm resting. I appreciate that this flies in the face of everything I said about rest being an important part of training yesterday but this is what I feel, not what I think. See? I told you I was a heel. ;-)

Being serious for a moment, I suppose this all stems from the fact that we all, as runners, have spent a lot of time fighting the inertia that kept us from running for years and now find it hard to equate "not running" as an actively beneficial process. My head knows it's true but my heart takes some convincing.

On a more positive note, yesterday's run hasn't left me with any significant physical after effects, just a touch of residual humiliation. I've been cheering myself up by thinking about running in my new Nike Vaporflys. They are just so light and so comfy. Every runner should have a pair of lightweight shoes just to enjoy the wonderful sense of liberation that they give you.

I went to the well...

...and the bucket came out dry.

Today should have been a dream run. Good company (Mark "Fat boy" Hamilton[1] & David McLelland, my partner in crime for my shortest day WHW run), perfect weather and fine scenery along the River Ayr Way. Reality has a way of kicking you in the teeth occasionally however and with hindsight, I should perhaps have seen today's problem coming.

I've had a week of good/hard runs and was riding a wave of overconfidence. Anything seemed possible. Today however, my legs reminded me that I'm only human and that rest is an important part of training.

I'd set off from Glenbuck, planning to enjoy an easy run down to Sorn, a distance of 17 miles. The first hour went easily but after that I struggled to maintain the pace and by the time I'd been running for two hours, I was really feeling like I'd hit the wall. I had some gels with me and had been consuming them hourly and whilst they'd helped, they didn't make a big impression on the "running on empty" feeling. There wasn't a lot I could do other than to slow down and plod along at my own pace.

Whilst my training hasn't been that tough in absolute terms, I think Tuesday's speedwork and Thursday's tempo run had taken more out of my legs that I had realised. Lack of a decently calorie-laden breakfast may also have been a factor. The problem is that I really have no feel for how my legs are before a run. I need a meter that I can strap to my legs with a "Cream crackered" to "Fresh" scale on it. Failing that I guess I just have to learn from experience like every other runner but I don't hold out too much hope for that. ;-)

Still, it's another 17 miles under my belt and my last long run before Loch Ness. I'm sure by the time that rolls round my legs will be feeling fresher. Post run we retired to the Failford Inn for some well deserved beer (they brew their own) and a spot of nonsense talking. What better way to finish a run?

[1] It's only fair to add that "Fat boy" is a singularly inappropriate moniker now. Since his return from Spain, Mark is now one lean, mean, running machine and beating him in next year's WHW race isn't going to be the walkover I was hoping for. Still gonna beat him though. ;-)

Running fast and injury free...

... is the title of Gordon Pirie's excellent little book (which can be downloaded here) but it's a skill that's rather passed me by. ;-)


It's not due to any failing in the advice that Gordon gives but due to my ability to resist anything except temptation. I just can't help pushing the envelope at times to see just how hard I can push. I think some of this stems from coming to running late in life and trying to make up for a misspent youth. Another factor is that for one reason or another, I've been blessed with pretty good health all my life and now probably have a misplaced sense of invulnerability. Consequently, I still feel that I can get away with things (in terms of training) that I shouldn't sensibly attempt. One day maybe I'll learn to act my age. ;-)

Having said all that, today I'm having a rest day. I enjoyed a great tempo run yesterday around Auchincruive estate which is one of my current favourite running spots. It's nearly all trails and has some good lungbusting hills as you can see from the profile. It's just over 10K (as measured off the map) but the hills and conditions underfoot mean that I'll never get anywhere near my road times (current best lap time 52:12) but every time I run it, the hills get that little bit flatter. The downstream side follows the River Ayr Way, a long distance footpath from source to sea that I recently ran (40 miles) with some of my clubmates.







All being well, I plan to run 17 miles of it tomorrow, probably from Glenbuck (the source of the river Ayr) to Sorn. It's not the prettiest stretch of the river Ayr Way by any stretch of the imagination but it is rich in post-industrial heritage and worth doing for "completeness" if no other reason. After that I'll be tapering for the Loch Ness marathon.

To blog or not to blog, that is the question.

I've been wavering for ages over whether to start a blog or not and finally decided to take the plunge. Not just as a training log or diary but as a place to put my thoughts in order about what I feel about my running. Rarely do I finish a run without wishing that I had some device to capture the experience of that run. Not just the images, not just my thoughts but the whole experience of pushing my body to do something amazing, namely carrying me further and faster than I ever thought possible most of my adult life.

So, ready or not, here's my blog!

A little background

I started running to lose weight about 15 years ago now. Like most beginners, I assumed that all I needed to do was to head out of my front door and "run fast". I mean, we all know how to do that don't we? Well, I lived on a hill at the time and getting to the bottom of the hill didn't present too many problems. It was after that that the problems began! Suffice it to say, I probably made all the new runner mistakes. I got injured, overdid it, got discouraged, gave up for several years and repeated that whole cycle again. It wasn't until I scraped my way up to 2:15 1/2 marathon fitness in 2001 that I began to think for the first time in my life that the marathon might just be conceivable.

Fortunately, I was encouraged to try running with Troon Tortoises athletic club and I quickly realised that this was going to be an enormous help with my training for my first marathon (Dublin 2002). In many ways, I still regard that first marathon as one of my greatest running achievements. About 11 months after joining the club at the age of 45, I completed the Dublin marathon in 3:32:00. I've run further and a bit faster since then but it's still the marathon memory I cherish most.

It was in Troon where I met Ian Beattie, a strangely normal sort of person for someone who made a habit of running 95 mile races. (He'll probably resent that description but it's meant as a compliment). He didn't have two heads or a Kenyan physique and to all intents and purposes, looked "normal". I came to realise that the only thing stopping me running ultra distance events was the same thing that had stopped me from attempting a marathon for so much of my adult life, namely, my own expectations. Once I stopped thinking "I couldn't possibly do that" and moved on to "Why couldn't I do that?" a whole new chapter of my running life was opened.

I've had my ups and downs with running injuries since then but I ran my first West Highland Way race in 2005. Not as well as I'd hoped but still a fantastic experience. You can read about that race here. In 2006 I sustained a stress frature of a metatarsal in training and had to pull out the race that year. I was bitterly disappointed by that as my training had been going well up until that point. To make up for that disappointment, I chose to run the WHW on the shortest day of the year instead and successfully completed that run with the help of David McLelland. That report can be read here.

2007 turned out to be the "year of plantar fasciitis" and yet again I was forced to pull out of running the WHW race. Instead I opted to help with marshalling for the race which was a fantastic experience that I'll never forget.

Fortunately after some draconian treatment my PF is now just a memory and I'm back to full time running and currently training for the Loch Ness marathon in just over two weeks time. This will be the third time I've run it and as before, I expect to be around the 3:30 mark.

That's far more background than I'd intended so I think I'd better stop there!