Maybe Popeye was right?

...and spinach really is good for you.



I have a regular hill run route that wends its way through fields. It's about 65% cross country, the rest being on tarmac. My garmin reckons it has about 260 metres of climbing and it certainly makes me work running all the way to the top of the hill. I ran this yesterday, admittedly not pushing it and just putting in the miles and was quite happy to have completed it at an average of 10:01 minutes per mile considering the nature of the course.

I wouldn't normally consider doing it two days in a row but my legs felt eager to give it another go today and since the sun was shining, it felt rude not to let them go. My legs do lie to me sometimes so I don't always believe what they say. ;-)

Anyway, I just felt good from the outset today and I bounced along in the "pleasantly effortful" way that I used for my last WHW training run. Without really trying I found that I had run a new PB for the course and knocked 39 seconds a mile off my time.

Quite *why* things went so well today I'm not altogether sure (other than perhaps being a bit rested this week) but I can't help wondering whether the large helping of spanakopitta (spinach pie) that I ate last night didn't have something to do with it. ;-)

A weekend on the WHW (and "Where did 2011 go?")

Well I've been absent from the blogosphere for a long time now but I thought I'd try and resurrect it.

Last weekend I joined a gang of runners for a 2 day training run from Milngavie to Tyndrum with an overnight stop at the Inversnaid bunkhouse. My training has been going well this year and I've been working on my speed as well as my endurance but trying to actually cut back on my running mileage and doing more cycling.

I'd run the D33 two weeks previously (in an average sort of time) and had recovered really quickly from that so I was pretty happy that I was in good shape.



Here's the happy gang minus Lucy Downie who had sped off earlier in the morning from Inversnaid. (From left to right Antonia Johnson, Karl Zeiner, Carol Martin, Carolyn Rae, Andy Millard, Donald Sandeman, me, John Duncan and Lorna McMillan)

Despite feeling in good shape I was quite apprehensive when we set off from Milngavie as it seems a very long time since I've done this section. Anyhow, off we went and before long I found myself up at the front of the pack with Karl Zeiner who was great company. We chatted and the miles went by easily and I was a bit surprised to see that we'd reached Drymen in 1:58 relatively effortlessly. I won't bore you by using that word too often but that's really how much of my running felt over the weekend. If not effortless, "pleasantly effortful" would be a good way to describe it.

I was impatient to see the "devastation" of the forests beyond Drymen and whilst the tree-huggers might hate me for saying so, I think the tree felling is a huge improvement to the area. That forest road to the foot of Conic hill has always dragged (for me anyway) but now there are great views to the loch long before you reach Conic Hill and I found the miles passing quickly. Karl and I pulled away from the group a bit more on the ascent of Conic (to be honest, we didn't do a lot of looking back) and when we reached the top we were both seized by the desire to dash down the other side. My head was saying "Don't thrash you legs! Save something for tomorrow!" but my heart wasn't listening so we pelted down scattering trekkers in our wake.

We arrived at Balmaha 3 hours & 20 minutes after leaving Milngavie which was a bit of a problem as we'd arranged to meet my wife Muriel here to restock at 3:30 (elapsed time). Oops! We made use of the local shop to restock and then went back to the car park to await the arrival of the rest of the runners. We had a bit of a worrying time waiting for Carolyn Rae who had managed to get disorientated on the "forest" section and added an extra loop to her run. If you've run this section before but not since the storm it can be disorientating and I was beginning to think that we had missed a turning too when we ran it. Anyhow, she turned up safe and sound thankfully and we all set off again after half an hour or so.

The next section is one I always find hard and while I didn't find it easy, thanks to having adopted Karls eating frequency (every 25 minutes) I never had any of the deep troughs that usually have be questioning my sanity when I'm on this section. Karl skipped off into the distance but I found I could push on too (although not quite as fast!). I think I was about an hour and 25 to Rowadennan when I just stopped for water.

The forest roads out of Rowardennan are always a bit dull for me but it precedes my absolute favourite bit (for running) of the WHW which is the last few miles before Inversnaid when the forest road finishes and you're on to the undulating roller-coaster. My legs always get a new lease of life on this section and I galloped up and down the hills all the way to Inversnaid arriving just four minutes (and a pint of lager) behind Karl with an elapsed time of 6:13.


I wasn't just showing off for the camera, I really did feel that fresh and full of energy.

After wading thigh deep in the loch for a bit I was glad of a lift up the hill to the bunk house. It's a wee bit further than you think and it's pretty steep!

The bunk house turned out to be a great place for an unruly gang of runners to chill out and "rehydrate". ;-) Muriel and I paid for a nice room in the new annex whilst the rest roughed in in the bunk house. After far too much wine and beer, we retired to bed early whilst other carried on drinking in the outdoor hot tub. Wished I could have done that too but a comfy bed seemed more attractive at the time!

The next morning following breakfast we set off together, for about 5 yards. ;-) Somehow Karl and I ended up leading off again and once Karl had fully warmed up, he disappeared into the distance. My legs felt pretty good and on "fresh" legs, the post-Inversnaid section seemed much less daunting. In fact, I reckon there's probably not much more than a mile of it that's really bad but it weighs heavily on your mind if you're tired. I tried to repeat yesterday's plan of eating regularly loong before I got hungry, alternating sweet and savoury snacks which seemed to work for me the day before. I was quite pleased to arrive at Beinglas just an hour and 28 minutes after setting off (where Norry was waiting for the main pack. He'd run down from Tyndrum earlier on). I caught a glimpse of Karl briefly before Derrydarroch about 5 minutes ahead which inspired me to keep pushing on. I knew I wouldn't catch him but sometimes you have to kid yourself. ;-)

For the first time ever I remember thinking "it's not far now" when I reached Bogle Glen. I normal hate that section with a passion but I was really enjoying myself that day and I ran past a number of walkers who called out "Well done!" as if I was in a race. Again, when I reached the A82 crossing the section to Auchtertyre seemed shorted than I remembered it and I kept pushing on.

Before I'd left Inversnaid I'd given Muriel a "best case scenario estimate" of my time to Tyndrum of 4 hours and when I checked my watch I realised that I was actually going to be close. Well, "close" wasn't good enough so I picked up my pace again. Just after the lead mine by Tyndrum I managed to trip and fall straining my abdominal muscles which pretty much knocked the wind out of my sails but it wasn't far now. Now I was shuffling and generally looking the worse for wear but I arrived in Tyndrum a very happy man in 3:57 from Inversnaid.



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All in all I couldn't have been happier with the way my running had gone. My nutrition seemed spot on and I was really pleased with my Adidas Kanadia TR4 shoes which were grippy & really comfortable. For anyone interested they're cheap too! only £40 from more on-line retailers. I've ordered a second half-size bigger pair for the WHW. You don't have to have them in orange by the way, I think that's an older model.

My new back (North face enduro 13) pack also worked well. It could perhaps do with slightly bigger pockets on the belt for storage bit I love to bottle positioning and the general comfort.

All in all a great weekend away and confidence booster for the Fling and WHW race.


Regarding 2011 (for anyone who hasn't fallen asleep yet) well 2011 was a year of big but unrealised plans. I entered the UTMB back in December 2010 and chose not to enter the WHW race on the grounds that I really didn't think I could do both. Anyway, I didn't get through the ballot for the UTMB and got offered a place in the TDS which I accepted. Having done that, my old back trouble flared up and I really suffered on and off with sciatica for most of the year. This disrupted all my training to a greater or lesser degree and I decided that there was no way I wanted to start a race like the TDS unless I could do it justice so I withdrew from that.

Despite everything, I still managed to hobble my way round 5 ultra races last year. The Fling (in a new PW), the Clyde Stride (as a sweeper), the Devil O' the Highlands, The River Ayr Way and finally the Glen Ogle 33. I was glad to have done them all but I knew that I hadn't really run well in any of them.

Anyway, eventually my back improved, possibly helped by a new mattress and I began to feel like my old self. After a gentle December with little running I felt refreshed and raring to throw myself into things in 2012. I've now entered FAR too many ultras (D33 (done), Scottish Bike Show 100 mile cycle sportive, the Fling, the Scottish ultra, the Cateran trail, the WHW race and the Glenmore 24. Who know what else I might do if I don't fall apart first. ;-)