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!