Stupid bl*&dy targets!

Like most runners I'm sure, I'm apt to set myself targets and then stick to them come what may. Today, I was really regretting that decision.

Dunno if anyone else has ventured out but it's wild here in south Ayrshire. I'd set myself a 200 mile target for February and was 12 miles short this morning. Nothing for it but to brave the elements! It was, without a doubt, one of the most unpleasant runs I've done in a long time. Running two miles along Ayr seafront into the teeth of the wind took me over 30 minutes. I swear it was nearer 40. The constant wind was bad enough (much worse than last weekend even) but the gusts meant that there were occasions when I only went up and down, not forward.

The irony of it all is that I had time yesterday but squandered it! Still, what doesn't kill us must make us stronger (I hope). ;-)

It's a funny old world...

I was running last month along with a group of other WHW runners. After the run and on the way back in the minibus I was chatting a bit with George Reid. You can see him in the picture on the right, a screen capture from John Ky's video.

Well I have to be honest and say that his face didn't ring any bells with me and it was George who realised that we'd met before and who dropped me a line to confirm that I was who he thought I was. When I last saw him, he looked more like the second picture on the right! (Taken by my brother circa 1977-78)

Of course chance dictates that people from your past pop up in all sorts of unexpected places but I wouldn't have anticipated anyone turning up in the WHW race.

If you're reading this George, I hope you'll forgive me posting this little slice of history. ;-) I dare say I've changed a bit too in the last 30 years.

Looking forward to getting together again and doing a bit of catching up.

Running scared

There's nothing like the fear of dying to make you feel more alive. Such was the intensity of the wind and rain today over the 30.6 miles that I ran from Tyndrum to Kingshouse & back to Bridge of Orchy, stopping running, or even walking, would have been a sure fire ticket to hypothermia.

I picked up Dave McLelland from his home before heading up to Tyndrum. It rained steadily all the way up, varying in intensity, but never drying up. We had planned to set off at 8:30 but having told Dave about my bacon sandwich for breafast, we couldn't leave until the Welly Boot opened. ;-) After Dave had scoffed his roll, we set off into the wind and rain which alternated between pellety lumps of rain and sheets of windblown low cloud, all equally wetting. The first climb out of Tyndrum always feels like hard work, being an uphill drag before your body has really accepted the idea that you really do mean to run 30 miles.

The dry feet lasted for about half a mile. After that, flippers might have been more appropriate footware. ;-) Nevertheless, we made good time and arrived in Bridge of Orchy after 61 minutes, which was a bit unfortunate really as we had a 17 minute wait for all the other runners to arrive, 17 minutes of getting progressively more chilled as we huddled under any cover we could find.

Ellen, Lorna & Mark were already there (having arrived early) and then Michelle & I think Steve arrived to complete the group. We set off and I tried to stick with the group but I was too cold to run too slowly and felt I had to push on just to rewarm. Shame really as I was looking forward to the social side of the run but I was running easily and and beginning to really enjoy the run, despite the atrocious conditions.

After Inveroran, Dave & Steve caught up with me but then Steve had to drop back as he was carrying a camelbac for Michelle. That left two of us out front making good time as we headed towards Kingshouse arriving there 2 hours and 8 minutes after leaving BoO. At Kingshouse we enjoyed a coffee & a bag of crisps and after about 5-6 minutes the rest of the group started to arrive. The coffee incidentally was the only thing I drank for the whole distance. I can't honestly say that I was thirsty at any point despite this. Perhaps I was absorbing the rain through my skin. It was certainly wet enough! ;-)

After 28 minutes, a dry shirt and a heavier waterproof, it was time to head back. We'd had the wind predominately on our back whilst heading west (although it contantly changed direction and force - at times blowing so hard it felt like we were being sandblasted instead of rained upon) but I knew the headwind on the way back would suck the heat from our bodies given half a chance.

The run back was tough. Whilst the run out had felt pretty easy, almost like freewheeling, the return was more akin to grinding up hills in low gears. Still, once again Dave and I soon lost sight of everyone. I'd like to say that I wasn't holding Dave back but in truth, he's such a strong runner. Fortunately for me, he's an incredibly patient guy who seems to not mind slowing down for others. Still, despite the weather, we managed 2:15 for the return trip, again well ahead of the pack. Our overall time (including stops) was 6:09. Minus stops, 5:32. Measured off Memory Map this comes out at 30.6 miles.

After the run, the plan was to get a lift back to Tyndrum with Mark or Ellen but we realised that they'd need to change before setting off (our dry clothes were back in Tyndrum) and we were cooling fast. I popped into the hotel to enquire about public transport (a long short but always worth asking). The train was going to be about 3 hours but the next bus was due in 18 minutes. Rather than wait getting colder, we decided to try hitchhiking back to Tyndrum. About four cars went by when a couple came out of the hotel and took pity on two drowned rats standing in the rain and offered to give us a lift back. Fortunately I had a black binbag in my rucksack so we were able to sit on this to save soaking the car seat. I'll always carry one now. ;-)

10 minutes later we were stripping off under the hot air hand dryers in the Welly Boot and enjoying more coffee and bacon sandwiches feeling like we'd survived some of the worst conditions we could possibly expect in June. All in all, a tough but good run.

No pictures alas, it was just way too wet to risk getting a phone or camera out.

No DOMS & mile reps

The delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that I had feared after Carnethy never materialised and I had a good run out on Monday evening whilst watching an absolutely glorious sunset.

Last night was our night for "mile repeats". I say "mile" as I don't think it's ever been accurately measured but that's less important that having a consistent distance loop to run. Last month I had a horrid run round the same circuit. I started slow and just kept getting slower. The following day I had to cut a training run short I was feeling so weak.

Yesterday though, I started reasonably quick (6:11), then ran my second lap at 6:07 and my third lap at 6:03. Now that was a much better session. Ideally I should probably do more reps but the enthusiasm wanes pretty darned quick, particularly when all your club mates have had enough too. Think I need to trade them in for a faster lot. ;-)

One thing that I'm never sure about is the relative benefits of long (say 4 minute) over short (say 90 sec to 2 minute) recoveries. Last night I was taking 4 minute recoveries which certainly helped me with repeating (and improving) my times) but in a race situation (well road race anyway), you don't get time off to recover so I'm never sure whether shorter recoveries would be better. Any opinions gratefully received.

Things are looking good for a long run this weekend (Tyndrum to Kingshouse and back to BoO). If it goes as well as my last run on the WHW I'll be pleased. My hydration & nutrition seemed to work out well on that occasions. My biggest worry is about stopping for too long in Kingshouse before returning. I actually found the last run more enjoyable because I stopped less. I fear the sunny frosty weather is over but as long as the company's good, it really doesn't matter what the weather's like.

Baaa... buzzz...

Nothing to do with running really except that the first one was taken during my evening run up the river Ayr last weekend. The sun had set but the sky was still glowing and the sheep were gently steaming in the field as the frost developed. Could have been a nice shot with a proper camera.






The second one was a rather surprising find in my loft. Had it been occupied, I would have been running - for cover. ;-)

Carnethy 5

Whilst John K et.al. were enjoying an easy 31 mile jog along the WHW I was doing some real running over 6 miles of the Pentland hills. ;-)

The Carnthy 5 is one of the classic scottish hill races, taking in five peaks in the Pentland hills. Superbly organised by the Carnethy hill running club, 500 runners are bussed out the the start line and then returned the the school for showers & lunch.

This was my third time running this race. First time in 2005 (1:13:11) and again in 2006 (1:17:18). This year wasn't a PB or a PW at 1:16:21. Looking back at my logs I can see that I was running about 30sec/5K faster at around the time I ran in 2005. In 2006 the course was much icier which I think accounted for much of my slowdown. This year, the ground was frozen in many places which I find very hard to cope with on the descents. Having good descending skills really does make a huge difference in this sort of race.

As to the actual race, I was rather dreading the waiting around in the field to get started, but the weather was kind to us (for February) and apart from a bit of a wind, we had blue skies and sunshine. Indecisive as ever, I couldn't decide whether to run in shorts or leggings and opted for leggings, a move I was regretting within the first 200 yrds. Not that leggings were really a problem, just that they were unnecessary as my legs really don't seem to feel the cold once on the move.

The race plan was to sprint to the first gate/stile where there's a bottle neck and then just hope to hold my position as best as I was able after that. As ever, feet were soaked almost from the outset in the bogs preceeding the gate and I managed to take a tumble (on to soft grass fortunately) by tripping over a rock sticking out of the ground. Still, I was almost immediately back on my feet and shortly thereafter, through the gate.

A race of this length with 500 runners means that getting past folk when you're going up hill is hard, it's jst so tempting to settle into the pace of those around you, even when you could go a bit faster. Consequently, I think I lost quite a bit of time in the early stages that I could only hope to make up on the flat bits. Every time we came to a downhill bit, I lost a lot of time (and position) due to my lack of downhill technique. In particular, I lost a lot of time and places coming down off West Kip and off Carnethy. My hill works on the roads hadn't done much to prepare me for running down rough hills although I think it has reduced the damage to my quads which feel fine today. Either they're going to hurt like b*ggery tomorrow or I wasn't going fast enough. ;-)

Anyhow, not too displeased with my time. Sub-75 would have been nicer and sub-70 a lot nicer but without better technique and doing a lot more hill racing, it's probably as much as I could have expected at the moment. Still, having dipped a toe back in the hill racing water, maybe I'll try my hand at a few more races, if only to stop Alex having it all his own way in the club hill running championship. ;-)

Today, I've been for an easy run along the cycle path again (my 6.9 mile route) and the legs feel fine. Looking forward to a run on the WHW next weekend with Mark & Ellen.

New look blog, hill reps and an easy run

Hope you all like the new look. The old one was very boring and it really put me off posting so I thought it was about time I made my blog look a bit "classier". Doesn't make the content any better but maybe I'll update it more frequently. ;-)

On Tuesday it was "hill reps" on Troon's tiddy hills over the railway line. The sprints aren't really long enough but you have to make do with what's on your doorstep and I enjoy blasting up the hills. I tend to wear my flats for these sessions as I just love the feel of the contact with the road and extra leg turnover speed it seems to give me. Having said that, my feet and ankles are complaining a bit today so maybe it's not sure a smart move at the moment.

Wednesday was a rest day as I very much don't want to overdo things before the Carnethy 5 this weekend. I have to say, I'm getting quite nervous about it. I'm not sure if it's the thought of being humilated by Alex (our club's resident mountain goat) or just the thought of shivering whilst standing round in a boggy field waiting for the start. I really don't like getting cold! (I'm such a wuss).

Today was another easy jog out to Craig Tara and then back along the beach to the Ayr India restaurant before wending my way home. About 8.25 miles at a nice easy pace.

New shoes

Well, my new Landreths arrived yesterday. I had forgotten that new shoes could be so white! heck if I'd had those on Sunday evening I don't think I would have needed a torch! ;-)

Anyway, I was itching to try them out and thought I'd take them for a gentle spin out the cycle path towards the beach. I was halfway along the cyclepath, heading towards Greenan Castle when I remembered what a mudbath the farm road was. Not wanting to dirty my shoes *quite* yet, I diverted south to Craig Tara (aka Wonder West World, aka Butlins) to head down the tarmac road down the the shore. Unfortunately buiding work at Craig Tara had rendered the road almost as muddy as the farm track and the tide was so far in I was jogging through piles of rotting seaweed. No doubt this was some sort of divine punishment for my sin of pride. ;-)

In a way, I'm glad. I no longer have to agonise about keeping them clean. Way too late for that. ;-)

Off now to pick up a copy of Running Fitness. Rumour has it that I feature in their Loch Ness marathon report

A great run and a lesson learned

I planned my long run today to start from home and finish at the Failford Inn, a distance of 20.9 miles according to Memorymap.
I started at 3:00pm in sunshire and (relatively mild conditions) in shorts & a t-shirt. I'd decided just to take a bottle belt which doesn't leave room to carry too much so the gloves and headtorch stayed at home. I did take a small windy-up LED hand-held torch though as I knew it would be dark before I reached Failford.

It was great running weather but it cooled down quickly after 4 o'clock and my fingers really began to suffer. That wasn't too bad though until I got past Stair when I started to need my torch.

Charging the torch before I started would have been smart, trying to charge it by winding the handle with frozen hands, in the dark , whislt running isn't to be recommended. ;-)

Still, I made it to Failford, largely down to knowing the route well. I think anyone not familiar with that part of the route would have really struggled. Once there, after a swift pint of milk (very obliging folk the Failford Inn staff) and a change of clothes, it was time to enjoy some real ale and pub grub. A perfect way to end a long run. ;-)

Pacewise, I felt strong throughout which was nice and finished in 3:15 (about 9:20 pace) which given the terrain and darkness, I more than happy with.

Weirdest find whilst out running?

I was out running today along a quiet, narrow country lane over the Carrick Hills when I spotted these in the ditch by the side of the road. At first I assummed that they must be bent or damaged in some way but as you can see, they're in prefect conditions.

The mind boggles as to why they were there. Anyone got any suggestions? Before you ask, no, there wasn't and unconcious (or dead)body nearby ;-)

Being a bit of a packrat, I'm keeping them until I decide what to do with them. Naturally I want to keep them "just in case", but in case of what, I don't know yet. ;-)

Forgive me for I have sinned

Today, for the first time ever, I ordered my first ever pair of running shoes on-line.

Okay, I know that for many runners that's no big deal but I've always been a firm believer in supporting specialist running stores. The only specialists within easy reach for me are Achilles Heel and Greaves, both in Glasgow. I've always felt (and still do) that if we aren't prepared to pay a bit over the odds for shoes (that subsidise the service that specialist stores provide) we've only ourselves to blame when they shut up shop and we lose a valuable resourse.

So why have I gone against my pronciples this time. Well.... (wishy washy justification coming up), firstly, like a lot of more experienced runners, these days I'm not so wowed by having the latest version of a shoe. I'm also less inclined to experiment. If a shoe works for me, I'll stick with it. Consequently, I'm not really interested in any of the "extra" services offered by the shop.

Secondly, the shoe I want (the Asics gel Landreth) is, I feel, a good "cooking" running shoe. It fits my foot well and is nice an comfy. It does have two faults though. Namely, the price and its durability. Every pair of Landreths I've owned have headed into the bin because the upper starts tearing away from the sole near my little toe which is long before there is significant (visible) wear in the rest of the shoe.

I'm still getting 4-500 miles out of them but it annoys me, particularly when they cost the between £70 & £80 quid in the shops. On-line, I can get them for £39.99 (+£3 p&p). That's a big saving and one I find hard to ignore.

Do I feel guilty? Yep. Will it keep me awake at night? Probably not. What'll probably happen is that I'll feel duty bound to buy something hideously overpriced from Achilles heel in the next month or so to assuage my guilt. ;-)

Strange yellow thing spotted in the sky...

I saw something today I haven't seen in ages. My shadow! I really can't remember the last time the sun tried to put on a decent show but this afternoon suddenly felt like spring.
I had intended only doing a gentle 5 or so miles after yesterday's 5K but it seemed way too nice to turn back for home so I kept adding bits on until I'd done about 8.3 miles. Golly it felt good!

It's good to be back...

...under 20 minutes for 5K again. I've missed it badly and it's 15 months since I last managed it.

Tonight was a perfect night for it. Cool (needless to say really) but more importantly, nearly windless. I was determined to give it my best shot tonight so I wore my Vapourflys, my lightweight racing shoes.

Looking at my splits, I overcooked the first km a bit with a 3:49. Next one was a more reasonable 3:57 and the third km was completed in rather poor 4:09. (Clearly paying the penalty for setting off too fast). The fourth km was a 4:04 but by now I was beginning to hear the sound of approaching footsteps behind me. Charlie caught me at the 4km mark but rather than pass me, he hung on to my back. I really didn't feel like I had anything left to fend him off with but it seemed he didn't have quite enough left to pass me with. As we got to the last 400m, I pushed as hard as I dared and just sqeaked in under 20 minutes with a 19:59. (3:59 split)

Only just under 20 but it's enough to make me a happy man tonight. ;-)

A run in the snow

May be nothing special for a lot of runners, but here in Ayrshire, it's a pretty rare event. ;-)

My legs seemed fine after my run down the Carrick hills (possibly helped by the fact that I couldn't run flat out due to the hailstones) but I rested on Friday before enjoying a run down the River Ayr Way from Failford again. Probably as well that I had rested as my legs were a bit tired (though not hurting). We started the run in gently sleety snow/hail but that soon stopped and the weather was fine for the rest of the run. Rather disappointingly, the snow disappeared as we ran downstream until there was nothing visible by the time we reached Annbank.

On Sunday I finished the week off with an easy 6 miler taking my weekly mileage to 49 miles. Not a humungous amount, but a satisfying number to have clocked up nonetheless.

By eck it's windy!

Probably went out for my windiest run ever today. I was keen to repeat my run up the Carrick hills today and wasn't going to be put off by horizontal bullets in the form of hailstones. ;-)

It wasn't too bad when I started but by the time I was halfway up the hill I was very glad of all my protective gear (hat, gloves, long sleeve wind proof top, tracksters & lightweight waterproof). A lot more than I've worn in a very long time I wouldn't have been without a single item.

The hails was flying horizontally and the wind was so strong I was struggling to stay on the tarmac. The final ascent head on into the wind had to be done with my head lowered so far I could only see my feet. On a couple of short stretchs I was forced to walk, it was just too tough.

The run down with the wind howling at my back brought its own problems as the road was covered in a thin layer of slushy hailstones and it was hard not to slip. Still, once off the steepest part, it was more or less plain sailing. My quads seemed absolutely fine (no hangover from Saturday's run) but I'm willing to bet they'll be protesting by tomorrow. ;-)

Fame, of a sort...

It's not every day that you find your phizog splashed across a race application form. Must make enquiries about royalties. ;-)

Another week. Bad start, great finish.

Today I enjoyed a great 30 mile run along the WHW from Drymen to Beinglas farm. The forcast had been bad but the weather (until the last few miles) was to bad at all. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My running weeks started with a failed attempt at a hill run. I'd been helping one of the buidersmove a picinic table in the morning and put my back out. It wasn't *that bd and I was hpeful that it would affect my running too much so I attempted my hill run. I'd barely jogged 10 feet though before I realised that it was a "no-go" situation. Shoooting pains down my legs etc. so that run had to be aborted.

By Tuesday, my back seemed a lot better so I went along to the club to do the session of mile repeats. Seemed to start well but by half I mile I realised that I was going too fast to hope to repeat the same time on my second rep so I eased off a bit. My finishing time was a disappointing 6:17 though and every repeat (just three) got progressively worse. Something clearly wasn't right with me but I thought I'd attempt a easy run the next day to see how that went.

That too turned bad. Within a mile I knew wasn't going to omplete my expected distance (7 miles) and cut is short as soon as practical to about 4 miles. With a 30 mile run planned for the weekend things weren't looking too hopeful!

I rested on thursday and Friday and then consumed far too much red with on Friday night. Feeling decided less than brilliant this morning, I forced down a bowl of cereal and followed that up with some left over chicken curry & rice with peas. Perhaps not a conventional breakfast but I've learned the hard way that you really can't skimp on breakfast if you're planning on a long run.

Met up with JK and another 11 WHWers in the carprk in Drymen. As ever, good to see familiar faces again and at about 9:20, we set off. 200yds up the road I remembered that I'd fogotten to lock my car! After a hasty jog back I spent the next 20 minutes trying to catch up again. Teach me for being so stoopid! ;-)

Not having any ambitions to push the pace I was very happy to bring up the rear with Ellen Thomson and we enjoyed the easy pace. Conic hill was rather breezy and I had to put on my waterproof for a while. The descent of Conic hill was as treacherous and slippery as you'd expect but we made it down safely, catchin Debbie & her support runner Shona on the way down. We then ran together to Rowardennan where we were a bit surprised to find all the rest of the crew having a picnic. Not that we were complainng, it gave us a chance to catch up with the main group. We only stopped to top up our water and I downed my second Mars bar of the day (having eaten my first at Balmaha). Suitably recharged, I found that the easy early pace meant that I could pick up my speed a bit. This proved to be the case for the whole of the rest of the run and I seemd to get faster and faster as the miles passed by. I reached Inversnaid at 2:10. This was quite a shock for me as I felt like I had only been running for about three hours. I paused to take a picture of the river there that was in spate.

JK, IanB, George, Marco & IanK were having another picnic but as I was feeling so good, I decided not to make it too easy for them to catch me so I pressed on, running up many of the hills and generally just loving it.

The solitude, the views & the fine rain falling created a lovely peacefull atmosphere. On top of this I felt like I had bags of energy to finish the run with after my last Mars bar at Inversnaid.

The high water level in Loch Lomond created several challenges, this being one of the wetter ones. ;-)

We'd all long ago given up trying to keep feet dry so it was no hardship just to wade through but by glooy the water was cold! Felt like snow melt!

JK and Marco caught be after about 55 minutes and IanB caught me after about an 1 and a quarter. While I was leading though it felt great to be ahead of JK, even if it wasn't for too long! After running with IanB for a while he made the tactical blunder of stopping for water. After that I'm afraid I legged it, galloping the rest of the way to Beinglas farm.

After a brief photo session with JK, four of us headed off to the Drovers from some well earned fod and drink. They must be used to odd knackered people there as the barman didn't turn a hair at being asked for a pint of milk & a pint of Deuchers. I always crave milk after a long run and I think it helps my recovery. The beer and Aberdeen Angus burger were much appreciated too though. ;-)

All in all, a very pleasing run. My best on so far this season. I think the easy start helped me enormously to finish strong. A couple of days rest no doubt helped too as did the three Mars bars I scoffed. Full marks to JK for organising the transport and enabling us to do a one-way run which is so much more fun than turning back half-way.

Sadly I think I may have to miss the next group run if it's on the 16th of Feb as provisionally planned as I doing the Carnethy 5 an that day

Where was I?...

I finished my last blog full of hope and ambitions to run my hill route twice weekly. We'll like so many of my plans, not too well thought out. ;-)

Of course, just running up and down twice a week shouldn't really present any real problems but the way I ran down last Tuesday made my legs ache in all sorts of interesting places and I found I couldn't really participate in last week's "hills" session with the club in Troon. My muscles were just aching too much and it was immediately obvious that it would have been senseless to persist in pushing myself. Consequently I took Wednesday off and did an easy 6 miler on Thursday.

Friday was a "rest" day, at least insofar as I didn't run. In real life though it was anything but. We're having an extension built out the back of our house and everything out there had to be moved. In addition, the gas tumble air dryer "needed" to be replumbed to work in the garage. I say "needed" because I'm too pig-headed to go out and buy a cheap electric dryer to tide us over when I've got a perfectly good dryer already and I wasn't going to let the lack of a gas connection in the garage get in my way. ;-)

On Saturday morning I said goodbye to our old conservatory which I had "Freecycled". For those not familiar with the Freecycle movement, have a look at this & the local group here. I'm actually the creator and one of the moderators of the local group. It's a great way of disposing of stuff that too good for landfill but you're not interested in selling.

After the conservatory had gone I met up with three other club members for a repeat run down the River Ayr from Failford. This time the pace was more relaxed (which suited me very nicely after the previous day's exertions) but whilst it certainly wasn't icy, it was a bit windier and wetter than last week. As ever, the last 5 miles drag a bit but it was good to do it again.

On Sunday I repeated my easy 6 miler just to try and get my miles up. For the WHW good speed is nice but "miles on legs" is important to build up the necessary "toughness". Only just over 40 miles this last week but I'm happy with that. Come February, I'll be aiming for 50 miles a week, perhaps with alternating long & short weeks.

Carrick Hill route

For anyone interested, here's the route I run up & down the Carrick hills. It's almost exactly 4 miles from bottom to top with no flat bits.

Run up the Carrick hill again

Last Thursday I ran up the Carrick hill from Minishant for the first time in nearly 3 years. Well, the prospect of doing embarrassingly badly in the Carnethy5 race has impelled me to try and run up here twice a week so I went out again this afternoon for another crack at the hill.

What a difference! Of course a lot is to do with familiarity but last Thursday it was a horrible grind up and not much faster down. This time I wasn't that much quicker up but it felt a lot easier. Intentionally I wanted to concentrate on my downhill technique and I was over 4 minutes faster (over 4 miles) coming down than last week and really enjoyed it. It would be great if I could keep improving at this rate but I know I'm just enjoying early easy gains. It's bound to get progressively harder to shave seconds off as I get better.

Still, I'm feeling a bit less trepidation about the hill race and it's given me a psychological boost.

Just as an aside, my right ankle has been aching badly first thing in the morning for a couple of months now. Until I put shoes on in the morning, I could barely weightbear on it. Since my training mileage has increased, it's got better! I had almost resigned myself to the fact that I was "just getting old" and would have to live with it. A remarkable (and perplexing) thing the human body.

A training run on the RAW

On Saturday I did a 15 mile training run along the River Ayr Way (RAW) with a couple of club mates. This is relatively unusual for me, I usually do this run alone more through necessity than anything else so it was nice to have some company and someone to encourage me to push the pace a little bit, something I'm not very good at on my own.

Three of us set off from Failford with the cautionary words "Mind the path, it's awfa slippery" from a local lady. She wasn't lying either. Whilst the air temperature was above freezing it was clear that the ground temperature was lagging well behind and the footing was quite treacherous in bits. In addition, the storms of last Tuesday (our 5K night) had blown over quite a few trees across the path that we had to negotiate. Most of them were easy enough but one near Annbank was really quite awkward to get around. Fortunately, it doesn't block the official RAW, we were on the "unofficial" RAW at that point using a stretch of fishermans path.

It was interesting to see other runners approach to the hills on the route. I'm used to running every hill, making it a point of principal not to walk any of the slopes but one of my clubmates (a far stonger runner than me) was quite content to walk the hills and make up the time on the flat. That is what I would do for a longer run but I guess I probably have more endurance training under my belt just now and for me, attacking the hills feels right at the moment.

By far the worst stretch was the tarmac section (known locally as "Tomato Lane") which was covered in black ice. For much of it we had to run with one foot in the gutter & one foot on the verge. It was about the only way to get any grip. Even so we were nearly waltzing off the road into the hedges on more than one occasion.

Still, it all made for an interesting (and challenging) run that probably exercised more muscles than it would have had it not been icy and I was pleased with our overall pace which was definitely quicker than I would have run alone.

Looking forward to another run along there this weekend if possible.

Where's my brain gone?

I thought it had only been a year or so since I had last done my run up and down the Carrick hill. Just checked my training logs and it was March 2005! No wonder my legs seemed to have forgotten how to do it! I was also quite a bit quicker back then. :-(

Looks like I've got a bit of work to do before Carnethy!

Back to running (and blogging)

It's been a long time since I posted so I'll try and fill in a few gaps without boring everyone silly.

Sometimes when I'm not posting, it's because I'm just clocking up "routine" training miles which I don't think anybody is too interested in. Other times though, it's because I've not been running much. On this occasion, it's the latter reason. ;-) Whilst in some ways I'm envious of runners who can keep up their training through the festive season, part of me feels that if there's ever a time of year when you should swing the family/running balance in the direction of "family", this is the time to do it.

So what have I done? After my kneepit got all inflamed I started myself on some antibiotics I had lying around and went to see the doctor on the 27th. He agreed with my diagnosis and was happy to give me a presciption for the same antibiotics (but this time not out of date ones). I didn't then run until the 2nd of January (a 7 mile easy jog), having spent the intervening days eating and drinking too much (as is normal for this time of year).

On Saturday the 5th I got it into my head that I'd manage a nice easy jog up to Failford from home. Big mistake! Not only was not really up for the distance, the weather was absolutely foul and I was soaked and cold after just 4 miles. Decided to cut my losses and give up my unrealistic plan and headed for home (just another 3 miles but it felt a lot further in that wind!).

On Monday 7th, it was another repeat of my easy jog. Didn't want to do anything too strenuous with the club 5K looming the following evening.

On Tuesday, I was decidedly nervous about how poorly I might run. It was another really windy night but unlike December's 5K, I had someone to chase which was a big help. In the end, I was happy enough with my 20:51. Still leaves me with a fair bit to do to get back uder 20 minutes but I'm sure I'll get there.

This morning (Thursday), I thought I really ought to spend a bit more time running up some hills if I'm going to be taking part in the Carnethy 5 next month so it was back to my old "4 miles up & 4 miles down" run from Minishant up to the radio masts on the Carrick Hill. Not steep or high enough to simulate what I'm going to suffer in the race but it's a start. Felt really feeble going up the hill and was seriously questioning my sanity in entering the Carnethy 5 race. Fortunately , as ever, the descent cheered me up.

Goals for 2008?
Gotta get back under 20 minutes for 5K. I'd love to run a sub-40 10K but that, if it's ever going to happen will have to wait until later in the year. A sub-24hr WHW race is a must but even more importantly, get to the start line! An interesting new event in the autumn is a Cleveland Way race, 110 miles and more elevation than the WHW. Still debating whether to do this or not but I think I'd be foolish to make any decision until after this year's WHW race.

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.