11.5 miles moderate

I waited until the rain went off a bit and then had another crack at making it along Great Western Road as far as the Drumry Road roundabout and back inside 80 minutes. By the time I reached Knightswood Park I was already a couple of minutes up on my previous attempt. On 38:50 I set foot on Drumry Road East then turned around and ran back - did briefly think of continuing along Great Western Road to see where I could get to in 40 minutes, but there were no significant landmarks coming up, and I was worried about taking longer on the way back which would have wrecked my plan. Instead I concentrated on running negative splits and tried to lengthen my stride a bit when going downhill. Arrived home in 1:16:13.

Indoor 800m

My warm-up for the race was a walk/jog down to the Kelvin Hall, during which I thought I'd managed to strain something (and subsequently contemplated pulling out right up until the gun sounded). I put my PB on the entry form as 2:12 - no point in telling the truth, SB will have to suffice - and expected time as 2:12. For once the seeding worked out quite well as the first heat had 3 entrants who must have anticipated running inside 2:10, although only 2 appeared. I fancied my chances in the second heat and was drawn on the inside lane. After a comfortable 32-second first lap I was placed three of four, and I moved into first shortly after 300m in another 32-second lap. After that I tried to maintain the same pace and 33 for the next lap was fine. I reckoned at this point the race was in the bag although I could hear a battle for second place behind me. Then I made a stupid mistake, not having run 800m on a 200m track in over a year, and only kicked in the home straight, which is of course only about 30m long. I was accelerating as I went through the line - should have done it before the bend as I still had enough in reserve. My watch showed an SB of 2:11.78 but a few minutes later my official time was announced as 2:12.07. I only have myself to blame though!

In the evening I dropped Natasha off at Asda and ran across Bearsden to have a go at Chesters Road. Planned to run three reps, time permitting. In the event I only ran one because it was pitch dark - no street lights! - and the hill was huge. I didn't have my head-light thing or running jacket with the lights but it's doubtful they would have helped. It was hard to gauge just how steep the hill was because I was in darkness all the way up. Probably a great session to try in daylight.

Short recovery

Not really a recovery, I suppose, given that I didn't do anything on Friday. I just wanted to stretch the legs a bit so went out with Natasha for a couple of miles and didn't think I could do anything else worthwhile with a race coming up tomorrow. There's the 4.2 mile Hogmanay Handicap I have taken part in for many years in a row, even last year when I more or less had to hobble round, but this year it clashes with an indoor 800m. There aren't many of these and there are loads of longer races coming up, so I think it's the 800 for me. The thought of doing both did cross my mind but I can't get from one to the other in time. I am certainly fitter than I was the last time I ran an 800, but I haven't done much speed training recently. Probably looking for 2:12 or better.

7+ miles tempo

I woke up yesterday still with a cough and not feeling too great so had to give the 10K a miss. By the time I went to bed it was definitely wearing off so this evening I tackled my usual route of 7 miles or so (probably not as much as 7.5 after all) and tried to make the best of a bad lot by doing it fast, having tapered for a race I ended up not running. I felt quite heavy for the first couple of miles but got to the gates of the Science Park in 18:something and passed the last barrier before the Kelvin in exactly 20 minutes, which was as fast as I'd ever reached that point before, so it looked like I had a shot at my route PB of 45:24. Felt OK on Great Western Road where I might normally start to flag, and reached the bin opposite Hughenden in 33:25 - 35 minutes is the usual benchmark for how I'm doing at this point. I had some good luck with traffic lights and sub-45 was definitely on the cards when I passed the pedestrian crossing near Achilles Heel on the 40-minute mark. 3 minutes from Kelvinbridge to home is just about as fast as I've ever run it, so 41:44 at that point gave me a real chance - by now the PB was in the bag anyway. I picked it up as if it was the end of a race, only lost a couple of seconds crossing Maryhill Road, and arrived home in 44:44. It wasn't quite race pace, probably just over 6-minute miles. Very pleased to go through a barrier before the year is out - reminds me of the old days where I'd run the same couple of routes every week and scribble down a note of my times on the back of an old envelope.

Slow recovery

Went out for a slow 5K with Natasha in the morning just to stretch the legs a bit. I'm planning to do a 10K tomorrow but I seem to be coming down with something and have a bit of a cough, so I'll see how I feel in the morning.

Short recoveries and 11 miles steady

I had some work to do in the office so ran in after breakfast, slightly over 1.5 miles. It took a bit longer than expected, and as the heating isn't on at weekends, it actually seemed warmer outside when I ran back. Went out a few hours later for a proper long(ish) run - this time the plan was to run along Great Western Road for about 40 minutes at a steady pace to see how far I could get (ideally as far as the Drumry Road roundabout), then turn back and arrive home inside 80 minutes. As it turned out, I made it to the gates of the Edrington distillery, just a few hundred yards short of the roundabout, which will have to be the goal for some future run. I managed to make up a little time on the way back but lost most of it waiting to cross Maryhill Road. Finishing time was 1:19:55.

Short recovery and hills

Went out in the morning for about 4 miles with Natasha as she felt up to attempting a longer route than usual. I was absolutely fine all the way round and appear to have made a full recovery. In the late afternoon I jogged up to Cleveden Road for some hill reps - it was too dark to go to Kelvingrove Park. Did half a dozen with a jogged recovery, contemplated ten but it would have been a long way to run back (over two miles) if I had strained something. Afterwards, I ran back along the canal to Maryhill Road. There are no lights on the towpath and I didn't have my new head-light thing with me but the moonlight was bright enough that I didn't fall in.

7.5 miles moderate

It was bitterly cold so I bought new thick socks and as well as a head-light thing so I could go out for a run in the dark. Also took the opportunity to wear an orange and grey running jacket which has lights built into it. After getting ready I turned all my lights on to check it out - Natasha said I looked like Easyjet. The head-light is too conspicuous to run through Maryhill with, even switched off, so I put it in my pocket. Suspected I might overheat with all that stuff on and sure enough, it started happening after about 10 minutes. My route took me through the Science Park so I took the opportunity of switching all my lights on at the darkest bit, although they weren't terribly useful as all the lights on the path were working for once. This gear would be really useful for running along the country roads near Baldernock in the dark. In any case I felt very fatigued, probably spent too long on the cross-training machine on Thursday night, but just under 51 minutes was faster than I felt. I might have made it closer to 50 but got a work-related phone call near the Botanic Gardens, just as I was overtaking the only other person I'd seen out running, and had to stop to dig the phone out, only to pass my fellow runner a few seconds later while still talking on the phone. I wonder if that was annoying!

Gym

Felt a bit stiff after playing football in freezing temperatures so I dodged the club training session tonight and went to the gym instead - I only had half an hour to spare so tried to cram in as much as possible. On one machine I extended the reps by one set at the end, and on the machine I am worst on I went for more reps with fewer weights.

Short recovery

The club training schedule had a fartlek session for tonight but I always give that a miss in dark, freezing conditions - it's just too dangerous on frosty pavements to run fast enough to make it worthwhile. Ran a few miles round Kessington instead, at a moderate pace, just to stretch the legs a bit. The injury was nagging at me in the cold and my leg felt really tight after I had finished, but only for a few seconds. Definitely a lot better than it was, although I should probably have been doing more stretching. Tomorrow is my last game of football until January 9th so if I make it through that OK I can use the holidays to get loads of training in, to make up for recent inactivity.

Santa Race

Started second from the back with what seemed like no chance of catching anyone - the thigh injury was a bit better but not 100%. I dropped into last place within the first mile and stayed there all along Switchback Road. This meant I was the first Santa seen by any of the drivers going in the same direction as the race, and a lot of folk tooted their horns. By this time I had forgotten about the injury on account of the heat under the Santa suit, even though the temperature was just above freezing. Managed to catch and pass a few people, including some non-Santas (evidently not forced to start off scratch), and finished probably somewhere in the middle of the bunch in the second fastest time, 19:10 or so. Faster than I expected, and I don't seem to have made the injury any worse.

Short recovery and gym

Another slow 5K in the morning with Natasha. I felt OK at that pace but putting in a proper effort at tomorrow's Christmas Handicap is probably out of the question, and although not turning up at all is quite appealing, I might as well take part wearing a Santa costume which is now more or less obligatory as if you don't wear one, you start off stratch. So there's a time-based handicap - with a turkey at stake - and you have to wear a Santa costume or you'll trail in behind everybody else and get last pick of the presents. I remember when this was quite a serious race, even if it was usually decided by an over-generous handicap, and a couple of folk usually turned up in fancy dress for a laugh, but now that social aspects have overtaken sporting ones, there's really no point to it. It's not even for the benefit of spectators. The route runs almost entirely through residential streets in Westerton and nobody is watching.

In the afternoon I went to the gym for 35 minutes or so, again staying away from anything which might have strained my legs. This time I did some proper reps on the different machines which I can try to extend or repeat with heavier weights in future weeks.

Thursday session

Had a groin strain of some sort after playing football on Wednesday, but thought all day that it would probably wear off, even as I was running to the car to drive up to the Science Park. I ran a few laps of the car park and decided I should probably go straight back home. The fast group was fairly depleted (in fact turnout was pretty poor overall) and as they ran off into the distance I changed my mind and caught up with them - on the basis that Friday would be a day off anyway, and it felt more like a footballing injury than a running one. I was able to maintain the steady pace OK but I felt like the injury was getting worse as we were going up the hill towards Bearsden Cross. Gave up at that point and walked/jogged along Roman Road and back to the car, by which point I was feeling slightly better. Should be OK in a couple of days, I think.

Paarlauf

I was in the mood for a tough session so made a special effort to arrive in time for the scheduled Paarlauf. Very pleased to see that in t-shirt and shorts, I was wearing less than anyone else - gloves being my only concession to the temperature - so my winter acclimatising is clearly working. The rules of the Paarlauf were to run hard anticlockwise round the 850m circuit until you meet your partner, then jog back clockwise until you meet your partner again, and so on for 30 minutes - the rules apply to both members of the team. Mine was in the lead early on but slipped back into second after a couple of circuits. The new leaders (or at least one of them) must have started running out of steam, though, because I moved back into the lead after an almighty tussle near the end, although it didn't last. It wasn't a competition or anything but that was the incentive to keep pushing. Bit dangerous in the dark though, at least early on when you would turn round and immediately have to fight your way through the pack.

Gym

It would have been a good evening to go on a run but I felt like I needed a break so went to the gym instead, staying well clear of anything which might have overstrained my leg muscles. This didn't leave much choice as a couple of the other machines are out of order. However I warmed up quite intensively on the elliptical trainer and went straight onto the lat pulldown machine. I was ready to call it a day after a few minutes but stretched it out to 35 by returning to that particular machine between sessions on the others, with a couple more minutes on the elliptical trainer to warm down.

Short recovery and 11.5 miles moderate

Went out in the morning with Natasha for two slow miles. My legs were quite stiff in the same places as after my previous hill reps in Kelvingrove Park, so maybe Saturday's session did have an effect. In the afternoon I ran the same Milngavie route as four weeks ago, a little faster this time, although maybe too fast over the first mile as it started getting quite tough about a mile afterwards. I pressed on and reached the halfway point in around 42:30 so sub-1:25 was on the cards, as the route back in is broadly downhill. Managed to pick up the pace after 8 miles and really pushed it on the last 800m to be sure of finishing inside 1:24 - actual time 1:23:46.

Short recovery and hills

Went out in the morning for the usual slow 5K with Natasha who was trying out her new Vomeros. It was pretty cold with light rain. In the afternoon I went back to Kelvingrove Park to run up that hill again - by now the rain had turned to snow although it hadn't yet started to lie. My sixth rep was interrupted by the attentions of a dog. "I'm really sorry, he's just frightened," its owner said as she finally put a lead on the thing - of course, Doctor Doolittle, that's why it made a bee-line for me from a distance. As soon as they were out of sight I resumed the session which was rapidly turning into a waste of time in the conditions. Went to the Granite Staircase to try to run up it a few times (another idea stolen from "Debs/Marco on running"), but the snow had made it too slippery. By now my feet were soaked through so I just went home. I'll find out tomorrow if the hill session made any difference at all. Should probably have gone to the Kelvin Hall instead.

6 miles tempo

Arrived on time for once. I was determined to try to keep up a bit better than usual, with no race this weekend, and managed to stay with the fast pack until about the 4 mile mark when the other three started to pull away to varying degrees. My legs were starting to ache a bit by this point - I had strained something playing football on Wednesday night (or more accurately, climbing over a wall to get the ball back) and had had to go in goals for a few minutes and do a bit of stretching before I was able to run it off. Got my act back together for the last mile or so and finished quite strongly.

Hill reps

I wasn't in time to train with the club (supposed to be doing short reps) so went back to Westerton to tackle Crarae Avenue again, five times. Put in a good effort on the hills and also tried to keep my pace up on the recovery jog, which got tougher every time. Normally when doing this session on my own I would start walking at the top of the hill but I managed to resist the temptation. It was unseasonably warm. Felt a lot fitter than I did last week.

3 miles recovery

I was intending to go to the gym this evening but I had the chance to kick off a download at the office and save a bit of time tomorrow, so I ran there and back instead - about 3 miles in total, just to stretch my legs.

Hugh Wilson 10K

Felt in decent condition for this race and the weather was OK too - a bit drizzly but not cold enough for gloves. I set my 10K PB of 33:51 here several years ago and hadn't run it since. The course seemed to have changed a bit, didn't remember turning round at the halfway point before. Goal time was anything less than 37 minutes.

I set out trying to keep to an ambitious 3:30 per kilometre as long as I could, and managed 3:31 for each of the first two before dropping to 3:38 and not bothering to work out my splits after that. I was a shade over 18 minutes at the 5K mark, fourth for Garscube. There were about about 10 places between me and the third Garscube runner in the distance. I thought if I kept a steady pace I would probably go past a few runners - as it turned out, I made up about 6 places before the end. Legs felt really heavy on about 8K but I managed to pick it up for the last kilometre or so. My finishing time was 36:14 which was not a bad outcome for my longest race in a few years. This was 3 seconds per mile slower than I ran in the Glasgow University race (5:49 vs 5:46), but a fairly reliable race time predictor I have used in the past said I could expect 36:30 for 10K based on 28:50 for 5 miles. I have still never run 35:anything for a 10K (33 once, and 34 and 36 several times each) but that curious record may have to go in the near future.

Stewarding

Friday was a rest day, and I didn't have much planned for Saturday either as a single day off has proven not to be enough rest between a hard run and a race - still aiming for tomorrow's 10K. (I think I will set my M35 10K PB by default.) In any case I was stewarding the Garscube schools cross-country races in Mugdock Country Park. I was posted at the furthest point of the course and stood there for a couple of hours, trotting back over the hill between races to chat and watch for the next set of runners in the distance. Don't know what went wrong on the first boys' race but some of them passed me two or three times despite there only being a single lap. The course actually seemed pretty decent, if a bit muddy in places.

7.5 miles hard

Got to the Science Park just in time to see the fast group heading towards the gate. Marc from Shettleston Harriers had only just arrived as well, so we headed off at a fast pace to try and catch the others, although they were already out of sight and we had to guess which way they'd gone - almost correctly, as it turned out, as we met them running in the opposite direction near the Ski Centre. I held on at the back of the group and became slightly detached as we headed back down through Bearsden. The scheduled run was 6 miles but they opted to do a bit more by turning at Bearsden Station. I thought of heading straight back to the Science Park with everybody else who was doing the planned 6, but as the session had started a bit earlier than usual, I had enough time to take the longer route. Going up Pendicle allowed me to move off the back and I made up some ground on the others going through Westerton. Gained another place with a mile to go, then had trouble following the twists and turns of the route when I lost sight of the group in front, and lost a bit of momentum. Dropped a place on the final stretch but finished not too far back and quite pleased with my effort - longest run at that kind of pace for a good while.

More hills

Took Monday off completely as the legs still hadn't recovered. I toyed briefly with the idea of going to the gym in the evening but I thought I might be risking another injury. This may have been the correct decision as I felt absolutely fine in time for this evening's hill session with the club: alternating long and short hills, six of each, with a jogged recovery. The long one was my favourite hill as well. I tried to keep the reps consistent and the rest of the fast group gradually pulled away, although I didn't fall too far behind and even managed to claw my way out of last place towards the end. The recoveries seemed tougher than the hills and I was convinced I was going up faster than I was coming back down. Felt all the better for this particular session - I'll see how the legs are doing tomorrow. The scales now put me just under 13 stones which is a few pounds down from when I last checked.

7.5 miles slow

Woke up with very sore legs, either from Saturday's hill session or from going out clubbing later on (for the first time in ages). They hadn't got any better by the afternoon so I went out for a slow run round my usual 7.5-mile route to see if it would wear off - nope, still felt the same 58:31 later. No sign of the specific injury which was hampering me last week though. Time included several walking breaks to try to get something out of my eye.

Short recovery and hills

Back training again as planned, starting with the usual slow 5K with Natasha before lunch. Freezing rain came on almost immediately but went off just as we reached Maryhill Shopping Centre.

I still felt OK after lunch so went out to find a hill suitable for a particular session I had in mind - many repeats of a short, fairly steep hill where it takes a few of them for it to start to bite. No need to try to sprint, the steepness of the hill does the work. There are hills nearby of various types: the one in Oakbank industrial estate is too short for hill work; Possil Road isn't steep enough; Firhill Road up to Ruchill Park is long and tough but there's a lot of traffic; I would feel too conspicuous on Bilsland Drive (this also goes for Possil Road); and Cleveden Road is too steep for this particular session and also a bit far to jog back if I feel an injury coming on. My favourite hill is Crarae Avenue in Westerton but I would need to drive there, same goes for Chesters Road in Colquhoun Park which I've only run up a few times as part of a longer run but definitely has potential.

In the end I took a tip from "Debs on running" and headed for Kelvingrove Park. The nearby roads were all deemed unsuitable for various reasons but I found plenty of hilly paths in the park and chose a stretch of about 100m or so with a continuous, steady climb, which only became tough on the fourth rep or so. Ran 10 of them and thought of going on a jog for a few minutes before resuming, but the rain was coming back on and I didn't want to overdo it in any case. Might be back in shape in time for the Hugh Wilson 10K next Sunday. Don't actually remember the last 10K I did.

A few days off

I appear to have some kind of groin/hamstring injury and have decided to rest for a few days, apart from playing football on Wednesday. Didn't feel significantly worse afterwards, so I should be restored to full health soon. Stretching by leaning back as much as possible, particularly when lying face down, seems to help.

Went to training tonight but only to buy a bright yellow top for Natasha. I was immediately pounced on and nagged to run in this weekend's cross-country - I was needed for the team because somebody else had pulled out. Pointed out that I was wearing outdoor clothes but nobody took the hint so I had to explain I was injured, for once conveniently. I expect to be just about OK again by Saturday but no way would I be running 6 miles round a field anyway. I may do one short cross-country race a year (the Dunbartonshire relay championships) but that's it.

Back to the gym

I felt like I couldn't run a step so went to the gym instead, for the first time in nearly a year. Joined up again, a snip at £10 which means each visit is £2 instead of £3. I really just wanted to knock myself out on the elliptical trainer but had a go on some of the other machines as well, as there was nobody around to scoff at my feeble efforts. Didn't really get much done in the half hour or so I was there - just enough to feel it in my arms and legs afterwards.

10.5 miles slow

I originally planned to repeat last Sunday's run to Milngavie and back but got a bit of wanderlust and headed out to the South Side instead - down Pollokshaws Road and round the far side of Queen's Park, then over Prospecthill Road, through Cathkin Park and back into town along Aikenhead Road. I would have gone further out but never felt comfortable, even at a slow pace. Finished just inside 1:18, probably around 10.5 miles.

Glasgow University 5 mile

I have rarely felt worse before a race - I wasn't unfit or ill, but my legs were still very stiff and sore since Thursday night's hard run. I thought there would be a good chance of sustaining an injury. Stretched a bit in the morning and decided late on that I would give it a go, as it didn't really matter, as races go, and I could take it easy if necessary. My main goal was to set a time I could try beat next year, preferably inside 30 minutes (all things considered).

Leg tiredness turned out not to be as much of a factor as I had thought, finished 31st in a reasonable 28:50, according to the results which had already appeared on the web by the time I thought of looking for them. For a long time I was fourth-placed Garscube Harrier with fifth seeming the most likely outcome, but I made some inroads in the last mile or so and moved into third with about 800 metres to go, shortly after I had smacked into the wait box on a pelican crossing. Didn't really notice the pain in my shoulder until I was in the car after the race - I expect to have a large bruise there very soon. Legs don't feel any worse than they did in the morning.

5 miles hard

A hard run sounded less than ideal just two days before a race of the same distance, but I kept up with the fast pack for about two miles before starting to drop off the back. This was obviously bad for morale and I started to worry about being relegated to a slower pack. However, I persevered at a fairly consistent pace, and as others started to ease off in the last mile or so I made up a fair bit of ground and eventually finished comfortably in the middle of the pack. If there hadn't been a race coming up I should have tried to pick up the pace when the others did. Injury situation a lot better than last week, so with Friday off, I should be fine for the race.

Tuesday session

Got to the Science Park a few minutes too late to join the scheduled short reps session so I tried to run my own 650m reps. I felt the calf injury after just a few hundred metres - might have been able to run it off like on Sunday but I didn't want to risk it. Short reps would probably have been even worse. Switched to running continuous 1K loops at a moderate pace but entirely on the forefoot, which I was able to keep up for a few laps with no real trouble. Running on the forefoot was also forcing me to keep the pace up, although I wasn't timing the loops as I had forgotten to bring my running watch. Stopped when I felt a twinge in the hamstring. Not a great session but the forefoot thing went well enough.

11.5 miles slow

I considered taking another day off due to the injury situation but the weather was too good to miss (blue sky and a bit on the chilly side) and my right calf was okay-ish so I applied some Tiger Balm, for the first time in a while, and went out further and slower than usual. Route was basically up the A81 to Milngavie station, left onto Main Street, down to the roundabout and back down the A81 again, trying to run no faster than 7:30/mile. After four miles or so I stopped noticing any particular tightness in the back of my right leg, and on the way back home, on reaching the point where I had blown up on Thursday night, I felt much better than I had then. On nine miles I felt absolutely fine and thought about picking up the pace but stuck to my plan and came home in a leisurely 1:28:26. At this rate I might be able to do the University 5-miler after all.

Short recovery and fast reps

Natasha and I went out for a slow 5K in the morning. Calf felt OK afterwards but I did a load of stretching in the afternoon and then risked some fast reps later on in the nearby industrial estate - didn't want to pay to use the track at Scotstoun and then have to give up after a few minutes if the injury flared up. The reps were around 250m with a steep climb for the first 75m. I ran 45-45-42-43 into a significant headwind and jogged home, not wanting to push my luck any further. I didn't time the recoveries but they couldn't have been much more than a minute as it took about 5 minutes for my breathing to return to normal afterwards. The last 50 metres of the third and fourth rep felt like the end of an 800m.

7 miles hard - nearly

Got to Garscube just before 7.30 due to heavy traffic on Maryhill Road but there was no sign of anyone, not even on the way up the road. Marc from Shettleston Harriers appeared after a few minutes and he hadn't seen anyone on the way down from the top gate either. We thought they must have headed out towards the Ski Centre in Bearsden so ran in what we guessed would be the opposite direction in the hope of meeting the fast group halfway, but after a few miles it looked like we were on our own. Really cold - I had dug out my running tights and a long-sleeved top for the first time this year. Kept up well enough for the most part but coming up for 5 miles I told Marc he could go ahead if he wanted, then I got stuck at some lights and couldn't pick it up at all afterwards. Right calf really stiff but I think I should be able to fend off actual injury with a course of stretching. Total distance was 5.8 miles. We saw the rest of the club coming in from the top gate just after we arrived, no idea where they went.

I should add that Wednesday's five-a-side match turned out to be a gruelling 3 vs 3.

1K reps

After taking yesterday off completely due to lack of energy and weak calf and hamstring, I felt much better and went up to train with Garscube. Five 1K road reps at 5K pace or better with a 95-second recovery. Going OK for the first three, got a stitch of some sort towards the end of the fourth and took it easy on the fifth until I managed to pick it up a bit halfway. Poor effort but all I could manage and better than nothing. Right leg complaining a bit as I ran back to the car afterwards. I sense the fridge will soon be filling up once again with Slimfast (vanilla) and For Goodness Shakes (chocolate) for recovery purposes - maybe they really did make a difference.

Track session and long(ish) run

I would normally go out for a few leisurely miles with Natasha on a Sunday morning but she had a sore knee and said she would rather go swimming. I don't like swimming because it tires me out too much, so we struck a compromise which involved going to Scotstoun where she could swim while I ran on the track. It was cold and, unusually for Scotstoun, there was no wind to speak of. Some VPCoG kidz were out training but mostly in the home straight. Planned to run 300s, 2x5 in 49-50s each with a 2-minute turnaround - about five years ago I could do 2x5 in 44-45s (I think) although with a longer recovery. Anyway, ran 47-48-48 and during the second one it was getting tough so I opted for 3x3 instead. Had a rest for about 10 minutes after the first set but on standing back up I felt too nauseous to continue and just jogged round the track until I got bored. I guess it was too hard a training session for the morning after a race.

In the afternoon I went out on a 7.75-mile route and planned to take it slowly enough that I would just scrape in inside the hour. As it turned out, I felt like I couldn't have moved any faster anyway. Bumped into a pal after a mile and stopped to chat for about 3 minutes, and realised a few miles later that I would be outside the hour if I didn't pick it up, which I couldn't. Calf tightened up a bit towards the end but not dangerously. Next race is the Glasgow University 5-miler on the 17th so I will try to push it a bit until the middle of next week.

Allan Scally 2007

First entry in this blog - just in time for the last relay of the season! Out first, up against Robert MacFarlane in the B team and a VPCoG runner in the composite C team. Felt fine after two days off and tried to run a steady pace all the way round. I stayed just behind a group containing our C team runner and passed him going up Springboig Road, Robert also not far behind at this point, then battled some students on the long drag down Edinburgh Road which seems to get longer every year, and made up a couple of places in the last half mile or so. Went round in 27:13 which is 9 seconds down on 2 years ago (didn't do it last year due to injury). However the course was estimated at approximately 10 seconds longer due to annoying new barriers at the roundabout on Mansionhouse Drive, so it's clearly a net gain of 1 second. Team was 9th overall. Goal for next year is to go under 27.