Sunday 30 November 2008

7 miles moderate

Went out in the fog in the late afternoon for my usual 7-mile route via Garscube Estate, although this time I cut down Temple Road, over the canal and down Crow Road in order to dodge a problem junction on Bearsden Road. Felt fine for the day after a race and finished in 46:22 for a reasonable 6:37/mile average. Weekly total: 36 miles.

Saturday 29 November 2008

Hugh Wilson 10K, 4.25 miles recovery

The temperature in the morning wasn't much above freezing but the sun was out, so I thought the frozen ground would probably thaw out a bit and it would be safe enough for racing, although I was glad I had given the Dunbartonshire Cross Country Championships a miss. East Kilbride hadn't really warmed up by the start of the race so I had to wear a t-shirt under my club vest.

On account of my recent increase in mileage I was prepared just to treat the race as a fast training session, but my plan for the first part at least was to try to stick to 3:30 per kilometre, and if this seemed to be going well enough, I hoped to sneak in under 35 minutes.

I went through 1K in 3:23 and 2K in 6:46, although this was just on the other side of a footbridge with some hairpin turns so I wondered if the second marker was slightly out, but I was still feeling OK. During the third kilometre my legs started to feel the cold and I began to slow down. I reached the 5K turn in exactly 17:30 and was in 10th place at that point, but I knew I wasn't going to be any faster on the way in, and on the next kilometre I lost 19 seconds so even sub-36 was looking doubtful. After I had dropped to 12th it occurred to me that I was losing time on the kilometres which were slightly uphill, not helped by the frozen surface in some places. I had made up a few seconds when I reached the 7K mark, and then moved up a place when somebody ahead of me pulled out. Approaching the footbridge I realised that the 2nd kilometre had been slightly downhill which accounted for my fast split, so the 9th kilometre would be uphill and I was going to lose a bit more time there. On my way down the footbridge I moved back into 10th and began to gain on three runners ahead of me, but I didn't manage to catch any of them before the end and finished 10th in 35:24. This improved on my time from last year by 50 seconds. I might have done better with more of a rest before the race.

After getting home I went out for a steady run via Cleveden Road and Queen Margaret Drive, mainly to push me above 10 miles for the day, finishing the 4.25-mile route just inside 30 minutes.

Thursday 27 November 2008

5.6 miles moderate

The club training session was billed as a steady 6-mile run, which was about as much as I was prepared to do with a 10K on Saturday. The route was up Drymen Road, over Stockiemuir Avenue and back down Milngavie Road. It came out at 5.6 miles which I finished in just over 37 minutes. A 6:37/mile average was slightly faster than I had expected although the fast pack did just about stay together.

Wednesday 26 November 2008

2.5 miles recovery

Went out for 2.5 miles via Queen Margaret Drive after playing football.

Tuesday 25 November 2008

Long reps

The club training session consisted of 6 1K reps with a 5-minute turnaround, on the other side of Switchback Road. Due to heavy legs I tried to keep to a steady pace, and I ran them all in 3:37-3:40 without any difficulty. The route was maybe 40m long.

Monday 24 November 2008

5.6 miles moderate

Ran the route from last Monday again. When measured with the Touch Diamond it came out at 5.63 miles. Finished in 37:12, 6:36/mile. Quads quite sore.

Sunday 23 November 2008

5 miles slow, 10.2 miles steady

Went out with Natasha before lunch for a new 5-mile loop. There was flooding on Possil Road under the aqueduct so we took a minor detour up Baird's Brae, then continued along Keppochhill Road and up the footpath beside Springburn Road. We ran along Hawthorn Street into a freezing wind, and the rain came on just after we reached Bilsland Drive, although it was at our backs on the way home down Maryhill Road.

In the afternoon I went out for a longer run as the weather had brightened up considerably. The route I decided on took me through Anderston and Tradeston, along Cumberland Street and all the way down Aikenhead Road as far as the junction with Carmunnock Road, then back home via Battlefield Road, Victoria Road and the George V Bridge. I was faster in the second half and completed the 10.18 mile route in 1:12:33 for an average of 7:07/mile. Weekly total: 47 miles.

Saturday 22 November 2008

2.5 miles steady, 10K moderate

Went out in the morning for 2.5 miles via Queen Margaret Drive, which actually came out at 2.48, in a leisurely 16:51.

In the early evening I set out to run the usual 5.2-mile route via Dorchester Avenue, but changed my mind en route and took a detour along the canal towards Lock 27. This turned out not to be such a great idea as it was too dark to see where I was running, although I hoped it might stretch the route out to 10K. When I reached the Botanic Gardens it was obvious that the route was going to be too short, but going up Queen Margaret Drive would have made it too long. I settled for a contrived route home via Napiershall Street and Burnbank Gardens, and had to run round the block at the end just to make up the 10K. Finishing time was 38:54.

Thursday 20 November 2008

6.7 miles hard

I was still stuck at roadworks on Maryhill Road as I saw some of my clubmates running past, so I was pretty sure I would be late for the club training session, and I did indeed see the fast pack heading out just before I got to Garscube Estate. After parking, getting changed and starting Run.GPS I was around 2 minutes behind them, but as I knew they would be running down Maryhill Road for at least two miles, I set off in pursuit. I finally saw some distant figures near Tesco and caught up with coach Lesley near Queen Margaret Drive, so I got a quick summary of the rest of the course. As I passed the fire station I could see the fast pack further down Maryhill Road, and I caught up with them after they had turned onto Great Western Road at St George's Cross. My time at that point was about 19:30 and the distance had been measured at 3.34 miles, so I had been running at nearly 5:50 per mile, helped by the broadly downhill route to that point.

For the next few minutes I was able to ease off a bit, although it didn't last long, as the pace increased noticeably after the Botanic Gardens and the fast pack quickly fell apart. With no race at the weekend to bother about, I made an effort not to become detached from the front and managed to hold on. We averaged 6-minute miles along Great Western Road and up Crow Road, and I finished in 40:19 which gave me a 6:01/mile average.

Wednesday 19 November 2008

5.2 miles moderate

I went out for my usual 5.15-mile route via Dorchester Avenue to test Run.GPS which I had installed on my new HTC Touch Diamond. I didn't have to wait more than a couple of seconds for the phone's internal GPS to pick up enough satellites to be able to get going, although just over a minute into the run, a voice did report that the signal was weak as I was passing some tenements on Garscube Road. Every three minutes I got a comprehensive progress report which included time, distance, average speed, altitude and calories used. I had no trouble with the tree cover along Great Western Road, which had frequently confused my old Garmin Forerunner, and what gmap-pedometer had measured at 5.15 miles came out at 5.2. The distance as measured with GPS takes hills into account and I had noticed on the supposed mile mark that according to Run.GPS, I had already run just over a mile. Finishing time was 33:42 which is 6:28/mile.

Tuesday 18 November 2008

Hill reps

The club training session consisted of hill reps in Westerton, after a warm-up jog of about 1.3 miles from Garscube Estate. We ran up Crarae Avenue, jogged round the block, and then ran up Murrayfield Drive and jogged back down again. This was repeated six times. On most of the longer of the two climbs I came from behind to reach the top first, but the shorter hill was always over before I got moving. Quite a tough session.

Monday 17 November 2008

5.7 miles steady

Went for a steadier run from Bearsden Asda up to Craigdhu Road as usual, but to try to stretch it out to 5 miles I came back via Manse Road and Kilmardinny Avenue, which turned out to have a serious hill which I had forgotten about. This actually brought it up to 5.7 miles and I finished in 38:43.

Sunday 16 November 2008

3 miles slow, 7 miles moderate

Went out in the morning for Natasha for a shorter run than the day before, heading down Shakespeare Street and then following the Kelvin Walkway as far as Kelvinbridge. It came out at just over 3 miles.

In the afternoon I tackled the familiar 7-mile route via Garscube Estate with my new fluorescent Skylon 2 racing shoes. I crossed the bridge over the Kelvin just outside 20 minutes which was reasonably fast, but got stuck for ages at the traffic lights on Bearsden Road, otherwise I might have picked it up a bit more at the end to try to finish inside 45 minutes. Got back home in 45:42, which is around 6:32 per mile. Weekly total: 37 miles.

Saturday 15 November 2008

3.6 miles slow, 5.15 miles moderate

Went out in the morning with Natasha for 3.6 miles via Garrioch Road and Napiershall Street.

In the afternoon I ran a 5.15 mile route via Dorchester Avenue, finishing in 33:35 which was just outside 6:30 per mile.

Friday 14 November 2008

7 miles steady

Went out in the evening for 7 miles via Garscube Estate, with the vague goal of running faster than 7-minute miles. Arrived back home in 48:38 which works out at 6:56 per mile.

Thursday 13 November 2008

8.1 miles steady/tempo

For the club training session, billed as a steady run, there was a choice of a 6-mile route or an 8-mile route, and the top two packs had been combined. The pace down Crow Road and along Great Western Road seemed to be slower than 7:30 per mile, and there were a few problems dodging pedestrians on Byres Road. At Highburgh Road the pack split into those who wanted to try the longer route and those who didn't. My calf and hamstring still felt OK so I continued down Byres Road on the 8-mile route with a few others. I couldn't resist running a single hill rep up Gardner Street which gave me a few extra seconds at the top to recover and stretch my calf a bit.

The pace increased steadily down Clarence Drive and up Crow Road, although the pack had mostly stayed together. By Dorchester Avenue it was starting to get quite tough, but when we got onto Cowal Road I stretched out down the hill and suddenly found myself about 50m ahead. Not wanting to risk injury with a fast finish, I eased off a bit on Maryhill Road the top of the hill until I had been caught, and we got back to Garscube Estate in 58:13 which is a 7:11/mile average, so the second half of the run must have been substantially faster than the first.

Wednesday 12 November 2008

3.2 miles steady

After having been limping around since Sunday night, I was able to walk almost normally again on Tuesday afternoon, and by Wednesday I just had some residual calf pain. After playing football I went out for 3.2 miles via Shakespeare Street and managed reasonably well, finishing in 23:18, although my left hamstring felt a bit tender afterwards.

Sunday 9 November 2008

3.6 miles slow

The blister hadn't improved any overnight but I tried to go out in the afternoon for a few miles and made it a bit worse. Weekly total: 35 miles.

Saturday 8 November 2008

Glasgow University 5 Mile Road Race, 7 miles steady

I felt like I had a bit of a cold coming on but was otherwise fine to run, although almost immediately after the start I had very heavy legs. I soon had an enforced walking break as the wider of the two gates at the top of Garscube Estate apparently couldn't be opened, so only the leaders at that point managed to avoid the congestion. I had been aiming for 5:30 per mile and went through the first mile marker at about 5:32, which was probably ahead of schedule due to the problem with the gate, but it turned out that there were no other mile markers on the course, and in any case there were enough sharp hills that maintaining a consistent pace would have been difficult. I was second for Garscube for the entire race without ever looking like catching our leading runner. On the second lap I started to make up a few places, and by the end had climbed to 21st place, although I didn't feel like I was having a particularly good race. Finishing time was 28:17 which was 33 seconds up on last year - goal for next year is to beat 28 minutes.

Afterwards I had a fairly serious blister from my half-a-size-too-small Mayflys, but I found a blister plaster at home. It occurred to me that I didn't feel as if I'd done anything at all and I might as well rack up a few more miles, so I went back out straight away for my usual 7-mile route via Garscube Estate, although at a steady pace this time. At the dual carriageway on Maryhill Road I bumped into John Bell of Springburn Harriers who ran with me as far as Queen Margaret Drive. Got back home in 52:44.

Thursday 6 November 2008

6.9 miles steady

The club's Thursday training session was advertised as a steady run of between 6 and 7 miles. The route took us out the top gate, down Crow Road, along Southbrae Drive, up Lincoln Avenue, through Blairdardie and over the canal, then back along Drumchapel Road and Canniesburn Road to Garscube Estate. We should probably have gone along Blairdardie Road but went up Great Western Road and down the path beside the canal instead, which added about .2 of a mile for a total of 6.9 miles in just under 48 minutes. I stuck to a steady pace all the way round and avoided any kind of fast finish on account of Saturday's race.

Wednesday 5 November 2008

2.5 miles recovery

Went for a slow 2.5-mile run via Queen Margaret Drive after playing football.

Tuesday 4 November 2008

Mixed session

The club training session was billed as a "mixed session", which started with a jog along Maryhill Road, up Ballater Drive and back into Garscube Estate. We were then split into three mixed groups for 10 minutes of steady shuttle runs up and down the road beside the rugby pitch. This was followed by 12x140m sprints on the warm-up trail with 1 minute recovery, after we had been divided into packs of differing speeds. I ran them more or less flat out to begin with and thought of easing off while recovering after the 5th rep, but I managed to persevere as it didn't seem too bad while I was actually running - I was just feeling progressively worse during the recoveries.

Monday 3 November 2008

4.6 miles moderate

In much colder conditions I had another go at my 4.6-mile Monday evening route around Bearsden and Milngavie. On reaching Stockiemuir Road I suspected I was well ahead of previous attempts, probably helped by a day off on Sunday. I finished in 28:46 for a 6:15/mile average on a hilly route.

Saturday 1 November 2008

Allan Scally relay

I was on the first leg again and set off at a pace which seemed comfortable enough to begin with and still kept me in sight of the leaders for a while, although I had forgotten to memorise any mile or kilometre markers and therefore couldn't keep an eye on my splits. Shortly after reaching Edinburgh Road I was passed by a runner from Glasgow University, who also went past a runner from Irvine, and I stayed behind the two of them for the next mile or so. By this point I was fairly confident of beating my 2007 time, and Thursday's time trial didn't seem to be having much of an effect. I began to gain on the Irvine runner and passed him while we were still on Edinburgh Road, although after a few hundred metres he started to come back and overtook me just after the lane off Buchanan Street, but didn't manage to get away. I moved ahead again during a sprint finish to the line where I handed over to... nobody, because our second leg runner hadn't turned up and the others were still out warming up. He did eventually appear and Shettleston Harriers kindly allowed us to rejoin the race later on with a time penalty.

My finishing time was 26:31 which was the fastest time for Garscube on the day, once again by just a few seconds. It was after last year's race that I started this blog and my goal for this year had been to finish inside 27 minutes. I was 14th after my leg, although the official results placed me behind the Irvine runner, probably because we had nobody to take over. We were 15th overall. Natasha had turned up only to find we had no women's team, so she ran with the first leg runners and stayed on the main road at the start and finish to avoid crossing the line.