4.1 miles steady, short reps

In the morning I ran down Maryhill Road, through Cowcaddens and under the M8 for a loop of Craighall Business Park, then back under the M8 and up Garscube Road - 4.12 miles in a steady 28:22. In the afternoon I met up with Ben and ran up to the track at Caldercuilt for 200m reps, two sets of 10 with about 60 seconds' recovery (a 200m jog) between each and 3 minutes between the sets. Each rep started into a strong wind which also slowed us down on the recovery. I ran most of the reps in 34 seconds with Ben finishing a couple of seconds ahead. Ran back home afterwards. Total distance for the afternoon was around 10 miles.

7.4 miles steady

Went out in the evening for my usual 7 mile route via Garscube Estate which I extended down Bank Street, Gibson Street and Barrington Drive, although this accounted for less than half a mile extra and wasn't really worth the trouble. I reached the 3-mile mark slightly faster than intended so eased off a bit and couldn't pick it back up later on. Total distance was 7.44 miles, 51:16.

2.9 miles easy, 6.6 miles hard, 2.8 miles steady

Ran up to training although I had some back pain from football on Wednesday and thought I might end up falling off the pace or even dropping out altogether. I didn't feel too bad as we ran through Westerton and over Pendicle Road. We went through the 2-mile mark in 13:50 and the pace increased up Drymen Road until we were inside 6-minute miles running along Stockiemuir Avenue. I kept up with Ben as the fast pack broke up and we were first to arrive back at Garscube Estate by the narrowest of margins, only catching one of the earlier packs a few metres before the gate. The distance came out at 6.62 miles, timed at 41:22 for 6:15/mile overall, which means we averaged 5:57/mile for the last 4.62 miles. Ran back down Maryhill Road afterwards at a steadier pace.

4.1 miles steady

Ran to St Rollox Tesco and back after playing football. Route was via Keppochhill Road and Springburn Road, 4.12 miles in total, at 6:53/mile or thereabouts.

Hill reps

The club training session was hill reps on the road beside the vet school - 3 x 160m or so to the crest of the hill, with a jogged recovery back to the bottom, followed by 400m to the junction near the top gate. The fast pack had to do 4 sets, so it came out at about 5 miles including warm-up and recoveries. I tried to keep my pace consistent between the short and long reps.

5.6 miles steady

Ran from Bearsden Asda up to Craigdhu Road, down Stockiemuir Road and back via Kilmardinny Avenue at a reasonable 6:50 pace although I started off slower and made up most of the time on the downhill sections. Finished in 38:29, 5.63 miles.

3.5 miles slow, 14.1 miles steady

Went out on Sunday morning with Natasha for the usual 3.5 miles via Shakespeare Street and Napiershall Street. In the afternoon I had another go at Thursday night's route, measuring it this time with Run.GPS, and starting and finishing at home. Goal pace for the whole route was 7-minute miles or better. I started off slow on account of tired legs and had a 7:17 average by the time I got to Garscube Estate. Thursday's route came out at 8.4 miles and it wasn't until I was on my way back home that I finally got my pace below 7-minute miles, eventually finishing the 14.08-mile route in 1:37:56, 6:57/mile. Weekly total: 54 miles.

8.5 miles moderate

Ran up Maryhill Road and along the path beside Canniesburn Toll, then down Switchback Road and all the way to the bottom of Great Western Road, and home via Phoenix Road and Garscube Road. This came out at 8.51 miles, completed in 56:35 for a 6:39/mile average.

2.9 miles steady, 8.4 miles hard, 2.8 miles easy

Ran up to training and arrived with just a couple of minutes to spare before the fast pack went out. The route was along Canniesburn Road, over the canal and down Blairdardie Road, then along Lincoln Avenue. We took a wrong turn at this point and ran down to Danes Drive instead of heading along Southbrae Drive which added about 1K to the total distance. I wasn't able to gauge distance or pace as Run.GPS hadn't picked up any satellites at the start, but I was finding the going quite tough on account of sore legs as we passed Scotstoun Stadium. It occurred to me several times to head straight home, but I stayed with the pack up Crow Road and along Dorchester Avenue, and managed to break away on Cowal Road before easing off slightly on Maryhill Road. Time was 53:29 for about 8.43 miles, 6:20/mile. Jogged back home afterwards.

4.4 miles steady

Went out for a few miles after playing football, via Shakespeare Street, Cleveden Drive and St George's Road - 4.39 miles in 30:44.

1.5 miles slow, short reps

The club training session was at the Kelvin Hall so I jogged down with Natasha. When I arrived Stevie Cullen gave me an unexpected medal from Sunday, for the fastest lap on the first leg. The session turned out to be 6 sets of 200m, 300m and 400m, with 1 minute recovery each time. I wasn't feeling particularly fast and was also trying to avoid injury, so my best efforts were on the 400m reps, although it took until about halfway through the session that I started getting my act together. Jogged round the outside track a couple of times at the end. Total distance for the evening was about 5 miles.

4.7 miles moderate

Went out from Bearsden Asda to run a longer route via West Chapelton Avenue, Station Road, Pendicle Road, through Westerton and Garscube Estate and back up Maryhill Road. I had intended to run no faster than 7-minute miles but picked up the pace on Maxwell Avenue and was able to maintain it OK. Finished in 31:04 for a 6:36/mile average.

SVHC Relays, 7 miles moderate

I was on the first leg for the Garscube A team in the Scottish Veteran Harriers Club Relays at Strathclyde Park. I felt quite confident of a fast run and intended to try to stay with the leaders as long as possible. After about a mile I was still feeling comfortable and saw an opportunity after a small hill to push ahead on my own. Shortly afterwards I was directed by a steward to "follow the path" which forked almost immediately, but I apparently guessed right and had soon opened up a gap. The main difficulty I was having was dodging pedestrians and dog-walkers. I started to tire after a couple of miles and was also running into a mild headwind, but I wasn't under any pressure, and handed over to Lindsay in 20:32 with a lead of 28 seconds. This was 18 seconds faster than my time from 2008, and this year's course had also been extended near the finish by somewhere between 100 and 200m. I think the usual course is somewhat short of the advertised 3.8 miles as Lindsay measured this year's at 3.75 miles with GPS. We were still leading after the second leg but had dropped to 7th by the end. My time was the fifth fastest of the day.

Afterwards I went on a 2-mile recovery jog along the last mile of the course and back. In the afternoon I went back out for my usual 7-mile run via Garscube Estate, intending to take it fairly easy. After a steady start I reached the 3-mile point comfortably inside 20 minutes and decided to try for a sub-45 finish, which means maintaining an average of about 6:25/mile. Sub-45 was looking safe with a couple of miles to go, and I thought even sub-44 might be possible, despite tired legs. In the end I had some good luck crossing the last couple of roads and finished in 43:53. Weekly total: 42 miles.

3.5 miles slow

Went out in the morning for 3.5 miles with Natasha via Shakespeare Street and Napiershall Street.

2.9 miles easy, 6.1 miles tempo, 2.9 miles steady

Ran up to the club training session on Thursday evening as usual. This time the route was down Crow Road, along Danes Drive, back up Anniesland Road and back to Garscube Estate via Knightswood Road and Anniesland Cross. We were running no faster than 7-minute miles for the first couple of miles, after which the pace was gradually increased. After about 4 miles I felt like I was having to work reasonably hard to keep up. It came out at 6.14 miles in 40:44 for a 6:38 average. Ran back down the road with Ben afterwards.

3.25 miles recovery

Went out after playing football in the snow for 3.27 miles via Shakespeare Street and North Woodside Road.

6.2 miles fartlek

As I reached for the Wiimote for a quick game of Wii Sports Tennis I realised exactly what had been causing the same lower back and hip pain I had in September. It's not as bad this time as I'd only played a few games recently, but it's obviously the cause. The club training session was a fartlek through Kelvindale and Jordanhill. Due to the hip pain I gave up trying to keep up with Danny after the third or fourth fast burst. I was worried about aggravating my injury but didn't feel any worse off afterwards. The total distance came out at 6.2 miles or so.

4 miles steady

Headed off from Bearsden Asda to run about 4 miles at a 7-minute pace, using the same route as last week, except this time the top gate at Garscube Estate wasn't locked so the total distance came out at 4.03 miles, completed in a steady 27:42.

3.9 miles slow, 8.8 miles moderate

Went out in the morning with Natasha for a slow run via Shakespeare Street, Cleveden Drive and Napiershall Street. In the afternoon my lower back and right hip were causing me a bit of pain but I had another attempt at the loop of Auchinairn via Woodhill Road, with the aim of finishing inside 60 minutes, as well as racking up over 50 miles for the week. I lost a lot of time running into a strong headwind on the way back down Springburn Road and Keppochhill Road but I picked it up again running downhill on Possil Road and got home in 59:37 - not a route PB but a better effort. Average pace was 6:46/mile for 8.8 miles. The first mile came in at 7:30 which seems a lot slower than I felt I was running, although it was mostly uphill. Weekly total: 55 miles.

3.2 miles steady, 7.6 miles moderate

Went out in the morning for a few steady miles via Maryhill Road, New City Road, Maitland Street, a loop of the Craighall Business Park, across the canal and back up Garscube Road - 3.23 miles in total at a pace just outside 7-minute miles. In the afternoon I ran up Maryhill Road as far as Canniesburn Toll, following the path through the wood, then back home via Anniesland Cross. This time it came out at 7.63 miles in 50:09 for a 6:34 average.

2.9 miles steady, 6.9 miles tempo, 2.9 miles easy

I ran up to training at a fairly steady pace although slightly too fast for comfort because I though I might be late, but it turned out that I still had to wait a few minutes when I got there as there was a larger gap than usual between packs going out. The fastest two packs were combined into one, and we ran the first couple of miles down to Anniesland Cross and towards Crow Road at a 7-minute pace. As we headed towards Dumbarton Road the pace increased and people started to drop off, particularly after the climb up Gardner Street. After having dodged pedestrians on Byres Road, we were down to two on Cleveden Road and now running 6-minute miles, but only just starting to catch the earlier packs. We eased off slightly after the last climb up Cowal Road and got back to Garscube Estate in 43:48 for a 6:22/mile average which is a bit skewed by the slow start. Ran back home at a fairly easy pace.

3.8 miles recovery

Went out for after playing football for a steady run via Shakespeare Street, Cleveden Drive and Napiershall Street, which came out at 3.84 miles.

2.9 miles steady, medium reps, 2.9 miles easy

Ran up to Tuesday training for once. The scheduled medium reps turned out to be 12 x 600m or so on the warm-up trail, run alternately anti-clockwise and clockwise, with an additional pair of reps jogged as the warm-up. I ran them at a reasonably consistent pace, staying just off the front, but put in more of an effort on the final two, and still felt fine to run back down the road. Total mileage for the evening was about 11.

4.2 miles steady

I wanted to run about 4 miles at a 7-minute pace, and headed from Bearsden Asda over West Chapelton Avenue, down Drymen Road and up Switchback Road to the top gate of Garscube Estate, which was locked. I rattled it a bit in case it was frozen, but by the time I had decided it really was locked, and reached the 2-mile mark after running back to the other gate on Switchback Road, Run.GPS was showing a 7:30/mile average, so I had to speed up to achieve my target. I went round the warm-up trail, out the side gate and back up Maryhill Road, arriving back at Asda in 29:17 for 4.2 miles (6:58/mile).

7 miles moderate

Ran my usual route via Garscube Estate although I got interrupted after about 5 minutes and stopped Run.GPS while I walked for a bit, so the total distance came out at 6.95 miles which I completed in 44:25, about 6:23/mile. Weekly total: 33 miles.

3.7 miles slow, 6 miles moderate

Went out in the morning with Natasha for about 3.7 miles via Byres Road and Sauchiehall Street. In the late afternoon I went out to run a few miles at 6:30 or better and headed up Maryhill Road as far as Dawsholm Road, where I lost some time on the path down to the river because it was too dark to see where I was going, and near the barrier on the other side of the river where I had to pick my way across the ice. I was faster going along Dorchester Avenue and Great Western Road, and took a detour via Burnbank Gardens in order to make the distance up to 6 miles, actually 6.01 in 38:28 (6:24/mile).

6.8 miles hard

Being resigned to missing tomorrow's 10K on account of other commitments (as well as some lower back pain) I went out for a run along the canal while it was still light enough to see properly where I was going. The first mile, which included the climb from Garscube Road up to the canal via Baird's Brae, came in at about 6:45, and I felt sufficiently OK to speed up a bit. Approaching the aqueduct over Lochburn Road, I thought of heading straight back home via Maryhill Road to see if I could beat 25 minutes for once on a route from years gone by, but I wanted to get more miles in so continued to Lock 27, down Crow Road and back along Great Western Road. I whittled my average pace down to 6:15 and had enough seconds in hand as I passed Achilles Heel that there was no real danger of missing the target. Finished the 6.78 mile route in 42:02, 6:12/mile.