4.3 miles steady

Went out for a few miles in the evening, down Garscube Road and along Great Western Road. I was aiming for about 6 or 7 miles but didn't feel too well so cut it short, up Kirklee Road and back down Maryhill Road. 4.28 miles in 29:32, 6:54/mile average.

7.3 miles steady

Thought I would be more or less OK for the club training session as I could drop off the pace if necessary. The route turned out to be, in effect, over 7 miles of hill reps: along Maxwell Avenue, up Pendicle Road, up Chesters Road, up Drymen Road and along Manse Road, then up Kilmardinny Avenue and back down Milngavie Road, Boclair Road and Rannoch Drive. After 2 miles, at the top of Pendicle, I was having some hamstring problems so I slowed right down and let the other two members of the fast pack disappear down the hill. I thought I would just head up Station Road and back to Garscube Estate but I felt a lot better after going downhill at the slower pace, so I stuck to the planned route. I caught up with the next fastest pack on Boclair Road, although they got away from me again when they sped up going down Rannoch Drive. My average pace was about 7:04/mile for the 7.33 miles. I thought I might be facing a couple more days off but after standing around for a bit, the half-mile warm-down went not too badly.

3.3 miles slow

Went out before breakfast for my usual short route of somewhere around 3.4 miles. It came out at only 3.30 due to more GPS problems. Average pace was 8:00/mile. Hamstring was very tight so I think I have enough miles in the bank from the last two weeks to take a couple of days off.

7 miles steady

Ran my usual 7-mile route in the afternoon which came out at 6.95 miles due to GPS issues. Finishing time was 48:36, average mile pace just under 7:00. Weekly total: 47 miles.

Parkrun 5K, 3.4 miles slow

In the morning I had another go at the Parkrun 5K in Pollok Park. Without any recent fast runs I had no idea how I would get on. I spotted one runner I thought I should try to keep up with, but he headed off at far too fast a pace for me. For the first part of the race I was 7th and had heavy legs, but I picked up a few places on the first long uphill stretch and felt quite strong on the downhill, so I thought I had a good chance of beating my time from three weeks ago. On the second lap I was 4th but could still see the leaders, and I began to close in on 3rd place, moving ahead in the last half mile or so, then dropping back on the most awkward uphill part of the course, and going back into 3rd on the final downhill stretch. My time was 17:09 which was 15 seconds faster than my previous attempt. Afterwards I ran a 1-mile recovery.

By the afternoon my hamstring had tightened up but I thought I should be OK for a few slow miles, so I ran the usual 3.4-mile route, which came out this time at 3.36 miles. Loosened up a bit after the first mile.

4.5 miles slow, 3.9 miles steady

Went out with Natasha before breakfast for a run along Nezavisimosti to Park Cheluskintsev. At one point a policeman refused to let us cross a one-way street at Akademiya Nauk and pointed us towards a nearby underpass. We ran a loop inside the park and headed back down Nezavisimosti for 4.54 miles in total. In the evening, in Berlin, I ran a 3.93-mile loop inside Tiergarten and began to pick up speed in the latter half of the run, finishing in 27:01 for a 6:52/mile average.

7.5 miles steady

Felt OK to get in a few more miles, so in the afternoon I ran down Kozlova and along Botanicheskaya, which was also being dug up, and along the trail around the back of the Botanic Gardens. I headed up part of the marathon loop from last year and through the grounds of the new library, then straight back down Nezavisimosti. I had been slowed down early on by conditions underfoot, but in the last few miles my pace dropped below 6:30 in places as I fought to get the average below 7:30. Finished the 7.54-mile route in 56:19, average pace 7:28/mile.

9.4 miles steady

By the late afternoon I had recovered fairly well and had also more or less got used to the heat, so I attempted to run as far as the new velodrome on Pobediteley by the most direct route, all the way along Kommunisticheskaya and over the footbridge to Masherova, then straight out towards Zhdanovichi. It was broadly uphill but there were very few road junctions to get stopped at. I reached the entrance to the underpass in a reasonable time and ran back the way I had come. Got back in 1:09:36, distance came out at 9.37 miles for a 7:26 average.

4.4 miles slow, 3.2 miles slow

Went out with Natasha before breakfast for another few miles. We went under Ploschad Pobedy and along the river to the pedestrian bridge near Hotel Yubileynaya, then back on the other side of the river apart from the bit at Zhuravinka, and home through Park Gorkogo - 4.41 miles. In the afternoon I was suffering from some hamstring tightness and ran a couple of loops inside the park, although the tree cover caused some GPS problems and the distance was certainly further than the reported 3.24 miles.

6.1 miles steady

In the afternoon I repeated the previous morning's route as far as the park, then followed the near side of the river as far as the bridge before Komsomolskoe Ozero, and came back on the far side, apart from the stretch beside Zhuravinka which was being dug up. It felt incredibly hot and was probably in the low 30s. There was a headwind in places on the way back which felt like running into a hairdryer. Got stopped at some traffic lights and discovered it was actually better to run than to stand still. Distance came out at 6.12 miles, time was 44:52 for a 7:20/mile average. Weekly total: 41 miles.

4 miles slow, 7.2 miles steady

In Minsk. Went out in the morning with Natasha for a run down Rumantsyeva, Voyskovoy, along Frunze and through Park Gorkovo, then back up Slesarnaya and Platonova, up Gikalo and back down Nezavisimosti, which came out at about 4 miles. In the late afternoon I went out for another run in the heat, heading straight up Nezavisimosti as far as Vostok underground station and back again, 7.17 miles in 53:20 for a 7:26/mile average.

7.7 miles moderate

I felt capable of racking up a few more miles in the evening so ran a slightly longer route up Maryhill Road and along the footpath near Canniesburn Toll, down to Anniesland Cross and back along Great Western Road. I was keen to push my average pace down to 6:45 and had plenty of energy to attempt this in the last couple of miles, but running faster caused some upper leg tightness so I eased off again very slightly. Finishing time was 52:18, distance 7.74 miles, average pace 6:45/mile.

2.5 miles slow, 6.2 miles steady

Out before breakfast again for the same route as yesterday, which was slightly more of a struggle and took a couple of seconds longer. I had recovered enough by the evening to go out again, so I tried a different route, onto the canal near the fire station and all the way to Lock 27, then down Crow Road and back along Great Western Road. Pace was comfortable all the way round and had dropped towards a 7:17/mile average by the end. Distance came out at 6.21 miles, time was 45:12.

2.5 miles slow, 5.2 miles steady

Went out before breakfast for 2.5 miles via Queen Margaret Drive at an easy 8:00/mile pace. In the evening I ran the usual Dorchester Avenue route, 5.19 miles in 35:08. The first mile was well outside 7:30 but by the end my average pace had dropped to 6:46/mile. Felt pretty comfortable all the way round.

8.8 miles steady

I felt quite a bit better by Sunday afternoon so had a crack at a route which would normally take me around an hour and didn't have any major hills until the second half - Great Western Road, Lincoln Avenue, Danes Drive, Clarence Drive and Great Western Road. I started off at an easy 7:45 pace and gradually picked it up. Had a few twinges in the last mile but was otherwise OK. Distance was 8.76 miles, finishing time was 1:03:30 for a 7:15/mile average. Weekly total: 21 miles.

3.4 miles slow, gym

In order to make it into double figures for the week, I went out before breakfast with Natasha for our usual route around the West End. She picked up the pace for a stretch on Kirklee Road and for once I had to look sharp to keep up. In the afternoon I paid the gym another visit and spent about half of the 40-minute session on the hamstring curl machine.

6.2 miles steady

I felt just about able to go out training with the club. The route took us out the top gate and along the canal towards Blairdardie. I was fine for the first couple of miles but the third was becoming a bit of a struggle, so as we approached Great Western Road I decided to drop off the back and cut the run short. The rest of the fast pack then waited for me to catch up as it turned out they weren't exactly sure of the route. Somebody mentioned Alderman Road so I guessed we were supposed to head down Lincoln Avenue. I said I'd be staying on Great Western Road but I soon decided the slower pace was manageable and followed the others at a gradually increasing distance. As I got to Alderman Road I saw some of the other packs, so we had evidently cut the route short - it turned out we should have stayed on the canal for another half-mile or so. I made it back to Garscube Estate at a fairly slow pace and was being caught by the second pack in the closing stages. Finishing time was just over 43 minutes for about 6.2 miles. I felt somewhat the worse for wear afterwards and prepared to take a couple of days off.

3 miles steady

Didn't fancy the club's fartlek session so I ran a few laps of the warm-up trail. 6 laps came out at just over 3 miles, average pace 7:02/mile. Still not 100% but gradually recovering.

4.7 miles slow

I wanted to get closer to 40 miles for the week so went out in the afternoon for a route intended to be as flat as possible - down Garscube Road and along Phoenix Road and Great Western Road to Hyndland Road, then along Prince Albert Road and Dowanside Road, by which time I wasn't exactly sure where I was going. I felt a bit better than the previous afternoon so I continued up University Avenue and along Bank Street, then home via North Woodside Road. It came out at 4.7 miles, average pace just outside 8:00/mile. Weekly total: 36 miles.

Parkrun 5K, 6.5 miles slow

In the morning I took part in the Glasgow Parkrun 5K in Pollok Park. I didn't really feel up to a race but knew I wouldn't have another one for a few weeks. I had heard it was quite a hilly course so thought I should make the most of the downhill start, although with no kilometre markers it was hard to judge my pace. I was in third place for most of the first lap, but at the start of the second lap we reached an unmarked fork in the path and had to shout back to the stewards at the previous junction, losing a few seconds in the process. Shortly after this I moved into second spot and stayed there until the end, with the leader mostly out of sight. My finishing time was 17:24 which was OK for the difficulty of the course. Afterwards I jogged about half a mile with Natasha to warm down.

In the afternoon I tried an easy route down Garscube Road, over the footbridge and along the canal to the Kelvin Walkway, which I followed all the way to Kelvinbridge. I was having trouble moving for the first couple of miles but gradually loosened up a bit. The route came out at 6.48 miles, although I was having a few GPS problems and it might actually be slightly shorter than that.

5.9 miles moderate

The club training session was supposed to be a steady 6-mile run, so I thought it should be safe enough. The route took us out the top gate and along the canal to the Kelvin Walkway, then through the Botanic Gardens and along Great Western Road. It became apparent that the pace was far from steady and was only going to increase, so I eased off for the climb up Cleveden Road and let the leaders get away, although I could still see them in the distance by the time I reached Dawsholm Road. Got back to the gates in 38:50 for a 6:36/mile average, assuming the measured distance of 5.89 miles is correct, although it might have been slightly overestimated.

3.4 miles recovery

After playing football for the first time in ages, and getting through it reasonably well, I went on a slow recovery run round the usual 3.4-mile route.