4.7 miles slow, 6 miles moderate

Went out with Natasha before lunch for our longer West End route, 4.7 miles via Great Western Road, Hyndland Road and Sauchiehall Street. It was OK underfoot as we stuck mainly to the roads. In the late afternoon I ran the same route as Sunday, again in the adiZero Tempo. It came out at 5.95 miles this time, finishing time 40:09 for a 6:45/mile average. Pace splits: 6:56, 6:34, 6:51, 6:49, 6:52, 6:25.

6 miles moderate

Got a pair of adiZero Tempo for longer distances (or indeed snowy conditions) and tried them out with a loop of Garscube Road, Great Western Road, Dorchester Avenue and Maryhill Road. Set out fast and promptly got stuck at the traffic lights at St George's Road. Legs also very heavy on account of the previous day's efforts. I did manage to keep off the snow for the most part until I got to Maryhill Road. The shoes were fine in the sense that I could run on the forefoot OK and fall back onto the heel if necessary. 6 miles exactly in 39:58 (6:39/mile average). Pace splits: 6:48, 6:42, 6:34, 6:24, 7:00, 6:28. Weekly total: 19 miles.

5.2 miles moderate

I thought I would try one of my usual routes via Dorchester Avenue to see whether it was possible to run on snow in the Newtons. It wasn't. At least there was no pressure to set another route PB. Had to run on the road where possible but every time I was forced back onto the pavement my average pace would start dropping. Nonetheless, completed the 5.20 miles in 34:35 for a reasonable 6:39/mile average. Pace splits: 6:30, 6:53, 6:37, 6:48, 6:21, 7:12.

4 miles slow

Went out with Natasha before lunch for a slight modification of our usual West End run, heading up Maryhill Road instead of Garscube Road on account of the conditions, and extending the route via Cleveden Drive, for 3.97 miles in total. I gave the Nimbus another try but they were too tough on the ankles.

4.1 miles steady

Had to go to Springburn Tesco and decided running through the snow would be safer than driving. Wore the Inov8s but it was still hard work. 2.04 miles there in 15:33 for a 7:37/mile average, 2.06 miles back in 15:50 for a 7:42/mile average as I took a slightly different route, running up the hill from the cemetery gates. Pace splits: 7:41, 7:29, 8:11, 7:12, 7:45.

Santa Race

I felt quite fit playing football on Wednesday but the hip was playing up pretty badly afterwards, particularly on Thursday morning, to the extent that I thought I had made no progress whatsoever. By Thursday afternoon I thought I might just about be able to run with the club in the evening, but icy conditions ended up ruling it out, so I stayed at home and completed the remaining jogging routes in Wii Fit Plus. On Friday afternoon the knot around the left IT band turned out not to have diminished at all, and I also had my feet checked, the diagnosis being that I needed at least a token amount of support so I shouldn't run in the Lunar Trainer at all, and the Nimbus were probably a better bet for longer runs, despite the weight. Fortunately, my Newton Motus were given the green light as well.

Sunday was the day of the club's Christmas handicap race. The route had been changed to avoid crossing Canniesburn Road, and as the side streets at home had a light covering of snow, I thought my best bet would be my trail shoes (Inov-8 Roclite 285) which have been fine on snowy streets in the past. On arriving at the start of the course, however, it turned out that the roads around Westerton had all been cleared and the only snow was on the pavements. The only other shoes I had with me were the Nimbus and I wasn't about to change into them for a road race, so I had to stick with the Inov-8 and hope for the best.

The handicapping was evidently based on old times as I was off scratch. None of my fellow scratch men had turned up, so I was isolated in last place for the first mile, making up no ground at all on Marco in front. It was quite warm in the Santa suit but I managed to keep the hood up and the beard on for the entire race. The Inov-8s were clattering noisily on the road but I was just about able to stay on the forefoot in them, wishing all the time I had brought the Newtons instead. About halfway round I started to make up the odd place, and finally got to run on snow on the pavement along Switchback Road, although it was easier to run on the road when there was a gap in the traffic. This was only for a couple of hundred metres before we were back onto a side street. The route took us back onto Switchback Road for another couple of hundred metres through the snow, where my off-road shoes finally gave me a tiny advantage, before we turned onto Westerton Road. I started to make up quite a few places on this final stretch and dragged myself up to the middle of the field by the finish. My time of 17:48 was the fastest senior time of the day, and I was pleased to manage a sub-6 average in a Santa suit and completely inappropriate running shoes. The route came out as 3.00 miles on the Forerunner but SportTracks later recalculated it as 2.99, giving me a 5:57/mile average. Minor left hip tightness soon wore off, still some problems with the right hamstring. Pace splits: 5:58, 6:05, 5:47. Weekly total: 12 miles.

4.7 miles easy

The club's planned session consisted of mixed reps, so instead I tried an easy run in my normal shoes (Lunar Trainer) which I am finding increasingly difficult to run in. I ran a simple loop of Maryhill Road, Cleveden Road, Great Western Road and Crow Road which came out at 4.67 miles, completed in 35:57 for a 7:42/mile average. Pace splits: 7:57, 7:55, 7:22, 7:48, 7:19.

4.7 miles hard

Had another go at the shorter Monday night route via Station Road and Westerton to see if I could manage it inside a 6:00/mile average. I managed a reasonable 6:12 for the first mile, which contained Pendicle Road and most of the climb up Canniesburn Road, and expected to be able to bring my average down later on, although I thought I would probably miss my goal time due to tired legs. It turned out the road around the Science Park had been dug up and fenced off at the end, so I tried to make my way through on the grass, but that had been fenced off as well, so I had to turn around and pick my way along a dirt track through the buildings, which added on about 300m and also lost me a bit of time. Finished the 4.72 miles in 29:14 for a 6:12/mile average, only 13 seconds outside my PB for the shorter route. Pace splits: 6:12, 6:03, 6:05, 6:30, 6:07.

3.4 miles slow, 7 miles steady

Went out before lunch with Natasha for our usual route around the West End except in reverse, 3.38 miles at an average pace just inside 8:30/mile. I was under instructions to work back up to a normal routine so in the afternoon I ran my usual 7-mile route in the Lunar Trainers, 6.97 miles in 47:44 for a 6:51/mile average. Only really started to get into it in the last couple of miles. Right hamstring particularly tight. Pace splits: 6:59, 7:04, 6:37, 7:02, 6:53, 6:49, 6:35. Weekly total: 21 miles.

3.9 miles hard

The physio found a knot around my left IT band on Friday afternoon and on Saturday the hip was already feeling a lot better, so in the afternoon I tackled an old route of about 4 miles which I'd repeatedly tried (and failed) to run inside 25 minutes a few years back. I could certainly have done it in an actual race, but the first mile contained a long climb from Garscube Road up to the canal via Baird's Brae, and I could never quite make up the lost time on the rest of the course, with a route PB somewhere in the range of 25:15 to 25:30. Recent training performances in the Newtons suggested I could hardly fail this time around. It was quite foggy and the temperature was just a couple of degrees above freezing but I wore a t-shirt and shorts to avoid overheating.

The cobbles on Baird's Brae and the first part of the towpath were a bit tricky in the Newtons but I was ahead of schedule at this point and had possibly even set out too fast. The first mile went by in 5:51, so it looked like I could slow down quite a bit and still beat 25 minutes. The next time goal I remembered was that I had to reach the end of Lochburn Road in around 15 minutes, and as I turned onto Maryhill Road the time was 13:58, so it was all over - I could have taken it easy from that point and still made it. Maryhill Road was fairly busy and a couple of pedestrians commented to the effect that I was underdressed for the conditions. I got stuck waiting for traffic at Bilsland Drive for about 10 seconds but didn't stop the timer, even though minor delays when running at this kind of pace can really affect my average. I continued to push and felt slightly nauseous in the last half mile. Finished the 3.93 miles in 22:58 for a 5:51/mile average and a huge route PB. Pace splits: 5:51, 5:47, 5:58, 5:46.

3.4 miles hard

Had more hip trouble playing football on Wednesday, although this time it got no worse during the course of the game. On Thursday I had recovered enough by the time I was walking home from work to consider attempting to run my usual West End route inside 20 minutes, which would be a huge route PB, but might be achievable with the Newtons if I could stay inside 6-minute miles. When I got to the first mile mark in 5:59 it was definitely on the cards, and although I stopped the timer when I got stuck at Queen Margaret Drive later on, I could probably just have let it run. I lost a few seconds here and there dodging rush-hour traffic and pedestrians but finished the 3.35 miles in 19:29, average pace 5:49/mile. Pace splits: 5:59, 5:43, 5:46, 5:49. Don't really see a reason to run in any other shoes ever again (with the possible exception of racing flats) unless I'm planning an easy run.

Long reps

Went to Tuesday training for once as the planned session was long reps, which turned out to be 6x1K reps on the other side of Switchback Road, a half-mile jog from the car park. Wore the Newtons, although the road surface was a bit dubious for forefoot running in the dark. I ran the first three in 3:30, 3:28 and 3:29, a couple of seconds behind Joe each time. On the third rep the hip injury started playing up slightly on the downhill section, so I bailed out rather than make it worse.

3.9 miles hard

Restricted mileage meant I couldn't go for a particularly long run on Sunday so instead I ran my usual route around the West End, extended via Cleveden Drive. I decided to make the most of it by wearing the Newtons. At all my usual checkpoints within the first mile I was within my best previous time, and midway through the second mile my average pace had dropped below 6:00/mile, so maintaining that became my goal. I got stuck at the lights at Queen Margaret Drive, which threatened to scupper my plans, so after a couple of seconds I stopped the timer. Got back home (3.91 miles) in a clear route PB of 23:14, not far off race pace at an average of 5:56/mile. Pace splits: 6:13, 5:41, 5:59, 5:50. Right hamstring a bit tight later on. Weekly total: 15 miles.

5.9 miles hard

Football on Wednesday was much tougher than usual, but I thought with a physio visit scheduled for Friday, it was probably better to have an injury to demonstrate, and on the same premise I went along to training on Thursday. I spotted a large pack heading out and could probably have caught them up, but Joe arrived just then and had to change into his running gear, so I took the opportunity to swap the Lunar Trainers for the Newtons so I would stand a better chance of keeping up. The route took us down to Anniesland Cross, along Anniesland Road, Queen Victoria Drive, Danes Drive and back up Crow Road. I expected everybody else would be taking it fairly easy on account of the West Districts cross-country on Saturday, but we didn't catch up with anyone at all despite maintaining a brisk pace. Distance came out at 5.86 miles, time 38:16 for a 6:32/mile average. Pace splits: 7:07, 6:32, 6:19, 6:29, 6:30, 6:10.