6.1 miles easy

The club session was an easy run around the McAndrew course. This suited me as I noticed that I still seem to have tired legs from the marathon, even taking Tuesday's hill reps into account. Hip problem appears to be under control. 6.08 miles in 45:49 for a 7:32/mile average, HR 141.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:14 (127), 7:38 (135), 6:54 (147), 7:13 (149), 7:12 (148), 8:03 (141), 7:24 (136)
HR zones: 2.8%, 38.9%, 58.3%, 0%, 0%

3.92 miles slow

Ran down to Hyndland and back with Natasha, 3.92 miles in 34:23 for a 8:46/mile average, HR 119. Legs sore from the hill reps.

HR zones: 46.5%, 53.5%, 0%, 0%, 0%

Hill reps

The club session was hill reps which I thought might be worth a go, depending on where they were, but by the time I had got changed the others had disappeared along the warm-up trail. I headed down to Dawsholm Road and didn't see anybody, so I ran 10 hill reps of my own up Cleveden Road. It turned out the rest of the club had gone to Maryhill Park for the hill reps and were doing shuttle runs in Garscube Estate when I got back. My total distance was 4.84 miles.

HR zones: 22.9%, 44.4%, 27.3%, 5.3%, 0%

3.6 miles moderate

Ran from Toryglen Asda this time, over Prospecthill Road, along the road beside the new Victoria Infirmary, around the outside of Queen's Park and back. Wore the LunarGlide 2. Finished the 3.56 miles in 23:29, average pace 6:35/mile, HR 153.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:05 (140), 6:22 (154), 6:31 (163), 6:13 (161)
HR zones: 1.3%, 7.6%, 59.0%, 32.0%, 0%

6.1 miles steady

Struggling with a sore hip but I thought I'd be able to run through it. Wore the Vomeros for a run up Maryhill Road, onto the canal at the fire station, down to Lock 27 and back along Great Western Road. Seemed to go OK. 6.12 miles in 43:51, average pace 7:10/mile. Forgot chest strap.

Pace splits: 7:42, 7:04, 6:59, 7:11, 6:58, 7:40, 7:48
Weekly total: 28 miles

George Cummings relay

I was out on the third leg for a depleted A team. Wore the adiZero Mana as I couldn't decide on a preferred racing shoe. I set off with a gap of over 30 seconds in front and a few runners not too far behind. During the first mile, the footsteps behind me seemed to be getting closer all the time. I didn't look behind me, and after we turned off the main road and headed uphill, they disappeared. After a fast opening mile to take advantage of the downhills, the rest of the course was hard work, and I could only occasionally see a runner from Kilbarchan in the distance, although I did start to pass the odd backmarker. Without gaining or losing any places I finished in 14:26, which was the fastest time for Garscube on the day, and only 6 seconds down from 2008. We finished 13th overall. Left hip tightened up later on.

7.2 miles tempo

The club session was 2x2 miles tempo around Anniesland Road, Southbrae Drive and Crow Road. We jogged the 1.47 miles down to the start, although it didn't occur to me to start a new lap for the tempo section, so I had to work out my tempo splits later from the GPS trace. Ben wanted to run about 5:50 a mile, which I didn't think I'd be able to keep up with, but as we approached Southbrae Drive I found myself catching up and asked if it really was 5:50 pace, as the average shown by my Garmin was fairly meaningless since it included the jog down to the start. Sure enough, we went through the first mile in 5:49, and although I was starting to fall off the pace I managed the second in 5:51. The tempo section was slightly long and I ran the 2.08 miles in 12:10 for a decent 5:51/mile average. Total including the jog down from Garscube Estate was 3.55 miles in 23:31, average pace 6:38/mile, HR 153.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:47 (135), 6:42 (145), 5:49 (173), 5:52 (178)
HR zones: 4.3%, 29.3%, 20.3%, 45.6%, 0.6%

After a quarter-mile recovery I had intended to take the second half of the session slightly easier, and I was falling behind right from the start, but it came out much the same nonetheless - 12:17 for 2.09 miles, average pace 5:53/mile, HR 175.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 5:48 (171), 5:58 (179)
HR zones: 0%, 1.6%, 3.9%, 82.1%, 12.3%

Afterwards we jogged the 1.27 miles back to the bottom of the hill in Garscube Estate for 7.15 miles in total.

3.3 miles moderate

Ran a short loop of Cowcaddens and Queen Margaret Drive in the LunarGlide 2. Distance was 3.29 miles, time 21:31 for a 6:33/mile average, HR 152.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:41 (138), 6:34 (156), 6:30 (160), 6:10 (162)
HR zones: 3.1%, 8.9%, 60.0%, 28.0%, 0%

5.5 miles slow

Went out for a run in the evening with Natasha, up Maryhill Road to the pedestrian crossing before Garscube Estate and back again. 5.5 miles in 46:42, average pace 8:30/mile, HR 126.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:46 (123), 8:21 (126), 8:18 (126), 8:29 (127), 8:42 (128), 8:15 (126)
HR zones: 5.2%, 94.8%, 0%, 0%, 0%

3.2 miles slow

In an attempt to resuscitate my Garmin Forerunner 305, which could still connect to my PC OK, I tried to upgrade its firmware. This brought it back to life. I don't know whether simply charging it might also have been sufficient. Felt OK to try a few slow miles in the evening so I ran a single lap of the old club 5-mile course from Bearsden Asda, loosening up after a mile or so. 3.21 miles in 25:08, average pace 7:50/mile, HR 139.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:23 (131), 7:49 (144), 7:30 (144), 6:57 (140)
HR zones: 1.2%, 39.5%, 59.4%, 0%, 0%

Einstein-Marathon, Ulm

I had discovered on Saturday that the hotel only served breakfast from 8am on Sundays, which was no use to me with the race starting at 9am, so I had bought some supplies during the day and had a cereal bar, an energy bar and some orange juice as soon as I woke up. I jogged the mile or so to the Donauhalle, got changed out of my tracksuit and pinned a couple of energy gels to the inside of my shorts. The start was arranged into groups by time, and I evidently should have had a red ticket to get into the first (sub-3h) group, but I had only registered on Saturday and didn't know anything about this. The steward allowed me in anyway, probably because I was wearing a club vest.

Right from the start I tried to stick to a comfortable pace. The sun was shining in clear skies but there was a cool breeze. I noticed the runner with the 2:59 balloon was ahead of me so I wondered if maybe I'd started too far back. Right in front of me was a guy with earphones who was weaving in and out of the field and occasionally slowing down to look back for somebody, which was incredibly irritating, but as the field spread out he became less of a problem. I went through the first couple of kilometre markers in 4:05/km as we headed away from the city along the Danube, and I had soon passed the 2:59 pacemaker without noticing. I thought some of the people around me were breathing far too heavily so early in the race. After we crossed the river for the first time and headed back along a twisty road through the countryside towards Neu-Ulm, I stuck religiously to the racing line to save the odd second here and there, and was surprised that nobody else seemed to be doing this.

We reached Neu-Ulm and between 12 and 13km I started being overtaken, which was a bit of a surprise as so far I had run every kilometre no more than a couple of seconds outside my early pace. I suddenly noticed that the people overtaking me had race numbers with a pink background, indicating that they were taking part in the half-marathon. We headed back across the Danube into Ulm, where the route took me close to the hotel. There were a couple of streets here with cobbles which were very inconvenient for the Newton Distance S. Then we crossed back over the Danube - the third of eight such crossings - to run a few hundred metres further into Neu-Ulm before making a 180-degree turn. We then covered the same short stretch of road for the third time and headed along the riverbank. The route in the city centre was fairly tortuous, possibly for the benefit of spectators, and with a couple of hills on the Ulm side it didn't make for fast times. I went through 16km in around 1:06 which was still inside 6:40/mile.

The course split at 20km and most of the people around me turned out to be running the half marathon. The marathon course continued up the riverbank in the direction of the start, before reaching another 180-degree turn just after the halfway mark, where my time was around 1:27:30, and heading back on a parallel path. There was one last particularly steep climb towards the centre of Ulm and then we headed out along the river towards the countryside. With 10K to go I had expected to be starting to struggle but I was feeling fine. I thought of picking up the pace and running the remainder as if it was a straight 10K, but decided to save my energy just in case. The route became slightly tortuous again a few kilometres later as it took us uphill and around Wiblingen Abbey, but once I had got over that I tried lengthening my stride to see if I could pull away from the runner beside me. This only worked for a short distance before I decided I wouldn't be able to keep it up, and as I felt my pace slipping my attention turned to finishing inside 3 hours.

I thought that even if the final few kilometres went very badly, I would still be able to manage 8:00/mile, so every marker I passed inside 5:00 took me closer to this comfort zone, and by 39km I reckoned I was safe, with an outside chance of a PB. I made an effort to pick up the pace after 40km although there were a few more inconvenient twists and turns on the approach to the final river crossing, and again within the city centre. The cathedral was in sight and I tried to break into a sprint up the main street, but as I rounded the bend I saw I still had quite far to go and eased off slightly. I crossed the line in 2:57:09, 11 seconds outside the PB I set in Amsterdam in 2001, and availed myself of the free drinks (including beer), fruit and cakes. I had wondered at first why I hadn't been handed a goody bag of some sort, but it turned out you could just take anything you wanted from the numerous stalls that had been set up at the finish, in an area reserved for competitors. The results posted in the main square later said 2:57:10, but I discovered later that they had actually rounded up my chip time of 2:57:09.5, which I don't think is best practice. This gave me an average pace of 6:45/mile and I managed to run both halves inside 1:30, which was a first. I was 28th overall, 7th M40, and apparently the only Briton in the race.

The Newtons had placed most of the load on my calves, which were feeling pretty beaten up, while my quads were more or less fine, and I was able to walk about afterwards with hardly any trouble, even after sitting around in the hotel for a while.

Weekly total: 47 miles

5.5 miles steady

Went out for a few miles in Ulm, following a cycle path from the hotel down to the Danube, then along the Baden-Württemberg side of the river until I reached a convenient bridge at a power station where I crossed to the Bavaria side to run back. There were a couple of kilometre markers already in place for Sunday's marathon. I wore the LunarGlide 2 but was unable to gauge my pace properly as my Garmin Forerunner 305 appeared to have developed a fault en route to Germany and would switch itself off after about 2 seconds, immediately after the startup screen. No amount of soft or hard resets made any difference. It was vaguely possible that the unit had accidentally been switched on and the battery had discharged, but there was no battery warning and I hadn't brought the charger anyway. I just made do with the sports watch I had brought for the marathon and traced the route out later on gmap-pedometer.com. It came out at 5.45 miles, time 38:49 for a 7:07/mile average.

7.2 miles tempo

The club session was a tempo run around the McAndrew course, with a couple of miles at the start via Cowal Road and Dorchester Road to warm up. The others in the fast pack all had races this coming weekend so nobody was really pushing it. I gave the LunarGlide 2 another try and seemed to get on OK in them, although I haven't run far enough in them to be confident about using them for a marathon. Felt quite fit as we headed up to the top gate. I completed the 7.16 miles in 47:22, average pace 6:37/mile, HR 161.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:05 (151), 6:36 (156), 6:33 (156), 6:17 (162), 6:23 (167), 6:33 (167), 6:48 (171), 7:01 (158)
HR zones: 0.7%, 2.2%, 35.7%, 61.4%, 0%

3.3 miles easy

Ran a short loop of Cowcaddens and Queen Margaret Drive in the Vomeros this time, taking it easy. Finished the 3.26 miles in 24:04, average pace 7:23/mile, HR 140.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:34 (130), 7:16 (143), 7:15 (146), 7:30 (141)
HR zones: 3.1%, 37.5%, 59.3%, 0%, 0%

5.1 miles moderate

I used the terrible conditions on Monday evening as an excuse to have another day off. On Tuesday I ran the same route as last Wednesday in the LunarGlide 2. I noticed the first mile was quite fast which could have been attributable either to the shoes or the rest day. Eased off several times to keep my pace around 6:30/mile and got back home in 32:58 for 5.08 miles, average pace 6:29/mile, HR 153. This was about a minute faster than last week for significantly less effort, according to the HR zone statistics.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:38 (140), 6:32 (153), 6:25 (159), 6:27 (158), 6:26 (156)
HR zones: 1.5%, 2.9%, 79.5%, 16.1%, 0%

4.7 miles slow, 4.7 miles moderate

Went out in the morning with Natasha for one of our usual loops of Hyndland Road, Dumbarton Road and Charing Cross. Got back home in 39:11 for 4.65 miles, average pace 8:26/mile, HR 124.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:32 (120), 8:25 (127), 8:15 (123), 8:28 (126), 8:32 (127)
HR zones: 18.9%, 81.1%, 0%, 0%, 0%

In the afternoon I picked up a pair of Nike LunarGlide 2 and took them for a trial run around the West End. They felt unusual at first but it was quite easy to maintain a forefoot strike. I ran up Maryhill Road, down Shakespeare Street, up Winton Drive, back along Great Western Road and home via Kirklee Road. Distance came out at 4.72 miles, time 31:03 for a 6:35/mile average, HR 148.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:08 (134), 6:24 (147), 6:39 (152), 6:29 (156), 6:07 (157)
HR zones: 2.1%, 10.8%, 77.0%, 10.0%, 0%
Weekly total: 40 miles

13.1 miles steady

On Friday I decided a day off would be more useful than trying to shoe-horn in a few extra miles. The adiZero Tempo had given me a blister in the Great Scottish Run so I decided to try out the Newton Distance S as an alternative marathon shoe. In the afternoon I headed out towards Milngavie, up Baird's Brae, Saracen Street and Balmore Road towards Allander Toll. I added a few extra miles (of hills) by following the Hogmanay Handicap route, trying to keep each mile inside 7:00. At the bottom of Baldernock Road I crossed over to Station Road and headed home down Main Street, Milngavie Road and Maryhill Road. The shoes worked out not too badly in the sense that it didn't seem to be taking much effort to maintain a reasonable pace. Got back home in 1:29:32 for the 13.1 miles, average pace 6:50/mile, HR 157.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:24 (136), 6:42 (150), 6:46 (156), 6:41 (155), 6:58 (157), 6:53 (159), 6:57 (165), 6:41 (158), 6:50 (159), 6:49 (157), 6:46 (163), 6:54 (160), 6:32 (163), 6:46 (165)
HR zones: 0.8%, 2.3%, 57.7%, 39.2%, 0%

6 miles moderate

The club session was a simple route up Milngavie Road, over Mosshead Road to the ski school, down Drymen Road, along Switchback Road and in the top gate. It was billed as a steady run so the fast pack stuck together for the most part. I suspected the pace might pick up as usual so I wore the adiZero Tempo. Legs had more or less recovered from the half marathon. Finished the 5.96 miles in 39:23, average pace 6:37/mile, HR 158.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:09 (138), 6:43 (156), 6:42 (162), 6:28 (164), 6:18 (164), 6:18 (170)
HR zones: 1.0%, 8.5%, 34.4%, 56.0%, 0%

5.1 miles moderate

Ran down to Cowcaddens, along Great Western Road to Cleveden Road, down Winton Drive and home via Shakespeare Street and Garscube Road as far as Grovepark Street. 5.05 miles in 33:57, average pace 6:43/mile, HR 154.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:03 (136), 6:44 (152), 6:34 (160), 6:43 (161)
HR zones: 1.9%, 9.3%, 55.2%, 33.6%, 0%

3.2 miles steady

Legs still heavy. Ran down to Cowcaddens, along the canal to the fire station, and back down Garscube Road as far as Grovepark Street to take the distance over 3 miles. Finished the 3.17 miles in 22:20, average pace 7:03/mile, HR 145. Apart from a slow first mile, the rest wasn't too bad. It felt like particularly hard work going up the short hill on Garscube Road and the HR stats showed later that I had indeed been in zone 4 at that point.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:49 (133), 6:44 (149), 6:41 (152), 6:40 (154)
HR zones: 4.0%, 17.2%, 76.0%, 2.8%, 0%

3.2 miles easy

Had heavy legs but seemed OK otherwise. To be on the safe side I ran a short route from Bearsden Asda, round a single loop of the old club 5-mile championship course. Finished the 3.2 miles in 24:29, average pace 7:40/mile, HR 140.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:00 (131), 7:35 (143), 7:25 (147), 7:34 (133)
HR zones: 3.8%, 44.0%, 52.1%, 0%, 0%

Great Scottish Run

My left leg had tightened up completely after Wednesday evening and I suspected an IT band issue, so I spent the rest of the week looking for sore spots (with some success) and didn't run at all. Even walking was a struggle. At the same time, it didn't feel like a long-term injury so I was still hopeful of taking part in the half marathon, and by Saturday morning I had recovered sufficiently that I knew I would at least be able to start the race. I had intended to run a few fast miles towards the end of the week to sharpen up and wasn't sure what effect three days off might have. A minor club dispute had also escalated to the point where it had affected my mental preparations.

It appeared to have rained overnight but conditions in the morning were dry and windy. I had woken up with a slight headache but felt better by the time we set off. We got to the start with a few minutes to spare and I manoeuvred myself toward the front, eventually reaching the 7th row or thereabouts. I still had to dodge a few people along St Vincent Street but the field had already started to spread out by the first hill. I went through the first mile in about 5:40 and the second on the Kingston Bridge (not marked, but somebody's watch bleeped) at 11:30, which seemed OK but might actually have been too fast, taking the course profile and crosswind into account. Along Paisley Road West I was running with a small group but even without the Garmin I could sense that my HR was in the 170s which I doubted I would be able to sustain for long, and I began to lose a few seconds here and there. The supposed 10K point was on Dumbreck Road and I went through in 37:12, which wasn't too bad, but Pollok Park was a struggle and I started losing more time. Although the IT band had started to tighten up, it wasn't causing any major problems, so I thought I would certainly be able to finish, but I couldn't find any motivation at all and started going backwards.

I went through 10 miles in 1:01:30 and felt like I was running very slowly by that point, which probably was the case as I was being overtaken every now and then. Between 10 and 11 miles I felt particularly short of energy and thought I should probably have had a larger breakfast, but the psychological boost of knowing there were only 2 miles to go soon improved matters. Earlier on I had thought I might even finish outside 1:22 but without having to attempt a sprint I crossed the line in 1:21:42 for a 6:14/mile average, in 87th place overall (10th M40) and apparently second finisher for Garscube, although I suspected I was too far down the field to have helped us win a team prize. Although the race seemed to go horribly wrong, I was only two and a half minutes outside my time from Helensburgh which has a much faster course. It also felt like I was doing much worse than I actually did, so I can't really complain about the outcome. There had also been a significant risk that I would aggravate the IT Band injury, but that doesn't seem to have happened, as it was only a minor annoyance during the race and responded well to some stretching later on.

Weekly total: 26 miles

4 miles easy

Ran the same route as on Monday evening, taking it a bit easier and finishing the 4.04 miles in 29:27 for a 7:17/mile average, HR 135. Left leg was stiff later on and a day off seems likely.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:50 (129), 7:06 (138), 7:07 (137), 7:04 (137)
HR zones: 3.8%, 74.7%, 21.5%, 0%, 0%