6.7 miles slow

Ran to Anniesland Cross with Natasha, then down Crow Road, along Dumbarton Road and back via Charing Cross. 6.69 miles in 56:59, average pace 8:31/mile, HR 124.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:38 (117), 8:24 (122), 8:14 (127), 8:26 (128), 8:34 (125), 8:45 (125), 8:39 (126)
HR zones: 13.0%, 87.0%, 0%, 0%, 0%
Weekly total: 37 miles

8.2 miles steady

Ran up Maryhill Road as far as Bearsden Asda, down West Chapelton Avenue and back down Drymen Road and Maryhill Road. Tried out my new waterproof jacket and trousers, although the rain soon eased off, and didn't overheat too badly. 8.17 miles in 56:48, average pace 6:57/mile, HR 146.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:30 (130), 7:00 (141), 6:52 (142), 6:55 (148), 6:49 (151), 6:58 (155), 6:55 (152), 6:45 (154), 6:15 (153)
HR zones: 1.4%, 19.7%, 78.5%, 0.4%, 0%

2.5 miles easy, 2.5 miles moderate, 3.9 miles steady

Ran to work in 17:57, average pace 7:18/mile, and back home in 16:30, average pace 6:42/mile. In the evening I dragged myself back out for a steady loop of Shakespeare Street, Cleveden Drive and Napiershall Street which ended up getting progressively faster. 3.86 miles in 26:19, average pace 6:49/mile, HR 142.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:21 (135), 6:49 (142), 6:38 (145), 6:24 (149)
HR zones: 1.8%, 25.8%, 72.4%, 0%, 0%

4.7 miles slow

Ran the usual loop of Hyndland Road and Charing Cross with Natasha in appalling conditions. We set off during a lull in the storm and made it to Hyndland Road before the rain came back on. I was nearly blown off my feet (which remained bone dry in the Lunarglide Shield) on Dumbarton Road. 4.65 miles in 39:24, average pace 8:29/mile, HR 121.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:23 (123), 8:35 (123), 8:21 (119), 8:32 (119), 8:33 (120)
HR zones: 42.7%, 57.3%, 0%, 0%, 0%

8.4 miles steady

Ran a loop of Canniesburn Toll and Anniesland Cross. Legs had been heavy from a comparatively high-mileage week but felt better after a day off, so I continued down Great Western Road to Cowcaddens and back up Garscube Road. Wore my new Nike Lunarglide+ 3 Shield which were heavier than anything I would normally wear, but I only really wanted them for running to work in wet conditions, and they worked out fine on a far longer run. 8.35 miles in 58:10, average pace 6:58/mile, HR 140.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:21 (128), 6:50 (139), 6:43 (140), 7:06 (144), 6:49 (141), 7:06 (142), 6:43 (143), 7:07 (143), 6:53 (144)
HR zones: 1.5%, 37.1%, 61.4%, 0%, 0%

5.6 miles slow

Ran out to the office with Natasha and continued along Scotland Street West, up Edwin Street and Lorne Street, over Bell's Bridge and back home through Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park. 5.61 miles in 50:20, average pace 8:58/mile, HR 116.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:44 (116), 8:51 (118), 9:09 (116), 9:22 (117), 8:53 (114), 8:45 (118)
HR zones: 81.0%, 19.0%, 0%, 0%, 0%
Weekly total: 52 miles

6.7 miles moderate

Ran a loop of Anniesland Cross, Crow Road, Dumbarton Road and Charing Cross with a brief stop at the West End Retail Park. 6.67 miles in 43:29, average pace 6:31/mile, HR 151.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:54 (132), 6:30 (148), 6:24 (152), 6:21 (156), 6:27 (153), 6:30 (160), 6:32 (160)
HR zones: 2.5%, 9.0%, 67.6%, 20.9%, 0%

2.5 miles easy, 3 miles steady

Ran to work in 18:29, average pace 7:31/mile. Ran back via Yorkhill for a change in 21:15, average pace 7:05/mile.

2x2.5 miles easy, 6.5 miles slow

Ran to work in 18:57, average pace 7:42/mile, and back in 18:06, average pace 7:21/mile.

The club training session was an easy/social run down Fulton Street, along Great Western Road, down Lincoln Avenue, along Danes Drive and back up Balshagray Avenue and Crow Road. Turnout was fairly low so the top few packs were combined into one. I was quite happy with the slow pace on account of heavy legs. 6.49 miles in 50:36, average pace 7:48/mile, HR 135.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:28 (124), 7:55 (130), 7:36 (143), 7:31 (143), 7:43 (138), 7:46 (138), 7:23 (130)
HR zones: 2.8%, 61.9%, 35.3%, 0%, 0%

2x2.5 miles easy

Ran to work in 18:37, average pace 7:34/mile, and back in 17:59, average pace 7:18/mile.

2x2.5 miles easy, medium reps

Ran to work in 18:41, average pace 7:36/mile, and back in 18:22, average pace 7:28/mile.

The club track session was 400m reps. We missed the first one and I ran the second one untimed as a warm-up. Times on the rest were 1:17, 1:12, 1:11, 1:10, 1:12, 1:14, 1:13, 1:11. Max HR was recorded as 186 although that might not be accurate. Ran a couple of laps afterwards to warm down. Total distance was 2.75 miles.

2x2.5 miles easy, 5.4 miles steady

Ran to work in 18:52, average pace 7:40/mile, and back in 18:04, average pace 7:20/mile.

In the evening I ran an old loop of Clober Road, Craigton Road, Hunter Road and South Mains Avenue from Bearsden Asda. 5.37 miles in 37:37, average pace 7:01/mile, HR 142.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:40 (126), 7:34 (136), 7:04 (146), 6:26 (150), 6:34 (149), 6:21 (155)
HR zones: 2.7%, 35.9%, 60.3%, 1.0%, 0%

Santa Race, 4 miles easy

There was still some snow around on the day of the club's Christmas handicap race so I took my spikes, trail shoes and racing flats with me to Westerton. The roads looked fairly clear while we were driving there so I decided to go with the Asics Hyperspeed 4, although while we were getting changed I noticed quite a few people were wearing Yaktrax. Of the 16 who turned up, I was off last and set off at race pace. I had pinned the Santa cloak shut and it seemed to be interfering with my stride length to begin with. It was a mile before I spotted anyone in the distance and a further half mile before I moved out of last place, just as we turned back off Switchback Road, and I steadily picked my way up the field. With the tail-enders from the kids' race being chaperoned by adults, I wasn't sure how many people ahead of me on Maxwell Avenue were actually in the senior race, and I crossed the line to discover that the only finisher ahead of me was Murray, who had intentionally disqualified himself by setting off a few minutes early so he could make a quick getaway. 3.00 miles in 16:54, average pace 5:38/mile.

Later in the afternoon I ran an easy loop of Shakespeare Street, Cleveden Drive and Napiershall Street, starting and finishing at the same point on Grovepark Street due to icy conditions. 4.02 miles in 30:09, average pace 7:30/mile, HR 140.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:12 (134), 7:27 (136), 7:24 (143), 6:58 (149)
HR zones: 1.2%, 50.0%, 48.8%, 0%, 0%
Weekly total: 44 miles

2x2.5 miles easy

Ran the 2.46 miles to work in 18:38, average pace 7:36/mile, and back in 18:21, average pace 7:29/mile.

2x2.5 miles easy, 7.4 miles moderate

Ran the 2.46 miles to work and back in 18:13 each time, 7:26/mile average.

For the club's out-and-back session we started at the church on Bearsden Road and ran up Great Western Road for 25 minutes before turning around. Maintained a comfortable pace with Joe and got within a few hundred metres of Kilbowie Roundabout. We picked it up a bit on the way back and arrived 95 seconds early. 7.4 miles in 48:25, average pace 6:33/mile, HR 153.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:40 (139), 6:38 (145), 6:56 (169), 6:48 (153), 6:09 (153), 6:24 (162), 6:18 (164), 6:18 (166)
HR zones: 0.4%, 3.1%, 69.7%, 26.7%, 0%

Warm-up was 1.21 miles, warm-down 1.14 miles.

2.5 miles steady, 3 miles steady, 3.4 miles slow

Ran to the office via Kelvingrove Park and the squinty bridge, and back home later via Yorkhill. Route there was via Rutland Crescent which turned out to be about 100m further than necessary.

2.51 miles in 17:43, average pace 7:04/mile
Pace splits: 7:12, 6:54, 7:08

3.04 miles in 21:23, average pace 7:02/mile
Pace splits: 7:08, 7:04, 6:53

In the evening I ran a loop of Shakespeare Street and Napiershall Street with Natasha. 3.41 miles in 27:56, average pace 8:12/mile, HR 124.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:32 (122), 8:11 (125), 8:01 (123), 7:51 (124)
HR zones: 14.0%, 86.0%, 0%, 0%, 0%

Medium reps

The club training session was 800m reps around the warm-up trail due to the wet and windy conditions. Ran round with Alastair S the first few times although he pulled away in the last few reps.

0.50 miles in 3:01, pace 6:02/mile, HR 139
HR zones: 16.6%, 12.7%, 70.7%, 0.0%, 0.0%
0.50 miles in 2:56, pace 5:55/mile, HR 154
HR zones: 4.0%, 17.6%, 15.3%, 63.1%, 0.0%
0.50 miles in 2:51, pace 5:45/mile, HR 156
HR zones: 6.4%, 7.6%, 10.5%, 75.4%, 0.0%
0.48 miles in 2:52, pace 5:56/mile, HR 155
HR zones: 6.4%, 11.0%, 16.3%, 66.3%, 0.0%
0.49 miles in 2:47, pace 5:40/mile, HR 157
HR zones: 10.8%, 6.0%, 14.4%, 68.9%, 0.0%
0.49 miles in 2:49, pace 5:48/mile, HR 159
HR zones: 5.9%, 6.5%, 17.2%, 70.4%, 0.0%
0.49 miles in 2:48, pace 5:45/mile, HR 163
HR zones: 0.0%, 10.1%, 13.1%, 76.8%, 0.0%
0.49 miles in 2:44, pace 5:37/mile, HR 168
HR zones: 0.0%, 8.5%, 10.4%, 8.3%, 12.8%

Warm up was 0.18 miles, warm-down 0.45 miles, total distance 4.57 miles.

3.8 miles steady

Ran an anticlockwise loop of Milngavie Station from Bearsden Asda. Started off easy but picked it up after a mile or so. 3.78 miles in 25:40, average pace 6:47/mile, HR 147.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:29 (128), 6:42 (146), 6:33 (159), 6:17 (161)
HR zones: 6.0%, 22.9%, 47.4%, 23.6%, 0%

4.8 miles steady

Ran a fairly easy loop of Maryhill Road, Cleveden Road, Great Western Road and Napiershall Street. 4.82 miles in 34:55, average pace 7:14/mile, HR 136.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:51 (121), 7:04 (134), 7:24 (143), 6:54 (142), 6:55 (143)
HR zones: 7.1%, 45.9%, 47.0%, 0%, 0%
Weekly total: 29 miles

West District XC Championships

After a successful Dunbartonshire championship I had changed my mind about the West District race as there was an outside chance of a team prize, but when I got to Irvine it turned out that several potential counters wouldn't be taking part. Conditions weren't too bad with occasional light showers although the going was quite heavy in places on account of the rain earlier in the week, so I went with the 9mm spikes again. I tried to get off to a reasonably fast start and once the field had thinned out I was a few seconds behind a pack containing some of my usual rivals. During the first half of the race I was falling slightly further behind, but every now and then somebody would get detached from the pack and I would eventually pass them.

I finished the first lap comfortably inside 12 minutes for approximately 2 miles, which felt like a sustainable pace, and I was still inside 24 after the second lap. On the final lap I was starting to make up some ground, although after one of my rivals dropped out up ahead I apparently lost track of the race as I thought shortly afterwards that I had a good chance of catching the others on the next lap, only to realise on checking my watch that there was just over half a mile to run and there wasn't a next lap. I took advantage of a hill to move up another couple of places, although I was outsprinted shortly afterwards by a fast finisher. I ended up 55th, 12th vet, in 35:26 for 6 miles - average pace 5:43/mile. I was 3rd for Garscube and we finished 6th team, a long way out of the medals, but we were also 3rd Vets' team so there was a prize after all, although I didn't know about this so I didn't hang around for the presentations. Jogged about half a mile round the course afterwards to warm down.

5.5 miles steady

Braved so-called Hurricane Bawbag to run up to the roundabout at Garscube Estate and back again. On the way back down Maryhill Road, some locals shouted across the road that I was off my nut. 5.54 miles in 39:15, average pace 7:05/mile, HR 143.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:39 (132), 7:18 (142), 7:04 (142), 6:46 (149), 6:53 (150), 6:39 (151)
HR zones: 1.6%, 20.4%, 78.0%, 0%, 0%

4.7 miles slow

Ran a loop of Charing Cross, Hyndland Road and Napiershall Street with Natasha. 4.74 miles in 41:17, average pace 8:43/mile, HR 124.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:52 (117), 8:19 (127), 8:47 (130), 8:33 (124), 9:11 (120)
HR zones: 24.8%, 74.8%, 0.4%, 0%, 0%

Mixed session

The snow had mostly disappeared so I went along to the club's scheduled mixed session which turned out to be a 25-minute group paarlauf followed by 10 minutes of shuttle runs, both on the winter warm-up trail. There was slush in places but it was safe enough to run. Max HR was 182 during the paarlauf.

3.23 miles paarlauf
HR zones: 33.4%, 28.3%, 18.8%, 17.6%, 1.9%
0.59 miles shuttle runs
HR zones: 3.4%, 14.4%, 80.8%, 1.4%, 0%

Warm-up was 0.29 miles, warm-down 0.45 miles, total distance 4.56 miles.

3.2 miles moderate

Dug out the Inov-8 Roclites to attempt a loop of the old club 5-mile championship in the snow, although I ended up running mostly on the roads which were fairly clear. 3.24 miles in 21:22, average pace 6:36/mile, HR 153.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:57 (142), 6:35 (155), 6:25 (163), 5:59 (156)
HR zones: 2.7%, 6.0%, 60.6%, 30.7%, 0%

4.5 miles slow, 9.3 miles steady

Ran a slow loop of Shakespeare Street, Winton Drive, Beaconsfield Road and Napiershall Street with Natasha. Wore the Saucony Hattori. 4.46 miles in 37:59, average pace 8:31/mile, HR 126. Possibly some minor chest strap problems.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:25 (119), 8:14 (124), 9:14 (125), 8:11 (133), 8:29 (130)
HR zones: 12.6%, 84.9%, 2.2%, 0.3%, 0%

In the afternoon I ran along Great Western Road, over the canal bridge at Blairdardie, and back home via Canniesburn Road and Maryhill Road. Wore the Skechers GOrun. Didn't quite make it to Drumchapel Road inside 30 minutes, so a route PB was out of the question, but it seemed to be going OK considering I was wearing my winter clothes. Got caught in a snow shower later on but finished in 1:03:53 for the 9.30 miles, average pace 6:52/mile.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:20 (131), 6:53 (147), 6:45 (151), 6:42 (156), 7:08 (159), 6:43 (159), 6:53 (160), 6:43 (160), 6:49 (160), 6:26 (162)
HR zones: 1.6%, 7.9%, 62.1%, 28.5%, 0%
Weekly total: 37 miles

Glasgow University 5 Mile Road Race

This race usually takes place in early November but had been pushed back a few weeks for some reason, and the weather was fairly awful with intermittent freezing rain. It wasn't a particularly big target race for me so I ran it mainly to sharpen up. I would have gone with the Skechers GOrun but for the threat of rain, so I gave the adiZero Tempo what is probably a final outing, although after going on a half-mile warm-up to check that the top gate was open, I ended up with wet feet anyway.

I got off to a fairly quick start and reckoned I was just outside the top 10 early on, trying to keep up with a runner from Pitreavie who I thought was likely to finish in roughly the same time if I had been completely fit. I noticed I couldn't feel my toes any more after about 5 minutes, and numbness gradually spread to the ball of my right foot during the second lap, after we had been caught in a rain shower. I was still going past the Pitreavie runner on the uphills and being passed again on the downhills, at least as far as Switchback Road the second time around. Towards the end of Temple Road I was passed by Euan G and my legs were too heavy to try to hang on. Ended up 17th overall, 2nd for Garscube and just behind the winning lady, in 28:55. This was my slowest time in years (possibly ever) but I was pleased enough to beat 29 minutes in the conditions. Average pace: 5:47/mile.

6.4 miles tempo

The club training session was an easy loop of Great Western Road, Archerhill Road, Dyke Road, Alderman Road and Anniesland Road. The pace increased gradually as we headed through Knightswood. There was some confusion on Archerhill Road when the Dyke Road sign was hard to read, and a passer-by told us the other packs had continued to Kelso Road, so we just followed them to add on some extra distance. It turned out that I still had slightly heavy legs from Tuesday's hills, so with Saturday's race in mind (weather permitting), I dropped off the pace on Alderman Road. The informal tempo session ended at Anniesland Cross and the fast pack reassembled on Bearsden Road. HR readings look dubious around Lincoln Avenue on the way out. 6.35 miles in 44:05, average pace 6:57/mile, HR 153.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:01 (130), 7:00 (144), 6:31 (164), 6:18 (160), 6:19 (167), 7:20 (158), 7:30 (147)
HR zones: 1.2%, 21.5%, 39.0%, 36.3%, 2.0%