4.2 miles steady

Ran a longer route home, via Lock 27, Great Western Road and North Woodside Road. Had heavy legs from the start. There was flooding near the Pond and I had to pick my way down the central reservation. It took a while to get moving again afterwards. 4.23 miles in 29:29, average pace 6:58/mile, HR 140.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:32 (128), 6:52 (138), 6:58 (141), 6:33 (150), 6:47 (153)
HR zones: 5.3%, 35.4%, 59.2%, 0%, 0%

2.7 miles moderate, hill reps

Ran home from work in 17:45 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:39/mile, HR 144.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:57 (135), 6:36 (149), 6:17 (152)
HR zones: 3.7%, 24.6%, 71.7%, 0%, 0%

In the evening I went along to the first training session for the club's performance group, which was to consist of sets of hill reps on Cleveden Road and Dawsholm Road. There was a decent turnout: Ben, David, Alastair, Alan and Catriona. We ran an extended warm-up around Garscube Estate, down Switchback Road and along Temple Road, then 5 reps of Cleveden Road, before jogging over to the bottom of Dawsholm Road for 5 longer but less steep reps. The original plan had called for another set of reps on Cleveden Road but time was getting away from us, so we headed back through Dawsholm Park in the dark and ran four sets of strides downhill beside the Vet School. Total distance was 7.68 miles, max HR 176.

2.7 miles moderate, 2.5 miles easy

Ran home from work in 17:40 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:37/mile, HR 141.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:52 (132), 6:35 (145), 6:15 (148)
HR zones: 3.6%, 24.6%, 71.8%, 0%, 0%

In the evening I ran the usual loop of Manse Road and Canniesburn Toll from Bearsden Asda. I had forgotten to charge my phone fully in the afternoon and had trouble getting a reliable GPS signal. (This, combined with the hassle of exporting my runs from Endomondo and importing them into SportTracks to repair later on, suggests I might be better off with a simple GPS watch.) 2.49 miles in 18:55, average pace 7:37/mile, HR 131.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:07 (129), 7:10 (131), 7:28 (135)
HR zones: 2.9%, 62.2%, 34.9%, 0%, 0%

3.3 miles slow

Went out in the morning with Natasha for a loop of North Woodside Road, Kirklee Road and Shakespeare Street. 3.26 miles in 28:03, average pace 8:36/mile, HR 120.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:46 (118), 8:46 (120), 8:20 (122), 8:18 (126)
HR zones: 43.6%, 56.4%, 0%, 0%, 0%
Weekly total: 27 miles

National XC Relays

I was on the third leg for our Vets' team and was hopeful of beating 15 minutes. I made up a couple of places early on and got caught up in a battle with a runner from Edinburgh AC who eventually got away. The going was heavy in places and I noticed the people I was chasing seemed to be able to pull away on the downhill stretches. I thought it had gone well enough but approaching the final turn I was disappointed to see I had no chance of achieving my goal and ended up finishing in 15:15, 7th fastest for Garscube on the day. Average pace for 2.57 miles was 6:56/mile. We were 5th Vets overall. I might reconsider my choice of footwear in future as the only time I have beaten 15 minutes in recent years was in 2010 when I was wearing trail shoes.

2.7 miles moderate

Ran home from work in 18:03 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:45/mile, HR 140.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:58 (134), 6:39 (144), 6:35 (145)
HR zones: 3.1%, 28.3%, 68.5%, 0%, 0%

5.8 miles moderate

Ran home from work via Lock 27 and the canal as far as Cowcaddens for the last time before the clocks go back. It was already almost too dark to see where I was going so I put in more of an effort to set a PB for the route. 5.84 miles in 38:31, average pace 6:35/mile, HR 153.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:53 (137), 6:42 (150), 6:29 (156), 6:28 (158), 6:32 (159), 6:26 (161)
HR zones: 2.7%, 5.1%, 77.7%, 14.5%, 0%

2.7 miles moderate, 4.7 miles slow

Ran home from work in 17:47 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:40/mile, HR 142.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:08 (131), 6:31 (148), 6:13 (153)
HR zones: 3.7%, 31.0%, 65.2%, 0%, 0%

In the evening Natasha and I dodged the club track session and ran our usual loop of Hyndland Road and Charing Cross. 4.65 miles in 39:44, average pace 8:33/mile, HR 130.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:52 (124), 8:31 (132), 8:14 (130), 8:37 (132), 8:29 (134)
HR zones: 4.5%, 92.0%, 3.5%, 0%, 0%

2.7 miles hard, 2.5 miles slow

Ran home from work in a huge new PB of 16:11 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:04/mile, HR 155. I wore the FiveFingers with toe socks and could feel blisters coming on, especially towards the end where I had to go round a few corners.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:25 (142), 5:57 (162), 5:43 (167)
HR zones: 2.6%, 6.0%, 46.5%, 44.9%, 0%

Wasn't quite put out of action by the blisters but had to take it easy on my usual loop of Manse Road and Canniesburn Toll from Bearsden Asda. 2.49 miles in 20:36, average pace 8:16/mile, HR 133.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:36 (133), 7:59 (131), 8:12 (136)
HR zones: 1.6%, 87.5%, 10.8%, 0%, 0%

Dunbartonshire XC Relays

This year's race was at Posties Park in Dumbarton, the same venue as last year's Dunbartonshire Championships. The course was a single loop, three of which last year had added up to around 6 miles, so it was clearly going to be short of the advertised 2.5 miles. Conditions were pretty decent. I had been suffering from hip problems for the latter half of the week but thought I should be OK with no warm-up, and was on the first leg for our Vets' team, although I reckoned I would have merited a place in the A team outright based on performances so far this season, especially on a short and not particularly heavy course.

I set off fast and was relieved not to notice any hip pain at all. I found myself somewhere towards the back of the first ten, and tried to keep in touch with the younger competitors immediately in front of me. The course had changed slightly at the top of the park, where I had fallen last year, replacing an awkward turn onto the path and back off again with an odd descent down a few steps. Towards the end of the lap, I realised the runner in front was not the same one I had been behind earlier and was obviously slowing up, but the leg was over too quickly. I finished in 11:17 for no more than 2 miles, making me 3rd fastest Vet on the day and 4th fastest for Garscube. It turned out later that there was no Vets' team prize, so I had been denied a place in our winning A team for no reason.

Weekly total: 22 miles

2.7 miles steady

Ran home from work in 18:13 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:50/mile, HR 145.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:11 (136), 6:48 (148), 6:22 (155)
HR zones: 3.9%, 14.7%, 80.3%, 1.0%, 0%

2.7 miles steady

Ran home via the usual route rather than my Wednesday route as my left hip was quite dubious. 2.67 miles in 18:08, average pace 6:48/mile, HR 144.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:17 (134), 6:41 (148), 6:16 (154)
HR zones: 3.4%, 19.6%, 73.4%, 3.6%, 0%

2.7 miles moderate, paarlauf

Ran home from work in 17:33 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:35/mile, HR 150.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:53 (140), 6:29 (155), 6:17 (159)
HR zones: 2.8%, 6.7%, 79.9%, 10.5%, 0%

The club session in the evening was a paarlauf around the warm-up trail. I ran with Euan, handing over to Alastair, which suited me fine as I was trying out my new Vibram FiveFingers Bikila LS and was concerned I might have to drop out on account of blisters or some other problem. It worked out fine even though the session was rather long. Seemed to be able to push up the hills quite well. Distance came out at 5.37 miles in 41:28, average pace 7:43/mile (not terribly meaningful for a paarlauf), HR 150. Warm-up was 0.56 miles, warm-down 0.41 miles. No problem with the shoes other than a slightly chafed toe.

HR zones: 4.4%, 24.2%, 38.9%, 31.8%, 0.7%

2.7 miles moderate, 2.6 miles easy

Ran home from work in 17:23 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:31/mile, HR 145.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:02 (135), 6:20 (150), 6:02 (157)
HR zones: 4.0%, 21.8%, 68.4%, 5.8%, 0%

In the evening I ran the usual loop of Manse Road and Canniesburn Toll from Bearsden Asda. Distance came out further than usual as I absent-mindedly started at the top of the access road instead of on Milngavie Road. 2.55 miles in 19:26, average pace 7:37/mile, HR 137.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:17 (132), 7:06 (138), 7:21 (144)
HR zones: 3.3%, 51.8%, 44.9%, 0%, 0%

3.9 miles slow

Went out in the morning with Natasha for a loop of Hyndland Road, Bank Street and North Woodside Road. 3.92 miles in 34:10, average pace 8:43/mile, HR 125.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:56 (129), 8:29 (126), 8:35 (123), 8:55 (121)
HR zones: 15.1%, 76.8%, 8.1%, 0%, 0%
Weekly total: 30 miles

West District XC Relays

This year's race was in Kilmarnock. Conditions weren't too bad and I was on the second leg for our A team. The course was more or less a single long lap of the Masters' XC course from earlier in the year, but with the long uphill replaced by a series of switchbacks, thus eliminating the only advantage I had. Ben was on the first leg and handed over to me in third place, which I held onto for almost two minutes before Sean Fontana raced past. In all I lost 7 places but managed to avoid falling, finishing the supposed 2.5 miles in 14:13 for a 5:41/mile average. We finished 12th overall and I was second fastest for Garscube on the day.

2.7 miles moderate

Ran home from work in 17:13 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:27/mile, HR 151.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:49 (140), 6:24 (156), 5:58 (163)
HR zones: 3.1%, 4.8%, 66.7%, 25.4%, 0%

5.8 miles steady

Ran home from work via Lock 27 and the canal as far as Cowcaddens in 39:47 for 5.83 miles, average pace 6:49/mile, HR 151. Picked it up towards the end to get inside 40 minutes.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:23 (134), 6:46 (147), 6:47 (155), 6:42 (156), 6:44 (158), 6:30 (162)
HR zones: 2.1%, 11.7%, 75.2%, 11.0%, 0%

2.7 miles moderate, long reps

Ran home from work in 17:29 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:33/mile, HR 147.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:58 (138), 6:28 (152), 6:04 (156)
HR zones: 3.0%, 10.9%, 82.7%, 3.5%, 0%

In the evening I took part in the club's Tuesday training session for the first time in quite a while as it was my favourite 1K reps on the other side of Switchback Road. Not thinking it appropriate to run with my Jabra Sport earphones to pause and restart Endomondo, I relied on the SmartWatch which duly ran out of battery power during the first rep, so I just had to time the entire session including recoveries and try to figure it out later. Rep times may not be accurate. David was well ahead on each rep and I rolled in second. Warm-up was 0.44 miles, warm-down 0.90.

0.64 miles in 3:35 (average pace 5:36/mile)
0.62 miles in 3:28 (average pace 5:35/mile)
0.64 miles in 3:28 (average pace 5:25/mile)
0.63 miles in 3:29 (average pace 5:31/mile)
0.63 miles in 3:29 (average pace 5:31/mile)
0.61 miles in 3:25 (average pace 5:36/mile)

HR zones: 4.0%, 21.2%, 9.8%, 62.9%, 2.1%

2.7 miles steady, 4.3 miles easy

Ran home from work in 18:17 for 2.68 miles, average pace 6:50/mile, HR 139.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:13 (131), 6:46 (142), 6:21 (146)
HR zones: 4.6%, 41.1%, 54.2%, 0%, 0%

In the evening I ran the same loop of Pendicle Road and Garscube Estate as last week. 4.28 miles in 31:05, average pace 7:16/mile, HR 139.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:03 (129), 7:16 (140), 6:57 (141), 6:53 (145), 6:55 (153)
HR zones: 3.6%, 33.9%, 62.5%, 0%, 0%

4 miles slow

Ran out to Knightswood via Anniesland Cross and Archerhill Road with Natasha to collect the car. 3.97 miles in 33:36, average pace 8:27/mile, HR 135. Possibly some HR strap problems.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:46 (120), 8:16 (127), 8:16 (141), 8:30 (153)
HR zones: 7.6%, 54.5%, 32.2%, 5.7%, 0%
Weekly total: 31 miles

McAndrew relay

I was put on the second leg for a competitive Vets' team. Conditions were fine so I went with the adiPure Gazelle and was quite hopeful of breaking 18 minutes. I made up a few places and finished in 17:54, which was my best time since 2008. We won the Vets' team prize and I was 3rd fastest Vet on the day but only 7th fastest for Garscube (including our disqualified A team). Didn't have any blister or hip problems, average pace was 5:30/mile for 3.25 miles.

2.7 miles moderate

Ran home from work in 17:24 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:32/mile, HR 145.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 6:56 (135), 6:28 (149), 6:01 (158)
HR zones: 3.4%, 17.4%, 74.6%, 4.6%, 0%

5.8 miles steady

Ran home from work via Lock 27 and the canal as far as Cowcaddens in 39:51 for 5.82 miles, average pace 6:51/mile, HR 148.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:17 (132), 6:43 (149), 6:47 (152), 6:42 (152), 6:43 (152), 6:53 (155)
HR zones: 2.5%, 7.5%, 87.6%, 2.3%, 0%

2.7 miles steady, 5.2 miles slow

Ran home from work in 18:09 for 2.67 miles, average pace 6:49/mile, HR 149.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:05 (146), 6:42 (151), 6:34 (152)
HR zones: 2.9%, 8.2%, 77.2%, 11.7%, 0%

Dodged the club hill session in the evening and ran an easy loop of Maryhill Road, Garrioch Road, Great Western Road and Anniesland Cross. Took a while to get moving. 5.15 miles in 40:07, average pace 7:47/mile, HR 140. Ran 0.69 miles around the car park afterwards to warm down.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 8:17 (132), 7:42 (136), 7:42 (140), 7:33 (143), 7:45 (147), 7:26 (142)
HR zones: 1.9%, 48.5%, 49.6%, 0%, 0%

2.7 miles moderate, 4.3 miles easy

Ran home from work in 17:45 for 2.68 miles, average pace 6:38/mile, HR 142.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:04 (132), 6:32 (147), 6:09 (151)
HR zones: 3.9%, 36.6%, 59.4%, 0%, 0%

In the evening I ran a longer route from Bearsden Asda, via West Chapelton Avenue, Pendicle Road, Maxwell Avenue and through Garscube Estate to Maryhill Road. 4.26 miles in 31:03, average pace 7:17/mile, HR 145.

Pace splits (ave. HR): 7:46 (134), 7:22 (146), 7:05 (147), 6:59 (151), 7:01 (158)
HR zones: 2.0%, 16.6%, 80.2%, 1.2%, 0%