10 miles steady

I went out in the afternoon to run the decreasing loops I had failed to complete about a month ago. It started to get tough coming up to the three mile mark as I headed down Cleveden Road, and my hamstring felt a bit tight, no doubt on account of yesterday's race - no knee problems though. After finishing the long loop on North Woodside Road I headed back up Maryhill Road and this time ran back to Great Western Road via Garrioch Road. Natasha went out to run the short loop via Queen Margaret Drive around this time and I picked it up a bit (with some difficulty) to try and catch up with her when I ran that same loop to finish, but she got home a couple of minutes before I did. Time was 1:12:13.

National Road Relay Championships

This is probably my favourite relay of the season, although the course in Livingston isn't conducive to fast times. I was on the second 3.15-mile leg for our A team, the third leg overall, and my tapering seemed to have done its job as I felt absolutely 100% before the start, although I didn't want to say so in case I ran poorly. We were 27th when I took over, and shortly after the first sharp bend I was overtaken by a runner from Central's B team. He made up some ground on a couple more runners but didn't get very far ahead of me, and I took advantage of a spiral footbridge to go past them all after about a mile. The footsteps behind me started to recede and over the next mile or so I picked up another two places, and closed to within 20m of a runner from Metro Aberdeen, which is where I stayed until I went past him on the final uphill straight. Finished in 17:33 and handed over in 22nd. The runners on our next three legs brought us up to 9th place which is our best finish in all the years I've been taking part.

I knocked 35 seconds off my time from last year, and I think 17:33 is my second fastest after 17:17 in 2005, although I can't find any results from 2004. (Update: it looks like I ran 17:30 in 2004.)

4 miles tempo

I gave the scheduled club 6-mile session a miss as I would inevitably be dragged along at too fast a pace for my liking so soon before a race. Contemplated doing nothing at all, but two days' rest seemed excessive, so instead I went out earlier in the evening for 4 miles around the West End, this time a bit faster than usual. Finishing time was 25:51 so it may actually be slightly under 4 miles. Legs were a bit stiff from football on Wednesday and possibly even the time trial on Tuesday, but apart from that I had no trouble maintaining a fairly brisk pace.

5K time trial

I had been expecting a pyramid session so was a bit surprised to find the scheduled training session was actually a 5K time trial. I didn't have my racing shoes and most likely wouldn't have done short reps on Monday evening if I'd known. Marco was recovering from a long run at the weekend and had no intention of going flat out, so I went off at something like race pace and expected to slow down later on, either through ennui or tired legs, most likely to the extent that I would be caught. It didn't work out too badly, though, as I managed to keep it going fairly well and coped fine with the hills in the latter half of the course. Towards the end I wasn't sure of the route, not having done it before (and having misheard the instructions) and ended up taking a 400m shortcut. It had been a straight choice between cutting the course and setting what would inevitably be an improbably fast time, or running too far, having a disappointingly slow time recorded, and being overtaken into the bargain. A finishing time of exactly 16 minutes showed I had cut it short.

Short reps

I took advantage of British Summer Time to go out in the late evening for a short rep session in the industrial estate - thought I would aim for 12x80m and go up to 20 if I felt OK. When I started to get bored standing around after the first couple I reduced the turnaround from 60 to 55 seconds, to save a valuable minute (or more) and make the session a bit tougher. Felt fine after 12 so continued, although the session was interrupted after the 13th rep when a passing dog-walker stopped briefly to chat about what I was doing, as he had done some middle distance in the past. The 19th and 20th reps were probably the slowest. No hamstring problems, calf a bit tight towards the end.

13+ miles steady

Stung by yesterday's criticism, I was determined to get a reasonable distance in today, and the weather looked not too bad - apart from when I got soaked by a heavy shower after about 4 miles - so I headed for the countryside around Bearsden via Panmure Street, Balmore Road and Auchenhowie Road, followed by the route of the Garscube Hogmanay Handicap, then back home down Bearsden Road and Maryhill Road. Started off at a steady pace and was able to pick it up a bit in the undulating section after Auchenhowie, making it a hill rep session of sorts by going up every hill on the forefoot. Finished in 1:37:32, no knee problems.

4 miles slow

I was still recovering a bit from Thursday so could only manage the usual slow 4 miles around the West End with Natasha in the morning. Might have gone out again in the evening but there was a leaving do for a club member in the Esquire. While there I was taken to task, by somebody who will remain nameless, for the apparently high number of slow 3- and 4-mile sessions described here. (OK it was Alex Chalmers of Springburn Harriers.)

7.25 miles tempo

Dodged training on Tuesday in order to recover in time for a planned 600m at Grangemouth on Wednesday, then ended up not feeling well enough to do it. Having to drive 70 miles in the rain for such a short race wasn't much of an incentive either. However I felt much better after the extra day off and tackled the scheduled 8-mile club run although there were shorter options. Tonight there were only 3 in the fast pack. The pace for the first 3 miles was comfortable enough to maintain a conversation, but between 4 and 5 miles it picked up a bit, and I finally got dropped at about the 6 mile mark as we were passing through Westerton. That wasn't unexpected and would still have been a reasonable evening's work, but on the long hill at the top of Maxwell Avenue I managed to make up all the ground I had lost and moved back to the front of the pack, where I was able to hang on this time. The pace increased further over the last 400m or so but I picked it up well enough and finished a close second. Definitely not the advertised 8.3 miles judging by my finishing time (48:49) and confirmed by Debs' GPS.

5K slow

Feeling rather fatigued, and I have a race possibly coming up on Wednesday, so only went for a slow 5K round the West End with Natasha in the morning.

8.5 miles steady

Today's plan was to find a route which would take me about an hour at a pace intended not to aggravate a tight hamstring. I went for Great Western Road - Anniesland Road - past Jordanhill School - Westbrae Drive - a last lap of the track at Scotstoun before it closes until 2009 - Victoria Park Drive North - Clarence Drive - Hyndland Road - Great Western Road and home. Finished in 1:04:48 and was quite comfortable at that pace although I set out quite late in the afternoon and started to get hungry after about 5 miles. Hamstring no worse than before.

4 miles slow and short reps

Went out in the morning with Natasha to try an alternative 4-mile route, up Baird's Brae and along the canal to Lochburn Road, then back up Maryhill Road. There was a freezing cold headwind until we reached the cover of Firhill. In the afternoon I ran 12x80m sprint reps in the industrial estate, planned to do 20 but my right hamstring was playing up for the last few and I thought it best to call it a day.

4 miles recovery and hills

Went out in the morning for the same 4 mile circuit as previously, but at a steadier pace, finishing in about 28:30. In the afternoon I revisited a long hill session I hadn't run in over a year, from the players' entrance at Firhill up to the flagpole in Ruchill Park - uphill all the way at a variety of gradients with only a couple of brief dips. First attempt took 2:37 which wasn't bad as I had usually been just inside 2:40 in the past, with an all-time best of 2:29. I found the headwind tougher on the second attempt which took 2:46. Contemplated a third rep but I didn't even have enough energy to maintain a jog back down the hill, so I walked/jogged back home instead.

7.5 miles tempo

Braved the wind and rain to go training with the club tonight, a convoluted route of just under 7.5 miles around the West End including Gardner Street and the longer (although less steep) hill on Cleveden Road. The fast pack was stronger than in previous weeks although the pace wasn't too demanding for the first couple of miles. I got dropped after about 5 miles but managed to catch back up with the leaders about a mile later, albeit not for very long. Finishing time was 49:36.

5K moderate

I expected to have sore legs today and was a bit suspicious when they still felt OK on my way home. Football was cancelled tonight, so I squeezed in a few miles before dinner. The route was down St George's Road, North Street, St Vincent Street, Kelvin Way and back home through Kelvingrove Park - probably a little over 3 miles. My pacing was all over the place and once again I started feeling light-headed through hunger, although I think I achieved my goal of warding off any delayed stiffness from Tuesday's hill reps. Finished in 21:39.