On Saturday I headed 'doon the watter' to Arran for the Round Arran Relay race. This is a low profile, team event, with each team made up of 6 runners who cover stages of between 7 and 11 miles. I was running for the B team of my 2nd claim club, Central AC, and was allocated the longest leg - the 11 mile 1st Leg North, which goes up the west side of the island from Blackwaterfoot to Pirnmill.
I covered the section in 76 minutes 20 seconds - quite a lot slower than I did the same leg in 1996 (69.06), 2001 (71.55) and 2002 (74.16). Against that, however, it was my longest run since the WHW, and I ran reasonably cautiously throughout. All in all it was a good day out. Central's A team won - the team prizes were the most hideous t-shirts you could ever imagine - and it was great to be back across in Arran for the first time in a couple of years.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Losing my toenails and stewarding stories
Three of my toenails fell off last week. I'm sure most readers will be pleased to know that I managed to keep two of them (from the big toe on either foot), and that one is currently sitting in the top drawer of a cupboard in my office at work. At times like this I was I was more of a technical guru, and I would put a photo of it on this site for all to enjoy. Sadly, my limited IT skills mean that will not be possible, at least for the time being.
I thought it was quite odd that it took about 2 and a half weeks from the race for them to fall off. Is this a normal pattern? If any chiropodists are reading, please feel free to comment.
The timing went something like this:
Race day - toe nails take a battering;
First week after race - feet generally quite sensitive; toe nails look past their best;
Second week after race - feet starting to improve but toenails look beyond redemption;
Two and a half weeks after race - toenails fall off and are placed in drawer.
I doubt I will lose 3 toenails at next years WHW race - mainly because I don't have 3 left to lose. I have only 2 left.
Anyway, I'm pleased to say that my loss of tailnails has not prevented me from getting back into some running. At the weekend I did a couple of 10 mile runs, both of which were very hilly and tough but most enjoyable nonetheless. Our club hosted the Famous Grouse 10k at Crieff on Sunday. I wasn't able to run in it because I was helping - in fact would you believe I was given 2 jobs to do? My first job was to direct the cars into the car park before the race, then after that I had to steward at a junction around the 1k and 9k mark. I hope you will forgive my lack of modesty in saying I thought I did both jobs very well. No-one hit the wall on their way into the car park (which, given the tightness of the space, was a remarkable achievement), and no-one went off course at my junction. However, I am sad to report that one runner did go off course just after my junction. I'm sure I told him to "Go down the hill and keep to the right", but he thought I said "Go down the hill and take a right". That meant instead of following the route to the finish he turned right onto a path along the banks of the River Earn. Somewhat amusingly (but not for him I'm sure) he kept going along this path for about a kilometre, and then met the race coming in the opposite direction. It must have added at least 2 kilometres to his run, and moved him from a very good finishing position to a position somewhere in the middle of the field. Thankfully he was ok about it, and will hopefully come back next year and run the proper route.
I thought it was quite odd that it took about 2 and a half weeks from the race for them to fall off. Is this a normal pattern? If any chiropodists are reading, please feel free to comment.
The timing went something like this:
Race day - toe nails take a battering;
First week after race - feet generally quite sensitive; toe nails look past their best;
Second week after race - feet starting to improve but toenails look beyond redemption;
Two and a half weeks after race - toenails fall off and are placed in drawer.
I doubt I will lose 3 toenails at next years WHW race - mainly because I don't have 3 left to lose. I have only 2 left.
Anyway, I'm pleased to say that my loss of tailnails has not prevented me from getting back into some running. At the weekend I did a couple of 10 mile runs, both of which were very hilly and tough but most enjoyable nonetheless. Our club hosted the Famous Grouse 10k at Crieff on Sunday. I wasn't able to run in it because I was helping - in fact would you believe I was given 2 jobs to do? My first job was to direct the cars into the car park before the race, then after that I had to steward at a junction around the 1k and 9k mark. I hope you will forgive my lack of modesty in saying I thought I did both jobs very well. No-one hit the wall on their way into the car park (which, given the tightness of the space, was a remarkable achievement), and no-one went off course at my junction. However, I am sad to report that one runner did go off course just after my junction. I'm sure I told him to "Go down the hill and keep to the right", but he thought I said "Go down the hill and take a right". That meant instead of following the route to the finish he turned right onto a path along the banks of the River Earn. Somewhat amusingly (but not for him I'm sure) he kept going along this path for about a kilometre, and then met the race coming in the opposite direction. It must have added at least 2 kilometres to his run, and moved him from a very good finishing position to a position somewhere in the middle of the field. Thankfully he was ok about it, and will hopefully come back next year and run the proper route.
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Strathearn Herald
Fame at last! I've made it as the MAIN ITEM on the sports pages of this week's Strathearn Herald. Thanks to John for the photo, which was taken just before Kingshouse. You can find the article at the following link:
http://icperthshire.icnetwork.co.uk/strathearn/
or here
http://icperthshire.icnetwork.co.uk/strathearn/sport/tm_headline=ian-passes-tough-test&method=full&objectid=19416385&siteid=88886-name_page.html
http://icperthshire.icnetwork.co.uk/strathearn/
or here
http://icperthshire.icnetwork.co.uk/strathearn/sport/tm_headline=ian-passes-tough-test&method=full&objectid=19416385&siteid=88886-name_page.html
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Back racing again
Tonight was the 5 mile 'Brig Bash' race at Bridge of Earn and, as it was part of our club championship race series, I decided to do it. The more sensible amongst you may question this wisdom of this, coming so soon after the West Highland Way race, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and go for it. I had taken a 10 day rest from running after the WHW race and only ran for the first time yesterday, going out for an easy 4 mile run at lunchtime. I had felt quite good, so hoped I would be ok to race.
I started at a reasonably steady pace and was through the first mile in 6.38, feeling very comfortable. I speeded up to covered mile 2 in 6.10, then did miles 3 and 4 at an average pace of just under 6.20. I did the last mile in 6.29 or so to record an overall time of 31 minutes 56 seconds.
I was really pleased with my time, and was pleasantly surprised that my legs felt pretty good throughout. Hopefully I'll have 'earned' a few club championship points :)
I started at a reasonably steady pace and was through the first mile in 6.38, feeling very comfortable. I speeded up to covered mile 2 in 6.10, then did miles 3 and 4 at an average pace of just under 6.20. I did the last mile in 6.29 or so to record an overall time of 31 minutes 56 seconds.
I was really pleased with my time, and was pleasantly surprised that my legs felt pretty good throughout. Hopefully I'll have 'earned' a few club championship points :)
Sunday, July 01, 2007
My race story
It's now more than a week since the end of the 2007 WHW race and I'm very aware that I have not posted a detailed report. Apologies for the delay, but I've just had a particularly busy week and haven't had a chance to do anything. Hopefully I won't have forgotten too many details. So here goes:
Ian's 2007 West Highland Way Race Story
The Friday before the race is always a difficult day. This year I woke up around 11am, having slept since about midnight the night before. 11 hours sleep, same as the day before – that was pretty good compared with previous years, and I was pleased. I walked the dogs and spoke to John. He seemed nervous too, but was looking forward to it. Friday afternoon dragged by, as expected. I packed my bags late in the afternoon, checked them about half a dozen times to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, then had a huge dinner of ravioli and baked potatoes around 8pm. At 9.30pm we packed the car, and finally at 10.30pm it was time to head to Milngavie. At last.
As I drove down the A80 I felt quite tired. I kept telling myself that I had had enough sleep, but my tiredness was a bit concerning. I was really glad to reach Milngavie at about 11.30pm. I spoke to some of the friends I had trained with for the previous 7 months or so – John, Ellen, Mark, Iain, Iain, Alan, and many others. Everyone seemed to know me from the 2005 race DVD. They also knew Alison from her blog. We soon met up with George and Bobby, who along with Alison would be doing my backup again. I registered, checked my back pack and bumbag, had a coffee, went to the toilet, talked to some more people, went to the toilet again, tried to get in to the briefing but found it full, went to the toilet yet again, and finally made my way to the start line. It was 12.55am. The race would start in 5 minutes.
At 1am we were off. I was near the front of the field, which was where I wanted to be. Almost immediately Mark Collins came alongside me and we ran together. Like others we missed one of the early paths but got back on the proper route very quickly. As I reached Carbeth I checked my watch – 36 minutes – a bit on the fast side but generally on target. Mark and I continued to run together all the way to Drymen. The diversion on the Gartness road was no problem, and I arrived at Drymen in 1.54. That was my fastest race time for that section, but was in line with my plan. I knew I needed to run a bit faster than previous years in the early stages if I wanted to beat my best time of 21.39.
A key part of my race plan was to cut down on my stop times, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and walked along the route with it. Mark and I were still together. We reached the car park at the Garadhban Forest, and to my great surprise a few people in official looking jackets told us to head down the road and follow the diversion. That didn’t seem right to me. I had spoken to Dario the day before, and he had told me that there were no diversions at all – that had been confirmed by the WHW rangers. So why were these people telling us to go a different route? I thought about saying no, but the full group of runners were starting to head down the road, so I just followed as well. It left me disorientated – I hadn’t been on the alternative route before, and didn’t know where I was going. After 25 minutes or so we rejoined the main path, but there was no doubt we had added some extra distance. I was not happy about it at all.
As I headed towards Conic Hill, still annoyed by the detour, there was some heavy rain. It was not at all pleasant. It was gloomy, and I tripped at least 5 times before I reached the top of the hill. I was going through a really bad patch, and before I knew it a runner had caught up with me. It was John. Despite being caught I was pleased to have some company, and my mood improved. We ran into Balmaha together. I stopped for something to eat and was away within 5 minutes or so, but John had stopped for even less time and was now in front. In training runs he had been stronger than I was on the section to Rowardennan, so I didn’t expect to see him until quite a bit later. That was exactly how it turned out. I covered the section from Balmaha to Rowardennan in 1.29, exactly on schedule. I had another quick stop, thanked Bobby as I wouldn’t see him again, then set out for Inversnaid. I was starting to feel good, and just worked away, reaching Inversnaid in something like 1.27 for the section. The next bit to Beinglas Farm is tough, but again I felt quite good. Alison said later that I had looked awful at Beinglas, but looks can be deceptive and I actually felt quite good, certainly a lot better than I had felt at that point in previous years. I was told that John was somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes in front of me – not a problem at all at this relatively early stage in the race, particularly if I could start picking up time from here on in, in the later sections where I was usually strong. I passed through the checkpoint at Derrydarroch without stopping at all, and heard that John was only now 5 minutes in front. That was fine. I was a bit nervous approaching the section over the hill above Crianlarich, as I had suffered badly from cramp the last few times I had done it, including a really bad patch in this year's Highland Fling race. I had been taking electrolyte tablets every 90 minutes, however, and that was making a big difference. As it turned out I had no cramp at all for the whole day. I will certainly use the tablets again in future.
I ran fairly strongly over the hill and in to Auchtertyre, and saw John leave just as I arrived. That meant I was still only 5 minutes behind. Mark ran with me for a bit, but I was feeling really good and pushed on hard, only stopping at Tyndrum to collect a cup of soup which I drank walking up the hill. I was away from Tyndrum in 11.16. That was pretty much on schedule, with some of my best stages still to come.
As I headed up the hill and away from Tyndrum I could see a runner ahead which I thought was John. It was, and I eventually caught him on the long gradual downhill track. We chatted a bit – he was still enjoying every minute of the run, which I found a bit strange – then I went in front. I thought that was probably it, but to my surprise he came past me again about a minute later, running really well, and opened up a bit of a gap. When he started walking I passed him again, and this continued all the way to the railway bridge a few miles before Bridge of Orchy. John then shot off like he was running a half marathon, and reached Bridge of Orchy a few minutes in front of me. He was taking shorter stops, so by the time I left Bridge of Orchy the gap was probably 10 minutes again. All of which meant I had made no progress at all on closing the gap on him.
I took a soup with me when I left Bridge of Orchy and walked quickly up the hill. I was determined to push really hard all the way to Kingshouse, as I felt I had underperformed on this section in previous years. I ran hard up the hill from Forest Lodge, and came within 20 yards of John. He then ran away from me before stopping to walk, at which point I closed the gap to about 20 yards again. And so this went on, all the way to Kingshouse. Despite not being able to get in front of John I was running well and feeling strong. I had a 9 minute stop at Kingshouse, changed my socks and top, put on tracksters (as it was starting to get quite cold), and left. My watch showed that I was running faster than I had run before – when I ran my best time of 21.39 in 2003 I had left Kingshouse at 15.57. Today it was 15.31, so I was 26 minutes ahead and looking good for a PB.
I knew John had left Kingshouse 9 minutes in front of me, so I was a bit surprised to pass him before we had reached the Devil’s Staircase. He was starting to find it tough, and the gap between us widened as I headed up and over the hill. I felt better than normal coming down into Kinlochleven and covered the section in a good time of 2.10. I was feeling confident about my time, so didn’t hang around Kinlochleven and headed off as quickly as possible, stopping only to eat a pot of Muller rice and to take a tablet that was supposed to prevent me from feeling sick. The Lairgmor came and went, and I passed Iain Ridgway just before the turn. He had been having terrible stomach problems, but despite that was determined to keep going and was still running all of the hills.
Soon I reached Lundavra and Duncan’s bonfire. George hadn’t been feeling good so decided to go back in the car with Alison, leaving me to cover the last section on my own. That wasn’t a problem at all, as I was feeling good. I looked at my watch – I reckoned I would have to cover the last section in something like 1.15 to get under 21 hours. I didn’t think it was possible. The last section seemed quicker without the trees, and before I knew it I was climbing over the stile and looking down at Glen Nevis campsite. The time on the clock was 20.30. I had covered the last section in 28 minutes before, but not when I had just run 92 miles – 40 minutes or so was more realistic. I headed down the hill, running for as long as I could, but having to stop every 10 minutes or so for a quick walk. Alison and George met me at the Braveheart carpark. There was only a mile or so to go. The job was nearly done. It was a brilliant feeling running through Fort William in broad daylight, and I felt absolutely delighted when I entered the leisure centre in a new personal best time of 21 hours 11 minutes.
I had a shower, then a fantastic massage. We headed back to the Travel Inn, and Alison and I were able to go for a drink before closing time. That's the first time I’ve run quickly enough for us to be able to do that.
John finished in 22 hours 45 minutes, a brilliant performance, and under his target of 23 hours. There are a lot more details about it on his blog, including a fantastic video diary. It’s well worth a look.
There are a lot of people I need to thank. First of all Alison, George and Bobby, who for the seventh consecutive year provided me with backup support of the highest quality. They do a fantastic job for me, are the envy of many other runners who can only imagine getting such quality support, and I am lucky to have them. Secondly I need to thank Dario, the race co-ordinator. He puts in a huge amount of work to make this far and away the best race in the UK. Without his expertise, knowledge and enthusiasm the event could not take place. I and all the other runners are hugely grateful to him. Thirdly, thanks to the runners with whom I have trained for the last year and who have become such great friends: John, Ellen, Phil, Murdo, Hugh, Adrian, Davie, Mark, Mark, Joe, Alan, and Peter, to name but a few. I'm sure there are many others.
Next year’s race takes place on Saturday 21 June 2008. The Travel Inn in Fort William is booked. I'm looking forward to it already.
Ian's 2007 West Highland Way Race Story
The Friday before the race is always a difficult day. This year I woke up around 11am, having slept since about midnight the night before. 11 hours sleep, same as the day before – that was pretty good compared with previous years, and I was pleased. I walked the dogs and spoke to John. He seemed nervous too, but was looking forward to it. Friday afternoon dragged by, as expected. I packed my bags late in the afternoon, checked them about half a dozen times to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything, then had a huge dinner of ravioli and baked potatoes around 8pm. At 9.30pm we packed the car, and finally at 10.30pm it was time to head to Milngavie. At last.
As I drove down the A80 I felt quite tired. I kept telling myself that I had had enough sleep, but my tiredness was a bit concerning. I was really glad to reach Milngavie at about 11.30pm. I spoke to some of the friends I had trained with for the previous 7 months or so – John, Ellen, Mark, Iain, Iain, Alan, and many others. Everyone seemed to know me from the 2005 race DVD. They also knew Alison from her blog. We soon met up with George and Bobby, who along with Alison would be doing my backup again. I registered, checked my back pack and bumbag, had a coffee, went to the toilet, talked to some more people, went to the toilet again, tried to get in to the briefing but found it full, went to the toilet yet again, and finally made my way to the start line. It was 12.55am. The race would start in 5 minutes.
At 1am we were off. I was near the front of the field, which was where I wanted to be. Almost immediately Mark Collins came alongside me and we ran together. Like others we missed one of the early paths but got back on the proper route very quickly. As I reached Carbeth I checked my watch – 36 minutes – a bit on the fast side but generally on target. Mark and I continued to run together all the way to Drymen. The diversion on the Gartness road was no problem, and I arrived at Drymen in 1.54. That was my fastest race time for that section, but was in line with my plan. I knew I needed to run a bit faster than previous years in the early stages if I wanted to beat my best time of 21.39.
A key part of my race plan was to cut down on my stop times, so I grabbed a cup of coffee and walked along the route with it. Mark and I were still together. We reached the car park at the Garadhban Forest, and to my great surprise a few people in official looking jackets told us to head down the road and follow the diversion. That didn’t seem right to me. I had spoken to Dario the day before, and he had told me that there were no diversions at all – that had been confirmed by the WHW rangers. So why were these people telling us to go a different route? I thought about saying no, but the full group of runners were starting to head down the road, so I just followed as well. It left me disorientated – I hadn’t been on the alternative route before, and didn’t know where I was going. After 25 minutes or so we rejoined the main path, but there was no doubt we had added some extra distance. I was not happy about it at all.
As I headed towards Conic Hill, still annoyed by the detour, there was some heavy rain. It was not at all pleasant. It was gloomy, and I tripped at least 5 times before I reached the top of the hill. I was going through a really bad patch, and before I knew it a runner had caught up with me. It was John. Despite being caught I was pleased to have some company, and my mood improved. We ran into Balmaha together. I stopped for something to eat and was away within 5 minutes or so, but John had stopped for even less time and was now in front. In training runs he had been stronger than I was on the section to Rowardennan, so I didn’t expect to see him until quite a bit later. That was exactly how it turned out. I covered the section from Balmaha to Rowardennan in 1.29, exactly on schedule. I had another quick stop, thanked Bobby as I wouldn’t see him again, then set out for Inversnaid. I was starting to feel good, and just worked away, reaching Inversnaid in something like 1.27 for the section. The next bit to Beinglas Farm is tough, but again I felt quite good. Alison said later that I had looked awful at Beinglas, but looks can be deceptive and I actually felt quite good, certainly a lot better than I had felt at that point in previous years. I was told that John was somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes in front of me – not a problem at all at this relatively early stage in the race, particularly if I could start picking up time from here on in, in the later sections where I was usually strong. I passed through the checkpoint at Derrydarroch without stopping at all, and heard that John was only now 5 minutes in front. That was fine. I was a bit nervous approaching the section over the hill above Crianlarich, as I had suffered badly from cramp the last few times I had done it, including a really bad patch in this year's Highland Fling race. I had been taking electrolyte tablets every 90 minutes, however, and that was making a big difference. As it turned out I had no cramp at all for the whole day. I will certainly use the tablets again in future.
I ran fairly strongly over the hill and in to Auchtertyre, and saw John leave just as I arrived. That meant I was still only 5 minutes behind. Mark ran with me for a bit, but I was feeling really good and pushed on hard, only stopping at Tyndrum to collect a cup of soup which I drank walking up the hill. I was away from Tyndrum in 11.16. That was pretty much on schedule, with some of my best stages still to come.
As I headed up the hill and away from Tyndrum I could see a runner ahead which I thought was John. It was, and I eventually caught him on the long gradual downhill track. We chatted a bit – he was still enjoying every minute of the run, which I found a bit strange – then I went in front. I thought that was probably it, but to my surprise he came past me again about a minute later, running really well, and opened up a bit of a gap. When he started walking I passed him again, and this continued all the way to the railway bridge a few miles before Bridge of Orchy. John then shot off like he was running a half marathon, and reached Bridge of Orchy a few minutes in front of me. He was taking shorter stops, so by the time I left Bridge of Orchy the gap was probably 10 minutes again. All of which meant I had made no progress at all on closing the gap on him.
I took a soup with me when I left Bridge of Orchy and walked quickly up the hill. I was determined to push really hard all the way to Kingshouse, as I felt I had underperformed on this section in previous years. I ran hard up the hill from Forest Lodge, and came within 20 yards of John. He then ran away from me before stopping to walk, at which point I closed the gap to about 20 yards again. And so this went on, all the way to Kingshouse. Despite not being able to get in front of John I was running well and feeling strong. I had a 9 minute stop at Kingshouse, changed my socks and top, put on tracksters (as it was starting to get quite cold), and left. My watch showed that I was running faster than I had run before – when I ran my best time of 21.39 in 2003 I had left Kingshouse at 15.57. Today it was 15.31, so I was 26 minutes ahead and looking good for a PB.
I knew John had left Kingshouse 9 minutes in front of me, so I was a bit surprised to pass him before we had reached the Devil’s Staircase. He was starting to find it tough, and the gap between us widened as I headed up and over the hill. I felt better than normal coming down into Kinlochleven and covered the section in a good time of 2.10. I was feeling confident about my time, so didn’t hang around Kinlochleven and headed off as quickly as possible, stopping only to eat a pot of Muller rice and to take a tablet that was supposed to prevent me from feeling sick. The Lairgmor came and went, and I passed Iain Ridgway just before the turn. He had been having terrible stomach problems, but despite that was determined to keep going and was still running all of the hills.
Soon I reached Lundavra and Duncan’s bonfire. George hadn’t been feeling good so decided to go back in the car with Alison, leaving me to cover the last section on my own. That wasn’t a problem at all, as I was feeling good. I looked at my watch – I reckoned I would have to cover the last section in something like 1.15 to get under 21 hours. I didn’t think it was possible. The last section seemed quicker without the trees, and before I knew it I was climbing over the stile and looking down at Glen Nevis campsite. The time on the clock was 20.30. I had covered the last section in 28 minutes before, but not when I had just run 92 miles – 40 minutes or so was more realistic. I headed down the hill, running for as long as I could, but having to stop every 10 minutes or so for a quick walk. Alison and George met me at the Braveheart carpark. There was only a mile or so to go. The job was nearly done. It was a brilliant feeling running through Fort William in broad daylight, and I felt absolutely delighted when I entered the leisure centre in a new personal best time of 21 hours 11 minutes.
I had a shower, then a fantastic massage. We headed back to the Travel Inn, and Alison and I were able to go for a drink before closing time. That's the first time I’ve run quickly enough for us to be able to do that.
John finished in 22 hours 45 minutes, a brilliant performance, and under his target of 23 hours. There are a lot more details about it on his blog, including a fantastic video diary. It’s well worth a look.
There are a lot of people I need to thank. First of all Alison, George and Bobby, who for the seventh consecutive year provided me with backup support of the highest quality. They do a fantastic job for me, are the envy of many other runners who can only imagine getting such quality support, and I am lucky to have them. Secondly I need to thank Dario, the race co-ordinator. He puts in a huge amount of work to make this far and away the best race in the UK. Without his expertise, knowledge and enthusiasm the event could not take place. I and all the other runners are hugely grateful to him. Thirdly, thanks to the runners with whom I have trained for the last year and who have become such great friends: John, Ellen, Phil, Murdo, Hugh, Adrian, Davie, Mark, Mark, Joe, Alan, and Peter, to name but a few. I'm sure there are many others.
Next year’s race takes place on Saturday 21 June 2008. The Travel Inn in Fort William is booked. I'm looking forward to it already.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
The West Highland Way race
I'm not long back from Fort William. I completed the 95 mile West Highland Way race in a new personal best time of 21 hours 11 minutes, finishing 11th out of 104 starters and 76 finishers.
It's a very difficult event to describe. In summary, I didn't feel too good in the early stages, particularly when I got caught in really heavy rain going up Conic Hill about 4am, but I seemed to get stronger after that. My best sections were definitely from Derrydarroch (43 miles) onwards - after that I just felt I ran better and better. It was hugely satisfying to arrive in Fort William in broad daylight, and Alison and I even made it to the pub in time for last orders.
All in all a remarkable day. Congratulations to everyone else who competed it - particularly close friends like John, Ellen and Phil.
It's a very difficult event to describe. In summary, I didn't feel too good in the early stages, particularly when I got caught in really heavy rain going up Conic Hill about 4am, but I seemed to get stronger after that. My best sections were definitely from Derrydarroch (43 miles) onwards - after that I just felt I ran better and better. It was hugely satisfying to arrive in Fort William in broad daylight, and Alison and I even made it to the pub in time for last orders.
All in all a remarkable day. Congratulations to everyone else who competed it - particularly close friends like John, Ellen and Phil.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
My poem
Alison has posted a poem on her blog, to much acclaim. I thought I would do one as well. Mine is called 'The West Highland Way Race - A Runner's Perspective'. I hope you enjoy it.
On 23 June it's the West Highland Way Race
To do it you need to be strong
I think I'll go at a pretty slow pace
Because it's 95 miles long.
We start at Milngavie station
At 1 o'clock in the morning
We carry the hopes of a nation
And the forecast is a storm warning.
In a few hours I reach the bonnie banks
Where there's sure to be some midgies
To the route designer - I give you thanks
For building all those bridges.
Then I get to Inversnaid
Where I'm feeling past my best
The hotel is doing a roaring trade
But I could certainly do with a rest.
Tyndrum comes and goes
Then Bridge of Orchy, and Inveroran
At Ba Bridge a strong wind blows
And the rain is absolutely pourin'.
At last - The Devil's Staircase
A tough and painful climb
I know then that I'm in a race
And trying to achieve a good time.
At Kinlochleven I'm nearly there
Only 15 more painful miles
Just 2 problems: what clothes should I wear?
And how do I get over those stiles?
Finally I reach the end of the track
I've made it - achieved my goal
My feet are sore, my toe-nails black
The race has taken its toll.
At certain points I felt really good
At others really low
Thanks to my backup team for all my food
And thanks to Dario.
On 23 June it's the West Highland Way Race
To do it you need to be strong
I think I'll go at a pretty slow pace
Because it's 95 miles long.
We start at Milngavie station
At 1 o'clock in the morning
We carry the hopes of a nation
And the forecast is a storm warning.
In a few hours I reach the bonnie banks
Where there's sure to be some midgies
To the route designer - I give you thanks
For building all those bridges.
Then I get to Inversnaid
Where I'm feeling past my best
The hotel is doing a roaring trade
But I could certainly do with a rest.
Tyndrum comes and goes
Then Bridge of Orchy, and Inveroran
At Ba Bridge a strong wind blows
And the rain is absolutely pourin'.
At last - The Devil's Staircase
A tough and painful climb
I know then that I'm in a race
And trying to achieve a good time.
At Kinlochleven I'm nearly there
Only 15 more painful miles
Just 2 problems: what clothes should I wear?
And how do I get over those stiles?
Finally I reach the end of the track
I've made it - achieved my goal
My feet are sore, my toe-nails black
The race has taken its toll.
At certain points I felt really good
At others really low
Thanks to my backup team for all my food
And thanks to Dario.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Feeling good on a Monday
I am not normally at my best on a Monday. In fact it would be fair to say that my usual Monday demeanour lies somewhere between 'very grumpy' and 'extremely p*ss*d off with life in general'. As I've felt like this on Mondays for the last 20 years or so (probably ever since I started work), I've become fairly used to it. My workmates are also used to it, to the point where they go out of their way to avoid scheduling meetings with me until later in the week.
But today an incredible thing happened. As I headed into work I felt good, and it was a Monday. Knowing how things usually turn out, I kept expecting to descend into my normal grumpiness at some point in the day. But it didn't happen. I actually felt good all day. I was even heard to crack a few jokes, and to tell a couple of my workmates to cheer up, and point out to them that no-one wanted to see their greetin' faces in our ever so happy workplace. Someone muttered something about pots and kettles, which I found amusing. Nothing seemed able to spoil my mood.
So what brought on this remarkable transformation? I can only assume that my greatly reduced running over the weekend (5 miles in total) has left me feeling a lot fresher which, in turn, has left me feeling a lot less grumpy. There seems no other logical explanation.
Obviously it won't last. In fact after the WHW race I'll be REALLY tired, which will make me even more grumpy than normal. I think we just need to look on today as a pretty amazing one-off, never to be repeated.
But today an incredible thing happened. As I headed into work I felt good, and it was a Monday. Knowing how things usually turn out, I kept expecting to descend into my normal grumpiness at some point in the day. But it didn't happen. I actually felt good all day. I was even heard to crack a few jokes, and to tell a couple of my workmates to cheer up, and point out to them that no-one wanted to see their greetin' faces in our ever so happy workplace. Someone muttered something about pots and kettles, which I found amusing. Nothing seemed able to spoil my mood.
So what brought on this remarkable transformation? I can only assume that my greatly reduced running over the weekend (5 miles in total) has left me feeling a lot fresher which, in turn, has left me feeling a lot less grumpy. There seems no other logical explanation.
Obviously it won't last. In fact after the WHW race I'll be REALLY tired, which will make me even more grumpy than normal. I think we just need to look on today as a pretty amazing one-off, never to be repeated.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
The Weather
Dario, the WHW race organiser, has put a post on the WHW bulletin board which suggests the weather next Saturday could be similar to 2005 - i.e. very warm and humid, with the potential for thunder and flash floods. As you would imagine these conditions can be difficult to run in, with a need to take on plenty of fluid, while making sure you don't take on too much. I don't particularly like running in the heat. My ideal weather would be a temperature of around 14 degrees, dull and overcast, with a light south westerly wind. I've had a look at the Met Office long term forecast which says the following:
UK Outlook for Thursday 21 Jun 2007 to Saturday 30 Jun 2007:
Low pressure will bring an unsettled start with showers, heavy and thundery in places and also some longer spells of rain, consequently limited sunny intervals. The low is likely to move east of the UK by Saturday allowing some dry and sunny intervals to develop although there will still be some showers.
That doesn't sound too bad, although at this stage the forecast is very general and a lot can change. The 5 day forecast should be available tomorrow.
In the week just passed I've been out running 4 times, as planned, running for about 5 miles on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I'm feeling quite good and intend to take both Thursday and Friday as holidays, really just to give myself a chance to prepare properly and relax before the weekend. Most of the runners I've spoken to are feeling nervous, but looking forward to getting on with the race.
Finally, my wife Alison has set up a blog to record her experiences of being a backup person in the WHW race. She has received some fantastic feedback on it. You can find it here:
http://www.whwracebackup.blogspot.com/
UK Outlook for Thursday 21 Jun 2007 to Saturday 30 Jun 2007:
Low pressure will bring an unsettled start with showers, heavy and thundery in places and also some longer spells of rain, consequently limited sunny intervals. The low is likely to move east of the UK by Saturday allowing some dry and sunny intervals to develop although there will still be some showers.
That doesn't sound too bad, although at this stage the forecast is very general and a lot can change. The 5 day forecast should be available tomorrow.
In the week just passed I've been out running 4 times, as planned, running for about 5 miles on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I'm feeling quite good and intend to take both Thursday and Friday as holidays, really just to give myself a chance to prepare properly and relax before the weekend. Most of the runners I've spoken to are feeling nervous, but looking forward to getting on with the race.
Finally, my wife Alison has set up a blog to record her experiences of being a backup person in the WHW race. She has received some fantastic feedback on it. You can find it here:
http://www.whwracebackup.blogspot.com/
Monday, June 11, 2007
Short of time
It's 10.45pm, I'm tired and need to get to bed. I didn't get a chance to blog last night so here is a very quick update:
1. I did a 6 mile run in the hills around Comrie with the Strathearn Harriers last Thursday night. The run was nice and gentle, but my legs were stiff after the 10k race the night before, particularly my left hamstring.
2. On Friday lunchtime I managed to fit in an easy 4 mile from Tollcross pool, where I had been attending the Scottish Schools Swimming championships. I could still feel my hamstring, although it didn't really bother me at all when running.
3. On Saturday I was backing up a friend, Bobby, in the Devil O'The Highlands Footrace, a 43 mile race from Tyndrum to Fort William along the West Highland Way. Despite the fierce temperatures he did fantastically well, finishing 10th overall (and first supervet) in a time of 7 hours 57 minutes. It felt a bit strange being a backup person rather than runner, but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
4. I didn't run at all yesterday, but went out for a steady 5 miles in Edinburgh after work tonight. Felt ok, despite having to play my favourite game of 'avoid the holidaymaker'.
5. Just over 11 days to go to the start of the race. My plan is to do easy runs only from here on in, running on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
6. Goodnight. I'm off to bed.
1. I did a 6 mile run in the hills around Comrie with the Strathearn Harriers last Thursday night. The run was nice and gentle, but my legs were stiff after the 10k race the night before, particularly my left hamstring.
2. On Friday lunchtime I managed to fit in an easy 4 mile from Tollcross pool, where I had been attending the Scottish Schools Swimming championships. I could still feel my hamstring, although it didn't really bother me at all when running.
3. On Saturday I was backing up a friend, Bobby, in the Devil O'The Highlands Footrace, a 43 mile race from Tyndrum to Fort William along the West Highland Way. Despite the fierce temperatures he did fantastically well, finishing 10th overall (and first supervet) in a time of 7 hours 57 minutes. It felt a bit strange being a backup person rather than runner, but I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it.
4. I didn't run at all yesterday, but went out for a steady 5 miles in Edinburgh after work tonight. Felt ok, despite having to play my favourite game of 'avoid the holidaymaker'.
5. Just over 11 days to go to the start of the race. My plan is to do easy runs only from here on in, running on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
6. Goodnight. I'm off to bed.
Wednesday, June 06, 2007
Lang Toon 10k, Auchterarder
It's not like me to post during the week, as I normally don't have time. However I felt I had to let everyone know that I ran the Lang Toon 10k in Auchterarder tonight, finishing in (wait for it) 2nd place overall and 1st vet! My time was 38.37 - perhaps not quite as fast as I had hoped, but against that it was a tough, hilly course with most of the uphills in the 2nd half. Needless to say it was not a quality field, but to be fair neither was the heptathlon in the 2000 Olympics, and I've never heard Denise Lewis complain about her gold medal :)
For someone who hasn't had much (or indeed any) practice, I thought I handled the prizegiving pretty well. I went up to the front at the right times, smiled, and remembered to thank the man who gave me my medals. I even had my photo taken for the local paper, the Strathearn Herald.
One final point before going to bed, which may be of interest to some: tonight's race saw me pass 1,000 running miles for the year.
For someone who hasn't had much (or indeed any) practice, I thought I handled the prizegiving pretty well. I went up to the front at the right times, smiled, and remembered to thank the man who gave me my medals. I even had my photo taken for the local paper, the Strathearn Herald.
One final point before going to bed, which may be of interest to some: tonight's race saw me pass 1,000 running miles for the year.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Time for the tapering to begin
There is now less than 3 weeks to go until 'The Race', so I am hoping I have done most of the hard work and can begin to taper down. For those of you who are not runners and may not have heard about the concept of tapering, it describes where you reduce the amount of mileage and the intensity of training, with an aim of ensuring that your body is completely fresh for the big day. That sounds easy in principle, but in practice it is a bit more difficult. The main difficulty I find is that my body initially enjoys the fact it is not working as hard as it is used to, so tends to go in to 'shut-down' mode. That can make easy runs feel quite hard, which in turn can make me think that I have lost all of the fitness I have spent the last 6 months or so developing. All complete rubbish, of course, but it does have a tendancy to cause a degree of panic to set in. An unwelcome consequence of this is that I am liable to spend the next 2 and a half weeks moaning to everyone I meet about my non-existent injuries and illnesses - this includes (but is by no means limited to) my family, my workmates, other WHW runners, and in fact just about anyone who is unfortunate enough to have to listen to me. It all gets quite pathetic, to be honest - for example, if I happen to be sitting beside someone on the train who sneezes, then I am likely to move seat. After all, you just can't risk catching their cold, can you?
Anyway, back to this week's training. I didn't feel great in the early part of the week (see paragraph above), and then yesterday my back was really sore (see paragraph above again). It didn't stop me going out today with a few of the guys from my club Strathearn Harriers (I said I'd do a link to their website, which can be found at www.strathearnharriers.org.uk) for a 31 and a half mile run around the Comrie and Crieff area. It was a hard run, mostly off-road, which took us 5 and a half hours. It was a shame the weather was so poor, as this meant we were unable to see any of the fantastic views from the top of the hills, but we all ran reasonably well and felt quite good at the end.
Finally, an appeal to all readers of my blog. Did any of you send flowers to my wife this week? She received a lovely delivery from M&S on Friday, but there was no label to say who they were from. It's put us in a bit of a dilemma - we aren't able to thank anyone, as we don't know who they are from, but we don't want the sender to think we are being bad mannered by not thanking them. So, if the sender is reading this: 1) thank you very much, and 2) could you let us know who you are?
Anyway, back to this week's training. I didn't feel great in the early part of the week (see paragraph above), and then yesterday my back was really sore (see paragraph above again). It didn't stop me going out today with a few of the guys from my club Strathearn Harriers (I said I'd do a link to their website, which can be found at www.strathearnharriers.org.uk) for a 31 and a half mile run around the Comrie and Crieff area. It was a hard run, mostly off-road, which took us 5 and a half hours. It was a shame the weather was so poor, as this meant we were unable to see any of the fantastic views from the top of the hills, but we all ran reasonably well and felt quite good at the end.
Finally, an appeal to all readers of my blog. Did any of you send flowers to my wife this week? She received a lovely delivery from M&S on Friday, but there was no label to say who they were from. It's put us in a bit of a dilemma - we aren't able to thank anyone, as we don't know who they are from, but we don't want the sender to think we are being bad mannered by not thanking them. So, if the sender is reading this: 1) thank you very much, and 2) could you let us know who you are?
Sunday, May 27, 2007
The most boring run of all time
On Friday I decided to travel part of the way home from work by running from our office in the centre of Edinburgh to Falkirk Grahamston station. I left Edinburgh around 5pm. The first hour was spent heading westwards along the A8 out towards the Gyle, past the RBS headquarters at Gogarburn, and out past the airport. There was traffic everywhere, as people tried to get home by more conventional (and some would say sensible) means, and I was running into a strong, fairly cold wind. That first hour was dull, but things didn't get any better in the second hour: in fact they actually got worse. I crossed the M9 motorway by the footbridge, headed down the A89 towards Broxburn, turned right along a back road towards Winchburgh, and then joined the Union Canal. I have run along the Union Canal on a few occasions, and I have to say that I've always found it the most boring place to run in the entire universe. Apologies to Bristish Waterways, who are trying to get people to use the canals, but from a running perspective it is dire. The path never changes at all - no hills, no real changes in scenery with the same boring view of a canal to my left for mile after mile after mile, and just about nobody else about. At one stage I stopped to count my jelly babies, which was probably the highlight of that second hour. I discovered that I had 9, so I spent the next 20 minutes trying to work out how often I could eat one without running out of them too early. What a way to spend a Friday night. I'm a real fun guy, no doubt about that.
After an eternity I came to Linlithgow, and thought very seriously about packing it in and getting the train back from there. By that stage I had covered about 18 miles and was feeling cold. I had done enough, but for some odd reason that I still don't understand I carried on towards Polmont. The 3 hour mark arrived with my GPS showing I had run about 20.6 miles, so I guess I must have been about half way between Linlithgow and Polmont. I have to say that I really don't remember much about it, as just about every bit of that section looked much the same.
Incredibly the same thing happened to me at Polmont. I had made up my mind to stop and get the train from there, or so I thought. For some stupid reason I ran on past the station exit and continued towards Falkirk. Eventually I came off the canal, headed down the hill into Falkirk, ran passed Callendar Park, and pushed really hard to try and catch the 8.37pm train.
I finally arrived at Falkirk Grahamston, having covered the 26.1 miles in 3 hours 46 minutes. It had felt much, much longer. I missed the train by 2 minutes, and had to wait a full 28 minutes for the next one. By the time it arrived I was frozen. That kind of summed up my day.
After an eternity I came to Linlithgow, and thought very seriously about packing it in and getting the train back from there. By that stage I had covered about 18 miles and was feeling cold. I had done enough, but for some odd reason that I still don't understand I carried on towards Polmont. The 3 hour mark arrived with my GPS showing I had run about 20.6 miles, so I guess I must have been about half way between Linlithgow and Polmont. I have to say that I really don't remember much about it, as just about every bit of that section looked much the same.
Incredibly the same thing happened to me at Polmont. I had made up my mind to stop and get the train from there, or so I thought. For some stupid reason I ran on past the station exit and continued towards Falkirk. Eventually I came off the canal, headed down the hill into Falkirk, ran passed Callendar Park, and pushed really hard to try and catch the 8.37pm train.
I finally arrived at Falkirk Grahamston, having covered the 26.1 miles in 3 hours 46 minutes. It had felt much, much longer. I missed the train by 2 minutes, and had to wait a full 28 minutes for the next one. By the time it arrived I was frozen. That kind of summed up my day.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Racing again
Last night I decided to head up the road to Crieff for the Knock Hill Race. I don't normally do hill races, and I wasn't particularly in the mood for it after a hard day at work. However it is part of the Strathearn Harriers club championship, and as I was one of the people who suggested that a club championship would be a good idea, I felt somewhat obliged to support it. If I'm being completely honest, I also went along because I thought it was a race where I thought I might score quite a lot of points. The club championship scoring system is fairly complicated, and I won't bore you with the details here (if you are really interested you can find more information on www.strathearnharriers.org.uk), but there seems to be 3 key factors which influence your points: your own time, the winner's time, and your age. I can't do much about my age, but I didn't expect the winner's time to be particularly good, as it is not a high profile race. I therefore hoped to score quite a few points.
Well, I ended up finishing 17th (out of 46) in a time of 36.54, and I think I scored 13.8 points. This has put me in 2nd place in the club championship, 0.1 points behind the leader, Gordon Morrison. I should really point out that both Gordon and I have both done 3 events, while quite a few of the other serious contenders have only done 2. The race was a lot harder than I expected. I have been for a walk up Knock Hill with the dogs, and I don't remember it being particularly steep. Last night it seemed like a real slog. It didn't help that I was desperate for the toilet and had to stop half way up the hill, losing at least 30 seconds in the process. However I worked hard throughout, and passed 4 people in the second half of the course. All in all it was a good workout - a good hard run, without killing myself.
John's blog (www.west-highland-way-race07-training.blogspot.com/) has a timer to the start of the West Highland Way race, and when I looked a few seconds ago it told me the race starts in 29 days 3 hours 39 minutes and 10 seconds. That doesn't seem too far away (and since I've been typing this it has changed to 29 days 3 hours 38 minutes and 8 seconds). I'll try and have another couple of weeks of relatively high mileage, then start tapering down for the race with about 3 weeks to go. My taper will be helped by the fact that I'm backing up one my friends Bobby (free Bobby! - anyone who listens to Robin and Cat on Real Radio will get it) in the Devil O' The Highland Footrace on 9 June. This race covers the second half of the WHW, from Tyndrum to Fort William. (Free) Bobby came with us for last week's long run, and looked in good shape. I'm confident he'll do well in the Devil O.
Well, I ended up finishing 17th (out of 46) in a time of 36.54, and I think I scored 13.8 points. This has put me in 2nd place in the club championship, 0.1 points behind the leader, Gordon Morrison. I should really point out that both Gordon and I have both done 3 events, while quite a few of the other serious contenders have only done 2. The race was a lot harder than I expected. I have been for a walk up Knock Hill with the dogs, and I don't remember it being particularly steep. Last night it seemed like a real slog. It didn't help that I was desperate for the toilet and had to stop half way up the hill, losing at least 30 seconds in the process. However I worked hard throughout, and passed 4 people in the second half of the course. All in all it was a good workout - a good hard run, without killing myself.
John's blog (www.west-highland-way-race07-training.blogspot.com/) has a timer to the start of the West Highland Way race, and when I looked a few seconds ago it told me the race starts in 29 days 3 hours 39 minutes and 10 seconds. That doesn't seem too far away (and since I've been typing this it has changed to 29 days 3 hours 38 minutes and 8 seconds). I'll try and have another couple of weeks of relatively high mileage, then start tapering down for the race with about 3 weeks to go. My taper will be helped by the fact that I'm backing up one my friends Bobby (free Bobby! - anyone who listens to Robin and Cat on Real Radio will get it) in the Devil O' The Highland Footrace on 9 June. This race covers the second half of the WHW, from Tyndrum to Fort William. (Free) Bobby came with us for last week's long run, and looked in good shape. I'm confident he'll do well in the Devil O.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
2 days on the West Highland Way
Well, that was a good couple of days. On Friday morning we left Balmaha just before 9am to run the 41 miles up the West Highland Way to Bridge of Orchy. Feeling that was not quite enough, we followed it up with the 35 miles from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William on the Saturday.
4 of us did the full 2 day session - Hugh, John, Phil and me. We were joined on Friday by Bobby, who came with us to Tyndrum, then on Saturday by John, Peter, Joe, Ellen, Mark and Aileen. My wife Alison and Phil's wife Liz joined us at Bridge of Orchy on Friday night, and provided exceptional backup services throughout Saturday's run. Friday turned into a bit of a race, with us reaching Bridge of Orchy in 8 hours 39 minutes. We decided to take things a bit more gently on Saturday, but the pace was still good. I put my foot down half way along the Lairig Mor, completely ignoring our previous agreement to stick together (that was my revenge for the toilet stop incident the previous day, which I have described further at 2 below) and reached Fort William in 7 hours 28 minutes. This may sound quite impressive, but in fairness I should point out I was more than half an hour behind the group in front, and about 4 hours behind John.
For most of the weekend the weather was awful. It was showery on Friday, but at least we had some reasonably long spells where the rain went off. That didn't happen on Saturday, when it poured for pretty much all of the day. Despite the weather it was a great weekend, made all the better by the fantastic company. I've jotted down some of the highlights and lowlights, in no particular order. Highlights are marked with an 'H', and lowlights with an 'L'.
1. Starting out from Balmaha in a monsoon. Fortunately it only lasted about 10 minutes, although by that time we were soaking (L).
2. Stopping for a quick toilet stop on the route from Rowardennan to Inversnaid, and finding myself almost a minute behind the other 4. Guys, thanks for waiting for me... I realised then that this wasn't a friendly training run but a full blown session, and that no quarter would be given. In fact, I'm sure John referred to it as a 'race' on more than one occasion - a freudian slip, no doubt... (L)
3. Getting a coffee at Beinglas Farm, my first coffee for almost 7 hours (H).
4. Covering the section over Crianlarich without getting cramp (H).
5. The hot shower at the Bridge of Orchy bunkhouse (H).
6. Buying a round of drinks for 6 of us at the Bridge of Orchy hotel, and being told that the total bill was £1.40 (4 pints of water, a coke and an orange juice) (H).
7. Trying to decide whether to have the full West Highland breakfast on Saturday morning. My heart said yes, my head no - I went with my head, and had porridge and toast instead. Mind you, the full breafast didn't do Hugh any harm - he shot off before Kingshouse and we didn't see him again until Fort William (L).
8. Saddest moment of the 2 days was the look on Alison and Liz's face as they stood waiting for us in the middle of the storm at Kingshouse. Ladies, you went far beyond the call of duty. In fact, it was so wet there was a man beside them rounding up animals two by two into a nearby ark... (L)
9. It was so miserable that Aileen packed it in at Kingshouse (L)
10. But the rest of us went on (H).
11. I made it to Fort William just before the Leisure Centre closed, and managing to get a hot shower (H). However, I feel I have to comment on Lochaber Leisure Centre's opening hours. Why does it close at 5pm on a Saturday? Does no-one in Fort William want to do leisure after then?
12. Finally, having a fish supper at Tyndrum (H+).
All in all a great couple of days. Can't wait for 23rd June, when we get to do it all again, plus a bit more, and all in one go!
4 of us did the full 2 day session - Hugh, John, Phil and me. We were joined on Friday by Bobby, who came with us to Tyndrum, then on Saturday by John, Peter, Joe, Ellen, Mark and Aileen. My wife Alison and Phil's wife Liz joined us at Bridge of Orchy on Friday night, and provided exceptional backup services throughout Saturday's run. Friday turned into a bit of a race, with us reaching Bridge of Orchy in 8 hours 39 minutes. We decided to take things a bit more gently on Saturday, but the pace was still good. I put my foot down half way along the Lairig Mor, completely ignoring our previous agreement to stick together (that was my revenge for the toilet stop incident the previous day, which I have described further at 2 below) and reached Fort William in 7 hours 28 minutes. This may sound quite impressive, but in fairness I should point out I was more than half an hour behind the group in front, and about 4 hours behind John.
For most of the weekend the weather was awful. It was showery on Friday, but at least we had some reasonably long spells where the rain went off. That didn't happen on Saturday, when it poured for pretty much all of the day. Despite the weather it was a great weekend, made all the better by the fantastic company. I've jotted down some of the highlights and lowlights, in no particular order. Highlights are marked with an 'H', and lowlights with an 'L'.
1. Starting out from Balmaha in a monsoon. Fortunately it only lasted about 10 minutes, although by that time we were soaking (L).
2. Stopping for a quick toilet stop on the route from Rowardennan to Inversnaid, and finding myself almost a minute behind the other 4. Guys, thanks for waiting for me... I realised then that this wasn't a friendly training run but a full blown session, and that no quarter would be given. In fact, I'm sure John referred to it as a 'race' on more than one occasion - a freudian slip, no doubt... (L)
3. Getting a coffee at Beinglas Farm, my first coffee for almost 7 hours (H).
4. Covering the section over Crianlarich without getting cramp (H).
5. The hot shower at the Bridge of Orchy bunkhouse (H).
6. Buying a round of drinks for 6 of us at the Bridge of Orchy hotel, and being told that the total bill was £1.40 (4 pints of water, a coke and an orange juice) (H).
7. Trying to decide whether to have the full West Highland breakfast on Saturday morning. My heart said yes, my head no - I went with my head, and had porridge and toast instead. Mind you, the full breafast didn't do Hugh any harm - he shot off before Kingshouse and we didn't see him again until Fort William (L).
8. Saddest moment of the 2 days was the look on Alison and Liz's face as they stood waiting for us in the middle of the storm at Kingshouse. Ladies, you went far beyond the call of duty. In fact, it was so wet there was a man beside them rounding up animals two by two into a nearby ark... (L)
9. It was so miserable that Aileen packed it in at Kingshouse (L)
10. But the rest of us went on (H).
11. I made it to Fort William just before the Leisure Centre closed, and managing to get a hot shower (H). However, I feel I have to comment on Lochaber Leisure Centre's opening hours. Why does it close at 5pm on a Saturday? Does no-one in Fort William want to do leisure after then?
12. Finally, having a fish supper at Tyndrum (H+).
All in all a great couple of days. Can't wait for 23rd June, when we get to do it all again, plus a bit more, and all in one go!
Sunday, May 13, 2007
A quick update
I haven't much blogging time tonight, but I know many of my readers get frustrated when there is no update. So, with apologies for the summary format, here goes:
I had a bit of niggle in my left groin for the first part of the week. It was possibly brought on by playing football at my son's 9th birthday party last Sunday, or even by falling down a hole on the moor when I was out walking the dogs. Whatever caused it, I thought it was better to be cautious and that meant I missed the Troon 10k on Wednesday night. It was disappointing to miss it, but probably the right decision.
I had an easy run on Thursday and another easy run on Saturday. My groin felt ok. So today I went up to the West Highland Way and ran from Tyndrum to just beyond Forest Lodge and back, 20 miles in total. I felt pretty good, covering it in just over 3 hours.
Next Friday and Saturday I'm doing most of the West Highland Way with a few other race entrants, including Phil and John. The plan is to run from Balmaha to Bridge of Orchy on the Friday (40 miles), then stay at Bridge of Orchy overnight and run from there to Fort William on the Saturday (35 miles). I'm looking forward to it. There is a chance we'll be interviewed by a reporter from the Independent on Sunday who is doing a feature on the race, so look out for that.
Today was the Glasgow Women's 10k. A large number of women from our firm were doing it, including 2 from my department, Linda and Morag. Morag has done it a few times but it was Linda's first. They finished in very good times, so congratulations to both of them. Hopefully they will have caught the running 'bug', and will be thinking about doing the half marathon in September!
I had a bit of niggle in my left groin for the first part of the week. It was possibly brought on by playing football at my son's 9th birthday party last Sunday, or even by falling down a hole on the moor when I was out walking the dogs. Whatever caused it, I thought it was better to be cautious and that meant I missed the Troon 10k on Wednesday night. It was disappointing to miss it, but probably the right decision.
I had an easy run on Thursday and another easy run on Saturday. My groin felt ok. So today I went up to the West Highland Way and ran from Tyndrum to just beyond Forest Lodge and back, 20 miles in total. I felt pretty good, covering it in just over 3 hours.
Next Friday and Saturday I'm doing most of the West Highland Way with a few other race entrants, including Phil and John. The plan is to run from Balmaha to Bridge of Orchy on the Friday (40 miles), then stay at Bridge of Orchy overnight and run from there to Fort William on the Saturday (35 miles). I'm looking forward to it. There is a chance we'll be interviewed by a reporter from the Independent on Sunday who is doing a feature on the race, so look out for that.
Today was the Glasgow Women's 10k. A large number of women from our firm were doing it, including 2 from my department, Linda and Morag. Morag has done it a few times but it was Linda's first. They finished in very good times, so congratulations to both of them. Hopefully they will have caught the running 'bug', and will be thinking about doing the half marathon in September!
Saturday, May 05, 2007
Scottish elections
This is my first ever political blog. Up to now I've tried to steer clear of politics and concentrated on running instead. However I have always had an enormous interest in politics, and I think the results of Thursday's Scottish elections merit some comment. So here goes.
First of all congratulations to the SNP for ending up the largest party - 47 seats compared to Labour's 46. At the time of writing it isn't clear what is going to happen. However my preference on the way forward would be the not so obvious solution - why don't the SNP and Labour form a coalition government? It has to make sense - between them they have 93 of the 129 seats, so a coalition between these 2 parties would provide a great chance to deliver 'the will of the Scottish people' - and isn't that what it is all about? Labour would have to accept that the Scottish people are entitled to a referendum on independence. In my view this isn't a bad thing. I'm actually moving more and more in favour myself. It would also give the SNP an opportunity to learn from Labour's many years in power, and to make sure that knowledge was not lost.
One of my main concerns about the SNP manifesto was their proposal to abolish sportscotland. I am a board member of sportscotland, so I have a particular interest in this. However, trying to put my personal interest to one side, I just do not see how replacing the sportscotland board with a group of politicians makes any sense at all. The sportscotland board is made up of independently appointed people, all of whom are (from my experience) very high quality individuals. Sportscotland was established by Royal Charter to ensure it remained independent from the normal political process, and I just don't see how changing this will improve sport in Scotland. I applied to be part of it because I believed I could make a difference. I would be disappointed if this was opportunity was taken away, with sportscotland replaced by another yet another government department.
I am actually very supportive of pushing for Scottish representation in all sports, i.e. having a Scottish team at events like the Olympics and World Championships. I cannot see how this can be a bad thing for Scottish sport. It will give significantly greater opportunities for Scottish athletes to appear on the world stage, and that will in my opinion lead to far greater motivation from our athletes, resulting in improved performances. We already see improvements in performance standards in Commonwealth Games years across a number of sports - athletes suddenly have an achieveable target, so are prepared to push themselves that bit further to get there. I hope that the SNP and Labour, working together for the benefit of the Scottish people, take this on board.
There is no doubt in my mind that sport needs to be a higher priority for any Scottish government. There are 2 aspects to this - as outlined in the recently published strategy for sport - which are to increase participation and to improve performance. Both are equally important. We need to get this right - I worry greatly about our ability to fund the health service in 10 to 15 years time if we don't take steps now to improve the fitness of the population of Scotland. Initiatives like jogscotland have such an important role to play in this. I think it can be done. Next week is the Glasgow Women's 10k, and we have around 50 women from our firm taking part. When you bear in mind that we only have about 400 people in total (both men and women) then I think that is a fantastic response. It just goes to show what happens when you get a few enthusiastic people in a workplace and it becomes 'cool' to take part. The London Olympics in 2012, and hopefully the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, have the potential to be a key influence in helping people moving to a better and healthier lifestyle. Let's hope everyone makes the most of these fantastic opportunities.
First of all congratulations to the SNP for ending up the largest party - 47 seats compared to Labour's 46. At the time of writing it isn't clear what is going to happen. However my preference on the way forward would be the not so obvious solution - why don't the SNP and Labour form a coalition government? It has to make sense - between them they have 93 of the 129 seats, so a coalition between these 2 parties would provide a great chance to deliver 'the will of the Scottish people' - and isn't that what it is all about? Labour would have to accept that the Scottish people are entitled to a referendum on independence. In my view this isn't a bad thing. I'm actually moving more and more in favour myself. It would also give the SNP an opportunity to learn from Labour's many years in power, and to make sure that knowledge was not lost.
One of my main concerns about the SNP manifesto was their proposal to abolish sportscotland. I am a board member of sportscotland, so I have a particular interest in this. However, trying to put my personal interest to one side, I just do not see how replacing the sportscotland board with a group of politicians makes any sense at all. The sportscotland board is made up of independently appointed people, all of whom are (from my experience) very high quality individuals. Sportscotland was established by Royal Charter to ensure it remained independent from the normal political process, and I just don't see how changing this will improve sport in Scotland. I applied to be part of it because I believed I could make a difference. I would be disappointed if this was opportunity was taken away, with sportscotland replaced by another yet another government department.
I am actually very supportive of pushing for Scottish representation in all sports, i.e. having a Scottish team at events like the Olympics and World Championships. I cannot see how this can be a bad thing for Scottish sport. It will give significantly greater opportunities for Scottish athletes to appear on the world stage, and that will in my opinion lead to far greater motivation from our athletes, resulting in improved performances. We already see improvements in performance standards in Commonwealth Games years across a number of sports - athletes suddenly have an achieveable target, so are prepared to push themselves that bit further to get there. I hope that the SNP and Labour, working together for the benefit of the Scottish people, take this on board.
There is no doubt in my mind that sport needs to be a higher priority for any Scottish government. There are 2 aspects to this - as outlined in the recently published strategy for sport - which are to increase participation and to improve performance. Both are equally important. We need to get this right - I worry greatly about our ability to fund the health service in 10 to 15 years time if we don't take steps now to improve the fitness of the population of Scotland. Initiatives like jogscotland have such an important role to play in this. I think it can be done. Next week is the Glasgow Women's 10k, and we have around 50 women from our firm taking part. When you bear in mind that we only have about 400 people in total (both men and women) then I think that is a fantastic response. It just goes to show what happens when you get a few enthusiastic people in a workplace and it becomes 'cool' to take part. The London Olympics in 2012, and hopefully the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014, have the potential to be a key influence in helping people moving to a better and healthier lifestyle. Let's hope everyone makes the most of these fantastic opportunities.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
A sprint finish - but who was it against?
During Saturday's Highland Fling race I ended up in a sprint finish, as I reported in my race review:
Just after coming into the forest before Tyndrum I passed someone else, then managed to trip and had my first fall of the day. I shouted a few well chosen words, picked myself up, and powered towards the finish, determined to stay in front of the person I had just passed. I succeeded, but only just. I'm not sure I needed a sprint finish at that stage.
Well, the results of the race were published on Monday and I was very surprised that there was no-one listed as finishing just a couple of seconds behind me. Steven King was 36 seconds in front and Kendra-Anne White was 2 minutes and 3 seconds behind. Being a very pedantic person, this puzzled me greatly. I could only think of 2 possible explanations: either Murdo (the race organiser) had mixed up Steven King and me in the results, and then got the times wrong (which seemed unlikely), or the person I had the sprint finish with wasn't in the race at all.
As it was still puzzling me today, I e-mailed Steven King to ask him if he was in a sprint finish with someone - in other words to check out the first possible explanation. He came back and said that he had indeed finished about 36 seconds in front of me, and remembered my sprint finish well, as he was sitting on the ground beside the finish line at the time. The results had confused him too, as he had thought there were 3 people between him and his clubmate Lynne Kuz, but the results only showed 2.
So the only possible explanation would appear to be that I got involved in a sprint finish on Saturday, over the final quarter mile of a 53 mile race, with someone who wasn't even in the race. I have to say that I find that greatly amusing.
Just after coming into the forest before Tyndrum I passed someone else, then managed to trip and had my first fall of the day. I shouted a few well chosen words, picked myself up, and powered towards the finish, determined to stay in front of the person I had just passed. I succeeded, but only just. I'm not sure I needed a sprint finish at that stage.
Well, the results of the race were published on Monday and I was very surprised that there was no-one listed as finishing just a couple of seconds behind me. Steven King was 36 seconds in front and Kendra-Anne White was 2 minutes and 3 seconds behind. Being a very pedantic person, this puzzled me greatly. I could only think of 2 possible explanations: either Murdo (the race organiser) had mixed up Steven King and me in the results, and then got the times wrong (which seemed unlikely), or the person I had the sprint finish with wasn't in the race at all.
As it was still puzzling me today, I e-mailed Steven King to ask him if he was in a sprint finish with someone - in other words to check out the first possible explanation. He came back and said that he had indeed finished about 36 seconds in front of me, and remembered my sprint finish well, as he was sitting on the ground beside the finish line at the time. The results had confused him too, as he had thought there were 3 people between him and his clubmate Lynne Kuz, but the results only showed 2.
So the only possible explanation would appear to be that I got involved in a sprint finish on Saturday, over the final quarter mile of a 53 mile race, with someone who wasn't even in the race. I have to say that I find that greatly amusing.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
The Highland Fling
"Ding, ding, the Highland Fling,
The Highland Fling, the Highland Fling
Ding ding, the Highland Fling
The Highland Fling for me"
Yesterday I took part in 'The Highland Fling', a 53 mile trail race on the southern section of the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Tyndrum. With the benefit of hindsight I think I ran well, finishing 17th in a time of 10 hours 39 minutes. That was my fastest time ever for that section. Below I've jotted down the key highlights of the day.
3.30am - alarm went off and I got up. Spent next hour rushing around checking I had everything I needed. Decided to have a boiled egg for breakfast, but ran out of time and didn't get a chance to have it.
4.30am - Liz and Phil picked me up.
5.30am - we arrived at Milngavie station. It was a lot busier than last year, when only 17 people took part in the inaugural event - this year there were more than 70.
6.00am - race started. Still quite cool. Ran most of the first section with John K and Allan M. Reached Drymen in 1 hour 50 minutes, which was fast.
9.10am - arrived at the first checkpoint at Balmaha. Time was 3 hours 10 minutes - my fastest ever time to reach there. John kept saying how good he felt. I was a bit worried it was too fast, but felt ok so decided not to panic.
10.42 am - reached Rowardennan in 4 hours 42 minutes, which was fast. I had fallen a bit behind John on this section, but was quite pleased about that as I felt he was going a touch faster than I wanted to run. I forced down a rice pudding and banana, although my stomach didn't feel great - no surprise there. Liz did a superb job as support person, towelling me down and spraying on my suntan lotion. It was starting to get hot.
12.13pm - arrived at Inversnaid (6 hours 13 mins), having had a very good section. Tim, who was taking the times, made me a coffee. However I had to rush off when 4 other runners arrived, including Rosie Bell from Strathaven and Hugh Kerr from Central, as I didn't want them to get in front of me.
1.57pm - reached Beinglas Farm (7 hours 57 mins). Before the race I reckoned if I was away from Beinglas in 8 hours I would be doing well, so I was still very much on schedule. I had passed a couple of people on the difficult section north of Inversnaid, including Erwin from Helensburgh. At Beinglas it was about 3 more miles to the next checkpoint at Derrydarroch. I covered that part really well and passed another couple of runners who were struggling. As I arrived at the checkpoint at Derrydarroch I was surprised to see John K, as I thought he would be much further in front. I think he was surprised to see me too. He left the checkpoint 4 minutes in front of me - not an insurmountable gap at that stage, particularly as everyone would be starting to tire.
2.54pm (8 hours 54 mins) - went through the A82 underpass feeling good, and came out the other side feeling terrible. For the next 45 minutes or so I had terrible cramp. At one stage I could not move at all as my legs seized up in about 5 places at the same time. I tried to eat and drink as much as possible: 2 gels, a scone, some Lucozade sport, some water and some jelly babies, but despite my best efforts I couldn't get rid of the cramp. I even had cramp in my arms. At least 2 other runners passed me, which was irritating, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. After what seemed like hours of suffering I met a support person for another runner who gave me some crisps. I don't know whether the crisps made a difference, or whether it was the other food kicking in, but eventually the cramp went away just before I crossed the A82 for the second time. What a relief to be able to run again.
4.03pm (10 hours 3 minutes) - crossed A82 for the 2nd time. As the cramp had gone, and I had walked so much of the previous section, I felt really fresh and strong. I fairly motored passed Auchentyre wigwams and up towards Tyndrum. I passed the 2 people who had overtaken me on the previous section - one of the girls had a really sore knee, but she had kept going well, even though she was found the downhill sections really painful. Just after coming into the forest before Tyndrum I passed someone else, then managed to trip and had my first fall of the day. I shouted a few well chosen words, picked myself up, and powered towards the finish, determined to stay in front of the person I had just passed. I succeeded, but only just. I'm not sure I needed a sprint finish at that stage.
4.39 (10 hours 39 minutes) - finished. I felt really good at the end - seemed to have got over the cramp and was running strongly. I found out that Debbie C had finished 6 minutes earlier (in a time of 10.33) and John K was only 3 minutes in front (10.36). I congratulated both of them, although felt a bit gutted as I reckon the cramp had cost me at least 10 minutes on the section above Crianlarich. Still, that's life, and overall I can't really complain about my time.
Phil finished in 12 hours 24 minutes. He felt he ran the first 20 miles too fast, but overall was quite pleased with his performance.
Anyone interested in reading more about this fantastic event, and looking at some photos, should have a look at John K's blog:
http://www.west-highland-way-race07-training.blogspot.com/
Race results can be found here:
http://www.highlandflingrun.co.uk/
Many thanks to Murdo, Ellen and all the other helpers for putting on such a high quality event.
The Highland Fling, the Highland Fling
Ding ding, the Highland Fling
The Highland Fling for me"
Yesterday I took part in 'The Highland Fling', a 53 mile trail race on the southern section of the West Highland Way from Milngavie to Tyndrum. With the benefit of hindsight I think I ran well, finishing 17th in a time of 10 hours 39 minutes. That was my fastest time ever for that section. Below I've jotted down the key highlights of the day.
3.30am - alarm went off and I got up. Spent next hour rushing around checking I had everything I needed. Decided to have a boiled egg for breakfast, but ran out of time and didn't get a chance to have it.
4.30am - Liz and Phil picked me up.
5.30am - we arrived at Milngavie station. It was a lot busier than last year, when only 17 people took part in the inaugural event - this year there were more than 70.
6.00am - race started. Still quite cool. Ran most of the first section with John K and Allan M. Reached Drymen in 1 hour 50 minutes, which was fast.
9.10am - arrived at the first checkpoint at Balmaha. Time was 3 hours 10 minutes - my fastest ever time to reach there. John kept saying how good he felt. I was a bit worried it was too fast, but felt ok so decided not to panic.
10.42 am - reached Rowardennan in 4 hours 42 minutes, which was fast. I had fallen a bit behind John on this section, but was quite pleased about that as I felt he was going a touch faster than I wanted to run. I forced down a rice pudding and banana, although my stomach didn't feel great - no surprise there. Liz did a superb job as support person, towelling me down and spraying on my suntan lotion. It was starting to get hot.
12.13pm - arrived at Inversnaid (6 hours 13 mins), having had a very good section. Tim, who was taking the times, made me a coffee. However I had to rush off when 4 other runners arrived, including Rosie Bell from Strathaven and Hugh Kerr from Central, as I didn't want them to get in front of me.
1.57pm - reached Beinglas Farm (7 hours 57 mins). Before the race I reckoned if I was away from Beinglas in 8 hours I would be doing well, so I was still very much on schedule. I had passed a couple of people on the difficult section north of Inversnaid, including Erwin from Helensburgh. At Beinglas it was about 3 more miles to the next checkpoint at Derrydarroch. I covered that part really well and passed another couple of runners who were struggling. As I arrived at the checkpoint at Derrydarroch I was surprised to see John K, as I thought he would be much further in front. I think he was surprised to see me too. He left the checkpoint 4 minutes in front of me - not an insurmountable gap at that stage, particularly as everyone would be starting to tire.
2.54pm (8 hours 54 mins) - went through the A82 underpass feeling good, and came out the other side feeling terrible. For the next 45 minutes or so I had terrible cramp. At one stage I could not move at all as my legs seized up in about 5 places at the same time. I tried to eat and drink as much as possible: 2 gels, a scone, some Lucozade sport, some water and some jelly babies, but despite my best efforts I couldn't get rid of the cramp. I even had cramp in my arms. At least 2 other runners passed me, which was irritating, but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. After what seemed like hours of suffering I met a support person for another runner who gave me some crisps. I don't know whether the crisps made a difference, or whether it was the other food kicking in, but eventually the cramp went away just before I crossed the A82 for the second time. What a relief to be able to run again.
4.03pm (10 hours 3 minutes) - crossed A82 for the 2nd time. As the cramp had gone, and I had walked so much of the previous section, I felt really fresh and strong. I fairly motored passed Auchentyre wigwams and up towards Tyndrum. I passed the 2 people who had overtaken me on the previous section - one of the girls had a really sore knee, but she had kept going well, even though she was found the downhill sections really painful. Just after coming into the forest before Tyndrum I passed someone else, then managed to trip and had my first fall of the day. I shouted a few well chosen words, picked myself up, and powered towards the finish, determined to stay in front of the person I had just passed. I succeeded, but only just. I'm not sure I needed a sprint finish at that stage.
4.39 (10 hours 39 minutes) - finished. I felt really good at the end - seemed to have got over the cramp and was running strongly. I found out that Debbie C had finished 6 minutes earlier (in a time of 10.33) and John K was only 3 minutes in front (10.36). I congratulated both of them, although felt a bit gutted as I reckon the cramp had cost me at least 10 minutes on the section above Crianlarich. Still, that's life, and overall I can't really complain about my time.
Phil finished in 12 hours 24 minutes. He felt he ran the first 20 miles too fast, but overall was quite pleased with his performance.
Anyone interested in reading more about this fantastic event, and looking at some photos, should have a look at John K's blog:
http://www.west-highland-way-race07-training.blogspot.com/
Race results can be found here:
http://www.highlandflingrun.co.uk/
Many thanks to Murdo, Ellen and all the other helpers for putting on such a high quality event.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
This week's training
An amazing thing happened on Thursday night. I actually made it along to a Central AC training session - I'm almost positive that's the first time that's happened this year. I was one of the first to arrive and we did a decent warm up, then some 'diagonals' on the football pitch, then a warm down. I quite enjoyed it, although it was a bit disconcerting to be lapped during the warm up by Robert Russell, even though he is an ex Scottish National XC champion, and won last Sunday's Grangemouth 10k.
As well as going to the Central training, this week I've managed a fantastic run round Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, another good run round the south side of Edinburgh, a lunchtime run along the canal and past Firhill in Glasgow, and a 20 mile run today round Strathearn. I guess you could say I get about a bit. Today's run round Strathearn was really good. I ran with the 2 Phils (Phil T and Phil M), both of whom are 1) Strathearn Harriers 2) experienced hill runners and 3) to be honest, a lot more comfortable on the hills than I am. We started somewhere near the Glenturret distillery, headed through Crieff, over some hills to a wildlife park near Comrie, through Comrie, and back over some even steeper hills passing a resevoir before returning to our starting point. For the vast majority of the run I has a fantastic view of the two Phils' backs, and I had no idea where I was. I tried to pretend that I was feeling great, and that it made more sense for me to sit behind them a bit, but I don't think either of the Phils was fooled for a minute. The only consolation was the time - Phil T had told me before the run that 3 hours was a good time for the route and that today he expected 3 hours 20 to be more likely. We finished in 2 hours 51 minutes, having run the last 2 (downhill) miles in something close to 12 minutes.
This is a big weekend for long distance runners, with both the London and Lochaber marathons taking place tomorrow. I know a number of people who are taking part, so good luck to all of them. They'll be hoping the conditions are better than Rotterdam last Sunday or Boston last Monday. At Rotterdam the temperature reached 34 degrees, and eventually the officials decided to close the route because so many runners were passing out due to the extreme heat. Boston was the complete opposite, with very heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 50 mph. The winning time at Boston was 2 hours 14 minutes. While I may think that was not too bad a time at all, and I would probably be quite pleased with it, it should be pointed out that it was was the slowest winning time for something like 30 years. The women didn't fare much better, with the first lady something like 2 hours 34 minutes - not great by international standards.
The forecast for London is for the temparature to reach 23 degrees. No doubt Brendan Foster, Steve Cram et al on the BBC will say something like "absolutely ideal conditions for marathon running", but the reality is that these temparatures are far too hot, especially if you have spent a winter training in Scotland in average temperatures of around 5 degrees. It would definitely kill me. I have never run particularly well at London - I've done it 7 times (1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) and my best is a not so great 3 hours 7 minutes. Almost every year I've found it too warm. Tomorrow I'll be sitting in front of the television, hopefully eating a couple of bacon and sausage rolls, knowing full well that it just isn't the kind of event where I could expect to run well. Won't stop me wishing I was there, however....
As well as going to the Central training, this week I've managed a fantastic run round Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, another good run round the south side of Edinburgh, a lunchtime run along the canal and past Firhill in Glasgow, and a 20 mile run today round Strathearn. I guess you could say I get about a bit. Today's run round Strathearn was really good. I ran with the 2 Phils (Phil T and Phil M), both of whom are 1) Strathearn Harriers 2) experienced hill runners and 3) to be honest, a lot more comfortable on the hills than I am. We started somewhere near the Glenturret distillery, headed through Crieff, over some hills to a wildlife park near Comrie, through Comrie, and back over some even steeper hills passing a resevoir before returning to our starting point. For the vast majority of the run I has a fantastic view of the two Phils' backs, and I had no idea where I was. I tried to pretend that I was feeling great, and that it made more sense for me to sit behind them a bit, but I don't think either of the Phils was fooled for a minute. The only consolation was the time - Phil T had told me before the run that 3 hours was a good time for the route and that today he expected 3 hours 20 to be more likely. We finished in 2 hours 51 minutes, having run the last 2 (downhill) miles in something close to 12 minutes.
This is a big weekend for long distance runners, with both the London and Lochaber marathons taking place tomorrow. I know a number of people who are taking part, so good luck to all of them. They'll be hoping the conditions are better than Rotterdam last Sunday or Boston last Monday. At Rotterdam the temperature reached 34 degrees, and eventually the officials decided to close the route because so many runners were passing out due to the extreme heat. Boston was the complete opposite, with very heavy rain and wind gusts of up to 50 mph. The winning time at Boston was 2 hours 14 minutes. While I may think that was not too bad a time at all, and I would probably be quite pleased with it, it should be pointed out that it was was the slowest winning time for something like 30 years. The women didn't fare much better, with the first lady something like 2 hours 34 minutes - not great by international standards.
The forecast for London is for the temparature to reach 23 degrees. No doubt Brendan Foster, Steve Cram et al on the BBC will say something like "absolutely ideal conditions for marathon running", but the reality is that these temparatures are far too hot, especially if you have spent a winter training in Scotland in average temperatures of around 5 degrees. It would definitely kill me. I have never run particularly well at London - I've done it 7 times (1992, 1993, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002) and my best is a not so great 3 hours 7 minutes. Almost every year I've found it too warm. Tomorrow I'll be sitting in front of the television, hopefully eating a couple of bacon and sausage rolls, knowing full well that it just isn't the kind of event where I could expect to run well. Won't stop me wishing I was there, however....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
