John Kynaston's ultra running diary

Summary of January

2012-01-29T10:11:00.005Z

To finish off our easy week Katrina & I had a lie in and didn't start running until 8.45am. We opted for a steady 6.5mile loop around Paisley.

A few times I had to encourage Katrina to ease off a bit. I'm not sure she has embraced the idea of an easy run quite yet!!

It was good to get out and get a few miles done. This coming week we'll be upping the pace and distance again with a 15mile run on the Braes next Sunday morning.

I know January isn't quite finished yet and I have one more run tomorrow but I thought I'd do my monthly review today as it's four weeks.

Here is a summary of my runs and cycles for January ....

As I've mentioned I'm running three to four days a week for the next few months as I plan to have a nice steady build up to the Lakeland Race at the end of July.

I ran a total of 145.62 miles in the four weeks which is a lot lower than previous years but that's all part of the plan!

The key run for the month, as always, was the long run on the whw on 21st January with lots of other ultra runners. I was really pleased with how that went and my aim to is run these long monthly runs within myself and build up gradually.

I've also had some good Fartlek and speed sessions so it's all good so far.

My left Achilles isn't causing any problems at all. I can still just about feel it and if I squeeze hard I know it's there but I can't feel it while running so definietly feel the worse is behind me.

I decided to join in the fun at marathontalk.com They have a fun competition where you state at the beginning of the month how many runs you are aiming to do each week and then you log the run and are given a percentage.

I missed Jantastic but have entered for Febulous. I've entered a West Highland Way Race team but so far there are only 3 of us so if you want to join us please log on and join in the fun!!

You only have to record how many runs you did so it doesn't take long. For Febulous you also state your longest run of the week and record that once you've done it.

Early morning run

2012-01-27T17:55:00.003Z

This is my easy week but I was still keen to get a run in today. I knew I wouldn't be able to run at lunchtime and wouldn't really want to run after work so decided to get up early and run at 6.30am.

I also needed to get some money out the ATM so ran into Paisley past the bank on the way. The pavements were really icy and slippy so I ran on the road as much as possible. Fortunately there weren't too many cars about so it was fine.

This is my only run of the week on my own so I spent the time thinking about various things. Often I'd be thinking about this blog and what I wanted to write about. Now I'm thinking about the whw podcast and what items I could include.

One of the things I thought about was a series of 'Lessons I've learnt from the whw.' I've written down a list so watch out for those in future episodes. I will also ask others to contribute. I'm also getting some ideas from others so it looks like the whw podcasts are here to stay!!

I started off quite easy and ran comfortably for the almost 6miles. I reached the house at 5.95miles but resisted the temptation to run the extra 0.05 to round it up!!

I started my 'Hillfit' exercises yesterday. Here is a summary of how I got on ...

1. Wall sit
I started with the basic position. Sitting against the wall with ankles, knees and hips all at 90degrees. I held the position for 90secs but my legs were shaking a fair bit for the last 20secs or so. I think it may be a few weeks before I can progress to adding weights and making it harder.

2. The push-up plank
Again I started with the basic plank position (the start of a press up) and held it 60sec. I felt okay with this one and will progress to doing a few slow press-ups for 90sec making sure I'm doing them with the correct body position.

3. The modified row
This was is fun. You tie two corners of a beach towel and place it behind a door and shut it so the towel is jammed. (note .... make sure you are pulling the door shut!). Then holding the towel and leaning back, sqeeze your shoulder blades together and pull your self towards the door.

If this doesn't make sense buy the ebook!

I found this one fairly easy so maybe I wasn't doing it right! I think I need to do the movement slowly to engage all the muscles. So a work in progress this one.

4. The hip extension
This one was harder than it looked. Lying on my back with hands flat on the floor I lifted up my buttocks imaging there is a 50p between the cheeks (interesting thought!) and held for 90secs. I think I'll stay with this basic one for a few weeks before adding some weights.

I reckon the four exercises took me about 10mins. I just did one 90sec go of each. I think that is what Chris recommends.

Plus I've started to clean my teeth standing on one leg to improve my balance.

Review of 'Hillfit' by Chris Highcock

2012-01-25T21:15:00.001Z

I felt I could have run yesterday but decided it would do me more good to have another day off after Saturday's 30miler. So my first run was back at the club tonight.

There were 3 in our group, Davie, Gordon and I. We did our Foxbar/Paisley loop in the pouring rain and wind which seemed to be in our face the whole time even though we did a big circuit! So a steady 9.88miles at 7.46pace.

We ran together and chatted the whole way with our conversation ranging from running to the price and quality of socks to facebook to how to keep my head cam dry to .... a whole range of topics. It certainly makes the miles go faster!

At the beginning of the year I wrote in my plans for the year that one of the things I was planning to do was some weight training as I recognised I need to get a bit stronger on my upper body as I'll be carrying a rucksack on the Lakeland 100.

I have to report that I've not started yet but I think I now have the answer of what to do!

Last week Chris Highcock sent me a copy of his ebook, 'Hillfit'.

I've got to know Chris though our blogs and we 'accidently' met up at the Real Cafe in Tyndrum last year after the Devils race.

Anyway Chris is a real expert on conditioning research and his excellent blog is an amazing resource for the latest in current thinking about all aspects of health and fitness. I don't think he would necessarily encourage people to run the distances we do but he does respect us! I even featured on his blog one day.

I'm not sure whether Chris read my post on doing some weights or not but he sent me a link to his ebook to review. It is only 50 pages long and can be read in under an hour but is jam packed with so much advice and experience.

In the first part of the ebook Chris explains clearly why strength is important for general health and hill walking (his passion) in particular. He had my attention straight away because I realise in the Lakeland 100 I'm going to be doing a lot of hill walking.

If I can be stronger and more efficient on each step as Chris suggests then it's going to pay real dividends to my race.

The reason I haven't got going on any weights is that I'm not a member of a gym and don't want to be. I'd much rather be outside running. So it's always going to be difficult to try and find somewhere to go. Also if a routine is going to take too much time I know I won't keep it going.

Again Chris answered all my questions showing that I could make real gains by some simple exercises done the right way at home with minimal or no equipment.

Chris explains that the key to the excercises is that must engage all the muscles, slow-twitch, immediate-twitch and fast twitch and that there must be a progression. Read the ebook ... it all makes sense.

So having convinced me of the value of strength Chris outlines four simple exercises that he says will make a real difference.

1. The wall sit
2. The push up plank
3. The modified row
4. Hip extension

For each one Chris explains how to do them properly and has various steps that you can work through so that there is progression.

There are also chapters on 'warming up and stretching' and 'beyond strength' which were helpful and a list of resources and references to take things further.

So I'm going to start this programme on Tuesday and Thursdays. They are the days I'm cross training (cycling to and from work) so that should fit in well. I'll let you know how I get on!

If you would like a copy of Chris' ebook it costs £9.95 and you can download it from www.hillfit.com If you are at all interested in getting stronger and fitter for walking or running I would thoroughly recommend it.

Note ... Chris left this comment after I wrote this ...
If any of your readers want to go to the Promotions page and use the discount code WHW they will get 50% off. So even better value. Thanks Chris

I've done a second podcast for the whw. In this second episode I interviewed Ian Beattie and read out my 2008 race report. I've had some good feedback so I'm going to keep doing them.

Maybe not every week but on a regular basis. I've asked a number of people to contribute so it's up to them to send me the material for the podcasts.

Video from the whw training weekend

2012-01-23T06:19:00.003Z

The weather wasn't the best for taking lots of photos and video clips but I managed some!

Here is a short video (12mins 38secs) to give you a flavour of the whw training weekend.

whw training weekend

2012-01-22T15:20:00.000Z

What a great weekend! When Ian suggested this idea a few months ago I thought it would be good but it was even better than I anticipated ... despite the weather.

On Friday night Caroline came over to our house, we had a brocolli pasta bake and then drove over to the Oak Tree at Balmaha. When we arrived just after 8pm there were a good number of people and the atmosphere was really good.

It was great to chat to friends, old and new. By about 10.30pm we were ready to go to bed to get a good sleep before the run on Saturday. We had a lovely big room above the bar so as we drifted off to sleep we could hear a general chat and laughter below.

We woke fairly early with the wind and rain battering the windows and we knew the forecast of 60mph wind was going to be true. We wandered down for breakfast at 8am to join lots of others runners all ready to go.

There were over 50 people staying and another 20 or so joining us for the day to run. I opted for a full cooked breakfast figuring that I wasn't starting running until 10am so I had time for it to digest. Plus we paid for it so wanted to get my moneys worth!!

Caroline was keen to start earlier so that she could settle into her own pace. So she set off at 9.15am and the Katrina and Silke set off with Karen at 9.35am ...

From 9.30am onwards the rest of the runners started gathering in the bar. Ian gave us a quick briefing encouraging everyone to look after each other and keep safe. We went out side for a photo and then set off at 10am.

My garmin hadn't quite got the satelite signal so I started right at the back of the field. My goal for the day was to try and run within myself so I was quite happy to start at the back and not set off too hard.

Here is the file of the my run ...

After a minute or so I saw Lorn running towards me. I've met Lorn through our blogs and met her when she took Katrina for a recce run on the Glasgow half marathon route in September. Lorn has entered the Fling this year so was keen to join us but wanted to start earlier. So she drove to Rowardennan and ran back in time to run with us.

So Lorn & I ran together most of the way to Rowardennan. It was great to chat and about ultra running, swimming and various things. I hadn't planned to run with anyone in particular and was looking forward to seeing who I spent time with.

We caught a few people and had a quick chat as we passed. After an hour or so we caught up with Ian and Sandra. I ran with Ian for the last 30mins or so into Rowardennan. It was great to have time to chat.

When we arrived at Rowardennan there were a group of folks sheltering ......

I was keen to keep moving so didn't hang around too long. For the next section I ran with Ian K and Carrie. I really enjoyed hearing all about Ian's UTMB finish last year. I sounds an amazing race and Ian did so well to finish within the cut offs.

Carrie has entered the race for the past two years but due to injury has not managed to start so her first goal for this year is to get to the start line on 23rd June fit and healthy. I realy hope she can.

We also caught up with Mike R on the hill he joined us before pushing on after a while. We walked up the hills and kept a steady run on everything else. We caught up with Katrina and Silke 30mins or so out of Rowardennan.

They were both gong well and Katrina's first comment was, 'I've been eating lots!' I gave Katrina two instructions for the run. Firstly to stay with Silke until at least Inversnaid as I knew Silke would help Katrina pace herself.

Any secondly to make sure she ate every 30mins or so. For once in her life she actually listened to me and did as she was told. (It's such a good job she doesn't read this!!). A number of people commented to her about her recent marathon so realises that people do actually read this blog!

I ran with Katrina & Silke for the next 30mins or so. Mark L caught up with us and joined in the general chat. Mark & I are both doing the Lakeland 100 this year so we talked about our plans and thoughts about that race.

Mark also kindly took this photo of us ...

With about a mile or so before Inversnaid Mark & I pushed on and ran into Inversnaid. The weather had been pretty mixed all morning. We had some heavy rain and very strong winds but also times of calm and warmth.

There were runners stopping to take off jackets and then putting them back on quite regularly. I had one top on and a jacket and stayed that way the whole run. The only thing I swapped was my gloves and head band.

As we approached Inversnaid the runners at the front of the group including Thomas were heading back. They looked as though they were running strongly and enjoying pushing each other on. I'd also seen Caroline who was going well.

One of the nice things about an out and back with 70 runners is that you get to everyone at least once.

I arrived at Inversnaid in 2hrs 54mins. There were a group of runners sheltering in the entrance. It was really wet and windy so I decided to keep going. As I set off Katrina, Silke and another group of runners arrived.

I set off back to Balmaha on my own. I wasn't sure if I'd end up on my own but assumed that either I'd catch someone or someone would catch me!

After a few minutes I caught up with Sandra and we ran together for a while. Sandra ran the whw for the first time last year. We spent 45mins or so being treated by Dr Chris Ellis at Kinlochleven so we chatted about that and Sandra's plans for this year.

I said to Sandra that the vast majority of runners significantly improve on their second year so no pressure but I'm expecting a sub 23hr finish!!

We caught up with Ryan McK who I've not met before. Ryan knows me though my blog so as we ran over the next couple of hours we chatted about all sorts of things. I must apologise if I bored him!

At one point he asked me a question about my races and 25mins later I was still talking!! Sorry Ryan but you did ask. Well I think he asked?!?

We caught up with Caroline who was still going well but grateful for the company. The three of us walked up the hill then ran strongly down the hill to Rowardennan. Caroline was having a good run which was great to see.

Ryan & I pushed on to Rowardennan were we stopped for a few minutes to refuel. Again we didn't want to stop too long so headed off for the final section.

Ryan & I continued to run together, chatting more about our plans for the year as well as all sorts of topics. I was feeling strong and was really encouraged with how I was going. Often on an out and back it can be tough going but running with people makes it so much easier.

With about 3miles to go Antonia joined us. I found out later that Antonia won the 12hr Glenmore race in December so didn't feel bad that she caught us!

Over the beach section I pulled ahead a bit and as it was getting really cold and wet again I decided to push on to keep warm. I ran the last 2-3 miles strongly. Again a real encouragement to finish strong.

I arrived back at Balmaha, 30.01miles of running, in 5hrs 57mins after I left ....

One of the great things about staying the second night was being able to go straight to our room and be in a hot shower within 5mins of stopping! As I went into the shower Everton were 1-0 up and by the time I got out it was 1-1!!

Katrina arrived back about 4.30pm. She had taken about 6hrs 50mins and was really pleased with herself. This was Katrina's longest run so far and another milestone in her build up to the Fling in April.

She learnt a lot from the run and was pleased with how it went. She felt a bit bad leaving Silke after Inversnaid but had good fun catching folk along the way. A number of people commented on how well she ran which is also encouraging to hear.

We headed down to the bar at 6pm and had a lovely meal and chat with folks. We were ready for bed at 10.30pm ... just in time for me to watch Match of the Day!

This morning I interviewed Ian for my next whw podcast .... so watch out for that! After breakfast Thomas, Silke, Caroline, Katrina & I went for a nice stroll up Conic Hill. It was windy but fairly clear.

I tried on an app on my phone ...

So a superb weekend. We really enjoyed it. Thanks to Ian for organising and for everyone for coming!

Wednesday Club Run

2012-01-18T22:09:00.004Z

There were five of us in our group tonight. We opted for our Paisley loop as we've not done this one for a number of weeks.

My watch took a bit of time to grab the satelite signal and so the other four set off without me. I waited a while and then decided I'd be on my own unless I got going. The signal finally caught after about 2mins of running hence the green start marker half way down the street.

Once I caught up with Chris, Davie, Stevie and a new guy who came for the first time tonight, Craig, it was all good. We ran at a steady pace, chatting and enjoying the run.

I'd said to Katrina to make sure we don't push too hard tonight as we have a 30miler on Saturday to be ready for but I don't think either of us really paid much attention. To be fair to Katrina though, her group only ran 5miles.

I'm really looking forward to the weekend. We've never stayed at the Oak Tree Hotel at Balmaha so that will be a real treat. I'll be taking my camera and head cam so watch out for plenty of pictures from the weekend.

I've enjoyed putting my first ever whw podcast together. If you want to listen to it you can do so on your computer or by downloading it from iTunes...... Advanced .... Subscribe to Podcast .... put in http://www.westhighlandwayrace.org/podcast/whw.xml ... click okay and it should download.

You can then sync it with your iphone or other devices.

I've got lots of ideas for future episodes!

Monday night Fartlek

2012-01-16T21:40:00.004Z

It was pretty cold tonight but once we'd warmed up it was fine. There were 8 in our group tonight including some fast runners.

A good session for ultra runners tonight with 4,5,6,6,5,4 mins all with 2min recoveries. As always I was keen to run the second set faster than the first and to try and get as close to 5miles as I could.

I achieved one out of two ...

I started near the front for each run. Hayley and Gemma went past, then Gerry and then Donald. I was really encouraged though as Gerry and Donald didn't quite manage to get past me on the last one! Maybe they started further back but I don't care ... they didn't catch me!!

On the second 6min run Hayley caught me but took a while to get past. I was feeling chuffed until I realise afterwards that she didn't feel too good on that one.

I felt that was my best Monday night since coming back. My achilles didn't give me any trouble at all which was really encouraging. Plus I felt strong right to the end.

This week I'm planning to run on Wednesday, then have a couple of days off before our whw training weekend when we are running 30miles. I'm really looking forward to it.

I've done a podcast for the whw as a test and I'm in the process of working out how to load it in itunes so it's available as a podcast.

If you want a sneak preview/listen then please do. Any comments would be appreciated. I'd like to do some more as they are a great way of sharing information.

Early morning run on the Braes with Katrina

2012-01-15T14:05:00.001Z

I feel I'm well into my weekly running routine now. Monday and Wednesday with the Club, Friday lunchtime on my own and Sunday with Katrina. I cycled to and from work on Tuesday and would have done so on Thursday but I needed the motorbike.

I'm keen to have a long slow build up this year especially with my main target, the Lakeland 100, not until the end of July.

This morning we needed to get home by 10am as Yonas, Emma's boyfriend, was flying back to Indonesia and we wanted to see say goodbye! We left at 7.35am which gave us 2hrs 25mins to run as far as we could.

It was dark as we set off but unlike last week it was a really clear morning with an almost full moon so we ran without head torches.

As we got to the top of the hill Katrina commented how nice the sky looked so out came the camera for a photo ....

The ground was nice and firm with the frost so it felt a lot easier to run on than last week when it was really muddy. I do love this weather. Cold but not too cold, no wind and the air feels so fresh and healthy.

On the picture below you can just about see the moon behind the tree ..

I followed Katrina for a while after this photo and I must say I was really impressed with how she runs off road. She is very light on her feet and effortlessly finds the right place to put her feet. She reckons it brings back memories of being on the hills in South Wales as a child.

Katrina is still a bit apprehensive about whether she'll be able to complete the 53mile Fling but I have no doubts. She is running well in January, coming off the back of a great 2011 and we still have 3 long training runs to come to build up her stamina and confidence.

We were chatting today about this time last year when her only goal was to complete a half marathon and she really wondered whether that was too ambitious. She ended up running 2 half marathons and a marathon.

Now at the start of 2012 her target is a 53mile Ultra!! I was saying to her that the moment I knew she moved from being a 'fun' runner to taking it more seriously was when we were driving down to Troon for the 10k in May last year and Katrina said to me, 'I'd really like to get under 50mins.'

Up until then she'd always said her only aim was to finish. This morning she asked me to keep a list of all her races! She's smitten.

On our way down we met Bobby Quinn from Kilbarchan with his dog out for his Sunday morning run. I often see him at the same point showing how we runners are creatures of habit!

We completed our big loop and I reckon we could fit in another 15mins of running before heading back to the house so we added on another 1.5mile loop which brought the total to 12.36miles.

As we made our way back to the house we met a guy heading up to the Braes with his dog for a walk so we stopped and asked him to take a photo ....

So another good run. I love being able to run with Katrina on these long early morning runs. It gives us a chance to chat and share the experience together. Sorry if that sounds soppy!!

This week I've ran 37.7miles which is about the same as last week. Next week will be a bit more as we are going on the whw training weekend where we plan to run 30miles on Saturday. Balmaha to Inversnaid and back.

We are really looking forward to it. We've never stayed in the Oak Tree at Balmaha.

Lunchtime run and review of iphone arm band

2012-01-13T16:30:00.001Z

Today I had a really enjoyable lunch time run in the crisp sunshine. I reckon this is my favourite running conditions. Maybe that was part of the reason for running a bit quicker than I'd planned.

I used my nike + gps app again. I hadn't realised when I used it on Wednesday that it talks to me after each mile! I'm told my time and overall pace. At the 5mile mark I was in a world of my own thinking about something or other when I suddendly heard a voice and thought someone had caught me up!

Then at the end of the run Paula Radcliff told me I'd just achieved a 10k pb!! Thanks Paula even if you are wrong. My refurbished Garmin 205 arrived today so I'll be back to using that but the app is a good back up. I'm impressed with Garmin as I only sent the broken one on Tuesday.

Before Christmas I received an email from Hamish at www.three.co.uk asking whether I'd be interested in trying out some running products and writing a report on my blog. I'm always happy to try out new things especially if I get one free!

So Hamish sent me a iphone arm band to try out. As I've just bought an iphone and my garmin was broke it came at just the right time to try out.

It arrived in this package ....

The iphone fits in really snuggly and the arm band sits very comfortably on my arm. There is plenty of space for a thicker or thinner arm so I reckon it would fit anyone.

When I set off on Wednesday for our club run I wondered whether it would be a bit annoying but after the first 5mins or so I didn't think about it and it certainly didn't change my running style.

There is space to be able to fix in the headphone jack if you want to listen to music/books/pocasts etc. I'm not a fan of running with music or anything really but I might try listening to a podcast as I've started listening to them since getting my iphone. As I write this I'm listening to Marathon Talk.

The arm band looks as though it is waterproof but I wouldn't like to try it in heavy rain as there are some holes for the headphone jack etc which may well leak water. I'm sure it would be fine in light rain.

So if you have an iphone and want to be able to run with it then I would definitely recommend this arm band. It is comfy on the arm and doesn't interfere with your running. I'll certainly be using mine regularly.

Wednesday Club Run

2012-01-11T21:35:00.000Z

There were three of us in our group tonight, Stephen, Gordon & myself. We decided on our Linwood run. I've sent away my Garmin 205 to get another reconditioned one. Hopefully I'll have more success with this one.

So I decided to try out the Nike + gps app on my iphone. I also wanted to try out the armband I was given to try out. I'll do a review on it soon as that was part of the deal of being given it.

So here is the charts that Nike running produces ...

We all agreed that it was a good solid run. We chatted the whole way round, well except for the couple of hills! Stephen has entered the Fling this year so we were chatting a bit about that. Stephen ran The Fling in 2009 and was going really well until Beinglas but struggled with cramp over the last 12 miles.

Stephen's work pattern over the last four year has meant he hasn't been able to get to the club but with his new work pattern hopes to make it one week in three. Plus he's planning to join us on our long run on Sunday 19th February. I was trying to persuade Gordon to try an ultra but he enjoys his golf too much!!

Katrina had a good run but struggled with eating our tea a bit too close to the run.

Monday night Fartlek

2012-01-09T22:50:00.000Z

Another interesting session tonight set by our club coach Derek Parker. We had two sets of 7min 30sec, 4min 15sec and 3min 15sec all with 2min recovery.

There were 9 in our group tonight and we were all working hard. I tried to start near the front of the group seeting a target for Hayley and Gemma to go past. Then as Steven went past I tried to hang for as long as I could and the same with John McL & Donald K.

I felt pretty strong right through the session and one of my aims was to run each second set faster than the first which I achieved ....

It will always be hard to get near the 5mile mark when we have a session like this but it was different and probably a good session for an ultra runner.

I was quite happy with my effort tonight. I still feel I have a way to go but I'm definitely going in the right direction.

Early morning run on the Braes with Katrina

2012-01-08T14:59:00.004Z

In lots of ways I feel this week has been the start of our build up to the Fling. Looking back Katrina & I have had one long run (20miles or so) a month in October, November and December but this feel like the serious training is starting.

We have the training weekend run in a couple of weeks so we planned an 11mile run today and then 15 or so next Sunday as we build up.

So we were up at 7am and out the door by 7.45am. It was still quite dark so I took my headtorch. I also carried my rucksack with waterproofs and a few other bits of kit in. I'm planning to carry the gear I'll need for the Lakeland 100 race on all my long runs to get used to running with it.

Katrina was wearing her new Inov-8 Roclite lite as recommended by Debs who also recommended sportsshoes.com who had them for half price. She bought a pair a size bigger which has given her a bit more room around her toes which her addidas pair didn't have. They looked very clean and new .... until we reached the first muddy bit!!

We ran nice and steady for the whole run and I was very impressed with Katrina's pace. She is really enjoying running off road and looking forward to the next few months as we build up to the Highland Fling race in April.

I bought an iphone recently and was looking forward to getting to the point where we normally have a great view over Paisley/Glasgow towards Ben Lomond and trying out my photosynth app which lets you take a paroramic view. The mist was so thick we couldn't really see anything so that app will have to wait for a good view!

I took a picture of Katrina instead ...

Note Katrina's new shoes are not so clean!! This is the point where we stopped on our New Year's Eve run to see in the New Year.

The whole route was pretty wet and muddy. As we made our way back down we came across this tree that had been blown over by the recent heavy winds ...

Here is the view once we'd made our way round the fallen tree ...

Hopefully no-one was walking/running that way when it fell! We both enjoyed the run and felt comfortable as we finished. A quick shower, bacon butty and then off to church. I really enjoy doing these runs early and even better now that Katrina is running with me!

Sadly I can't get my Garmin to connect with my computer. I got through to Garmin support on Friday and they suggested reloading the drivers but it hasn't made any difference. They said as it is less than 3months since they sent me this reconditioned one I can send it back for a replacement.

I'll use it tomorrow night for a our Club Fartlek session and then send it away.

Weekly summary ...
4 runs = 37.5miles

Training Plan for 2012

2012-01-06T14:25:00.000Z

Today is the last day of my holiday so it was good to be able to go for a longer run at lunchtime. The weather has been so much better over the last couple of days and today was really mild with just a little wind and rain.

I wanted to run for an hour or so and my main aim was to run without breathing too hard. So whenever I felt I was breathing too heavily I eased off until it was comfortable. I ended up running the 8.26miles at 7.36 pace which I was happy with.

When I tried to upload the run to my computer it wouldn't work!! I tried rubbing the contacts with a rubber as suggested to no avail. It's less than 3 months since I got this reconditioned one so hopefully Garmin will replace it. I'm on the phone now trying to contact them.

I've been looking at my training plan for 2012 as I build up to the Fling in April and the Lakeland 100 in July. In previous years I have set out every single session but I've decided this year to do things slightly differently.

My long runs on both routes are the key sessions which I have written in and are fixed. I was interested to read Andy C's comment on my previous post. I always respect and lsiten to what Andy writes as he makes a lot of sense.

Andy wrote,
'Interesting review John. I know that I don't do enough faster outings, something that I'm trying to address, but I wonder if you go to the other end of the spectrum with lots of fast training and very few longer runs? Your log shows a 20+ mile training run less than once a month on average, is this enough? Just a thought. All the best for a great 2012.'

Andy may well have a point but my pattern of only doing one long run a month has worked in the past but with training for the Lakeland this year I have planned in 2 long runs a month for a few months so we'll see how that helps.

So my key long runs are as follows ....

This means I'll have done 8 runs of over 30 miles before the Lakeland 100. There is also one occassion when I'll run two weekends on the trot which will be new but I'm hoping that will be helpful.

I'm planning to do all these sessions with the kit I'll need to run with on the Lakeland 100. For this race you need to carry more gear than the whw so I want to get used to doing that.

As I'm running twice a month for a few months I'm going to decide nearer the time what do on my longer runs in between these sessions.

I will definitely be having an easier week the week after these sessions so it mabe be that I alternate between a hard week/easy week. We'll see.

My weekly plan is going to be roughly ...

Monday: Fartlek session with Kilbarchan
As always I'm still deciding whether I should be doing any speed work but basically I enjoy these sessions and feel they do improve my basic fitness. So I will be there as many Monday nights as I can up until April but after that I'll see. It may be best after the Fling to just concentrate on longer slower runs in preparation for Lakeland 100.

Wednesday: Tempo session with Kilbarchan
Another enjoyable run with friends which I look forward to. It's so much easier running 10miles at a decent pace with friends than trying to do it on my own. So again I'll be there as many Wednesday nights as I can.

Friday: Hill session
A key factor for me in training for ultra races is to strengthen my quads for the downs as much as the ups so I'm going to be doing as many hill sessions on my Friday run as possible. I have some sessions I've done before but I'm planning to add in some variety and try some different sessions.

Sunday: Long Run
Either locally on the Gleniffer Braes or Kilpatricks or the longer runs as mentioned earlier.

In the past I have also run Tuesday & Thursday as recovery runs but I'm going to cycle to and from work those days as cross training. I know this will mean that my average weekly mileage will be 10-12 miles less than previous years but I'm looking at the bigger picture and feel this is more sustainable for longer.

The emphasis this year is going to be on quality rather than quantity. So each session is going to have a definite aim and hopefully by running less the sessions I do will be at a greater intensity.

There is two other things I'm planning on doing ....

1. Some weights
I've never done weights regularly but when I was running with John McL on Wednesday I mentioned that I'll need to carry a pack for the Lakeland 100 and John suggested doing some upper body excerises to strenghen my core and back.

So I'm going to look into that and if I can fit it in on my Tuesday and Thursday cross training days that would be good. Anyone know of some good exercises that would help me in preparing for carrying a pack in the Lakeland 100?

2. Munros
I think the Lakeland 100 will involve a fair bit of walking up and down fairly steep hills so I'm going to plan in some Munros especially after the Fling.

So there is my basic plan for 2012 ... I'm looking forward to each and every session. I'm so thankful to be healthy enough to run and I'm really looking forward to running on new ground over the Lakes as I prepare for the lakeland 100.

Wednesday Club Run

2012-01-05T09:30:00.002Z

As with the rest of the country we had very heavy winds and rain yesterday. I'd said to John McL that I would be running with the club on Wednesday night and I knew John would be up for it whatever the weather.

There were only four of us who turned up. Lesley & Richard headed off for their run and John & I set off for ours.

Here is our route ....

If you click on the green button you can follow the route and pace! What it doesn't show it how windy it was! There were a few times when we were heading right into the wind and it was tough going but when the wiond was behind us we were flying!!

In some ways I love the challenge of running in conditions like this. I've always felt that running ultras is a lot about mental attitude. It is easy to stay at home or find a treadmill when the weather is bad but there is a lot to be said for getting out there and running in whatever condtions there are.

In a race we can't choose the conditions and if we opt out of a training run because the weather is bad then we'll be tempted to opt out of the race. Well that's how I see it anyway!

A run like last night is as such about mental training as physical. When things get really tough during an ultra race and they do, then it's runs like last night that give you the edge to keep going.

As I left John I said let's hope for a win for both our teams. Sadly Man United lost at Newcastle and Everton lost at home to Bolton .... so the run was definitely the best part of the night despite the weather!!

Review of 2011 and plans for 2012

2012-01-03T12:05:00.000Z

I think it is safe to say that 2011 was my toughest year since getting into this great ultra running sport in 2007.

In 2007 & 2008 I ran 2 ultras each year, Highland Fling & West Highland Way races. The first year was a massive learning curve and I was so pleased to finish both races. In 2008 I went faster in both races with a sub 20hr whw.

In 2009 I turned 50 and celebrated by running 5 ultra races. In the three races on the whw I acheived my goal of going sub 10hrs in the Fling, sub 20hrs in whw and sub 7hrs in the Devils. I also ran the Hardmoors 110 and the Saintelyon race in France.

Looking back it was definitely my best year by far. In 2010 I tried things differently, racing four ultra races from March to June. While I did okay I felt I never gave my best as I was always running with tired legs.

In 2011 I decided to go back to what worked in 2009. I set out my training plan in January with long runs once a month on the whw including the Fling and a 2 day run in May. I ran most of these with Ross Moreland and he really helped me run at a steady pace.

As I look back over the first 3-4 months of 2011 I would say that my training was really good. I was running faster times especially my tempo runs. So I approached the Fling in April full of confidence.

For whatever reason (mainly heat?) I struggled from Inversnaid onwards. I took the wise decision to easy off and run as I felt and enjoyed the rest of the race. I ran with Claire Walton which was fun as it was her first outing on the whw.

The 2 day run went well and again I got to the start line of the whw feeling okay. My confidence wasn't as high as previous years but I still felt I had a sub 21hrs if not sub 20hrs in me.

It all went badly wrong from about Inversnaid onwards as I slipped behind my schedule. By the time I reached Tyndrum I knew it was going to be a battle to finish. Finish I did but in a time of 27hrs 36mins.

I was proud to have grinded it out and collected my 5th goblet but on my slow walk on the Lairig Mor with Katrina I made the decision to not run in 2012. Up until then I'd just assumed I would do the whw every year for as long as I could.

I respect and love the race too much that I don't want to be in the same situation again as 2011. I would hate to drop out and so feel it would be better to have a year off and come back to it with a renewed desire. I will be back!! In the meantime I'm still involved in the race having taken on the race web site.

After a couple of weeks off after the whw I noticed that my left Achilles was a little sore. Like most runners I thought I could run it off. I ran every other day and it was just about okay.

I ran the Devils race and again really struggled in the heat and finished in 8hrs 21mins ... almost 90mins slower than 2009. Not a fun experience!

I was still planning to run the RAW race in September and at least qualify for the SUMS but one Monday night's Fartlek session put paid to that. As I pushed the pace my Achilles was REALLY sore and I realised I needed to rest it.

I took 6 weeks off. During this time I bought a decent road bike through my work's cycle to work scheme. I really enjoyed doing some cycling and keeping the fitness ticking over.

This time off running also coincided with Katrina running the Glasgow half marathon in a pb 1.44 and the Loch Ness Marathon in 3.50. It was great to be able to support her after all the support she's given me.

I started running again in early October and slowly build up the pace and distance. I worked on running four days a week rather than the 6 I was doing. I've replaced my Tuesday and Thursday recovery runs with cycling to and from work and feel it has benefitted me.

Over the Christmas period I've run four races from 5k to 11miles. In all of them I've struggled with the pace and know that my fitness is not quite where I'd like it to be.

I must admit I'm left with the thought that I may not regain the fitness I had in 2009 and I'm happy with that. But as long as I'm enjoying my running and I am I will continue to run and blog about it!!

I will look back on 2011 with mixed feelings. While I had a tough time Katrina and lots of my ultra running friends had a great year and I loved being part of that, supporting and cheering them on.

If you've not seen it I did a video of 2011 highlights.

2012 is a new year and I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses. I'm not going to set any goals this year as I miserably failed to achieve any of last years!!

I have two main targets though...

1. Highland Fling with Katrina
I said to Katrina if she would like to run the Highland Fling I would run it with her. So we've already had a few runs on the route and have 3 more planned between now and the race in April. It will be fun to run it together .... I just hope I can keep up with her!!

2. Lakeland 100
This is my main race of the year. Ever since I heard about the race I really wanted to do it but felt that I wouldn't be able to do the whw and Lakeland 100 in the same year. Having made the decision to not run the whw in 2012 it opened the way to go for it.

Dave T and I have planned out four recce runs from February to June which will cover the whole route. I'm looking forward to the training as much as the race. It is a new challenge and one that I'm ready for.

To finish off here are some stats of my 2011 running year.

All runs on an excel spread sheet

Summary of runs by type ....

Plus a comparison with the previous four years ....

Finally if you want to read our family Newsletter you are very welcome!

Donald Crawford Video & Fartlek session

2012-01-02T21:26:00.004Z

I wore my head cam for the Donald Crawford 11mile handicap race on Saturday. Unfortunately there was some rain drops on the lens so the picture is a bit distorted. So to give a flavour of the race I speeded whole race 16x times faster than normal!!

It gives a feel of the race and route ....

Tonight was our club Fartlek session. Elderslie Pool was closed so we met outside at 7pm. There was only four of us .... Katrina, Caroline, Tony & I.

We ran on the cycle track. The wind was pretty strong but thankfully it was with us on the way home. The session was 3min with 90sec recovery 10 times.

Here are my distances and pace .....

I deliberately started steady and then tried to push the pace on the way back. A decent session in the circumstances.

Donald Crawford Handicap Race

2012-01-01T11:20:00.000Z

I always enjoy this club race at the end of the year but I knew it was going to be a harder run this time. My best for the 10.76mile hilly circuit is just under 1hr 10mins. Anything around 1hr 15mins would be good today.

We had 14 individual runners and 2 relay teams setting off from 1.30pm ...

It is one of my roles at the club to sort out the handicap and it's never easy getting it right ... especially when people have no idea how they are running!

I knew that my handicap was going to be difficult to run to and so it proved. I started with Donald K who within a mile or so had pulled away. The first 4 miles is a steady uphill climb and by 2.5miles John McL, who started a 1min behind, me had caught me and gone past.

Christina R, who started 3mins behind, was also away. I worked as hard as I could but the effects of Wednesday's 24mile run was still in my legs. Plus I know I'm still trying to build up my fitness again after a beak for my Achilles.

But it's good to be running and despite the feeling of struggling I was enjoying the run and trying to do the best I could on the day. The girls relay team also went past me.....

I caught one runner, Rhona, who was finding her breathing difficult. Donald P caught me as we approached Bridge of Weir. Chris McG was supporting here and asked me whether I was sweeping today! Thanks Chris.

There is a big hill out of Bridge of Weir which I made it up just about okay! It was good to get to the finish in 1hr 17mins 38secs.

The full results and some more photos on our Kilbarchan web site.

Last night Marco, Debs & Cairn, Thomas & Silke and Caroline came round for a meal to celebrate New Year. At 11.45pm Thomas, Silke, Caroline, Katrina & I went up to the Braes and ran in the New Year. It was really wet underfoot but it wasn't raining and a great way to start 2012.

So happy New Year to everyone. I wonder what the year will bring in regard to our running?

Running on the whw

2011-12-28T19:30:00.001Z

A couple of weeks ago Caroline asked us whether we would like to go for a run today on the whw. As always we were ready and willing to go! Initially we talked about going up north the route but in the end decided on an out and back from Milngavie to Drymen.

We posted on the whw forum we were going and found some willing runners. So this morning Lesley McK picked us up at 8.15am, collected Caroline at 8.30am and then Stevie from Erskine at 8.45am.

We arrived to a wet and windy Milngavie Train Station just after 9am where Paul, a friend of Robert S, was waiting for us. I'd seen a tweet from Norry last night saying he was doing the same run so I invited him as well.

Helen L responded from the forum saying she'd like to join us. Then I looked across the car park and a guy in a yellow jacket was wandering over and it was Steven S from Kilbarchan. I've not seen Steven for a while as his shifts mean he can't run on a Monday night any more.

Steven ran the Fling in 2010 and has entered again for next year. It was great to see him and his dog Gyp. So there were 9 of us in total. I asked Helen's husband to take a group photo and we were off ...

If we all look a bit cold it was because we were! But after 15mins of running we'd all warmed up and the rain held off for a while.

The main group ran together with Caroline and Lesley just a few minutes behind. Norry seemed to be stopping to take photos and running between the two groups.

Just after Carbeth Cottages we had our first real downpour and within a few minutes we were all soaked but again thankfully it stopped and we warmed up again.

It was good to catch up with Steven and get to know Helen as we ran ... plus chatting to Stevie and Katrina.

Katrina took a bit of a tumble going past Dumgoyach. Her first comment was, 'oh no I hope I haven't ripped my new gore jacket!'. It was the one she was given for running the Loch Ness Marathon. If you are concerned it was okay and so was she!

The track along Dumgoyne was very wet and our feet were soon wet and cold! We were making good time and having a good run. The rain was intermittent rather than persistent at this stage.

Katrina seemed to leading the way and I was forever telling her to slow down! Well at least twice! She needs to learn her pacing for these longer runs!! But don't tell her I told you that!!

Once we reached Gartness Paul and Norry pushed on running up the hill while the rest of us walked and ate something. After another half mile or so Paul and Norry came towards us as they were only doing 10miles or so out.

A bit later Caroline rang to say she was also going to turn round at 10miles and Lesley was going to 11miles. Katrina ran to 11.5miles and then turned round, caught up with Lesley and they ran back together.

So Steven, Stevie, Helen and I ran on to Drymen pausing for a photo on the field before Drymen ....

If you know Stevie ... don't worry he hasn't put on weight over Christmas .... his bum bag was inside his jacket!

We reached Drymen in 2hrs 08mins and turned round and ran back. We hadn't been running long when it really started to rain and the wind was soooo strong. We were trying to shelter behind big Steven as we ran! I thought Helen might get blown over the fields.

We made good progress back and the time flew we chatted and ran. This was the furthest Stevie has ran for a while so he was happy to run his own pace but he was in sight and not too far behind.

As we ran on the track past Dumgoyach we had the worst of the weather. Even heavier rain coming from behind us. Withing minutes we were well and truly soaked and getting colder. It wasn't too bad when you were running but we didn't want to stop.

We caught up with Katrina and Lesley as we ran past Craigallan Loch. They were going well but looked as though they'd be happy to stop soon! I took Lesley's car key and caught up with Steven and Helen.

We caught up with Caroline with about a mile to go and we ran in together. We arrived back in 4hrs 13mins so the return leg was a minute faster ... a negative split!!

The rain had stopped for the final 30mins or so but if you look at the photo below you can see we are very wet ...

We got changed as quickly as we could and tried to warm up. Katrina, Lesley and then Stevie arrived a few minutes later and we headed home to get a shower and something to eat and drink.

So a great day out in very tough conditions. Another brick in the training wall. Thanks to everyone for your company and especially to Lesley who picked us all up and dropped us all home!

Kilbarchan Club Christmas Relays

2011-12-26T19:18:00.005Z

Hope everyone had a great day yesterday. Here is our family picture ...

Today we held our annual Christmas Relays but due to the weather it's the first time we've been able to do it since 2007!

A total of 35 runners young and old turned up and were put into 5 teams of 7 runners. My team was called John's Ultra Runners .... even though we were only running 1.6miles each ....

I set off first for my team. Unfortunately I was too busy setting up my camera to video the race and sorting out my team that I didn't get a chance to warm up! Big mistake as within a minute or two I knew I was in trouble.

John McL shadowed me for most of the first lap with Michael ahead. Once John went past I just tried to run as hard as I could for as long as I could. It was hard work! I finished my two laps in 10.21. The last time I ran this I took 9.36 but it was pretty windy today!

My team ended up 4th out of the 5 teams! Full results on our club web site. It was a fun afternoon. Katrina and my Mum came to watch. Katrina wanted to run but her foot is a bit sore and so wisely decided to rest it for our run on Wednesday.

We are running from Milngavie to Drymen and back aiming to start running at 9am on Wednesday 28th December. If anyone wants to join us you are very welcome. You can go out as far as you like. If you plan to come leave a message on the whw forum.

parkrun Video

2011-12-24T16:23:00.002Z

Pollok parkrun

2011-12-24T11:32:00.004Z

This was my first parkrun since July 2010 when I ran it in 19.40 ... just a few weeks after the whw race. I set my sights on sub 20mins which I felt was realistic after building up for the last 12 weeks or so after my lay off.

We picked John McL up and headed over to Pollok in time for John & I to run one circuit as a warm up. Katrina opted to stay in the car for as long as she could!!

John said he felt good with no excuses and even though it was his first race of the year was optimistic he could go under 19.45.

I wore my head cam so watch out for another John Kynaston Production!! John said he was keen to stay ahead of me so he would feature!

After a quick brief we were off. I was just behind John and stayed there for the whole race! After about 5mins I remembered how hard these 5k races can be. My legs were burning and my breathing very hard.

Thankfully I settled into a pace I could handle after the first mile or so. Looking at the splits my first mile was 6.09 and my overall pace 6.38 so it's safe to say I went off too quick!! I blame John as I was trying to keep up with him.

I held my own around the first lap and most of the second but lost a few places over the last mile as I paid for my early pace. With about a mile to go I reckon John was about 12secs ahead of me and he finished in 19mins 34secs to my 20mins 08secs so he took another 22secs out of me over the last mile or so.

I was quite happy with that as it's the fastest I've run for a good while. Katrina finished in 23.08 which she was happy with as her foot has been a bit sore over the past few days. Caroline was also running and she finished looking strong with her Marcothon still in tact.

Also saw Colin finish but not sure of his time.

Finally I'd like to wish everyone a very special Christmas Day tomorrow. Hope you all have a great time whatever you are planning to do. We are looking forward to having all our family with us for the day.

Wednesday Club Run

2011-12-21T21:57:00.003Z

Tonight John McL, Gordon and I ran together. We decided to do a different route around Paisley. It was raining a bit as we started but was quite mild really and I ended up a little warm with the two tops I was wearing.

Here is our route ...

It was another good solid run with friends. We kept each other going well as we chatted about all sorts of things. The only time we were quiet was when we were working hard up the hills, or slight rises as John called them.

I'm going to have a couple of days off and then run the Glasgow parkrun on Saturday. It will be the first time I've run it for almost a year so will be interesting to see how I get on. I'd like to get under 20mins but we'll see!

Home in time tonight to follow the second half of the Football. Glad to see Everton finally winning at home!

Monday night Fartlek

2011-12-19T21:22:00.003Z

Sadly we had to cancel our Club Christmas Handicap race as part of the route was still very icy and we couldn't really go ahead. That's three years in a row we've had to cancel it due to snow or ice.

I put on the web site that I'd be still running from Elderslie and a few of us turned up. John McL and I decided we'd do a session. So we ran over to the Industrial estate opposite Asda and ran 2mins with a 1min recovery 15 times.

I was feeling quite strong for the first 9 and John was hanging on to me. But the last 6 were really tough and I was definitely the one hanging on to John who as always finished very strongly.

In my defence I had a tough race yesterday whereas John ran an easy 4miles and then spent the afternoon watching the Football on the TV!

Anyway here my figures ...

It wasn't as bad as I thought so maybe it was John speeding up rather than me slowing down!!

Marshall Moor Race Video

2011-12-19T17:29:00.002Z

I was keen to have a go at putting a video together of our Marshall Moor Race from yesterday.

It lasts almost 19mins ...

Marshall Moor Race

2011-12-18T17:25:00.000Z

Today was one of my favourite Kilbarchan AAC club races. That's not to say it's an easy race ... it's not but it's great fun.

We had 14 runners brave or stupid enough to run 6miles up and down to the Marshall Moor Trig point in snowy conditions.

Here we are before the start ...

Even though it is not a handicap race, the winner is the one with the fastest time, we set off in groups so that we can keep an eye on everyone.

Katrina ran with Lesley and a few others ...

I set off 4mins after Katrina with Gordon, Donald K and Chris. Race favourite and multiple winner Donald P set off 3 mins after us.

Here is my route up and down. The rules state that you have to go a different route up and down and stay off the road.

It was a tough run today as the snow was quite thick over the whole route. I stayed as close to Chris & Donald K as I could all the way up to the Trig Point. We caught all the runners who started ahead of us by the time we reached the top.

Katrina & Lesley seemed to be enjoying themselves and I just hoped they'd be able to find the way down!

Donald P caught us just before the top and he & Chris soon disappeared heading down. I ran with Donald K, Alan, Gwen and Rebecca for the next few minutes as we headed back.

As we headed down Donald & I pulled away and we ran the rest of the way together. Well not quite together as Donald wasn't sure of the route and wandered off line a few times. I had to call him back to keep him from heading off to Bridge of Weir.

I was working hard for the whole race and was pleased that I was still running hard to the end. Gwen was slowly catching us over the last mile or so and we had a sprint finish to the end ...

The rest of the group came in over the next 10mins or so but no sign of Katrina & Lesley so I wandered back up the route and found them 15mins later. They had got lost at one point. Probably because they were chatting so much!!

They both really enjoyed it though. Predictably Katrina found another bog to fall into. Here is their finish ...

So a great Sunday afternoon! Here are the results ...

If you want to see some more photos they are on flickr. I also wore my head cam for the whole race so I'm planning to put that together over the day or two.

Tomorrow is the second of our club races - a 4.2mile handicap but it's looking doubtful as the pavements are still quite icy.

Comparing pb's (but not mine!)

2011-12-17T08:45:00.000Z

A few weeks ago when I was running with my friend John McL during one of our Monday night runs I mentioned to him that I would love to see him and Thomas B from Ireland run a race together.

I met Thomas at the Loch Ness Marathon in 2007 and though we only said a few words to each other at that race we discovered each other's blogs and have kept in touch ever since.

Thomas and John also met once at the 2008 Dublin Marathon and ran together for a while. Neither broke 3hrs that day but both have been striving to run a sub 3hr marathon over the last few years and I've enjoyed watching their progress. They have both now managed it with very similar times.

Anyway after our conversation John looked at Thomas's pb's for 5k, 10k, 5miles, 10miles, half marathon & Marathon which are listed on his blog and compared them to his own. He asked me the other day what did I think the difference would be. I guessed no more than 3mins.

Here is the list ....

Incredibly with almost 7hrs and 63.7miles of racing the difference is 1second!!

One of the interesting things is that Thomas and John train quite differently but they both end up at a very similar pace.

According to John he thinks that Thomas is capable of going faster on a few of his pb's so maybe the balance will shift the other way in 2012???

John is a keen Man Utd fan while Thomas supports Man City so the rivalry is on many levels!!

Early morning run in the snow

2011-12-16T08:06:00.005Z

Last night I decided to get up early and run before work as I knew I couldn't fit in a run at lunchtime today and didn't fancy running after work.

In the middle of the night Katrina informed me in was snowing! I dozed off trying to remember where I had stored my Yaktrax.

I was up and out by 7am. I couldn't find the Zaktrax but it looked like the snow was slushy rather than icy so I decided I'd be alright.

Here is our road at 7am this morning ....

I ran a 5mile loop with part of it on the cycle track. It was a bit slippy but not too bad. I was the first on some sections but there were a number of footprints of humans and dogs. There must be a good number of people who are out walking their dogs before 7am.

A nice steady run. Katrina was up by the time I got home so asked her to take a photo! Look at the steam coming off me!!

Oh BTW I found my Yaktrax ... so I'm all ready for when the snow turns to ice!

I've updated my Lakeland 100 Training Page so feel free to have a look!

Club Run & Training Plans for 2012

2011-12-14T20:50:00.000Z

Tonight another select group for our Wednesday tempo run. This week we were back to our Paisley run. There were four of us in our group tonight and we kept a good solid pace going through the 9 and a bit miles.

We took a slight detour on the way back as Gordon wanted to run through the town centre Christmas lights!

I mentioned the other day that Dave and Tracey called in on Sunday afternoon on their way home after a weekend in Scotland. Dave and I spent time planning out our training programme for the Lakeland 100 race in July. Dave is just getting back to running after 7 months off which included an operation on his achilles.

You can read all about his recovery on his blog which includes an interesting competition at the moment based on some pictures he took from his run on Saturday from Milngavie to Drymen. Have a look and take part.

I spent a lot of time in the Lakes as a youngster with my family and then youth hostelling with a friend. Plus lots of walking trips as an adult. So I'm really looking forward to spending time in the Lakes on our recce runs and the race itself.

For me the training and preparation are as much fun if not more so than the race itself. Dave has worked out four routes between 28-34miles which will cover the whole route. They were based on being able to get to and from Keswick before and after the run as easily as possible.

Once we had the routes sorted we worked out dates which would suit us both. The plan will be for Katrina & I to travel down to Keswick on Saturday afternoon after my swimming, stay with Dave & Tracey and then run early Sunday morning, giving time to get home by the evening.

Katrina & I had already worked out some dates for our preparation runs for the Highland Fling. In the end we had to move one of those (26th Feb to 19th Feb). There is one occassion when I'll be running two weekends on the trot but I figured that might well be a good thing in the big picture of things.

So here is what it looks like ....

I'm planning to do all my long runs with the gear you need to carry for the Lakeland 100. I want to get used to carrying more gear than I've been used to running the whw. There is more compulsory kit to carry.

I'm going to update my Training for the Lakeland 100 page soon with more detailed plans. At this time of year I normally do a review of the year and I may well still do so but in lots of ways I've already put the disappointments of my 2011 ultra races behind me and I'm fully focused on next year.

Club Fartlek Session

2011-12-12T22:33:00.005Z

Numbers were a bit low again tonight. There were 5 in my group but we all running at a similar pace so it was good. Donald was leading the way with the rest of us hanging on as best we could!

It was another interesting session from Derek. The basic sesssion was 4mins on with 2min recovery x7, then 30mins on with 1min recovery x4 at the end. As last week though Derek set different targets within the 4min on.

The first 2mins were to be run at marathon pace. I aimed for 6.45-7.00mins per mile. The next minute at 10k pace (6.15-6.30pace) and the last minute at 5k pace (6.00-6.15pace).

Here are my figures ....

It was a great session and I really enjoyed the challenge of trying to up the pace as the 4mins progressed. I struggled a little bit on the four 30secs bursts at the end as the rest of the group flew past me but I was cautious with my achilles and that's the story I'm sticking with!

So another good session.

Marshall Moor Recce Run

2011-12-11T20:15:00.004Z

One of my favourite Kilbarchan Christmas races is our Marshall Moor Race. This year it is next Sunday 18th December. I asked Katrina whether she fancied having a go and when she said yes I suggested we go for a recce run to show her the way.

I posted on our club web site we were going and Caroline and Chris & Harvey said they would join us. So at 8am we set off from Kilbarchan Pavilion. I don't think it was quite as dark as this picture makes out!

The rules of the race are fairly simple. You have to run from Kilbarchan Park to the Marshall Moor trig point as fast as can. You have to go a different way up and down and must stay off road as much as possible.

Over the years Donald Petrie has worked out the best route but as I discovered today Chris is still perfecting it!! Here is the route we took ...

We stayed together with Chris showing us the way. I've done the race a few times but only once a year whereas Chris, who lives locally, offen runs here. It was very wet underfoot and we all found knee deep water to sink into.

Having said that what is knee deep to Chris is up to our waists for the rest of us. The weather and views were great which makes route decisions a lot easier. On the way up just keep climbing and aiming for the trig point.

Once we got the top we stopped for a group photo ....

On the way back I was very impressed with Chris' downhill speed. He just takes off and with massive strides covers the ground very quickly! I reckon Donald could be in for a tough race this year!

Please don't get the impression that Chris is a nice guy though! On several occassion he allowed one of us to lead (normally me) when he knew there was a boggy section coming up and then he 'found' a drier option.

The best one though was when he told us that a fence was electric and made us roll under, only to have a good laugh as he revealed it wasn't!

Katrina really enjoyed the run even when she found a particularly deep bog ...

We even made her stay there until I got my camera out!!!

So a really good run and we are all set for the race next Sunday. Thanks for a great run.
Here we are at the end ...

We just about made it home in time for a shower and church. In the afternoon Dave and Tracey T called in and Dave & I planned out Lakeland 100 recce runs. I'll post something about them soon. I'm looking forward to our recce runs as much as the race itself.

As much as I know I'll miss running the whw race I'm happy with my decision and the challenge of running the Lakeland 100 is just what I need.

Lunch time run

2011-12-09T17:54:00.002Z

After the gail force winds of yesterday it was relatively mild today for my lunch time run. Another solid 6miler around Pollok Park avoiding the puddles and bits of broken branches everywhere.

I thought it would be a good idea to restart something Dario used to do for the whw race. Namely ask everyone who has entered for a photo. I also requested a short profile and it's been really interesting reading them and putting them on the race web site. I have over 30 so far and really hope I hear from everyone.

I've suggested to Katrina that on Sunday morning we do the Marshall Moor route as a recce. The race is on Sunday 18th December so this will give her a chance to see whether she fancies it or not and show her the route.

We'll need to leave at 8am from Kilbarchan to get back in time for church. I'm going to put it on the web site and hopefully some may join us.

Club Run

2011-12-07T22:14:00.004Z

Fortunately the rain washed all the snow and ice away today so the paths were fine for our club run. There weren't many to take advantage of the conditions though. Katrina had 8 in her group and there was just Gordon & I in our group.

Gordon & I had a great run together and spend the whole time chatting away about all sorts of things. I'm really enjoying these Wednesday club runs at the moment. I get the miles in without having to think too much about it!

Here is our route.

Again my achilles was fine. I could feel it the odd time but I have to consciously think about it now rather than it being there the whole time.

So another good run and I definitely feel I'm getting back some decent fitness back. I'm also really benefitting from running 4 times a week rather than 6. I feel as though I'm starting off each run with fresh legs rather than tired ones!

Monday night Fartlek

2011-12-05T22:27:00.003Z

We had our first downpour of snow today. I'd be quite happy if it's our last but somehow I doubt it! It was a bit tricky on my motorbike today but thankfully I got to and from work without mishap!

I suspected there would be a low turnout tonight and I wasn't disappointed. There were 8 in total. In our group there was John McL and Donald P. As Donald is running the West District Cross Country on Saturday he only wanted to do half the session.

The cycle track was slushy but not icy so it was fine. It was an interesting session with 4 sets of 7mins 30secs. But the set was made up of 90secs @ marathon pace, then 60secs @ 10k pace, repeated 3 times. Hope that makes sense.

Anyway I really enjoyed it as you had to constantly think about your pace. Here are my distances and pace ...

I was happy that I ran faster as the session progressed. We run out and back and the way back is slightly downhill so it's always a bit easier. So another good session and the best news is I could hardly feel my achilles at all.

Sunday morning run on the Braes

2011-12-04T14:26:00.004Z

This morning I was on my own. Neal is injured (ankle), Caroline ran an ultra yesterday (and did very well in tough conditions) and Katrina has a rotten cold and didn't fancy making it worse!

I did have an offer for a run with Marco on the Kilpatricks but we were going with Emma to her church and so I needed to be home by 10am.

So I set off just before 8am and did my normal route around the Gleniffer Braes. It was a bit dark as I set off but it soon brightened up and it was lovely conditions to run in. Underfoot it was very wet and quite icy in places.

I set off nice and steady and I was really pleased with how I felt all the way round. I definietly feel my fitness and stamina is coming back slowly and I'm certainly enjoying running again.

I decided to test out my new head cam. I was interested to see how long it would last so I switched it on as I started and let it run. I was quite surprised to see it still going after an hour and then 90mins and I reckon the memory was full after about 1hr 40mins.

I have a 4GB micro card in the camera. At some stage I'll get a 16GB card which will give me lots more memory for those longer races!

I'm going to have a go at editing the footage to a manageable 5-10mins or so. So watch out for that!! I bet you can't wait.

Congratulations to all those who ran the Yamaa Trust Ultra Race yesterday. We called in to see Neal & Caroline and Thomas & Silke last night and heard all about it. Sounded a great race but the conditions were very tough especially for those who took over 4hrs.

November Review

2011-12-02T16:44:00.000Z

Thankfully my mile-a-thon finale went well yesterday. We had over 500 P4-7 children from five schools who have completed running a marathon over 13 weeks. They have been running a mile in school and a mile at home.

Yesterday was our finale run where we brought together all those who have been doing the challenge to run the final mile or so together. The weather had been very wet and windy all week but thankfully it was dry and the sun even came out for a while!

The children had a great time and I love seeing them run! I really hope they find running is something they can love to do for their whole lives and they get as much enjoyment out of it as I have!

Today I went out for a run at lunchtime. Another solid easy/steady run. My legs felt a bit heavy so I was quite happy with my 7.28pace for the 6.21miles.

November has been a solid month of getting back into running after a 6 week break. I've been running 3-4 times a week and also running 1-2 times a week.

Here is a summary of my runs and bike rides ....

In total I ran 141.5 miles in November. They were mainly easy runs with the odd long run (over 10miles) and some fartlek and tempo runs. Full details.

So a good solid run. For December I'm going to conentrate on our four cloub races over Christmas and New Year. I just hope that the weather let's us complete them this year.

The four races are ...

Sunday 18th December 2011 .. Marshall Moor Race

To the trig point on Marshall Moor and back, S&F at Kilbarchan park fountain.

Monday 19th December 2009.. 4ml Christmas handicap

Meet at Cochrane Castle Community Centre, 7pm sharp please .. bring a prize .. win a prize.

Monday 26th December 2011 .. Christmas Road Relay at Kilbarchan Park

2 laps = 1.6ml approx .. youngsters usually just 1 lap ... fun event for all .. Names please for 1pm .. prizes for all!!!

Saturday 31st December 2011 .. Donald Crawford Cup 11ml and Ballot team race

Meet 1pm at Kilbarchan pavilion .. first runner off at approx 1.30pm .. a good way to end the old year ..

Finally all the best to those running the Yamaa Trust Ultra Marathon tomorrow. It goes from Kinlochleven to Tyndrum. Not sure what the weather forecast is but I assume it will be cold! Anyway have a great everyone.

Another wet and windy run

2011-11-30T22:23:00.003Z

Katrina & I arrived a few minutes late at Elderslie and discovered that the group had gone! So we decided to run together and do a 5 mile loop.

It was really wet and windy and the first half was against the wind and rain. It was good to get out and it wasn't too cold. Half way round I asked Katrina whether she was happy to drive back so I could do a few extra miles.

So here is my route ...

All the best to those who are doing the Marcothon which for those who haven't heard about it is to run every day in December. The run must be at least 3miles or 25minutes. I haven't really considered joining in as I'm still building up after my sore Achilles and feel the rest days are important at this stage.

I look forward to hearing how it all goes.

Fartlek on my own

2011-11-29T18:07:00.004Z

Katrina & I were due to run with Kilbarchan on our regular Monday night Fartlek session last night but with all the rain we've been having we had a problem with a leak. It's been a long standing problem but was really bad last night.

We realised we need to clear out the loft to see where the water was coming in. I was all for doing it later but was shamed into staying and helping!!

So having missed the session last night I thought I'd do the session today at lunch time. It was another wet and windy day but once I was out and running it was fine.

I decided to do the session around the outside of Bellahouston Park as it meant I didn't have to cross any roads. So I did a short warm up around the middle of the park and then I did 3 laps as I did the session.

It was an interesting session with 3 lots of 6mins 20secs with just 40secs recovery followed by 3mins 40secs, then 2min recovery. Derek, our coach, said for marathon pace for the 6.20 and 10k pace for the 3.40.

I decided to aim for 6.45-7 min per mile for the 6.20. I know that's faster than my marathon pace but went for it anyway. For the 3.40 I aimed for 6.15-6.30pace.

Here is how I got on ...

I was pretty consistent and quite happy with that. The way it worked out I had the wind on my back for the longer rep and was right into the teeth of the wind for the shorter one.

It is always harder doing these sessions on your own but this was quite a good one to do as I had a definite pace to aim for.

I'm hoping the weather will ease off a bit, both for the sake of our house but also for an event I have planned for Thursday. It is the finale of the mile-a-thon I've been running with my schools.

I have about 600 children coming to Bellahouston Park for a fun run to finish off the challenge of running a marathon over 13 weeks. The bbc forecast shows a little sun peaking behind a white cloud so I hope it's right! The run starts at 10.30am.

Windy Sunday Morning Run

2011-11-27T16:52:00.003Z

Katrina and I had planned to go for a run on the Gleniffer Braes this morning but as I had promised to help Giffnock North with their School Cross Country Event at Rouken Glen and it was so wet and windy we decided to do a road run instead.

I think it was the best decision as it was very windy in Paisley so it would have been very, very windy up on the Braes plus very wet underfoot.

Katrina and I set off just after 8.30am and thankfully it was dry. We'd been running for a few minutes when we saw Paul G running towards us. We stopped and chatted for a few minutes. Paul was doing a recovery run after running 26miles yesterday. It was good to see him and catch up briefly.

We ran together and we were both happy with the pace. The rain started as we ran towards Dykebar Hospital and it got quite cold but once we got to the hospital we were a bit more sheltered.

With a couple of miles to go Katrina encouraged me to push on as she was happy to ease off a little. So the last couple of miles I ran at 7.30 pace right into the teeth of the wind.

After a quick shower I drove over to Rouken Glen and helped Giffnock North with their cross country. It was very, very muddy but at least it didn't rain.

Finally congratulations to Dale and Rob who ran the whw in 27hrs 10mins. They left Milngavie at 10am on Friday and had atrocious conditions right through the night. They took about 16hrs to run the first 60miles to Bridge of Orchy and then 13hrs to run/walk the 35miles to Fort William.

A superb effort. I'm looking forward to reading Dale's blog.

That felt good

2011-11-25T16:37:00.003Z

My cross country event yesterday went well with the dry weather that was forecasted. Today I woke up to strong wind and rain. It wasn't much fun on my motorbike and I've discovered my over trousers are not as waterproof as they used to be!

I had time today to go out for a run at lunch time. As I walked over to Bellahouston Leisure Centre to get changed I decided I'd need to wear my jacket and gloves. Once changed I stepped out of the centre to be hit by a gust of wind and rain.

But once I started running the rain stopped and while it was windy it wasn't as bad as I feared. As soon as I started my watch and ran the first few steps I knew I was in for a good run.

There are some days when I can tell straight away that it's going to be a good run and today was one of them. I decided not to look at my watch until I was at the far end of Pollok Park which is about 3.5miles.

I ran with hardly any pain from my Achilles and it felt great. When I got to the 3.5mile point I had a look at my average pace and it was 7.15. Probably the fastest I've run since getting going again 7-8 weeks ago.

I thought I'd probably drop off over the second half of the run. So I was surprised when I finished to discover I'd run the 6.21miles in 44mins 20secs which is 7.09 pace. Things are definitely moving in the right direction.

I'm glad I've taken the decision to build up slowly and I feel I'm benfitting from running 4 times a week at the moment. This week I've had a hard Fartlek session on Monday, a tempo run on Wednesday and now a shorter tempo run today.

By not running on Tuesday and Thursday as I would normally do I feel I'm recovering better. It means my weekly mileage is not as high but maybe quality is better than quantity at this stage.

I've been thinking about Dale J today who is attemping to run the whw. He was due to set off at 10am this morning from Milngavie so as I write at 5pm he should have been running for 7hours.

I would imagine he is somewhere past Inversnaid heading to Beinglas. It's been pitch dark since 4pm and he'll have another 15hours of darkness ahead of him. Anyway I hope he's going well and I look forward to hearing all about it.

Just looked on the whw forum and the advice is to retreat and try again another day. I wonder if he will?

Steady run with my new gamin

2011-11-23T21:10:00.000Z

My reconditioned Garmin 205 arrived yesterday so it had it's first outing tonight. Not too much to report as it's the same as all the other ones I've had. I think this is my fourth one! It doesn't take too long to set up as I know which screens I like.

It has been quite wet in the Glasgow area today. This morning I was helping my colleagues with their Cross Country Event at Bellahouston Park. The children got pretty wet and muddy but that's what Cross Country is all about.

At one stage one of my colleagues said, 'You've loving this aren't you?' and she was right, I was. It's great seeing children running and pushing themselves. It's my Schools Cross Country tomorrow at Rosshall. The weather forecast is for a dry afternoon but whatever the weather we'll encourage them to run!

Anyway tonight there were three of us in our group and we decided to run our 'round the houses' route but the other way round for a change. We have 3 basic routes in the winter but by alternating the direction they feel like 6 routes.

Here is tonight's route ...

Donald K was going very well tonight, especially up the many hills. Tony and I were doing well to hang on to him at times. It was another really good run and I'm really enjoying being back in the groove of running with the club each Monday and Wednesday.

Katrina was part of a group of six and they did an 8 mile loop around Paisley.

Fartlek at the club

2011-11-22T06:56:00.004Z

Another interesting session last night. A 5 min run followed by only 30sec recovery before another 1min. Thankfully a 2min recovery before repeating. Five sets in all made up the 30mins.

As my Achilles is getting better and better I decided to push as hard as I could tonight. We had 8 in our group including some faster runners who pulled me along. I tried to start near the front of the pack.

After a couple of minutes Chris, Gemma, James and Donald would go past then Tony would catch me. I held on to him for as long as I could which really helped keep the pace up.

Neal was running with our group tonight but was feeling the effects of Saturday's parkrun and yesterday's run on the Braes. We ran shoulder to shoulder for the first 5min.

John McL was going well but he likes to start near the back so I didn't see him much except for the last set when he went past me and I tried to hang on to him. Interestingly that was my fastest split!

Here are the figures ...

I'm getting closer to the 5mile mark which is a good indication of how well I'm going. It's always harder when there are 5 sets of 5mins. The thing that encouraged me is I was getting faster as the session went on.

Katrina had a good run with the group she was in. They had a different session but she came home having worked really hard!

Morning run on the Braes

2011-11-20T14:20:00.000Z

Another Sunday morning run on the Gleniffer Braes. We invited Neal and Caroline to join us but unfortunately Caroline wasn't feeling well so we just had Neal's company.

We left the house at 8am and drove the mile or so to Robertson's Car Park. After a couple of photos we were off.

We decided to run the larger 5mile loop first as Katrina, who had run the parkrun 5k yesterday, was going to stop then. BTW ... congratulations to Katrina who ran the hilly 5k at Pollok Park in 22mins 59secs. Another pb in an impressive year.

At the first major hill after 3miles or so I ran up while Neal (who had also ran the parkrun yesterday) practised their ultra running by walking up the hill!!

I had taken my Action Camera and decided to switch it on and let it run for as long as it could until the memory was full. Unfortunately when I got home I watched the footage and there was only 30secs or so!

I remember touching it to make sure it was pointing down and must have switched it off!! There would have been some good footage as well! Ah well next time.

When we got back to the car Katrina drove home and I gave Neal the option of another 6miles or just over 3. As a true ultra runner he chose the 6mile option. So we did the loop on the other side of the road which always includes a stop to take a photo or two at the trig point.

Neal decided to climb the trig point as well ...

We ran past Robertson's Car Park again and then headed back round the route and then home.

It was a very muddy route today and our shoes needed a good wash and clean after the run.

Finally congratulations to William Sichel who won his latest race ... 8 days in Monaco. The race only finished an hour or so ago so his exact distance is not available yet but William broke a few records on the way.

Running on my own

2011-11-18T19:41:00.003Z

Over the past few years I reckon that I've run the majority of my regular weekly training on my own. But over the last few weeks I seem to be doing the majority of my run with others.

Monday and Wednesday is with Kilbarchan and Sunday with Katrina or a group run. As I'm only running four times a week that leaves my Friday run as my only run on my own.

A busy day at work today meant I couldn't fit in a run at lunch time so at 4.30pm I set off from home for an easy five mile run. It was dark as I left so I decided to do my loop which stayed mainly on the streets.

As I left the house I thought 'what shall I think about as I run?' More often than not I spend my runs planning future runs or races and imagining how I will get on but today I decided to think about my 2009 whw race.

I would say that of all the ultras I've done over the past five years that it the one I'm most proud of. I set off to run sub 20hrs and was able to achieve it. It was probably the only time that things worked out just as I'd planned.

I really enjoyed trying to remember how it went and what I was feeling at various times. I do get some of the races mixed up but that year was the year the Adventure Show filmed the race so that gave me a focal point to remember various things.

One of the things that really stands out was a tough patch I went through heading down to Kinlochleven. I was right on my schedule or slightly ahead for the first 75miles but over a 3mile section up and over the Devil's Staircase I lost 10mins and realised if I continued to lose 10mins every 3miles my sub 20 dream was over.

As I ran today I could remember the talking to I gave myself as I ran down to Kinlochleven. I was determined not to give up and I decided if I could get to Kinlochleven without losing any more time against my plan then I'd still be all right.

I had another wobble after Lundavra but was able to hold it together and finish in my pb (so far!!) of 19hr 51mins 59secs. By the time I'd got to Fort William in my reminiscing I was almost home and ready for a shower and tea.

My Achilles was really good tonight and there was hardly any soreness afterwards so things are definitely going in the right direction.

Cycle to work

2011-11-17T21:05:00.000Z

I was keen to try out my new Action Camera on my bike. So this morning I attached the camera to my bike, switched it on and cycled to work. If you want to view the unedited 23mins 49secs you are welcome but I thought it would be better to edit in down to 8mins or so.

I'm really pleased with the result as it is quite steady on the bike. See what you think ....

Wednesday Club Run

2011-11-16T22:11:00.003Z

Katrina & I went along to our Kilbarchan run tonight. Katrina had 8 in her group and they ran a hilly 8miles or so.

I ran with Davie, Stevie and Tony and we did our Paisley loop but the opposite way round from three weeks ago. Stevie has been struggling with his health for awhile but was feeling well enough to join us tonight. He seemed to be going well until about 3miles when he decided to drop back a bit and cut the run shorter.

Davie, Tony & I pushed on and the pace seemed to increase the further we ran. The route was just over 9miles and we averaged 7.38 which is the quickest I've ran for a while. It felt good and my Achilles was really good tonight. I hardly felt it at all.

Thanks for the comments on my head cam. I'm looking forward to cycling to work tomorrow and I'm going to try it out on my bike. So I'll post my ride to work in the next few days.

Video from Sunday's Run

2011-11-15T19:32:00.003Z

Here is my video from Sunday's run on the whw featuring my new head cam! I will be really interested in what you think. Is it okay to watch? or does it make you queezy? Anyway enjoy and let me know what you think ....

Milestone and Garmin

2011-11-15T18:34:00.005Z

Thanks to Karen M I ran Garmin today and asked what options I had regarding my garmin 205 that I damaged on Sunday when I fell.

Just as Karen suggested Garmin offered me a reconditioned 205 for £46 when I send in my damaged one. So I'm going to do that. The guy suggested I could have the money off a new one but I really like the 205 and have all the extra's that go with it.

So thanks to Karen and others who had various suggestions. Thanks also to Debs who is going to let me use her spare 205 until my new one comes. I could do without a Gamin for a couple of weeks but if I don't have to then I won't!

The next bit you will probably find a bit sad and I did think maybe I shouldn't admit to this but I've always tried to be honest on this blog!!!!

I mentioned a few days ago that my hit counter was going to reach 200,000 soon and I realised it was probably sometime today. I was due to be out of the office (and access to a computer) all day as I was helping colleagues at a cross country event.

But it ended up we had an hour or so over lunch so realising I needed to make some phone calls I went back to my office where I decided, since I was there, I might as well have a look at the blog and see how close I was to the 200k.

This is what I saw ....

What about that for timing! I was the 200,000 visitor. Just noticed as well that I started the counter on 14th November 2006 .... five years and one day ago!

So I just wanted to thank you one and all for visiting my blog over the last five years. I wonder how long it will take me to reach 300,000??

My video from Sunday is done .... it is saving as we speak and will be on youtube asap .... so come back soon to check it out (.... that might help my hit counter towards it's next target!!)

Recovery Run

2011-11-14T20:34:00.003Z

Neal, Caroline, Katrina and I decided to meet at the club tonight but instead of doing the session we went and did a recovery run together.

Well I say together but it ended up with Neal and Katrina zooming off and Caroline and I running the 5 and bit miles together. I really enjoyed it and it was good to get out and have an run after yesterday's run.

I'm having fun putting my head cam footage together! It should be ready by tomorrow night. It's come out better than I thought it might. The problem is I have an hour or more of video which I'm reducing to 15mins or so!

My garmin screen is still blank except for the bottom left corner! It's works fine but I just can't anything other than the average pace. Well at least it keeps me from looking at my splits. I put something on fb asking whether anyone has a 205 that they aren't using and would consider selling on.

So if you have one or know of anyone please get in touch!

Running on the whw

2011-11-13T19:50:00.003Z

We had a great day out on the whw today. Katrina, Caroline, Silke, Lesley and Yvonne ran from Drover's Inn to Victoria Bridge while Thomas, Neal and I ran from Victoria Bridge to Drover's Inn.

Here is the map of our run ...

Here are some photos of the day ...

I also tried out my new camera so watch out for that in the next few days. I had fun using it.

I really enjoyed the run. Some highlights ....

# My achilles was fine. I could feel it but it didn't cause any problems.
# It was great to run with Thomas and Neal, chatting most of the way.
# Seeing Kirsty at 'By the Way' Hostel at Tyndrum and enjoying two pieces of her lovely banana cake.
# Meeting up with the girls near Auchtertyre.
# Meeting up with Colin Knox at Derrydarouch and running the last few miles together.
# Scotch Broth at Drovers Inn .. lovely.

One lowlight ...

# I had a fall in the Glen Ogle forest ... I was okay but damaged my garmin ... it still works but I can only see the bottom left corner of the screen which shows my average pace!

So all in all a great day out. Katrina really enjoyed it too and felt she ran a lot better than when we did it a few weeks ago but that was just 2 weeks after the Loch Ness Marathon.

So thanks to everyone for a great day ... especially Lesley who drove us there and back!

New Camera and Plan for tomorrow

2011-11-12T17:30:00.003Z

If you visited this blog you'll be aware that I've enjoy taking videos of my runs and races. I use a basic Exilim Camera which does the trick but ever since I watched some of the Mad Runner's videos I thought it would be fun to have a camera I could wear on my head.

So when I saw a half price offer on groupon a few weeks ago I thought I'd send off my £25 and try it out. After quick a few weeks wait (I assume www.chilli-tech.com got more sales that they planned) the camera arrived today.

It is very small and comes with a head band and a mounting for a bike ....

I've tried it out in the house ...

I had it pointed too high on this photo so will need to make sure I angle it a bit lower otherwise all you will see is the sky!!

I can see I'm going to have lots of fun with this little toy! I'll be taking it on our run tomorrow so watch out for my first attempt in the coming days. I'll also try it out on the bike which should be fun.

I'm looking forward to our run tomorrow. Caroline has organised this one and the plan is ....

8am Lesley (friend from Kilbarchan who has entered the Fling) will pick up Katrina & I.
8.15am Pick up Neal & Caroline and drive to Drover's Inn
9.15am Meet Thomas & Silke at Drover's Inn
9.30am Caroline, Katrina, Silke & Lesley will run from Drover's Inn to Victoria Bridge
9.35am Neal, Thomas & I will drive in one car to Victoria Bridge and run back to Drover's Inn

The girls will drive the car back to Drover's once they've finished their run. I wonder where we will cross? It means that we all run a to b rather than out and back. I'm looking forward to running with Neal & Thomas and just hope that they wait for me!!

William Sichel has started his latest multi-day race ... this one 8 days in Monaco. I'm looking forward to following his progress on his blog.

Wednesday Club Run

2011-11-09T20:51:00.004Z

Another really enjoyable run with Kilbarachan tonight. I ran with Chris, Gordon, John H and Tony. We stayed together and ran a good steady pace.

I was really encouraged as I could hardly feel my achilles tonight. I can't say I couldn't feel it at all but it was definitely the easiest it's been since I started running again five weeks ago.

Here is our route .....

I noticed the other day that my blog counter is getting close to 200,000 hits. I reckon I should hit this milestone in about 4-5 days. I'd love to catch it when it reaches the figure but it will depend on what I'm doing.

Katrina and I are joining friends for a run on the whw on Sunday. We are looking forward to another run. I just hope it's a bit drier than the last time we ran.

First Fartlek Session for a while

2011-11-07T21:02:00.000Z

I wasn't planning to do the session tonight but when I saw that it was 5x 6mins I thought I'd do it because the pace wouldn't be as hard.

It was a very cold misty night but once we got running it was fine. I made sure I stayed near the back of the group and even though I was running faster than I have for a while I kept it sensible. It was good to stretch out a bit and my Achilles seemed to cope okay.

When I'm going well I always aim to try and run 5miles for the 30mins of hard running we do. Here is what I managed tonight ...

That was encouraging. I went a little faster and further on each 6mins.

Congratulations to all those who ran in the Glen Ogle 33 on Saturday. Some great performances and looking at the pictures it's looks a superb route.

Congratulations also to Mandy Judd who ran a pb (by 6mins) - 3hrs 33mins 35secs in the New York Marathon. Very impressive.

Morning run on the Braes

2011-11-06T14:17:00.005Z

I was looking forward to having a run on the Braes this morning. Katrina was keen to come so set off just after 8.35am. We decided to drive the car up to Robertson's Car Park, which sadly was full of post fireworks rubbish, and run the loop from there.

It was a lovely morning with a low mist over Paisley but with the sun shining. I love running at this time of year. It was cool enough to need gloves but with little wind it was a perfect temperature to run. We had the place to ourselves and it was great to be out running together.

I decided to take my camera and take some photos as we ran ...

Here is our route ...

We chatted as we enjoyed the run. We discussed our plans for training for the Fling. The main part of our plan is our long run on the whw route at the end of each month. There are a few people who are keen to join us so we are looking forward to the training runs.

Here are the dates we've worked on ....

Saturday 21st January 2012 - Balmaha to Inversnaid to Balmaha (up to 32miles)
This is part of the whw training weekend but you can join us for the run even if you're not staying for the weekend.

Sunday 26th February 2012 - Beinglas Farm to Inversnaid to Auchtertyre to Beinglas Farm (32miles)

Sunday 25th March 2012 - Drymen to Tyndrum (42miles)
We'll need to organise lifts for this one. Now that Emma and Laura both have cars I think it's about time they started giving lifts to their parents!! Also if anyone wants to stay at 'Tyndrum By the Way' after the run Kirsty is offering a reduced rate.

If anyone is interested in joining us please get in touch - jkynaston@bigfoot.com

Hoka Highland Fling

2011-11-04T19:41:00.005Z

Even though I'm not really training hard I still find it difficult to not go for a run when I've planned to do so. This morning I was busy at work helping my colleagues with a cross country event and by end of work I didn't really fancy a run and for a while I convinced myself that I didn't need to go for a run.

But in the end I decided that if I didn't run I'd regret it so at 4.30pm I got going. I decided to run round Brodie Park to keep off road. I started in the light but very quickly it got darker and by the finished it was pitch dark and I was struggling a bit to see the way.

Anyway I was really pleased I got out and went for a run. I feel I'm running better now and enjoying putting some miles in.

It's good to see that the Highland Fling entries are now open. There is a new sponsor Hoka running shoes and a new Race Director John Douglas.

I heard recently that Murdo was stepping down after 6 years of organising this superb race. I will miss his easy going style and desire to see as many runners as possible enjoying the challenge of running 53miles. So thank you so much Murdo for all you've done over the last 6 years.

I've met John a few times and I know he is looking forward to organising the race. We all wish him well and I know the race is in good hands.

Tonight I entered and I entered Katrina (with her permission!!).

So Katrina has committed herself to running the Fling. This will be my 6th Fling but this one will be different to the other five in at least two ways ....

1. I'm going to run with Katrina
2. It won't be part of my build up the whw race

I'm really looking forward to sharing the experience with Katrina and I know she's going to do really well.

Finally all the best to those who are running in the Glen Ogle 33 tomorrow. Hope you have a great race.

Good offer from 'By the Way'

2011-11-02T23:40:00.000Z

Katrina and I ran with Kilbarchan tonight. There were four of us in my group, John H, Tony, Davie M and me. It was a mild evening and we decided on our 'round the houses' run.

We ran together, chatting and generally keeping a solid, steady pace. There are quite a few hills in this route so it felt a good workout.

I had a nice email from Kirsty at 'Tyndrum By the Way' campsite this week.

Kirsty ran the Devil o' the Highlands Race this year and is doing the Highland Fling next year. 'By the Way' is very supportive of the Highland Fling and has very kindly offered a reduced rate for runners over the winter.

Here are the details if you are interested ....

Groups of 10 or more staying over the weekend (Fri or Sat night/or both) will receive a 30% discount on the group booking.

Two people sharing a twin/double room will get the room for £30.00, instead of £42.00.
(The offers cannot be used together).

We camped at 'By the Way' before the Devils Race this year and the facilities are excellent. Kirsty makes a lovely banana cake for guests as well!! If you are interested contact Kirsty via their web site or email info@tyndrumbytheway.com

So if you are planning a training weekend Tyndrum is a great base and I'd recommend staying at 'Tyndrum By the Way'.

Target practise in the rain

2011-10-31T22:35:00.004Z

It was very wet tonight for our Monday night club session. This is my third week back but I'm still happy to do a steady run rather than the full session. I enjoy running out with the group and watching them push past me.

I decided to do 9miles this week which meant I went through Bridge of Weir before I turned. I was on my own as I ran under the road bridge where there is often a group of kids hanging about.

As I ran back under the road I was hit by something quite firm. It felt really sticky so not quite sure what it was. I was soaked through from the rain anyway so it didn't matter too much. The kids were a good 25-30yards away so quite an impressive hit I suppose!

My achilles felt pretty good right through the run which is very encouraging. I'm cycling into work tomorrow and then will run with the club on Wednesday. I'm enjoying running without feeling I need to be chasing a time or pace.

The entries for the 2012 whw race open tomorrow. Well I actually put the link up tonight so if anyone is desperate to get their entry in then go straight there now!

I was wondering whether I might I regret my decision not to run next year but I feel the same as I did when I made the decision somewhere along the Lairig Mor as I struggled at 2mph. I will definitely be back. I've not run my last whw race by a long shot but I'm enjoying doing the web site and still feel very much part of the race.

It will be interesting to see how many enter and whether we'll need to have a ballot or not come the end of November.

Wedding weekend

2011-10-30T17:49:00.005Z

Not long home after a superb time at Richie and Helen's Wedding in Dundee and St Andrews.

Here are some of the pictures and a summary.

We really enjoyed the whole day yesterday. The service was in St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee and the reception at the Old Course Hotel, St Andrews. The food was excellent, speeches very good (Richie got quite emotional!!) and the Ceilidh in the evening was such good fun.

In the morning a group of us arranged to go for a run at 11am ...

Thomas, Silke, George, Katrina, Lucy (and Kipper), Keith

Here is our route ...

We ran round the Old Course Golf course and then onto the beach. Just over 6miles.

Setting off from the Old Course Hotel .....

Running on the beach ....

Group photo ....

Back at the Hotel we saw Richie, who, it seems had better things to do than come for a run with us!! ....

Helen arrived too ....

We went for a drink of coffee/hot chocolate overlooking the 17th fairway ...

Then for a game of putting on the Himalayas ....

Helen showing the golf ball after her spectacular hole in one!!

So a superb weekend. Thanks to everyone for a great time.

Run after work

2011-10-28T19:13:00.002+01:00

I was busy today and couldn't fit in a lunchtime run so I ran after work about 4.30pm. I always find it a bit of a struggle running after work on a Friday but I promised myself it would be an easy 5miler.

I set off feeling very sluggish so decided to think about something completely different to running and low and behold after 15mins or so I was running a bit smoother.

For those who follow my twitter I was hacked into yesterday and I 'sent' out a couple of tweets on slimming products. There was a bit of banter going on questioning my need to slim etc.

The thing is though that I do feel I've put on a bit of weight as I've not been running as much recently. I've not wanted to go on the scale as I don't want the confirmation!! I don't really want to be uptight about my weight so I'm going to try and just cut back a bit and continue to eat sensibly.

Tomorrow we are off to Dundee and St Andrews for Richie and Helen's Wedding. We are really looking forward to it. The service is at Dundee Cathedral at 11.30am so we are planning to leave about 8.30am. The reception is at the Old Course Hotel at St Andrews.

Richie's been updating FB with a few comments. My favourite was ...

Good job I just googled "how to get married". Apparently the marriage schedule is really important. "No schedule, no wedding" said the woman in the registrars as I stood there all pale and sweaty...

I don't think Helen was impressed though!!

Katrina & I have booked into a hotel just outside St Andrews and are taking our running gear so we can go for a run on Sunday morning before we head home. I always enjoying going for a run somewhere new.

Club run

2011-10-26T22:38:00.002+01:00

Katrina and I decided to go along to our club Wednesday run for the first time in quite a while.

Katrina joined a group who were doing a hill session and she said she enjoyed it so that was good.

I ran with Gordon and Tony and we did the following run ...

We spent the whole run chatting and the hour or so flew past quickly. We kept a steady pace going which suited all of us. It was a bit further than Tony has been running recently but he was still running strongly at the end.

I'm really enjoying these steady runs at the moment. I don't feel any need to push the pace which means I can chat and run and enjoy it.

On a scale of 1-10 the pain in my Achilles is about 1. It is there but not giving me any problems. However it is there and I'm aware that if I did push the pace it might well flare up so I'm going to keep going with these easy steady paced runs.

Club run ... on my own

2011-10-24T21:02:00.005+01:00

It was good to run with the club tonight but even though I joined my group I didn't actually do the session. Katrina came along too and enjoyed her session.

I ran out with my group and joined in with the strides but once the session started I continue to run nice and steady. It was fun watching Hayley, Gemma and James run past .... followed a few seconds later by Donald .... then the rest of the group.

I caught them again as they did their recovery and then was caught by the leading group on the next push but after that I was away as the 'on' bit was shorted.

I turned just after 4miles and saw the group running out as I headed back. I really enjoyed the run and my achilles felt the best it's been for a while. Once I stopped it gave a bit of a twinge but seems to be fine now.

I feel I'm heading in the right direction but will continue to stick to my steady runs every other day for a while.

Ian Beattie is organising a 'whw training weekend' in January at Oak Tree Inn in Balmaha. It looks like it will be a great weekend. Katrina & I have booked in. If you want to come I suggest you get in touch with Ian asap as spaces are limited. Details on the whw web site.

Video review of 2011

2011-10-22T23:45:00.001+01:00

We had some friends round tonight for a meal and to celebrate our year of running.

I decided to make a short video to summarise the year....

Lunchtime run

2011-10-21T18:20:00.003+01:00

I set off from Bellahouston Leisure Centre in the wind today but it wasn't as bad I thought it might be.

As I was doing an circular route I had the wind behind me for half the way. I was feeling quite good today and ran steady.

I can still feel my Achilles but it doesn't seem to be getting any worse and today it was fine for the first 2-3miles. I'm still being very careful and making sure I don't push the pace.

I was looking on the Lakeland 100 web site today and the entries are up to 284. The maximum is 300 so it's almost there. I've also being looking at the maps and have downloaded the gpx files onto gpsies.com.

Here is the first leg ....

You should be able to see the others from this link.

I'm really looking forward to getting on the route but there is plenty of time.

Some advice

2011-10-20T17:30:00.001+01:00

I thought I'd share an email I received a few days ago (with permission) from Ross Laing. He wrote ....

Hello John

I hope you don't mind me emailing you but love your blog and i've said hello a few times most recently at the fling and while you were supporting Katrina in Glasgow and Lochness

I was wondering if you could give a few pointers with regards stepping up from doing the Fling & Raw to doing the full WHW

My mileage is good and I am kind of following your training plans going forward to next year as they seem to be a good guidline for me , i'm not as fast as you my last fling was 12:27 but was delighted with that considering the heat and without sounding too silly i'm a road runner at heart , next year i'm doing the fling with 2 friends who are new to ultra's but fully expect to go under the 12 hours the year after

Anyway enough waffling and I'll ask some questions

You mentioned in one of your blogs that you take salt tablets ? do these come in capsule form or do you mix them with drinks

I have a young family and will find it difficult to get to the whw to do training , i do get up to the pentlands when i'm running to and from work , honestly do you think i should try and make it through to whw a couple of times before the big race

As i said I hope you don't mind me emailing as I know your busy but this is kind of my next big goal/dream , i did the Fling in 2010 & 2011 and the Raw in 2010 , I also crewed a friend in the big race to give myself an idea of what it all looked like , if i'm lucky enough to get a place ( fingers crossed ) then i want to be in my best shape possible to get to the end

Hope you and family are well

Regards

Ross

Here is my answer and hopefully if there is anyone else in a similar situation it help you as well.

Hi Ross

Thanks again for your email. It was great to hear from you and congratulations on completing the ultras you’ve done so far. Would you mind if I put your email and this reply on my blog? There may be others in a similar situation who may appreciate the advice – and whether to follow it or not!!

Getting a place
As you meet the criteria I would be hopeful that you will get a place. Over the last few years everyone who has wanted to run has. Last year 156 started and there were places for 175. This year there are 200 places and it may well be oversubscribed initially but a lot of people drop out over the next 8 months so even if you are on the reserve list keep training as more than likely a place will open up.

Training
It can be difficult working out a training plan with a young family and other commitments but if you can get some runs on the whw then it will be a massive benefit to you. Some of the ultras I’ve done I’ve not been able to train on the route and it was a lot harder not knowing what is coming. If you’ve done the Fling twice and plan to run again next years you will be very familiar with the first half of the route. So I’d suggest trying to get at least a couple of training runs on the second half of the route.

Over the past few years I have done one back to back weekend between the Fling and the whw and it has really helped. I think one of the hard things to prepare for is that feeling in your legs when you’ve ran 60-70 miles and still have 20-30miles to go. You don’t want to run 80-90 miles on a training run so doing a back to back of say 40 then 35 over two days is the next best thing in my opinion. The key is the second day when you set off with tired legs. That’s what it’s like on the day so when you finish that second day it gives you real confidence that you can keep going when things are sore!

The other thing I would say is make sure you build in easy weeks to your training plan. I think we often underestimate just how punishing on the body running for 6-7 hrs is so after a long run make sure you have an easy week. If you are going to put together a training plan send it on and I’ll be happy to have a look and make some comments. Please don’t feel you have to agree with anything I say or follow it but I’ve always found it helpful to hear what others think and it has helped me to work things through for myself.

Salt Tablets
When I first started running ultras in 2007 I was advised to take succeed tablets and I’ve been doing so ever since. I take the capsules, one every 90mins or so or every 60mins if it is really hot and I’m sweating more (like this year’s Fling!). I know some friends can’t stomach the capsules as it makes them sick so they tend to dissolve the salt into a drink. You will need to experiment with what works for you. But whatever form you take them make sure you take something as cramp is not a pleasant experience!

Finally
All the best with you training and preparation. If I can help in any way please get in touch and I look forward to following your progress over the coming months and on the race itself.

I really enjoy passing on anything I've learnt over the last 5 years. I've learnt so much from others and it encourages me if anyone can learnt from what I've learnt!

Ross also sent me a link from The Daily Record about him and his family. Well worth a read.

Run after work

2011-10-19T19:36:00.002+01:00

I went for another easy run after work today. By the time I set off at 5.30pm it was pretty cold so I wore two tops and my gloves and felt just about right.

I'm enjoying adding some more pages at the top of this blog. I've added all my long training runs to the training page so it easier for me to find them ... and anyone else who might like to see them.

I've also added a page on the Triple Crown. There are a few more pages to come!

Run with Katrina

2011-10-18T11:59:00.006+01:00

We had a really good time staying at the Inn at Inverbeg thanks to a Groupon voucher.

We arrived Sunday afternoon and went for a stroll along the Loch. After a good breakfast on Monday we drove to Drover's Inn, left the car and started running along the West Highland Way route.

It had been raining up until then but stopped for an hour or so as we started. That was the best of the weather really as once it started raining it didn't really stop. We ran nice and steady jumping in and around all the puddles. The track was certainly very wet with loads of water coming down off the hills.

It is only two weeks after Katrina's Loch Ness Marathon and two weeks since I started running again so we were keen to take it steady. We ran all the flat and downhill bits and walked the uphills.

Katrina has not been on most of this bit so far so was enjoying the route. There wasn't too much wind so even though we were wet we were warm enough. We passed a few walkers who were kitted up with all the gear. I always feel very under dressed when I go by in shorts!

We reached Auchtertyre (10miles) in 2hrs 11mins and decided to stop for a few minutes to eat something. In the end we stopped for 10mins and looking back it was probably the wrong thing to do as we both took ages to get warm again.

Plus the rain was heavier now and the wind stronger so all in all a tougher part of the run. We ran as much as we could to Tyndrum as much to get warm as anything else. As we passed By the Way Hostel I said to Katrina, 'I wonder if Kirsty is about' and then there she was at the window waving at us.

Kirsty came out and we stopped and chatted for a few minutes. We arranged to do some training runs together as Kirsty is also running the Fling next April. Sadly no banana cake this time but it was great to say hello and catch up.

I nipped into the Green Welly to get some money and then ran up the hill to ctach up with Katrina. We had 6miles or so to go and both of us were keen to get there as soon as we could and get warm!

We passed an older couple who were walking with umbrellas. The guy was really fed up, 'It's been raining since 8am and I'm not happy.' It was no wonder his wife was walking 100 yards ahead!!

We ran all the way from the railway tunnel to the bridge, then walked and ran the rest of the way. I calculated we would get to Bridge of Orchy about 2.40pm ... so enough time for a cup of tea before the bus came at 3.04pm.

The last couple of miles were hard work as we were both cold and wet and a bit sore!! But as I said to Katrina, 'All good character building!!.'

We ran the 19.31miles in 4hrs 14mins 18secs. We went into the bar and had a cup of tea. Ther was a lovely wood stove buring away and the couple sitting there moved so we could warm up.

We started chatting and it turns out they know Bill Heirs. So if you're reading Bill, Donald Stewart and Fiona send their love!

Just before 3pm we went back outside to wait for the bus. We both stood there shivering but thankfully the bus was right on time.

The 30min journey was made interesting by the young girl Katrina was sitting next to. She asked us what time the bus arrived at Uig for the ferry! It turns out she was on her way from Glasgow to Lewis and had got on the wrong bus at Fort William!!

So her luggage was on the bus the Uig and she was on the bus back to Glasgow. A few phone calls later things were sorted out but she won't be able to get the bus until Wednesday as the next ferry wasn't until then!

The bus dropped us at Drover's Inn. We jumped in the car and made it out in front of the bus! It was great to get back to the hotel and have a lovely long hot shower. We both had steak pie in the resteraunt and felt we deserved it!!

Katrina had a cracking blister on her foot. See the pictures!

So a enjoyable few days away and a long run on the whw - perfect. Well a drier day would have been even better!

Here is our route ...

Plans for Monday & Team Award

2011-10-14T17:01:00.000+01:00

Another easy lunch time run today. This time I went back to my regular 6mile loop of Pollok Park. It's been ages since I did this route so it was good to revisit an old friend!

Last night I went along to the Evening Times South West Community Champion Awards at Pierce Institute with my South West Active Schools colleagues and Kevin West (Glasgow Culture & Sport) who had nominated us for the Public Service Team Award and surprise surprise we won!

We now go through to the grand final at the City Chambers in December.

It was a really good evening and was well presented with flashing lights and music as the winners went on stage to receive their prizes. We loved it!!

Here are some pictures from today’s Glasgow Evening Times ...

Front page (I'm top left of picture) ....

Pages 4-5 (main picture) ...

Pages 6-7 all the winners and runners up in all categories ...

The Evening Times web site also has the story ...

I was quoted ...

The Evening Times web site has a great 4min video which summaries the evening.

As it is half term next week I've taken Monday and Tuesday off and Katrina & I have taken advantage of a groupon deal staying two night at Inverberg Hotel, Loch Lomond on Sunday and Monday nights.

I said to Katrina what do you want to do on Monday ... a walk or a run ... and she said a run. I told you she's got the bug!

So I was thinking about the options ... drive to Beinglas and do an out and back either towards Inversnaid or Tyndrum then I had an idea of seeing what time the bus coming back from Fort William is going. The timetable works out so I've booked the tickets.

So the plan is ....

10am Leave Inverberg hotel and drive to Drover's Inn
10.30am Start running from Drover's Inn, Inverarnan to Bridge of Orchy
2.30-3pm Arrive at Bridge of Orchy (4-4.5hrs for 18miles should be okay?)
3.04pm Catch the citylink 916 at Bridge of Orchy
3.38pm Arrive at Inverarnan
3.45pm Drive back to Inverberg Hotel

Looks a good plan to me ....

Weather forecast is for periods of rain .... which means that there will be periods when it won't be raining .... perfect.

Another lunchtime run

2011-10-12T18:00:00.003+01:00

Today I ran to another of my schools who are doing the mile-a-thon. This time 11 or laps round the playground to run the mile. Plus the run there and back made just over 5miles.

It's good to be running again even if it is at a nice gentle pace. I'm determined to build up slowly and take my time. Need to look at the big picture.

I'm enjoying adding new pages to this blog. As someone who like to keep a track of things the pages are great. I've been adding race reports and top posts. I think I'll link all my training runs on the training page at some point as well.

The other thing I've been working on over the past couple of days is the whw race splits for the web site. We thought they were lost but they have appeared! So it's good to finally get those sorted and put on the site.

For me personally they make very depressing reading. Here are my positions at each checkpoint ...

Rowardennan - 24th
Auchtertyre - 38th
Bridge of Orchy - 48th
Glencoe - 53rd
Kinlochleven - 53rd
Fort William - 70th

The worse one still is I was 112th out of 113 for the split between Kinlochleven and Fort William. It took me 7hrs 44mins (which included the 40min stop at Kinlochleven).

Ah well .... maybe I should have kept the splits to myself!!!!

It is really interesting to see how people moved up or down throughout the race. For example Richie was 16mins behind Jan-Albert at Bridge of Orchy yet beat him by 7mins in the end.

There are loads of information to be gained by pouring over the splits .... if you like that sort of thing!

For next year's race I've been asked to organise the results and splits so hopefully they will out quicker than this year!!!!

Back at the Club

2011-10-10T23:14:00.002+01:00

I was back at the club for the first time in 7 weeks. It was really good to see friends again but I didn't do the full session. I ran 3 miles out and 3 miles back in.

On the way out I chatted to John McL who has had a really tough year with his Achilles injury. I hope he can get a really good solid winter of training and take his place in London next April.

Straight after the run I was off to our club committee meeting. So this post is short and sweet ... well it's short anyway.

Run with Katrina

2011-10-09T10:29:00.003+01:00

I was about to go out for an easy 5-6mile run when Katrina said she felt ready for an easy run today so I suggested we go together. Katrina fancied doing about 3-4miles so we ran 3 miles together and then I ran a couple more.

Initially I'd said to Katrina to have 2 weeks off but her legs are feeling a lot better than she thought they would so she decided to run. I reckon she has truly caught the running bug!! After a week off she was itching to run again.

As we ran we chatted about our plans for next year. The focus for Katrina for the first third of the year is the Highland Fling. So we decided the plan is as follows ...

October to November - easy runs with some cross training
December - some speed work and focusing on our club Christmas and New Year races
January to April - build up the mileage with a long run on the whw route each month

For our long runs something like ...

end of January - Milngavie to Drymen and back (24miles)
end of February - Balmaha to Inversnaid & back (28miles)
or Rowardennan to Beinglas & back (30miles)
end of March - Drymen to Tyndrum (41miles)

I'm also thinking about my training for the Lakeland 100 at the end of July but my training partner Dave Troman is pouring over the maps working out some great training runs for us. Can't wait.

It is really good to be back into some sort of running routine. I'm going to go along to the club tomorrow night but just for an easy run rather than doing the full session. So this week I'm planning to run Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

Loch Ness Marathon photos

2011-10-09T08:04:00.003+01:00

I just discovered this morning that I can embed my photos from flickr as a slideshow!

I never realised I could do that ... doh! No doubt you knew but better late than never. So to see if it works here are the photos frpm last Sunday's Loch Ness Marathon ....

I'm off for a run soon ...

New Blog Design

2011-10-08T17:01:00.003+01:00

I started this blog almost five years ago and I decided today to give it a face lift and change things round a bit. I started off wanting to add tabs on the top of the page and then decided I might as well change the design and colours while I'm at it.

Hope you like it!

Lunch time run

2011-10-07T16:50:00.001+01:00

Today I decided to combine going for a run at lunch time with visiting one of the schools I work with. I've started another mile-a-thon project in the five schools in my cluster. The idea is that the children run a marathon over 13 weeks.

One mile in school one lunch time and one mile at home with their family. There are over 600 children involved in the five schools. I love to see them out running at lunch time and hopefully as the weeks go on they can manage to run further each time.

Anyway today I thought I'd combine a run with a visit. So I ran the 2 miles from Bellahouston Leisure Centre to the school. Ran the mile round and round the pitch with the kids and ran back. Just over 5miles in total.

Here is my route ...

1 miles is 8 laps of the pitch ...

It made me wonder what the map of Debs & co running 200+ laps round the Llandudno loop would look like.

My Achilles felt similar to Wednesday. I was aware of it but it wasn't sore. Generally though I felt really sluggish. I reckon it will take a few weeks before I feel I'm running smoothly but I've plenty of time.

Last night Graeme & Jeff came round to have a chat about the whw. They both ran the Fling this year and are really keen to run the full race next year. You may have seen their fun video of their training. If not have a look ....

Graeme & Jeff training for the Fling

It was good to meet them and we are planning to meet up for a run together sometime.

First run in over 6 weeks

2011-10-05T21:58:00.002+01:00

I promised myself I'd wait at least 6 weeks before trying to run again. I've done a fair bit of cycling so kept some level of fitness up.

To be honest I've enjoyed the break and felt I needed it. Over the past 6 weeks I've supported Katrina running the Glasgow Half Marathon and the Loch Ness Marathon. Two superb runs which I loved being part of. It was good for me to support Katrina after all the races she's been there for me.

I also really enjoyed my support role in the Commonwealth Mountain and Ultra Distance Championships in North Wales.

But I was really looking forward to running again. As much as I like cycling, especially on my new bike, running is my first love. A number of times on Sunday runners said 'You should be running, that's cheating' as I rode the course on my bike. I agreed and I would gladly have swapped places.

Anyway tonight I decided was the night to get my new running shoes (bought at the Trail race in Anglesea) on and test my achilles.

I set off very gingerly half expecting it to flare up straight away causing me to limp home before I'd reached a mile but thankfully it was okay. On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being severe pain it maybe registered a 2.

I could feel it but it wasn't sore and certainly didn't cause me to limp or alter my running style. As the run went on I felt a bit more confident and maybe even stopped thinking about it for a few minutes.

I ran 3.5miles and was very happy with my first run back. I've not really got a plan other than to run every other day and make sure it's all easy runs with no speed work at all. I'll reassess in a few weeks.

I've got plenty of time and I want to make sure I take it easy and not do any more damage which would set me back.

So finally it looks like I'll run more miles than Katrina this week! Katrina is having a couple of weeks off after her heroics on Sunday. She is feeling better today, even walking up and down stairs without too much problems. But she is tired especially as she is very busy at work.

Katrina says thank you for all those who have left a message after her Marathon but for those who would like her to write her own blog .... I wouldn't hold your breathe.

Katrina's Loch Ness Marathon Report

2011-10-04T21:14:00.003+01:00

I have never written on a blog before but I promised John I would do the honour of gracing his blog with my first ever and probably my only marathon report!

I did finish the race with a time of 3 hours, 50 minutes 46seconds. Two days later and I am now beginning to take in what I managed to achieve. The only reason I agreed to do the Loch Ness Marathon was because Debbie Martin-Consani offered the carrot of a free jacket which I can now proudly wear because I am a marathon runner! I never thought I would ever say or think those words.

For the last few months everything revolved about the 2^nd of October and I had begun to feel fed up of worrying and talking about the impending event. It weighed heavily and I was glad that I had Tracey and Grant – both first time marathon runners to talk to. What are we going to talk about now??

Tracey, Grant and Katrina at registration on Saturday afternoon

John, Grant and I travelled up to Inverness on the Saturday to stay at Jo and Jono’s flat (Thank you for sharing your 1^st wedding anniversary with us). After a huge pasta meal and a couple of glasses of red wine we watched Run Fat Boy Run to make us feel better because we had done the training.

As usual John got us to the start hours before we needed to be there to sit for hours on the first bus to the start. The buses left late and arrived late. After all the fluid intake there was a mass stampede to the bushes when the bus finally came to a stop. That was my first experience of going to the loo not caring who saw your bare backside.

It was so misty and drizzly but for the first time I was grateful for the typical Scottish weather. I found a place to start – near the 4hr 30min post. I was aiming for under that time but after the 21 mile training run I couldn’t imagine getting a faster time. The pipers were fantastic and I felt a bit Scottish and so pleased I was there.

I was ready to go and for the first time really wanted to do this. John had kept telling me that I needed to start slow and try to keep that going. He had mentioned 9:00 pace. John had planned to ride his bike along the course to cheer us on. It was great to see him at the start and he did manage to see me pass at 2, 12 and 20 miles. It was good to have his support. About time too I thought!!

For the first couple of miles I kept checking my pace and found it so difficult to keep to that pace. I decided to take Fiona Rennie’s advice and to run as I wanted and enjoy!! I felt comfortable at about 8:30 pace so kept going. I loved the first few miles and even sailed up the 5 mile hill.

I had a couple of toilet stops before I felt comfortable and settled alongside the Loch. I wished I could have enjoyed the scenery more but I remember about the 12 mile mark I began to feel weary and thought I could give myself a treat and slow down. I felt I had accrued a few brownie points for treats when I did the first half in 1hr 50mins.

It was at this point that I thought about Debbie’s first marathon distance during her 24 hour run being 4hrs 5mins. The thought of seeing her at the finish line with a slower time than that was the inspiration I needed to keep going. Even though the lochside was so beautiful I had to put my head down and keep to a steady even pace. I met Lesley from Kilbarchan and we chatted for a while before we parted – it was great to see someone I knew.

Katrina checks her watch at 12miles

It was great to be part of an event where people were encouraging those who were going through tough patches. I was amazed to see guys with pull packs on and see their determination to keep going. As we went through Dores it was a boost to be cheered on. I wanted to get to the giant mountain at 17 miles to get it behind me. I had heard so many stories about the size and I was waiting for that thick brick wall to appear. When it came it was not as bad as I was dreading. The more difficult part of my race was yet ahead!!

Near the top of the hill a guy shouted that we had 2 miles of downhill to go and then it was nearly over. I’m not sure whether it was the thought that I wouldn’t hurt as much or that I hadn’t run further than 21 miles or the blisters that I could feel popping on my feet but I began to feel really weary.

Katrina still going strong at 20miles

The last 5 miles were a real test of endurance for me. I could feel the pace getting slower. I had a couple of water stops where I walked so that I could drink the whole bottle. The hill at 23 miles was painful and I had to walk up that one and give myself a bit of a rant.

I could hear the finishing announcement as I turned into the road alongside the river. I felt close to tears and felt sorry for myself but the crowds were so encouraging especially the very loud ones sitting outside the pub. There was still a mile to go but it felt endless. It was a matter of pushing against what I thought I could do to get into the park. I felt so sick but I wouldn’t let myself slow down.

Katrina just yards from the finish

It was such joy to turn a corner and to see the finish before I was expecting it. I could hear the cheers but it was John’s voice that was loudest. I remember thinking that he’s more excited than me! He most probably was because I was throwing up in a cardboard bowl with the photographer from the Daily Mail trying to be sensitive to my wretches and needing to take the finishing photos. Thanks to him he took a photo once I had recovered slightly.

Thanks to Debbie for getting me into this situation and John for making me train.

Katrina in the Daily Mail ...

2011-10-03T20:52:00.004+01:00

I haven't got the pdf file so it will have to be a scanned copy of the paper .... but hopefully you can read it okay ...

Plans for 2012

2011-10-03T09:39:00.007+01:00

I've not been running for the last six weeks but I'm about ready to get going again. My left Achilles is still slightly sore so I'm going to be doing easy runs for the forseable future. No speed work until I feel my Achilles can cope with it.

I have been thinking a lot about next year and what I want to do. I made the decision not to run the West Highland Way next year half way along the Lairig Mor as I struggled to finish this year's race.

Up until this year as soon as the race is over I'm ready and looking forward to next year. But not this year. I didn't enjoy the race much and really feel I need a break for at least a year having run it for 5 years. I love the race too much and so I'll still be involved.

I've been asked to take over the web site and also to coordinate the results on the day so I'll still be there and able to put something back into the race.

So what should I target for next year?

Firstly I'd talked to Katrina about running the Highland Fling together and suprisingly she agreed! So we are going to train and run the 53mile ultra from Milngavie to Tyndrum on Saturday 28th April 2012.

Given how well Katrina is running at the moment I fear she may be the one waiting for me!!

The main race I'm targetting for 2012 is the .....

Ever since I heard about this race a few years ago I really wanted to do it. I love the Lakes having spent a good number of holidays there with my parents and friends.

I didn't feel I could do both the whw and Lakeland 100 in the same year but since I've decided not to run the whw next year the way is open.

My friend Dave Troman, who lives in Keswick, suggested we could train together so it's all falling into place. I'm really looking forward to training on a completely different route with no previous times to compare myself with!

So I entered at 9.05am last Saturday (the entries opened at 9am!). On the last look there are already 184 entries. There are only 300 places so if you're interested apply now!

Here is the blurb about the race from the web site ....

The Lakeland 100

5:30pm, Friday July 27th 2012 - 9:30am, Sunday July 29th 2012.

The Lakeland 100 'Ultra Tour of the Lake District' is the most spectacular long distance trail race which has ever taken place within the UK. The circular route encompasses the whole of the lakeland fells, includes in the region of 6300m of ascent and consists almost entirely of public bridleways and footpaths.

The route starts in Coniston and heads South before completing a clockwise loop which takes in the Dunnerdale fells, Eskdale, Wasdale and Buttermere before arriving in Keswick. From here the route heads to Matterdale and continues over to Haweswater before returning via Kentmere, Ambleside and Elterwater to the finish at Coniston.

The route does not pass over any of the 'popular' Lakeland summits. Instead, it weaves it's way through stunning valleys, coutours picturesque fells and cuts it's own line through the amazing Lakeland topography.

The Lakeland 100 will take you to places in Cumbria you may never have visited before and it's likely you'll wonder why.The event is continous in nature, competitors don't have to stop or sleep on the route and the winners are generally expected to finish close to the 23 hour mark.

The overall time available for the route is 40 hours so sleep at intermediate checkpoints is possible, but time is not on your side.There are 14 manned checkpoints on the course which are compulsory to visit, food and drink is available at each.

Checkpoints generally consist of village halls (where available), staffed by our support team who are ready to greet you, feed you and encourage you onwards. The 40 hours available to complete the course may seem manageable upon your first calculations but don't be fooled.

The climb, descent, rugged terrain, darkness and tricky navigation generally ensure a 50-60% failure rate over the 100 mile course. Seasoned ultra runners have tried and many have failed, a finisher's medal in the Lakeland 100 is possibly one of the most treasured possessions you will ever receive.

There are few things in life for which you will have to work so hard, show such commitment, desire and the simple stubbornness to keep going.. the minority who have completed the event will concur.The 100 mile event starts at 5.30pm on the Friday evening and the final cut off will be 9.30am Sunday morning.

You can choose to enter the event as a solo participant, as part of a pair or as part of a 3 person team. Pairs and teams must remain together at all times on the course.The event requires competitors to be experienced ultra distance runners with excellent navigation skills.

The drop out rate for this event is a warning signal for anyone contemplating entry, the majority of those who fail are inadequately prepared. Before considering an entry, consider the preparation, consider the hours and consider what it takes to complete the Lakeland 100. If it was easy, it wouldn't be an achievement.

I see some familar races in the start list already including Ross Moreland, Mark Leggart, Jon Steele, Shirley Colquhoun and of course 2010 winner Stuart Mills.

I'm really looking forward to next year and the new challenges I've set myself. Of course you will be able (if you want to!) to follow all my preparation and training here at my blog!

Katrina's splits

2011-10-03T07:35:00.003+01:00

For those interested here are Katrina's splits for her marathon ...

I've put the photos I took on Flickr. Some are a mist fuzzy due to the rain ...

Loch Ness Marathon Photos

Katrina's Loch Ness Marathon

2011-10-02T22:49:00.004+01:00

What a great weekend ... more details to come but quick update ...

I cycled the 26miles from Inverness back to the start on my bike (beating the buses I might add!!)

Here we are before the start .....

I then saw Katrina at 2miles, 12miles, 20miles and the finish.

Katrina finishing (thanks to Debs for the picture) ...

... and afterwards ....

Katrina finished her first marathon in 3hrs 50mins 46secs!! Very impressive.

Katrina finished 689th (out of over 4,000) and was 125th female and 13th over 50.

The winner of 'Guess Katrina's time' is Johny Smash (Dale Jamieson) who guessed 3:51:22 just 36secs out.

Look out for Katrina's photos and final article in tomorrow's Scottish Daily Mail.

'Guess Katrina's Time'

2011-10-01T09:00:00.000+01:00

There have been 27 entries to see who will be the closest to Katrina's actual time. It was good to see that no-one said DNF as Katrina is determined to get to the end.

There is an interesting spread of times. I really think Katrina is capable of running under 4hrs but as this is her first ever marathon and it is difficult to guess what will happen after 3hrs of running it is an unknown quantity.

I just hope she enjoys it and finishes knowing that she's achieved something very special. There aren't many people who can run for 26miles 385yards.

Loch Ness Marathon

2011-09-30T16:16:00.005+01:00

With less than two days to go before the Loch Ness Marathon Katrina's third diary entry was published in the Scottish Daily Mail today. For those who don't live in Scotland or don't want to buy the Daily Mail here it is ....

Katrina, like lots of other Marathon virgins, just wants to get going and do it now. It has been dominating her thoughts. This morning she told me she was even dreaming about running last night!!

Our plans are to leave after my swimming lessons about 1.30pm tomorrow and drive straight to Inverness hopefully arriving in time to register. We are going with our friend Grant in his car because it's a 7 seater and so room for my bike and room to relax on the way home.

I'll be driving on the way home as I don't expect Grant will be able to!!

My plan on race day is to get Katrina & Grant to the end and onto the buses by 7am. Then I'm going to cycle back to the start or as near as I can. Then I'll follow the race from my bike stopping at various points to cheer the runners on.

Debs has managed to get us VIP hospitality tickets so I don't want to miss the free lunch!

I've 18 guesses so far for my 'Guess Katrina's time' so you have until 9am tomorrow morning to enter!

I'll be tweeting on the way so if you want to follow Katrina's progress visit my twitter or facebook pages. It will also update here as well.

Finally I want to wish all those running a great run and I hope you achieve your goal.

CMUDC2011 Video Part 2

2011-09-28T08:42:00.001+01:00

CMUDC2011 Video Part 1

2011-09-28T08:15:00.003+01:00

Here is Part 1 of my video diary of the Scotland team competing in the 24hr race starting at 12noon on Friday 23rd September 2011 ...

Part 2 to come asap

Superb weekend

2011-09-26T20:52:00.003+01:00

We had a great weekend in North Wales following the Scotland team taking part in the 24hr road race at Llandudno, the Hill races at Llanberis and the Trail race at Newborough Forest on Anglesea.

Debs, Sharon and Pauline were amazing and fully deserved to win the bronze medal in the team prize. I took loads of video clips and I'm putting it together so watch out for that over the next few days.

The whw web site that I've been working on has now gone live. It gives all the details for the 2012 race......

Races this weekend

2011-09-21T19:30:00.000+01:00

There are lots of races going on this weekend. Here are three of them that I'm particularly interested in ...

1. Hardmoors 60
Saturday 24th September starts 8am

This is the first running of this race and completes the series of races on the Cleveland Way. This race covers the second half of the route from Saltburn to Filey.

When I did the Hardmoors 110 a couple of years ago I found this second really, really hard but I had run 55miles in 12 hours through the night by that time.

According to the web site there are a good number who have entered and I'm sure it will be another great race. I wish everyone running a successful run - just watch out for all those steps up and down, up and down.

2. River Ayr Way Race
Saturday 24th September starts 9am

I should be running this race and see that my name is still on the start list but sadly I felt it was better to try and rest my Achilles so I'm ready for next year.

There are over 100 on the start list and again I'm sure it will be a great race and I look forward to hearing all about it.

3. Commonwealth Mountain & Ultra Distance Championships
Friday 24th - Sunday 26th September

When I decided I wasn't going to run the RAW I thought it would be great to go down and support Debs, Sharon and co running for Scotland in the Championships.

There are three main races over the weekend and hopefully we'll get to see all of them.

Our plan is to drive down to Liverpool on Thursday night after work and spend the night with my Mum in Liverpool.

Then Friday morning we'll head over to Llandudno in time for the 24hr race starting at 12noon. Debs, Sharon, Pauline, Richie, Paul, Steven and William are representing Scotland. Plus it will be good to encourage Chris C (England) whose blog I follow.

I've been asked to help with support for the Scotland team when the main support team are taking a break so I'm looking forward to helping .... and Debs has promsied to be on her best behaviour!

I had thought about camping but I've booked us into a b&b in Llandudno which has pleased Katrina no end!! There are some open races including a 5k race which I'd hoped Katrina could do but the entry date has passed.

Once the 24hr race is over we'll head down to Llanberis in time to watch the Mountain Races. Callum and Christina from Kilbarchan are running so it will be good to cheer them on.

My sister and husband just happen to be staying in a cottage on Anglesea over the weekend and have a spare room so we are going to join them Saturday night.

Sunday morning we'll go with them to church in Bangor where my nephrew has just started working as an assistant Pastor.

Then hopefully we'll have time to head over to Newborough Forest to see the end of the Trail Races and see Lucy, Kate and Matt amongst others.

So it looks like it will be a great weekend of spectating rather than running.

I'll be taking my phone so look out for updates on twitter (jkynaston), facebook and here!

Plus I'll post photos and video clips after the event.

Kilbarchan also have an event this Saturday - the George Cummings Road Relay at Houston.

I have 11 guesses for my 'Guess Katrina's time' for Loch Ness Marathon. You have just over a week if you want to take part. Katrina has promised me that she will write a report of the race which I'll post here.

The whw web site that I've been working on is almost ready to go live. We are aiming for next Wednesday

I've been asking for advice on 'How do you train for the whw race?' to go on a training page so if you've done the race and want to share some thoughts please send them to me .... johnkynaston@westhighlandwayrace.org

Or if you have a set of photos of the race from any year that I can link to please get in touch. Thanks

'Guess Katrina's Time' Competition

2011-09-15T17:05:00.001+01:00

A few friends have asked whether I will be doing a 'Guess My Time' competition for Katrina's debut Marathon on Sunday 2nd October.

Katrina is not too keen as she doesn't want the pressure of people's expectations but since she does read this blog then I thought I'd do it and not tell her .... until afterwards!

So if you want to take part all you have to do is guess in hours, minutes and seconds how long you think Katrina will take to finish the 26miles 385yards Loch Ness Marathon.

To give you an idea Katrina ran 1.44.35 for the Glasgow Half Marathon two weeks ago. Katrina has said that she'll be happy with anything under 4hrs 30mins.

It's hard to know just how she'll find those last 5-6miles but that's the fun in trying to guess.

Send your guesses by 9am on Saturday 1st October .....
1. Leaving a comment on this blog
2. Text me on 07905 218162
3. Facebook (don't worry Katrina doesn't look at facebook either!!)
4. Twitter - jkynaston

There will be a small token prize for the closest guess.

Katrina went to Edinburgh on Monday night and Katrina was fitted with a new pair of running shoes curtesy of Run and Become, Edinburgh. This was part of Katrina's fame as a Scottish Daily Mail Columnist! She went for a pair of Mizuno 'Wave Alchemy 11' and seems very happy with them so far.

The plan is for Katrina to run in them over the next couple of weeks and then decide whether to use them in the Marathon or stick with her Asics.

Finally a comment on my own training. My Achilles is feeling a lot better but there is still some pain if I push down on it. I'm enjoying have a few weeks off running and I'm getting out on the my bike a few days a week which I'm really loving.

I'm not spending as much time on my blog but I've been asked to take over the whw web site so I've been doing that instead! Hopefully it will go live in October. I'm enjoying setting it up with all the things I hope people would want on the site.

Katrina's long run ... in the rain

2011-09-11T20:50:00.003+01:00

This afternoon Katrina set off for her longest run ever with the Loch Ness Marathon 3 weeks away.

Katrina was joined by Tracey and Grant who both ran last Sunday in the Great Scottish Run Half Marathon and will also be doing the Marathon at Loch Ness.The weather was awful with wind and rain but they ran really well.

Here is a picture at the start before the rain really started!

I followed round on my bike and was able to provide drinks and support.

Here they are at about 7miles and at 9miles ...

They all wanted to try out a gel before the long hill at Kilbarchan so I had them ready for them....

Grant and Tracey managed to eat theirs okay but Katrina hated it and was almost sick trying to eat it! So I don't think she'll be using that at Loch Ness.

From about 10miles Katrina & Tracey pushed on and I stayed with Grant. They all did really well and if they can manage a 20mile run in those conditions they can handle anything.

Tracey ran home and I took a photo of Grant & Katrina at the end ...

Here is their route ....

... and her splits ....

Recce cycle ride

2011-09-08T18:27:00.007+01:00

On Sunday Katrina will be doing her longest run in preparation for the Loch Ness Marathon. She's running with her friends Tracy and Grant.

Initially I had planned to run with them as my longest run before RAW but I'll be supporting on my push bike instead. I decided to recce the route tonight so I had a good idea of how far it is.

I chose a hilly course as I thought that would be good preparation for Loch Ness. So here is the route they'll be running this Sunday afternoon ...

Katrina's splits from Sunday's half marathon make interesting viewing. Her pb for 10k was 49.01 which she did in May at Troon. Katrina ran faster than that, 48.28, during the half marathon and still had another 7miles to do!

So things are looking good for Loch Ness. I put in her half marathon time to a race predictor and this is what it came up with ...

It predicts a 3.40 marathon!!!! Please don't tell Katrina that one!

Plans for the next month

2011-09-05T17:41:00.004+01:00

I've not run for two weeks now and my left Achilles is feeling a bit better but when I squeeze it I know it's not quite right. Thanks to those who have offered help and advice especially Robert who left a helpful comment on my post a few days ago.

I'd planned to take a few weeks off running completely once the RAW race was over and so I've decided to take a month off from now. So that will be 6 weeks in total. So my first run should be Monday 3rd October, a day after Katrina's Loch Ness Marathon.

We'll see if I can keep to it but I really feel I need a break both physically and mentally. Don't get me wrong I love to run and I don't normally feel I need a break but this year has been tough and I think it will be good to let the niggles I have to rest and hopefully recover.

I'm not going to be sitting on my backside all the time .... well I might actually as I'm going to be doing a fair amount of cycling to keep some sort of fitness up.

It will also mean that I can prove to Katrina that I'm not obsessed with this blog! I'll post something once a week or so to update on my progress and cycling but not (almost) every day as it's been for the last five years!!

I will also keep the updates on Katrina's running going as well. So maybe I'll post more than once a week. Speaking of Katrina Silke left a comment that looking at the results she finished 8th in the W50-55 group. Plus according to the age-graded results it was 72.1% Impressive.

I will be doing a 'Guess Katrina's Time' for the Loch Ness Marathon as long as no-one tells her. She doesn't want the pressure! I'll open it after her long 20mile run on Sunday.

A massive pb for Katrina ...

2011-09-04T16:38:00.004+01:00

Katrina had been feeling a little under the weather over the last day or so but Silke suggested she took a lem slip before the race and it seemed to help.

I cycled into Glasgow and met Katrina at George Square after she'd caught the bus (the train was off). We met up with Thomas & Silke and our friend Grant.

As Katrina headed to the blue start area I headed up the hill to watch the leaders run by.

Once Katrina & Grant had gone by I jumped on my bike and cycled to Bellahouston Park. I happened to see Katrina on the way and took this photo at about 3.5miles ...

It looked as thought she was going well but it was getting hot. I then cycled to Bellahouston Park and waited to see Katrina go by. I waited for quite a while seeing a few friends runs by. I then realised I must have missed Katrina so cycled to the exit of Pollok Park.

I saw Silke who had started about 7mins ahead of Katrina go by. Then I saw Katrina and took this photo ...

It made me realise how hard it is to see people with so many running. This photo was taken just before the 9miles mark and I worked out that Katrina was running faster than 8mins a mile and was on target for finishing under 1hrs 50mins.

I cycled on and waited for a while at the drinks station at 11miles but realised I must have missed Katrina again and made my way to the finish.

I found her at the finish with Silke & Thomas.

Katrina finished in an incredible 1hr 44mins 35secs. I thought she could go near or maybe just under 1hr 50mins but that was even better than I thought. So well done Katrina ... a very impressive run. Katrina ran 15mins faster than her half marathon debut in March at Inverness.

Here we are at the end ...

I cycled just over 28miles in my ride to and from Glasgow and round the route. It was good fun supporting! We met up with Neal and Caroline at the finish as well.

Here are Katrina's splits ....

Photos from the run

Katrina's second diary entry in the Scottish Daily Mail ....

2011-09-02T07:17:00.003+01:00

Here is Katrina's second article in the Scottish Daily Mail. I loved being married to a celebrity!!!

Visit to the Physio and decision made ...

2011-09-01T20:53:00.002+01:00

I had my appointment tonight with Kath at Newlands Physiotherapy. When I rang to make the appointment Kath said, 'Oh Yes the Blog Man!!'

Kath listened to my tale of woe (the shortened version!) and then examined my Achilles. Interestingly my left calf muscle is 1cm larger than my right and Kath feels that I've been favouring that side to compensate for my right foot which was the problem last year.

Kath then did some ultra sound on the Achilles and some massage. I explained to Kath that I wasn't sure whether I should do the RAW race as it may do more damage and set me back further. At one point Kath said, 'It sounds like you want me to tell you not to do it!'

She was right and it made me realise that my heart is not in running the RAW. On the way home I thought about the reasons for and against doing the race. The only reason I could think of for doing it was that I have entered and said I would do it.

The list for not doing it is a lot longer and I feel that I have very little to gain but a lot to lose. I would rather make sure I get it sorted now with some very easy runs and lots of stretches so that I'm ready for the challenges of 2012 .... but that's for another post.

So I'm going to withdraw from the RAW race. I've not withdrawn from an ultra in the five years I've been running them but would rather not start than start and not be able to finish.

So we now have a free weekend. It is the long weekend so both Katrina & I have Friday and Monday off. What to do? ... I know we'll go to Llandudno and support Debs & Sharon in the 24hr race. Sorted.

Katrina is looking forward to the Glasgow Half Marathon and is running well. I reckon she'll be nearer 1hr 50mins than 2hrs but please don't tell her I said that!!

Make sure you buy the Scottish Daily Mail tomorrow as Katrina's second diary entry is in the paper. I'll post it for those who don't live in Scotland or who don't want to buy it!!

Achilles, Cycling, Hollie & UTMB

2011-08-29T17:50:00.005+01:00

I've not run since the club session last Monday night and my left Achilles is still sore. I can walk fine but if I try to run I can feel it straight away and don't really want to do any more damage. So I've decided not to run for a few more days and reassess.

I must admit the RAW race is looking slightly dodgy. I was in the same position last year but it was my foot then. Last year I was very keen to run the race as I had a chance of 3rd place in the SUMS Super-Seniors. This year I'm well off the pace and so not sure I really want to run it if my Achilles is still sore.

I'll give it another week or two before deciding.

I'm so glad I have my new bike so at least I can get out and do some exercise. I cycled into work and then took a long detour home ....

I've not cycled over the Erskine Bridge before so that was fun even though it was very windy!! So 24.69miles in 1.32. The sun was shining and it was fun trying to keep the average speed up around 16mph!

I really enjoyed following the UTMB race over the weekend. I kept myself busy updating a blog I set up for the weekend. It got over 2,500 hits over the weekend so it was worth doing. I know it's sad but it was exciting seeing how friends were getting on just by the times at checkpoints and wondering how they were feeling at various points.

Following friends like John Malcolm and Ian King at the end as they battled to finish before the cut off was nerve racking!! They both took over 44hours! The most I have have ran is 31hrs at the Hardmoors in 2009. To be out for another 13hrs plus the mountains they climb. So well done to all of them.

Yesterday our daughter Hollie gave her report to Hopehall Church. She did really well. Here is a picture of us .....

Jo, Emma, Katrina, Hollie, Me, Laura & Josh

As part of her talk she did a video which give a good feel of what she did in Ghana for the 6 months ....

Cycle Ride rather than a run

2011-08-23T19:07:00.003+01:00

My plan for today was to run home from work but my left Achilles has been quite sore today so I decided to switch the run for a cycle.

I set off from home at 5.15pm and headed straight up the hill. I made it all the way up on the top ring (Tim ... please note!). I carried on to Lugton turned left and dode back home through Barrhead and a tour of Paisley.

All in all it was 24.18miles in 1hr 28mins 45secs. Here is my route ....

Encouragingly my Achilles felt a lot better after the ride but I'm not going to run for another couple of days and see how it feels on Friday.

There are a number of whw family running the UTMB this weekend so I've set up a blog so we can follow their progress. Have a look ....

http://followingutmb2011.blogspot.com/

Monday Fartlek session

2011-08-22T21:51:00.003+01:00

There was a good group of us tonight for our weekly Fartlek session. I spent the night trying to stay ahead of Donald and Derek for as long as I could and then when they went past me I tried to hang on as long as possible.

I was hoping that I'd run over 5miles for the 30mins and was pleased to see that I had when I downloaded the run ...

I was pushing hard right through the whole session and I was pleased to see that my pace got faster as the session went on.

The only downside was my left Achilles was quite sore by the end. I really hope it eases off. I'm going to have to be really careful over the next few weeks. I think I should give these Monday nights a miss as it definitely is worse on the speed sessions.

Mon 22nd Aug Run Details

9.28miles

Running with Paul Giblin on the Braes

2011-08-21T10:35:00.000+01:00

I'd not met Paul until this morning. I'd met his Mum a couple of days after the whw race as Paul had left his jacket and as Paul lived in Paisley I was given it to return to him.

We have exchanged messages via twitter and said it would be good to go for a run together sometime. So this week I sent Paul a message saying I was planning a run up on the Braes this morning.

Paul arrived at 7.45am and we set off up the Braes. Even though Paul runs regularly on the Braes he was happy to follow my route which was basically the same as his anyway. We chatted the whole way round and it was really good to get to know Paul better.

I also appreciated the fact that Paul was happy to run at my pace. In fact I don't think there was a bead of sweat on Paul at the end was it was probably a comfortable recovery run for him.

Paul has had an amazing first year of ultra running winning the Cateran Trail and finishing 5th in the whw race despite getting lost coming into Kinlochleven, losing at least an hour in the process. He is running the Speyside Way next Saturday and the RAW race so it will be interesting to see how he gets on in those.

We paused for a photo at the cairn at the top of the loop. On a good day you can see Ben Lomond from here but it was a bit cloudy today.

I didn't look at my watch at all for the whole run and only realised that I forgot to start the watch again after this photo when I got home and saw I'd only run 6.05miles! Paul tells me it was 10.89miles. So thanks for the run Paul and I look forward to following your progress in the next few weeks.

So it's been a good solid week of running and cycling. I've run 32miles and cycled 53miles. The River Ayr Way race is 5 weeks away so the next 2-3 weeks will be the key ones to work on my fitness.

Sun 21st Aug Run Details

10.89miles (Enjoyment: 5)

Another cycle, run, cycle day

2011-08-19T18:56:00.003+01:00

I had an office based day today so it was a good day to cycle to and from work. But I also wanted to get a run in so decided on doing both again.

My cycle in takes about 25mins and it doesn't feel I'm working too hard. It was a lovely morning to cycle and I'm certainly enjoying my morning commute.

At lunch time I decided to go on a slightly different route to my normal one ....

Once again I tried to run as I felt and made sure I eased off once or twice when I felt I was pushing it a bit too hard.

This morning I rang our doctors surgery to find out the results of the bloods that were taken on Monday. They came back all clear and normal so that's good. So it's all in my head then!

Fri 19th Aug Run Details

5.89miles (enjoyment: 3)

First proper cycle ride

2011-08-18T21:07:00.005+01:00

Don't worry ... I'm not going to blog every cycle ride I do but I thought my first proper ride deserved an entry!

One of my colleagues from work asked me did I fancy going for a ride. Alix and her husband Jamie are keen cyclists so I was looking forward to having a ride with Alix.

Here we are setting off ....

Alix certainly wouldn't lose sight of me in that top!!

Here is the route we took ....

The first few miles were on quite busy roads but once we turned off towards Bishopton we could ride side by side and have a good chat as we rode.

I'm really enjoying my new bike. It's so good having a decent bike that you can get some speed on. It was a lovely evening with a little wind but the views were great looking down towards Port Glasgow with Ben Lomond away in the distance.

At about the half way point a cyclist went past us going the other way. He stopped and shouted after us. He said, 'Are you John? I've been watching your videos!' His name is Joe and he has entered the Hardmoors 60 race in a few weeks.

Joe said that he has walked the Cleveland Way and heard about the race and is really keen to run it. The only problem is he is struggling a bit with an injury but hopefully he'll be okay and complete it.

So it was fun to have a chat about ultra running in the middle of our ride.

We came back along the cycle track from Kilmacolm. Unfortunately Alix got a puncture but we soon changed her inner tube and continued on our way.

We were out for a couple of hours and it was good fun. Thanks Alix for your company!

More thoughts on measuring enjoyment of runs

2011-08-17T17:05:00.001+01:00

Today I planned to cycle to and from work and then run tomorrow but a friend asked whether I wanted to go on a cycle tomorrow night after work. So I decided to run today but I still wanted to cycle so I did both.

An easy cycle into work using the cycle track. I won't go that way again as there were too many stops and starts getting through gates, over payments etc. Then an easy cycle home along the roads.

At lunch time I ran my Pollok Park loop. I set off nice and steady and then decided to run as I felt. I felt good so pushed the pace and ended up with a tempo run, ie pace under 7.20min/per mile.

I've been thinking a bit more about my enjoyment of runs especially after Thomas L's comment ...
well, one thing I wanted to ask. On top of the above said (by all the comments) I would have thought that you are the runner who used to enjoy all your runs. It used to be your trademark saying "I really enjoyed my run today". And that was the case for almost ALL your runs. Has that changed over the last year? Are you enjoying your runs less than you used to? Or more generally speaking are you not enjoying your running as much as you used to?

I do continue to enjoy my runs as much as ever. I think the reason I stopped writing 'I really enjoyed my run today' was that I was getting stick from certain people (you know who you are) for writing it each time!

I think that has been one of the frustrations this year. I can honestly say I've really enjoyed my training. I have run with Ross M on all the long runs on the whw and we've had a great time running together.

I have loved seeing the way Ross has grown in confidence and ability over the year. If I've helped him in any way that's a bonus. I know it's been good for me running with Ross. Our two day run was one of the highlights of my running year.

I've also run quite a bit with Katrina which has been fun. I'm starting to get worried though about the day she beats me!!

So I would say my enjoyment and motivation for training is as high as ever. The runs I've haven't enjoyed are the races. Both the whw and the Devils were real battles to finish. I got some satisfaction in finishing them but it wasn't the same feeling as I've had in the past when I've achieved the goals I set out with.

I have decided to measure my runs on a 1-5 scale rather than 1-3 Matt Fitzgerald suggests. Otherwise I'd end up with loads of 2's and it wouldn't tell me much.

Wed 17th Aug Run Details

6.41miles (enjoyment: 4)

Monday Fartlek session

2011-08-15T21:39:00.002+01:00

I was looking forward to getting back to the Club for a Fartlek session tonight. I enjoy the atmosphere of the run and the fact that I have several runners to chase or who are chasing me!

Katrina, as most weeks, was feeling a bit nervous before hand about whether she'd keep up. I just ignore it now as I know that on the way home she'll be full of it having really enjoyed the session.

There was a good turn out tonight. Hayley and Emma ran off after the warm up and did their own session. I spent the night chasing Donald and Derek and trying to keep ahead of the rest of the pack.

I set off on the first of the three 5min runs fairly cautious but my Achilles seemed okay so I pushed harder on each of the runs from then on.

Here are the stats ...

I was really pleased with that and felt strong right to the end. It's difficult to reach the 5mile mark when there are 3 x 5min so I was very happy with 4.91miles.

So a good session and I think I'll give myself a 3 for enjoyment as I felt a lot better and stronger than I thought I might.

Tomorrow I'm on a tutor course with work on Positive Coaching Scotland (PCS). I'm looking forward to it as there is a lot of really good material in the course.

Mon 15th Aug Run Details

8.83miles (enjoyment: 3)

Measuring runs by enjoyment

2011-08-14T10:20:00.000+01:00

Between now and my last ultra race of the year, the 42mile River Ayr Way Race, on Saturday 24th September, I don't really have a training plan.

At the beginning of the year I did have a plan set out but as things have not really gone well in the three races so far I've decided to ditch that and improvise on the way.

I'm still working my way through Matt Fitzgerald's book...

In the chapter on 'Run Happy' he suggests that alongside measuring weekly mileage, intensity of effort etc we should also monitor our enjoyment of training.

Matt explains that enjoyment (alongside confidence) is the primary experimental evidence that your training is effective, while lack of enjoyment is your unconscious brain's way of telling you that your training is not working.

So I'm going to follow Matt's very simple system for monitoring training enjoyment for the next 6 weeks or so.

After completing each run Matt suggests you assign a score of 1,2 or 3. Rate a '1' if it was, on balance, not enjoyable. 'On balance' because most runs have both pleasant and unpleasant aspects. So a score of '1' indicates not that the run was completely unpleasant but that its unpleasant aspects outweighed the pleasant ones.

Rate the run '2' if it was about equally pleasant and unpleasant. Rate the run a '3' if it was on balance, enjoyable. You need to score every run and hopefully a pattern will emerge.

I have a feeling though that I might need to have a scale of 1-5 otherwise they may well all end up as 2s. I reckon there aren't many runs where I'd put a 1.

So in my vague plan for the next 6 weeks I'm only going to run 3-4 times a week and go on some cycle rides on my new bike. I need to think about what long runs I want to do. I'll be running 20miles with Katrina 2 weeks before the RAW but not sure as yet what else I'll do.

I may do a recce run on the RAW route but that depends on whether anyone else wants to do that. But not quite sure when I could do it anyway.

This morning it was nice to get out at 8.30am with the sun shining and feeling good. My left achilles was sore for the first 5mins or so but then eased off and was fine for the rest fo the run.

I wore my watch but didn't look at it and tried to keep my breathing easy. I spent some of the run thinking about the comment Robert left on my recent post. He mentioned that it seemed to be that my fitness is good for distances up to 3-4hrs when I'm mainly burning carbohydrates but I'm struggling when my body is having to burn fats.

I remember when I did my fitness test at Hampden that Graeme said my body was good at using fat as an energy source. I wonder if that has changed? Maybe I should repeat the test?

Sun 14th Aug run details

6.52miles (enjoyment: 2)