Well, I made it back. I've decided not to write a report on the Scottish Championships 5000m. Suffice to say it didn't quite go the way I wanted it to. I clocked 15:17.91 but I was tired and flat and faded badly. Time to move on.
I got home from holiday in the early hours of Friday 29th July. I ticked over during my 10 days away. Sadly, I was victim to an opportunist thief, having my backpack stolen. Thankfully no crucial items were taken but it did contain my Garmin watch and this year's training diary. Back to a stopwatch and onto this blog to fill in the gaps in my training. With no more big championships until the winter, I'm looking to run without pressure for a wee while. Over a couple of black coffees at the swimming pool, I came up with some races. Dundonald was the first.
I prepared with a High Point hill session on Saturday, a Sunday long run in Dundonald, an interval session of alternate 2 minute and 1 minute efforts on Monday and a 20 minute jog on Tuesday. Dundonald is a firm favourite. I've run the race every year bar one since 2002. I've been runner up a couple of times to Kilmarnock Harrier Keith Haining then Cambuslang's Kerry Wilson then won for the first time in 2010. It's a beautiful little village in Ayrshire boasting a castle built in the 1300s for King Robert II of Scotland. It was a royal residence for the Stuart line of succession to the Scottish throne for around 150 years. There you go, the William and Kate of the 14th century resided in humble little Dundonald.
Having arrived via a tour of some quaint Ayrshire villages due to a road closure, I convened with everyone else at the start line beside the war memorial. I met and spoke to Claire McArthur, a friend of a friend (Kirsty Grant), warning her to conserve energy during the hilly first half. We had a general chit chat after that then were set on our way out of Dundonald into the wild Ayrshire countryside.
I knew the course had 12 hills. I counted them on my Sunday run. Coming up to a mile, I slowly started edging away from the field. A good, strong run was important to me. I counted the hills as a means of concentrating. I felt the best I had in ages. Hill 8 was the steepest, a long climb into another village, Symington. I jokingly used the Tour de France term for an uncategorised climb to describe it, hors categorie. Not quite the Alpe d'Huez mountain pass but it kept me amused. In Symington, I took the first exit at a mini roundabout, negotiated Hill 9 onto the Main Street then Hill 10 out of the village. 3 miles and 10 hills in, I had burned off the opposition and was heading back to Dundonald.
The second half of the race is predominately flat and downhill. Hill 11 was a minor rise in the road but it was significant enough to me to be called a hill. With a clear lead, I focussed on maintaining momentum and keeping up with the lead car. A child outside a caravan park cruelly imitated my running action. Brat! Between 4 and 5 miles you see the castle on the horizon. This was a good focus as well. It was great to be running strongly and not having blown apart for the first time in a couple of races.
I re-entered Dundonald Main Street to some applause from the locals, negotiated Hill 12 (a small rise towards the former royal residence) then completed a lap of the playing field to claim the win, £40 and a photo with the patron of the Dundonald Highland Games in a course best of 32:12. Claire was the winning lady in a time of 38:45, a "post-baby" personal best which apparently describes your fastest time at a distance since embracing motherhood. Fellow blogger Ian Goudie came through in just over 44 minutes. It was good to catch up with him.
Overall, this was a thoroughly good night. The race went well and I met up with a number of people, including an old friend from university, Richard Dobson, who is now a qualified doctor in Clydebank's Jubilee Hospital. Look for this race in the calendar. It's a hidden gem.
For Ian Goudie's version of events, click here.
For Ian Goudie's version of events, click here.
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