2014- My Year In Running

2014 Statistics

2014 in words and numbers.

Races- 28, constituted thus:-

Road- 12

Track- 11 (10 outdoors, 1 indoors)

Cross Country- 4
Trail- 1

1st places- 3 (includes team position in Lanarkshire Road Relay)
2nd places- 6
3rd places- 5 (includes team position in National Road Relay)

Clubs and Regions Represented:-

Ronhill Cambuslang Harriers- 20

Whitemoss- 7

West of Scotland- 1 (Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships)

Personal or Course Bests Set
9 (not including courses run for the first time)

Championship Results:-

Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships (8km)- 27:01, 12th place, team silver
Scottish National Cross Country Championships (12km)- did not finish
Scottish National Road Relay Championships (3.15 miles, 1st leg)- 15:47, team silver
Scottish and West District 10 Mile Road Race Championships (both incorporated in the Tom Scott Road Race)- 53:44, Scottish individual bronze, Scottish team silver, West individual bronze
Scottish Track 10,000m Championships- 31:07, individual bronze
Scottish 5km Road Race Championships- 15:02, 7th place, team gold
Scottish Track 5000m- 15:45, 11th place
Scottish West District 10km Road Race Championships- 31:28, individual gold
Scottish 10km Road Race Championships- 30:34, 5th place, team bronze
Lanarkshire Road Relay Championships (4km, 4th leg)- 12:22, team gold
Scottish National Cross Country Relay Championships (4km, 3rd leg)- 13:43, 6th placed team

Scottish West District Cross Country Championships (10km approx)- 36:07, 11th place, team gold

Other Achievements
Scottish Road Running Grand Prix, 4th place
 

Longest Race
Half Marathon
 

Shortest Race
800m

Best Race
Any of the races above where I won individual and/or team medals could qualify. However, for the level of preparation and sacrifice put in (an overnight stay in Carlisle the day before the race), my 5000m personal best of 14:46.44 at the BMC meeting in Manchester gave me huge satisfaction.

Worst Race
I could easily point to the National Cross Country but I barely ran any of the race (around half of the first of the three 4km laps) to make a review worthwhile. Out of the races I completed, the 5000m at the Scottish Championships in Kilmarnock (result above) was so poor, I didn't write a report. The weather was against me (due to my asthma, I don't cope well with strong winds) but I still put up little resistance which was the most disappointing aspect.

A close second was my leg at the National Cross Country Relay. I was experiencing huge stress in my previous employment at the time and, on the day, I simply went through the motions.
 

Most Enjoyable Race
One run for the first time, the Kilmaurs Gala 5km Road Race. I nearly missed it because I couldn't find the venue but thankfully I did. An honourable mention also for the Dundonald 10km Road Race the following week, an old favourite I returned to in 2014 after a 3 year absence.

Summary
Initially, I think of 2014 as a patchy year but, on closer review, there is a lot to be proud of. Something I haven't mentioned until now was winning the first ever individual title of my near 20 year athletics career, the West District 10km at Kirkintilloch. A huge contributing factor to my National DNF in February was the huge mistake in October 2013 of running a marathon. It took me months to recover. When I did though, I got some rewards.

The perception of patchiness could be attributed to me racing only once in the final 2 months of the year due to turbulent employment circumstances. Still, what's happened has happened and I'm now re-establishing myself elsewhere in the hope that calmer waters will lead to more consistency of performance in training and races. I have said before that a boring, consistent training diary is my favourite kind. Should my 2015 edition turn into a cure for insomnia, you won't find anyone happier!

Scottish Inter District Cross Country Championships, 10th January 2015

With selection for the West team coming my way after the District Cross Country, the Inter District Cross Country became the first of my two primary targets this winter, the Armagh 5km Road Race on 19th February being the other. Training through December then the festive period was as good as I've produced in some time. At one point, I strung together 11 consecutive days until I took a day off on New Years Eve. This streak included the most pressure bearing run of the lot, a brisk 4 miles on Christmas morning before anyone got up. If you meet my Mum, you will know what I'm talking about.

 

Adding in the encouraging performance at Kilbirnie on 2nd January, I felt quietly hopeful of a reasonable result in Edinburgh. Unfortunately, the weather on the day was horrendous with intermittent torrential rain, snow and hailstone storms. On such days, Holyrood Park is a dreadfully exposed venue. Unless you were considered an elite athlete, the shelter on offer was woefully inadequate. I saw many a distressed athlete. Scottish Athletics take note. If we're to be invited to BUPA's big Edinburgh party every year, look after us. Don't treat us like extras at a wedding. Stripping down to a vest and shorts and tying shoes in a galeforce wind and rain isn't pleasant.

 

The senior women got the worst of the conditions but it had cleared up slightly for us. The wind hadn't dropped though. An added dimension this year was the presence of North of England teams. Knowing the initial turn was to the right, I took up position on that side and sought a clear run from the off. I got away well, trying to avoid being boxed.

 

Then one of the worst possible things happened. I felt my right heel get clipped from behind. It can happen in a congested field. I can live with that. What I wasn't prepared for was the contact leaving my heel sticking out my shoe. I took a few strides but couldn't get it back in. I had only turned the first corner. Realising I wouldn't be able to rectify the situation without stopping to adjust my shoe, I let out a loud protest which included a four letter word beginning with f. I pulled over hoping to fix my shoe in short order but my gloves proved a hindrance. I was now beside myself with rage, churning out more expletives, as the entire field pulled away from me. Finally, I was sorted and, in a split second decision, I decided not to turn back in the huff but to give chase despite now being last by at least 50m with the leaders well gone.

 

It took me until over halfway through the first of the 4 laps to pass anyone. Going into the second loop, I probably still lay 3rd or 4th from last. At the points of the course when you can see the runners ahead of you, I was infuriated. Racing in a bad mood isn't pleasant. The wind at one part of the course also proved a hindrance. I attempted at various points to make people aware of what had occurred without losing focus on what I was doing. I finally finished the 8km in a blazingly angry 32nd place from 55 finishers with a time of 29:45. Such were my feelings on the whole day (pre-race soaking then the race itself), I left without watching any of the elite races, simply jogging back to Edinburgh Castle, where I'd parked my car, to head home, stopping at Harthill services for a late lunch. You can probably sense I'm still very angry as I write this. I apologise for the rant but needs must sometimes. It's therapeutic. This was a missed opportunity.

 

Above: racing in a bad mood. Photo courtesy of Alan Ramage.

 

Race results can be found here.





Beith Harriers 4.8 Mile New Year Road Race, 2nd January 2015

First of all, Happy New Year.

 

With the 2014 edition of the Beith Harriers races cancelled, I had the honour of holding the McLuckie Cup for just under 2 years before duly returning it to race organiser Susan McIsaac a few days before the race. Sadly numbers participating failed to rise though that could be attributed to an indoor middle distance track meeting the following day at the Emirates Arena. I decided against participating in that, Queen's Park's return to Hampden after being decanted for 14 months due to the Commonwealth Games proving too much for me to resist. Managing to readjust my festive damaged sleep pattern enough, I pulled into Kilbirnie with 25 minutes to spare for registration at the Ladeside Pavilion.

 

Conditions could be best described as changeable as we lined up for the familiar (to me anyway, this being a long standing favourite race of mine) 4 lap circuit of Glengarnock Industrial Estate. We started with hailstones and a harsh cross wind. David Millar (Irvine AC) started very quickly, opening a gap on me by quite a few metres. It was the end of the first lap before I pulled level and it took a concerted effort on my part on the second lap to establish a lead. Thereafter, I pushed on as hard as possible, observing my golden rule of racing of never looking behind, before attempting to up the ante on the final lap as the weather improved.

Above: closing in on the finish. Photo courtesy of Kenny Phillips.

 

I finished a tired winner in 23:17, a single second faster than my winning time in 2013, to successfully retain the 60 plus year old McLuckie Cup. David was hot on my heels in just over 24 minutes. Kara Tait (Kilmarnock Harriers) retained the women's title with my clubmate James Healey  pipping her in a close finish. Eddie Carr (whose son Eamon raced in one of the earlier races) completed the Cambuslang contingent just ahead of former Scottish international athlete and now occasional cyclist Toni McIntosh.

 

The usual excellent spread of soup, sandwiches, cakes, tea and coffee followed at the prizegiving with Susan holding onto the trophy, promising to return it to me with a new base after updating the winner engravings with my 3 victories. I did however take home a bottle of wine.

Above: the Cambuslang contingent. Left to right- Eddie Carr, me, Eamon Carr, James Healey. Thanks to the guy who took this with James' phone (apologies, I didn't get his name but if you're reading, thank you).

 

I was content with my performance since I ran a very similar time to 2013 when I was running very well. Hopefully there are good things to come in 2015. The harsh weather had given me a chill so I saved my warm down for when I got back to East Kilbride and, incase you're wondering, the Spiders scored a penalty in injury time to seal a 1-1 draw on their return home the next day. Happy days are here again.