Scottish Athletics League Match 1, 10th May 2015

I approached the first match in this year's Mens League with a bit of trepidation due to it coming only 4 days after a hard shift at the Troon 10k. I felt frustrated at the blustery Ayrshire weather costing me a faster time but a session with some clubmates of 4 x 1 mile on the following Saturday morning with times of 5:03, 5:02, 5:01 and 5:01 showed there was nothing wrong with me physically.

 

I'll never ever play football at Hampden but I can now say I've graced a hallowed surface of some description since the Hampden track has been relaid at Grangemouth, venue for the first match. I guess we can call it the hallowed Mondo surface. Not quite the same ring as the hallowed turf though as close as I'll get.

 

Incredibly this is now my 13th consecutive year competing in the Mens League for Whitemoss. It's actually served as a great grounding for me over the years as I've seen my times improve significantly. It also keeps me involved with the club which started me off in athletics in 1996 at the age of 12 so it's an arrangement I'm happy with. I've also organised the team since 2010 albeit with minimal success in terms of earning promotion. We were relegated to Division 2 in 2009 where we have been since with finishes of 4th, 3rd, 4th, 4th and 5th- 2 teams are promoted each year. The latter result last year however was achieved in a much more competitive division since we actually scored much heavier than we'd done in the previous 2 years.

 

Each match offers a full range of track events from 100m to 5000m (replaced by 10,000m at the final match) and a selection of field events. I've been known to do daft things like 5 events in an afternoon in the past. Today I restricted it to 3.

 

First up, the 800m where my aim was to at least reverse my trend of slowing times year on year (2:08 last year). I shocked myself by going through 400m in 60 seconds then even more by maintaining things over the next 400m to clock a time of 2:02.96, my fastest time since 2011.

 

Next up came the 3000m steeplechase where, after a jittery start with the hurdling, got into a smooth(ish) rhythm and gave myself another shock by breaking 10 minutes for only the 3rd time with 9:57.37. My tail was up now.

Starships were meant to flyyyy, hands up and touch the skyyy...!!!!

The 3000m steeplechase. Photo courtesy of Athletics Scotland. There are loads more of this race but I look dreadful in all the others.

 

I then had a bit of a breather before the 5000m (an hour and a half compared to 35 minutes between the first 2 races). I nearly didn't start the race after feeling pain in my ankle which still didn't feel right as I lined up. I seemed however to "run it off" in the early stages. With heavier legs, this race was quite a struggle and I focussed on being first out of the Division 2 athletes, an aim I achieved. Incredibly my time of 15:21.99 was only 2-3 seconds slower than my road time in Edinburgh, even with a lot of running in my legs. It shows how badly wrong I got it that night.

 

For the record, I scored maximum points in 2 races and had a respectable showing over 800m so felt delighted with the day's work. For the record, the team was 3rd on the day. Next stop for match 2, Inverness on 14th June.



Troon Tortoises 10km Road Race, 6th May 2015

I gave some thought about whether to give the Troon 10k a go only a week after the 5k in Edinburgh, eventually deciding that it would be ideal to get the previous week out my head quickly. I therefore learnt the lessons of the week before, ate enough during the day and left the office in plenty time to reach the Ayrshire coast without a panic. It actually turned into a pleasant drive on a dry night.

 

From Cambuslang, I was joined by Stephen Paris (I think he tapers for this race every year), Robert Rossborough and new member David Stirling. Before too long the massive field of over 900 were lining up for what was the 30th edition of the Troon 10k.

Weather conditions never seem to be perfect in Troon. On my last venture there in 2013, we faced a galeforce wind on the way out. This time, we had it to look forward to in the later stages. Very soon I had David Millar for company.

Above: David Millar (692) and I (944) slowly breaking away with eventual 3rd place finisher Kenneth Neill (251) shadowing us. Photo courtesy of Kenny Phillips.

 

Even in his veteran years, David remains a very capable athlete and, in our most recent encounter, made me work very hard for the win at the Beith Harriers New Year Race. After running almost stride for stride for just over 3km, I gradually forced a little gap and worked hard on what was a fast, secluded section of the course to try and widen it. I think I succeeded but took nothing for granted and kept battling on. By 9km, I was on for a time around the 31:20ish mark but now had to run along the coast into the gale. A finishing time of 31:48 shows how much resistance I met from the elements. Having the time slip away was frustrating but I couldn't complain with the race result. David was similarly affected, finishing in 32:55 with 3rd place going to Kenneth Neil in 34:36. Amongst the ladies, Kara Tait took the honours in 13th overall with a strong time of 36:32 (not far from a course best for her) ahead of Lesley Chisolm and Laura Wallace (who I keep mistaking for Toni McIntosh, her twin sister).

 

As for the remaining Cambuslang contingent, Stephen finished 10th in 36:20, Robert continued his battle to regain fitness with 42:14 and David was pleased not only to clock 46:44 but to be in the right place at the right time to receive a spot prize. Well done David. Apparently Stephen promised Robert a fish supper if he could break 43 minutes. I think Robert is still waiting for it.

 

Finally, we're clearly being ripped off in East Kilbride chip shops since, while waiting for the prize giving, I enjoyed a fish supper of my own which cost the princely sum of £3.50! A 50% mark up on the winnings compared to 2013 saw me take home a cheque for £150. I needed it for some expense incurred a week and a half later. Details to come in a later post.

 

Full race results can be found here.

Scottish 5km Road Race Championship, 29th April 2015

It's been a little while since my last post and, by my standards, I've raced quite often. I therefore have a few races to round up. I start on a low note but things improve hereafter.

 

Buoyed by my track success over 10,000m, I returned again to Silverknowes Promenade in Edinburgh for the Scottish 5k. There's a saying "fail to prepare, prepare to fail." This applied to me on this occasion as I got my preparations spectacularly wrong. I left work in Paisley at 4pm thinking being next to the M8 would be an advantage. Not at all as I endured a 2 hour drive in rush hour traffic, arriving completely stressed and inadequately fuelled up having not eaten anything substantial since lunch. To cut a long story short I lined up having failed to get into race mode and basically not feeling up for it. In addition, I had worn new racing shoes at the Scottish Road Relay which had not felt entirely comfortable. I was however giving them another chance.

 

To cut another even longer story short I never really got into the sharp end of the race, the leading protagonists immediately breaking away from me, and phoned in a rather lacklustre effort during which I felt flat footed and deflated. In saying all this, in the cold light of day, my result wasn't a disaster, 16th place in 15:19 and a team bronze earned with Robert Gilroy and Alistair Campbell. However, I felt I blew a chance to run much better. I was so annoyed on the night I just wanted home for dinner and my bed and left almost as soon as I finished without even a warm down.

 

One of many runners to produce a superb effort on the night was Bryan Mackie (Edinburgh AC) who later told me he had taken the day off work, rested, ate and stayed only a short distance from the course. It paid off for him with a personal best of 15:07 for 10th place. A good result for someone who, unlike me, didn't fail to prepare.

 

Cambuslang had numerous individual and team successes including:-

 

1. Personal best for Alistair Campbell.

2. The aforementioned male team bronze.

3. A female team bronze for Katie Bristow, Eve Mackinnon and Alex Lamond.

4. Vet gold and silver respectively for Kerry-Liam Wilson and Stevie Wylie.

 

Full race results are here. The only way was up, and thankfully that's how things have gone since.