Training for Stirling

For anyone interested, below is my training leading up to Stirling, starting off from the Monday after Bedford.

Week Commencing Monday 27th August

Monday: 7 miles easy (44:20).

Tuesday: 4.1 miles very easy (34:40).

Wednesday: 1 mile easy (6:29), 2 miles hard (10:52), 1 mile easyish (6:08), 2 miles hard (11:15), remainder easy, 7.6 miles total (44:53).
Thursday: Club, 2 x 10 mins, 30 secs recovery, 6.7 miles including warm up and warm down.
Friday: Rest.

Saturday: Longer run, Whitelee Windfarm, 8 miles easy, 7 miles tempo (41-42 mins), remainder easy, 16 miles total (1:43:06).
Sunday: 4 miles brisk (24:10) plus 8 x High Point hill reps running how I felt, 9 miles total (run plus hills) including warm down.

Mileage: 50

Similar to the first week in the Bedford build up, I started cautiously on Monday and Tuesday, assisting at another Cani Fit session for the latter. Unlike the previous occasion, I didn't put my car in a ditch this time. I've been liking to get the long runs done with on a Saturday so kept this going. I ran part of the run faster to stop my mind wandering. It's also a psychological boost to run the second half quicker than the first. I found the hill session tough but I planned it that way.

Week Commencing Monday 3rd September

Monday: 7 miles easy (44:51).

Tuesday: Club, 6.8 miles easy (44:43)
Wednesday: 1 mile easy (6:34), 2 miles hard (10:44), 1 mile brisk (6:01), 2 miles hard (11:04), remainder easy, 7.4 miles total (43:08).
Thursday: Club, 2 x 10 mins, 30 secs recovery, 6.6 miles including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest.

Saturday: Longer run, Whitelee Windfarm, 8 miles easy, 6 miles tempo (35-36 mins), remainder easy, 15 miles total (1:35:50).
Sunday: 4 miles brisk (24:16) plus 8 x High Point hill reps running how I felt (drastic), 8.5 miles total (run plus hills) including warm down.

Mileage: 51

More of the same. Creature of habit.

Week Commencing Monday 10th September

Monday: 7.5 miles easy (48:04).

Tuesday: 6.1 miles easy (39:11)
Wednesday: 9.6 miles brisk (1:00:08)
Thursday: Club, 2 x 10 mins, 30 secs recovery, 6.6 miles including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest.

Saturday: 3-3.5 miles (20:17)- with Sunday races, I always prefer to take Friday off as usual then stretch the legs the day before.
Sunday: Race- City of Stirling 10k Road Race (Scottish 10k Championships), 6th in 30:58, team silver.

Mileage: 40

City of Stirling 10k Road Race, 16th September 2012

This race again doubled up as the Scottish 10k Road Race Championships. Like for Bedford, I built the training up for 2 weeks then tapered off during the week leading up. Two steaks is my usual pre-race meal. There was a slight difference for this one...three steaks on the Friday. I could still feel them in my stomach as I went out a jog on the Saturday morning. The Saturday was also my birthday and, after the Queen's Park-Clyde match, I paid my Gran a visit. It was the Alf Tupper diet this time, a fish supper. At his seminar in Cambuslang on the Friday night, the great Ron Hill cited the man known as "The Tough of the Track," if not his chosen diet, as his inspiration. It was the quietest of birthdays for me that night.

Having studied the entry list closely, I had a game plan. In his book, "From Last to First," Charlie Spedding, discussing the 1988 Olympics, says that doing well in the Olympic Marathon is simple. Get in the lead group and stay there while everybody else drops off. "Like most things in life, it's simple, but not easy!" he states. Springkerse Industrial Estate in Stirling isn't quite the Olympics in Seoul but, from the gun, I adopted the same approach.

There were a number of Scotland's prominent distance runners competing and the depth of field overall was greater than in most Scottish races. I'd traded victories with most of those in the leading pack over various surfaces and yet to beat one or two others, such as Robert Russell (Central). There was also our recent Ethiopian recruit, Wegene Tafese. After the initial bun fight out the traps, I positioned myself close to the front off the shoulders of Russell and another Central athlete, Ross Houston. Tafese was close to me as were a number of others such as John Newsom (Central), Ben Hukins (formerly Aberdeen, now unattached), Chris Mackay (Inverclyde), Luke Traynor (Giffnock North) and Thomas Fay (Shettleston). Paul Sorrie (Shettleston) went to the front during the first couple of kilometres. I was content to stay glued to Russell and Houston and try to ignore the clock on the lead car.

The pace was pretty brisk, hovering around 2:55-3:00 per kilometre. It steadied at around 3km which suited my Spedding tactics just fine. I had taken a few strides into the lead a couple of times. However, conditions were breezy and I had no intention of taking the strain for everyone then being ambushed near the end so each time resumed my previous position. As the course headed into the countryside, I could sense without looking round people were dropping off. So far I wasn't. The 5km mark passed in 15:12.

Between 5km and 6km, the course doubles back on itself, following a different route back to the start/finish. By this time, I was part of a leading group of 5 with Russell, Houston, Tafese and Mackay. The others still gave chase though. After 6km, things started changing. Russell, Houston and Tafese continued to sustain the pace while my legs started giving way. I wanted to stay with the trio but, while the mind remained willing, the body didn't. Mackay later dropped behind them as well. As the Cambuslang and two Central runners contested the medals, Mackay gave me a target to chase to also help me stop anyone catching me from behind.

At 7km, re-entering the industrial area, I thought of the remaining kilometres as a 10 minute effort from the recent Thursday night club sessions. Anything to get to the finish. My legs were as sore as they've been in a long while. 8km in 24:37 ish. 9km in 27:48 ish. One runner did catch and pass me around this time, Dougie Selman (Corstorphine) who has a good track pedigree over 1500m. Again, the mind was willing but the body wasn't. Thankfully there wasn't much distance left.

I found enough energy to clock my second sub 31 minute 10km time, 6th place in 30:58. Parallels with Spedding in Seoul include he too lay 5th in the later stages and got overtaken, Australian Steve Moneghetti relegating him also to 6th. The second 5km took me 15:46 so a bit of a war of attrition. Wegene Tafese won the race in 30:22 ahead of Robert Russell (30:24) and Ross Houston (30:29). Chris Mackay finished 4th in 30:46 and Dougie Selman took 5th, reaching the line 1 second before me. Tafese, myself and Kerry Wilson (11th, 31:45 and first veteran) took team silver medals for Cambuslang. We were however ably backed up by Greg Hastie (44th, 34:59) and Alasdair Murray (144th, 39:34). Alexandra Lamond meanwhile clocked a personal best of 39:06 to finish as 2nd under 20 lady, bettering her time at the Great Scottish Run 10k by over a minute.

Above: silver medal winning team, left to right- Kerry Wilson, Wegene Tafese, myself.

The race left me tired to the extent I have granted myself a few days away from running to recover. I'll start the Ron Hill running streak afterwards. At least the fish supper didn't come back on me.

Race Result

Training for Bedford

As I got up at 4.45am last Saturday for a flight to Luton, I did wonder for a moment if it would all be worth it. I'd managed to get into a 5000m at the British Milers Club (BMC) meeting at Bedford through what I saw as the back door by being selected for the West of Scotland team for the Track and Field Inter Counties. Priority is normally given to BMC members which I'm not. However, after breaking my 1500m and 3000m personal bests and also running a best of 4:25.5 for the mile at Crownpoint the Tuesday before (earning £30 for 3rd place which got me my fish supper afterwards), a 5000m personal best was the last one to go for this summer. Bedford was the only event which fitted the bill.

I got the B race and, in breezy but warm conditions, surpassed my expectations with a time of 14:48.03. Whether it was taking advantage of the evenly matched field, simply being well prepared or a combination, something on the night just clicked. First half in 7:20, second half in 7:28. In the Scottish 5000m in June, I was 7:21 at halfway and 7:39 for the second half. Something has been done right somewhere. The time makes me eligible for BMC membership.

For now, it's formulation of winter targets. I have one already- don't get injured. Training leading up to the Bedford race is below. Big thanks to Cambuslang's Joe Kealey and his good lady Anna for giving me a room on Saturday night at their home in nearby Hitchin and to Joe for dinner on Saturday, the company on Sunday's morning's run, a mean fry up afterwards and the lift to Stevenage for the train home.

Race Result

Week Commencing Monday 6th August

Monday: 7 miles easy (44:22).

Tuesday: 9.3 miles very easy (1:26:31).

Wednesday: Track, 12 x 400m at target 5000m pace, 4th, 8th and 12th reps at target 1500m pace, plus 1 x 200m

5000m pace reps- 68-72 secs, 1500m pace reps- 67, 65, 66, 200m- 32 secs

6.1 miles total including warm up and warm down.

Thursday: 5 miles tempo (28:53) plus 8 x High Point hill reps running how I felt, 9.8 miles total (tempo run plus hills) including both warm ups and warm down.

Friday: Rest.

Saturday: Longer run, Whitelee Windfarm, 20 miles (2:15:43).

Sunday: 9.4 miles easy (1:01:27)

Mileage: 61

Big week which started cautiously and gathered momentum. Two short, sharp races at the Mens League gave me a tight left groin so I had easy runs on Monday and Tuesday, the latter assisting Cani Fit's Lindsay Cloughley with one of her training groups. This was at the Windfarm where I do my long runs. An enjoyable night soured only by my car getting stuck in a ditch. I delayed the track session to Wednesday and decided to do a run before the hill session to get used to running hard with tired legs. Two lengthier weekend runs rounded things off.

Week Commencing Monday 13th August

Monday: Track, 8 x 600m at target 5000m pace, plus 1 x 200m.

600s- 1:45-1:46, 200m- 31 secs.

8.2 miles including warm up and warm down.

Tuesday: 6 miles (35:48), 15 mins brisk then 3 sets of 3 x 30 secs strides, 30 secs easy between reps, 5 mins easy between sets.

Wednesday: 4 miles (24:11) plus 8 x High Point hill reps, running how I felt, 8 miles approx (run plus hills) including both warm ups and warm down.

Thursday: Club, 2 x 10 mins, 30 secs recovery, 6.6 miles including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest.

Saturday: Longer run, Whitelee Windfarm, 25 mins easy then 4 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, all with 5 mins easy recoveries, 14 miles (1:30:17).

Sunday: 5.5 miles easy (35:52) then track, 2 sets of 3 x 300m (47-48 secs), 2 mins between sets, 6 mins between reps, 7.6 miles total including run plus warm down.

Mileage: 50

Lower mileage but just as tough. Two sessions (Wednesday and Sunday) were again to experience running hard on tired legs. Tuesday was squeezed in after work before going to Hampden for the Queen's Park v Partick Thistle cup tie (a losing effort for the Spiders, 5-4). Thursday was an attempt to resurrect a Thursday training group at Cambuslang. The Sunday track session was to sharpen for the mile at Crownpoint.

Week Commencing Monday 20th August

Monday: 3 miles easy (18:54).

Tuesday: Race- Shettleston Harriers Open Grade, mile, 3rd in 4:25.5, PB.

Wednesday: 4 x High Point hill reps running hard off top, 4 miles including warm up and warm down.

Thursday: Club, 2 x 10 mins, 30 secs recovery, 6.7 miles including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest.

Saturday: Race- BMC Grand Prix Final, Bedford, 5000m B race, 7th in 14:48.03, PB.

Sunday: 10 miles approx easy (1:17:25).

Mileage: 31

Racing for Suppers

A downside to midweek racing when working full time is it's not conducive to eating well. A couple of quarter pounders, cup of tea and some other fluids (it was a warm night) followed my 3000m efforts at Stretford. Before this, the race at Linwood, which I attended straight from the office, saw me warm down, shower, change back to my suit and get in the door with my briefcase, holdall and a single fish under my arm. Not the best when you then have to settle down to sleep then be up again the next morning.
 

While Stretford was the boost I needed, I still felt the need to keep a grasp of the nettle. Training the rest of the week included a satisfactory hill session and long run plus a hilly 10 miles in Glasgow's West End with 2 sets of reps of 4 minutes, 1 minute and 2 minutes with 3 minutes brisk between reps. I was pretty pleased to complete that run in just under 61 minutes. A track session of 2 x 800m (both in 2:16) and 2 x 400m (62 seconds and 64 seconds) the next week gave me grounds for optimism for the 1500m I'd entered at Scotstoun.

Glasgow Athletics Association Miler Meeting, 3rd August 2012

This being a Friday night event, I was a tad more relaxed leaving the office knowing I didn't have work the next morning. It comprised a series of graded 1500m races, plus a 5000m. Earlier in the summer, there was a meeting comprising 800m and 3000m races which I missed due to holiday.

I lined up in the C race, which was second on the card, and settled into the pack following pacemaker Mark Pollard. With my 2 year old PB of 4:05.76 to aim for, a 66 second first lap was reasonable. I replicated this on the second lap. Ahead of me, another Harrier, Gordon Robertson, was pushing on. It started to feel like a Monday track session, me hanging onto his coatails during a rep. I sat around 4th or 5th but could sense most of the field were still in touch as I completed 1200m in 3:19 (67 second third lap). I really didn't want to lapse into a 50 second final 300m and end up with 4:10, as happened in Aberdeen, and managed to find another gear as did a number of others. I gained a place in the back straight and dropped back one on the home straight but, most importantly for me, 46 seconds for 300m got me a new PB of 4:05.27. Like Stretford, only by hundredths of a second but every one counts. After no PBs all summer, two in succession felt good. Gordon also set a new best, 4:04.52, finishing 3rd.

After a breather and some post race discussion, I acted as 16 minute pacemaker in the 5000m. I actually felt more nervous about this than my earlier race. Two athletes, Kevin Brydon (Shettleston) and Elspeth Curran (Kilbarchan) were looking for this pace and, I admit, I had scribbled split times on a sheet and tried to memorise them. I still carried the sheet in my hand and referred to it several times as I ran. In short, the pace called for 3000m in 9:36/9:37 and I went through in 9:42. I carried on for another lap and stepped aside after 3400m. After the race concluded, I exchanged handshakes with both runners, talked another Cambuslang runner, Alistair Campbell, into a 400m at the Mens League two days later, unsuccessfully tried to persuade another, Katie Bristow, to don a disguise and run a 1500m on the same day (she clocked 4:47.78 at Scotsoun, comfortably below the minimum points standard of 5 minutes) then headed off home via the chip shop for a fish supper. Getting in at 10pm, it had been a long day but at least I had a lie in the next morning.

Meeting Results

Scottish Athletics Mens League Division 2 Match 4, 5th August 2012

With the attractions of an event of some description in London, numbers were quite sparce in Grangemouth for the final Mens League match of 2012. With no prospect of promotion, I took the chance to experiment a bit, lining up for an 800m then a 400m. Admittedly it was hard to escape a feeling of anti-climax following the Friday night's efforts but I gave both races everything I had on the day.

The 800m saw an improvement from Linwood with a time of 2:03.17. While not a PB (I've run 1:59 before), it was a much stronger run than Linwood with consecutive laps of 61 and 62 seconds. The heavens immediately opened as I took my marks for the 400m B race (Alistair had kindly run the A string). 58.07 seconds was nothing earth shattering but fulfilled the points standard of 60 seconds which, on the day, I considered satisfactory enough. Gordon ran a strong 1500m, finishing 2nd to Conor McNulty after leading much of the way. Myself, Alistair, Gordon (for part of the way) and Aberdeen based Cambuslang man Davy Munro rounded the afternoon off with a 50 minute jog around downtown Grangemouth. To continue the food theme, a king prawn Chinese curry was the choice on this occasion.

Leaving the 400m aside as an experiment, the 800m constituted a continuation of the upward curve. While I'm not there yet, I certainly feel more optimistic.

I'll go into the Mens League season in more detail in a later post. For now, here is the Division 2 final table.

1. Kilbarchan, 34 points (1368 match points)
2. Lasswade, 33 (1273)
3. Pitreavie, 29 (1050)
4. Whitemoss, 22 (721)
5. Corstorphine, 20 (612)
6. Fife, 17 (446)
7. Clydesdale, 13 (454)
8. Dunfermline & West Fife, 8 (306)
9. Kirkintilloch, 0 (0)

Trafford AC Grand Prix, Stretford, 24th July 2012

After making the commitment, the race in Stretford nearly didn't happen. Day off secured and hired car picked up, I was cruising down the M74 when, between Lockerbie and Ecclefechan at about 10.45am, I came to a standstill. An overturned caravan and 4x4 had closed the motorway completely. Stuck between exits, I couldn't turn off and as time went on, I seriously considered cancelling and turning back. At 1pm when the traffic started moving again, I decided it was worth continuing so hammered it down the motorway to within 50 miles of Manchester before stopping briefly to eat. I got to a warm, sunny Stretford at 4pm, 6 and a half hours after setting out, still enough time before my race at 6.45pm. After a wee wander into the town, I returned to the track at Longford Park to submit my entry, optimistically predicting a 3000m time of 8:35. Personal best going into this was 8:41.27. I met Charlie Thomson who had left home at 12 noon, avoided the tailback and arrived around the same time as me!

I'd known of these meetings for a while without taking the step of going to one. The host club, Trafford AC, hold 7 of them every second Tuesday in the summer with distance and throws only. Every other Tuesday, they have meetings with sprints, hurdles and jumps. Perhaps such event specific meetings could be an idea to rejuvenate the open graded scene in Scotland?

The main attraction is the quality of race. Big fields dotted with people to pull you along. I lined up in the first of 2 heats with 23 others. From the gun, I tracked the leading few. After a couple of laps, I moved through just behind a leading group of 5. I tried to ignore the lap times being shouted and the clock at the finish and to concentrate, to get out the comfort zone I feel I've sloped into recently. I felt pretty strong as I went through 1500m in 4:16. A personal best was there for the taking.

The leaders in the group in front seemed to crank up the pace a bit, pulling the others with them so I now had a gap in front. I focused on trying to close it without surging but was aware of others catching me. A small glance at the clock showed 6:23 with 2 laps to go. A personal best would be tight. I've done many a long rep in training so made a long burst for home. On the back straight, Charlie urged me to get in tight in lane one. Lewis Millar had got past me on the inside in the recent Mens League 5000m so I heeded the warning. It worked as the guy behind didn't overtake and a final 800m in 2:17 got me 6th place in 8:40.13 and the personal best I had travelled down for.

Charlie won the second heat with 9:20.44 with another Scottish athlete, Elspeth Curran (Kilbarchan) 5th in a personal best of 9:30.12. As much as I would have loved to have seen more of the meeting, I had to get back for work the next day so, following a warm down and shower, managed to get some grub and left at 8pm. An incident free journey got me back just before midnight. I think I'll try to do an overnight in future!

So, the kickstart I wanted but plenty work still to be done.

Race result

Round Up

It's been a mixed bag post holiday. Three races have brought indifferent performances.

7th July: Strathclyde Parkrun, 15:24, 1st place

15th July: Scottish Athletics Mens League Division 2 Match 3, Gramgemouth- 5000m, 15:17.94

18th July: Linwood Open Graded Meeting, 800m, 2:04.96, 7th in heat 1 (9 finishers).

On the face of it, these are okay. However, I feel I can and should be producing a lot better. The only consolation I can take is with the 11^th hour nature of the 800m. Up until Tuesday (17^th), I was preparing for the Cairn Table Hill Race in Muirkirk, East Ayrshire. It was postponed due to a weather warning (yes, a weather warning in July). I opted for a 1500m at Linwood but, on arrival and seeing the rain bouncing off the ground and making a swimming pool of the road leading to the car park where I parked, I switched to an 800m which were due to be run earlier. A 60 second first lap was followed by a laboured second lap in 64 seconds. It’s fair to say I got caught cold.

Above: holding the Hugh Wilson Memorial trophy. Despite the smile, I've been less than happy with recent performances.

I feel a lot of frustration that I’ve plateaued and athletes I worked so hard to catch are opening that gap on me again. I look at what I was running last year and feel frustrated at being a bit behind where I was. I still have my short, medium and long terms targets which I planned on holiday but need to up my game if I’m going to come anywhere near achieving them. To this end, I’m gambling a bit and have taken a day off work on Tuesday to travel to Stretford to run a 3000m at the Trafford AC Open Meeting. The quality of race justifies the trip. I’m focusing hard. I really need a kick start. By hook or by crook I’ll be working to make sure Tuesday is it.

Hugh Wilson Memorial Road Race, 16th June 2012

I write 2 days after my return from holiday. I wrote an article about this race before going away and saved it in draft. However, after coming back and reading it again, I didn't like it so have scrubbed it. There's very little to report other than the fact the rain was torrential from start to finish, Cambuslang Harriers made up almost one fifth of the field (5 runners out of a depressingly low field of 23) and my mood matched the weather due to various worrying work issues at the time. I won the race in a time of 25:51 but found it a long, lonely slog from start to finish. In particular, finishing running 2 laps of an empty track as hard as I could on my own verged on the surreal. Such were my worries I did not compete in Giffnock North's 10k at Rouken Glen the following Thursday despite pre-entering.

Some time away has helped me relax, reflect and consolidate. I've set some short, medium and long term targets. Now is the time to go for them.

Cambuslang Results in the Hugh Wilson Memorial

1st: Stuart Gibson, 25:51

2nd: Greg Hastie, 28:48

3rd: Dave Thom, 29:02

12th: Eddie Carr, 34:51

18th: Kirsty Grant, 38:25