Bristol 10k Road Race, 15th May 2011

From January to June 2004, I was an exchange student at the University of Lund in Sweden (I'd do anything to do that again). I raced 3 times in Sweden. The third one was Goteborgsvarvet, the Gothenburg Half Marathon to native English speakers, on 15th May 2004. From memory, the harsh Swedish winter, with temperatures down to minus 20 degrees celsius even in the south where I stayed, wasn't conducive to great running. I did run outside a bit but supplemented it with a couple of gym sessions a week. Anyway, I recall finishing 247th in a then personal best of 1:22:24 before rushing back south on the train for a Eurovision party with the folk I lived with. Exactly 7 years on, the Eurovision Song Contest was on again and I was in a hotel room in Bristol preparing for the city's 10k.

Anyone who has ever had a lift from me will know I have no sense of direction. To minimise the possibility of getting lost in a new city, I booked a hotel room 200m from the start line and got a bus from the airport straight there. Even better, my number was to be collected from Millenium Square across the road. Thankfully the hen party staying in the hotel didn't disturb me and, after an uneventful night watching Eurovision while sipping tea and eating jaffa cakes, I was ready to race the next morning.

Bristol operates a 2 wave start with around 2000 runners setting off at 9.30am then the other 7000 or so at 9.45am. I was in the first batch and got as close to the front as I could. Because of the crowded start, I began fairly fast to avoid getting bogged down. I knew this was going to take a bit of grit. I had done 1km before the lead car clock had reached 3 minutes. Under 30 minute pace, yikes.

I had recognised Martin Williams on the start line. Martin is a UK international who ran in the marathon for Scotland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi then the UK at the European Championships in Barcelona. We therefore have one international vest in common! He competes for Cambuslang north of the border. "Here's a good guy to hold on to" I thought and that I did. Running almost at the peak of my abilities, I stuck to Martin like glue. We caught a couple of runners at about 2-3km and settled down. After a minute or so, he moved out the group and away. Putting a Spedding interval into practice, I ran after him. We continued along the river side to the 4km mark where the course turned to head back to the city centre.

Above: tracking Martin Williams (number 13372) towards the 4km mark. It's clear from my face I'm at the limit of my endurance.

There was a slight headwind to contend with on the way back. While suffering quite a bit, I knew I was putting in one of my best ever performances at any distance and was gaining in confidence. Martin slowly opened a gap after 6km which, this time, I couldn't keep closed. I was beginning to find the long stretch a drag and, unusually for such a big race, found myself with very few runners close to me. My pace definitely slowed and I blew up slightly in the final 2km, losing a couple of places at that stage. Some crowds in the city centre gave me a bit of a lift. As I headed back towards the hotel front door/finish, I managed to raise a sprint of sorts to beat 31 minutes. My timing chip bleeped to provide me with a new personal best by 31 seconds of 30:41 to compensate for the exhaustion. I finished 25th with a time which would win most races in Scotland. Martin was 21st in 30:25. It was a Kenyan 1-2-3 at the front with Edwin Kiptoo winning in 28:39. UK international Phil Wicks was first British finisher, 4th overall in 29:11. Full results are on http://www.runbristol.com/.

Recognising the Cambuslang vest, Martin was kind enough to share a few words with me. We had met only once before, a brief hello at the Scottish Senior Track and Field Championships in 2009. I had enough time for a very gentle 20 minute jog warm down before checking out the hotel and heading back to the airport.

I am delighted with how this trip went since I invested a bit of time, money and effort in planning it. I see it as a gamble which paid off. It's amazing I can barely get close to 16 minutes in training 5km time trials (my new name for Park Runs) yet can put 2 lots of 5km faster than that back to back on another day.

My next summer target is the Scottish Senior 5000m on 17th July. Before that though, I've entered another 10km race down south, the Sunderland City 10k on 26th June. I have family in that part of the world so it's a nice excuse for a wee visit.

Training for Bristol

This time last year, I ran a personal best of 33:22 for 10km to finish 3rd in the Penicuik Harriers 10k Road Race. One year later, I set another personal best for the distance. I invested a bit of time, effort and money to head south for the Bristol 10k. To my relief, the gamble paid off as I clocked 30:41 for 25th place. I was slightly over 2 minutes behind the Kenyan winner. A race report (and hopefully a photo or two) will follow but, for anyone who is interested, here is my training leading up to the race. I pick up the day after the Scottish Mens League match at Grangemouth.

Week Commencing Monday 18th April

Monday: Track, 4 x 400m (all 62-63 secs), 4 x 300m (all 45-46 secs), 4 x 200m (all 29-30 secs), 5.25 miles total including warm up and warm down.

Tuesday: Club, 7.7 miles easy (47:35)

Wednesday: Tempo run, 2 miles easy (13:06), 5 miles hard (28:14), 2 miles easy (13:02), total of 9 miles (54:22), all continuous running.

Thursday: Rest

Friday: AM: 3.2 miles easy (20:54), PM: 9 x 1 minute hill reps, jog back recoveries, 7 miles total including warm up and warm down.

Saturday: Track, 2 sets of 3 x 500m (one rep in 1:18, rest in 1:21-1:22), one set of 3 x 200m (29-30 secs), 2.75-3 miles total including warm up and warm down.

Sunday: Longer run, Whitelee Windfarm, 45 minutes out, high tempo back, 13.3 miles (1:24:26).

Mileage: 48

Back to back Bank Holiday weekends were perfect for additional training and I grabbed the chance fully. There were two intense track sessions as I continued my quest to sharpen up. I decided to make my tempo runs harder by running a little before and after the harder section. My hill session was in the country roads close to home. There is a junction with 3 hills and I do a one minute rep on each one alternately until I've done 9 reps, 3 on each. Former Calderglen Harriers clubmate Alan Cullie introduced me to it several years ago.

Week Commencing Monday 25th April

Monday: AM: 3.3 miles easy (20:51), PM: 3.3 miles easy (21:41)

Tuesday: Club, 7.7 miles brisk (44:41),same route as last week.

Wednesday: Race- DunRen Open Graded Meeting, Linwood, 800m heat 1, 8th (last) in 2:00.24, 3 miles total including warm down.

Thursday: Longer run, 20 mins easy then intervals, 4 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 5 mins jog recoveries, 11.2 miles (1:07:40)

Friday: AM: 3.3 miles easy (21:07), PM: 6.8 miles brisk (41:35)

Saturday: 5km time trial, Glasgow Parkrun, Pollok Park, Glasgow- 16:08 (went off course), 6.5 miles total including warm down.

Sunday: Race- Central and South of Scotland League Division 2 Match 1, Scotstoun, Glasgow, 800m, 2nd in 1:59.7, 3.5-4 miles total including warm down.

Mileage: 48

I went out for a curry (and a pint) with my brother on Monday afternoon. I was still determined to run twice so did the second run at 8.45pm to let the grub digest. I was still a little bloated. It was simply the morning route in reverse. I would have been happier with Wednesday's race if I hadn't been in lane one and last the entire way. I've found Thursdays are a good long run compromise when racing on Sundays. It was one of my Spedding interval sessions and encouragingly fast. The Royal Wedding gave me another double outing on Friday. I did my first Parkrun in 2 years to try my new racing shoes. Sadly I hadn't bargained on leading and lost about half a minute going off course. I made up for it with my second sub-2 minute 800m in windy conditions the next day.

Week Commencing Monday 2nd May

Monday: AM: 3.3 miles easy (20:50), PM: Track, 2 sets of 5 x 300m (all 47-48 secs), 5.5-6 miles total including warm up and warm down.

Tuesday: Club, 8.5 miles easy (53:18)

Wednesday: Tempo run, 2 miles easy (12:58), 5 miles hard (27:50), 2 miles easy (12:41), total of 9 miles (53:29), all continuous running.

Thursday: 9 x 1 minute hill reps, jog back recoveries, 6.75-7 miles total including warm up and warm down.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 5km time trial, Glasgow Parkrun, Pollok Park, Glasgow- 16:09, 4.8 miles total including warm down.

Sunday: Longer run, Cathcart to Pollok Park and back including a few detours, 9.4 miles easy (1:03:47).

Mileage: 48

This was a fantastic week until Saturday. I felt totally flat at the Parkrun. I stayed on the correct route but ran no quicker than before. What a time to have a confidence crisis. Some tough love from Jack Brown and Gordon Rimmer, present and past Cambuslang athletes respectively, snapped me out of it. In hindsight, my body was simply telling me I had trained hard enough. It was time to ease off. I took in a bit of the Womens 10k on Sunday and struggled to get out of Pollok Park through dozens of women, stewards and random drummers.

Week Commencing Monday 9th May

Essentially, after Tuesday, I pulled everything back with a shorter tempo run and hill session. I got the idea for Friday's run from Charlie Spedding's book. It's a variation of one of his sessions. It rounded off my preparations nicely.

Monday: Track, 8 x 600m (all 1:42-1:43), 5.75-6 miles total including warm up and warm down.

Tuesday: Club, 7 miles easy (43:18)

Wednesday: Tempo run, 1 mile easy (6:18), 3 miles hard (16:34), 1 mile easy (6:36), total of 5 miles (29:28), all continuous running.

Thursday: 6 x 30 second hill reps, jog back recoveries, 5 miles total including warm up and warm down.

Friday: 6.1 miles brisk (36:24)- 10 mins easy, 2 sets of 5 x 30 secs stride and 30 secs jog, 5 mins jog between sets, jogged remainder.

Saturday: Rest- flew to Bristol in afternoon.

Sunday: Race- Bristol 10k Road Race, 25th in 30:41.

Mileage: 37

Amazing Who You Meet 3

Yesterday, Queen's Park secured 3rd place in the Scottish Football League Third Division with an impressive 4-1 home victory against Montrose. Striker Jamie Longworth, from East Kilbride, scored a hat trick (for non-football fans, a term meaning 3 goals scored in the one game by the same player). The Spiders now go into a 2 legged promotion play off against league runners up Albion Rovers. The first game is at Hampden Park this Wednesday (11th) but I will miss the second game on Saturday (14th) due to being in Bristol. The winners play a 2 legged final against the winners of the tie between Annan Athletic (4th in the Third Division) and Alloa Athletic (second bottom of the Second Division). Winning both ties will secure promotion for Queen's for only the 6th time in the club's 144 year history.

Traditionally, the final home game of the ordinary league season is followed by the Player of the Year Awards in the Social Club where supporters get the chance to mingle with the players and management. I managed to grab a few words with manager Gardner Speirs after the presentations. Speirs has been manager since taking over from former Celtic and Aberdeen player Billy Stark, now manager of the Scotland under 21 team, in January 2008. He was kind enough to agree to a photograph.

Blast From The Past

Time for a new occasional feature (I will be resurrecting "Amazing Who You Meet" soon). This will feature a random photograh from my past in athletics, football, school, anything. The first shows me finishing last in a 3000m steeplechase for Whitemoss in June 2006. I ran a time of 11:05. Future Cambuslang Harriers team mate Joe Kealey was one of the athletes to defeat me. Photo courtesy of former Whitemoss secretary Euan McMurtrie.

800m in the Sun

Before I begin, here is a taste of what is to come on this blog in the coming weeks:-

1. A few words and photos from the WWE Wrestlemania Revenge Tour show at Braehead Arena on 13th April.

2. As a follow up to the 1-1 draw on 18th December, a report on Queen's Park's 1-0 win over Elgin City on 9th April.

3. A bit more about my athletics pre-Cambuslang, including the parts played by Whitemoss AAC and Calderglen Harriers.

4. My training up to the Bristol 10k on 15th May, provided I get the performance I'm looking for.

Bristol is the first of this summer's twin targets. Touch wood, training is going extremely well. Two back to back holiday weekends have been a god send because the time off work has seen me manage double sessions four times. Races are playing their part in that preparation and, following my time of 1:59.35 at the Mens League, I've tackled two more 800m with good results.

Linwood Open Graded Meeting, Wednesday 27th April

Above, with sunglasses: officiating during a league meeting at Linwood in 2008. I ran a 3000m steeplechase earlier in the day.

The concept of an open graded meeting is you turn up, enter a race giving your personal best performance and you are placed in a race with athletes of similar ability regardless of age (and gender sometimes). So you can end up with some interesting races. I drove to Linwood straight from work for this which is not always ideal because I find getting out of work mode and motivating myself hard in these circumstances.

It was a perfect night with not a breath of wind. My 10 day old personal best earned me a place in heat 1 of the 800m. I recognised a couple of faces, Inverclyde's Craig Ruddy and Lee Wilson of Victoria Park/City of Glasgow. I was allocated lane 1 which wasn't great. I ran as hard as I could, going through 400m in 58 seconds. However, the other 7 athletes were simply going too quickly for me. I couldn't get close enough to make it a contest so, despite a good time of 2:00.24, I felt a little deflated trailing in last. A chat with Cambuslang coach Mike Johnston afterwards made me feel a bit better.

I then went an easy 2.5 mile warm down before going home. The down side of these meetings is the time knock on effect. I got home at 9.30pm carrying running gear, a suit, briefcase and holdall for a late dinner of haggis, neeps and tatties, home made in the microwave.

Central and South of Scotland League Division 2 Match 1, Scotstoun, Glasgow, Sunday 1st May

Training continued and, the day before this, I ran the Glasgow Parkrun to try out new racing shoes. I clocked 16:08 for the 5km but this included a detour off course which cost me at least half a minute. I didn't take the barcode which records your result so it won't appear. Somehow Mike still knew I had been there!

This was the first time I had been to Scotstoun since it had reopened following renovation and what I saw impressed me. What didn't impress me so much was the gale force wind on the track home straight. I didn't want my third 800m this year to be my slowest.

I found myself in a strange situation because both Cambuslang (my first claim club) and Whitemoss (my second claim club) were in the same division. This meant I would be competing directly against Whitemoss for the first time, a club which, as you will read in a future post, has been and remains a big part of my athletics life. I'm still on the committee as Mens League team manager after all.

I exchanged a bit of banter with friends and acquaintances from both sides before my 800m. I had lane 2 this time, a slight improvement. Some advice from Mike helped me formulate a race plan. I found myself a distant 2nd after 100m behind Kilbarchan athlete Craig Stuart who has a best 400m time of 48 seconds and is apparently stepping up in distance. That was the advice- don't belt after him. Sure enough, he went through 400m in 51 seconds while I was 58 seconds. I was determined to beat my Linwood time and dug in to do so. I surprised myself at how well I coped with the wind and was delighted to clock my second sub 2 minute 800m- 1:59.7. I exchanged handshakes with Craig Stuart who won in 1:55.9. This means I clocked a faster second lap than him- 61 seconds compared to his 64.

I rounded the afternoon off with a 20 minute jog warm down on part of the McAndrew Road Relay route (see my race report in October 2010) then headed home quite satisfied with another good day's work.

Summer Gets Underway, 16th and 17th April

Grangemouth won't be everyone's first choice for a weekend away. It was for me. I found myself there twice in two days as I got summer 2011 underway. My first proper week's training since the Home Countries International on 26th March had gone smoothly and I viewed my race plans more as competitive training with the goal to assess fitness. My training is documented in my previous post.

Saturday 16th April- Scottish Universities Track and Field Championships

No, I haven't followed through the threat of a previous post and matriculated at university again. I applied for and was given one of the guest spots on offer in the 1500m. All this meant was I paid a £10 entry fee and was ineligible for a medal.

My plan wasn't quite as undercover as I'd hoped since I was spotted by various chums from my second claim club, Whitemoss, who were present in different capacities. Willie Sutherland, Mark Stringer and Cathy Robertson were officiating and John Robertson was competing in the pole vault for the University of the West of Scotland. Willie is a proud Clyde supporter and, being rivals to Queen's Park, he takes great pleasure at poking fun at my expense.

Above: Whitemoss members Willie Sutherland (left) and Mark Stringer (pointing at the camera).

If you've read my last post, you will see there was no easing off for this. Conditions were rather blustery and cold so I made a late decision to wear one of my long sleeved Helly Hanson tops under my Cambuslang vest. After watching the women's 1500m, won by Liz McColgan's daughter Eilish, I lined up on a crowded start line with 17 students. I jostled for position and completed the first 400m lap in 64 seconds. The wind on the back straight was very strong though and, while slowly moving through to 2nd place, slowed to 68 seconds for the next 400m. I tried my hardest but could only muster a 69 second lap then 51 seconds for the last 300m. Two runners passed me in the last 100m and I trailed through 4th in 4:12, 7 seconds slower than my personal best. On reflection, it was alright. At the time, I was a little disappointed and concerned about my fitness since I had felt very sluggish. I left the stadium to do an easy 6 miles and hope for better the following day.

Sunday 17th April- Scottish Athletics Mens League Division 2 Match 1

Back to Grangemouth where I would be competing for Whitemoss. I have been a Whitemoss member in some capacity since taking up athletics properly in 1996. The club has competed in the Mens League every year since 2003. Three people have managed the team in that time, Mike Smith (2003-2006), Keith Stoddart (2007-2009) and me (2010-present). For a chequered history of Whitemoss' Mens League involvement which I wrote a few years ago, click here.

To update my article, the club was promoted to Division 1 in 2007 as runners up, relegated in 2009 and, in my first year as manager in 2010, 4th in the 9 club Division 2. Kirkintilloch Olympians have joined this year, bringing the numbers up to 10. Division 1 has 8 clubs.

Both divisions meet on the same day at the same venue. After much mulling over, I gave myself an 800m in addition to my 5000m. They were 3 hours apart, why not? As well as this, I was on team manager duty- filling in and submitting team sheets and making sure my 10 athletes and 3 officials had turned up and knew what they were doing.

So, to my races:-

800m- I took my place in the A string race (each club is allowed two athletes, "A string" and "B string," often run as separate races). I simply aimed to run like hell. Conditions were far better. I battled away and went through 400m in 58 seconds! My personal best of 2:01.93 looked under threat. I dug in and hung on in the second lap, crossing the finish line 4th in 1:59.35. It was a new best and my first time under 2 minutes. All self doubt wiped away within 2 minutes of racing.

5000m- After much spectating, eating and drinking, I stepped onto the track with new signing from Cambuslang, Greg Hastie, who was my B string runner. Divisions 1 and 2 run together which made for a crowded start line of 25 runners. I dispensed with a watch for this.

I chuntered along quite nicely for a few laps just off the leading group of John Newsom (Central), Michael Gillespie (Shettleston) and Ben Hukins (Aberdeen). I also had Thomas Fay (Shettleston), Niall Sheehan (Lassswade), Luke Trainor (Giffnock North) and Alex Hendry (Central) for company. Apart from John Newsom, these are all athletes I have beaten before. I tried a couple of Spedding surges which didn't have the desired effect. All of the aforementioned athletes, except Thomas Fay, beat me and Ben Hukins won in an excellent time of 14:45.59. My legs caved in a bit at halfway. It wasn't all bad though as I finished 7th overall (2nd A string in Division 2) in a better than expected time of 15:11.81. My lap times had been taken by Cambuslang clubmate David Munro who confirmed they were all from 72-74 seconds. I've taken great encouragement from this. I feel there is more to come.

Greg battled hard to finish 2nd B string in Division 2 with 16:36.0. Another Cambuslang man, Alistair Campbell, ran the 400m B race for me, winning in 54.18 seconds. Whitemoss won the match to kick off our promotion bid.

Elsewhere for Cambuslang on the same weekend, Robert Gilroy won the undulating Balfron 10k in rural Stirlingshire one week after claiming victory in the Lochaber Marathon. Also at Balfron, Kirsty Grant's fightback from serious illness continued with a course best of 49:18, a very encouraging result. A faster time is certain to come in the upcoming Women's 10k in Glasgow.



Above left: wearing my Whitemoss colours in September 2000. I've had the same vest since I first joined.



Training Since The Home Countries Cross Country

After the Home Countries Cross Country, I was ready for a rest. It ended the longest winter of my running career. It signalled a change of plans since I withdrew from planned race outings at the Scottish Road Relay Championships on 3rd April and the Tom Scott 10 Mile Road Race a week later. I used the time off to study the summer fixture list and set some targets.

I have two big aims this summer. The first is to run a fast 10km. To this end, I searched around for a 10k road race where I could do it, something in the mould of the Armagh 5k. The City of Bristol 10k on 15th May fitted the bill. In 2010, it was the English Championships and 9 athletes broke 30 minutes. The organisers invited applications for free reserved places. The guideline was 31:30 for men. My best is 31:12 so I mocked up a running CV and emailed it down. I got accepted so have now booked return flights and an overnight stay in Bristol on 14th and 15th May.

The second aim is to earn a medal in the 5000m at the Scottish Senior Track and Field Championships in mid July. I know I need to run under 15 minutes to do this but I did so on the road in Armagh in February so it is possible.

How do I achieve these goals? I feel I have built up a lot of stamina over the winter and the key is to sharpen my pace. That has been the story in training so far. Race wise, I kicked off the summer this weekend as you will see.

Week Commencing Monday 28th March

Rest. I went out one plod for 4 miles the day after the Glasgow Uni Hares and Hounds Ball. Apart from that, nothing.

Week Commencing Monday 4th April

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Rest

Wednesday: 6.8 miles easy (42:17).

Thursday: 6.1 miles easy (37:17).

Friday: Rest

Saturday: 5km time trial, Glasgow Parkrun, Pollok Park- 15:49, 3.3 miles warm down (20:42).

Sunday: 10.2 miles easy (1:05:28).

I count this as a rest week as well. I loved the first week off. There's nothing better than getting home and actually having your dinner at the correct time for a change. By Tuesday this week, I was desparate to start again. The main purpose was to get my heart and lungs working. I felt extremely unfit on Wednesday and Thursday and in my first Parkrun for 2 years. I was so jaded after the Parkrun, I needed two naps afterwards, one before going to the football and one after. So far, so bad.

I've bought one of these fancy timing devices, hence, the new found precision in distances.

Week Commencing Monday 15th April

Monday: Track, 15 x 300m with every 3rd rep flat out, 150-200m jog recoveries.

Times- every 3rd rep: 46-47 seconds, remainder: 50-51 seconds.

5.5 miles including warm up and warm down.

Tuesday: Club, 7.7 miles brisk (46:37).

Wednesday: Rest- at Braehead Arena for the WWE Wrestlemania Revenge Tour (more in a future post).

Thursday: Longer run, 20 mins easy then efforts of 5 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, 1 min, 2 mins, 4 mins, all with 5 mins jog recoveries, total- 11.2 miles (1:08:27).

Friday: 6 miles easy (37:34).

Saturday: Scottish Universities Track and Field Championships, Grangemouth

1500m, 4th in 4:12.0, 6 miles easy warm down (38:39).

Sunday: Scottish Athletics Mens League Division 2 Match 1, Grangemouth

800m A race, 4th in 1:59.35, personal best and first time under 2 minutes.

5000m (Divisions 1 and 2 combined), 7th in 15:11.

Also did first legs in both 4 x 100m and 4 x 400m relays.

1.3 miles very easy warm down (14:49)

Mileage- 42

Training was quite encouraging. I ran as a guest yesterday at the Scottish University Championships. My 1500m was 7 seconds outside my best on a cold, blustery day. Fast forward to the Mens League at the same venue today on a beautiful day. It has given me belief that my targets are achievable. Plenty hard work to come.