2 out of 3

There were 3 quite appealing races up for grabs this weekend. 1stly the ParkRun, fast becoming a favourite way to start a Saturday. Getting up early on a Saturday seems, umm, counter-intuitive, to me and Peter anyway, but after a zingy 5K along Silverknowes you feel set up for the day. At least until later on. The 2nd race on offer, which is a favourite in this household, was the Braids Cross Country; run by students for students, but old people are tolerated. The course is good and exciting and the atmosphere is always a buzz with ridiculously fast young people who probably have hangovers showing up their elders and betters. Peter cycled to this because I refused to budge from a comfy spot in the house, having run a pb. at the Park run and having decided to rest on my laurels and catch up with other business.

Sundays dish de jour (I know, why pretend to be able to speak french?) (I can't help it.) was the first of the Borders Cross country series which was at Norham; a nice little quiet town just over the border into England. Questioned my motives again as the alarm went off yet again on a day off, but there was no going back as we'd arranged to give Johnny L and Alastair Robertson of Lothian Running Club a lift there.

The weather for further south was forecast to be somewhat special but we got a lovely morning. There were a couple of light showers on the journey down but mostly was sunny and cold with minimal breeze.

The borders cross-country series had been described to us as real cross-country. We'd been promised muddy fields and stream-crossings. We were too idle to go and have a proper look beforehand so it was difficult to know in advance just how daunting these obstacles might be. Alastair came back to the car saying that someone had died in the river we were crossing. I pictured pushing my way through bobbing corpses left over from last year's race then took a reality check. It would be difficult for the organisers to insure a race like that.

The reality was a course that was great fun. It was fairly uppy downy with stubbly fields, slippy muddy single-track, four refreshing leg washes in the burn, some hairy fence crossings where a few people came to grief. (Peter said Stuart Hay was right ahead of him and then was somehow turned upside down by the wire fence. In my head I have the picture of the Hanged Man from the tarot...).

I managed to gain ground on the ups, which was pleasing, my hill legs coming back into season...but I didn't have any kind of a killer instinct, presumably having left that behind yesterday. As a result I enjoyed the race and felt pretty relaxed throughout.

I'm sure we'll have some good photos from today but these haven't been downloaded yet as Peter's 3 races in 2 days have caught up with him and he's conked out on the couch.

We've both got the day off tomorrow so plan to get in a long, very low-key, non-racey, slow, off road run tomorrow...

"Dipping my toe" back in the hills.

Having nearly ground to a halt with sore achilles somewhere back in August (in America) I've been avoiding the really steep off road stuff because that was definitely exacerbating it and I've not had any trouble for quite some while. Its a no brainer really - all the books say not to suddenly change what you do - like suddenly increase your mileage or suddenly do tons of hilly off-road stuff - and every year I do the latter. So now I am left a bit ambivalent about it. Roads are easier and they've cured my tendonitis and helped my speed improve...but there's not much atmosphere on a road, except car fumes, Neds etc.

Today, 1st of all I'd thought I'd go for a 16 miler on the roads as I've been sticking 2 miles on my long run each week since Loch Ness and did 14 last Monday. It was a beautiful day, however, and I missed yesterday (see last post) and I had a hankering to get up to the Pentlands as it was still and sunny and bound to be nice. In the end I thought I'd go and do a measure of the high tops and then come back down and do the rest on trails and hopefully strengthen my hilly legs without overworking my tendons. All this swithering had taken a while so I didn't make it up to Flotterstone til 2pm - quite aware that sunset would be about 4.30pm although there'd be ambient light for a while as the sky was clear.

The minute I got out the van I knew I'd done the right thing. That lovely smell of pine in the carpark and the cold fresh air running off the hills.

I'd decided not to brutalise myself so went up Turnhouse running 50 steps and then walking 50 steps on the really steep stuff rather than wrecking my legs right away. As these things are apt to turn out I was at the top of Turnhouse a bit sooner than usual, although it is unusual to have so little wind.

I was very stilted on the downhills and tried to get a bit of a relaxed flow going. I get a bit comfortable on the downhills and then revert very quickly if I don't practice. I went over Carnethy too and then wary of the lowering light dropped down to the white house at the top of the glen. I took the track along to the back of Black Hill where there's a really nice runable path - just downhill enough to make you feel fast. I was really pleased to find a new route from the reservoir about half way along Black Hill, that took me down a little path and through some trees to join up with the path that goes back up to the valley between Harbour Hill and Bell's Hill. From there its down the track onto the road and about another mile to the carpark. Just over 10 miles in all in about 2hrs - the 2nd half being much quicker than the first half.

It was lovely to get out of town and into the hills. Didn't take me long to start talking to sheep!

I put in an entry to be one of the "Lucozade 6" (sugar bombers) to get free entry for the London Marathon plus travelling, plus a swanky hotel, plus a chat with Liz Yelling and some Adidas Kit - oh yeah and plenty Lucozade to drink. Not that I'm going to get to be a member of the L6 (and I have many reservations about it all anyway. Its just my pals Richard and Amanda will be there so I thought it would be fun.) but it clashes directly with the Highland Fling which I've just about got Peter willing to do. What would be better? I really think - if I could do all the training without getting injured, that the Highland Fling would be better.

Birthday Run

It was my birthday yesterday but I was in Glasgow all day at a course and when I got back we'd arranged to go to the Sheep's Heid at Duddingston to meet with a few Portie runners to mark the last championship race (Tinto). We spoke about running continuously for several hours during which time I sunk a couple of pints of Black Sheep and a couple of glasses of red wine. I don't know what Peter found to drink but he was the India Rubber man by the time we got home and I'll draw a veil over his antics. Paint your own picture of groaning and sleeping with a bucket by the bed. By this time I'd convinced myself he must have the winter vomiting bug because we really hadn't drunk all that much. The fact that it stopped proved otherwise though. I hoped to be feeling okay today but after getting up and having breakfast at 10 this morning I went back to bed at 11 and have crawled back out now just in time to see the last rays of sunlight set on the world for another day. And it looks like it was a lovely day too. A curse on drinking for ever! Maybe manage a wee run later.

Park Run 2, NY Marathon

The weather was forecast to be truly awful for the Dundee 10 miler on Sunday and I'd got my teeth into the Park Run thing and wanted to go back again on Saturday so that's what we did instead. The forecast said windy but it was a calm, beautiful morning and I felt much much better than I had the week before.

Gordon's session on Wednesday (uphill sprints) was still in the legs but they felt a lot better than they had done.

More Porties around this week.

Got more of a warm up though I still think 3 miles or so would be a good idea before a 5k just to get the motor running properly. Still to be tested.

I set the Garmin so I could only see heart-rate so I would judge what I was doing on effort and nothing else. I went out what I thought was a bit steadier than last week but actually it was 10 seconds quicker. No sore belly this week; the limiting factor seemed to be my wheezing lungs. I was making a fair old racket but was actually okay and I got to the left turn along the wall before the leaders had come back this time. There's not much to say about a 5k! The last mile along the prom. is so so long and that's where the mind games were going on - "its such a long way", "no its not its a mile", "I can't stand it", "You're just a bit uncomfortable, you're not really even in pain",

etc. etc. I guess this is something I might get a bit better at if I keep doing the 5k and I'm engaged in the challenge. At last the path branched to the last wee finishing bit. I had no idea what time I'd done until the last mile flashed up 7.24. Not great but also better than last weekend. In the end a guy in a blue t-shirt gave encouragement as he passed and I managed to pick it up to the line. 22.18, 25 seconds better than last week and I felt a whole lot better too.

Plenty of room for improvement and that's what makes it interesting.

I had a slightly stiff neck that morning due to burrowing my head under the covers in an awkward way as Peter was snoring and wouldn't stop. I compounded the damage by going climbing with Peter and Amanda after the 5k. It made reversing a challenge. It eased up drinking a bit of halloween wine with Ben and Alison but came back with a vengeance and a headache come Sunday morning. Peter had bravely agreed to go with Ben to the Pentlands at 7.30 so they were out there in the beating rain. I got up at a more sedate 10.30am and couldn't turn my head or bend my neck at all without pain. My cunning plan had been to watch the NY marathon on the internet if I could get it on universalsports.com, and see how Paula did. The idea didn't seem so appealing if I couldn't get a run in myself first so in the end, with some paracetamol and ibup0rofen in me I went and knocked out a 6 miler round Arthur's Seat where I met only other runners, bedecked in waterproofs with their faces screwed up against the driving rain. It was actually quite nice and the emptiness of the park was pleasing. All the autumn leaves lay like thick golden carpets between the trees (near the Halls of Residence) and my neck felt a whole lot better for a ton of painkillers and some fresh air.

Back at the flat Peter had discovered that we could watch the marathon on telly if we pushed the red button despite the Radio Times not bothering to mention this, so we sat immersed in the women's race and tried to ignore the irritating commentary of some French woman who came across as stilted but also stridently defensive. The commentators weren't getting good information about the timings and couldn't do kilometers so they were struggling. We watched poor old Paula drop back into 4th place at the last and were glad the cameras didn't home in for the inevitable display of disappointment. Give the woman a break! Since Paula couldn't win I was pleased to see thingmy Tulu bounce into the finish looking fresh as a daisy. I'm sure the men's race was good but the commentators didn't seem to really know who was running til late on so it was hard to get into. I had hoped Ryan Hall would do well because he seems insane but in a very nice wholehearted way, and he did do well obviously but was not amongst the leaders.

The commentators had said it was ideal conditions at New York but the times were kind of slow so we thought that maybe it was windy. I think the papers said later on that it was quite windy.

In the meantime Jacqui Ramsay from our club was running her 1st marathon for which she's been training for a good while. I had updates of her times sent to my e-mail and she set off at a good pace - going through 5K quicker than I had the day before. (Damn!) and 10K faster than my pb (Double damn.) but her times slowed and slowed and though we were hoping it was a tactical slowing...it continued. Jacqui was clearly walking for the last couple of miles. Obviously she had a problem on the day. We were a bit sick about it. Jacqui's a really good runner and has been training super-hard for this marathon - but loads of things can go wrong in a marathon and even more so when its one you have to travel to. We hope whatever it was its something you can get over quickly and that it doesn't put her off marathons for life. (Or running.)

Anyway, it seems like Peter is up for doing the Highland Fling next April which I'm delighted about because it gives me something to focus on all winter and it'll be much more fun having him on board than doing the training just for myself. I think that no more multi-lap ultras would be a good thing as Draycote water nearly robbed me of my will to live. (Which would seem to be located in the right heel.)

I've got 2 more days annual leave so I'm off to get some kind of longer run in today even though its a bit blowy. 14 miles or so would be fine.

Another Pentlands Run

Another low level Pentlands' run today. Peter went off a little earlier with Ben. (Who else could get him to get up early at the weekend?) I set off to meet Amanda and Scott at Flotterstone for 11.5 miler on road and track. The team were a bit banged up but not broken. Scott's knee is still hurting after falling on it with a rucksack on on some ill-advised ultra running epic weekend. Amanda was suffering from being underfed and overactive and running that edge between training hard and illness. (You should have seen her doing reps. of 6bs at the climbing wall yesterday. Won't mean much if you don't climb but basically you have to be made of wire and steel to climb 6b and something even tougher (I've run out of hard stuff analogies) to do reps on them. At our very best we scratched our way up the odd 6c but not repeatedly.) My legs felt like half-set concrete, a combination of yesterday's 5K and the unaccustomed exercise of climbing afterwards. The wind was forecast to be blowing at 21 mph in Leith so I don't know what it was blowing in the Pentlands. All in all the team were pretty hearty considering and set off in good time.

About a mile into the run (uphill and in to the wind) we saw Douglas Young flying down the road towards us, doing the same circuit but the other way round and starting and finishing at the other side. "Its pretty windy at the top of the road" he warned us, which at the time seemed fairly obvious but a couple of miles further up we saw what he meant. We knuckled down to it -each in our separate worlds. Speaking was impossible because of the wind - and in my case, because I'm not as fast as S and A so I was chugging along behind. Tough it was but fairly enjoyable too. The wind wasn't too cold and there was a fair amount of light around considering the cloud cover. I made the effort to snap a few pictures but I couldn't hang around as I was already getting well dropped.

Amanda started dying off because she hadn't had enough breakfast and she was audibly regretting not having her porridge and contemplating a stop at the burger van which was parked bizarrely at the other side of the hill. At first I thought Amanda's remarks about burgers were coming from a wishful thinking place - but no - there it was - that smell of fat and yellow and red squirty things full of mustard and tomato ketchup. We didn't stop for a burger though and Scott and Amanda charged determinedly up the hill ahead as I puffed and chuffed my way along behind. (I think I can I know I can.)

We all arrived back in good time and shortly afterwards Ben and Peter appeared having been on a trip round the high tops. A and S scooted off to get food and I drove Peter home. Viva the Pentlands. Think I might have persuaded Peter to have a go at the Fling. And when I say I've persuaded him I mean I think Ben might have. Now; tomato soup, oatcakes and processed cheese, cup of tea; bliss.

Park Run

I've had a strange assortment of ailments this week that started with a runny nose last Thursday, went away by Saturday and then came back and turned into a sore tummy on Monday and stayed for days. I don't know what it is or why, just that its been sore enough to stop me sleeping at times but not so bad that I can't cope and it was a lot better by Friday. It did occur to me more than once that I might be dying of something - but I quite often have that thought and couldn't possibly go to my GP everytime this worried me. When I have gone he generally looks a bit concerned and says, "Oh well, come back if it doesn't go away" which is quite a good deterrent. I've had abdominal pain before when I've been exhausted and I wonder if its something to do with the marathon. Anyway, I thought I could take Peter along to the Park Run at Cramond and if I felt okay I could run too. There wasn't much at stake. Its free and its near to home.

Saturday dawned and the most taxing thing to deal with was the string of complaints coming out of Peter (who has been burning the midnight oil of late) who seemed to think that everyone else should change how they live to suit him - just because he has never fully shucked off the mantle of art student even though he is now a painter and decorator and nearly 50. His specific complaint was that the race was too early. I couldn't find any sympathy for all these complaints, especially as the Park Run is SO benevolent - it doesn't promote any companies, its manned by volunteers, its free, hassle-free and the results are out by lunch-time.

We got to Silverknowes esplanade in good time and it was drizelling a little bit but was otherwise fairly nice weather. Most importantly, the wind wasn't bad. I've run the promenade far too often on long runs and scenic as it is I kind of loathe it as its often very exposed to the wind and you can see exactly how far you have to go which is cruel.

Amanda and Jenni were there already and we had a bit of a jog around and a warm up. Andrew Jeske was there taking photos; taking some time out of running with a foot problem he's getting sorted at the moment.

With very little preamble we took off and I felt pretty reasonable for the 1st mile. As we branched off left to go round a loop at the end of the esplanade a relaxed looking Ray Ward was leading the field back in the opposite direction and was still able to smile at the marshall who was cheering him on. The 2nd mile was a lot slower but I tried not to let this bother me. I figured if I had anything left at the end I could try to pick it up. The 3rd mile back came the belly-ache and I just had to focus on running as evenly as possible so as not to jar it or make it worse. It was a bit disappointing but not as bad as not running at all and my time was pretty reasonable anyway at 22.43. Five minutes after stopping running my guts were fine again. I hope to cut my time back by doing as many Saturdays as are practicable.

Amanda was easily 1st lady so she was chuffed, and Jenni had done a 2min pb. and come in just behind me so she was also in good spirits. Peter had forgotten his earlier misanthropy as he was 6th and 1st over 45 and was delighted to see later that according to age grading he had in fact won, although Ray Ward did put in a good effort. (Ray Ward actually won and then continued to run the same course again.)

My original thoughts were that if I did the run I'd go home afterwards and go back to bed but Amanda told us she was going climbing at Alien Rock. We used to go there all the time but climbing faded into the background about 8-10 years ago - around when we started racing. We've always had a hankering to go back. The forecast was miserable and it was just going to be a flat-bound Saturday at home so we went climbing too. By 1.30 pm I was knackered, my forearms were popping, my toes were shrieking and this time I did go home and go to bed. Now walking funny and its difficult to type but my tummy feels okay...

VFF 1st strike

Took my Vibram Five Fingers out for their inaugural run today. First of all went a quicky round the seat in normal shoes and then changed into the VFFs once back outside the queen's hoose. I'd put them in my big OMM bum bag (that's fanny pack if you're in the USA) to carry up to the park with the thought that I'd swap and put my ordinary running shoes in the bumbag while I cantered around the green in my zombie shoes - but it was a very tight squeeze and I got the inside of my OMM bag all muddy which I didn't like. Next time it'll be a rucksack with shoes in a poly bag.

I felt a bit self-conscious putting on these crazy shoes but I needn't have worried. If anyone noticed they didn't show any emotion.

The next challenge was how to take photographs for the blog! Not easy really. I've done my best. As you can see it was a very grey, rather gloomy autumn day.

The point of the shoes I guess is that they encourage you to use your best natural stride. Feet are full of nerve endings and so the more sensitive and non-interfering the shoe, the more the brain gets feedback from the feet and the better, non-injuring gait you adopt. That's the best I can be bothered to try to explain it. The idea would be to start with a small amount of "barefoot" running and work up, hopefully ironing out lazinesses of which you are unaware because cushiony shoes protect you from the immediate impact of running wrong. The idea of VFFs rather than truly barefoot would be as protection against dogshit and glass. I won't go into the kind of people who's lifestyle produces dogshit and glass as a by-product.

So anyway, my achilles tendons ouched a little bit as I set off in my VFFs but this soon stopped. It was very lovely and soft underfoot, - as running on grass is. I managed to dodge some enormous dog cigars because even if they're not going to squidge up between my toes I still don't want to be cleaning them off later.

After a while I forgot I was wearing them and had a good fast run across the grass which felt great. Today was meant to be about recovery though so I reined it in and after running a mile I changed back over to shoes normale and went home. A good start.