The final countdown

The end of the Marcothon is nigh. I can't believe we're on day 22 already. Apart from a couple of hangover torture miles, there's been a limited amount of whining from me. Well, in my humble opinion. In fact, compared to last year, it's been relatively easy. Even the hurricane didn't faze me. I did, however, consider dusting off the treadmill in the garage, but thought it would be less painful to take my chances with the Bawbag. The police car that tailed me for about a mile of said run was probably a sign that I should have got the duster out. Or the flattened coke can that flew at me like a frisbee. Thankfully my ninja-like skills saved me from death by coke can decapitation.

After the hurricane, we had ice. Then a big dump of snow, which eventually turned to ice. Last weekend brought glorious winter sunshine and now we have rain. I'm pretty sure we could change the Marcothon to some kind of multi-activity event or a Decathlon.

The photo was taken on Sunday down Ayrshire way on my last run with the GM for 2011. It was a glorious day, so crisp and clear. Very icy though, so the kahtoolas came in really handy. Tomorrow, I drop the GM off at the airport so she can fly to sunny climates for a romantic festive holiday in South Africa. Jealous much? She's so psyched, she could probably fly there herself.

The support on Facebook continues to be overwhelming. People who have signed away 31 consecutive days and run the risk of falling out with their spouses/partners/families on Christmas day and they probably don't know where the event name came from. Incidentally it's an abbreviation of Martin-Consani:-) Obviously I'm joking, but it's clever, he? ;-) Some folks might even think it's a memorial race!

We've also had another wee bit of publicity. Ruth Walker from the Scotland on Sunday is an enthusiastic recruit. Click on image right.

We had a kind invitation from one of the organisers of the parkrun in Falkirk to attend their 5k on New Year's Eve which went something like... "I know you have probably had many requests for what I am about to ask, but here goes..."... ha ha you wouldn't believe how many requests we've had... That's poetic license by the way, Dave. So we've decided to make this the grand finale and have tried to encourage as many Marcothoners along as possible. Given the logistics, it seems to be the most central. Well, for those living in Scotland.

Hope you all have a fabulous Christmas.

Here's a special sing out from Cairn and Lucy. Yes, there's no end to the talents of the world's bronze medal holder. And when I picked her up en route to the party, she appeared with a homemade Christmas cake too.

The last week...

...has gone by in a flash! I thought time passed quickly pre-Cairn, but it's a whole different ballgame now. I lost count of the times that people said to "enjoy them whilst they're young, because they grow up so quickly". I tutted it off with a mental eye-roll, but really it's so true. Now my little baby is not so much a little baby. He's practically crawling, has three teeth, waves goodbye and can moan "mum, mum" when he wants something. Unfortunately he can scale a room in an blink and can usually find something that would suggest we haven't quite baby proofed the house - entangled in electrical wires, playing with bottles of shampoo...that's my boy! I think he's going to be a mischievous one, but he's still a delight. Sleeps through the night, never cries and eats all his dinner. A bit like Sonic, but less maintenance.

Trying to work, run and spend QT with the family is still a huge juggling act. Throw in my domestic chores and it's pretty much 24/7 full-speed. I have to super-organised and even more super-motivated. I have windows for running and I have to get out the door and go. There's no sitting about humming and hawing or waiting for the rain to go off.

I'm trying to follow the training plan that Coach Lesley drew up for me for last year's London Marathon. In summary, it follow this basic sequence

Monday: Rest or x-train
Tuesday: Speed/reps
Wednesday: Tempo run
Thursday: club run
Friday: Rest or x-train
Saturday: Short speed
Sunday: Long run

After the previous Saturday's dismal attempt at a short race, I signed up for the McAndrew Relay Race last Saturday. After running the course as a club training run, I felt better prepared for the race. You know how I don't like courses I'm not familiar with :-) Well the weather was quite tip-top race conditions. Gale force winds and torrential rain. Arriving at the start in Jordanhill, if it wasn't for the team-factor I would have driven away.

It was a bit of a late start - 3pm! Which kind of plays havoc with your day. And meals. I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast, so I bought a packet of Fruit Pastilles and Skittles on the way. I was totally wired and very on puking after than nutrious snack.

I was in a team with Emma (1st leg), Me (2nd) and Rachel (3rd). Emma had a great run and appeared over the the hill - long legs a bounding - look as fresh as a daisy. Setting off along Anniesland Road, running straight into the wind, I debated whether to pass the (slightly larger) runner in front or just sit behind her. Thankfully I opted to the team spirit and ended up passing SEVEN runners on the 3.3 mile course. I felt pretty good and actually enjoyed it...ish. The hills took everything out of my legs though. Rachel took over and had a great run - especially has she hadn't raced for a nearly a year. We ended up 12th out of 27 teams, which we were all quite pleased with.

Saturday night I undid all my good-doing with a night out with Sharon. Mucho beer and a few juniper juices. We still managed an 11-mile (VERY hilly) run on Sunday morning. It was probably one of the best runs I've ever had. Despite the steep inclines (or nosebleed hills as Sharon calls them) and nearly getting taking out on a bend by an Audi 4x4, it was a cracker. With Autumn in full swing, it was a sunny, crisp morning - perfect for a run on undulating country roads. Without sounding too much of a tree hugger, the autumnal colours were gorgeous. A lovely way to pick up my car - which was abandoned at the pub the night before.

After the run, the Mum, Gran and I took Cairn over to Castle Semple in Lochwinnoch to feed the ducks.



On Tuesday I did some reps round the track at Bellahouston Park and Wednesday I did an 8-mile tempo run (ave 7:49). I decided to get up at 5.30 and do the run before work, as running at lunchtime often adds to the stress of a hectic day. I try to use quite flat routes for a tempo run, as Thursday's club runs are always hilly. I doubt there's a route round Bearsden/west end that doesn't have killer hills. This Thursday's run was quite special, as we took in the stoaters! One being Gardner street, pictured below. 6.23m ave 8:15



This morning I did the Glasgow Parkrun 5K. I forget to set my watch, so I've got no idea what my time was. I'll need to wait for the official results. Watch this space. Hopefully I'll have time to blog again before Cairn starts school :-)

From 5K to more on the Way

Quick running update...

Saturday: I got a PB in the Glasgow Parkrun 5K :-) Just a piddly 23:32, but a PB's a PB. As Sharon would say "I don't have a fifth gear", so short speedy races are not for me. But I must say, I really enjoyed it. Even the nasty hills. When I told Sonic of my enjoyment he informed that I "didn't work hard enough". Probably wise words, but I like to come away on a high rather than having my eyes hanging out of my head.

Sunday: I went on a run with Sonic on the Kilpartick hills. Yes, me running on hills. With Sonic. And we didn't even fall out once. Even despite the fact that his course description could be deemed as false advertising. What was billed as a scenic "trail" route was in fact knee-deep in sodden wet grass. I'm sure the views were amazing, but we chose a really wet day and I could barely see my feet.






Tuesday: Mile reps round Knightswood Park. 6.38, 6.31, 6.30 (with 2-3 min recoveries)

Thursday: 6m club run. It was on the Kelvin Walkway and then on to Great Western Road. Enough said.

Saturday: This was to be my longest run in preparation for the Devil O' the Highlands. A nice 35 miles from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William. I didn't have any times in my head, I just wanted to get the miles in my legs. No pressure, so I just went out and ran how I felt. It seemed to work, as I felt brilliant the whole way. The weather was perfect for me - wet and wild ;-) Bit treacherous on some of the descents though - especially the Devil's Staircase, which had turned into a river. And it was mighty chilly at the tops. I finished in 6:30:56, which is not too shabby. I felt really strong at the end and even managed the last few miles in 7:30m/m. What started out as a day of jogging, turned into a race against the clock. It's been a real confidence booster. I'm still on a high. All I need to do is add on another 6/7 miles, throw in some race day adrenaline, mix with a dollop of healthy competition and I should be aiming for 7hr 30 mins on race day, don't you think?

Sonic did a stirling job as support. He was great. No stopping and messing about, just a quick drop off and pick up. That's the way it should be on shorter distance ultra marathons (now that's an oxymoron). I didn't take on a lot of food and drink, but what I did have was perfect. Two GO bars, two gels, 100g of jelly babies and some dilluting juice with Nunn tablets.