Stoneymollan

After the success of yesterday's race, Marco and I went to a pal's house for dinner. Lack of communication on who was drinking and who was driving meant that we'd both had a few glasses of grape juice and had to kip over. We must officially be the worst house guests. After drinking Dominic's wine, eating all his food, wilting by 10.30 and stealing his bed, we then woke-up the house well before dawn. And left the carnage of the party behind. Marco got a mountain rescue call-out, so we were up and out by 7.30.

As he went off to rescue mountains, I went back to bed with a massive bowl of Frosties and the News of the World. After enjoying what is deemed as a normal Sunday morning, I felt a bit guilty and got ready for my run. I didn't have a whole lot in me, but I didn't want to miss a long run. Using the I-can't-be-bothered excuse is not a valid reason for missing a run.

As if I hadn't had enough of "cross-country" I decided to hit the trails of the Stoneymollan route. It had been pretty stormy through the night, so I was expecting some dodgy terrain.

As I set out, I could feel the 10K in my legs. Or maybe it was my Brooks trail shoes. I had never run in the them before and I wished I'd kept it that way. They were terrible on the roads. No cushioning, so I could feel every strike going up my legs. Much better when I hit the trails and starting heading up the hill. The trail was indeed waterlogged and submerging my feet in icy cold water was pretty gruesome.

On through the woods, the storms from Tuesday night had uprooted quite a few trees. I stopped to take a few pictures before passing the gates towards the farms. There was a lot of pesky coos on the trail, but I'm getting a little braver. I'm sure they were laughing at me as I dragged myself through knee-high deep muck and sh*te. I even lost my shoe at one point, as it was sucked off in the muck. There was a brief moment of panic, as my house key was attached to the lace. Sometimes I liken my runs to Mr Bean's adventures.

It was back on the country roads down to Cardross. Running through the town looking like I had just emerged from a swamp, raised a few eyebrows. Or maybe it was my erratic running style, as the non-cushioned trail shoes were causing my shins and knees to throb.

I was pleasantly relieved to be back on the trail. Heading up another farm, I noticed Marco running towards me in the distance. Stupidly I decided the whistle, which attracted the attention of the farm dogs - who were not amused by my presence.

I ran the rest of the route with Marco. Usual really. Him sauntering and me running flat-out to keep up.

Finished the 12-mile route in 2hrs. Average pace was 10miles. Given the terrain and gradient, I was pretty pleasured with that. And it was two minutes faster than my last attempt. To be fair I was little more wary of the killers cows way back then.

NB: I later discovered Marco's early morning wake-up call was to rescue two deerstalkers lost in the Campsies. If I'd known that, I wouldn't have been so willing to get up. Their fear and pain was just karma.

A real cracker jack.

Jack Crawford 10K: A reputable event within the Scottish road race calendar. I say this with tongue firmly in cheek. I vaguely remember running on a road for about 600m at the start. Then is was on to the trail path along the canal, that went on and on.

On a positive note, it's a well-organised, friendly event that run on a course that is as flat as flat can be.

Thank you to all my dear friends who heightened my pre-race nerves with jovial gibes of bogs, cross-country and the need to wear spikes...your comments were obviously well resourced. The trails were narrow and the ground was mucky and spongey. To add to that, the puddles had frozen over - forces runners onto the verge - and there were a few cycle barriers to maneuver. Then there was my own daftness. I forget to take my garmin off the one minute interval alerts from Wednesday's run, so spent the first 500, trying to run whilst resetting my watch. Doh!

All that aside, I got a PB. Woohoo. Finished in 47:56, which is about 45 seconds off my previous best.

The big yin did amazingly well. Got a new PB of 34: 48 - that's 40 seconds faster than the Nigel Barge last week. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it in his blog. Ha ha. I'm just full of those tongue-i- cheek comments today.

Uphill tempo

Booked myself in for a sports massage with (the lovely, but brutal) Christine at Achilles Hill. The word massage my conjure up perceptions of relaxation and pampering, but it reality it was torture. I don't know how anyone so small can cause so much pain. OK, I'm a bit of a kiff at the best of times, but when she found the knots in my calves I was biting down on the bed willing for the ordeal to end. Apparently my calves and quads were in a bit of state. It's been my right hamstring that's been playing up since Kilimanjaro, but that seemed OK. After half and hour, my face was slightly strained and my voice was a few decibels higher. It was all worth though. The lady's magic. My legs feel all light and fluffy.

Not for long though. Time to undo the fluffiness with a tempo run through Bearsden. A hilly little bugg*r up Drymen Road, over Stockiemuir into Milngavie. Down to Bearsden up the dreaded Boclair and down Rannoch. The tempo was split into three parts. The first was a mile was all up hill. Tried to cool it, as not to take too much out of my legs for Saturday. Ended up running with Ali Locke. She's about four minutes faster than me for a 10K, so probably not the best way to cool it on the hills.

6.14 miles in 53.16. Pace 8:42.

News from the camp: Route for Saturday's Jack Crawford 10K is a bog. Joy.

Running on the wild side

Switched the radio this morning to hear: "Winds of up to 90mph have caused chaos all over Scotland. Thousands of homes are without power and rail, road and major road bridges have closed. Only travel if necessary". The proceeding travel report seemed to go on for about 20 Minutes. Not that I needed the report you understand. Lying in bed listening to the wheelie bins thundering down the street, was all the evidence I needed.

The journey in to work was an experience. What usually takes 30-40minutes, took nearly two hours. The weather had brought down trees and toppled lorries. As the Erskine Bridge was closed, we had to head along Great Western Road. All I could think about was how it would effect my tempo run pace for tonight ;-)

The storm had calmed by the time I got home and headed out on the Wednesday speed session. As I've got a race on Saturday, I'm laying off the longer runs. Coach Lesley advised me to do 4/5 miles - picking up pace in the middle. So I did my Balloch-Bonhill 4.5 miler with one minute intervals. Despite the wind, I managed to take four seconds off to finish in 33.53.

The F-word

It's fartlek tonight. And lets face it, fartlek is the fairy of all speed sessions. Swedish for speed play and Scottish for dossing around. All that "oh there's a lamppost, lets sprint to it" and "fast to the end of the road" bla bla. You can really make it as hard or as easy as you like. It's more like a mobile social evening.

Fartlek attracts the most members to Tuesday's speed nights. With 1k reps and time trials having the opposite effect. Not tonight though. The rain was bouncing off the streets. Perfect excuse for the troops to put off their good intentions for another week. It even took us about 10 minutes to venture out of the car.

Thankfully it cleared a little when we were out. Or maybe I didn't really notice. One of my favourite things is running in the rain...although I prefer it if the rains starts when I'm already out.

There was about 10 in our group tonight. We all took turns at leading the pack. This is usually quite detrimental as each "leader" tries to out do the last by running a bit further and bit faster.

Had a great run tonight. Glad I took the day off yesterday. The alternative was a cut-down rep session at Kelvinhall track. I did promise to make it along next Monday. I'm sure I'll live to regret that %-)

2007 tally

Finally got round to toting up the miles in my training diary...and the grand total for 2007 was 1653.7 (approximately!?). The most I ran in one week was 54 miles (Devil's race) and the least was a meagre two, whilst I was in Las Vegas. It was 40 degrees after all. I probably did a few ultras going round the shopping malls though.

Four seasons in one day

You know you're in Scotland when you can go from grey skies with torrential rain, to glorious sunshine, sleet showers and, of course, the mandatory gale forces winds...all within one run.

I had one of those runs that could you put you off for life. My legs were stiff - blaming squats in the gym on Friday - and I generally felt pretty rubbish. I was just putting in the 16-miles for the sake of doing a long run. I suppose I was training my body to run when I just didn't have it it me. So all's not lost.

I started on my usual 16-miler over the Balloch Horseshoe. I messed up my Garmin at mile five and didn't realise until a couple of miles up the road. It's amazing how gadgets have the ability to de-motivate you. After I discovered my mistake with the overall time and pacing, I couldn't help but think what's the point. In hindsight it was quite nice to run without a time-to-beat in mind.

It was pretty windy from there on in. I can't remember a time when I did that route and it wasn't windy.

I stopped to take a picture of my favourite sign, which is posted to a tree outside a family-run farm. Not only does it mark the end of the hills, but it always make me smile. I can't believe I'm carrying a camera on my runs now. I'm blaming you JK ;-)

I'll spare you my moans, but I was pretty miserable for the rest of the course. And when the cold sleet started, I couldn't wait for it to be over. When I finally made it home I was soaking wet, my skin was bright red and my lips were blue. My hair was a mass of knots, which took a half a bottle of conditioner to untangle.

When Marco made it home, I was strangely comforted by the state he was in. I just presumed it was me that had a terrible time. When he opened the door he collapsed face down, foaming about never racing and then doing a long run again. As the loving and devoted wife that I am, I took some photos and a video and then shouted out him to get his mucky gear off the carpet. Hey if I was that mean, I'd post the evidence ;-)

Step reps

Feel like a proper grown-up, as I managed to sleep past 9am this morning. That's probably the latest since my student days. I think the festivities and a couple of hectic days at work took a lot out of me. Or maybe it was lying under the velux windows listening to the rain and wind bashing of them.

Whilst everyone else was preparing for the Nigel Barge 10K, I was opting to do my own. Found a lovely set of steps when I was out on my run last weekend, so I've been dying to them a bash.

The steps are long and require two footstrikes. Then there's a plateau at the top, back down the steps at the other side and then a 50m sprint back to the start. Still with me? Decided to try eight. 1:20, 1:17, 1:19, 1:17, 1:15, 1:17, 1:16 and 1:13. Great wee session. And it's there are streetlights too, so perfect for a winter's evening.

(Yes, I went back to take this picture. I'm going to be flung in white van soon. I can imagine folks in the vale thinking: "aye, that's the nutter who was running about with socks on her hands last week")

I went along to Nigel Barge 10K to cheer on Marco and fellow Garscube and WHW runners. OK, it was to try out my new camera really ;-) I must have had a premonition, as my morning run was definitely the best option. It wasn't just raining cats and dogs, it was raining farm animals. The wind was howling and it was icy cold. To add to that, it's two reps round a very boring hilly course. Felt quite smug wrapped in a down jacket and perched under a golf umbrella.

I found a great wall to stand on to get views - and pictures - of uncoming runners. Unfortunately the wind threatened to throw me off, so that was short lived.

Despite the odds being against him, Marco got a PB with 35:31. How's that for a great start to the new year? He might even go crazy and update his blog.

Dragged myself back to the gym at lunchtime today. I bet in every city across the world, the gyms will be jammed-packed and buzzing. Full of highly motivated detoxers, full of the joys of a new year. Not in Glasgow though. In true west of Scotland style, the gym was pretty vacant. Just the usual 20-odd folk pretending to work out when really their watching the crazy burds in their body combat (or something of that ilk) class. I'm sure it will be a different story tonight, but I've only ventured there once after 6pm. I'll never quite understand why people queue to walk on a treadmill or pedal on a stationary bike. I generally just do some core work and dabble with some leg weights.

Latest edition of My Race is out now.

There's a fabulous feature on new year's resolution, written by yours truly. Read about my first attempts at cross-country, road relays and hill running.

I'd give you clue....but it's available in all good running shops and Debenhams.

Having a night in tonight. Novel, but blissful. Marco's running in the Nigel Barge 10K tomorrow. I'm not. No excuses, I'm just not. We're presently watching the WHW DVD. He's taking notes, analysing maps and times and I'm writing my blog. Who says romance is dead? This is what newly-weds do of a Friday night.

First Footin'

After a very mild few days the temperatures have now dropped. Scotland is in for a cold snap and snow is on it's on way. I was holding out for a being snowed in tomorrow, but it looks like the worst affected will be the north and the east. I'm starting to question my motives for buying a house in the sticks.

With January's good intentions, I expected the turn out for tonight's pack runs to be quite good. And I half expected to see some new faces. Neither. Just the usual group of core die-hards.

The route for tonight was a "good six miles" - which means seven - round Knightswood and back through Maryhill. And to set the year off on a good start there were a few nose-bleed hills thrown in for good measure.

I was the only show from the pack E troops, but Captain Maz wanted to run with me. It was her debut club run as a Garscube Mum. She gave birth to her gorgeous son Finn - by Cesarean Section - only three months ago. Now any new-Mum would embrace the maudlin state of trackie-bottoms, the baby blues and sleep deprivation, but not Maz. Her body snapped back into shape and she'd signed up as a reserve at the club x-country three weeks later. Yes, that's three weeks after what is classed as a major operation. As lovely as she is, Maz is the walking proof that justifies the brunt the Irish receive is everyday jokes. Her sweeping statements are infamous. Whilst disguising her pregnancy during the early stages, she asked if she could run with me because she "felt awful. Terrible" and "wanted to run really, really slow and take it easy". Now that's motivational chat from the Ladies' Captain. Unbeknown to her, she provides the much needed comedy value that the club needs. At the training weekend last year, she told the group over dinner that you could drive in Ireland without a license. After about 20 minutes of debate and dispute, she pipped up and in her lovely Irish drawl announced: "you're not supposed to. But you can."

If there's truth in the theory that woman come back stronger runners after childbirth, then Maz will be the prime example. When we started out on the "easy" run, I know it was going to be anything but easy. Maz was considerably faster than me before blooming. So much so, that even after pregnancy, childbirth and sleepless nights, she was still faster than me. I'd like to think we were pushing each other, but I think I may be flattering myself. By the half-way point our chatter had turned to gasping.

I've had a bit of a cough for the last week and this was quite noticeable when we hit the hills. I continuously apologised for my spluttering. I always find the cold really affects my breathing.

On through Jordanhill, over Kelvindale and up to Maryhill we kept up a steady pace. The hill up Scaethorn nearly floored me, but we finish the last mile hard. It was definitely the toughest run I've done this year. Te he.

Jill, you better polish-up that shameless competitive streak of yours. The Irish are back on form.

And for the boring, just for the record stuff: Garscube, GWR, Lincoln, Anniesland Rd, Southbrae, Whittingham, GWR, Dorchester, Scaethorn and home. 6.78 miles in 56:44. Average pace 8.22. Slower than expected. Darn hills and dodgy lungs.

Goals for 2008

Good riddens 2007! After an injury-plagued and unmotivated year, my only real achievement was the Devil o' the Highlands and one whole second off my 10K PB.

I melted in Paris, pulled-out of the Great Scottish Run, got blown away in Prestonpans and lost the will to live during the Polaroids. I had no structured training plan and simply hammered out mile after mile. Ironically I still huffed when I didn't improve my race times.

This year is going to be great. I'm embracing speed work, making every session count and ditching the junk miles. One-pace Debs no more... don't quote of on that though (Jill).

So here goes...

Marathon: For the last two years, this has been my main focus. Unfortunately, I've never really had a good shot at a good time. Soaring heat in Berlin (06) and then again in Paris (07) really threw me. This year I plan on running the London Marathon in April and (injury prevailing) the Loch Ness Marathon in October.

Half-marathon: This is my favourite distance. PB set in Great Scottish Run in 2006. Messed up quite a few last year, so didn't really get close to breaking it.

10K: This is my least favourite, as I always find them too frantic. Actually I tend to avoid these races. There's no flexbility. Every second counts. Even little hitches like hills, water stations, breeze, corners...can have a huge impact on time. My "first" 10K is next weekend at the Jack Crawford in Bishopbriggs. Here's hoping.

According to my new running bible (the competitive runner's handbook) the best way to set goals is to break them down into flexbile chucks and then again by time frame.

 

Race Distance 10K	PB : 48:42
	Acceptable Goal	Challenging Goal	Ultimate Goal
Short Term (30 days)	47:59	46:42	46:15
Intermediate (Within 3 months)	47:30	46:30	46:00
Long Term (within 1 year)	46:15	45:30	44:59
Race Distance Half Marathon	PB : 1:46:15
	Acceptable Goal	Challenging Goal	Ultimate Goal
Short Term (30 days)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Intermediate (Within 3 months)	1:45:30	1:43:45	1:42:00
Long Term (within 1 year)	1:43:00	1:41:30	1:39:59
Race Distance Marathon	PB : 3:48:48
	Acceptable Goal	Challenging Goal	Ultimate Goal
Short Term (30 days)	N/A	N/A	N/A
Intermediate (Within 3 months)	3:44:59	3:40:00	3:37:00
Long Term (within 1 year)	3:39:00	3:34:00	3:29:59

 

West Highland Way: And for the Big Yin, I just want to live to tell the tale. My main aim is just to finish in one piece. And if I were to finish in one piece in under 26 hours, I'd be delighted.

New year jaunt

Marco and I are staying in Glencoe for New Year and suffering slightly after a night in the Clachaig Inn. After copious amounts of beer and blueberry Bacardi Breezers, I wasn't holding out my hope for today's run. Amanda and Stewart dropped us off at the Bridge of Orchy Hotel. We left our car at Kinghouse, so we could run the 12-miles of the West Highland Way section.

En route we had a debate as whether to leave the car at the ski centre or the Kingshouse Hotel. I'm a bit of a stickler for doing things properly. Although we would welcome a closer finish, I wouldn't be satisfied with not completing the full section. Whilst shaking his head at my theory, Marco parked the car up at Kinghouse, shortly after noon. On the way to Bridge of Orchy, Stewart kept asking if we wanted out sooner. Even I was slightly concerned about the distance we were moving away from the car.

After my Sis took the mandatory pre-run picture, we said our goodbyes set off up the Orchy hills. We passed quite a few groups - with bemused looks - on the way up. Despite feeling quite delicate, I felt really light on the hills. Usually I struggle on this incline, but not today. Maybe it was the blueberry juice sugar injection. We were moving quite quickly on the descent into Inveronan. The road section between Inveronan (past the annoying yappy dog that always seems to appear) and the Drove Road, is my least favourite part of the WHW. Running on road in trail shoes is awful.

Up the Drover Road on to Rannoch Moor, is always a bit a challenge. It's deceptively steep incline can take a lot out of your legs.

The weather was still and fresh, so Rannoch Moor was very enjoyable. I love the wide open space and seeing the length of the trail stretched out in front.

After about six miles, Marco decided he was "starving". Don't be deceived by is super svelte physique, the boy has an bigger appetite than a gastric band waiting list. Despite a super-fuelled breakfast and six scoops of energy drink in his platypus, he felt the need to devour a Cinnamon and raisin bagel. He unsuccessfully disguised his greediness as "training to eat on the run". Watching him choke and splutter on the third bite was quite comical. Devoid of intelligence it was me who had to tell him to stop running until he cleared is air pipes. I fear the worse for letting him out there on his own.

I ran the whole way up the hills to the highest point, which is something I've never been able to do and the last three attempts. I didn't really feel any different that running on the flat, other than the pace was slower.

We really picked up the pace on the trail down to the ski centre. I loved running down hill. I think the no-fear element is one of my strengths. Unfortunately my feet move faster than my brain, so it's quite treacherous.

The route from Bridge of Orchy to the ski centre took us 2:15. This is the point-to-point time including stopping for pictures, comfort stops and clothing changes. Even though it's January the temperature was eight degrees, so there was a few pip-stops for removing layers.

We picked up the pace again on the way to Kingshouse. For reasons which escape me, I was running faster that 10K pace. Oh well, a fast finish is great race preparation.

Finished the 12-mile section in 2:25. My garmin says I burned approx 1000 calories, which I promtly replaced with a Clachaig burger and chips.

Great band on in the Clachaig...

Hogmanay Handicap

OK, Hogmanay it's not until tomorrow, but it's Sunday today so the organises tried to cash in on bigger turn out. It's my first attempt at the Jack Shirley Memorial Race. Usually I'm on a boozy European city break for the celebrations, but this year Marco and I are heading to Glencoe.

(picture: All runners. Although I look like a junior, I ran with the grown-ups)

The 4.2mile (undulating) race is open to all - seniors and juniors. It's a handicap, so the start times are (loosely) based on runners' 10K times. Big Charlie was first to go and I was 17 minutes behind him. I had the start time as Willie. I've seen in club get-up at races, but never seen him at training. At the horn I realised that with all the gibbering I had forgotten to do a warm up. The temperature was verging on chilly and I had yesterday's 16-miler in my legs. Oops. I was a bit rusty at first. Willie tried to stick with me - right next to me, actually - along the road past the Rangers training ground. It's a narrow path, so I was forced to run on the road.

Turning left over the hills of Langbank, I lost Willie on the first major incline. I could only hear his footsteps for about half a mile. Result. There was no way a grown man with a ponytail longer than mine was going to beat me.

There are some stonkin' inclines on this course, but it's one of my favourites. Nice rolling hills with some fabulous views.

About three mile in, I could hear some steps behind me. I was slightly worried about who was catching me up, then a hobbit-sized junior appeared at my side. I was breathing out my ears and he was smiling and enjoying the view. I don't whether he stuck with me because he wasn't sure of the route or he was thinking of seasonal charity work and helping the aged. Thankfully he shot off after a few hundred metres.

I passed Charlie - the loveliest man in the world - on the last hill into Milngavie. It was all down hill from there. Marco passed me in the last 500m (tsss) to take the fastest time.

I finished in 32.52. Average pace was 8.07. Slower than half-marathon pace, but I didn't take it too seriously. It's a festive soiree after all. This morning I was planning on going along to be official photography. I changed my mind when I realised I didn't have time to get showered and changed. Just enough time to jump in to my running gear. At the end the day, I'm pretty happy with my performance. My training schedule for this weekend was hills on Saturday and 16-miles on Sunday. I just reversed it, but don't tell Lesley.

The jury's out, but it looks like Marco may have broke the race record. The organisers are checking past results for the verdict. Actually, Marco's been on the net for the last hour trying to find out for them. I had to talk him out of emailing the previous record holder (sorry Stephen) on the grounds of bad taste.

Long run fun

Once-upon-a-not-so-long-ago a 16 miler was a very respectable distance for a LSR for me. To my new WHW race buddies, this probably isn't worth getting out of bed for. In a vain attempt to redeem myself, I should not that it's a hilly course and I did most of the distance at marathon race pace. This might not wash for those Way bloggers who are filing 30+ mile runs every weekend. I'm aiming for adequate preparation instead of over training.

It was still very dark when I started out. Felt really sprightly after my rest day yesterday. Headed along to Balloch, over the horseshoe and down through Dumbarton.

The wind really picked up through Bonhill. And to add to the discomfort there was a icy rain behind it. The was forecast for snow, so I was prepared for a challenge.

After last week's cold-hand drama, I tried to get mitts for running. I always find that if my fingers are together, they heat up better. Had troubled finding such a thing, so I was out this morning using socks for gloves. Running through the streets of the Vale on dark winter's morning with socks on your hands could be potential footage for youtube.

Finished the 16 mile route in 2:16:42, which was 1:30 faster than last month's run. Horseshoe in 1:16:48. Average pace was 8.33. My goal marathon race pace is 8.20 and that's breaking my PB by 10 minutes, so (fingers crossed) I'm on track for my target time. Last mile from the sweet shop in 6:21.

Tough day in the office

While the rest of the nation are sitting with their feet up watching their DVD boxsets and demolishing a selection box or two, I've been slaving away in the midst of the cut-throat newspaper industry. To recap...I got to work at 9.15am, surfed for a while before going shopping for a couple of hours. Back in the office. Bit of surfing and blogging. Out for a seven mile tempo run. Showered and more surfing. Headed back out to the shops for another couple of the hours. I'm exhausted, so I'm taking a break to file my run ;-)

Well, I did my usual seven-miler from the office round the west end (centre-Dumbarton-crow-anniesland-Great Western-Charing Cross). Felt really good and legs felt light. The head wind was a bit challenging in parts, which could have slowed me down. It was one of the winds that follow you. Despite being a circular course it was in face the whole way.

Top of Byres road in 43.28 (which was 1:32 faster than six weeks ago). And completed the 7.5 mile route in 58.45 (about one minute faster). Considering the wind and the long run from yesterday, I'm chuffed to bits. Average speed 7.57.

Seven miles of running and five miles of shopping. Now that's what I call quality training. Now, where do I hide my shopping bags...;-)

Boxing Clever

Or not so clever as the case may be. After a whole day of over-indulgence, I felt more stuffed than the turkey. The only solution was to meet up with my fellow Garscubians for a 12-mile trail run. I probably had enough calories in me to fuel me on the full West Highland Way, but we opted for a small section starting at Kirkhouse Inn in Strathblane.

(picture The Consani Brothers)

A small group of 10 met at noon in the car park. There's usually more of a turn-out, but I guess the weather forcast and/or the previous nights' drinking was an incentive to watch repeats on TV. We met at the more civilised hour of noon - to allow for drivers to sober-up below the legal limit.

Captain Athole shouted "Everyone know the route? Yeap. Yeap. Good" before heading off and leaving a few startled faces behind. Thankfully I was more than familiar with this killer course.

The first few miles - out of the village and on to the trail - were up hill. I always find hills on cold muscles really tough, so I slipped to the back. By the time we got to the Carbeth Huts I had caught up and overtaken. The Way was much more pleasant and less scary than Saturday's skating. Unfortunately the mud patches were back to ruin our trainers and splatter our clothes.

We stopped at Beech Trees to regroup. Wee Ann had taken a fall in the mud, so turned up looking like a farmer's wife.

Setting off as one group, we past another WHW runner in training. I was frantically whispering and pointing to Marco when he past. I recognised him from the race profiles on the race site. After a search when we got home, I discovered it was George Reid. I knew I recocognised the Fetch shirt and the buff.

We turned off the Way (I've had enough for one month) and headed up the stouter of the hill to Killearn. Call me an sensationalist, but I'm sure it's a mile long. Usually I have piercing pains in the thighs and calves at the top, but I felt fine 'n' dandy - albeit slightly pink. Despite being Boxing Day, the temperature was strangely warm. We thought we had managed to escape the predicted stormy weather, until we headed past the farm and back on the trail. The strong head wind was pretty fierce. Thankfully the trail follows through woodlands, so we were sheltered for the remaining five miles home. There was lots of cheery families out, so it was lovely to see some smiling faces.

Finish the 12.01 route - without stopping my watch for breaks and gates - in 1:54:46 Average pace was 9.33, which is not too bad currently the terrain. The last time I did this route it was June. Although I had a hip problem and I spent most of the time gossiping, I took me well over two hours.

Merry Christmas y'all

There are few offenses more certifiable than a rep session on Christmas morning. I think the back of my head is still burning from all the glaring eyes. Hey, it's on the schedule so it had to be done. Coach Lesley did say that I was to be flexible round the festive season, as even she didn't think I was mad enough to follow it so strictly.

I had a very restless sleep last night. Despite being 32, I still get very excited about Christmas. Marco opened his eyes at 5am to have me glaring and shouting: "Can we get up yet? Can we? Can we get up YET?". He finally succumb at 5.30am saying: "Maybe we should have kids, so we can have a lie in on Christmas morning". Santa brought me lots of great goodies including a digital SLR camera, a Garmin 50, a lightweight headtorch, ipod radio connection and lots of pamper stuff. I feel positively spoiled.

I headed out for my run at 10am - full of Christmas joy and high on Liquorice Allsorts. Nothing too tough. It is Christmas after all. 4.5miles of one minute intervals. Finished my Balloch - Bonhill Bridge route in 33.57. That's 18 seconds faster than a few weeks ago and almost three minutes faster than October. Surely that deserves a chocolate or two?

'Twas the night before Christmas

After a day off yesterday, I was raring to go for the scheduled mile reps. Thought I may struggle, as I was bright-as-a-button at 5am. Unlike the rest of the world, Marco and I had to work today. Mind you, by the time he got up, I'd wrapped all the presents, spent an hour ironing and tidied the whole house. Apparently he slept through the whole ordeal. Likely story ;-)

Anyway, I met up with the Consani brothers for our (alternate) Monday night mile reps at 3pm. Yep I skived off early - after spending two hours last-minute shopping.

After Marco and Paul's usual competitive jovial bletherings, we set off on a warm up. Their warm-up pace is probably equivalent to my tempo, so I let them set off on their own. Usually we're in the dark for this session, so it was quite motivational to see them in front.

Completed three one-mile reps in 6.40, 6.34 (PB) and 6.41. For some bizarre reason, my last one felt the fastest. Good news is, my slowest rep was my fastest last time.

Before we departed, the guys discussed their plans for Friday morning's run up Ben Lomond. They're both planning on wearing their running tights...so lock up your daughters ;-)

Icemen not Drymen

WHW group run: part deux. We met at Milngavie station at 9am. As usual Marco and I were late, so we missed the group photo. Chatted with some familiar faces and folks from last run. With the wonders of the internet, I feel as if I know everyone already. Finally met the great John Kynaston. JK is to jogging and blogging as JK Rowling is to child wizards. I'm sure he's filed his report before he's even unlaced his trainers.

http://west-highland-way-race07-training.blogspot.com/

Today's it's Milngavie to Drymen...and back again. Quite familiar with this section route, so I knew I could get away with using my road shoes. Or so I thought. I would have been better off with a pair of crampons. The temperatures were below freezing during the night, so when the rain started in the morning, it had turned to ice.

Out of the town and through Mugdock the grit trail was OK, but it was like dancing on ice from there on in. I was running on my own for most of the first section. Not because I lack social skills, but because the fast group were too fast and the slower group were, well, too slow. I think Marco felt bad about my no-friends situation, so hung back to run with me. Actually he ran off and then stopped to let me catch up. I found it really hard to run on the ice. It was like running on a treadmill. My legs were doing to revolutions, but I wasn't actually going anywhere. Now I know what a hamster on a wheel is like ;-) The slow pace meant that I couldn't heat up. I've got really bad circulation, so my hands and feet were like blocks of ice.

I sent Marco packing before Drymen. I was planning on getting there and turning straight back. The thought of sitting about in wet clothes in the freezing cold was less than appealing. By this point I was so blue, I looked like a smurf. John Kennedy (winner of this year's Devil o the Highlands race) passed and warned me about the bridge at Drymen, as the ice had made it quite treacherous. He also commented that he'd seen my My Race feature on the Devil's race. Oooh I felt like a minor celebrity. When I got to the bridge - as I'm slightly accident prone - I decided to make that my turning point.

The road from Drymen back on to the trail was my lowest point. The roads were a nightmare. I passed another three WHW runners on their way to Drymen. Looked like some of the group dropped off en route, as there was definitely more that set out. I could have easily thrown in the towel, but I had motivated myself with an incentive: to burn enough energy to enjoy guilt-free pizza and chips that night. Yes, I'm that shallow.

After the most boring part of the WHW, I was relieved to reach the steps back on to the trail. I met an elderly rambling group at the Way marker. I warned then about the ice on steps and the extremely slippy duckboards. As I ran off, I heard the distant sound of shrieks and whooping.

Heading towards the Killearn turn off the sun was trying to come up. Thankfully I was thawing out and feeling less murderous. The fast (er) boys past me shortly before Dumgoyach. Ian Beattie told me that he was: "keeping Marco at the back to slow him down". That made me giggle, as Marco is usually like a Labrador that's just been let out of a car.

My encounter with them was short-lived. I was on my own until after the Carbeth Huts, when I ran with Tim for a while. We parted when I had to stop for a comfort break. The fourth of the day. That's frosty weather for you.

On through Mugdock Park, there was a few hairy moments with unleashed dogs. Back on through Milngavie town centre and it was all over. 24 miles bang on. It's amazing how you can programme you brain to tell you body what you need. If you're out to do a 24 mile run, it's mind over matter. Tell yourself you're only doing five miles and your body will give you the energy for five miles, but not a step further. Don't know how my legs will react when I have to tell them 96 miles is on the cards.

Brass monkeys

Sweet lord it's bitter today. Up early to go to the gym. Bit of cycling (4k), bit of arm reps (2k), core work and leg weights. Whilst watching the weather report from the comfort of the gym, I had to chuckle when I thought of Marco out pounding the streets in sub-zero temperatures. I got my comeuppance though. When I headed out on my run at 7pm it was not only -2 degrees, it was very foggy and very dark. What was supposed to be a steady seven-miler with hard 15 minutes at the end, turned it to run as fast as you can to fight the freeze. The pavements were a tad of the slippy side and roads were packed with motorist cautiously moving through the fog. My head torch didn't work so well in the fog, so my Bonhill-Dumbarton route was a little more adventurous that usual.

Got a PB though. Even with the ice. Finished in 55.57. That's 23 seconds faster than two weeks ago. I finished the last mile hard, but not as hard as I could have. I knew I was on for a PB so I was a little more relaxed.

Before I started with Lesley's training plan, I usually averaged about 1:01 on this route. Pretty pleased that I've shaved off about five minutes. My aim is to get it under 55mins by end of January.

Not that I'm getting better, I'm off to do what I do best. Shopping, eating and drinking wine. It's the Daily Mail Christmas party in London tomorrow night, so I'm hanging up my trainers for two days. Perfect taper for Saturday's WHW training run. I'm sure there will be lots of carb loading too ;-)

Fartlek Fever

Gawd the things you can find on google images ;-)

Yes, you've guessed it, it was fartlek tonight.

I generally view this as the fairy of rep sessions. Verging on the not-to-bad side of tough. Unfortunately tonight, I was teamed up with three packs above me. Therefore I was the goose breathing out my ears at the back of the group. Managed to keep up for bursts, varying from 100m, two minutes, 800m, 200m, 1000m, more random sprints and hungry hill to finish. It was only on the longer reps that I noticed a gap. Jill (coach for the evening) said that "it was a better session, as the runners were closer together. No waiting about". I'll take that as a compliment. Cheers, FB ;-)

Step class

It's still over a week to go until Christmas and I feel I need Priory mini-break already. Last week passed in a splurge of over-indulgence. Red wine and chocolate were the main components of my diet. After Marco told me before yesterday's race that "Elves aren't supposed to smell like winos" I thought I better dry out for a couple of days. But not before another Christmas party. The Garscube annual ceilidh. My Marco is very enthusiastic when it comes to our traditional dance. Needless to say after a couple of JDs and a few gigs in girlie shoes, I'm black and blue and my arms need re-socketed.

I also presented Garscube: The Oscars. This is the club's alternative awards. More of a p*ss take. Verging on the offensive.

http://www.garscubeharriers.co.uk/documents/The%20Garscube%20Oscars%20Presentation.pdf

Anyway, after waking up feeling slightly delicate...and confused as to why I was wearing Marco's Santa suit as PJs...I was surprised that I was still looking forward to Kelvingrove step reps after work. Any other suggestion would have been thrown out, but this is my favourite session just now. I took most of the day to convince Marco into joining me. And it took us about 20 minutes to get out of the car. As the cars around us were freezing over, the great outdoors was less that inviting.

After a short warm up, we headed to the steps with a view to completing a set of 12. My muscles were cold and tight, but running made me feel so much better. Good start to the detox. Only three more sleeps to the next party ;-)

Times were 0.37, 0.37, 0.37, 0.37, 0.37, 0.36, 0.36, 0.36, 0.36, 0.36, 0.36 and 0.35.

Bloody Elf

Garscube's annual Santa race today. It's a just-for-fun 5K (ish) course through Bearsden. Well, it's a lighthearted event for most people. I had to talk Marco out of wearing his racing shoes, only to get there to see a few other members in theirs.

The race was hilarious. Running down the switchback to the sound of honking horns and cheering pedestrians. Took the focus off my red wine hangover and aching legs. Finished in 24.55...without spewing.

It's the club's Christmas party tonight, so we booked a hotel for the night. I don't know what was funnier, going round Asda for the post-race munchies or checking in to the hotel. Dressed as Santa and an elf definitely raised a few eyebrows. It could be the new festive fetish.

Royal Mail red-faced tale

Decided to take it easy today. Not for any tactical reason, only because I'm feeling festive and therefore idol. Choose the 10-mile round the ol' faithful Balloch Horseshoe.

Struggled for the first few miles until I warmed up. Didn't take long as, even though it's mid-December, it's still really mild. I took a pip-stop at three miles to remove some clothes. After that I felt like I'd been reborn. I've never been a fan of hot-weathered running. Give me 12 degrees with slight drizzle any day. I won't drivel on, but if you want to hear me hiss, just mention the 30 degrees of this year's Paris Marathon. Sssss.

Feeling cooler I started to pick up the pace. One thing I've noticed about running that wee bit faster is that there's been an increase in the number of "emergency stops" I've made. I'll spare you the details, but I'm sure any runner reading this will be nodding knowingly. At mile five I had to make an emergency sprint into the grounds of a country estate. Just when I thought I was at my lowest ebb, the postman decided to drive through %-) We've become quite familiar, as our routes pass frequently on a Saturday morning. It was the quickest I'd moved all day. Deeply embarrassed when he beeped and waved. Die. Hope there's another post strike soon.

Anyway with a redder than normal face (and I usually look like a Halloween cake) I pushed on. Feeling great, I was making up for time lost in the first few miles.

Finished the horseshoe in1:15:54. Home in 1:24:20. Average pace 8.32. Two weeks ago my times were 1:17:47, 1:26:03 and 8.43.

Skiing backwards

Tonight's training plan was in danger of going t*ts up, with the on slot of the Editor's Christmas lunch. Basically this is an excuse for my superiors at the Daily Mail to get bladdered. Apparently I'm always invited as "part of the senior management team". I, on the other hand, think I'm one of the token burds. I was determined that I was staying the wagon and going to training tonight. Unlike last year when I was adamant I was going to the club committee meeting - Marco found me in McPhabb's at 10pm and had to be literally poured into the car. I've never batted for the "one's enough for me" team. I sway more to the "once you've got a taste for it..." team. Anyhoo today I managed to exert some control - much to disappointment of my companions. I consumed two pregnant woman's portions of wine, three glasses of water and a coffee. Admirable or what? Especially on a free bar. Managed to escape as the round of Zambucas arrived.

So it was off to training for me...we did the Bearsden (ski centre - Stockiemuir) route in reverse. Didn't arrive in time for a proper warm up, so the uphill route through Bearsden was a bit of a struggle. Picked up the pace from the ski centre, down Stockiemuir, through the park and on to Milngavie Road. I was really keeping an eye on pace, but new we were under 8m/m from the ski centre onwards. New bloke, Davie, ran with wee Ann and I. Think we were a bit slow for him, as he was far more chatty. Finished the 5.6mile route on an average pace of 8.29.

Home feeling quite self-righteous. I'm sure there will be a few sore heads in the office tomorrow morning. I'm presently celebrating my abstinence with a lovely glass of red wine ;-)

Take two

As I had a club committee meeting this evening, I had to squeeze in my seven (ish) mile tempo beforehand. Decided to give the Knightswood route we did last Thursday another bash. Last week we ran it as a tempo - 2 miles steady, 3 miles at 10K and the rest easy. I felt that I could have ran that harder, so going out at my new-found pace would be a good comparison.

When I left the Garscube Estate there was another running club in front of me. They kept slowing and looking round at me, as if they had left someone behind. Thankfully they turned down another street, and I followed on to Anniesland. Managed to keep marathon pace up to Knightswood and then picked up the pace to Lincoln, down to Danes, past Victoria Park and up to Anniesland. The last mile up to the Garscube Estate is our equivalent of Boston's Hungry Hill. A lot of our routes finish here. Just when your legs are tired, it's up and up. Nice fast finish down to the end though.

Covered 6.07 miles in my 10K PB time (0.6m faster than last Wednesday's tempo). Finished route in 50:21 (last week 55:43, although we did more of a recovery up last mile). Pace was 7.58 (last week 8.43). First time I've broken the eight minute barrier.

Paarlauf

Finally, after two years, I've got my head round this. Basically it's a speed session run in groups. Tonight it was just two people, so it wasn't too complicated. Or so you would have thought. Marco and I took the session, as the real coaches were having a meeting. Announcing the session, was like trying to demonstrate ceilidh moves to a bunch of English people. A sea of blank expressions. "OK, it's an 850 circuit. Choose a partner of equal ability. Start back-to-back. One person starts at recovery pace, the other runs hard. When you meet up, turn round and swap. So, one person is running at rep speed and the other is on recovery. And we'll do this for 30 minutes". There was the usual gasps and tuts. And complaints about Stevie making them do 20 minutes. Bla bla.
I teamed up with new boy David. He hasn't done any races for a while, but I think we were about the same. Although I'm sure he was slacking off towards the end, as I seemed to be covering more of the circuit. Even on the recovery. Hey ho, I didn't have my Garmin with me, so don't know what the distance was.

Park life

It was time to undo the damage done at the weekend. No party without a punchin', so I did the mile reps round Knightswood Park with Marco. It was pretty cold. I felt like my lungs were freezing. My legs felt OK, but my feet were slightly cautious of the ice patches. Don't want to have to ask Santa for my two front teeth for Christmas.
Not really much to report. Did three reps in 6.45, 6.43 and 6.42 (two weeks ago is was 6.54, 6.43 and 6.43).

Sweet Sixteen

There's an inspirational tip in this month's Runner's World about ditching the junk miles : Cranking out endless miles won't necessarily make you a faster finisher, according to Dan Robinson. The 'one run fits all' approach to training, he says, is what doner kebabs are to healthy eating. "Try to avoid junk miles where you're just running for the sake of it. Make every run count, whether it's a recovery run, long run or speed-endurance session."

This is a quote that I'll keep in the back of my mind, as I've spent most the this year just getting the miles in my legs.

I've really focused on speed and pacing over the past few months, so for today's 15-mile run I wanted to concentrate on hills and running form.

I chose a route from Hardgate through Bearsden, over the Langbank hill and then back through Milngavie. It's very undulating to say the very least.

I've been researching running form, so tried to put some theories into practice.

Running uphill: Increase forward lean (but not from the waist). Shorten stride. Increase arm, foot and knee drive. Switch to ball-heel foot action. Maintain breathing. By shortening stride and maintaining strike rate, it should be easier to keep moving at pace when you've reached the crest. Since the rate it there, you only have to extend stride length to regain speed.

Running downhill: Take the breaks off and roll. Lean forward from the pelvis. "develop a feel for downhill running so you flow smoothly with the hill like a mountain stream". The key is quicker turnover. Decrease stride at the start of hill. On steep declines, land on the ball of your foot. Push off from the heel. Strike lightly. Arms not needed for power - just balance. Stay relaxed.

The main aim was to try and keep a consistent strike rate - regardless of the gradient.

It was pretty windy out there and the hills really emptied my legs. The course takes in a few stonking hills. The last one nearly had me on my knees. Even the last two miles downhill was a struggle.

Finished in the 15 miles (drenched, frozen and cross-eyed) in 2:16:58. Pace 9.08. Pretty gutted, as I wanted to keep long run pace under 8.45, but the hills really slowed me down. On a more positive note, according to McMillian my long run pace (for my target 3.40 marathon) is 8.54-9.54. Check me out, trying to stay upbeat. Now I just need to get some life in my legs for my office Christmas party. After ceilidh dancing in heels, today's adventure will seem horseplay.

Six and a bit

Had a wee bit of a manic day today, so was dying to get out for a run. Don't know if I'm premenstrual or just grumpy, but everyone was annoying me. En route to Garscube, my mind was so full of mush that I ended up going through a red light at Anniesland Cross. Oops.

Six mile tempo was on the cards for tonight. Or at least it was six miles until I took the troops on a wee detour and added on an extra half mile. Another oops. Route though Knightwood and back up Crow Road. We picked up the pace down Lincoln Drive (which is the road we shouldn't have been on) to 7.45 or 10k pace.

I couldn't help but notice that Knightswood must be the international culture capital of the world. There was so many different nationalities kicking about, it was hard to believe we were in Scotland. The girls were reminded of their location when a random runner sprinted through the middle of us, forcing me to collide with some tree branches. The harsh vulgarities I spat, were definitely apt for a Glasgow scheme. Little did we know that we were running in the path of Victoria Park's club race and were soon to be stampeded by superfast six-year-olds.

Tempo continued up to Anniesland. Felt this pace was quite steady for me. Could have easily pushed it. Glad that I can "lead" quite comfortably without have to kill myself trying to keep up.

Wet 'n' wild

Switched on the radio on the way home, to hear the weather report: "The wind is going to die down from 50mph to 30mph". Sweet lord. My car was all over the place, so I was dreading my seven-mile tempo.

Started out OK. Didn't really hit the head wind until mile three. Being that little bit faster these days, I didn't find the wind as bad as usual. It was pretty full on most of the way home - with mile 3-5 being the worse. I was actually looking forward the dark, dingy bit, as I would at least be sheltered by the trees. The traffic at that bit was busier than usual, so I spent a fair bit of time hopping on and off the pot-holed footpath.

I covered 6.01 miles in my 10K PB time, so fingers-crossed I should be on for a smasher next time I brave the distance. I always been quite vocal about my hate for this distance, but now I'm really looking forward to it. Jack Crawford on Jan 12 is my goal.

Finished in 56.20 - that's 45 seconds faster than last week. Considering the blustery conditions, I was absolutely delighted. Last mile from the sweet shop in 6:21.

Science class

Tonight's Garscube session was reps round the science park. This may sound quite exciting, but in reality the science park is a business estate on the outskirts of Maryhill. Inspired. Leaving the Garscube Estate and heading over, we were joined by a group of gobby youngsters. I know I'm aging, but I swear they looked about seven-years-old. It was funny enough that they started the warm-up running alongside us, but it was even funnier when one wee girl stated calling me "big t*ts". Considering I'm a 32A this was the best thing I've been called in years. Actually, maybe she was saying "you are a big t*t".

Anyway the group were split in three. Our pack was moved up to the intermediate gang. I knew it was going to be tough, because some of the faster boys had dropped back for an "easy session". There was me and three of my E pack that were pulled along.

The circular route is about 450m. A few sharp bends, but no hills. The wind picked up, so the last stretch was a struggle.

We did 10 reps - with a 3.5minute turnaround. Just for the record (the boring bit) my times were 1.41, 1.40, 1.39, 1.39, 1.39, 1.38, 1.41, 1.40, 1.41, 1.39.

Step reps

Convinced Marco to go over the Kelvingrove to do the step reps at Park Circus. As previously stated, it's three flights of continuous steps.

Marco's a wee bit tired after his PB in the East Kilbride 10K yesterday came in 14th in 35:45. Funniest thing was that was the time I predicted for him. I'd even worked out the splits for him for that time. I'd even given him a lucky penny I found yesterday morning. Therefore, I'm taking full responsibility ;-)

Anyway, enough about him and more about me. Used his weak state to try and close the gap during the step reps. Hey now I'm a Consani I better state getting a bit more competitive.

We went for 12 x up and down. Times were 40, 39, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 38, 37, 37, 36, 35. Marco's average was 34 seconds. Close but no cigar :-(

Balloch Horseshoe

This week's five speed sessions and early rises have taken it's toll. Up at 6.30am, as I wanted to get my long run early. Marco's doing the East Kilbride 10K later, so I'm off to cheer him on. I set out with the intention of running 16 miles, but decided to cut it short and aim for quality rather than quantity. Ran the challenging 10+ miles of the Balloch Horseshoe. Great hills, nice scenery (when it finally got light) and perfect weather conditions. Home - round the circuit - corner in Bonhill in 1:17:45. Back home in 1:26:03.

Now I'm off to the land of the roundabouts. Oh the glamour.

Marco-isms

This deserves a whole section to itself. My darling husband is amazingly supportive, but he comes out with the most wonderful statements.

I forgot to tell you about the cracker her came out with this week...

Apparently when he does his Wednesday morning run round the west end, there's a girl he passes on Crow Road. And apparently she's my double. So much so, that he's convinced it's me. At first I thought she was out running at this time, but he duly informed me that "she looks like she's never ran a step in her life". So, how can she look like me, Marco? Eh? He did try to retract the comment by saying: "I was just saying that she looks like you from behind". It's a good job I'm thick skinned.

Magic minutes

Got all the gals coming round for lunch today, so I've been up since 6.30 acting like a crazy cooking/cleaning lady. Decided to take a breather and go for a wee run. Opted for the one minute on/off session I do round Balloch. Usual route of 4.5 mile (Balloch-Park-Bonhill Bridge-Home). Warm-up to Balloch roundabout and then one minute sprints with one minute recovery. Lost count, but think I did about 9/10. I'm using this route as a gauge to see how my training's going. My first attempt five weeks ago was 36.40 and two weeks ago was 35.34. My aim was to get it under 35 mins before Christmas. My legs feel a bit stiff today, so I was utterly surprised to finish in 34.15. Woohoo. Big tick.