Phlegming Nora !

I’ve been suffering with the cold for a wee while now and didn’t manage a race last weekend. I had planned another race free race this weekend, as I wasn’t up to racing the Brampton to Carlisle 10 mile road race, nor the Ayrshire Cross Country Championships. Instead I enjoyed the relatively unusual occurrence of a Friday night out and had a few drinks in Sammy Dows as Kong put on another excellent show. However when I awoke from my stupor at 8:50am on Saturday, I knew that I could, just about, make the 9:30 Start Line for the weekly Glasgow parkrun. A quick wash and I was out the door with my bottle of Lucozade Sport and heading towards Pollok Park. “You’re looking a bit rough” commented a running buddy and he was right, in fact I was probably feeling even worse than I looked. My choice was either to stay in bed and rest, or run and try to sweat the cold and alcohol out of my system. Obviously, I chose the latter.

I coughed, spluttered and spat out phlegm as I struggled around the undulating course, increasing my pace slightly in the second lap to overtake, amongst others, Kilmarnock youngster Alasdair McGhee and Gerry Gallacher of the Scottish Prison Service, on his way to a new PB. I managed to hold off a strong challenge from Alan Bow to place 110th with a time of 23:30 in my 86th parkrun.

Results

Back in the Burrell Café, Gerry and Sarah Whalen asked if I was doing the inaugural Glasgow Mo Running 5k Race on the Sunday. Although I had thought about it, I hadn’t got around to registering and the race site indicated that the event was full.

Mo Running
I was up bright and early on Sunday morning and was looking forward to a decent cycle ride, however the possibility of running my 60th race of 2011 was playing on my mind, so I decided that I would include Glasgow Green as part of my ride and enquire about the possibility of being a ‘late entry’. I met up with Gerry and Sarah as they approached the registration desk and I was pleased when the organisers agreed to accept my £15. A bit expensive but it is for a good cause and the organisers had provided a breakdown of costs on their web site.

It's Not About the Bike
A quick change into running mode and I was just about to chain my bike to the railings when, Race Director, Dave Krangel asked, over the tannoy, if anyone had a bike that he could use to lead the race around the course. I immediately volunteered my bike, gave my bag to Annette Whalen for safe keeping and set about warming up. Although there was an organised session, I prefer to do my own race preparation, which, to be honest, is very much like the pre rugby preparation that I first learned about 40 years ago. Suitable warmed up, I made my way along to the Start line where I joined with Cambuslang’s Shaz Hakeem, a guy from Motherwell AC and another 170 runners and walkers for the 10:30 start. The race started on rather soft grass but it wasn’t long until we were on la terre ferme and following some of the Jog Scotland 5k route.

I was a bit surprised to see so many people pass me in the early stages but I was confident that I would catch at least some of them as the race progressed. Although there were a large number of fun runners, there were still a significant number of decent runners for me to compete against. Again I was coughing, spluttering and spitting phlegm but today my pace was a bit faster. It took almost half of the race for it to settle down and allow me to start targeting runners in front. As I thought he would, Shaz led the race from start to finish. I tried to keep the leading lady, Elodie Bourgault, in sight. Although there was no chance of catching her I did manage to catch a few others especially in the long flat section after the 4k marker. I was slowly catching the two runners immediately in front as we approached the final strait but they both found an extra gear and sprinted towards the Finish. I found a little bit more speed to race across the Line and finish in a watch time of 21:35. I received my goody bag and headed behind a tree for some more coughing and spluttering before rejoining the mutual congratulations. I was advised to return to the Race Directors tent, where I added my race number and received a print out of my gun and ship times as well as my placing. I had finished in 19th position and 1st M50+, with a chip time of 21:32. All things considered, I was more than happy with that.

After his exertions the day before, Gerry had decided to run round with Sarah and they finished 54th and 53rd with chip times of 25:37.

60 Races
A did an interview for quirky young journalist Harriet Brace of the Glasgow Journal before collecting my bag and bicycle and making my way home for a hot shower and well earned brunch. I had run my 60th race of the year, had done quite well and had supported a good cause.

Mo Results