My 25th Glasgow parkrun

My 55th race of the year and my 25th Glasgow parkrun took place on Saturday October 10 at 9.30am. It was the morning after the Bella Awards Dinner and some people commented on how remarkably fresh looking I was. I advised them that it was only a facade! As the race approached, I had to decide how I was going to approach the run. My heel is injured but I managed five miles on the treadmill on Friday and of course, I was slightly worse for wear from the previous night's consumption of copious amounts of alcohol. However I found my self near the front of the runners and decided to work hard.

At the off, I tried to start my Garmin only to discover that the batteries were flat. I would need to run blind of my time. I set off at a decent pace and rather than slowing like last week I attempted to keep up the pace for as long as I could. Of course this didn't stop the better runners from overtaken me before we reached the woods. First Marjon said 'good luck' as she passed me on the right hand side and then Robert McEwan patted me on the back as he overtook me on the left. Although Robert soon dissapeared ahead of me, I was able to keep Marjon in my sight.

As I ran down the 'glade' Jules Rose overtook me and settled in front of me. I pulled out and returned the favour. He was on my tail until the start of the third hill, where I accelerated uphill and left him behind. However it wasn't long until he caught me and left me behind as we approached the glade for the second time.

I hung on in and could see Jules and Marjon in front of me all the time. Although I had no chance of catching them, I was trying to close the gap between us. As I ascended the last hill and made my way to the finishing straights there was no one within catching distance. However I knew I was running well and decided to go for the best possible time I could achieve.

I sprinted down the hill and over the line. I had no watch to stop and could only ask Jules and Marjon their times to gauge my result. 20:58 and 20:51 respectively, I was five places behind Marjon and three behind Jules, so I had a good chance of getting a PB but I would need to wait to find out.


Me chatting with Mairi Stangley, winner of the women's race.

As I enjoyed my Ayrshire Bacon roll and soya latte in the Burrell Cafe, I was pleased to be informed by Richard Leyton that they had compiled the results and I had finished in 21:18, a further improvement from last week of 12 seconds. I new course PB for me and my ninth PB of 2009. A good start to the weekend.

Up the Campsies

Now that my marathon training is over I get the chance to try other activities so it was with a spring in my step that I and my flat mate Gunda headed up into the Campsie Fells on Sunday October 4. The route she chose was the one along the road, up the paths to Lecket Hill (547), across to Cort-ma Law (531) and back to the road via Lairs (518).

The initial bit of off road walking was fine, not too steep and became more gradual as we made our way up through a few bogs towards Lecket Hill. The day before had been very wet and windy but today was dry, cold but sunny. Good weather for walking and for appreciating the Scottish scenery.

However, as I looked at Gunda’s guide book I noticed that the stage between Lecket Hill and Cort-ma Law was described as ‘daunting’. Gunda, who is German, explained that she didn’t know what the word meant. I advised her that it meant ‘don’t do it!’ We met three walkers coming in the other direction, one of which was soaked through and they advised us not to do the next section, however we decided to give it a try. It was boggy, very boggy in some parts, the path disappeared a few times and we had to cross a burn as we made our way to Cort-ma Law. We both got wet but it was worth it and not too ‘daunting’ after all.

The next section was much easier and took us along the ridge and through a couple of bogs to Lairs and then down back towards the car park. We met an elderly couple, both with two walking sticks, making their way up towards Lairs. They asked us if the cairn ahead was Cort-ma Law and we explained that it was a further two kilometres away and that there were a few boggy parts on the way. The guy was in his 80’s and I was amazed that they had got that far. Well done to them!
The views back over Lennoxtown to Glasgow were impressive as we completed our days walk and headed for the local tea room and some Earl Gray and then homewards for a wee siesta.

It’s been years since I was up the hills and my vertigo and post viral fatigue had kicked in but today I had no problems what so ever and I’m looking forward to my next one already.

My 54th Race of 2009 and another PB!

My 54th race of the year should have been the Loch Ness Marathon. I had trained 18 weeks for it and was in great shape, apart from a tender left heel which had been playing on my mind. The weather forecast for the days running up to the marathon were not good for towing a caravan, I wasn't looking forward to the two and a half hour delay from getting the race bus to the start of the race and when I developed an eye infection I decided to give it a miss. On the day the start was delayed by a further 50 minutes and the hills seemed to have taken their toll on many of my running buddies who had ran the event.

Instead I decided to run in my 24th Glasgow parkrun. I stayed in on Friday and had a few drinks of the vino rouge and initially would have been happy to run around the course at an easy pace. However when I met my running buddies at Pollok Park and made my escuses to them about not doing Loch Ness the guilt kicked in and I decided that I should try for a decent time. For the first time I started near the front of the 183 runners and as I accelerated down the road after the start of the race, I was surprised that the faster runners behind me hadn't overtaken me. "I must be running too fast" I thought to myself and slowed a little, allowing them to pass me, as we made our way out of the strong winds and into the sheltered woodlands. As I ran down the glade I overtook a tall young woman with an orange top and dark blue shorts on. However as the road was slippery and there were a few branches and pot holes and a lot of leaves I decided to keep near the middle of the road. She then reappeared in the inside lane and we ran together for a bit before I overtook her on the bend and she overtook me once more at the next hill. There was a guy in front of us also dressed in an orange top and dark blue shorts and although I thought that they might have been partners she ran right passed him and into the distance.
I was happy with my pace and decided to let her go.
I was doing well and had targetted another couple of runners in front of me. I managed to overtake the guy easily but the woman was more competitive and put up a strong challenge. However when a couple of park walkers and their four dogs all but cut off our path, I managed to jump over the dogs and raced away. The sound of her footsteps behind me faded as I increased the gap between us. I could see the lass with the orange top on a good bit in front of me, with quite anumber of runners in between. I decided that the best statrategy was to race against her and ignore the runners between us. Although I had no chance of catching her my plan worked as I reeled in a few more runners, especially in the last hill. I lapped a runner as I approached the final brae but there was no-one that I could see ahead of me to that I could catch before the finish line. Instead I settled for a good controlled run over the line, which left me feeling strong. My time was 21:30 which I knew was decent for me in this course. I chatted with the gal with the orange top, Marjon from West Netherlands, and I complimented her particularly for her second lap. This was her fourth running of the event, she finished fourth woman and her time of 21:01equaled her PB.

We headed off for our usual post race banter and roll in bacon at the Burrell Cafe.

It was only later that I discovered that I had taken 18 seconds off of my parkrun PB. No substitute for missing out on a marathon but heh it was much more enjoyable.

There were a number of great performance, particularly from Liam Conway, Iona Robertson and Marina McCallum.

Race with 7,725 others..................

As I sat down to watch the highlights of the Scotland v Macedonia football match, I decided that a glass of wine wouldn’t do me any harm. However with the game being so entertaining and the prospect of watching some football from the lower English leagues straight after the Scotland game I decided not to run in Sunday’s 10k race but to relax, let my hair down and drink the full bottle of vino rouge. However I woke up in plenty of time in the morning and after wrestling with the demons for a long time I decided that, as I had a 12 mile training run scheduled, I’d be as well participating in the 9:30 am race.

I got ready for the run, put my chip on and my race number and then donned an old race t-shirt which I could dispose off at the race start. I ran the two miles down to George Square and saw the other runners making their way to the start in cars and buses. After exchanging a few pre match greetings, I lined up with Maddie from Bella and told her that I would be happy running at 8 min/mile pace. However as we made our way along St Vincent Street, I discovered that there were loads of slower runners in front of me and I felt more comfortable making my way through them and running at my own pace. I ran the 1st kilometre in 4:30 (7:15 m/m pace) and was feeling quite good as I made my way over the Kingston Bridge and down into Tradeston where someone shouted “C’mon Bella.” Then it was up Shields Road and a right turn onto St Andrews Drive at 4k where Francis Thomson cried out “C’mon Ian, you’re doing great.” I know this part of the city well as I train on it often but I hadn’t done my homework, so I didn’t know the exact route that we would take. However we continued up St Andrews Drive and at the 5k mark we crossed Nithsdale Road, my half way time was 22:57 not too bad. We took a sharp left at Maxwell Park down Dalziel Drive where Jimmy, Sandra and Karen shouted words of encouragement. We reached Terregles Ave and turned left, I could see Nithsdale Road ahead but unfortunately the route took another left turn and headed over the hill on Leslie Road before reaching Nithsdale Road. Emma Grant supported me here and then Jethro Lennox; there were two water stations within a few hundred meters, one provided by the local Sikh community and the other by the Territorial Army. In between was Alistair Kell giving verbal encouragement. A quick left onto Darnley Road, then right onto Albert Drive and we were soon on Pollockshaws Road and the 8k marker. We took a right here and then a left and headed down Gorbals Street, where Francis had relocated to and again gave her support. Over the Clyde we ran, although this bridge was much less iconic than the Kingston one. Andy Birnie and other shouted me on and as I tuned right on to Clyde Street, I was met full on by a huge photographer who thought he owned the pavement. I bounced off of him and continued on my race. I don’t know what happened to him and care even less. I could see Glasgow Green ahead and was pleasantly surprised to see that the finish line was also within sight. The path was busy but I still managed to increase my pace a bit on the final sprint and crossed the line in 428th place with a time of 45:16, a rare negative split and all things considered an acceptable time.

I collected my medal and goody bag and waited for Maddie to finish, we were then joined by Karlyn Forsyth and a pregnant Rhona Moran. After the usual post race chatter and mutual congratulations I removed my number and warmed down as I headed homewards. I was surprised to see that there were still thousands of runners still on the streets as I reached home.

After a quick shower, change and cup of coffee I headed round the corner with my camera to lend my support to the 7260 rain soaked runners who were participating in the Half Marathon, including some 61 Bellahouston Road Runners.

Race With Richard Gough

My Marathon Training Plan had me scheduled to do 6 miles on Saturday but I must admit to suffering a little training fatigue. I've ran 50 races this year and that's enough for anyone. I don't need to do a marathon and I've already benefited from the training by getting a number of PBs. So I decided to go to the pub and let my hair down, I had a good night but paid for it in the morning when I woke up with a cross between still being drunk and the onset of a hangover. Of course as any runner knows the best way to sober up is to run and sweat the alcohol out of your system. So off to the Glasgow parkrun I heade. This was to be my 51st race of 2008 and my 22nd parkrun and there were a few differences to this one than the others:

Due to Sunday's Great Scottish Run, the numbers were down, although still a respectable 119;
It was raining, not heavy but still surpringly rare for a Glasgow Saturday morning;
Ex Scottish Football Internationalist, Richard Gough, who now lives in San Diego, was running.

I figured that I would run round at 8 min/mile pace and add a warm up and warm down, to cover my training. As it happens I did the 3.1 miles in 24:12. I also finished 60th so not bad all things considered. Richard Gough started slow, which meant that he overtook me as he ran on to finish in an impressive 21:39.

After the race I had a wee chat with Richard Gough for the Scottish Running Guide before heading into the Burell for a bacon roll, a soya latte and some good craic with the Kirkintilloch Olympians.

When I got back home I turned on the radio to listen to 'Off the Ball' whose special guest turned out to be a one Mr R Gough from San Diego.

No Race but Hard Week of Training

After last week's Isle of Bute 10k, I started this week quite easily. I'm training for the Loch Ness Marathon on 4th October and I'm following one of Hal Higdon's Marathon Training plans, which included 4 miles on Sunday, 10 on Monday, 5 on Tuesday, 7 x hills on Wednesday, Thursday rest, 10 miles at Race Pace on Friday, followed by 20 miles long run on Saturday. I had to check the last two as it seemed a bit much but it was correct. However I did get Wednesday's session wrong as I thought it meant 7 miles of hills, which I did, rather than just 7 hills !! I planned to do the 20 miles at about 9 min/mile pace but unfortunately I got sucked into the pace that the 6 milers, 10 milers and faster marathon runners were setting and although I slowed it down after 5 miles, I struggled to complete the 20 miles. But I did get it done and my total time was about 1:55 so not far off of what I was looking for.

I went along to the Paisley 10k yesterday to take some photos and support the runners. I really enjoyed the event although I must admit to joining in, fully clothed, and running the last 2.5k of the race. However I did turn down the offer of a tee shirt and medal. It was great to get the chance to chat with running legend Haley Haining at the end of the race. See my report here.

It's a much easier week of training, with my long run only 12 miles and I'll run the Great Scottish 10k race and support the Half Marathon runners on the Sunday.

My 50th Race of 2009 - The Isle of Bute 10k Sat August 22

My 50th Race of 2009 and I wanted to make it a bit special so I took the opportunity to join with the small Bella posse that was sailing over to Rothesay to take part in the Isle of Bute Highland Games 10k. I had heard that parking at Weymess Bay was a bit problematic and although I thought about taken the train, when Katy and her kids agreed to come along for the ride, I decided to drive down and park at a railway station a couple of stops north.

The weather was glorious as we sailed across the Firth of Clyde in a jam packed Calmac Ro-Ro ferry. The Bellahouston Road Runners had all went for an earlier ferry but I met up with some Clydesdale Harriers, including Marina and they showed me the way to the Games, the Registration tent and the changing rooms.

I met up with my fellow Bellas and we made our way to the playing field for the start of the race and some team pics. After a brief description of the amended route we lined up and the Games Chieftain, Blyth Duff, of Taggart fame, sounded the Start.

Andy and Maddie Smillie said that they would be aiming to run the race in between 45 and 48 minutes. I had run a relatively fast 10 mile training run on the Friday “That will do me” I stated, whilst Norman Bolye said that he would run it at his marathon race pace. Whilst the massed cheers from the packed stand as we made our way around the Games’ stadium encouraged us to run a wee bit quicker than planned, the heavy underfoot conditions played their role in cooling our enthusiasm. After leaving the stadium the race ran down the High Street to the seafront and the 1km marker and then turned left and headed along the promenade. I was in front of most of the Bellas apart from Andrew Hardman who is a class above me and Joanna Lennox, who I could see in front of me. I decided then that my target for the day would be to beat Joanna and I started to increase the pace. I was overtaking a few other runners but there was a young lad from Motherwell AC who was running along with a female club mate and kept running on my shoulder, so close was he that he actually clipped my shoes on a couple of occasions. He did apologise though and I didn’t mind when he ran shoulder to shoulder with me as this encouraged me to dig deep. The sun was scorching and I was so happy to see that they had a number of water stations which allowed me to take a small drink and cool myself down by pouring the rest of the water over my head. In a reversal of Wednesday’s race with Paula Wilson, I overtook Joanna at about 3k and was aware that she was sticking close to me as we reached the turning point at just after 5k. I had noticed that Joanna’s brother Jethro and Robert Gilroy where running along together at the front of the race and that Andrew Hardman was doing well.

As we turned around and made our way back I could see that Joanna was just behind me and then Andy and Maddie, then Stephen Bell, Norman, Jackie O’Grady, Terry Brennan, Scott Telfer and finally Carla Deans. The sun was shining, the sky was blue and the scenery was gorgeous, with the Firth of Clyde and the views over to the Ayrshire coast. Joanna had tried to overtake me a few times but I had been able to increase my speed and held her off. About 7k I was starting to tire and decided to let the Motherwell pair overtake me. I also think I might have eaten too late as I was feeing sick by the time I reached the 8k marker. I could hear the footsteps of a woman running quicker behind me and thought that Joanna had caught me and was therefore a little surprised but relieved when Greenock red haired runner Terri overtook me. Just after the 9k marker the route headed back up the hill and I worked hard to overtake a few runners on the final section. I noticed Jethro running down the hill and heard him shouting to Joanna to overtake me but I had spied Terri slowing in front of me and managed to overtake her just as I entered the cheering stadium. I saw and heard Katy and her kids in the stand and I gave it my all for a strong sprint to the finish line overtaking a few runners on the way. I was shattered and was still feeling sick but composed myself enough to congratulate Joanna on her great race, she had managed to take 2:45 off of her PB and was exhausted but also extremely happy. We collected our bottles of water and our smart looking medals and then made our way back to the finish line where we applauded the other runners, especially the Bella ones over the line. Before posing for some post race photos and heading back for a cold shower. I then met up with Katy and enjoyed watching some of the Games, including the Caber Tossing Final before heading back to the pier and homeward.


Bella Results:
Andrew Hardman 38:34
Ian Goudie 45:28
Joanna Lennox 45:29
Norman Boyle 47:24
Stevie Bell 47:24
Maddie Smillie 47:27
Andrew Smillie 47:28
Jackie O'Grady 49:29
Terry Brennan 49:41
Scott Telfer 56:44
Carla Deans 60:14