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

Rain Soaked Irvine Doesn't Dampen my Delight at a New PB!

The Irvine Marymass 10k road race, held on Wednesday August 19, was my 49th race of 2009 and my first ever race in Irvine. It’s a town that I used to know well, I used to cycle there from Stewarton. I wasn’t sure if I would do this race. I wasn’t feeling great, I’d managed a 30 min nap at lunch time and again after work and reckoned that I might be ok by the time the race started. I made my way down the misty and rain kissed M77, I somehow managed to find the Irvine Sports Centre. There were cars parked everywhere and the rain was bucketing down, I spotted Chris and Ellen, abandoned, oops sorry parked, the car and quickly ran into the Race HQ. After registering, changing and what constituted as a warm up, I lined up with the other 123 runners at the start of the race.

I started behind Laura Cairns, Paula Wilson and Erica Christie and in front of Brian Darroch. The race is advertised as a flat and fast course, so I was surprised to find myself running slightly uphill on the road for the first kilometre. I was feeling good and had overtaken Paula but I was still pleasantly surprised to see that I had clocked the first kilometre in four minutes. At this point the route joined the cycle path on the edge of the Irvine Beach Park. I made my way steadily along the slightly rolling course keeping my eye on the runners in front, however Paula caught me at the start of a hill at around 3k. I followed her up the hill and managed to sit in behind her as we made away along the course. She was receiving a lot of encouragement from the poor marshals standing around in the pouring rain and I also took some support from this. The route turned around at 4.5 k and as we joined the higher up road to head back, I was surprised to see Brian Darroch not too far behind us. The road left the cycle track between 5.5 and 6.5k. Although I felt that I could overtake Paula along this section, I decided not to, instead settling to sit tightly behind her. At 8k we passed the junction for the start and Paula started to work hard, I dug deep to keep close to her. She seemed to know where she was going and we were passing a few runners, so I was happy enough with that. At about 8.7k the route turned onto the seafront and headed along the promenade. I had been told that the race finished outside the Magnum Leisure Centre and presumed that we would turn into the right at some point. Paula was starting to pull away as we overtook Irvine’s Jim White and started to catch a group of four or five other runners. I was anticipating a turn to our left towards the Magnum but it never happened and we continued to run in the mist and rain along the seafront. I could now see a crowd of people and soon realised that this was the Finish Line as Jim White shot past me and I made my way over the line.
I stopped my Garmin at 42:18:21 and was ecstatic at getting a new PB by such a large margin. This was only my fourth time below 44 mins, one was last week at Pollok Park when I clocked 43:59, the other was Run with the Wind in Strathaven in November 2008 and the first time was when I set my previous PB of 43:04 at the Jack Crawford in January 2008, some nineteen months ago.

I looked for Pauline to thank her for a great run but she wasn’t there, instead I congratulated Laura Cairns, Jim White and Brian Darroch who had managed to take more than one minute off of his PB. Loads of people had enjoyed a great run and we chatted briefly before making our way back to the Sports Centre for a warm shower and hot cup of tea. After thanking Paula and congratulating Alan, Connell, Kerry, Robert, David, Claire, Sarah, Alison and others on their great runs and PBs, I made my way back up through the heavy rain and mist of the Fenwick Moors to Glasgow where some hot food and red wine capped a successful night.

My published time was 42:19. This didn’t take any shine off of my delight at beating my PB by 45 seconds, although the lack of photographers to capture the moment may have. Instead I've had to settle for a diagram of the course provided by Chris Upson.

Results

Achilles Heel Bella 5k – Sunday August 16

This popular race is organised by my very own Bella RRs. Changing and prize giving is at the prestigious Palace of Arts and the course starts and finishes on the cycle track in Bellahouston Park. The event is also a club championship race and attracts a healthy turnout from the purple posse. Unfortunately I was feeling very poorly and wasn’t really up to running a race. However, as Al McLachlan had recently said to me: “It’s only three miles!” So, of course I decided to run it and lined up at the start behind Shona Donnelly and Norman Boyle, I was pleased to see that the third Titan Tom McMillan wasn’t competing. I had mislaid my Garmin and decided not to burst a gut but to finish around the same time and hence the same points as Norman. It was a windy morning and someone commented that there wouldn’t be many PBs ran today.

I stuck to my game plan and followed Norman around the track out into the park, along past the Palace of Arts, down behind the House for an Art Lover and along to Paisley Road West, where we had to struggle against the wind blowing into our faces. I noticed that the pace dropped a little but I maintained my position and tried to shelter myself from the wind. As we turned left back into the park at the 2k marker, I noticed Norman looking at his watch and increasing his pace, so I did likewise. We overtook a few other runners as we made our way back towards the cycle track and up the hill to our left. I was aware that Graeme Wylie was behind me and with him pushing me and Norman pulling me around I felt that we were making good time. Out of the park, along Mosspark Boulevard and back into the park we ran, Norman was a good bit in front but he was still in my sights. We could see the cycle track ahead but the course takes a right and as we ran along here, Graeme pushed hard to overtake me just before the route turned left and up another small hill. Another left turn and we were on the flat before a slight downhill section took us to the entrance of the cycle track. I was making up ground on Norman and was feeling quite pleased as I made my way along the track to the finish just a few seconds behind him. However at this point I was overtaken by Alan Fitzsimmons who sprinted past me like a dog out of a trap.

Norman’s time was 20:57 and although I hoped that I had just dipped below the 21 minute marker, I wasn’t too surprised to learn that my time was 21:04. I finished 75th out of 171

72 158 Graeme Aitken Lomond ACC M MV40+ 20.55
73 67 Norman Boyle BRR M MV50+ 20.57
74 127 Alan Fitzsimmons Jog Scotland M MV40+ 21.01
75 95 Ian Goudie BRR M MV50+ 21.04
79 65 Keith Gibb BRR M MV40+ 21.29
81 72 Caroline Brownlie Springburn Harriers F FV35+ 21.34
82 114 Richard Leyton BRR M SM 21.36
91 44 Scott Johnson BRR M MV40+ 22.08
92 19 Gordon McDonald Kirkintilloch Olympians M MV50 22.09

Helensburgh Half Marathon – Sunday August 9

Although this is a Bella Club Championship Race I had decided to run it as a training run and also to pace Roslyn Ghareh who had never ran a Half Marathon before. Neither had John Hagemeister but he has been doing a lot more training and was happy to run the race on his own. Katy volunteered to drive and we arrived at Helensburgh Pier about 15 minutes before the race, which was sufficient time for Roslyn to register although I tend to get to try to get to races a good bit before they are scheduled to start.

The sun was shining and it looked liked being a warm race as we lined up with the other runners, including Bellahouston Road Runners. I explained the course to Roslyn and advised her that we would be aiming to run at a 9 min/mile pace. I gave her some of my Jelly Babies and advised her to take on water or energy drinks at the refreshment stations along the course. The race started and we headed along the promenade towards Rhu. I enjoyed myself chatting with Roslyn and the other runners and marshals too. As we approached the turning point I noticed the race leader, Jethro Lennox, making his way back towards us. However it was about four minutes later when the next leader, his Shettleston team mate Paul Sorrie was in sight. After that the runners were much more frequent and I shouted encouragement to the Bella Road Runners and the other racers that I knew. “You must know at least half the people running” commented Roslyn.

We continued at our steady pace working our way up through the field as we overtook those racers who had started too quickly. As well as Bella’s Moira Mcphedran, who had fell, and Louis Gray, who had been physically sick. Roslyn did excellent but she, hardly surprisingly, started to fade at about the 10 mile stage. She was happy for me to run on my own and to leave her but I told her that we would finish the race together. Although she wanted to stop a couple of times I encouraged her to keep going and soon I was advising her that the Finish Line was approaching. Along the road back to the pier we ran and then turned left and towards the end. Katy had informed the commentator that this was Roslyn’s first Half Marathon and I could hear him announcing that as we both crossed the line in a time of 1:55:32. An excellent time for a her first Half, especially in such a warm day.

After receiving our medals and exchanging congratulations I made my way back along the pier to get another couple of miles under my belt. After this I had the pleasure of a free swim in the local pool before getting changed and heading for the nearest café to enjoy a full Scottish brunch.

Clydeside Series Bella Belter 10k Race - Friday August 7

I had thought about running the entire four races of the Tour of Clydeside Series but common sense prevailed. However I might do it next year. Instead I joined with almost one hundred other runners to compete in the final race of the series, my third 10k of the week and my 46th race of 2009, the Bella Belter 10k held at Glasgow's Pollok Park on Friday August 7.

I know the park most than most and was confident of a good run, however as I also had the Helensburgh Half Marathon on the Sunday, I did not plan in pushing myself too much.

We lined up outside Cartha Rugby Club and started the two loop course along Haggs Road and around the perimeter of the park. I noticed an older runner ahead of me and decided to tuck in behind him and enjoy the run. Graham Aitken tried to overtake me a couple of times but I held him off until 2.2 miles, when I decided to conserve my energy for the Sunday and let him pass. However I did glance at my Garmin at the half way point and noticed that I had ran the first 5k in around 21 minutes. As I made my way along the second loop I was overtaken by Killie’s David Mitchell and a bit later I noticed that a runner with a football top had caught up with me. I decided then to push it in and I accelerated along Pollokshaws Road and into Pollok Park. Although I couldn’t shake off the football guy I did overtake David Mitchell outside of Pollok House. Although to be fair he did slow up as his injury resurfaced. As I ran towards Lochinch I could see Graeme ahead of me and as I continued to race against the football guy we both overtook him as we approached the ’white house’. The road takes a sharp left here towards the stables and I gave it my all, pulling away from him as I turned right and headed towards the race start/finish.

I could hear the supporters shouting but I wasn’t sure how far was to go. The marshals directed us into the Cartha Car Park and towards the Finnish Line. I pressed the stop button on my Garmin to observe that I had completed the race in 43:59. A Seasonal Best and only the second time I had ever dipped below the 44 minute barrier. My Garmin indicated that the course was long at 6.36 miles.

I finished in 47th place, two positions ahead of Graeme who finished in 44:08 and four places ahead of David Mitchell who finished in 44:36. Gordon McDonald finished in 57th place with 46:29.

I enjoyed a pint and a chat with fellow racers and organisers before heading along to Samuel Dowe's for some more liquid refreshments and some live music.

Dundonald 10.5k No More!

I was looking forward to this because of its unique length. It’s extremely hilly and as I’ve only ran it once before, as the second race in my comeback from injury, a PB was guaranteed. However after chatting with Kerry and the Killie Harriers I warmed up from the Sports Centre to the race start at the Castle to be informed that the route had been adjusted and would now be an accurately measured 10k road race. Instead of starting in the grassy playing field and running down on to the Main Road the race would start from the Main Road itself. None of the uphill sections of the route had been deleted and as we made our way along the street before turning right and then a sharp left, I kept my eye on Killie’s Paula Wilson and Brian Darroch. We made our way over the rolling hills on the country road to Symington and I noticed Paula pull away, whilst I jostled for position with Brian. Sunday’s race was taking it’s toll and I had to let Brian go as he overtook me, whilst I concentrated on keeping running up the hills.
Once in Symington the course levelled off and the major hurdle was running past the alluring odours of fresh cooking from the village’s famous Wheatsheaf Inn. As it happens my ancestor, surname Walker. had been a blacksmith in the village and diversified his activities into inn keeper and spirit salesman, he could have been the first or at least one of the first to establish the inn. Likewise his son had run the same businesses in Dundonald and the family must have travelled on what passed as roads between the two villages on a regular basis.


The race continued back towards Dundonald on the less undulating B730 road. I knew that the return leg was easier and as I held off the repeated challenges from another runner, I found myself closing in on Brian and we both passed him together after about four miles. My challenger had narrowly overtaken me and as he stopped at the water station I decided to join him on taking a little water to drench my thirst on the warm Ayrshire night. After we recommenced our race he continued to pull away from me along the flatter part of the course and as I chased after him we managed to catch up with a number of other competitors. I felt someone on my shoulder and as I looked to see who it was I saw the white sleeves of Brian Darroch just behind him. I pushed in hard to get away from both of them and as we climbed up the brae into the village I pushed even harder, running flat out along the Main Street back towards the Castle. A sharp left onto Winehouse Yett and then we were directed first right and then left along the outside of the Castle Visitor Centre. I could hear the Harriers shouting my and Brian’s names as we sprinted along the heavy grass to the finish line and a welcome bottle of water.

I had finished in 33rd position with a time of 44:15, with Brian finishing 34th in 44:22, Mike Flinn was 38th in 44:44 and Alan Fitzsimmons was 49th in 46:29.
Paula had finished 29th and 1st FV in a great time of 42:59. Whilst Kate Todd was 40th and 1st FV55 in 44:59. A total of 97 runners completed the race, with pride of place going to Kerry-Liam Wilson in 32:37, young Sarah Munn did well against Toni McIntosh and she finished in 40:10 just eight seconds behind her. Sarah told me “I really enjoyed the race. It was a difficult course but the hills weren’t quite as bad as I remembered them being. I saw Toni struggling ahead of me and I just ran as fast as I could to get as close to her as possible.”

After the race I and Katy made our way to the Wheatsheaf only to discover that we were too late to dine, we settled for Fish and Chips at Brassie beach instead, not too bad a fall back position.

Scottish Gas 10k- Sunday 2nd Aug 2009- Edinburgh

The first time I've ran this race, although it's next to my old workplace of Ferranti, now BAE Systems. Sad to see that the Silverknowes site is now a housing estate, the last time I was there was with a delegation from South Africa. Anyway back to the race, which started outside of Scottish Gas's modern HQ in Granton. Three Bellas in attendance: myself, Shona Donnely and Gerry Scullion. Good to meet up with Jo Thom too before the race and Iain Duckworth after it.
No chip but I still started quite far back and as the race got underway, down a new road towards West Harbour Road, I was feeling good. Saw the 1k marker and noticed my time was 4 mins. A PB is on here, I thought. However as soon as we turned left we hit the head on wind which was to add minutes to our times. I saw Kirkintilloch's Gordon McDonald ahead and decided to reel him in as the race progressed. I passed him at 3k as we ran along the road to the turn at Cramond. I could see the leaders, including Kerry-Liam Wilson, Haley Haining, Jill Knowes and Jo Thom and then Shona coming back towards me. I was surprised that Shona was not further ahead and I felt a bit more positive. However when I looked at my half way time, I knew that I had no chance of a PB and was only running for pride. A heavy footed runner behind me overtook me at 8k and soon got away from me. I kept her in my sights as I made my way steadily back along the promenade with the sun on my back. As we were directed up the wee hill towards the finish I managed to overtake five runners, who were obviously more daunted by the incline than I was. I heard Jim Buick shouting 'C'mon Ian' and I pushed around the final corner for a sprint finish and finished just behind the woman(Margie Leitch)who had passed me at 8k. I finished in a time of 45:50 and was a bit dissapointed by that but I was happy enough with my race and managed to beat Gordon by over three minutes. Shona finished in 43:52 and although she was dissapointed, I later discovered that she had finished first FV40.

Kilmaurs Classic

With numbers more than doubled from last year and perfect running conditions the second Kilmaurs Gala 5k was an outstanding success. Event organiser David Mitchell had done a great job in promoting the race and improving the course from last year.

Kilmaurs is the next village to Stewarton, where I was brought up but I’ve never spent much time there, when we were youths we tended to travel the other direction to Dunlop or even Irvine rather than there. Although I’d travel through it often on my way to Kilmarnock and there was a smashing lass from there, Lesley Roy, at Kilmarnock Academy with me.

Anyway I joined in with another 42 runners, of differing abilities, to take part in the East Ayrshire race on Wednesday July 29. There were also a number of Killie Harriers in attendance but not competing, some of which were marshaling others supporting and others blethering.

The race started on a track, which had seen better days, in the village’s Morton Park. I started quickly and then deliberately slowed down a little as we completed our second lap of the track. We then joined an undulating and scenic path through the park and back up past the track. Race organiser David Mitchell was waiting here and gave me a shout of encouragement as I climbed the hill. We then ran along the road between the park and the main Kilmaurs – Kilmarnock road where Paula Wilson shouted me on and then Brian Darroch behind me. I headed towards Kilmarnock ensuring that I kept Brian at Bay, past Kara Tait who was texting on her mobile as she marshaled the race. We were then guided off to the left and down a minor country road. I could hear someone behind me and I tried to hold them off but when Mike Flinn of Irvine passed me I decided to let him go but pressed on to ensure that Brian didn’t catch me. Instead I targeted the runner in front of me and overtook him (Graeme Aitken) just before we turned into our left and upwards along a farm road, I pressed on but he tagged on behind me. A sharp left turn took us back onto the track and he was still on my shoulder as we ran around the track, this time running in the opposite direction from the start. As we reached the bend before the final straight I gave it my all and managed to hold him off as I crossed the finish line 16^th place, four seconds behind Mike Flinn, in a respectable time of 21:14, two seconds ahead of Graeme and seven ahead of Brian.

Local lad Gavin Holgarth (25) won the East Ayrshire event in an impressive time of 17:04. Ayrshire young gun Sarah Munn (17) continued her recent good form by winning the Women's Race in 19:08.