No Kilmaurs but a 120th Anniversary Race and Olympic Breakfast too!

M77

I joined with the Nation in watching the fantastic opening ceremony of the Olympic Games on Friday night. Take a bow Danny Bolye.  Of course, in solidarity with my international comrades, I enjoyed a very nice bottle of red wine whilst watching the show.  The only down side was that the programme went on into the wee sma’ hours. Not the perfect preparation for my second race in two days:  Glasgow parkrun #184.

East Kilbride

I had missed the Kilmaurs 5k on Wednesday when my Head Gasket blew as I made my way south on the M77.  Strathclyde Police were great, my insurance company (Admiral) were hopeless and the AA were bizarre in there response. Taking three vehicles and three hours to get me home, via East Kilbride!

Car less, I cycled along to Cartha Queens Park to meet up with my club mates on Saturday morning to celebrate the Club's 120th Anniversary.  However by the time I got there, they had taken the group photos and were leaving for their warm up to the Burrell and the Start of the Glasgow parkrun.  A quick change and I followed them along through the park.  My legs were heavy after yesterday’s 3k and I didn’t want to run too hard and tire myself too much before the race started. 

At 9:30 some 48 Bellahouston Harriers assembled together with another 302 runners at the start of Glasgow parkrun #184.  This was my 95^th running of the event and my 110^th parkrun.

I had managed to take 16seconds off of my time last week to finish in 23:13 and my target this week was to try to get a 22min something time.  Although, to be truthful, I wasn’t 100% confident of doing so and my 1^st k time of 4:25 didn’t exactly convince me otherwise.  I had lots of support from the marshals, photographers, supporters and some of my fellow runners too which helped to keep me working steadily throughout the race.  Nearing the end of the 4^th k, I couldn’t hold off the challenge of club mate Angela Carson, who has been running well at training.  However as I upped the pace for the last k, I managed to catch her and a few others too.  I had spotted Giffnock North’s Martin Myant ahead and was concentrating on getting close to him.  I surprised myself, when I caught him with 200ms to go and I gave it my all down the final hill, as I know that he has a good finish in him, especially when he’s racing against me!  Fortunately my strong finish took me over the line without any major problems from my tight hamstring and I was delighted when I looked at my watch for it to reveal that not only had I got under 23mins but I had finished in 96^th position with a time of 22:29, 43seconds faster than last week!

I congratulated Martin Conlon, who had finished just in front of me with anew PB of 22:28, before turning to exchange mutual congratulations with Martin (22:34), who said that it was good to see me back racing against him again, even if neither of us is at our peak at the moment.

There were some fine performances throughout the Bella Harriers huge contingent and a number of PBs too, including:: Mark Patterson, who seems to have his Mojo working again after having a wee break from racing, 17:36; Louise Warren 1^st Woman in 18:44; Jennifer Clark, 2^nd Woman in 19:10 ; Ian Taggart 19:18; Allan Allison 21:12; Kristina Greig 21:51; Angela Carson 22:36; Ilse Meijerrink 26:10 and Sharon Scott 29:14.  There were also a few first timers.  Congratulations to you all.

After the, more than usual, post run conversation and a couple more photo opportunities we warmed down back to the club house where a hot shower and a hearty cooked Olympian breakfast awaited us. 

A great start to the Olympics and a great way to celebrate Bellahouston Harrier’s 120^th Anniversary.

Full Results

Gruber on the Green

A bumper turnout of some 48 runners assembled under the McLennan Arch at Glasgow Green on Friday for the monthly, charity race organised by Kilmarnock Harrier, Al Murray.  It just wasn’t quality that was on show but quality too with four of the runners, finishing under 10mins and a new women’s record of 10:13 being set by Lesley Chisholm.  Whilst Lesley took 17 seconds off of her previous outing, which itself set the course record, my story was somewhat different. 

Record Breaker - Lesley Chisholm

I hadn’t run the event for a long time and as regular readers will know, I’m way off form at the moment but I am working hard at training and hope to see the results at some point.  I knew it wouldn’t be today though as I was still tired from last night’s club training session.  I cycled along from work, did some stretching and a bit of running and was feeling relatively good as I chatted with a host of running buddies prior to the 12:20 Start.  With such a class field, I knew that I would be well to the back.  When we reached the 1^st k, I actually though that I might be the tail runner, there was a little relief when we reached the turning point and I saw that there were at least two runners behind me.

As usual, I upped my game for the second half of the race and I focussed in on my old adversary Alan Fitzsimmons. I just didn’t have the speed to catch him though but I did manage to reel in a handful of runners before crossing the line in a very disappointing time of 12:46.  I placed 39^th out of 48.  It could have been worse.   

On a positive note I ran my quickest paced race of 2012 and achieved a wava of 68.42.  Hopefully, I'll be a bit quicker the next time I run this great wee race.

Full results

Alex Mccutcheon

I was saddened to hear of the recent death of Alex Mccutcheon. An old school friend of mine who excelled in two of Ayrshire favourite pastimes: football and brass music.  Alex was also a thoroughly decent guy. He must have only been 54. A sad loss. My thoughts are with his family and his friends, which I'm proud to have been one of.

Matrix Bridge

25 Matrix Photoshop - Action

Eat Well, Train Hard and Race ####

Last Monday was a local holiday, being the start of the Glasgow Fair.  A long time ago I might have spent such a day in a pub but this year I decided to do the opposite.  Having finished my last bottle of wine on Sunday, I cancelled my wine club membership.

I was conscious that my diet had been deteriorating since I started working in the city centre and I dusted down my copy of ‘Eat Well with Nell’.  A couple of hours later I was on my way to the shops with a list that included:

Tins: tomatoes; beans; coconut milk and sardines.

Freezer: green beans; spinach; berries and frozen fruit.

Seeds: pumpkins; sesame and sunflower.

Nuts: Brazil; almonds; peanuts and hazelnuts.

Dried fruit: apricots

Grains: brown rice; pearl barley and oats

Pasta

Pulses: red and green lentils

Bread: rye

Spice: cinnamon; cumin; ginger; chilli; turmeric and nutmeg

Free range eggs

Polenta

Couscous

Green teas

Ricota

Natural yoghurt

Fruit: limes, lemons, apples; bananas; pears

Poultry: turkey and chicken

Apple juice

Mango chutney

Peanut butter

Butter

Garlic; onion; sweet potatoes; cauliflower

Mustard

Mackerel

Salad

Cherry tomatoes

And NO alcohol

I used to enjoy cooking, although it can be difficult to maintain the motivation when you are cooking for one, it was time to get back into the kitchen!

My week of meals consisted of:

Breakfast: Porridge or Special K with strawberries, orange juice and lemon & ginger tea.

Two pieces of fruit and wholemeal sandwich for lunch

Evening meals:

Monday: Roast chicken, sweet potato, salad, tomatoes and seeds.

Tuesday: Roast chicken, couscous, salad, tomatoes and seeds

Wednesday: Tandoori Turkey and citrus couscous with salad, tomatoes and seeds

Thursday: Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Omelette

Friday: Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Curry, Brown Rice followed by Strawberries and Ice Cream

Nighttime snack: nuts and cup of green tea.

Drinks: Maximum of one cup of coffee per day, water and green tea

I worked hard at training on Tuesday and Thursday; 1.2k reps and 220m downhill reps respectively, and as a result my legs were tight and heavy, so stiff and sore that I had to use my daily cycles as my recovery runs. 

My sleeping hasn’t been great and my energy levels don’t seem to be boosted with my change in lifestyle, of course one week is far from enough to make any real impact but it would have been good if I had awoken on Saturday morning bouncing with energy and ready to bounce around my 109^th parkrun.

However it was not to be and my legs felt like lead as I warmed up in Pollok Park. As usual it was good to see so many running buddies, including Scott Mcculloch, who was making his debut, six days before his 40^th birthday.  Despite the Clydestride Ultra, Arran Relays and Musselburgh 10k attracting some regulars as well as the distraction of the Madonna concert and summer holidays, numbers were slightly up from last week at 337, boosted by a number of charity runners.

It was a lovely sunny morning, although a bit hotter than usual, and I was feeling good.  Unfortunately my warm up and pre race stretches had little effect and I realised within the first few metres that today was going to be another struggle and the negative thoughts started to kick in.  It took me a disappointing 4:30 for the first kilometre.  However I stuck to my task and started to gain places around the half way spot.  I raised my game for the final kilometre and was rewarded with a stitch!  I pushed it in up the final hill and kept working hard, overtaking a few more runners, including Louise Sutherland and Sarah Fraser to cross the line in 88^th place, with a time of 23:12.  Sixteen seconds faster than last week but still nowhere near where I would like to be but in this game you need to take any positive you can from your effort.

I congratulated those in front and behind me before handing in my race token and doing my warm down.  Followed of course with interesting chat with my running buddies and my neighbour Mary Fraser and retiring to  the Burrell Café for more post race banter, coffee and scone.

Glasgow parkrun 94 in the bag!
Many thanks to the volunteers.

Russell Whittington won the men's race in 17:12 with Bella Harrier Louise Warren winning the Women's race with a new course PB of 19:10.

Full Results

Bridge over the White Cart Water

I stopped off on my morning cycle to take a couple of photos of the bridge over the White Cart Water in Pollok Park.  The earliest known owner of Pollok was Roland de Mearns whose heiress, Mary, married Sir Aymer Maxwell of Caerlaverock. In 1270 Sir Aymer granted part of his estates, 'Nether Pollok', to his third son, Sir John Maxwell, 1st Knight of Pollok. In 1737 the 2nd Baronet, Sir John, commissioned plans for the mansion house, which was built in 1750-52.  The 3rd Baronet was responsible in 1757-8 for the building of this fine stone bridge, making it some 254 years old, nearly two centuries older than me!. 

Every Second Counts

Sad to say that I’m still struggling with health and injury but at least I’m still able to run, albeit slowly.  Decided to give running a miss last Sunday and go for a cycle instead. I joined a Southside running group for a six miler on Monday and ran 5miles with the other crocked Bella Harriers on Tuesday, Wednesday was my rest day and I took Thursday as a half day annual leave.  After a trip to Rouken Glen Park to take some photos, I struggled around 4miles of Glasgow’s south side in the late afternoon sunshine.  That said, my pace was actually a lot quicker on Thursday than it had been on Monday and Tuesday. 

After a few drinks on Thursday night, I struggled through Friday and decided to have another rest and run on Saturday.  Of course, despite feeling well below par, I couldn’t resist the lure of the parkrun and my new target of completing 100 at the Glasgow event.

As I warmed up, I felt my hamstring twinge and my initial goal of running a little faster than last week was replaced with a ‘just get round’ target.  Even that was hard enough as, once again my body kept telling me to give it a rest.  At one point, I actually slowed my pace to get away from a couple of runners who were on my shoulders.  

In the final 200metres I noticed that Ewart Gray was encouraging Sarah Fraser towards the final line and decided to try to out sprint them.  I’m glad that I did, not because we were racing against each other, but because Garmin revealed that I had completed my 93^rd Glasgow parkrun (my 108^th parkrun) in a time of 23:28.  One second faster than last week! 

It’s amazing the difference that a second or two can make to your spirits.  I’m glad that I had run it and enjoyed my warm down before heading to the Burrell for coffee and conversation.

Mucho thanks to all the volunteers and my fellow racers, including those that were running their first parkrun, for making the event as special as ever, a great start to the Glasgow Holiday weekend.

Full Results, including some notable PBs

Rouken Glen

Rouken Glen, a set on Flickr.

A few photos taken on a rare sunny day at Rouken Glen Park near Glasgow.

Park Running in the Rain

My hamstring problem had meant that I hadn't run since Tuesday but I had set myself a new target of reaching 100 Glasgow parkruns.  I reached my 100 parkruns a while ago but these were spread across four different events in Scotland.  I was tempted to travel to Strathclyde park where a number of friends were reaching their 50th parkrun but I decided to stick to my new target and go to the Glasgow event..

The heavy rain had woke me at 6am and it was a wet and puddle strewn Pollok Park that greeted me, another 228 runners and a band of volunteers on Saturday morning.  

My targets were simple: to keep any negative thoughts to a minimum and enjoy my run; to finish a little bit faster than last week's time of 24:05; and not too aggravate my hamstring too much.

At 9:30am we were set on our way and I settled into my run.  I worked a little harder than last week and was happy enough to complete the undulating 5k, unscathed, in 81st place with a time of 23:29.  Thirty six seconds faster than last week, whilst I'm nowhere near where I would like to be in terms of performance, it still feels good to be making steady progress.

It's always good to see so many friends at races and today was no exception. Amongst those worth a  mention are: Suzanne McMahon and Ross Bark.  Suzanne recorded her 50th parkrun and was good enough to mark the occasion by sharing a home baked cake with her fellow runners in the Burrell, after we had dried off after the race; whilst Road Runner Children's Entertainer, Ross had travelled up from Stranraer to work at a children's party in the city and took the opportunity to notch up his 8th parkrun.

I clocked up my 107th parkrun and my 92nd at Glasgow, only eight to go to reach my new target.

Bellahouston Harriers' young star Tom McDonald placed first with a new PB of 16:28, whilst, far travelled, Clayton-le Moors' Super Vet, Susan Burns also earned a new PB in winning the women's race with a time of 19:20.

Full Results

Bellahouston Harriers TT July 2012 - Full Results

POSITION  NAME    CLUB                         TIME

1     1Tommy McDonald   Bellahouston Harriers                10:24

2     2 Stevie Prentice        Bellahouston Harriers               10:40

3     3 Crispin Walsh          Bellahouston Harriers               10:54

4     4 Mark McColl            Shettleston Harriers                  10:57

5     5 Mark Paterson        Bellahouston Harriers                11:01

6      6 Gerard Scullion      Bellahouston Road Runners     11:09

7      7 Craig Lamont         Bellahouston Harriers                11:24

8      8 Graeme Gemmell   Bellahouston Harriers               11:41

9      9 Graeme Ferguson   Unattached                               11:49

10  10 John Gilhooly         Bellahouston Road Runners      12:01

11   1F Carole Setchell      Shettleston Harriers                  12:02 

12  11 Ronnie Mennie        Unattached                                12:30

13  12 Sandy Eaglesham    Ronhill Cambuslang Harriers 12:46

14  13 Bill Winning             Unattached                                12:56

15  2F Kristina Greig          Bellahouston Harriers              13:07

16  14 Keith Gibb               Bellahouston Road Runners    13:09

17  15 Rodger McEleney    Giffnock North                         13:15

18  3F Erica Christie           Bellahouston Harriers             13:21

19  4F Claire McAteer        Unattached                               13:23

20  16 Howie Scott             Bellahouston Harriers              13:33

21  17 Iain Burke                Bellahouston Harriers               13:47

22  5F Katherine Hylands   Bellahouston Harriers              13:52

23  18 Jim McMillan           Bellahouston Harriers               13:53

24  19 James Boyce            Unattached                              14:07

25  6F Angela Campbell     Bellahouston Harriers             14:18

26  20 Chris Steward          Bellahouston Harriers             14:31

27  21 Peter Collins               Unattached                            14:34

28  7F Christine Mackay        Unattached                           14:36

29  8F Morag McGuire          Unattached                            14:39

30  9F Geraldine Trotter       Bellahouston Harriers           14:40

31  10F Katy Smith              Bellahouston Harriers             14:42

32  11F Barbara Phillips        Unattached                           14:43

33  12F Suzanne Boyle         Bellahouston Harriers           14:45

34  13F Jessica Gorman        Bellahouston Harriers         14:47

35  22   John Softley              Bellahoston Harriers             14:50

36  14F Lorraine Fenion        Bellahouston Harriers          14:55

37  15F Kathleen MacLeod   Bellahouston Harriers          15:25

38  16F Michelle O'Shea        Bellahouston Harriers          15:43

39  17F Fiona Ross                Bellahouston Harriers          15:45

40  18F Cee Grant                 Bellahouston Harriers           16:32

41  19F Sharon Scott             Bellahouston Harriers           18:06

Bellahouston Harriers TT July 2012

Bellahouston Harriers TT July 2012, a set on Flickr.

I'm afraid my tight hamstring ruled me out of the July Bellahouston Two Mile Time Trial, however I still went along to support the 40+ runners and take a few photos too.

Another great night held by new club.

Photos here