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

Studio Portrait Shoot with Nicola

Nicola, a set on Flickr.

Various styles of studio portrait photographs taken with Nicola, both in colour and B&W. Contact me if you would like a copy of any of them.

Full Set

A Good Week but Sad News about David

I thought that I would try and boost my energy levels by returning to my old friend Yoga last Monday, unfortunately I ended up with a pulled hamstring.  With Tuesday being my Photography class and my rest day, Wednesday would have been my next training day.  It was also the night of the Scottish Vet’s 5k race at Clydebank, which must be one of the least aesthetically pleasing routes in the whole of Scotland.  I had a late afternoon meeting at Ayr College and I decided to visit my friends and family, who have the nearby Golf Inn in Prestwick, instead of training or racing.  This gave my hamstring another days rest and it was good enough to train on Thursday.  I was a bit apprehensive when I saw that the night’s session was speed work but I managed to survive it without aggravating the hamstring too much.  I had hoped to get a recovery run in on Friday but I was just too tired, even after me evening nap.  My Friday recovery run became a Saturday morning run and I decided to combine it with my 106^th parkrun and my 91^st at Glasgow.

Although a few of the regular runners where absent, due to alternative races taking place over the course of the weekend or sunning themselves on far off beaches with the onset of the Scottish school holidays, there was still a turnout of some 310 runners,   Including some 17 from the local Garscube Harriers, who had presumably included the event as part of their Club Championship.

I joined in with the mass ranks, nearer to the back than the front, and when Campbell Joss set us on our way at 9:30am, the congestion restricted us to walking rather than running.  However it wasn’t long until the race opened up and I settled into a fairly easy pace.  A fellow runner recognised me from the recent Men’s Health 10k and thanked me for pacing him around in under 50minutes.  I was wearing my 100 parkrun vest for the first time and enjoyed the occasion.  I wasn’t racing against anybody, or even the clock, I was just after a steady run, without having to fend off any negative thoughts about dropping out.  Instead I encouraged young Kilmarnock Harrier Andrew Partridge to rejoin the race, after he pulled up with around 2k to go.  Although I wasn’t racing, I did enjoy my run and felt positive and I took the opportunity to thank the various marshals dotted around the course.

For the record, I placed 123^rd with a time of 24:05.

Full Results

I kept up my positive thinking by running 10+ miles on Sunday, admittedly, at a slow pace but the furthest that I’ve run since the London Marathon.  It felt good to get back into double figures again.

David Boyle

On a less positive and much more serious note, I recently learned that one of my running buddies, David Boyle, had taken ill during the Men's Health 10k.  David suffered from an aneurysm rupture which led to a hemorrhagic stroke and was rushed to the city's Southern General Hospital, where he is still receiving treatment.

I've raced against David for more years than I care to remember and we've shared a few beers along the way.  I'm sure I speak for many in the Scottish Running Community when I say that my thoughts are with him and his friends and family.