D33 training run 2

I finished off my my midweek run on Thursday with another 12 Miles again at 5am followed by my rest day on Friday. My wife, Angela was taking me out for a meal and drinks on Friday evening to celebrate my birthday in midweek so because i knew it would be a late night back from town, i planned to run in the afternoon. I was back out for my second training run in preparation for the D33, i decided that i would head onto the country roads to give me a decent workout over an undulating course. the run went very well i covered 20 miles in 2:12 with even splits of 1:06   I managed to get a further 20 miles at an easier pace on Sunday morning very early as we were having Angela's mum up because it was her birthday so hence the reason i could not hook up with JKs group but i hope to tag along on their next outing.

Total weekly Mileage 82.24
January Total Mileage 280.74

Bye Bye 45 welcome 46

After my morning  run yesterday of 12 miles i decided that i would go out and do a second run since it was my last day of being 45, so off i went on a 5 mile loop into Muirhead, my legs were still feeling fine and before i knew it my splits were looking pretty good: 6:15, 6:03, 6:04,6:10, 6:14 giving me a total time of  30.47. Today i was back out again just before 5am running another 12.5 miles in 1h :30 giving me 29.5 for two days, so i can be pleased with my efforts and enjoy being 46.

The morning run

I had enjoyed my rest day yesterday after a good weekend of training, today i was back out just before 5am on one of my regular morning routes, I felt that i had lost the heaviness from the legs as i had a good run completing 12 miles inside 1h 30m with a sub 7 for mile 11 and 6:40 for mile 12 .

Easy Sunday Run

I got back from bridge of Orchy at 7:30 last night with a view that i would get an easy Sunday run in the following day, well i was up at 7:40 and out the door just after,the pavements were icy and it felt cold, it was great just to get the tighness of yesterday's run out of my legs, i met up with Andy,Sam and Paul and managed to get in 12 miles with just over 1h 35m of running before they returned to the Centre to meet the rest of the guys. I will have my days rest tomorrow and start to build up for next weekend.

Total Weekly Mileage: 80.77

22nd January Run - BoO to Fort William





Jamie,Me,Ian and Neal after a warm bowl of soup in  Kinlochleven

Thanks to Ian King for arranging the 22nd of January run from Bridge of Orchy to Fort William. we met in the Carpark at BoO at 8:20 Ian  had Arrived just before me and Jamie Aarons, then Caroline and Neal arrived from Paisley, just after we set off at 8:40 and headed north, Ians wife headed to Fort William and Caroline was going to Kinlochleven and running back to meet us,i had checked the 10 day forecast prior to the run and it said that it would be part cloudy with highs of 4 C.
We set of at an easy pace heading for the Kingshouse, coming over Glencoe we met George Cairns heading in the opposite direction, he and his colleague set off at 6:30 from Fort William heading to Bridge of Orchy, we said a quick hello then headed down to the Kigshouse  we arrived in 2h10m and stopped for a refuel, we were heading for the Devils Staircase when we met Caroline (Neals wife) coming towards  us, Neal presuaded her to about turn and head back with us.
It was an unbelievable day the sun was spliiting the skys and it felt so warm, what a contrast to the last eight weeks, we could not believe how lucky we had been, the only problem at the other side of the Devils was the underfoot conditions where still icy, so Me, Neal,Carol and Ian put on our Yaktrax and Jamie her kathoolas, what a difference this made to get us to Kinlochleven.
Kinlochleven took a further 2h 10 m, we headed for the pub for a warm bowl of soup, then left about 30 minutes later to finish off the last leg of the course, by this time the sky was overcast and it was starting to feel cold, so we continued on until we reached Lundavra ,this section was closed for forrestry work ,we were diverted on to the road for a further five miles.
We arrived in Fort William just before it was starting to get dark, just as well the Lundavra section was closed because if this had been open this would have added an extra two miles and we had left our head torches back at BoO.
We arrived at the Morrisons car park where Neal was meeting Caroline, we had a quick chat before Neal drove us back to BoO, this saved Me and Jamie waiting for the train an hour later (thanks).

total time on legs 7.5  hours, total mileage 34.11, av speed 12.23 (and a good day by all)

A Well Earnt Rest

After my long run on Sunday 35 miles, it was back to business as usual, now i dont like to plan things incase they go pear shaped so i basically run as i feel, the only rule i will stick to is that i rest on a Monday and Friday as i did last year due the the longer mileage at the weekends in preparation for my races. On Tuesday i was out just before 5am and managed 12 miles in 1 hour and 30  minutes before starting work, Wednesday  i ran 10 miles in 1 hour and 20 minutes later in  in the evening as i wanted to pick up my pre paid ticket from my local station for my return journey from Fort William on Saturday.
Today i was back out again just before 5am doing the same 12 mile route from Tuesday but 3 minutes faster, this was to allow me 48 hours rest before meeting up on the WHW this Saturday, so overall just under 35 miles mid-week with over 4 hours and 20 minutes of running. now i can enjoy my rest.

D33 training run 1

I decided that the time was right to start getting in the longer mileage, now that my cold had cleared up and  my running was back to normal, i wanted to start aiming for my first race of the year, the D33, sure i have training runs planned on the WHW over the coming weeks and months but i know from last year that i want to do more of the same in terms of training.
 I have entered 5 SUMS events so far but i do not want to get carried away, i will concentrate on one race at a time so back to my run today, I got word from the guys on Saturday night that they were planning to get a run in at 8:30 before meeting everybody else back at the centre for the ususal Sunday run an hour later. I decided that i would get some mileage in before meeting them, so off i went just before 5am, i had ideas in my head to run round the football grounds in North Lanarkshire,Starting with Hamilton then Motherwell and on the road back Airdrie and Albion Rovers, i like to try something different from time to time so anyway i continued through Uddingston and into Bothwell and then Hamilton but as i got further out this became unrealistic because i would need to be back in Muirhead for 8:30, so i about turned at New Douglas Park(Hamilton Accies) with only a couple of miles along the A723 from Fir Park and headed back with a slight detour up the A725 to get me there for 8:30, it seemed to work out fine because i was only back minutes when Paul,Andy and Sam arrived.

  I had managed to get in 25 Miles at this point in just under 3:30 so i was pleased, we new we had a hour before the rest arrived so we headed along one of our well used paths at the back of the centre and looped back again just in perfect time for the rest of the crew, by this time i had run 33 Miles and could feel my legs starting to get tired so the group decided that they would head out in my direction allowing me some company for the last two miles, it was much appreciated.

 So now that i have finished, although with tired legs i can log my longest run since mid Octber into the diary, what a feeling, this should give me the much needed boost over the next few weeks knowing that at least 35 miles and just under 5 hours of running is not a problem.

Total Weekly Mileage: 63.54

Steady Run

It was a great  feeling, the temperature was in double figures allowing me to stick the shorts on, so off i went, i headed for Gartcosh onto a loop that is a distance of 8 miles, my first mile went by in  6:31 so i thought i would try and keep the tempo as steady as possible and before i new it i had put in a 6:25,6:14,6:15,6:15,6:21,6:28 and a final mile of 6:12.
I just hope that the mild weather continues allowing us all to get in some decent training

Total Distance 8.08 Miles Time 51:26

January so far

January started off fine, i met  the guys at the Nicholson centre for a New Years Day run and we managed to get in 11 Miles.On Sunday i  had family coming over for dinner and new it would have to be a short run, so i did 10 miles, by the end of the run i new i was coming down with a cold as all the symptoms were there but i didn't want to stop training and thought i could run it off so on the Monday i ran 19 miles to make up for my easier run on the sunday and followed this up with a 14 the following day. Wednesday arrived but i was in no shape to run as my cold was getting worse and i did not want to ruin things by continuing until it had cleared up.
I  lost the next six days but i am glad to say that it was the right decision to rest as i now feel back to normal. i started back training on Tuesday morning at 5am and boy did i feel good i ran 10 miles inside 70 minutes, with 7 of the miles all between 6.35 and  7 pace i think the decent underfoot conditions helped along with the rest. this all changed on Wednesday when the sleet arrived, this did not stop me i still managed to get in another reasonable 10 miler again at 5am all be it 7 minutes slower than the previous day, but i put this down to the underfoot conditions.
After 12 days i have managed to get in 75 miles still with a couple of days to the mid way point so i can finish the first half with reasonable mileage knowing that the second half of January i will get some serious miles in on the WHW.