Friday Night Run

So while everyone was enjoying pay day and a little drink after work I and a few others were getting ready for a night run. The idea is to get used to the start of the Way using headtorches. I was going to miss this run because I was meant to be working but also I found that last year it took me days to get over it. It was only 20 odd miles but the lack of sleep, running at a time your body isn't used too and running in the dark takes its toll.
But when my planned working weekend was cancelled I signed up immediately. Not because it was a night run but because it gave me the chance to run the first bit of the Way and also the only bit we didn't run last weekend.

I met John, Ian, Dario and Sue at the Balmaha car park. The plan was to take Ian's car and drop off Dario and Sue at Beech Trees and then drive on to Milngavie where we would start on the way back to Balmaha.
I was feeling a bit yuck as I drove to Balmaha. My cold had come back and I had done no running all week. I didn't say much when I met everyone and was quite content to sit in the back of the car and contemplate the run.
Sue mocked me, asking if I had fake tan on my legs. Perhaps I have been sleeping too close to Debbie at night. :-)
At Milngavie we met Jim, Davie and Stan. Jim and Davie were doing a different route that even although they told me twice went in one ear and out the other. I was still away with it as they left ahead of us. Richie appeared and after the photo's we were off. The normal start is still being worked on so we went to the Fling start.

As we passed the shocked locals through Milngavie village we went straight back into the pace we ran at the week before. 10.20 /min mile. But it felt a lot harder than it should have for me. I struggled a bit and the pain came back to my hip. My foot also started to become sore as well. So much for the rest week. I just couldn't really get into it at first as I tended to sit at the back.
Luckily though as we came out of Mugdock I got more into it and started to talk to everyone. Earlier that day I had sent JK some predicted splits for the WHW race and we spoke about that. It was great to get him to look over my times and have his opinion on them. I have really enjoyed running with him over the last week and sharing our thoughts and opinions with each other although I really have to stop swearing in front of him.
Stan spoke about his grandkids. "Bullsh*t" I thought (sorry I will stop the swearing)... ".... you must mean your kids.... your not old enough" I later found out he is 60. I really thought he was in his 40s.
It was about now that I found out that Murdo has pulled out of the race due to injury. Everyones mood changed as if there was a death in the family. Sometimes it is like that when you hear that someone pulls out. It affects us all and Murdo will be sorely missed. Although I do hear he has been talked into marshaling by Dario.
Onto Conic Hill and Richie ran up beside me. I kept with him for a bit but pulled back and waited on the rest. My competitive spirit is on hold at the moment and by that time my foot was causing me some problems.
Into the Balmaha car park and although it was a good run I was glad we were finished. I felt tired and a bit bashed but by the time I got home I felt like I hadn't even been out.
Debbie and Cairn were out overnight at Debbie's mums. I promised myself a long lie but after four hours sleep I awoke to beautiful sunshine and couldn't get back to sleep. I will pay for that later.

Anyway I just want to say good luck to all you Edinburgh Marathon runners tomorrow and if you want any advice then watch this
Coach Cairn Marathon Tips

75 miles. Will it be tears or glory?

Johns Video of the run
Silkes Pictures
Johns Blog of the run

When I started my training this year I always had in mind the two day training run. All of my long WHW training runs were ran the day after or before another longish run. These back-to-back sessions were an attempt to stop the fatigue that I felt at the end of last year's West Highland Way race.

The thing is I am not sure now that the fatigue I experienced was caused by never running over 55 miles so now I am unsure whether back to backs would be as beneficial as I thought. Sure they will help but perhaps not in the way I imagined.

You see for the last two years people have said to me to watch my pace, to hold back at the beginning of a run. I pretend to listen and I am full of good intentions and believe me I even try. I set off at what I think is an easy pace but it never was. I was kidding myself. On a road race it may have been but during an ultra it was suicide.
People saw me during training runs and said that I had a natural talent to do well and this went to my head. I would run against world class athletes and think that at the beginning I could stay with them. Lactic acid would set in and I would finish in a whimper in agony and posting a time that I should be proud of but know I can do better.

Then I ran the fling. Again I ran fast. 20 miles with Jez Bragg in view. I felt great and life was good. Then by Beinglas I was broken. I contemplated pulling out but continued my legs unable to run and so again I walked the last 12 miles. Thomas the crazy German overtook me looking as fresh as a daisy and running all the way. I had blown it again.

At that moment I swore that I would change my tactics. I wanted to be humble. I wanted to be cautious. To forget about finishing in the top ten of a race and just finish in a time I am pleased with. I signed up for the Cateran Trail 23 mile race and paced much better, but my tired legs gave up before the end. They still had the Fling in them.

So it was on to the two day training run. I had to learn pacing before the race and who better to help me than John K. The most organised WHW runner that I know. JK has all the times worked out. Every two or three miles there is a time checkpoint. If anyone can help me then JK can.

Day 1
Balmaha to Bridge of Orchy
40 miles

Running on the first day would be Sharon, Davie Bell, John and myself. Straight from the off I wanted to prove to everyone that I could in fact keep a lid on the pace. It was easy to do that as my hip has been hurting for a couple of weeks and to be honest I couldn't go any faster than the 11 minute mile pace that we were running. As we ran though the hip seemed to get looser and less sore. In fact by the end of the 75 miles I couldn't feel it at all.
The four of us chatted away taking turns each to speak to each other in two separate group. Never did the two groups have more than a couple of meters between them.
Before long we were in Rowardennan. 67 miles to go I said to myself and all of a sudden I realised that this wasn't going to be just a wee run.
We had quite a long break here. I met Ben from Garscube and I spoke to him for a bit. He was telling me he was still injured and not running the Edinburgh marathon. I felt awful for him as he was in such a great shape a few months ago. He will get a marathon and he will get a great time.

We left Rowardennan and walked up the first big hill and then ran the second. This seemed a nice and easy way of doing it and I will try during the race.
I felt no pressure at any point. My stomach felt a bit upset so I stopped for the toilet and let everyone push on. I didn't rush and knew that I would catch them eventually. Whether it was in two minutes or two hours. I would never have done that before. It would all be about racing and beating people.
I caught them up (I don't know how long it took or even care) and before I knew it we were in Inversnaid. I couldn't believe we were there already and that was when I realised. Running like this is enjoyable and I haven't really enjoyed many runs this year.
Pacing properly isn't about being lazy. Taking your time at the beginning shows that you are intelligent and have thought through your tactics. Everyone has heard the saying that one minute saved at the beginning is ten minutes saved at the end.
(I am sorry that I am going on about pacing)
Back to the run and we were on our way to Beinglas. This section was great and I felt light and bouncy. I started to pull away from the rest and for a moment the old me surface. Then I heard Sharon worn Davie not to go with me and I stopped and waited. We pulled away from John and I think he thought we would leave him. We didn't and we arrived together in Beinglas. Just as we did Davie seemed to have a problem with his leg for a bit but by Beinglas it seemed okay.

I ran out of food at Beinglas and started to struggle. I had dropped a food bag at Carmyle Cottage but that was 50 minutes away. John gave me a Murray mint and straight away I felt better. A second one got me to the drop point.

It got cold quickly as it hadn't stopped raining all morning and everyone left at different times with me being the last.

I caught Davie quiet quickly and he was starting to struggle. His ITB band was playing up but he said that he would just continue slowly. With my pack filled with energy drink from the drop point I pushed on with a new lease of energy. I caught Sharon and before long we caught John but Davie was getting further and further behind and Sharon was getting worried.
We slowed for Davie but he never caught us. Again we were getting cold so we pushed on safe in the fact that Davie would call if he had any issues.
Debbie and Cairn were at the wigwams. It was good to see them but Debbie informed us that she was looking for Davie. He had text her and had to end the run short because of his ITB

Not long now until Bridge of Orchy and I was so surprised that I felt great. Nearly 40 miles ran and I felt that I could pick up the pace again. And I did a couple of times as we neared the end. In fact all three of us picked the pace up and ran strongly into Bridge of Orchy and the promise of a shower and a slap up meal.

Day 2
Bridge of Orchy to Fort William
35 miles

I was worried about the second day. I have never ran as far on a second day after running 40 miles the day before. Especially as the 40 miles we had done are not the easiest. My legs were stiff but not tired or sore. Something that I just couldn't comprehend. It was a completely alien feeling to have done so much but still be in a relatively good condition.

I was last to start off today out of the four starters from yesterday. Sharon was first to go at 8:30, then John at 9:28 and me at 9:40.
To be honest I was a little disgruntled that John wanted to start without me. Not at him for leaving me to run myself but because it would put pressure on my pacing strategy. I wanted to run side by side with John and learn about pacing correctly. Would this mess it all up.
As I climbed the hill out of Bridge of Orchy I started to look at things differently. I was back into the relaxed pace of the day before and enjoying my running. John had done me a favour and shown that I can pace myself correctly. I still wanted to catch John so that we could run together but gone was the instinct that I had to beat him across the finish.
A new me but also because I was more relaxed I didn't ask Debbie to support me at Victoria Bridge and so I carried a light backpack and felt free. No stress and back to enjoying my running.
I met Silke at Victoria Bridge and instead of a quick hi and bye I stopped and chatted. Thomas was on the WHW too and I was looking forward to catching up in the chat when he caught up with me. He had started at Tyndrum but I knew that he wouldn't be too far behind.
I ran on and walked the hills up to Rannoch Moor. I chatted to all the walkers and jogged the flats. Looking at my watch I was averaging slightly faster than the day before. Perfect I thought. This way I would catch up with John and we can run together.
I never once pushed it and by about 4 miles from Kingshouse I caught him up. He was running with another John and the three of us would run together for most of the day.
The hill down past the ski center was sore on my hip but not to bad and we arrived not long after at Kingshouse. The weather was such a difference from the day before. It was sunny and warm.
Thomas arrived soon after but we left before him. He caught us near the Devils Staircase and looked very strong. In fact he ran all the way up the Staircase without stopping once. Very impressive.
The two Johns and I reached the top not long after. The weather was starting to get cold and rain was not far away.

We arrived in Kinlochleven and refueled. Now this was the hard bit. The 14 miles to Fort William. In the race last year I took nearly five hours to complete it. In this training run I would do it in two hours 40 minutes.
At no time did it feel hard although towards the end I started to feel that I hadn't had enough food. The thing is that with the slower pace I seem to be able to eat a lot more and with a lot more variety. John seemed very strong at the end. His new food routine seemed to be a real winner. I was very impressed at how strong he was at the end and he seemed to have more left in the tank. In fact both of us did and it will give us both bags of confidence on race day.

So by the end what have I learnt. Firstly I have hopefully learnt pacing. How much easier is it to pace correctly and finish strongly. Why didn't anyone tell me. Oh sorry you have been for the last year.

Secondly don't wear hair gel in the rain. Yeah my hair went all white.

Third, I need to eat more. Its much easier when the pace is slower.

So that is it. Training finished and I am feeling so relaxed about tapering. Dare I say I am looking forward to it.

Thank you to my ever present support Debbie and Cairn. Sharon and Davie for their chat. Silke and Thomas the crazy Germans and my good friends. Katrina for keeping Debbie company and making me laugh when John was discussing his schedule and you knew nothing about it. All the fellow runners we met on the way.

Last but not least though I have to thank John. If I have finally got the idea of pacing then you will be the one I have to thank for it. I think you have shown me how to tactically think about a race. I am sure your voice will be ever present during the race.

Thank you to Silke and John for the pictures

A mini Cateran

For a small tiny millisecond I thought about throwing away my training plan and running the Cateran Trail ultra. A 50 odd run around Perthshire. Thankfully I decided not to and instead I entered its smaller older brother, The Cateran Trail 23. It is deceiving though. For one it is nearer 24 miles and two there isn't a lot of trail. There is on the other hand a lot of bog and hills so it is a tough wee race but the organisers are a very friendly bunch and I definitely think I will enter again.

This race was all about getting some race experience under my belt. After my Fling I wanted to see if I could ever learn what proper pacing is.
Straight away though I showed my naivety. I had decided on running in my road shoes. "Why has everyone got trail shoes?" I wondered.
The start was at 10 am, 1 hour before the relay teams. I was hoping to keep in front of them today but also I didn't want to go off fast. Richie Cunningham was there so I hoped that I could maybe keep up with him for a while and learn from someone with much more experience.
Straight away at the start a lead group of 4 or 5 runners tore off and for a change I wasn't in there. I caught up with Richie and we ran together. It was good to chat with him for a bit. Soon though he stopped for a call of nature and I seemed to start to catch the lead group but I held off and soon they were out of site. Had I done the right thing? I thought.
Richie caught back up and again we ran together as the ground got muddier.
The only trace of the lead group was footprints in the mud.
We reached the 1st checkpoint and Richie stopped. I didn't need to stop but I wanted to stick with him for the first part of the run so I waited for him to fill his bottles. I was trying out my new North Face hydration pack that was working out quite well.
Then we started up another long drag of a hill and I quickly lost Richie. I didn't mean to but I did feel good and so I just continued on. It was good to run myself for a bit but I was wary about going the wrong way. Training and racing only on the WHW does that to you.
Then I heard voices ahead. It was two or 3 of the lead group. Without trying I had caught them as they had started to wilt from the pace. They also seemed to be having some navigation issues as well.
I shouted the right direction to them and continued on. I was in 3rd position without trying and was nearing the half way point.
Then we hit the mud.
I was sliding place and a runner overtook me. He shouted to me to watch my navigation at this section and just as I replied I went flying and landed in loads of mud. Note to self. Don't wear road shoes, white socks or white tops doing this race.
Richie danced past me as I did my best impression of Todd Carty in Dancing on Ice.
Then back onto trail. My legs battered by the mud section kicked into action and I overtook the runner and caught Richie again.
But I was gubbed. I could feel the torture of the mud section had sapped my battered fling legs. I then arrived at the second checkpoint and Debbie waiting for me. 15 miles gone.
I grabbed some coke and continued. But it didnt settle too well in my stomach. No matter I could see Richie and I was catching him. We then reached the beginning of the last long hill before the end.
Straight away I struggled and so started to walk. Richie didn't seem to get much further away when doing that so I continued. But then I was caught by another Carnethie runner. I just didn't have anything left in my legs to keep up
By the time we reached the top of the hill and onto a flat section the two Carnethie runners were a long way away although in their day glo colours I could still see them.
I was able to get back running again on the flatter section, all the time wary that I was going to be caught by an influx of passing runners. Then I saw that there was still a short steep hill left to conquer. Oh no I thought. But then I spied a white top only half way up and struggling. This gave me the push. If I could catch him then that would be great.
I rocketed up the hill and finally got him at the top and then got a sizable lead on the downhill section. Again sliding in the mud bath all over the place. I tried to jump a muddy section at the same time as 2 hillwalkers and ended up sliding and falling awkwardly. This caused my calf to cramp and as I writhed in agony in the mud I saw the runner I had just passed steadily catching me.
I shot back up and sprinted as fast as I could to the finish, every jump making my calf spasm as if about to cramp again.
Fourth position in 3:20:03 and 3rd senior male. Did I win a trophy? I am not sure as we had to rush off to go to the Gibsons for dinner. Well worth it though as they put on a fantastic spread (thanks guys) and also the crazy German trying to sing Michael Jackson was hilarious.

Good race and I will do it again next year. The pacing felt better although it still needs work. The Fling is still in my legs though.

Stuc a Chroin Hill Race

I played around with the idea of running this race but I think that it is a bit early to run your first proper hill race one week after the fling. Okay I know that I ran in the Islands Peaks race but I think of that more like an ultra.
It was an even harder decision when I was going to be just 10 minutes along from the start of the race at Strathyre because it was the Garscube Training weekend just down the road in Callander.
We were staying in a beautiful hostel, the same one that we stayed in last year and I am sure the same one we will stay in next year.
Trossachs Tryst
The training weekend isn't normally a training weekend in that it is normally an excuse to consume loads of food and drink and attempt to run after it. In fact recent years have been hilarious watching us athletes trying to run with a hang over or still drunk from the night before.
Still I normally run more miles than hours slept although this is easy as no-one seems to sleep much.
But as the years have gone by the weekend has got a lot more civilised with wine, kids and quiz shows. And so during all this fun 4 of us decided that on the Saturday we would go to the top of Stuc a Chroin to watch the race.
We wouldn't run the same route as the runners but would run up the back (and easier) slope from Callander and time it right so that we would meet the leaders at the top.

We set off at lunchtime and ran for a couple of miles along a track to the dam and a stalkers bothy. Immediately we started our ascent up the hill. It was an easy incline and we managed to run most of it. There was 4 of us. Grumpy Euan, Ian the hill runner, John the Jogger and myself.
I have never found Euan grumpy but his partner Ali calls him that so it has stuck, Ian is the hill runner of the club and known for his mental hill runs in inaccessible places of Scotland and last but not least is John the Jogger. Not much of a jogger when doing 32 minute 10Ks.
John unfortunately had his road shoes today but the rest of us had our fell shoes on.
200 meters or so up the easy incline the hill started to get steeper. I tried a mixture of walking fast and running but my quads were burning and by now I was glad I wasn't running the race. The views were beautiful and I wished I had brought my camera. The morning had been showery but the afternoon was sunny with a biting wind. But we were running and you don't notice the cold. Again the incline eased and we ran, passing walkers on there way up. I started to feel stronger and was finally shaking off the fatigue of the fling and the easy week I had had. The last section was steep but we still couldn't see the runners on the ridge and so we took it easy.
Up at the top the marshals for the race were gathered waiting expectantly. It was icy cold and we quickly cooled down.
This was the first time that I have ever watched a hill race and it was an eye opener. All the runners looked knackered. Okay I know that it is no mean feat to get to the top of a munro but I thought that perhaps the front runners would have looked a little fresh. But the didn't and again I was thankful that I wasn't running it.
I started to see people that I knew. Tom Owens, Iain Ridgeway, Richie Cunningham, Angela Mudge, John Kennedy, Andy and Emma Birnie, Nick from Bella and the only Garscube runner running Davie Dickson. He has just started running hill races and seemed to be running superb.
By now we were bloody freezing and it was time to go down. I love the downhill sections and managed to get a good pace down some sections. John in the other hand had a hellish time with his road shoes. Slipping and sliding everywhere.
Just before we got back to the car we got a soaking from a rain shower but that didn't dampen our moods as we all had a great wee hill run.

Stuc a Chroin Results

11.41 miles
2 hours 29 mins