5 Below

Yesterday I ran the Helensburgh 10k. It was the fourth time that I have run the 10K in Helensburgh and it was my twentieth 10k, the first was the Great Scottish Run in 2004.

The atmosphere of this race is always great and the nice weather brought more spectators and well wishers out than I can remember in the the past.

Last Saturday I had a poor run from a tactical point of view although I did get a good time, so I was looking forward to running where I knew the course. I started at the back of the pack, this way I can get started at my own pace, one of the mistakes I made in Bishopbriggs was to start in the middle of the pack which was too fast for me. This way I was able to keep a more or less even pace.

A the start I made a mistake with my watch and I missed recording the split time for the first 1 kilometre the also meant that I didn’t have an accurate time while I was on the course. Added to this there seemed to be a problem with the digital timer at the finishing line. I crossed the line at about 58 minutes and 15 seconds according to the timer but it was obvious from watcing it later on that it was not updating correctly and was slightly fast. I was unable to workout what my actual time was which was slightly disappointing.

However I was really happy when I got the official timings through this morning. The ‘gun’ time was 00:57:35 and the ‘chip’ time was 00:56:03.  My previous best for Helensburgh was 01:08:14 which I set in 2007.

My next race is the Polaroid Eyewear Series 2009: Clydebank 10K.

Yesterday I ran the Deafblind Scotland’s 10k Canal Run in Bishopbriggs. The weather for this run was the opposite of my last run in Troon. Just before the start it was raining however once the race started the sun came out and it was a warm run.

From a tactical point of view I ran a bad race. I started too far up the pack and ran the first 2 km far too fast. This resulted in my legs giving out on me a bit after 5 km this was also partly due to not having taken enough liquids before. I recovered after taking on water. I will have to be more conscious about taking water before a run in future especially when it is hot.

Since I started using my new pair of running shoes I have occasionally been getting a discomfort in the ball of my left foot and this happened again in the middle of the race. It did disappear later on but I am still not sure what is causing in. I have bought new insoles which should provide better shock absorption and I will see how they go in the 10K in Helensburgh on Thursday.

After taking on the water the last 2 km went well and I finished in a new personal best of 59:21 by my watch, the race was not chip timed so this is likely to be the most accurate time I have. I am not sure when the full results will be published.

From the descriptions I had read I was expecting a flatter course but there you go it was good training as I am more aware of the need to get my preparation correct.

Edit : Official time 59:18. Full Results

Yesterday evening I ran the Troon 10K which is organised by the Troon Tortoises.

It was a very windy with rain for nine out of ten kilometres and I think it was probably the worst conditions I have run in and that includes the Dumbarton 10K last year when there was thunder and lightning.

My kilometre splits were quite good with the exception of the first kilometer which was due to the congestion on the course by the sand dunes. I will start recording my split times so I can compare races better.

The big question is what should I call this blog now that I have beaten the hour?

I think my new target for the rest of the season should be to get below 55 minutes.

My last post was mainly about how my lungs had packed in on me in the cold and since February I have been to the doctor’s several times and I now have inhalers to control asthma. I have suspected most of my life I had asthma. My training is well back on track and I am having few lung problems.

I have twice taken part in the Park Run at Pollock Park. It is a good 5k training course with a couple uphill sections. My personal best for the course is 29:27 which is also the fast I have run a timed 5k.

The 10k season is approaching and so far I have entered the Troon 10k, the Polaroid 10k Series (4 races), the Men’s Health Forum 10k. and the Great Scottish Run 10k.  I am also taking part in the Walk for Scotland with a friend in Edinburgh and I have entered the Jog Scotland 5k.  The Stirling 10k is a possibility at the end of the season.

Away to try and loosen off a slightly tight achilles.

This evening I went out for my weekly  jog and hit the old problem of my lungs and cold weather. On the first 1.2km lap that we do my lungs just “flared up”. I am not sure how to decribe what happens so “flared up” will have to do.   I will try and do some research into what is going on I know that my fitness has not dropped as much as it seems from the recent jogging I have done. I am after all fine at the gym.

When the weather gets warmer or when I work out how to deal with my lungs and cold weather better I want to try the timed 5km runs at Pollok Park on Saturday mornings. These are organised through Park Run.

Entries are open for the Polaroid Eyewear 10K Road Race Series 2009 so I will get my entry in at the end of the month. The fourth race is over 2 weeks after the third race. When I heard this I thought it would give me the chance to run the Mens Health Forum 10k which is usually the same day and is within walking distance of home. However it is also on a week later so still on the same day as the Vale of Leven

This year want to do other 10k races before the Polaroid series.

Dumbarton 10k 2007 1:02:57
Clydebank 10k 2006 1:03:40
Clydebank 10k 2007 1:04:32
Dumbarton 10k 2008 1:04:41
Dumbarton 10k 2006 1:04:44
Vale of Leven 10k 2006 1:06:40
Great Scottish Run 10k 2004 1:07:1
Vale of Leven 10k 2007 1:07:38
Stirling 10k 2006 1:07:46
Helensburgh 10k 2007 1:08:14
Clydebank 2008 1:08:30
Stirling 10k 2007 1:09:2
Helensburgh 10k 2008 1:09:51
Great Scottish Run 10k 2006 1:10:5
Great Scottish Run 10k 2007 1:10:38
Helensburgh 10k 2006 1:12:33
Vale of Leven 10k 2008 1:13:12

This blog has seemed dead for over a year, however it was just resting. It has been given a nicer theme and the default image seems very fitting.

This year I did no preparation for the 10k races that I entered, also I did not get any weight loss going at the start of the year. The result was some of my slowest times for the 10k and I decided not to run the Great Scottish and the Stirling 10k’s that I have done the last two years. Instead I am making a proper effort to get fit and lose weight and I will take on the 10k races again in 2009.

I started using a site called Gyminee.com in July so that I could monitor my food intake and exercise. So far I have lost 18lb. My profile is here

My exercise has consisted of using the rowing machine that I bought at the start of the year, long walks, some free weights and a jog with a friend once a week. I have started to hit the limit that I can do with the walking, although I can easily walk 30km as I did on Saturday, it does take a long time and I am not in training for walking from Land’s End to John o’Groats, not yet anyway   I need to up the tempo of my exercise so I decided to join a gym. I have previously been a gym member but I fell into the usual way of going for the first three months then just resenting it. This time however I am not starting cold and I have longer term aims than I did before. Today I signed up for the Glasgow Club so I get unlimited access to most of the facilities at the Glasgow Leisure centres. My gym induction is on Friday so I will need to get a new pair of trainers.

I am hoping that in the next few weeks I will start to be able to actually jog a full 10k course. My current best is 7.2km, this is a lot further than I have ever managed in a race.

My personal best for a 10k race is 1 hour 2 minutes and 57 seconds which was in the Dumbarton 10k in 2007.

I got out for two sessions over the weekend. I am still mainly walking but I have changed to finding routes with some incline on them so that I can run up hill and get more out of the exercise.

I realize that I have problems with motivation when I am out running. I just don’t push myself enough and that has to change.

One of the routes I did this weekend is below.

The results below are taken from the official results on the respective web sites, most of the times in previous posts were my own observations on passing the finish line. I think in all cases the official results are slightly faster. Most of the 10k races I am running this year will use ‘chip’ timing to the results should be more accurate.

It was a warm afternoon today and I had a good run. I covered 2.4km again but this time it was a lot more comfortable and my legs and lungs recovered very quickly after I stopped. If I get the chance to get out again tomorrow then I will make a serious attempt at a third lap and 3.6km.