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Moving on up ...

hillsiderunner

Woo hoo! Just back from a slow untimed 3.2mile run on a bright, sunny, cool-but-not-cold autumn day (possibly one of the last of these we'll see in Edinburgh this year :rolleyes:).

Very happy to have done this after five weeks of absolutely no running at all

. I managed to injure my right calf at the peak of marathon training, just 4 weeks out from DCM2014. The physio's instructions were no running whatsoever until the leg was perfect and two extra days had passed. And even without those rules I wouldn't have wanted to run anyway - even a week ago I was having twinges doing tiny 50metre jogs. But felt pretty good on today's run.

About me: I've been running on-and-off since 2000, with the offs sometimes being a couple of weeks, sometimes a few months; once or twice an entire year. Over the years I did about 10-15 organised half-marathons and a couple of 10ks. The half-marathon times were usually about 2hrs, so nothing too impressive. For the past couple of years I have been a bit more consistent with the running, and last year I *finally* decided I was going to try to get faster. Really if I'd been planning my running career, I would not have waited till over-forty to make this decision:rolleyes: .... but unfortunately I stayed a very large number of years in the comfort zone. In this past year, I've introduced a bit of speed training in the way of occasional interval training and the occasional parkrun. Apart from the running I do Pilates every week and the occasional dance class.

marathon?: The biggest difference to my training came after I made a decision in early August to have a go at taking up my mileage/LongRunDistance and see if I could get in shape to run DCM 2014. The carrot of a full-marathon in Dublin, not to mention the wonderful support on the "DCM2014 novices" thread, had a great effect on the consistency of my training. I was very happy, not too mention a bit surprised, that I was able to bring my long run distance up to 22.5miles just by dropping the pace a small bit. But unfortunately I had a knot/niggle in my calf that I didn't diagnose and after running on it for about 10 days it eventually turned into a real injury. So I've been off the pavements for 5 weeks, and have had plenty of time to plan my next mission which is "marathon de Paris" on 12th April 2015. It'll be my first marathon and I'll be doing it properly with a good consistent 18-week plan.

My PBs so far:
5k: 23:29 (Sept 2014)
10k: 49:02 (July 2014)
HM: 1:49:31 (Sept 2014 - DCHM)

this log: I've been lurking on the Athletics/Running sub-forum for about a year, and got a bit addicted to the "DCM 2014 Novices" thread over the past few months. Got some brilliant advice from Ososlo there, in particular I finally accepted that Long Runs shouldn't be run close to goal pace (I'd read this on the internet many times but never took it on board before). So I'm starting my own log to help keep me going towards Paris over the next 6 months. Apart from the advice, it'll stop me boring "real friends" with details of my training. For some reason non-runners don't seem so interested in intervals versus Long Runs, or why I'm so disappointed to have ran 1:58 instead of sub 1:50, or the details of how black toenails eventually detach

the plan: I'm going to use the next three weeks to build up running again to 25miles a week. Then on 24th November, I'll start into my 18-week marathon plan. I've based this on the "Boards" plan from the novices thread, but there are slightly more "proper Long Runs" and slightly higher mileage. The mileage is quite a bit higher than I'm used to, starting around 30 miles and getting up to 50 - also 5 runs a week which is a lot for me. But I'm going to try to do it. When I get the chance I'll put the plan on Google Docs to have it online and update it with my progress as the weeks go on. I also really want to get my parkrun time under 23minutes and I'm hoping that I'll be able to do this before the end of January. The only other race I'm planning along the way is the "Lasswade 10" south of Edinburgh on the 1st March - a hilly 10mile road race (or the meadows half-marathon the same day, if Lasswade sells out).... so plenty of weeks for the "proper long runs" and I hope a sub 4hr in Paris.

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eyrie

Sorry to hear that DCM is off the cards for you but it sounds like you're being sensible and making the right choice. Glad you're recovering anyway and good luck with the building

hillsiderunner

eyrie wrote: »

Sorry to hear that DCM is off the cards for you but it sounds like you're being sensible and making the right choice. Glad you're recovering anyway and good luck with the building

Kinda knew there was a decent chance it wouldn't happen even starting out, in some way better to know sooner so can focus on building a bit more carefully. Will still be doing decent mileage but not the very-long runs.

It means I can get some mountains in too

. And all going well I'll be in brilliant shape for a spring attempt maybe!

aquinn

What sort of surface is in Holyrood park? I'm wondering as with the recent dry spell and calf trouble I found running on the trails quite sore on my calf. Maybe you should switch surfaces with all the ankle/foot/calf troubles?

Presume runners are ok for your gait and sufficient support?

Also I just signed up for run the line this morning so not sold out yet.

hillsiderunner

aquinn wrote: »

What sort of surface is in Holyrood park? I'm wondering as with the recent dry spell and calf trouble I found running on the trails quite sore on my calf. Maybe you should switch surfaces with all the ankle/foot/calf troubles?

Presume runners are ok for your gait and sufficient support?

Also I just signed up for run the line this morning so not sold out yet.

There are lots of trails crossing the interior of Holyrood park, but right now I'm mainly taking the circular road around which is tarmac ... for some sections I switch onto the grass/trail alongside the path. I do a good few of my runs on the meadows and for those it is nearly all grass/trail ... this was deliberate, to help with the bone troubles, and I've done not-too-bad on that front this year. Meadows is flat though.

The trails are no longer dry over here!

The thing about Holyrood laps is that it is hilly, though not major (it was a different level of "hill" I was dealing with when I picked up most of the bone injuries). But I think it was that bit of hilly-ness on the newly-long-runs in July that probably aggravated the calf/achilles, seems to have settled by now even though I'm still using the same routes

.

Think runners are good, have been using this model for a few years, and have been to the drop-in podiatrist to discuss (last year).

I *do* need to get back doing strengthening, the physio I saw last year felt this was the underlying cause of my worries.

I have my long run to do this eve and was going to add in a trail through the interior of Holyrood for the first time this year, now you have me questioning it :rolleyes:.

hillsiderunner

hillsiderunner wrote: »

I have my long run to do this eve and was going to add in a trail through the interior of Holyrood for the first time this year, now you have me questioning it :rolleyes:.

I did not add it as it happened. Was playing it by ear and found the climb on the first lap of Holyrood tougher than expected ... and doing the trail would have added more ascent to my second time round. Calf is grand despite 13miles with bits of hill

Annie get your Run

Just sign up for the long course of RTL, you can switch to short closer to the time without any hassle, either way register before it does sell out.

Oh boy oh boy this is shaping up to be an epic boards outing!

Definitely the right decision re DCM.

hillsiderunner

Operation "miles in the legs" continues, with no niggles this week ....

Monday 20th: 1mile w/u, 4miles@HMP, 1.1miles c/d (6.1miles)
Done after work on grass/trails on the meadows. Had been thinking of about 9min-per-mile for the HMP miles, but it was hard to work up to this pace (especially for the first mile) and what I got was 9:19, 9:05, 9:03, 9:07. Bit hard to maintain it to the end too, so maybe 9min pace is optimistic. But on the other hand the grass/trail surface could be slowing me a little bit. Anyway done. Calf/achilles was good.

Tuesday: nothing as planned

Wednesday: 13miles @10:40 avg pace
Long run of the week done in and around Holyrood Park, mostly tarmac with 3-4miles grass/trail, a bit hilly. Was doing this from the office to make sure I didn't get comfortable at home, but only started a bit before 7pm, so I ended up finishing after 9pm with the last 2-3miles being dark and *cold*. Winter is here.
No time to cook dinner so headed to the takeaway to buy cheesy chips (cheesy for the protein) and fanta, and struggled to eat the chips as I walked home, stuffed down a few more of them when I was back at the house, but couldn't finish. Have noticed this a few times this year, very strange to be turning my nose up at chips, my palate is becoming more refined it seems. Had felt the left achilles/lower-calf being very slightly tight a couple of times during the run, but there was no more of it through the week.

Thursday, Friday: nothing
Deliberate rest on Thursday, laziness on Friday. I did feel the effects of the Long Run both days, and maybe was a bad idea to do the pace run Monday with only one day break before the long run of the week.
Had been watching the weather forecast further west with plans for a wild-camping mountain expedition at the weekend, and it had all been looking good until Thursday. Eventually had to postpone the plans (*again*), wondering if it will ever happen.

Saturday: 3.6miles @10:57 avg pace
Very nearly another day without running, only takes a couple of days to settle into sedentary life and then the challenge is to get moving again .... Successfully dodged it for most of the day, then decided to head out for a Cinderella run before bedtime. Have been vaguely thinking of buying a flat (another thing that will likely never happen :rolleyes:), so went to check out some streets about half a mile away and did some explorations in the surrounding area. Seems safe enough.

Sunday: 3.75miles @10:44 pace, 7.5miles @10:08 avg (incl 5 strides)
First run done in the morning checking out a different neighbourhood (this one about a mile away).
Real run was done in the evening in and around Holyrood Park, all on tarmac this time as the grass was wet and mucky. The legs were feeling lighter this evening and I was able to pick up the pace while still feeling comfortable... now no records were being broken here but it was nice to feel the legs moving at a better pace. Threw in 5 strides in the final mile.

weekly total: 34miles as 5 runs

Next week - surprise surprise, more of the same. Hoping that some of the fitness will be returning soon.

hillsiderunner

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Definitely the right decision re DCM.

True, though maybe unclear how much easier the training for a 16miler with plenty of ascent

. But I'll wait some weeks to decide ...

hillsiderunner

Two more weeks. Came off the rails a little bit at the end of last week and took a few days off for no reason. But did the Ros Go Run half yesterday and somehow managed to squeeze that in under 2hours

. Doing another half in three weeks so will be interesting to see whether I improve.

27th-2nd September:

Monday: 1mile w/u, 4miles@HMP, 1miles c/d
in the evening after work on grass and trail. Had been reluctant to go out, the weather was looking (?) cold from inside, so I was happy to find mild weather on leaving the building, even had sun for some of the run. Picked it up from the start of the first MP mile and got the 4 miles done as 9:12, 9:02, 9:02, 9:01, better than last time, but also a bit tougher and I could not have continued for a 5th. Again I had the feeling of the pace dropping right off when doing the c/d mile, felt I was crawling along though the pace was 10:20-10:30 or so .... had not a glimmer of energy at the end.

Tuesday: nothing as planned

Wednesday: 5miles with strides (10:28 avg pace)
Run done from the house after work (on tarmac) at easy pace, threw in 5strides into my last mile but I was doing this last bit round the neighbourhood loop where the pavement is lumpy and is not ideal for strides, made a mess of a couple of them.

Thursday: 14miles (bit hilly) @10:42 avg pace
The usual venue of Holyrood Park and its surroundings after work, with about 1500ft of ascent up-and-down on smaller climbs. This was enjoyable, and I wasn't flagging at the end (and not knackered the day after). From about 6miles I had the occasional little "pull" from my posterior tibialis, I would have put in extra hills except for this.

Friday: nothing
Had 4miles on the cards but was wary of the posterior tibialis and pushed it out, did stair drops and a bit of foot rolling with a hockey ball.

Saturday: 4hours sea-Kayaking
A *mostly* good day kayaking out near North Berwick, except water was choppy and I started to suffer from seasickness half way in. We were doing a stretch out from our first island out to the Bass Rock (to see the thousands of seagulls) and I had to stop and start quite a few times to get sick on my skirt on the way ... was lagging behind the others but didn't want to say anything and have the trip cut short. Had a talk with the leader when I made it to Bass Rock itself and had to suffer the shame of getting a rope attached to my kayak and getting towed to the shore for lunch (but was for the best, I was able to hold it together being towed but would feel sick again each time I picked up the paddle). We had about 30mins on the shore eating lunch and after that I was able to do paddle myself for the last stretch back to our start point.
Was still a bit wobbly when I came back to my flat and decided to skip my run.

Sunday: nothing
The plan for today was a 6:30 wake to pick up a lift at 7:45 and head North to do two munros. *woke up on time*. Then checked the weather near our mountains and it wasn't brilliant. And checked the walk details a final time and realised the estimated time home was not till 7:30pm. Hmmm ... Was still sitting on a pile of stuff to read for work and knew I'd get none of it done after coming back from the trip.
So I cancelled.
And I didn't do the reading either.
And not even a run .... (went round to a friend's house for dinner instead).
Just looked at my notes and part of the reason to bail on the mountains was slight worry about the posterior tib. But I think most of it was laziness.

weekly total: 25.2miles as 3 runs, 1 kayak trip

3rd-9th September:

Monday: nothing
Had thoughts of doing one of those missed runs from the weekend but couldn't be bothered.

Tuesday: 6miles easy @10:33 avg pace
Hard to summon the motivation after the 4days off! Done in the evening from my flat around the coastal loop, all was good with the leg.

Wednesday: nothing
Had miles on the plan, but busy with work and let it run late, then I couldn't be bothered

Thursday: 8miles @10:15 avg
From work at lunchtime with a lap of Holyrood Park and other bits. 4miles were on grass/trail, the other 4 on tarmac mostly. I was fairly comfortable at this pace, so probably have gained a little bit of fitness. Was able to push and lift my legs well on the climb up to Pollock roundabout after 5miles, and got a bit of support from some tourists. Had some little tugs on the posterior tib from 3-4miles in, esp on hilly bits (downhill I think).

Friday: nothing
Came back to Dublin this evening but was too lazy to go out to do the planned miles (a theme emerges :rolleyes:). Did some stair drops for the posterior tib instead.

Saturday: 4.8miles easy(10:22 avg pace)
Test run done before lunch round Kimmage, Terenure, Harolds Cross. Did three strides in the final mile. Was doing this as a test run to check whether would be wise to race a Half-marathon tomorrow, and all seemed fine.

Sunday: Ros Go Run half-marathon (1:59:23)
Got up at 5:50 (shudder) and packed a bag, bit of toast and coffee and out to get a taxi into down, then the 22 Bus Eireann to Ballaghadereen. I had been in touch with the "Ros Go Run" organisers and they had offered a lift from Ballagh to Loughglynn where the half marathon would start. Was picked up and loads of time at the GAA club to change and wait for the race.
I was already registered for the Great Scottish half in Glasgow at the end of September, so there wasn't really a need to be doing this one. But I'd noticed it when I was thinking of doing DCM and planning my schedule, and it is well-located near some relatives. Have been doing about 9min-per-mile as HM pace recently, with great difficulty ... was still hoping I'd be able to achieve the 9mpm in Glasgow, but thinking I'd run this one as a trial, with 9:30 for the first half, and then see how I could pick it up a bit.
We left the GAA club to walk/jog down to our start point and I was seeing the watch flicker around 12/11:xx for the jog, was feeling very wary about the 9:30-and-pick-it-up-plan, maybe closer to 10mpm would be more realistic. Decided I would feel it out, but not let myself go under 9:25 for any of the first 5 miles (ha ha ha ...). Was a lovely sunny day (but not too warm), but quite blustery as we were to find out. Race was mostly along small little country roads.
mile 1: bit of gradual downhill in the first half of this, and even though I was holding back a bit the watch was showing sub-9. Pulled the effort a bit further back, and there was a change in gradient too, overall 9:14 (already broken my rule).
mile 2: there was a slight drag in this mile and it went on for a while, was going quite slow in fact and the pace was eventually 9:52. We'd gone through some woods in this mile and I wondered if maybe that had interfered with the Garmin, but probably not.
miles 3-4: Continued the feeling out and these miles were easier, 9:05 and 8:57, definitely breaking my rule but I was feeling ok. I remember mile 4 in particular as we were coming back in towards Loughglynn again and there was a strong breeze and I was just thinking to do my best with it, but not too much effort, and was surprised to keep the pace this low. Bout of coughing in mile 4 too unfortunately.
miles 5-7: again continuing to keep things as good as I could, don't remember lots about this except at some stage there was another exposed section with fields either side. Paces 9:16, 9:10, 9:00. I had my eye on the watch now as I could see the paces near enough to 9mins. Was watching for the 1hour point to see how much mileage I'd have covered and this was about 6.4miles at that point, so a bit behind 2hour pace. Now I was thinking I'd aim to get it just a couple of minutes over the 2hours, aim to work at a decent effort but not push too hard, so I wouldn't blow up.
miles 8-10: Was now really focusing on the time rather than anything else and I remember little of the nice surroundings. Quite a few water stations, half were RosGoRun and the other half independent water stations from people's homes. I wasn't taking any water but I did take some mandarin sections a bit before the 10mile point I think. Paces 9:04, 9:05, 8:56. Was managing to keep the pace up and when I hit the 10mile point I was just slightly over 1hr 32. So a fair bit over 9min pace but 9min pace will bring you in a couple of minutes under 2hours ... so maybe I could still squeeze in.
miles 11-end: Spent this section trying to focus on getting the legs to move through quickly, but not waste effort "pushing" and it worked. There wasn't much wind in these miles which made a difference too. Bit of a drag in mile 12 but passed a woman at the end of this mile and she said it was "all downhill" after I reached the top of the drag, and she was mostly right. Was not finding these final miles easy at all, but could feel I had a bit of strength (*not* speed) from some fairly consistent months, and was able to graid them out: 8:43, 8:56, 8:50 and the "bit" 8:56 and I crossed the line with the watch saying 1:59:23, and he clock matching.
There were bananas and oranges and water at the finish, and the sun was shining, I sat down on a chair and took sometime to relax. After that went into the GAA club where they had a massive spread of sandwiches, cakes, hot tea, and the organiser gave a talk and drew some raffle tickets. Luke Ming Flanagan was there, he had been running. I ate a huge batch of sandwiches and changed into my clothes (they had showers, unfortunately I didn't have a towel). Then I got a lift from some Roscommon harriers into Ballaghadereen and went to see my relatives.

Had gone into this race knowing it was pretty flat but when running it I was meeting hill after hill and wondering whether the route had been changed. Looking on Strava there's less than 400ft of elevation which is only about 1/3 of what I'd do on my usual long runs, obviously the pace makes a difference :rolleyes:.

They only had 77 people racing the half (and some others doing the 10k). This is big improvement on the previous years, but they deserve a much bigger participation, the event is really well organised and the timing well-done too

.

weekly total: 32miles as 4 runs

Easier week next week.

Huzzah!

Kayaking sounds even less glamorous than running!

Nice running at the half. Any idea what you'll aim for at the Glasgow run?

hillsiderunner

Huzzah! wrote: »

Kayaking sounds even less glamorous than running!

It should be pointed out that the average kayaker is not puking up. It was convenient to be in the water, I could wash the skirt off after getting sick (*yeuch*)

For Glasgow the plan would be to go out at 9:00 exactly for the first half and pick it up a little bit after that (unless I cheat and do the first half a tiny bit under the 9min miles). Will gauge it by how it feels mainly.

Huzzah! wrote: »

Nice running at the half. Any idea what you'll aim for at the Glasgow run?

Singer

Did you beat Ming???

hillsiderunner

Singer wrote: »

Did you beat Ming???

Not a chance, he is fast (from my perspective), he did 1hr 40 and some secs.

Something to aspire to!

hillsiderunner

A few more weeks, another vomiting incident, another half marathon. And so on ...

10th-16th Sept:

Mon-Wed: rest
The right calf had been a bit tight after the race on Sunday, not the posterior tibialis niggle, but at the back. So the planned rest-day on Monday got extended to Tuesday (calf still tight this morning), and then Wednesday (was back in Edinburgh and everything busy and hectic).

Thurs: 6.5miles @10:25 avg
Coastal LL loop with a bit extra, done in the darkness and all feeling fine (except for some gastric coughing).

Fri: nothing
Was planning a short run, and for some un-noted reason I decided to leave it.

Sat: 8.2miles @10:37 avg
Loop of Holyrood and then it got dark and I had to leave the park and finish this in the suburbs. Trying to add miles after the laziness earlier in the week.

Sun: 10.3miles @10:40 avg pace
Typical Sunday run in Holyrood Park, done from the office to get the light. Into Holyrood and took one trail across the park and an extra loop or two before coming back out. It was comfortable (as was yesterday's) and I wasn't knackered after or next day, a good sign as I aim to increase the hills in preparation for Run the Line.

weekly total: 25miles as 3runs
If I remember right it was supposed to be a bit more than this even as a recovery week (would guess 28 planned), but never mind.

17th-23rd Sept:

Mon: rest as planned

Tues: 6.1miles with 4@HMP
HMP run in advance of the next half-marathon (~2weeks ahead). Did this on the grass and trails of the meadows around 5:30pm, was going back to the office after. Was aiming for about 8:50 for the HMP and the paces were 9:06, 8:51, 8:47, 8:42 so the average was correct. Also - I could have done a 5th HMP mile, which was not always the case with the HMP runs a few weeks back.

Wed: nothing
Was supposed to do 5miles but skipped it.

Thurs: 14miles with hills (11:18 avg, 1900ft)
Had plans to hike at the weekend so was doing my long run early to separate it from that (and also bring it a bit earlier in advance of the half in 10days). Aim for this was to add some hills in as a preparation for "Run the Line" - next week has the Half marathon, and the following week will be recovery, so this the last chance for a while. Am usually doing my Long runs in/around Holyrood Park which has some ascent even on the tarmac roads, but the aim today was to venture onto the trails leading up towards the hills in the park (not all the way to Arthur's seat, but part way). The result was that I managed to stick an ascent of Whinny Hill and then an ascent up most of the back of Arthur's seat (this route is closer to the road) ... soon after I had to abandon the park because of darkness, so the climb of the Salisbury crags was out. Came out in the dark to one of the roundabouts and did some suburban miles to finish. Still a decent amount of ascent.

Fri: 6miles @10:35 avg pace
Coastal/LL loop after work just before it went dark, heavy-legged after yesterday's miles. Then had to go to bed at 10pm tonight as I had a 6am start for the hike tomorrow :rolleyes:.

Sat: hike up Carn A'Chlamain from Glen Tilt (18.3miles hiking)
Lovely long hike in company, time-on-feet pretty significant!

Sun: nothing
I fully intended to do 9miles and have weekly mileage at 35, but was knackered, even after sleeping to 10:30am. Found reasons to delay the run and then found reasons not to go at all. Then in bed that night I noticed that flexing the toes on the left foot was bringing the ball-of-foot response I associate with metatarsal bone stress. Maybe not bone stress itself (as walking was ok, and it's non-impact wiggling bringing a response), but this has been present for all the metatarsal stress fractures/reactions. So very happy to have dodged the run.

weekly total: 26.1miles as 3runs, long hike (18miles)

24th-30th Sept:

weekly total: 33.1miles as 5runs

Mon: nothing
Had initially been thinking to catch up some of those 9miles, but noticed the left ball-of-foot was "sensitive to the ground" when walking *and* I was still knackered, so I didn't bother running. Tested the foot with wigglings in bed, no reaction tonight though

Tues: 6.1miles easy (10:46 avg)
Very easy pace as loop of Holyrood from the office after work. Some "feeling the road underneath" sensitivity on left ball of foot, but no worse after. Basically the rest of the week was a "monitor the niggles" operation.

Wed: 5.1miles easy (10:25 avg)
Easy pace along the coastal loop after work. Had walked to work without any ball-of-foot sensitivity, and similar walking home, so expecting this would go fine. But had noticed bit of ankle-ness and top-inner-arch on the right foot walking home, hmm, something extra to watch .... On the run had no trouble for first 3miles, then turning at 3.5miles started noticing some calf tightness at mid-inner calf on right side, this went away after half a mile or so. And a bit of ball-of-foot sensitivity on left foot at start of 5th mile.

Thurs: 1mile w/u, 1mile HMP, 2.8miles with 5strides in final mile
On the meadows, mostly trails except doing the final mile+ with the strides. The HMP mile was 8:53, would have liked a bit better but never mind. Both niggles behaved well. Momentary ball-of-foot sensitivity about 1mile into the (1.3mile) walk home.

Fri: nothing
Day off as planned, also helping the niggles.

Sat: 3.9miles @10:45 avg
Early afternoon run on tarmac to test the niggles, they behaved well. Also walked 1.5-2miles and had that "feel the ground more" thing on the left, but nothing more. Decided I'd go ahead and attempt the HM. Had a nice big stir fry and rice to carb load, and loads of glasses of water (not sure why as it's not something I normally do, but this turned out to be useful later).

Sun: Great Scottish Run (1:56:02)
This entry starts around 1am: had gone to bed nice and early at 11pm but had been experiencing some stomach rumblings and cramps getting progressively worse, then eventually had to get out of bed and race to the bathroom to vomit. Good bit better though. Similar thing again 45mins or so later and after this bout I was "done" (bye-bye stir fry + rice, not staying in the body to help with the half-marathon) and was able to sleep the rest of the night. All my own fault as had been doing a clear-out of the fridge earlier Saturday and had eaten some (pared-down) elderly-looking cheese so as not to waste it

. Went to sleep wondering if it would make sense to run at all but when I woke I was feeling ok, and even if I didn't do the half-marathon I'd need to do a long run anyway, and I could always bail if having trouble .... so got up. Was able to eat my breakfast fine, another good sign.
The start time of the half-marathon is a nice sensible 11:40, so had plenty of time to have breakfast and make my way to the train station. Used the toilets when I arrived in Glasgow, but there still was a worry about what could happen later - not ideal to be running so soon after (minor) food poisoning, but took some money with me in case I needed to bail along the race course. Dropped my bag at the "baggage bus" (this is a brilliant way of managing things where start and finish are at different locations). Then into the crowd for "warm-up" and music and Elite runner introductions. This was a bit of a novelty after 2years away from any big races (well, any races).
Coming up to the race I had been thinking I might be able to scrape this in under 1:55 and was very much aware it'd take 8:44-45 average pace to do it. The plan had been to aim for 8:55-8:50 in the early miles and improve that after a few miles, but after last night (not to mention the niggles) I was thinking a bit more conservatively, aim for sub 9mins and pick up at end all going well. I was in the green "wave", not sure what the times are for this but I was well back ... the wave was moving for about 3mins before I passed the mat.
miles 1-5: (9:16, 9:06, 8:39, 9:00, 8:32) There was an uphill fairly early in the first mile, followed by a downhill, was holding back in mile 1 anyway and the first mile came in slow. Was feeling a bit of ennui/why-am-I-bothering after mile 1 (sure I did one three weeks ago and this won't be much better, why not just go home) but tried to move the legs through better and had a nice surprise to see 8:20 or so looking down at my watch early in mile 2. Backed off a little bit as that's too fast. Then we hit a downhill gradient but the boundaries narrowed here, and the crowd slowed to a stop twice. Little bit of time lost but from a mental point of view this was *annoying* and I swore at a couple of people, and overall mile2 time not the best. A nice 3rd mile with some help from the gradient to get well below 9min and I was trading off the "win" there against the extra time for the first two miles .... unmemorable mile4, a slightly downhill mile5

and then we were heading into Pollok Country Park. There was a man and his child right inside with jelly babies to hand out but I didn't see them until too late. Too early anyway. Actually took neither food nor water till I was finished. Found some of the dashes taken across my path towards water a bit silly I have to say.
miles 6-9: (9:07, 8:57, 8:55, 8:53) Miles 6 and 7 stayed inside Pollok Country Park. I wasn't pushing that hard as I'd seen the 2017 course profile and my memory was that the main hill climb of the course was around mile 9, so I was making sure to have a bit of effort held back in advance of that. All the same wasn't too happy with the paces for these two miles. The paths were a bit winding and there were lots of trees with lovely autumn leaves and I wondered whether the Garmin had lost some distance - no chance, we left the park around mile 7 and my Garmin beep was even earlier from the mile-sign than before.... Mile 8 out of tarmac (this was nice) again waiting for the hills, and now into Bellahouston park for mile9 ... there was a little bit of rise and fall in here but nothing major. So came out of the park expecting I'd made a mistake and the climbing would be in the next mile. Was already .1miles up on the mile markers at this stage.
miles 10-13: (8:27, 8:33, 8:22, 8:24, "bit" 8:17) Had the first half of mile10 done and was now thinking that I'd remembered the profile wrong, or else course had changed (it seems it has changed, more of the climb this year in miles 6-7). Was not definite of course, but I started to push harder as I continued and brought better pace. Was not definite how long I'd keep it up but was not at a desperate push, so continued with the effort and had all these 4miles around 8:30 or lower, hurray! Passed the 2hour pacers at the start of mile 11, they must have started right at the front of the green wave. Went over a lovely bridge in mile 12, then a bit after looked down at my watch and was well past halfway in the mile with 8:18 showing - that was nice. These "Great" runs put names on the bibs so another nice experience was 300m from the finish, a spectator telling telling me I was doing great and just keep it up

. Was glad of the encouragement at that point. Finish at Glasgow Green and then a short walk to the train station.

Was an enjoyable race and I was passing between people all the way to the end, and generally felt more comfortable than in the HM three weeks ago. Conditions were nice, sunny but not too warm, with a little bit of rain, wind fairly quiet. Could probably have brought it under 1:55 with better effort earlier on but not bothered at all, quite happy with the result for now. And don't think the food poisoning affected things whatsoever

Am loving the effect of mileage on fitness, getting a real kick of seeing the "run slow to get faster" work in practice, who needs speed training.

weekly total: 33.1miles as 5runs

Next week is a recovery week, then I need to do a few longer hill runs in prep for Run the Line which is 6weeks ahead.

eyrie

Great racing, well done! Particularly after a night like you had before it!
You're flying the half marathons lately - and this is a big improvement on the last one too, nice going

hillsiderunner

eyrie wrote: »

Great racing, well done! Particularly after a night like you had before it!
You're flying the half marathons lately - and this is a big improvement on the last one too, nice going

Ah, that's not flying, I want to get that down to the PB and then further below (will be looking for times like your own

). It was a positive experience though, I wasn't even tired after it.

Am going to leave the HMs for the rest of 2018 and will do some parkruns in Dec and Jan after the hill race is over ... then a half in February or March all going well.

hillsiderunner

Monday 1st Oct: nothing
Rest day. Legs feeling pretty good, and not too much tiredness either, the half-marathon didn't have much of an effect this time.

Tuesday 2nd Oct: easy 4miles @10:23 avg pace
Done on trails in quiet evening sunshine, lovely autumn leaves.

Wednesday 3rd Oct: easy 5.1miles @10:22 avg pace
Same trails as yesterday, no sun today, bit blustery.

Thursday 4th Oct: nothing
Had been planning another 5miles but had been monitoring the ball of my left foot and it had been slightly achy, pushed the run out.

Friday 5th Oct: 7miles @10:22 avg pace
Back in Dublin for family christening, did this round the usual route (tarmac and cement). Am keeping the paces consistent this week to say the least :rolleyes:.

Saturday 6th Oct: nothing
No running. Was wearing heels today and had a bit of ache in the ball of the left foot, but eased off that evening.

Sunday 7th Oct: 9.1miles @10:14 avg pace
Escape-from-family run in the evening to make up some miles, my usual Dublin route, foot behaved well and this was enjoyable. Not worried about this niggle any more as it is bouncing back more quickly now (but of course will keep an eye).

weekly total: 25.2 miles as 4 runs
Just 1 mile below what was planned and the body is feeling good (apart from the shock of a 4am start this morning ....).

Five weeks to Run the Line, and the 16miles with all that ascent. Am planning to do long hilly runs every 10days rather than every week, and that works out well for sufficient post-Glasgow rest as well as a reasonable taper. I have actually been mostly working to a plan the past couple of months, it is highly concentrated on slow-run aerobic development and little speed, so the "plan" may not be apparent in my updates :rolleyes:. Plan for the coming weeks is

8th-14th Oct: 35 miles with a 14-15mile hill run Thursday.
15th-21st Oct: 37miles with 15mile hill run Sunday
22nd-28th Oct: 28miles with long run 9-10miles.
29th-4th Nov: 36miles with 15mile hill run Wednesday.
5th-11th Nov: 34miles including RACE on the 11th.

Apart from that I might put about 20mins fartlek into one run some of those weeks. Also may race parkrun on that middle week, but it'll depend on niggles being absent.

hillsiderunner

Ok, sure let's do a update ... some minor backing-off done over the past few weeks but operation show-on-the-road/miles-in-the-legs continues.

8th-14th Oct:
Plan was 35 miles with a 14-15mile hill run Thursday. But ... had the same ball-of-foot sensitivity on the left foot I've been watching for a while and ended up skipping my midweek Long Run.

Tuesday: 6miles @10:40 avg pace
Did this from the office before going home in evening, still knackered from Monday's early flight, this was a tired run. Familiar Holyrood loop, about 2miles on grass/trail and the rest hard surfaces.

Wednesday: nothing, tired and bits of foot sensitivity

Thursday: 8.1miles with some hills (1200ft ascent, 12:05 avg pace)
Apart from the slow pace there was also some walking on hills not always on the clock. Was in Holyrood Park as usual, felt tired from the outset and even a mile in was already thinking the planned 14miler was likely to be cut short. This was planned as loop(s) of the Park with a diversion up Whinny Hill (done with walking) and up towards the back of Arthur's seat (not done at all!). The foot was all right though not 100% during the run, but then walking round the office later could feel twinges in the left ball of foot, and walking home some ankle instability on the right foot! Worried and resolved to take a few days off.

Friday, Saturday: nothing
Resting the foot. It was improving a lot, and forecast for the Arrochar Alps for Sunday was *perfect*. I spent a lot of time planning a route from Ardlui up to Ben Vorlich with the thoughts of going the following day, would be my first solo munro. However, had lost my phone (not ideal to go alone without), and still very tired (work busy this past week). Saw sense.

Sunday: 10.15miles with hills, 1400ft overall (11:56 avg pace)
The foot was a good bit better, so I went out for 10miler in the usual spot. Did loops of the park with deviations for an ascent of Whinny, and then on the next loop doing the climb from Dunsapie up to the base of A's seat - this climb was supposed to go all the way up Crow Hill, but I didn't have the energy for the steeper climb and having considered it more recently I don't think it's feasible at all for a while yet, it's too steep. This was a beautiful evening and I had my phone (retrieved from the back of the sofa :rolleyes:) and took a large number of photos, so there was stopping and starting. There was some ball-of-foot sensitivity on the uphills but it went away quite quick after, so was happy with this. So slow though!

weekly total: 24.3miles as 3runs

15th-22nd Oct:
Plan was 37miles with 15mile hill run Sunday but the long hill run didn't happen - had to properly back-off this week. But it seemed to do the trick this time

.

Monday: 6miles @10:31 avg pace
Coastal suburban loop before dinner, all on tarmac. Was choosing to do this early to keep it away from the hill run Wednesday. There were bits of sensitivity from the foot in the final mile, and on the sofa after, and later in bed, had the feeling the sensitivity had worsened. Wasn't sure ... wiggling the toes was bringing no response .... also walked to work Tuesday morning with very little troubles, so thought it was ok. But was glad to be having Tuesday off...

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: nothing
I could feel a tireder achiness on the ball of the foot towards the end of the walk home from work Tuesday. Went back to read last year's October notes when I picked up a 2nd met stress reaction in the left foot (the second time!), and noticed some similarities in terms of the achyness and the on/off though the stress reaction had come on more quickly. Abandoned plans for any run on Wednesday and took the aquajog stuff to work instead (showing good intent although I went nowhere near the pool). Still knackered from busy period at work so decided to just leave the running aside for the rest of the week and do some cycling and aqua/swim instead (did not do any). Was noticing other niggles on the right leg at this point :pac:.

Saturday: 4miles easy 10:31 avg pace
Had meant to do a long cycle but didn't get round to it, and the foot was a good bit better, so did a few miles to test the foot and try to de-stress. Everything seemed ok.

Sunday: 10miles hilly-ish 10:42 avg pace
A test run doing loops of Holyrood but no steep climb, mostly grass/trail with about 3.5miles hard stuff. Wore my Fellraiser shoes to get a bit of practice, and the niggles were quiet.

Monday: 6miles @10:49 avg pace
That thing where you squeeze Monday into the previous week in order to make the mileage look decent.... Meadows trails and the legs were feeling heavy, was a bit surprised.

weekly total: 26.1miles as 4 runs

23rd-29th Oct:
Plan was cutback week of 28miles with non-hilly long run 9-10miles. But I'd had two cutback weeks already, and the foot was pretty decent, so I was going for 32miles this week, with a 14mile "run with hills" that has been postponed so long. The aim was midweek for this hilly long run, but work got in the way and it got pushed to the weekend.

Tuesday: nothing
Gave the foot a rest after doing two days in a row.

Wednesday: 5.2miles @10:02 avg pace
Mostly trails, except for the final mile, came back out onto the tarmac to do 5 strides. I was able to move to move the legs a bit faster today, that was nice. "The foot" was feeling good.

Thursday: 6miles @10:21 avg pace
Familiar office to/round Holyrood Park route, about 2.5miles grass/trails and the rest hard surfaces. I was able to manage the hills a bit better than usual and the pace is a bit faster than recent runs on this route. This was originally planned as a 13-14miles hill run but work intervened.

Friday: nothing
Tired/lazy maybe better to give the foot an extra day.

Saturday: 14miles run with hills (1900ft ascent) @11:18 avg pace
Finally! Done in the late afternoon, it was freezing cold, so dug out some leggings for the first time this year. After coming out of the flat I was wishing I'd taken the gloves too.
3 loops of Holyrood with a bit of extra to bring distance to 14miles, and the plan to deviate to the Whinny Hill/Dry Dam loop towards the end of the first loop, up-and-down towards the back of Arthur's seat on the second loop ... I started the "up" towards the back of Arthur's seat again on the 3rd loop but walked within about 10steps so decided to abort.
This was a good run except that I walked more than expected - about 4-5 times of ~10 steps on the steep ascent to Whinny Hill, and 3 times on the other steep climb.
For the positives .... I kept marching briskly each time I had to walk, no stopping. Also I think I managed to improve speed/technique on the steeper downhills this time. Also, there are always walkers on the lower trails of the Park on the weekends. And when I was finishing the first steep descent around 5miles, near the bottom of the Dry Dam, an American (tourist maybe) told me (*puffs out chest*) I was *awesome*

. Also - the foot behaved very well, just the occasional bit of light sensitivity in final couple of miles. I was not expecting that at all, quite the opposite, but very pleased.

This run took me up to 884 miles for 2018, which is 4 more than I've ever had for a yearly total before. You wouldn't think it from the posts I know ...

Sunday: nothing
The road to hell, and the good intentions, and all that ... Went to the pub for lunch and a couple of glasses of wine and chatted a while, came back home with the plan to do 7miles but didn't head out. It's so bloody cold (and dark). Had been watching the DCM tracker that morning and re-checking a few times in the pub too, delighted to see some great performances...

Monday: 6.7miles @10:29 avg pace
Evening run in the cold and dark, and wearing the leggings again ... and the gloves. And I'll need to buy a hat because I lost last year's one. Maybe time to pack the shorts away, usually I last till November.

weekly total: 32 miles as 4 runs

Had considered the idea of dropping-back to do the shorter Run the line route as I'm not really fit for the longer hill distance (or any hill race really). But then it's going to be mostly a matter of getting round, so I might as well use it for training purposes, hmmm ... will decide for sure after this week's Long run, which should be Thursday I hope.

Plans for the two upcoming weeks still the same, foot permitting.

29th-4th Nov: 36miles with 15mile hill run Wednesday.
5th-11th Nov: 34miles including RACE on the 11th.

eyrie

I was getting worried reading about your foot woes in the first half of that update, so it's very good to hear it seems to be improving - hope it continues that way!
And hitting your highest annual mileage ever when it's only October - nice!

hillsiderunner

eyrie wrote: »

I was getting worried reading about your foot woes in the first half of that update, so it's very good to hear it seems to be improving - hope it continues that way!

I know... myself and this niggle are old enemies, I need to keep a tight watch.

(only reason I'm beating past mileage is because it was always so rubbish! I have my eye on a certain number for 2018)

aquinn

hillsiderunner wrote: »

I know... myself and this niggle are old enemies, I need to keep a tight watch.

(only reason I'm beating past mileage is because it was always so rubbish! I have my eye on a certain number for 2018)

Heya M,

One observation I have from catching up is as follows.

You are monitoring niggles and very aware of them. You rightly take a few days off but then when you start back you do a fairly long run, 5 miles plus. You don't really do any shorter runs. Would it not benefit more if you did?

hillsiderunner

aquinn wrote: »

Heya M,

One observation I have from catching up is as follows.

You are monitoring niggles and very aware of them. You rightly take a few days off but then when you start back you do a fairly long run, 5 miles plus. You don't really do any shorter runs. Would it not benefit more if you did?

Well sometimes it's only 4miles.

Oh, I *know* ... it would be more sensible, but in normal times I never head out for less than 5. And I know and understand this niggle, and walking gives a good indication of where it is without running at all so I tend to use that to gauge things before I put the runners on at all (I am even keeping note of miles walked when monitoring this, though I am not forcing *those* details on my poor readers).

But I could be better I know.

hillsiderunner

30th-4th November

Tuesday: nothing
Think the plan was to do 6miles but was feeling lazy

Wednesday: 6.2miles @10:13 avg pace
On the trails in half-darkness.

Thursday: 10miles hilly-ish @10:44 avg pace
The aim for this run was to do the last big hilly run, especially important given the missed hill runs when I was backing off a couple of weeks ago. Was aiming to do 15miles with about 2500ft of ascent, which would mean some pretty steep climbs. Came out of the office around 2pm to do this as I needed to have daylight on the trails. Anyway the short story is that after a mile or two I was already feeling a decent effort, so I decided I would skip the steep climbs (ahem) ... maybe the efforts of Saturday's hills still there. So instead of venturing on the interior trail I stuck to the usual loop ... And also cut the distance shorter. Mostly grass/trail with about 4miles hard stuff. Just 1110ft ascent.

Friday: nothing

Saturday: 10miles with hills (11:54 avg pace)
After the unsuccessful attempt on Thursday wanted to have another attempt at some proper hills; had initially being thinking of going for the 15miles this w/e but realised it would be unwise to leave my race on my local hills ... so instead would just do 10miles with some extra ascent, and try to keep the pace comfortable. Had seen the bad weather forecast for Saturday and expected this would need to wait till Sunday, but the winds had dropped by early afternoon and I headed out today. Had realised there is a great way to add ascent by breaking my typical "loop" into a figure-of-8 where we add an extra climb to the back of Arthur's seat from the high point on the road, and then descend through the interior trail to do the other half-loop and descend again....will make a difference to my hill training going forward as the extra climb is not as steep as some other ascent in the park. I did walk 2-3 times of each climb of this extra ascent, but better than some recent efforts. Also some good downhill practice on the trails.... Did the figure of 8, followed by a vanilla loop and a bit extra ... 1610ft today. There was still a good bit of wind around and a couple of the miles were into a very stiff headwind, which had an effect. Again majority grass/trail and about 3.5miles hard surfaces. Was happy with this run and not knackered afterwards

Sunday: 7.8miles @10:44 avg pace
Some flat miles in the suburbs, to add distance for the week. Suffering various technological issues with distance tracking...

weekly total: 34miles
Just a bit off the planned 36, and no big-long run (15 had been planned), but happy with this.

Training not perfect but will stick with the long route for Run the Line. Just a few short flat runs before Saturday

hillsiderunner

5th-11th November:

Monday: 5.1miles @10:32 avg pace
Evening trails, five strides in final mile.

Tuesday, Wednesday: nothing
Not quite sure what happened here... would guess that Tuesday was planned, and that I went home after work on Wednesday and couldn't push myself back out.

Thursday: 6.1miles very easy @10:59 avg pace
Saving my legs for the weekend, slow on the usual trails after work. This darkness is getting to be a nuisance...

Friday: nothing
As plan, travelling to Dublin today

Saturday: Run the Line (16miles, 3200ft) in 3hours 27mins
Met Neady and nop (and Mr Neady) at Bride's Glen at 9am for my lift to Glencullen. We were all aiming for the early start of the early start of the Long course. They were already in their running outfits, I wriggled myself out of my jeans and into my fellrunning shoes in the back of the car as we drove. The Northside crew arrived about 10mins before our start so there were reunions with people I hadn't seen in ages (annapr and MurphD and aquinn), an introduction to the most positive person on Strava

denisb of course, and congratulations to MrPaul. Then myself, Neady, and nop went off to start our race in the rain ... not as forecast.
I'm not sure I can do a great job of describing this one, as I don't know the names/details of of the various points. There was rain, and there was muck, and there were boulders and hills. Also a very narrow section through gorse around miles 3 or 4 and when I washed the muck off my legs after the race I found a collection of purple spots on knees and lower thighs from the thorns .. faded away by now. There were 4 main hills on the course and mostly the gradient of the hills was not too terrible but there were also various sections (up and down) which had the bouldery thing going on, so weren't always runnable.
I was unsure how to gauge the effort for this one so I set off conservatively at the back of the pack and regretted it a bit when we hit the first (and worst) ascent. At least it was quite bouldery and steep and as a consequence everyone was walking ... but walking slow ... and continuing to walk even as it became less bouldery near the top. I was a bit annoyed as I couldn't get round anyone, but after we got to the top of the hill I started trying to pass the odd person when I could and continued that through the race when possible. It's not that I was going all that faster than those around me but I was running bits of the uphills when mostly they were only walking them. Conditions were slippery and I slipped and fell in a giant puddle on mile 3 or 4 when I had been trying to jump it ... fell on my bum so I was fine. Had a surprise soon after when nop came up on my shoulder, had not been expecting to see him en route, he'd had a bad fall and stopped to get patched up, we ran together for a tiny bit and then he set off to catch Neady again.
Got a few compliments from other runners for (fairly lame) bits of uphill running which was nice ... and same again when I passed some people on those boards sections. The people were very nice :pac:. I was walk-running bits of hills which I think I would normally consider runnable, not sure why, maybe just the volume of hills was greater for this run. But it worked out as a good tactical strategy because I didn't tire too much. Had the occasional little bit of chat from other runners from time to time and then around the top of a hill around 8-9 miles (that more gradual one) I seemed to separate from the people behind me (and ahead) and from then on it was mostly just myself and the odd comment from the lovely marshalls.
Then a bit later I started to have the faster runners from the later start to come through and that was good because I had some motivation to lift my legs. Weather had improved too. Was interesting to see that those faster people walked most of the steepish last hill. I was behind them a bit but not too tired and was able to pick up the effort a bit for the final few miles, especially the lovely couple of miles descent at the end.
Caught Neady and nop at the tea+muffins tent and we examined nop's injuries a bit before driving back to the Luas.

A good event. Would love to give it another bash when I'm a bit better trained and could make a better fist of it.

Sunday: 7.1miles @10:36 avg pace
Was not too tired this morning and not stiff either (to my surprise). Not a niggle in sight is anyone is wondering. So I took myself out round Dublin's suburbs for some extra miles at a fairly comfortable pace. Yes, it was totally for the purposes of getting the week's mileage up to what the plan had been and I know you're not supposed to do that ... but on the other hand no harm getting it in before the legs stiffen.

weekly total: 34.1miles
As planned!

12th-18th November:

The plan was for 26-28 miles of easy running, 8miles for the long run. Ha ha ha!

Monday: nothing
The stiffness arrived Sunday evening, also stiff today, but only on the outsides of the legs above my ankles, quads and bum were fine....

Tuesday: 4.2 miles @10:23 avg pace
Had come back to Edinburgh late this evening. Bumpy flight which was not that nice but fortunately the guy next to me was a recent hill-runner whose partner is a nervous flyer. He has recently started running in Holyrood Park and it turns out he has been "adding hill" to his route by adding in the gradual climb from the top-lake up to the back of Arthur's seat. I told him about my training for RtL and explained the "figure of 8" trick that allows you to get more of these back-of-Arthur's-seats sections into your route. Was a good chat :pac:.
Was about 9:30 when I got back to the flat and I had no inclination to head out (these are the troubles of the cold and dark). But I kicked myself out for some neighbourhood loops before bed.

Wednesday: 5.6miles @10:11 avg pace
This was done in the early afternoon in daylight, a rare treat! Usual meadows trails. It was very blustery today, but also very mild. I was planning it as an easy run but in the last few miles I felt was pushing it a bit, guess maybe a bit tired after the weekend still (or the wind).

Thursday: 5.2miles @10:09 avg pace
Meadows trails again, basically I have been spending an awful lot of time in the office and this is the closest place. This was a lovely run, my legs had recovered properly and they felt very light, this was genuinely easy.

Friday: nothing
I had PLANS for Saturday which would involve no running, so was hoping to run today, but work intervened, no chance at all. Was stuck in the office till a *ridiculous* hour, won't type here.

Saturday: 12miles hike up Ben Vorlich via Stob nan Cionnich Bhacain (3700ft ascent)
Got up at 6am to to get myself ready to take an early train to Glasgow and on to Ardlui, up the West side of Loch Lomond. This was *madness* in one sense.... was planning to do this hike as my first ever self-guided Munro. It had been vaguely in the "planning" for about 3 months but got postponed for various reasons. Then I'd seen the forecast for today was looking good and had booked train tickets a couple of days before. Was ridiculous going ahead after last night's marathon at work but this would likely be the last chance to do it before "winter walking" ... and I'd been planning for so long. So took my tired carcass on the trains and had a couple of lattes along the way to wake me up. There were three bit-older men beside me on the train to Ardlui heading a little bit further on to do a small section of the West Highland Way and then head to the pub (I was a bit envious :pac:...).
Ardlui train station is really in the middle of nowhere, so I was the only person to get out here. Nobody to tag onto and follow up the hill. And on the ascent of this route, no path up either.... Had read some blogs talking about a low tunnel I could find at the back of a wasteland near the train station that would allow me to ascend Stob nan CB via another smaller hill, but could not find it anywhere in the wasteland. So I had to head further along the road for a different route more direct up Stob nan CB, but I was feeling silly and wondering was this wise, and should I just go for a nice low level walk instead. More of the feeling silly later when I was trying to work out which mountain was CB ... did not really believe the compass, that hill was not 650m. Wondering again whether better to turn back and stop all this nonsense. Eventually got my phone to pick up reception and Google maps to use my location, and the compass was right

. No path or track up this hill so it was just a matter of thrashing my way up through the grass - actually took longer than expected but eventually I made it. The weather was good and the views great. Then used the compass to work out the destination of my big mountain (plus phone to check progress as I went) and headed off towards it ... I could see that the weather was worsening over the Ben but I thought I'd be ok. It was ok but it did continue to disimprove as I approached the summit and was cold, poor visibility, a lot of wind, again wondering whether this was wise.
After summit reached I just took the most obvious path down, even though it wasn't the original plan. I met two wild campers about half way down, first people I'd seen all day. Then a matter of getting back to Arrochar and Tarbet train station before 6pm. Was cutting it fine wrt the darkness and ended up doing the four miles along the Cowal way trail as the sun came down. I had an idea of where I needed to come off the trail but wasn't definite and came out into the fields and no sign of the track I needed to take next. Walking in the darkness(*) and not sure how to continue but after a while came up to a group of buildings and outhouses and a couple of lights on. Knocked on one door, no reply... Was wandering around and noticed a garage/warehouse with lights on and someone waving off a driver. Ran down but too late and the doors continued to close. Damn, too late! Then after a minute the side door opened and the man came out ....
It was dark ...
and there was a bit of that Scandi Noir feeling about it.
Anyway he was not a lunatic, and gave me my directions, and then just 2miles walking at pace along the a main road to make my train.
When I got into the train there was a shout further down the carriage and it was the men who had been going to Crianlarich this morning, wondering whether I'd succeeded. They'd had a few drinks and were in good form, and it was nice to see "the lads", I had been by myself for too long. I do feel accomplished to have the solo expedition under my belt but I'm not sure how often I'll do it in future ...

(*) I had a headtorch in my bag, I just hadn't used it as my eyes had gradually adjusted to the darkness. And I have walked this trail before...

Sunday: nothing
Had plans to do 8-10miles but went to work for a hour or two, and it continued for a few more. Then I was too lazy. Legs stiff, much stiffer than after RtL, and arms stiff too as they were used a good bit on the ascent of that first hill.

weekly total: 15 miles, 1 hike
I was thinking of going out today to do 8-9 miles and then I'd pretend that Monday was part of the previous week, and ... you know. But still tired so not going to bother with all of that silliness. Will call this a cutback week.

Plans going ahead are to do the following twice, it'll bring me up to the end of the year. I am finally going to introduce (a tiny bit of) speed training.

week 1: 34miles including 13miles LSR, and 2x1miles fartlek in a shorter run
week 2: 34miles including 13miles LSR, and 30mins tempo on a shorter run
week 3: 28miles with parkrun/FatTurkey, LSR just 8miles.

diego_b

Congrats on the run line experience, have it noted as one to give a go at some stage. We'd Disney on Ice the same day so had to give it a miss this year!

Be careful with going up those hills alone though, I have no experience of what you're doing there but reading that log entry was a bit anxious for the ill initiated! Had you brought gear/battery charge for your phone with you in case you got into difficulty and got stuck up there?

hillsiderunner

diego_b wrote: »

Be careful with going up those hills alone though, I have no experience of what you're doing there but reading that log entry was a bit anxious for the ill initiated! Had you brought gear/battery charge for your phone with you in case you got into difficulty and got stuck up there?

Ah some of that was for dramatic effect ...

I was not in the wilderness or anything, those Arrochar Alps mountains are reasonably central and I was able to follow paths for the descent off the munro and back to Arrochar/Tarbet. The weather was worse than anticipated but not "bad" in any true sense ... I had one of those foil blankets in my bag (and a fleece) but apart from high-up it was nice weather and I wasn't even wearing the fleece. And the dark bit is a very well-developed trail and I know it a bit (just not well enough!)
I think the lack of company through they day made it seem a bit strange, that wouldn't be the case in spring/summer (or even winter walking season tbh) but the days are very short right now so very few people were out.

I had planned and left route details, plus alternative route, plus "deadline to contact Arrochar Search+Rescue" if my friend had no word from me. But I didn't have a spare, good suggestion, I will remember to charge+take the Nokia as a backup if I do similar expeditions in the future. That being said I know a munro-bagger who regularly does solo expeditions without a mobile phone (and doesn't even own one ) ...

diego_b

hillsiderunner wrote: »

Ah some of that was for dramatic effect ...

I was not in the wilderness or anything, those Arrochar Alps mountains are reasonably central and I was able to follow paths for the descent off the munro and back to Arrochar/Tarbet. The weather was worse than anticipated but not "bad" in any true sense ... I had one of those foil blankets in my bag (and a fleece) but apart from high-up it was nice weather and I wasn't even wearing the fleece. And the dark bit is a very well-developed trail and I know it a bit (just not well enough!)
I think the lack of company through they day made it seem a bit strange, that wouldn't be the case in spring/summer (or even winter walking season tbh) but the days are very short right now so very few people were out.

I had planned and left route details, plus alternative route, plus "deadline to contact Arrochar Search+Rescue" if my friend had no word from me. But I didn't have a spare, good suggestion, I will remember to charge+take the Nokia as a backup if I do similar expeditions in the future. That being said I know a munro-bagger who regularly does solo expeditions without a mobile phone (and doesn't even own one ) ...

You sound pretty well prepared in fairness it was just something that caught my eye reading it. As a former boy scout I always like to be prepared! I would just always work with the assumption I may get stuck here for the night if I go over on my ankle or something.

eyrie

Run the Line sounds amazing. You seem to have had no bother with it or the hills, which isn't surprising given all your hill training. Well done!
The hike is quite an experience though - the thoughts of knocking on an isolated warehouse in the dark, alone... :eek: Scandi noir indeed! With a much happier/less gorey ending though, thankfully :pac:

hillsiderunner

eyrie wrote: »

The hike is quite an experience though - the thoughts of knocking on an isolated warehouse in the dark, alone... :eek: Scandi noir indeed! With a much happier/less gorey ending though, thankfully :pac:

Sure I could always have run away from him if I had to, ha ha

denis b

Super expedition M and a nice tick for the Munro list. Always a challenge out in the mountains on your own but it tests your mettle and so satisfying at days end. A long route, lots of navigation and plenty of decisions to be made. All your own work, and pleasure. Admire your get out and give it a go style.