Moving on up ...

diego_b wrote: »

Well done there M, good running a nice return on your training. I'd agree with S there in that you can't really trust Strava with these things or any GPS type stuff as it's pretty inaccurate even on a straight road. Keep up the good work and there'll be no bother to you breaking that pb soon.

Thanks D. Indeed looking at the Strava trace I can see the tracing errors increase in the last few laps, so the pace wasn't really dropping off as much as it seemed.

Looking forward to be cutting the HM time again in due course. But parkruns and trail races for the next few months

eyrie wrote: »

Annoying to have the query over the distance when you deserve to just be able to enjoy the great result! Like the others have said I'd say you definitely can't trust the GPS, particularly when it's laps like that. Well done, you blew the target time way out of the water!

Huzzah! wrote: »

Yep - unless you've reason to believe the course wasn't accurately measured, I would take your time on face value. Congrats on a well-run race.

ariana` wrote: »

What a pain that you did a brilliant time and are left doubting the distance :mad: Like the others say though i'd stick with the officially measured distance and ignore the ole watch. You had a brilliant run, lovely consistent pacing and a great pace too. I'm very jealous of your time :P Well done you, things are looking great for a brand new PB later in the year Recovery well now

Thanks ladies, I am happy with it, and no, I won't stress over the Garmin distance! We will all be making progress over the months ahead fingers crossed.

Ariana, I started my recovering in the pub yesterday . Am feeling pretty good today after the race and a few drinks, not particularly tired, the right calf is very slightly tight but that's all. Will only only do easy running this week, not even a set of strides

4th-10th March:

The plan: 30miles all easy, with Long Run 10miles (*not*)

Monday: nothing as planned
Feeling great despite the HM and the few glasses of wine Sunday afternoon.

Tuesday: nothing as planned
Absolutely knackered. Overslept by a couple of hours this morning but still destroyed. Wasn't planning to run anyway. Had a blister on the left big toe from the race and did the needle-and-thread drain this evening.

Wednesday: nothing
Not as planned. Got home from work and put my gear on and headed outside but could feel the blister rubbing against my trainer. Tried a jog but turned back after 100m. Was knackered anyway so probably for the best. All the adaptations are made in the rest periods anyway

Thursday: 4.1miles easy @10:24 avg pace
Done on nice flat trails to test the legs, the right calf was still a bit tight or I'd have done a few extra miles.

Friday-Sunday: nothing
The rest on Friday might have been by plan, the others not. Was working Sunday and pushed the run late to get more done, and it was so cold going home at 9pm I knew I would end up skipping it.

weekly total: 4.1miles
Had big demands at work over the past week, but no harm it was co-ordinated with the tight calf and race recovery to be honest. Despite all the rest from running was still quite tired finishing the week ...

Balmoral 15miles trail race: This is the next race coming up, 15mile on trails with a bit over 1000ft ascent, nothing major (compared to RunTheLine say). Date is 28th April. This is the plan:

11th-17th March: 39miles with 14mile LSR, fartlek run (2 fartlek miles)
18th-24th March: 39miles with 14mile LSR, fartlek run (2 fartlek miles)
25th-31st March: 30miles with 9mile LSR, HMP run (4 @HMP), race parkrun
1st-7th April: 40miles with 14mile LSR, fartlek run (3 fartlek miles)
8th-14th April: 41miles with 15mile LSR, HMP run (5 @HMP)
15th-21st April: 35miles with 10mile LSR, fartlek run (3 fartlek miles)
22nd-28th April: 32miles with 15mile TRAIL RACE

Also hill sprints or strides every week.

Especially looking forward to the parkrun to see if the pace has improved a bit.

Niggles permitting I'll next sign up for the 7Hills race which is 16th June and also 15miles, so all going well the 7weeks after this plan are going to look very similar, with extra hills.

On the train heading North to Carlisle (sail-rail from Dublin). Hadn't realised it'd been so long I did the log.


25th-31st March:
The plan had been to do a cutback week to 30miles with a parkrun and another run including 4miles @HMP. Not exactly what happened as niggles and work constraints affected the schedule a bit.

Monday, Tuesday: nothing
Came back to Edinburgh with a calf that was very slightly tight. Think it was work that interfered with Tuesday's run.

Wednesday: 1mile w/u, 4miles @HMP, 1.2miles c/d
I'd skipped most of the "speed" I had in the schedule up to now because of the calf niggle over the past weeks. Did this after work on the flat ground of the meadows and was happy to find that 8:30 HMP is a bit more comfortable now than it was a month ago (the last time I did this). Actual paces 8:29, 8:30, 8:32, 8:25. Was happy with it.

Thursday: 7miles easy @10:15 avg pace
Had to work late so went out to do this around 5pm, finished at the noodle bar to buy some food, then back to the office. This was a mildly hilly route, about 3miles were grass/trail.

Friday: 2.2miles easy @10:23 avg pace
Couple of neighbourhood loops in the evening, solely to make up some lost distance. Only did two miles because I was aiming to race the parkrun the next morning.

Saturday: 6.4miles easy @10:14 avg pace
Woke up to my alarm in the morning but couldn't get out of bed for parkrun; turned on my side and went back to sleep. A pity as the conditions were ideal.
Got up a few hours later :pac: and could feel a bit of calf tightness walking around, thought it had been just as well I hadn't raced.
All was well later in the day/evening, so I got in a late-night run - was now thinking to do extra mileage this week and swap the cutback week with parkrun to next week....

Sunday: 14.1miles @10:19 avg pace (1400ft)
Had been doing stair drops and all was well with the leg. Headed out for this in the late evening with the calf feeling strong and was aiming to do a proper long run now (after bailing on parkrun). Did nearly 4 loops of Holyrood Park, so a decent bit of ascent. In the final couple of miles the calf was feeling a bit tight and I probably should have walked it home ... but I didn't.

weekly total: 36miles
Had upped the mileage nicely to allow a cut-back next week instead; however, not feeling as confident in the leg as I had been ...


1st-7th April:
Still hoping for 30miles with a parkrun trial, hahaha....

Tuesday: 4miles easy @10:26 avg pace
This was neighbourhood loops done to test the leg. I'd been stretching a good bit and it had made a difference, finished this feeling happy with how things were.

Thursday: 1.9miles easy @10:01 avg pace
Had skipped yesterday's run but it was only because I'd been busy, the leg was feeling fine. Had not even gone 2miles into tonight's run when I felt a little pull on the right calf, so stopped and walked home. (*stamps foot*)

weekly total: 5.9miles
Now playing by ear and being wary of any tightness. Had some tightness walking on the Friday and Saturday, that had gone by Sunday but still didn't seem time to run.


8th-14th April:
No plan for this week any more!

Tuesday: 3.3miles easy @11:04 avg pace
Another of those "test the calf" runs round the neighbourhood. Seemed to go well but of course you never know ...

Saturday: 6.2miles @9:49 avg pace
Had some busy days this week and hadn't run since Tuesday because of that. Of course, the unplanned rest was probably a good thing.... Was now back in Dublin for a long visit and went out for a run at last, all tarmac, and the calf behaved pretty well. Little bit of tightness in the last couple of miles.

Sunday: nothing
Had been meaning to do another 6-7miles today but could feel a bit of slight tightness, decided to be sensible and just did some stair drops instead.


15th-21st April:
Plan: get back on track

Monday: 7.1miles easy @9:54 avg pace
All tarmac run through Kimmage, Dodder, Terenure, Rathgar and round Harolds Cross, and the calf behaved well.

Tuesday: 8.1miles @9:49 avg pace
Similar to yesterday but had the pace a little bit faster and this felt a bit more like steady pace.

Wednesday: nothing
(giving the calf a rest ...)

The heat arrives!

Thursday: nothing
I'm not sure why this was a day off in fact .... possibly just disorganised.

Friday: easy/HMP medley in random parts
Had been planned in the schedule as 1mile w/u, 5miles HMP, 1mile c/d. Got scaled down to 1mile easy, 1mile HMP on-and-off during the first mile after getting a feel for conditions and concern for the calf (also needed to fit in some visits to last night's pub/restaurant to check for my sunglasses and didn't want to be interrupting HMP pace doing that).
Didn't really work out as planned, got interrupted by a crossroads about half way through the 2nd (too-fast) HMP mile and in the end what was done was 1mile easy, 1mile HMP (8:34), 1.1miles easy, .5miles HMP (about 8:20 iirc), 1mile easy, 1mile HMP (8:21) and 1.5miles easy to go home.
A bit of a mess but at least some speed work was done. It was very hot.

Saturday: 4.8miles easy @9:59 avg pace, .5miles @10:08 pace
Did an easy run ending at the supermarket, another half-mile running back to base with the vegetables. Kept it easy because of yesterday's HMP efforts and the hope to do a hilly run tomorrow. Scorching weather!

Sunday: 10.5miles hilly run @10:27 avg pace
Hurray! Had not been up in time to do this in the morning, so was starting around 5:30pm unfortunately, and it was still very hot, 19C I think. I started at Marlay Park and ran up to the Wicklow Way and followed along those trails for about 5miles, then turned round and came back. Some steep ascents on the way out, especially along that long road before you enter the Wicklow Way properly ... could really feel the climbs with the weather so hot. Got a "well done" from a man with a baby up near Three Rock, at that stage it had been well-earned.
Gorgeous scenery and the run back with all the descent was a nice reward, and the calf behaved great. I had been more proactive with the stair drops over the past few days and I think that's what made the difference.
The ascent on this came in at 1440ft which is quite reassuring as the trail race next weekend has about 1000ft ascent (over longer distance). So I feel ok to do that now.

weekly total: 38.2miles including a HMP run and a hilly run
After Sunday's run feel confident I can do the trail race next Sunday . Will keep up the stair drops over the week ahead and will do a light tapering, aim for 35miles for the week including the race. I think I'm out of the woods and I think the reason is that I did stair drops regularly this past week - I tend to be wary of doing them on a tight calf even when a physio recommends, and can often dodge them in favour of complete rest ... but I really noticed the difference they made, I'll try not to make that mistake again.

After next weekend's race (15miles), I then have 7 weeks before the next race registration which is the 7Hills race, which occupied many many pages of this log a few years ago. I am going to see how the calf/legs feel in the week following the Balmoral race before I decide for definite if I'll do the 7hills. Main target for this year is DCM and don't want to mess that up.

29th-5th May:

The plan (recovery): 26miles including 8mile LSR

weekly total: 26miles including 8.5 LSR
*Exactly* as planned! Was a bit lazy in the early days of the week and ended up needing to do two ~8 miles runs back-to-back on the Saturday and Sunday (both in Dublin) but it was done. All runs at a nice easy pace.


6th-12th May:

The plan: 35miles incl 13miles 7Hills recce, fartlek run (2miles)

This week fell by the wayside unfortunately...

Tuesday: 5miles easy, 5strides in final mile (9:44 avg pace)
Mostly trails.

Then the bad weather hit, plus a worry on my mind. Was very hard to push myself out the door, did not succeed till the Sunday.

Sunday: 7.1miles hilly run (840 ft) @11:16 avg pace
Finally forced myself out, the aim being to do 10-12 miles of the 7hills race (some practice in advance of the race next month). Motivation was low from the start and when I came onto the main road near the Zoo just before 6miles I decided I would let myself take the bus home. Checked at the stop and there was 13mins before the 26 would show up so I ran along for an extra mile before stopping to wait at a bus stop.
Was a bit of a disaster overall, but was glad to have made a start again.

weekly total: A miserable 12 miles


13th-19th May:

The plan: 41miles with LSR 12miles, 6MP (and maybe do the West Highland Way as a hike)

Ok, from the start of the week I knew I would not be taking a long weekend for the WHW, the weather forecast was not looking great. Aim was to do the planned mileage to include a proper "recce" for 7 Hills training, and maybe also try to squeeze in the fartlek I skipped last week on top of everything else.

Monday: Yoga class
No running (as planned). Really I should have gone out and done some miles, given the previous week I was not really needing any rest :pac:, but motivation still a bit low.
Did the yoga class at work and she is raising the level a tiny bit.

Tuesday: nothing
Planned to run but got an invite for a BBQ and the weather was nice. Could not be bothered heading out when I got home, now looking at 5days in a row for the remainder of the week!

Wednesday: 1 mile w/u, 5 miles MP, 1.3miles c/d
Did this on trails in the evening after work. Went out unsure what I'd do for the run, was thinking of the fartlek but there was still some reluctance there, so did this as an easier alternative. Was aiming for 9min pace for the MP miles and they ended up as 8:52, 8:52, 9:00, 8:59, 8:51. I was/am unsure of exactly what MP should be at this stage, but this was definitely an easier effort than the HMP miles of a month or two ago, so probably a good approximation, and nice to have this done.

Thursday: 8.5miles hilly run @10:38 avg pace
Done in Holyrood Park, one loop and also one interior trail loop, then back to the office via an uphill route ... 940feet of ascent in total. A decent bit of effort and only walked once. About 5.5 miles of this was grass/trail.

Friday: 6.1miles @9:53 avg pace, incl 5 strides in mile 6
On the meadows after work (mostly trails), might have done the fartlek but again I postponed that. Did strides in the final mile.

Saturday: 1mile w/u, 1miles fartlek, 1mile easy, 1mile fartlek, 1.1miles c/d
Finally the fartlek got done. Heading out I knew there was a good chance this would end up another easy run. The paces for the fartlek were 7:53 for the first and 8:17, however that first one was slightly downhill and during the 2nd fartlek I needed to cross a road and later had to pull-up to dodge a lively greyhound. So probably similar effort (2nd one felt harder in fact).
All on tarmac.

Sunday: 15miles hilly run (1800ft) avg pace 11:13 (aka "6 Hills of Edinburgh)
I have a registration for the "7 Hills of Edinburgh" race on 16th June this year, and hoping I will make the start line in 2019 (have previously trained for this in 2015 and 2017, but got hurt/injured before the race each time). Many pages of this log dedicated to route-finding and hill practice those years.
Today's plan was to do a proper recce/practice of the route, but given the increased mileage and effort this week, I would skip the worst hill which is Arthur's seat. So I went out feeling relatively positive, and with the cloudy cool weather it turned out to be an enjoyable run. The verdict is ....
(*) I know the route from those previous years of training. Went a bit wrong coming down off the Braid hills but that's a tricky section and I will look back at some reports and see what I need to fix. Also need to sort out the details of exactly how to go up A's seat, will do that over the next week or two.
(*) Even though this is the first real recce this year, the better base (and regular hilly routes) has made a difference. I walked a few times more than I'd have liked but all the same I felt fairly strong on the hilly bits .
Came off the last of the hills around 11.5miles and I was not sure whether I'd do all of the 14 miles I'd planned. Was going to allow myself to bail out at 13 miles or so if I wanted, I had done a lot this week already. Got up to 13miles and then 13.5 and at that point I knew it was less than 1.5miles more back to my house and I decided I'd run home. Looking on Strava those last three miles (on the flat) were a decent pace, and better still I was not destroyed that evening. So a positive experience and looking forward to doing a full recce, the week after next most likely ...

weekly total: 42 miles including 15miles LSR, one 5MP run, fartlek run

3rd-9th June:
(in which the log is yet again flooded with streams of 7hills orienteering and huffing and puffing)

The plan: 40miles incl 15mile 7Hills recce, fartlek run (2miles)
The original plan had changed a bit because I hadn't done the recce the previous week, so now I needed to get that done this week - aiming for Wednesday so that I'd have a rest before the race on 16th. Also adding a couple of miles as last week's mileage had been a tiny bit short.

Monday: nothing
Having a rest

Tuesday: 5miles easy @10:08 avg pace
Kept things easy for now, in case I would be doing the recce tomorrow, though by now it was looking unlikely (bad forecast).

Wednesday: nothing
Very wet day and it would not be nice slipping and sliding around the trickier bits of the 7hills. I might have done a shorter easy run, but in the end I didn't

Thursday: 7Hills recce in 3hr 15 (2200ft, 15.08 miles @12:58 avg pace)
Left work early to do this and was out on the pavement to start at 5:30. It was nice clear weather, had been dry most of the day. Ran up Calton Hill (hill 7) from my flat, so already had that one out of the way, and started off along the route. The sun came out and the first 5 miles up Castle Rock (hill 1) and Corstorphine Hill (hill 2) went well, then another few miles of the road to take me to the bottom of Craiglockart Hill (hill 3). This was about the 8mile point and it was only now when I started to feel the effort a bit. Up to now I'd been going well and the Strava entry shows loads of little PBs on segments for this first half.
I had taken 5-6 jelly babies in my shorts pocket so ate those before scrambling up the clay bank at the bottom of Craiglockart hill. Next to run/walk the grassy uphill to the summit and at this point I noticed I was walking more, not less, than had done on my previous recce. Bit disappointed as I hadn't needed to walk at all in those first 8miles (know walking is a sensible tactical strategy on race day, but for training, I think it's good to run as much as I can). After Craiglockart Hill I had a mile or two of roads and then was heading into the Braids for hill 4. The approach to this hill is a longish section of stony paths and I always walk bits of this and I did again. Looking on the Strava I see this hill is the 2nd highest and not far off Arthur's seat, had not realised that. Down from the braids to the road and the track down through the gorse was mucky and slippy in parts - but I found it first time, that was good. Then into the Hermitage forest, through some fields and up the big steps towards Blackford Hill. This bit was ok and was happy to hit Blackford Hill for hill 5. That was a nice point and I looking forward to a couple of miles on the road before doing Arthur's Seat. And I was also wondering whether I might find an excuse to skip Arthur's Seat being honest :rolleyes:. Was feeling a bit low on energy and there is a shop around mile 11, so stopped at that and bought a can of Fanta and drank it, turned off the Garmin for this (the only time I did that).
There are a bunch of options of how to go up Arthur's seat and plenty of dispute on which is best. There are the "Tourist steps" big slabs of rock to walk up (with beaten clay to the side that is runnable is some parts), or alternatively you can take a path that goes out-and-round to the side a bit and is a bit more gradual, and less slab-like, also has a little scramble up through a crevice. The more gradual path is the one I've always done, and took it again, but I walked most of it. When I got through the crevice and out I followed another track well out to the side of Nether Hill to take me up to the base of Arthur's seat ... looking on the Strava trace later I had added quite a bit of distance going this way ... need to fix. Scrambled up to the top of the seat, then walked around a little bit on top considering options for a way down, took a steepish track more direct than the tourist track and was quite wobbly on this, hunkering down at times. Pace on watch *soooo* slow. After getting off the bump I went round to the left and took Piper's Walk and down through "The Dasses". The first little bit of this had some rocky bits and I was wobbly ..... also some of the descent a bit wobbly. Was glad to have it done though and when I was down at the bottom I just ran home, no need to go up Calton Hill, sure I had done it already :pac:.
Came back home disappointed in the 3hr 15 time and frustrated with the Arthurs seat details. Also happy that I had done the full recce though, that was a bit unexpected .

Friday: 1mile w/u, 4miles @MP, 1.4miles c/d
Had got confused about the plan and thought I should be doing MP rather than fartlek. Would need to do it today as I wanted to get back onto Arthur's seat at the weekend. Thought I might struggle with the MP with yesterday's hills in the legs but it was not too hard (8:54, 8:56, 9:02, 9:01) though the last mile was more difficult. Drizzly.

Saturday: 7miles easy @10:07 avg pace (with a few stops)
Raining most of the day today, so was waiting till Sunday to head up Arthur's Seat. Did this in the afternoon and stopped off to look at the poor drowned animals at the Leith Links Dog Show (no chance to pat and admire them as the owners just ran off into their cars to hide from the rain), then ran home, picking up some tofu and stopping off for a coffee near the end.

Sunday: testing routes on Arthur's seat, 1560ft, 7.6miles @14:42 :pac: avg pace
Had been pouring over my Strava trace from Thursday, plus other/better 7hills routes on Strava. Was going out to try two-options-up, two-options-down on Arthur's seat. For going up, would try the Tourist Steps versus "round to the side", but for both of these options the main priority was to avoid the detour I'd taken round Nether Hill last time. For the route down, would compare "The Dasses" against the Dry Dam. And I was also going to compare the short direct wobbly route off the bump with the indirect-but-runnable tourist track.
Was a nice sunny afternoon for this and got some stats on the watch and the main result is that the Tourist Steps are faster than the track to-the-side for going up. Think this will especially be true on the day as I will be at mile 13 doing this on the day, and will probably need to be walking all the way up, so unlikely to be able to take advantage of more gradual ascent. Most important is that I found a good way round Nether Hill so I don't add the extra distance, especially enjoyed the second time up when I shaved off a bit more by scrambling over some rocks .
Finished up by taking the section from the bottom of Arthur's Seat up to Calton hill, walked a little bit on this.
A positive outing overall and I was left wishing I'd got to this point a month or two ago and could add in a block of proper hill practice before the race. But the routes are not going anywhere and I can run them in the months ahead regardless.

Weekly total: 41 miles

Looking back on the log for 2015 when I first trained for the 7 hills I found a full recce done in 2hr 58 (never got to the start line that year). Bit disappointing to compare against Thursday but I did lose a bit of time trying to find my way. And I do not have as many hills in the legs I don't think. The goal for the race on Sunday will be sub-3hr and I will take it fairly easy for the rest of the week - 8miles Tuesday, 6miles Wed and 5 Thursday and then 2 full days off before the race. I'm tempted to go back up onto Arthur's seat on Tuesday .....
Anyway the main thing will be to get to the start line (and the finish line) on Sunday. That would/will be the real accomplishment given past history.

10th-16th June:

The plan: 36miles incl Seven hills race

Aim was to keep the mileage towards the early days of the week, planning 8miles Tuesday, 7 Wednesday and 5 on Thursday, then I would put the feet up till the race. Had a niggle in the right knee to keep an eye on since the middle of last week, that kind of feeling that the knee is not moving right in its socket, most noticeable going upstairs or downstairs ... have had similar from hillwalking in the past but this was staying a bit longer.

Monday Pilates/Yoga fusion
Signed up for a different class for a few weeks.

Tuesday: nothing
Tired/lazy and a bit stiff, not sure whether it was last week's running or the Pilates/Yoga to blame! Rain (and cold) may have played a part too.

Wednesday: 9miles easy @10:03 avg pace
A character-building run. Forecast for most of the day and evening was heavy rain, now I was sorry I hadn't gone out yesterday. Was going to skip this too only the rain thinned out after 7pm and I was able to kick myself out. I had only done a mile or so and it was back raining again, got heavier and heavier but still I kept going and it was just stopping again when I came back to my flat. Still feeling the knee though not massively troubling.
All tarmac (obviously), one lap of Holyrood and a coastal loop. Quite comfortable pace.

Thursday: 5.4miles @10:47 avg pace
(silly) late-night neighbourhood loops, wanting to make up lost miles but also wanting a rest before the race.

Friday: 3.3miles @10:04 avg pace
Few neighbourhood loops after work, still feeling the knee.

Saturday: resting the legs

Sunday: Seven Hills of Edinburgh race (2200ft, 15miles, in 2hr 57mins)
Up early to eat and get organised. Then out the door for the short walk up Calton Hill to the start. Knee still not perfect and as I was walking up the hill to race headquarters it was niggling quite a bit , anyway I would at least start the race and if I needed I would be carrying my busfare. There were a load of people already there when I arrived - I spotted Peter Buchanan, writer of the "Seven hills picture log" route guide with the silver cars etc, and had a chat.
There are two groups for this race, the Racers (sub 1hr 40 HM time or better suggested) and the "Challengers" like myself who set off 30mins in advance of the Racers at 9:45am. So we would have the experience of getting caught by the faster Racers as the race progressed. I had the vague plan of running this conservatively, given the knee and mainly given a deficit of hill-training. Apart from that not sure how even to gauge correct pace for this kind of thing with a mix of road running and steepish off-road hills, and especially with the main hill content in the second half. However, of course you cannot be sure what you will do when you set off and are being timed :rolleyes:.
We were given details of golf courses we could run on and those we should not, then we set off. We ran the first section up to Castle Hill (hill 1) and I took it fairly easy for that, clipped my bib on Johnston Terrace and then tip tap down the flights of step to the road. Around here I got talking to another runner, a biggish guy called Ned, and we discussed route options, Corstorphine Hill, not going out too fast, etc etc. We stuck together chatting for miles 2, 3, and 4 as we started the climb up Corstorphine. He was working a bit harder than me and as we started to climb I left him behind (despite having told him I knew the way ), think he stopped at a drinks table anyway... I continued on, clipped my bib at the top of Corstorphine (hill 2) and turned back into the trees and then onto the lovely trail that takes us back to suburbia. Part way down this trail Ned came past, there had been a shortcut to the hill-top behind the drinks table I did not know about it turned out! But he said his goodbyes a bit later as I was moving better on the flat than him, and I went ahead towards the next hill. About 6 comfortable miles done at this point.
Next section was a boring mile on grungy roads and then I would be looking forward to three hills in a row from mile 7.5 to 11. Was still going at a fairly comfortable pace and around 6.3miles I got passed by my first Racer. Came towards the big Asda a bit later and there was a spectator there giving enthusiastic support - he had a Portobello RC vest tied on the railings beside him. Hit the bottom of the steep bank of trees at Craiglockart and started scrambling up eating jelly babies as I went. Then "well done" behind me and it was Peter Buchanan scrambling up and of course overtaking. At the top of the bank we were back onto paths/grass for the run up to the summit and the clippers. Noticed that even the Racers that had caught us up were walking this stretch up which was nice to see (I had been annoyed that I needed to walk this bit on the recce 10days before). Then off the top of hill 3 and back to find our way to the Braid hills. The route to the Braids goes through Braidburn Valley park and I'd been turning left to leave by a sub-optimal gate on my recce but I expected that on race day there would be a gap-in-railings to squeeze through. All the runners were heading right not left so I followed them, at this stage I was passed by Nicola Duncan, previous female winner (and from Galway) and won again today ... I thought she must know where to be going and so I followed her and a few others in her wake through a narrow section of weeds and grasses. Was expecting to find the missing railing up there ... but no. Was it left, let's have a look, no ... But maybe the idea is to use a tree trunk to climb over the railings, let's have a try, no that won't work ... could the missing railing be to the right, doesn't seem to be .... Then another runner came through along the dirt track running alongside and I followed him to discover that there was another gate about 40metres along :rolleyes:. I did lose a few minutes here, but that was the only mistake on the day which is pretty good. I was still moving fairly well and ran bits of the rocky trail up to the Braids summit (hill 4), got a "well done" from a random Racer for that. It's a bit steep coming off the summit here and I usually go a little go-round to help, but noticed someone sit down and slide down the grass the steeper way, so I followed and enjoyed that (I found a bit of grass when I was having my shower later :pac:). Across the golf course for a tricky section down a chute-like path through gorse which is steep in parts ... usually I dither but today there was a queue, didn't want to hold others up so I just got on with it and won a bit of time here. Then Blackford hill (hill 5) and some spectators here (I suspect all runners and their families).
There is a lovely grassy descent off Blackford hill and I made the most of that, and then the mile-and-half of road running before I got to the bottom of Arthur's seat. I had not really been considering watch-time on this run, but after Blackford hill I was at 11 miles and was able to do some calculations and work out what I needed to do for sub-3hrs. It would be on unless Arthur's seat was really slow. I was still in fairly good shape starting Arthur's seat, went up the tourist steps as fast as I could walk, a little scramble over some rocks, a tiny run across the grass and then scramble up the bump to clip hill 6. No mistakes. Took a little time to get off the bump but my legs were still good and I was able to run quite well down the hill. Then there was less than a mile to head out of the Park and upwards to the finish on Calton hill. The last stretch was enjoyable - people around me were walking the majority of the uphill, but I was running a decent bit of it, I was still fairly strong. I passed a woman on the last stretch up to the finish, stopped the watch just after 2hrs 57mins and was given my race-coaster as I came through the funnel. I even bought a race T-shirt.

No great accomplishment time-wise but it was a very enjoyable run and happy with the day. I will maybe do some proper hill-training next year and race it, but for the first attempt I think it was a good strategy. Was a totally different feel to the Balmoral 15miler where I started off a little bit too fast and spent the second half pushing hard and grinding out the miles, and then knackered after.

The knee behaved well through most of the race, except it started to niggle a bit more in miles 10 and 11 round Blackford hill. But it went away again and walking back to my flat it wasn't giving any trouble. It feels fine today. So maybe the race fixed it!! Legs and body are otherwise feeling fine.

weekly total: 32.7miles

Had 26miles of easy running in the plan for this week, but it may end up a bit more, as I feel grand (and if if do 27.5 or so, then I will be starting into DCM training with 750miles already in the legs).

There was a banner on the top of Calton hill saying "40th year" for the event, hoping that is a good omen as DCM has the same birthday. If I succeed with that then I can close the log ...