For those allowed out to play on Hogmany, it looks like it is golf course weather. I suggest 3 laps with a gradual increase in effort on each lap i.e. first lap very easy, second lap a little harder and third lap a little harder again (but definitely not absolutely flat out. Under control at all times).
Happy New Year!
Alan
Update from our man on the ground, Eddie Reid: "It's an ice rink in EK today". Therefore the session is the golf course session described below.
Alan
Given the strong possibility of snow and ice on the ground, there are two suggestions for tonight's session.
If the pavements are snow/ice free, then it is a threshold session at Lickprivick. 4 loops with the threshold effort continuing from the bottom to the water tower and then regrouping on the steady run back around the loop to the start. As this is the third Lickprivick session of this block of training, it should start to feel more comfortable, particularly as the number of reps is the same as last time. Usual warm-up/cood down via The Murray.
If it is snowy/icy, then the session is 4 x 6 minutes threshold, 2 minutes jog recovery on the golf course. Warm-up is as far as the bell on the fairway about 3/4 of the way around the lap. Then the session starts, finishing the lap and continuing on to a second full lap. You may well get on to a third lap during the session however, irrespective of how far you get during the session, the cool down is a very gentle jog to the end of whatever lap you are on.
Alan
Just in case anyone has a late pass for Christmas Eve, here is the session. During this strength phase of training, we will return to flat, 10k pace approximately once per month just to keep the muscles and memory in tune with the pace we worked so hard at over the Spring to Summer.
The session is 12 x 400m at 10k pace with a 30 second recovery.
The venue is Langlands Place. Be very wary of ice on the roads and pavements. The warm-up is from the club, along Strathaven Road to the small roundabout. Cross the road there and then follow the road around past Sainsburys and up the hill to the junction with Langlands Place. Choose the cool down route within your pack. Remember to maintain your social distancing rules before, during and after the session.
Alan
Hi all, wishing all Harriers a happy, healthy and peaceful Christmas and hopefully a better new year. 🏃🏿♂️
Continuing with the building blocks of strength this Monday, we return to Avondale and once again do 8 x reps of the hill, starting from the usual point on the wide pavement and finishing at the post box at the top of the hill. The effort (not pace) should be 5k effort. That means, if you encountered this hill at the start of a 5k race, this would be the effort you would put in, considering that you then have to continue on and complete the 5k. So it is not sprinting.
The warm up is along Strathaven Road to the NEL roundabout and then down Churchill Avenue to Lidl and around to the Avondale junction and up to the start point. Decide within your pack what to do for the cool down.
Alan
Something a little bit different for tonight's lockdown session. We are going to try a progression run whereby the pace is gradually picked up throughout the run. The route for the run is:
Club - Queensway - Centre One - Morrisons - Stewartfield Rd - West Mains Rd - Lidl - Churchill Avenue - Club.
Start with an approx 15 minute warm-up at a slow pace and then a progression of 3 x 10 minutes with a gradual increase in pace for each 10-minute segment. There is no recovery between each 10-minute section, so the pace judgement has to be very good. If the first or second 10 minute is too fast, you will not be able to get faster on the final 10 minute segment.
If you are running the session in a pack rather than solo, then nominate a different person to take the pace for each 10 minute segment. You should be running single file, 5 metre spacing following each other in a long train and shouting to the person ahead of you if the pace is too fast and you are being dropped and pass the message up the line to the front so the pace is pulled back. The person who leads the first 10 minutes drops to the back of the train after 10 minutes and the second person in the train takes the next 10 minutes and then drops to the back and the third person in the line takes the third 10 minutes. Just stick o a long line and don't be tempted to run on anyone's shoulder. This session involves team work and communication.
The final 10-minute segment should be no faster than threshold effort (1 hour race effort so approx 10k to 10 mile race pace depending on the ability of your pack). Therefore the first 10 minute session would be about marathon effort/pace and the second 10 minute effort about half marathon to 10 mile race effort/pace. After the third 10 minute effort, run easily back to the club.
What can possibly go wrong!
Alan
Its a slight progression on Lickprivick threshold session this Monday. It is 4 reps at threshold effort, starting the effort from the usual place on the pavement and finishing at the water tower. The regroup into your pack and recovery is a steady run over the top and back down Owen Avenue, past the lockups to the start. Warm up via the Crooked Lum and the Murray and come back the same way.
Remember that threshold is a level of effort, not a specific pace. Threshold going up this hill will be significantly slower than threshold would be on a flat road. It is the level of effort you could maintain for about 1 hour in a race situation. Nobody can tell you what pace you should be running at; it is individual to you but part of learning to race over any distance is knowing where your various limits are. Anyone can hammer away for the first mile of a race and then be on their knees for the final miles. Similarly, its easy enough to start off way too slow and go flying past people at the end. In both cases, you will not achieve anything like your best potential time for that race, whatever the distance. So during these sessions, put the blinkers on and don't worry too much about what pace others in your pack are doing; try to run to your own limit.
Alan
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Continuing on our strength training phase, tomorrow is another hilly threshold, this time at the College Milton loop around Glenburn Road. As mentioned a few weeks ago, a threshold session really only works if you arrive at the first rep with a bit of distance in the legs already. So if possible do please do the full warm-up from the club to Glenburn Road.
The session is 3 complete loops in an anti-clockwise direction. The threshold effort (3 word effort, controlled discomfort, effort level you could maintain for a 1 hour race) starts at the small roundabout at the bottom of the steep hill on Glenburn Road and continues up that hill, turn left at the top of the hill and keep that effort going until you get to the end of that top section of road before you turn left and downhill again. The jog recovery section is all of that down-hill stage until you come back to the roundabout at the bottom of the steep section of hill. Regroup into your pack during that long downhill recovery jog.
The temperatures are forecast to be just above freezing tomorrow evening. If it turns out that the pavements and roads are too icy to do this session, please decide within your pack whether to do the above or not. The suggested alternative session would be to use the Sainsbury's loop for an easy run in packs as described in last Thursday's session blog post.
Alan
The weather forecast suggests that snow may be lying in EK on Thursday and if not snow, the temperatures will be around or below freezing by the evening with the risk of very icy pavements. I am suggesting three alternative training sessions for tomorrow depending on the weather conditions:
1. If there is lying snow, then the session is a steady run on the golf course (3 easy pace laps to get used to it). Bring off-road shoes if you have them. Take care.
2. If the pavements are icy and there is no snow on the golf course, the run is an easy run on quiet roads rather than potentially icy pavements. Please use the Sainsbury's loop in an anti-clockwise direction. This means that the only bit of pavement you have to run on in the loop is that on the Greenhills Road stretch of the loop on which you will be running up-hill and less likely to fall if it is icy than you would if running downhill. For the rest of the loop, run on the roads of the industrial estate which should be salted/gritted. Take extreme care at all times not to fall and especially getting to/from the loop. Do 6 laps easy.
3. If the weather forecast is completely wrong and there is no snow or ice, then do an easy run down the Queensway, West Mains Road, East Mains Road, Kingsway and back to the Club.
This is the first "non-rep session" run we have tried during the current restrictions. It is imperative that you run to the pace of the slowest runner in your pack whilst maintaining the required separations. Nobody should be dropped and left alone.
Alan
The executive committee has taken the decision that the Annual General Meeting will be postponed and convened at a future date due to the current restrictions in place for Covid-19. We will update the membership when the restrictions are lifted. These are exceptional circumstances and public health and safety needs to take precedence and the club committee have followed guidance from the Scottish and UK governments along with Scottish Athletics and SportsScotland. However given we will not be able to hold the AGM within our constitutional timescale we propose a resolution for the AGM when it is convened seeking the members retrospective approval of the decision to postpone the meeting. At the moment the current officials will remain in office until the postponed meeting is convened.
On behalf of the executive committee
In the meantime i will give you a brief update on our finances without putting any exact figures on here.
As you should be aware our finances have been very healthy for a number of years now and this will more than sustain us with no revenue from the trail race this year. This will cost us though. This year we have ran at a loss of approx £3000 although half of this is for new vests that ive still to apply for grant aid to support and some has been for the 50% support on membership fees we introduced a while back. As has been the case for a number of years now we will be freezing the fees for 2021 at this years rate although we will look to ratify this when we do have the AGM. For those that have paid full fees this year this will mean next years will be 50% and for those that paid 50% this year this will mean next years is full cost. Anyone in between i will let you know. I will let everyone know individually before the end of December what credit they are carrying into next year. This will cost us approx £3000 from next years accounts but again we can more than cover this so no need for any worries.
If anyone has any questions on this or dont quite understand it please drop me a direct message and i will get you an answer.
Russell
