Club Training Thursday 31st August

Thursday is an easier threshold session than last week of 5 x 6 minutes with 2 minutes jog recovery. So same total effort duration as last week but broken up into smaller bits with more overall recovery. The training benefit will still be felt but the fatigue impact will be less (unless the reps are done too fast!). So no harder effort than last week, just feeling fresher at the end of the session.

For this session warm-up from the club to the Debenhams end of the town centre on the Queensway. Start the first rep after the underpass heading towards KFC where you should turn right onto West Mains Rd. Carry on to East Mains Rd and up to the Whirlies and back up the Kingsway to the club.

Alan

Club Training Monday 28th August

Monday's session sees a return to the Calderglen 400m "track" at Langlands Place as we continue to build towards the Winter club racing season.

Warm up along Strathaven Rd, around by Sainsburys and up to Langlands Place. Do 5 or 6 strides of about 100m, walking back to get the legs fired up for 5k pace reps. The session is:

8 x 400m at 5k pace, 1 minute standing recovery then 4 minutes easy jogging followed by 8 x 200m at slightly faster than 5k pace (say about 1 second/200m faster than 5k pace) followed by 200m jog recovery to the start of the next rep (continue jogging the recovery in the same direction as the rep to the opposite end of the road to which you started the rep).

For guidance, 400m time for a range of 5k paces is as follows:

Alan

Club Training Thursday 24th August

We are on an approximately 2 week rotation of sessions in the lead up to the Winter racing season meaning that it is time for a threshold Thursday. The session is 3 x 10mins at threshold effort (the effort you could maintain for about 1 hour in a race situation; the breathing just starts to become laboured after a few minutes such that only 2 or 3 words could be gasped out, etc.) The jog recovery between efforts is 3 minutes. We shall try for a bit of Auldhouse in the fading light. Warm-up to Sainsburys main gate and start the first effort there. Head towards Langlands clubhouse and head on to Auldhouse, turning right at Auldhouse cross towards the new houses. Carry on through to the Fingerposts and Greenhills Rd. Stay on the pavement on the right hand side of Greenhills Rd. On reaching the roundabout at the top of the hill at the Kelvin Industrial Estate, turn right down the hill and back down the Sainsburys Loop in an anti-clockwise direction. The 3rd 10 minute effort will probably finish somewhere on or before that loop. Cool down back to the club.

Remember that Chatelherault is finished now due to lack of daylight, therefore Monday is faster than threshold reps.

Alan

Club Training Monday 21st August

As mentioned last week, Monday's session is another round of the mixed hill reps and 10k/5k pace session we did 2 weeks ago. The purpose of these sessions is to stimulate race readiness for the short relays (typically 4k per leg) which then build towards Brampton. By introducing some fatigue through the hill reps and then switching immediately to longer, flatter reps at race pace, we prepare for maintaining fast pace in the later stages of a short, hard race. So, the session is at Langlands hill and is identical to what we did two weeks ago:

The session is at Langlands hill. Take the road route via Strathaven Rd and Sainsburys to the bottom of the steep hill at Langlands. Then do the following:

• 4 x 30 seconds hill reps, walk/jog down
• 1 x 6 minutes at 10k pace heading towards Park Farm on the flat consisting of 3 minutes out, turning and coming back for 3 minutes (if anyone gets as far as the junction at Leaburn Rd, turn left towards Leaburn until the 3 minute turning point).
• 2 minutes recovery
• 2 x 45 seconds hill reps, walk/jog down
• 4 minutes at 5k pace towards Park farm on the flat for 2 minutes out, turning and coming back for 2 minutes.
• 2 minutes recovery
• 1 x 60 second uphill
• 2 minutes recovery at the top of Langlands Hill (walk to the top of the hill at Langlands junction during the recovery)
• 2 minutes at faster than 5k pace towards Sainsburys (pretty much flat out for 2 minutes).
• Jog back to the club

All the hill reps should be fast but controlled (not sprinting but powerful running with good form).

The most important part of these sessions are the 6 minute, 4 minute and 2 minute reps. Therefore, don't run yourself into the ground on the hill reps.

Thursday will be a threshold session.

Alan

TTC Place Available

One place on the TTC has become available and the waiting list is now empty. So if anyone who didn't put their name down initially now wants to go, please fill in the on-line form on the original blog post.

It really helps the club to break even on the TTC costs if we fill all the places for which we have booked rooms, so all who can support the club in this way are greatly appreciated.

Alan

Club Training Thursday 17th August

The sessions are becoming more intense as we head towards the short relay season, at which point the short relays themselves will become part of the training for the longer XC races and ultimately Brampton. 

So, advance warning that on Monday we are back to the mixed hill rep and 10k/5k pace session. But for Thursday we are on a straightforward 5k pace rep session on an undulating circuit. In fact it is the Auldhouse 5k circuit in reverse. So warm up via Strathaven Rd and Sainsburys and start the first rep on the usual finish line for the 5k TT and do 5 x 1km at 5k pace with a 2 minute jog recovery (regroup into packs during the recovery). The total distance including recoveries will be slightly greater than 5k so on the final rep carry on around past Sainsburys and back to the Strathaven Rd, leaving a short jog to cool down to the club. Be realistic about the 5k pace/effort and don't go faster than 5k pace just because the distance is broken up into reps. Feel more relaxed at the finish than you would do had you run the Auldhouse 5k.

Alan

Club Training Monday 14th August - Chatelherault - the final one

Monday is the final Chatelherault of this season as the light is fading fast now. Take it nice and steady and be careful at the very end when it will probably be quite dark coming through the trees. As usual, for those requiring a lift or giving a lift, be at the Sports Club ready to leave at 7pm and select "EKSC" on the training registration form so we know who to expect at the club. Otherwise, be at Chatelherault for a very sharp start at 7:30pm to make the most of the daylight.

Alan

Club Training Thursday 10th August

Thursday's session is at a reduced intensity compared to Monday as it is a threshold Thursday. This means controlled discomfort during each rep and definitely not being bent over double to recover. Rather, ease into a jog recovery. The session is 5 x 6 minutes with a 2 minute jog recovery.

The warm-up is along Greenhills Rd to the fingerposts. Start the first rep there along Shields Rd towards the kennels, turn left to Auldhouse Cross, turn right down into the dip and back up to Leaburn Rd. Turn left on Leaburn Rd and then left again down past Park Farm and back towards Sainsburys. If the faster packs are running out of road to complete the reps, continue around the Sainsburys loop in an anti-clockwise direction. Otherwise return to the club directly from Sainsburys via the Strathaven Rd.

The main point is not to finish this session on your knees - controlled discomfort is the name of the game!

Alan

Club Training Monday 7th August

As we move towards the start of the winter relay and XC season, the next few months will see us increase the intensity of club sessions to build race pace and strength, both of which are needed for short relays on road or country. The following session is the starting point. We will build from this over the next 6 weeks although this session already is pretty hard. This one is complex so would be best programmed into your watch in advance.

The session is at Langlands hill. Take the road route via Strathaven Rd and Sainsburys to the bottom of the steep hill at Langlands. Then do the following:

• 4 x 30 seconds hill reps, walk/jog down
• 1 x 6 minutes at 10k pace heading towards Park Farm on the flat consisting of 3 minutes out, turning and coming back for 3 minutes (if anyone gets as far as the junction at Leaburn Rd, turn left towards Leaburn until the 3 minute turning point).
• 2 minutes recovery
• 2 x 45 seconds hill reps, walk/jog down
• 4 minutes at 5k pace towards Park farm on the flat for 2 minutes out, turning and coming back for 2 minutes.
• 2 minutes recovery
• 1 x 60 second uphill
• 2 minutes recovery at the top of Langlands Hill (walk to the top of the hill at Langlands junction during the recovery)
• 2 minutes at faster than 5k pace towards Sainsburys (pretty much flat out for 2 minutes).
• Jog back to the club

All the hill reps should be fast but controlled (not sprinting but powerful running with good form).

This is the toughest one we have done for a while but will make a difference by the time the first short relay comes around (unless Houston goes ahead, it will be the West XC Relays which are back at the very nice course at Alexandra Park, on the golf course on 8th October which we did 2 years ago).

Alan

Around Cumbrae 10 Miler

Various Harriers have ran this race over the years but this year it seemed like it caught the attention of the club. Through various early sign ups and reserve lists its seemed at one point half the club were running. Of course injury took its toll so in the end we had 12 runners in the race but with a large contingent of family and friends over to support. 

As we stood in Largs waiting  for the ferry the rain battered down and the wind whipped the sea. It was more like winter. The runners and supporters alike questioned the decision but the clouds were breaking in the distance. It’s not often the weather forecast is right but by 1pm the sun was making an appearance. 

It tuned out to be a lovely dry afternoon although the strong wind would prove a problem later on. 

The organisation is pretty slick and there were no problems with changing or registration. 

The race itself starts from Millport post office and goes round the island perimeter road in an anti-clockwise direction. We were told it was a “closed road” start which they said meant that it was a gun start and a chipped finish. Not so good for those further back in the start line and meant that people were tempted to get near the front of the pack, although Russell would have been OK if he had been running ! The race limit was 500 runners but looking at the results only 349 finished. Maybe the organisers need to be a bit more lenient about their approach to transferring entries. After all, if the intention is to boost visitors to the island it seems a shame that 150 places went begging on a race that was supposed to be full. Of course maybe people just looked at Sunday morning’s weather and decided to give it a miss. 

To the race itself, the course is pretty flat all the way round. There was a nice tail wind for the first few km then the benefit seemed to drop. We went round past the ferry slipway which was just short of halfway. The turn after this brought us directly into a headwind. Everyone’s splits dropped and was a case of managing effort against pace.  There were a few “undulations” but nothing like the hills at our other favourite 10-miler at Brampton.

Past the café at Fintry bay, a small climb and finally we were turning out of the wind with a couple of km to go. There’s one last short climb then a nice downhill to the harbour. It was great to hear the Harriers supporters at this point “encouraging” us down the hill (Frances Ferguson really needs to go on anger management courses) . One last turn then a few hundred wind-assisted meters along the sea front to the finish.

Results for Harriers and friends are below.

Robert Dewar was first Harrier home which was no mean feat given his crippling back problems in recent month’s.

PBs for Julie Thompson (by 1 minute 30) and Tarlochan.

On the other side Jason did well just to finish as he succumbed to the bug that was working its way around his family.

Also good to see David Searil back racing after some time out injured. He got a guard of honour at the finish so that we could all show our appreciation !

Early chat is that quite a few are interested in giving this another go next year. Whether its a weekend away or a day trip it was a really enjoyable event.

Robert Dewar 1:09:33 Cat Pos 18

Stephen Phimister 1:10:16 Cat Pos 7

Karen Allen 1:14:12 Cat Pos 4

Jim Mearns 1:17:05 Cat Pos 16

Julie Thomson 1:18:40  Cat Pos 9

Jim Holmes 1:19:19 Cat Pos 20

Gordon McInally 1:19:53 Cat Pos 23

Jason Grant 1:24:52 Cat Pos 45

Billy Buchanan 1:19:17 Cat Pos 7

Tarlochan Mothada 1:31:13 Cat Pos 39

David Searil 1:42:00 Cat Pos 22

Well done also to Marion with a 1:17:39 and 2nd FV60. Also good to see Richard Stark who paced some friends around (and was going home to do another 10 miles).

Stephen P

Club Training Thursday 3rd August - Auldhouse 5k TT

Thursday's session is the final daylight Auldhouse TT on the standard, Langlands start/finish. Conditions look pretty good according to the forecast, so a final chance for a season's best or even course best.

Register for training as per usual and the registration list will be the start list, with the fastest runner starting last. One or two volunteers for starting/timing would be appreciated. 

Alan