Thursday looks like it could be the best conditions of the year so far for the Auldhouse TT, which will be the last daylight one of the year unfortunately. Please register for training as normal as that registration list will form the start list for the timing. See you there.
Alan
Thanks.
Monday's session is a Threshold Monday (I know, it's usually Thursday but I've switched them due to Thursday being the final daylight Auldhouse TT of the year and a forecast for possibly the best weather conditions so far this year!).
Remember that threshold sessions only work if there is high volume (i.e. long total duration) and a very close control of the effort. The aim is for the efforts to be no more than comfortably hard with two to three words being possible throughout each rep. The session is 2 x 10 minutes with a 3 minute jog recovery. Do this session starting the first rep from the corner on the back road across from the Crutherland. Therefore the warm-up is through the glen to the Strathaven Rd and then up past the Crutherland. The first rep carries on from the corner to Leaburn Rd. Turn left and then right and climb up to the next junction and turn right. Follow this top road along the cross roads. Go straight through the cross roads and follow the road which turns right and rejoins Leaburn Rd. Turn right on Leaburn Rd and then left and down to Auldhouse Cross. Turn right at Auldhouse Cross and back to the club via Langlands.
(PS - those who were racing on Sunday, do not do this session as a rep session. Instead run it as an easy recovery run and at the point where those doing the first rep turn left on Leaburn Rd, you should turn right and then after Leaburn, turn right again and back to the club via Park Farm).
Alan
This fun triathlon is ideal if you ever wondered what a triathlon was like, Just ask all those Harriers who did it last year. If you would like to enter get in touch with Jim Holmes who will email you a form. If you don’t have Jim’s contact details then comment below and we will get you a form.
For those that don’t know this is a fun event raising money for charity, so you can do some of it or all of it or do it as a relay. It doesn’t matter if you’re a rubbish swimmer (like me) or haven’t cycled a bike in years it’s all about taking part or trying to win it if you’re competitive 😂
After a few months of high volume long reps, we step down slightly in total distance this Thursday for some slightly shorter and faster reps. The session is a step down session, the benefit of which is that in the final set, when fatigue is taking hold, the fact that each rep gets shorter allows the speed to be maintained. This has more of a training effect than when pace and form is lost towards the end of a session.
The session is 3 set of 3 minutes, 3 minutes jog recovery, 2 minutes, 2 minute jog recovery and 1 minute with 1 minute jog recovery and then straight into the second set. The 3 minute reps should be at 5k race pace/effort, the 2 minute reps slightly faster than 5k pace and the 1 minute reps at 3k race effort/pace.
The route is warm-up through the Glen to Langlands. Start the first rep at the finish line of the Auldhouse 5k and run past Langlands to Auldhouse. Go straight through Auldhouse Cross and turn right onto Shields Rd at the Kennels. Follow Shields Rd back to Greenhills Rd. Turn right and back to the Strathaven Rd and the club.
Do not go crazy on the first set as that will seem very easy. Try to hold back such that you are consistent on all 3 sets.
Alan
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| Jim Cairney - left end of front row - WHW Relay 2001 |
In contrast to Monday's long, hard reps, Thursday is an easy to steady long run using the uphills as the steady (i.e. harder effort) and the flat and down hills as more relaxed effort. The harder efforts are just a slight increase in effort to maintain an even pace rather than picking up the pace as you would in a hill rep.
The route starts out Strathaven Rd to Greenhills Rd and then all the way along Greenhills Rd to the fingerposts. Follow the long straight section of Shields Rd. After passing all the houses on your right take the second on the right (i.e. the one after Jackton Rd) and then first left to start the climbing. Keep following this road which eventually turns left onto Auldhouse Rd and follow it all the way back into Auldhouse. Carry on through Auldhouse Cross to Langlands, Sainsburys and finally back on to the Strathaven Rd. This is a traditional Harriers Summer run route, so good to get it in whilst the nights are light enough. As with most of our Auldhouse runs, the benefit from this route comes from the hills and the strength endurance these sorts of routes develop which make the Harriers very strong runners compared to those in many other clubs.
Alan
Just a reminder of pub run instructions for tonight.
Be at club for 5:40pm with kitty money to get your drink order in. Cost is £15 for soft drinks, £25 for alcoholic drinks. Will be leaving club at 6pm.
Good news is the weather forecast is better than it was for the Xmas edition, the bad news is this means you won’t get to laugh at Eddie in his waterproof trousers....
Thursday is a return to a 10k-specific session, focusing on race pace efforts in contrast to the strength session at Chatelherault on Monday. The session is at Langlands Place. Warm up through the glen to Sainsburys and then head up the road to Langlands Place. The session is then 16 x 400m at 10k race pace, or very slightly faster (say 1 second per 400m faster) with a 1 minute standing/walking recovery. The appropriate 400m times for a range of 10k paces are as follows:
Alan
We have been asked to pass on the below details to members:
If you think this would be of interest could you please make your members aware, the race is in this year's Scottish Hill Running 2024 Championship, it was last held in 2006 but has not been put on again for 18 years as it was considered too tough for most runners, so it might be a long time before anyone gets a chance to race this epic route again.
The Moffat Chase hill Race. Approximately 20 miles (6,500ft climbing.)
Sponsored by Annandale Arms Hotel.
Hotel Moffat - Annandale Arms Hotel Moffat
Saturday 3rd August. 12:00pm start.
Event Venue: - The Ram Stature, Marketplace Moffat, Post code DG10 9HL.
The entry fee is £20 with all profits going to Moffat Mountain Rescue Team. Register at Entry Central: https://www.entrycentral.com/
The race is run under SHR rules no under 18-year-olds and no dogs.
Monday's session is at Chatelherault. However, rather than an easy/steady lap, this week's session is in the form of a fartlek. Warm-up at an easy pace along the left hand side of the gorge, up the steep steps, down and across the first stone bridge, up the narrow path. When this narrow path merges into the wider path after about 25 - 50m, the session starts. On each uphill section, increase the effort to steady to hard until the top of the hill. Decide within your pack what is the top of the hill and regroup to a very easy jog until you reach the next distinct hill. Some of these initial uphills will be only 50m long, others will be a few hundred metres long so the effort/pace will vary considerably. The log jam is one of the hills, so do try your best to run as much of the log jam as you can. There are fewer uphills in the second half but take it easy and use the few hills in the second half to run these hills harder, at something like 10k effort.
Alan
Time flies and the first Thursday of the month has come round again. Therefore it is the Auldhouse 5k time trial. A 5k effort is a very effective training session if used sparingly (once every 4 or 5 weeks is enough) as it requires good judgement to hold the effort at close to VO2max for the duration of the effort, particularly on the undulating Auldhouse circuit.
Fill in the registration form as normal as this will form the start list for the time trial. Warm-up via the Strathaven Rd and Sainsburys rather than the glen.
See you there.
Alan
