Club Training Monday 29th December 2025

Last one of the year. It's a step down session at Langlands Place, so get your watches programmed in advance! The session is:

4 x 800m at 5k pace , 90 second stand/jog around recovery

6 x 400m at 5k pace, 1 minute stand/jog around recovery

4 x 200m at slightly faster than 5k pace, 200m jog recovery

The step-down session keeps the quality high despite the high total volume of the session by stepping down the distance after each set of longer reps. This avoids the potential problem of the pace dropping as the session progresses (unless, of course, you go too fast during the 800's!), hence maximising the training stimulus.

Alan

Club Training Monday 22nd December - Brancumhall

Monday is the final Brancumhall session of 2025 and the session is a variation on our usual threshold theme. The objective of the session is to stay within threshold for most of the session, especially after the first repetition which is mainly a warm up rep to get your breathing into threshold level (2 or 3 word effort) and then shortish recoveries which means that very soon into each subsequent repetition the heart rate and breathing will be at threshold if the pace is well controlled.

The session is 6 laps, 3 sides of each lap at threshold and 1 side as a jog recovery. These recoveries are shorter than we usually have for threshold sessions but the reps are also a bit shorter than most of our threshold sessions, so overall the load will not be too hard for a session before the holidays. Finish feeling you could have done more!

Alan

Club Training Thursday 18th December

Thursday's session is back at Langlands Place for 400m reps, keeping us in touch with faster pace running in the midst of a strength/endurance phase of training through the winter. Hopefully the weather reads this blog post too.

The session is the 12 x 400m at 5k pace with 1-minute stand/jog on the spot recoveries. If the wind is strong, then try to be consistent on all the wind assisted reps and consistent (but slower) on the reps into the wind. If there is minimal wind, then aim to be consistent across all reps. Do not be over ambitious with the pace. You have done the session correctly if you run it at your current 5k pace and finish with something in reserve. If you finish all the reps as if you have raced a 5k, you have gone too fast; breaking the distance down into reps with recoveries should feel much easier than a race, the aim being to finish not so tired that you can't train the next day.

As a reminder the 400m time for a range of 5k times is as follows:

Alan

Club Training Monday 15th December

Monday's session is close to the club given the hard work in fancy dress which many in the club completed on Sunday. The session is 10 x threshold efforts at Avondale as a continuous session. Usually we do the Avondale hills as faster reps with a very easy jog down recovery. However this threshold session is a continuous run which means a sustainable threshold effort on the way up and keeping quite a fast but easy effort on the way down, with everyone starting their next uphill as soon as they reach the bottom and not waiting to regroup. This session should feel reasonably comfortable throughout so do not run yourself into the ground. The session starts at our usual hill rep start point on the wide pavement just after the side road junction and the top turning point is at the last junction on the right at the top of the hill. Warm up via the usual route down Churchill Avenue and Lidl to the bottom of Avondale. Cool down via the reverse of the warm-up.

Alan

Club Training Thursday 11th December

Thursday's session is a steady run. The route is down the Queensway to the Holiday Inn and then along Stewartfield by-pass as far as the Morissons roundabout. Then join Stewartfield Crescent. Turn right at Stewartfield Road and follow the back footpath down to West Mains Rd. Turn left as far as Lidls, up Churchill Avenue to the NEL roundabout and back to the club. A "steady" run is at a pace slightly slower than half marathon pace, so not easy but definitely not pushing hard.

Alan

Club Training Monday 8th December - Brancumhall

Given the wet weather over the weekend, conditions at Brancumhall are likely to be heavy underfoot. Therefore the session is a threshold session where the level of effort is the target and not a pace which will be too tough to maintain on the soft ground. The session is 3 laps at threshold, 2 minute jog, 2 laps at threshold, 2 minute jog and finally 1 lap at threshold. Do not get faster as the reps get shorter; try to maintain a constant effort throughout.

For those who did the West XC on Saturday, just do easy laps of Brancumhall as a recovery run.

Alan

WEST DISTRICT XC (ERSKINE)

 The following are running on Saturday at Erskine

3.2k   11.30 L Rooney,  C Buchanan   11.45   L MacArthur

4.1k   12.00  A McDerment    12.20  H Anderson,  R Rooney

7.5k   13.40  L Buchanan, F Ferguson, C McSorley, J Balmer, A Lessells

7.5k    14.30  R Couper, A Derrick, J Grant, R Pattinson, G McInally, R Lawton, A Buchanan, K McPhillips

Please be there at least 45mins prior to you race for number collection and warm up

I will pick up all the numbers and be at the club tent.

UPDATE FROM THE AGM

 Some info from last nights AGM.

Richard Lawton has taken over from Julia Pechlof as Club Secretary. Our thanks go to Julia for her service over the last 3 years.

We were unable to get nominations for President or Treasurer so Alison and Russell will continue in the roles but if anyone is interested in these roles going forward please speak to Alison or Russell.

Fees for the coming year are as follows

Intermediate (18 to 21 years old)  £112

Retired    (over National pension age)    £112

Ordinary  (21 or over)       £160

Family  (includes children up to 18)    £236

Payment is due in January and can be paid monthly if need be. 10 monthly payments is the preferred option.

Club Training Thursday 4th December

Thursday is a pre-AGM, pre-race easy run with strides. It's an early start (7pm) for those who can make it.

The route is Club to NEL roundabout, Kingsway to Whirlies, East Mains Rd to railway station and from there to Avondale. The strides are short, uphill strides and jog down recoveries. From our usual Avondale start point, do 6 x 10 seconds uphill accelerations to 5k pace and jog down recovery. Then run easy back to the club.

Alan 

Club Training Monday 1st December

Monday's session is at Langlands Place and is a progression from a session we did a month ago. The session is 6 x 800m at 5k pace followed by 2 x 400m at 5k pace. The recoveries between reps are pack dependent as follows for the 800m reps:  90 seconds rest for packs 1-3, 2 mins rest for 4 to 7; 2:30 for 8 to 10. For the 400m reps, the recoveries are 1 minute. The recoveries are stand/jog around, whichever works best for you (I would recommend jogging around after a brief stand).

Alan