Training Monday 29th June

Back to the 10k pace reps with short recoveries this week:

2 sets of 1 x 800m + 5 x 400m with 30 seconds between intervals and 2 minutes between sets (effectively 90 seconds + 30 seconds rest after the last rep of the first set).

Don't have time for a video of setting up the session this week but apply the lessons learned in previous videos and you will get there. 

Alan

British Masters 5k Relays - Final Results

This weekend, the British Masters Athletics Federation published the final results for the BMAF 5k Relays in which we entered our fastest male and fastest female team from the Scottish Athletics 30 minute for distance event held earlier in June. It is a while since we have contested a BMAF team event and we certainly did the club proud. The men's team were entered in the M45 to M54 category (a team of 4 to count) and the women were entered in the W35 to W44 category (also a team of 4 to count). In both cases, we raided the Harriers' archives for some older vets to complete the teams as they also happened to be amongst the fastest of our 4 possible contenders in each team.

Both our men and women got their 5 runners out early in the 7 day long competition window (we had chosen 6 to run but injuries to Graeme Lindsay and Lorraine Buchanan meant that neither could race) with the result that both of our teams briefly lead the field. However, as the week wore on and particularly on the final Saturday, many of the fastest runners got their results in and both our teams slid down the rankings.

The final results were as follows (first 4 to count in each team, sum of times):
W35-W44
39th overall, 5th Scottish Athletics team
Julie Beveridge (20:14)  47th W35, 9th Scottish W35
Karen Allen (21:04) 81st W35, 20th Scottish W35
Alisson Lessells (22:41) 133rd W35, 33rd Scottish W35
Frances Ferguson (23:06) 47th W55, 7th Scottish W55
Julie Thomson (24:05) 160th W40 overall, 46th Scottish W40

M45-M54
48th overall, 6th Scottish Athletics team
Alan Derrick (17:56) 17th M55 overall, 2nd Scottish M55 (actually, it was Cambuslang's Eddie Stewart, an M60, who beat me, as always!!)
Gerry McParland (18:14) 64th M50, 28th Scottish M50
Ian Hughes (18:43) 89th M50, 35th Scottish M50
Martin Howell (20:04) 171st M50, 53rd Scottish M50
Stephen Phimister (20:14) 182nd M50, 54th Scottish M50

Well done all. Punching above our weight again! Roll on the Scottish 6/4 stage virtual relays in mid-July.

Possibly the most impressive time of the event was Irish M60, Tommy Hughes, who ran 16:11 to lead the 55 and over categories, achieving an age grade ranking of 98.7%, a stupendous performance (he ran a 2:30 marathon last year and represented Ireland at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics where he ran 2:14, so an incredible athlete who somehow has managed to sustain that form for another 30 years).
Alan

Training Friday 26th June

Friday is another dual session day with running and conditioning via circuit training.

Do a much shorter run than yesterday, say 5 to 10k easy, ending with 6 x 80 to 100m of fastish but relaxed strides. Then do the intense Friday Circuits session later, 4 sets of 5 exercises for 30 seconds, 10 seconds between.

Alan 

Training Thursday 25th June

Recovery continues today in preparation for picking up the repetition progression next week. For today do an easy to steady 8 to 10 miles. Remember, hammering these medium length training runs doesn't give you any long term training benefit. All it does is knacker you so you can't train well the following days and hence you lose consistency and volume of training. The old saying is true in many cases "club runners do their easy runs too fast and their hard sessions too slow". Races are meant to take you to the limit, training runs are meant to slightly push the boundaries.

Alan 

Training Wednesday 24th June

Back to our usual double session Wednesday. Earlier in the day do 5 to 10k easy. Then later in the day do the Wednesday Circuits at the maintenance level (which is 3 sets of 15 x 30sec, 10 sec between). It is particularly important to warm up before and stretch after as tightness from the hill reps will be setting in.

Alan

Training Monday 22nd June

Today is either an SA Elevation Challenge day if you are yet to do it or an easy recovery day if you have. So just a short, easy run, preferably on softer ground.

Alan

June Auldhouse 5k Results

June seems to have flown by with several events occupying our time devoted to running. However, back in the first week of June we had another fantastic lockdown solo Auldhouse 5k TT participation. I am reluctant to mention the number of runners as I always miss at least one person but my rough estimate is that there were 18 who completed the traditional Auldhouse course and another handful doing socially distanced 5k's in the vicinity of their homes. So thanks again for the tremedous support. There are too many to list everyone so please refer to the full results in the Auldhouse 5k link to the left of the blog. However I will mention the fastest times, the course bests and the big improvers.

Fastest time for the second month in a row was Stuart Gibson who ran an excellent 16:24 on the hilly route. Stuart initially thought this was a course best but on checking back in the spreadsheet, we were able to confirm that he ran 4 seconds faster in 2013. Not only is this a remarkable time 7 years down the line but it was actually on the very same day of the month in 2013 that Stuart ran his best. A remarkable coincidence. Well done Stuart. Stuart's brother Robert also made his first officially timed run around the course in 24:45. The potential is there to be extracted!

Ian Hughes and Iain Tomb tied on 2nd fastest with 18:52. This was a season's best for Iain but not for Ian! However, achieving an excellent 28 second course best was Chris McCarron in 18:58, showing the great potential he has.

Callum Wright broke 20 minutes for the first time, finishing in 19:55, a 32 second improvement on last month. Well done Callum.

Also making a big leap forward, Mark Phimister set a new course best of 20:38, a 20 second improvement in one month, beating his Dad in the process but dragging Stephen round to a 20 second season's best too.

Alan