Club Training Thursday 29th September

Thursday is an easy run given that many are on half marathons or 10k's at the weekend. The route is Strathaven Rd to Murray Roundabout and then turn left up the Murray Rd. Continue on to Westwood Rd and follow it all the way around until you come out at Arnold Clark. Then turn right onto the Queensway and back to the club. Take it very easy if you are racing, except for 5 x 100m accelerations on flat or slightly downhill bits of the course in the middle of the run. Someone in each pack decide when each 100m stride will start and finish. The idea is to be light on your feet during these strides and not to be straining.

Alan

NATIONAL XC RELAYS (CUMBERNAULD) 22nd OCT

This years National xc relays are returning to Cumbernauld on Sat 22nd Oct.

leg numbers are 4 in a team and 3 for the M50, W40 and W50

Start times are Ladies 13.20 and Men 14.45.

Its 4k per leg and the cost will be £6 per head.

Please make sure your SA membership is up to date.

I need names by Monday 3rd Oct.

If you wish entered please add your name HERE. Those already registered are listed HERE.

Russell

Club Training Monday 26th September - Brancumhall

With the cross-country season soon to be upon us, Monday is the first of our fortnightly sessions on the Brancumhall pitches. Running on soft ground, these sessions put more emphasis on developing leg power rather than relying purely on muscle elasticity to bounce you along on a hard tarmac surface. At the end of the day, having more power in your legs together with a bouncy stride will make you a faster runner on any surface. The session also gives a chance to try our your off-road shoes before the first XC race of the season.

Monday's session is 12 x 1 minute with a 1 minute jog recovery in between, run as a continuous session around the usual Brancumhall pitches "quadrangle". The pace/effort should be similar to 4k/5k race pace/effort. 

For those who have not done this before, we run from the club to Brancumhall in our packs. For that wear your usual road shoes. On arriving at Brancumhall, if you are really lucky, someone will have brought your choice of off-road shoes down in their car for you to change in to. A low soled trail shoe or cross-country spike will suffice (although if the ground is completely dry, you might get away with a road shoe. But "dry" and "East Kilbride" don't often go together at this time of year). After the session, change back into road shoes and run slowly back to the club.

Alan

Neil McCover 2022 West District Half Marathon Championship, 9th October

 "A gentle reminder that the West District Half Marathon Championship is being held as part of the 2022 Neil McCover half marathon in Kirkintilloch. The race is on Sunday 9 October and, as well as providing a chance to win District medals, it offers everyone the chance to enjoy a friendly, local race that provides great scenery and opportunities to set fast times. 

Many thanks to everyone who has already signed up, but if you have not done so yet, please head over to Neil McCover Memorial Half Marathon 2022 (including West District championship) - EntryCentral.com for entry details.

It would be appreciated if you can pass on information about the race to your club members and encourage them to take part. The closing date for entries is Friday 7 October and entry is £15 for SA members.

I look forward to seeing many of your members at the race."

Robert Rogerson

Club Training Thursday 22nd September

Thursday is a threshold session in the middle of a longer run. The route is Queensway to Holiday Inn, along Stewartfield Rd to Kingsgate and then back up the Kingsway via the Whirlies. The threshold reps start at the Holiday Inn and consist of 3 x 6 minutes with a 2 minutes jog recovery. Remember, threshold is a level of effort, not a pace and is the effort that could be maintained for one hour during a race or just beyond the level of effort at which you can string more than a couple of words together. These sessions help develop the ability to run at a sustainable pace in the presence of increasing fatigue and discomfort caused by the build up of lactic.

Alan

Glasgow Athletics Association Cross Country Endurance Sessions

This year's series of cross-country endurance training sessions organised by GAA at various parks around Glasgow start on Saturday 15th October at Bellahouston Park. Several of us have participated in these sessions over many years and find them to be a really good additional training session for those who are able. The full programme for this year is here: https://www.glasgowathletics.org.uk/endurance-sessions

Alan

Club Training Monday 19th September

A low key session for Monday with a slight build on last Thursday's session. 6 x 400m at 10k pace with 2 minute standstill recovery at Langlands Place. In future weeks we will build the number of reps and then reduce the recoveries in the traditional way. This is a junior friendly session for any who can make it. The warm-up is the direct route via Strathaven Rd and around by Sainsburys and the cool down is the reverse.

Note that next Monday (26th September) will be the first of the fortnightly cross-country sessions at Brancumhall pitches. Again, we will start with a very light session more to get used to running off-road in whichever spikes or trail shoes you usually use.

Alan