Club Training Thursday 28th September

With several of the club members running either half or full marathons this weekend, Thursday's run is a pre-race run with sections at target race pace for those who are racing (for those who are not racing, help your club mates out by running along side them at their target pace).

The route is Kingsway, East Mains, West Mains, Queensway. Run easy to the Kingsway petrol station and then start the first race pace section to the Whirlies. Run easy to West Mains Rd and then do the second race pace section from the East Mains/West Mains intersection at Kirktonholm to the roundabout at Stewartfield. Run easy from there until coming out of the dip after the BP station on the Queensway and then one final race pace section to the underpass at Debenhams. Run easy to the Strathaven Rd and do a final series of fast strides from the NEL roundabout to the high flats (break it up into 3 sections of about 50/60m of strides followed by 20m jogging).

Alan

Club Training Monday 25th September - Brancumhall

Monday is the first of our winter cross country training sessions which take place at Brancumhall football pitches. The cross-country season is a key part of the training year for many runners of all standards whether they are training specifically for cross country or training for road (or track) races later in the season. Running on soft, heavy ground requires more active muscle recruitment than running on a paved road as (except if the ground is baked or frozen hard) the ground absorbs energy and requires the muscles to drive you forward rather than relying on at least some of the energy coming from elastic energy stored in the muscles and tendons. Therefore, cross country training (and racing) is strength training for runners. Cross-country races also provide the opportunity for us to compete together as a team either in relays or in league matches where every position made up helps the team score, no matter whether you are near the front, in the middle or near the back of the field.

The type of sessions we do on the cross-country nights are the same as those we would do on the roads, the only difference being that the speed may be a little less despite the level of effort being the same. So Monday's session is a 400's and 200's session along the lines of what we have been doing in the past month. The session is:

8 x 2 sides @ 4k/5k XC effort, 1 min jog recovery + 8 x 1 side at faster than 4k XC effort, 1 side jog.

For this session we will use only two sides of the full lap, starting from our usual start point at the corner, running the first side (towards the main road), turning left behind the goal posts and up the touch line (parallel to the main road) and stopping at the end of the football pitch, just before the short sharp bank onto the upper level pitch. Stand/jog recover at that location and then run the second effort (2 sides) in the opposite direction back to the original start point. The second set of shorter reps will be just the first side of the above, heading from the usual start to the corner at the main road. Turn around and jog back along the same side to the start point as the recovery.

Use the first couple of reps to get your eye in and to identify any dodgy bits underfoot and stick to the same line for all the reps so that there are no surprises underfoot.

For those who have not done the Brancumhall XC sessions before, we usually bring our road shoes and XC shoes (either trail shoes or spikes). We warm up from the club to Brancumhall in our road shoes and some kind "sole" usually takes a car down to Brancumhall with all the XC shoes in it. We do the reverse for the cool down.

As the weeks go on, the strength develops in the legs and running efficiency improves but, as with all training, the sessions need to be done consistently over many weeks and months to make a difference.

Alan

 

Club Racing T-Shirt

03/10/2023 - The T-shirts have been ordered. They are on a 6 week lead time so should be here before Brampton. Thanks all for your support! 

Junior options (£18 each) now added.

The committee have contacted our current club vest maker who have confirmed that they are able to do a T-shirt version of our club vest which would comply with Scottish Athletics for racing in.

The cost per racing T-shirt is £21.60. The minimum order is 3 per size in multiples of 3 per size & a total of at least 12 garments across the sizes/gender.

To establish if there would be enough interest from our members for the club to buy a small stock of these in, if interested could you please add your name to this form with the size which you would like to buy.

Sizes are as follows:

Mens        Chest Size

Small          36"

Medium        38"

Large          40"

XL             42"

XXL             44"

Ladies      Chest Size

8/XS           32"

10/Small        34"

12/Medium      36"

14/Large        38"

16/XL           40"

Juniors (Sized by Age)

5 to 6 years

7 to 8

9 to 10

11 to 12

13 to 14

15 to 16

Club Training Thursday 21st September

It is a threshold Thursday this week. The session is 4 x 8 minutes at threshold with a 2:30 jog recovery. Remember that we are running to a level of effort and not to a pace. The effort will stay the same but the pace will vary depending on whether you are running uphill, downhill, into the wind, on soft ground or hard ground. So the effort level is such that you could say only 2 or 3 words comfortably if asked to talk after a few minutes into each repetition. Do the session on the Carron Place loop, running continuously and starting each rep where ever you are when the recovery time is up. This will give a mix of flat, uphill and downhill sections to practice controlling the effort level. Warm-up/Cool-down via Strathaven Rd and Greenhills Rd.

Monday's session will be the first of our fortnightly Brancumhall sessions and will be approximately 400m reps. Get the cross-country footwear looked out and last year's mud chiselled off in preparation.

Alan

Club Training Monday 18th September

Monday's session is a slight progression on the hills and mixed reps session which worked quite well at Langlands Place/Langlands Drive last time.

The shorter reps have been increased by two reps in the case of the 30 second reps and by one rep in the case of the 45 second reps, everything else remains the same. So the session is:

• 6 x 30 seconds hill reps, walk/jog down
• 1 x 6 minutes at 10k pace back and forth along Langlands Place.
• 2 minutes recovery (to jog back to the junction with Langlands Drive)
• 3 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 jogging back down to Langlands Place
• 2 minutes at faster than 5k pace down Langlands Drive back towards Sainsburys (pretty much flat out for 2 minutes).
• Jog back to the club

The purpose of increasing the shorter reps is to induce a little more fatigue before starting the more important long reps. 

Warm-up via Strathaven Rd and Sainsburys. I understand that the best starting point for the hill reps is on Langlands Drive, slightly further down the hill than the junction with Langlands Place and heading up the hill towards the roundabout at the top. So use the same starting point. The flat reps should be back and forward on Langlands Place.

Thursday's session will be a threshold session. Next  Monday will be the start of the Brancumhall cross-country sessions which will be along the same lines as our 400m rep sessions but on softer ground to condition the legs to develop speed and power on a soft surface.

Alan

WEST DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY RELAYS

 Our first XC race of the season is the West District Relays.

Venue is Alexandra Park in Glasgow on Saturday 7th October

Times are Ladies at 13.00 and Men at 14.15

Distance is 4k per leg

Cost  is £6.00 per head

Teams of 3 for Ladies and 4 for Men but as usual we will run part teams too.

This is the first race of the 2023/24 Calderglen Grand Prix.

Remember to update your SA number in order to be entered in this event (it must be valid for the date of the race at the time of entry)

I need names by Tuesday 19th September

Those wishing entered should leave their name HERE. Those already registered are listed HERE.

Harriers Giveaway

The Harriers' Committee have noted that there has been some chat on the Whatsapp group lately about affordability and what could be done to help people who might be struggling to buy new kit. Already we know there are members of the club who have given stuff away that they no longer want to those who do need it so it already takes place and so thought it would be a good idea to facilitate this via some sort of listing on the blog.

I have put together this very basic form in which members can post details of running related stuff (and optionally a photo) which they wish to give away and can then be viewed in this list (click or hover over the photo link if present to view the photo of each item). Do not post any contact details or other personal details in the item description. Everyone knows each other in the club so it should be easy enough to make contact with the person if you need one of the items. I have put one test item in the list to show how it looks.

Once something has been give away, drop me a message or e-mail and I will delete it from the list (I shall think of a better way of handling this though!).

The form and list are also in the menu to the left of the blog.

Alan