Winter Training Camp 23

What with one thing and another its been a busy wee time at Al's HQ. I had nothing much planned a month ago. It was a Sunday early in November and the Elswick 10k at Exhibition Park was on. Rememberance day. They were taking entries on the line, which was refreshing. It was a beautiful morning, crisp, autumnal with very little wind. I asked Linds, who had left before me, to see if she could get me a number. I was overdressed at the start and lined up without my club vest. I was running below the radar and didnt want any pressure. With comparatively few miles on the clock, I started well enough and clocked along at a bearable pace. A 10k is tough, no doubt about it. I caught up with Linds with 8k to go - she looked like she had started too fast. I eased a little for a kilometre and then went ahead toward the end. The course is too twisty-turny for my liking. I scraped 41 minutes at the end. My first 10k in a good while. Not an event I like.

Last Saturday I turned up for the last cross country league event at Akeley Heads on the edge of Durham City. It was a very decent day again and I set off steady from the slow pack. I was committed to keeping my heart-rate down as I knew we had the Giffordtown 5k in deepest Fife the next day. So there was no drama on this 3 lapper and I noticed no obvious difference in the way I ran or where I finished compared to my usual eyeballs-out and slightly misguided previous efforts.  Taking it steady is certainly the way to go. 

We left for Fife on the Sunday morning and arrived at a cold and frosty Charlottetown with plenty of time to spare. There were around 150 names down for this gig, but only 100 or so turned up which made the field seem very modest indeed. The course is ace. Flat as a pancake, its just an honest 'out and back' affair. You get a skank at the leaders as they glide back. After a visit to the woods to 'see a bear' and a less than convincing warm up, we were sent on our way and I tried to find my pace early. With not a breath of wind I knew it could be a fast day, but, alas, not for me. A 6.18 first mile was followed by a 6.26 second mile. I was on my own for the last mile and came in at 20:15. Not a disaster and probably a fair reflection of my form. The event was won by a East Sutherland runner, but no one got below 15 minutes. There was no prize-giving (not that I was on for anything). The first V60 runner came in with an early 18, which is pretty impressive. 

We took off northward, stopping at the Bridge of Earn farmhouse cafe for tea and scone and then for a wander around Tiso in Perth where I tried on a couple of pairs of walking boots. The prices were, regrettably, astronomic. 

We spent a week in the Moulin winter running camp, visiting the hotel for a pint once or twice. I love the pub, with its low ceilings and real fires but this time around I found the beer too yeasty and the place and welcome not quite as warm as I remember. The weather, however, was ideal; cold and clear with an occasional flurry of snow. I was out each day for over an hour either up Vrackie or Craigower, or running along the valley to Killiecrankie.  With all the hill miles, I felt my calf tighten on the Friday.  Come Saturday, I graced the West District Cross Country Championships in Strathaven with my presence. My efforts to upstage Feechan and Williams, however, went south as the calf tightened at the end of the second kilometre and I pulled up. It was disappointing, but I live to fight another day.  Back to the swimming pool this week I guess.