Archive | Glasgow to Kilmarnock Half Marathon RSS for this section
December 10, 2009  

Glasgow to Kilmarnock Half Marathon, The Run!


The sky was pretty clear.  It was 4 degrees and there was a nip air, accentuated by the brief but frequent gusts  of wind. 

My good lady wife and I pulled up at the start point around 8.10am.  I spent about 10 minutes warming up with some light jogging, etc.  If the truth be told I was quite nervous. I hadn’t run a half marathon distance since May, earlier this year (2009), and the closest during training was a 12 mile run.  But, my excitement was more than enough to counter balance the nerves.  I had put a fair bit of effort into training/preparing for this run and I felt ready to do it,  to the extent that I had driven the route twice in the past 2 days memorising distance marks.

So, I was mentally prepared, physically prepared and now warmed up.  The first few miles were looking to be the toughest.  I had two mile markers mentally noted to help me get my pacing right, something i’ve been having trouble with during training.  The first 4 miles also contained a small number of minor climbs. Nothing to complain about though.  Particularly since majority of the run is on a decline.  I’ve posted an image of the elevation profile for the run below:



At 8.22am I set on my way, started my GPS app, set my HRM and began running into the wind.  On this run you quickly realise it’s not the most scenic route .



The first mile rolled past.  My pacing was ok.  I was trundling along at roughly a 9.15 minute mile pace.  By this point I had passed the golf club entrance and was now aiming for the Motorway underpass (pictured above).  It felt pretty cold here as i was still running head on into the wind.  The next mile came quickly.  Again, i appeared to be running a 9.15 pace.  All seemed well and good so far, but there was still 11 miles to go.

The run progressed.  Those first four miles weren’t too bad and I had settled into my stride.  The sun was starting to rise above the hills to the east.  Even though it’s a pretty baron landscape it was a beautiful sight. The wind farm was visible in the distance too, each of the gentile giants silhouetted against the reds and oranges of the morning sky (image below).  The view kept me going. Although, I did have to chide myself occasionally for not focusing on my running technique.        









After 56:30, mile six was completed.  1 minute behind target.  My average pace was 9.25.  From that point I knew I was almost half way.  I picked up the pace slightly, which felt comfortable.  My heart rate was steady at around 177bpm and all was going well.


Until mile 9.


At the 9 mile mark, I lost focus.  I had to cross a round about (or Traffic Circle to US readers) on the way into Fenwick, meaning I had to slow down and watch out for any cars that felt like running me over.  After negotiating the round about I quickly brought myself up to pace but didn’t expect the sharp incline leading into Fenwick village centre.  My heart rate jumped to about 185bpm. I panicked slightly, feeling out of breath, wondering if i could keep up the pace for the last four miles.  It took about a mile and a half for me to feel comfortable again but even with my heart rate dropping during that time, my calf’s started to cramp.  


My legs felt campy for the remainder of the run. I put that down to not carb loading in the days leading up.  The last two miles were pretty much down hill.  That helped a lot.  However, I started to resign myself to the thought that i’d be over the 2 hour mark.  Primarily because i wasn’t aware of where i was.  At 1:55:00 I felt like i had another mile or so to go. Then i spotted a set of traffic lights at the bottom of the road.  Those traffic lights were the 13 mile mark.  Legs cramping, I started running as fast as I could. It was a great feeling.  Could I make 2 hours?! 


I pulled out my GPS app as i ran to the end point but was slightly confused then really annoyed that it was only reading 2.4 miles distance.  It had reset itself while i was running (AARRGGGHHH!).  I crossed the end point feeling slightly deflated but quickly realised the stopwatch was ticking on my HRM – I pressed stop as fast as i could.


1:59:48


I’ll take that!  Needless to say the initial deflation was changed to happiness as i realised i finished the 13.1 mile half marathon distance in under 2 hours at an average pace of 9.09.



There’s me, slightly sweaty and happy that I’d completed my target of running a Half Marathon distance in 2 hours. 


Especially happy since before I started my 11 week training plan I had been off the road for 4 months with an injury.


So what to do now?


Well, I aim to keep up 15 miles per week until mid January when I begin training for the Edinburgh Marathon, which takes place in May 2010.  I’ll try and slot in a few races before then too.


So there you have it.  I did it.  I’ll do it again at some point in the near future and try and beat my time. 


Maybe do a 1:50:00…?

October 24, 2009  

Half Marathon Training Plan

So, I’m training for a self planned route, the Glasgow to Kilmarnock Half Marathon. As promised in the last post I’ve uploaded my training plan, which you can have a look at below:
It’s a short training plan, 11weeks, but I’m sure it’ll put in a good enough position to be able to complete the distance in 2 hours.  No trying for PBs this time round.  the aim is to get me back on track and improve my fitness for full on Marathon training at the start of 2010. The only concern i have with the plan is the jump from 8 miles on the long run day in week 10 to the full 13.1 in week 11.  We’ll see how it pans out though.
Until the next post, happy running!
October 19, 2009  

Glasgow to Kilmarnock Half Marathon

It’s been 5 months since I’ve run anything over 5 miles in one outing.  Injury, obviously mostly to blame. Second to that is me not getting my arse in gear and training properly again.  


That’s changed however.  Now going back to my old ways and taking on board good advice I’ve heard over the last 3 years of running.  What’s that good advice?  It’s easier to train if you have a goal to work towards!


There aren’t too many races around my area i’m aware of at this time of year (i’m not a member of any clubs and the SAA website isn’t that great) so I mapped out my own Half Marathon distance run to work towards.  The reason I chose this route is because for a while now I’ve wanted to be able to say I’ve run from [the outskirts of] Glasgow to Kilmarnock (if you’ve ever driven down the M77 or A77 you might now what I mean).  Although on the map below it looks like the run is on the Motorway, it’s not.  The run will stick to, for the most part, the old A77.  This road is ideal as it has a new cycle lane built when the Motorway was completed, which is separated from the main road.  And, once the cycle lane stops, a new pavement is there to keep you off the road until the finish.   


I’m now 5 weeks into my training. I used Smart coach from the Runners World website to develop a training plan (http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/defaulttraining.asp?sp=&v=3).  Glad to say that i’m feeling pretty good about progress so far.  

The only thing i’ll need to keep in check is the urge to do more miles.  The envelope is being push as it is.  Because I’m looking to get this run in before the xmas period it’s a slightly shorter time scale that what would normally be completed and one in which my distance is increasing by 15% every week rather than what i believe is the recommended 10%.  As well as running, i’m complimenting the training by attending a Circuit training class mid week and some cross training at the gym. 

I think all will be well and the training will allow me to comfortably complete the distance! (fingers crossed)

I’ll throw up the training plan in my next post and let you know what the expected completion time will be.

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 441 other followers