Blue Sky !!!

Monday 30th November

Cycled 20 miles on mountain bike today out by Strathblane on old railway paths at a good pace .

Legs a bit stiff from Sundays run as I haven't run up and down terrain like that for a long time .

A beautiful cloudless day and the first time I have seen blue sky since I came back from Florida on the 9th of Nov. 

Up, down ,up down

Saturday 28th November  2hrs 39 min

Drymen -to  Balmaha  over Conic and Return.

Started easy up into forrest and reached the bottom of Conic feeling fine 

Walked most of Conic and jogged very easy down other side as it was very wet in  and easy to slide all the way down !

Time at car park was 1hr 16 mins and thought about running back via the road but turned and headed back up Conic . The climb back from the loch side is tough going and walked from just after I left forest and again took my time down other side.

Got up and over with no problems and picked up pace down into forrest and  at the 13th mile my split was 7.36/m- time on return 1hr 23 . Finished feeling fine  but a bit hungry as I only took 1 gel and  water with me .

Legs survived the ups an downs and Salomons were very good on rough terrain - very pleased with them and no blisters. 

Easy Run

Thursday 26 th November

Railway path 2 mile and return 33.41

Very easy run .

Weather still terrible . 

Ran in new Salomon xa pro's and they felt stiff  not having the same cushion as my road shoes I found them uncomfortable for my first run in them . They will take a bit of  getting  used to but as they are for my runs on the  whw I will see how they are  this weekend .

Planning to run  from Drymen to Balmaha  over the Conic and back to Drymen  this weekend.

Was it worth the soaking ?

Wednesday 25 th  November

Canal 3 mile  and return 49.29

Very wet and windy on way out - soaked .

Canal path  was flooded in places.

Glad to finish.

Easy Run

Monday 23rd Nov

5 m -40.56 (8.11/m)

Canal -Eastside-railway -Return

Easy run at 8am this morning and legs felt fine after weekends run  but a bit tired at end.

The six weeks I missed running from end of Sept have caused me to lose a fair amount of fitness as I was comfortably running 6.45-7.30 /miles to finding +8.00 /m a slog . 

Have decided to cut back on the amount of weekly runs and cycle or rest on days I don't run .

I have never done this before and in recent years have spent more time injured than I have running so we shall see how things go.

On a recent trip to America I read a interesting article about how many injuries are caused by weak hips and the core muscles around that area . I  have been using six exercises 3 times a day and have found them to have helped hugely with my hip and groin pain . When I started the exercises I found them very difficult but after one month I am completing them no problem .

Sunday 22nd Nov

Today was our 2nd round of the winter tour we have and Leven Golf Links  was the venue. Windy conditions but it was dry and the 20 players all enjoyed the day . My own golf was the usual mixture of good ,bad and total sh.. . Some how I managed to finish 3rd  behind Alex Smart and Kenny Lang . Next round is Lundin Links in 2 weeks. My legs after yesterday were not bad and the 4 hour walk helped with any general stiffness. 

Sat 21st Nov 8am

Easy run on whw from Milngavie out 5 miles and back.

1hr 30 min -9.03/mile

Longest run for a few years.

This was my third run on the whw since I decided to enter the Fling.

Have covered all the whw in stages  during the 80's when we used to run a relay each year .

At this moment in time I have no plans with regards finishing time in the Fling .

I will wait and see how things go from now to the end of March.

My biggest problem will be staying injury free over the next few months.