Thursday 30 May 2013

Dumbarton 10k

Garmin track | Strava track

Dumbarton is the 3rd race in the Polaroid series, and ought to be the quickest.  Back in 2007 I ran my 10k PB here with 34:38, but tonight my mind and body were not up to the challenge.

I'm not quite sure how, but I seem to have put on 5kg in 5 months. This must be due to lack of exercise over the winter, combined with no let up in calorific consumption.  I daresay that humpfing 5 extra kilos around must partly explain why I feel like I'm running like a sack of potatoes at the moment.

Anyway, the combination of extra weight, not much training, and running the Kilpatricks Hill Race last night meant I felt very flat tonight, and couldn't find any extra gear for the last 4km.

On a more positive note, it was a beautiful night for running, and apart from running a ridiculously slow time, I did quite enjoy being out for a bit of social exercise.

Saturday 25 May 2013

Scottish National Trail Championships

Results | Garmin Track | Strava Track

A new Scottish Athletics event consisting of 10km trail race for the women, and just over 14km for the men.

The trails would be pretty familiar to anyone who has run the various Leg 4 options of the Burdens over the years.

The weather turned out a real scorcher, by Scottish standards at least.

The women were off first at 12 noon. First back was Edel Mooney of Lothian, although Gaynor was unfortunately already back having dropped out with hamstring problems.  Ellie came in strongly in 13th place in 46:00, and Sarah Adam was not far behind in 30th place in 50:25.

I was the only Westie in the men's race, and was slightly daunted by the prospect of 15k intense trail running. I therefore once again started off slowly, thinking I might pick people off later on. I enjoyed the run and the route, albeit the mix of short tough climbs and fast runnable trails really knocked the stuffing out of me.

I had hoped/expected to run under an hour, but finished way down the field in 42nd place in 1:02:45.  I can't say I was disappointed though, since it's the toughest hour of running I've done recently.

Feeling the heat at around 7km
Ellie looking far more comfortable