Scottish Athletics

A wee jog

Two miles with S, out and back from the house.

That's the kind of run that'll be squeezed in from here on to get the mileage up.

Nice and sunny to boot!

Edinburgh Marathon

Edinburgh Marathon
Originally uploaded by Sparks57

Not a run as such, well not for me anyway, but worthy of writing about.

This was the first time I'd volunteered to help at an event and it was a great experience.

I was at relay changeover points 2 and 3 in Port Seton, which was at the half-way mark on the way out and about 22 miles on the way back.

I saw blood, sweat, tears and a whole lot more! And it had absolutely the desired effect of adding to my motivation for Amsterdam.

A great day out and a very brown head into the bargain because the sun shone for most of the day.

More negatives ...

Four days after my last run, I finally managed to get out today. It's just been that kind of week.

I did a wee warm-up in the park before A. and I set out for an eight-mile run up to Chatelherault and back.

After doing eight last weekend, I had 10 in mind but settled for nine with negative splits most of the way.

1. 8.54

2. 9.03

3. 10.22

4. 9.39

5. 8.53

6. 8.30

7. 8.42

8. 8.36

9. 7.42

Two runs in a week, totalling 17.2 miles. Not ideal.

West End

After running on Saturday (and a huge pizza shared with S last night), I had to get out tonight.

Mr B and I hit the streets of Glasgow and ended up doing 7.48 miles, which was about 1.5 miles longer than we'd originally intended to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed it although I can't say he did.

There's a bit of jip in my right knee which is probably just the effects of two long-ish runs in three days.

A good start to the running week though.

Home run

This week's runs finished with an easy-paced but hilly eight miles from Newtonhill towards Cookney. Four out and four back.

It fulfilled a small ambition of mine, which was to run down the cliff path, along the beach and back up the other side.

I think it was at about six miles that I started to feel a blister on my right instep, which feels like it's been caused by a very slight ridge in the insole of the Nike shoe.

I managed negative split miles which says everything about the route I took - "undulating" with more ups than downs on the way out.

Thoroughly enjoyed it though. It's great to run in new places.

Four runs ...

Two on Tuesday and two today.

The morning runs with S and her group are settling down into a pattern, which is good.

Tuesday evening was a 6 x 400m intervals run along Dalziel and tonight's was a three-mile out and three back along the same route.

My legs were very heavy, perhaps a result of the fartlek this morning in Victoria Park (the word greatly amused the children!).

The Nikes are settling in fine, I think, although the shin splint in my left leg is a bit more of a regular feature now. 

It's certainly not unbearable, more of an irritation.

I still haven't quite got used to the different grip on the Nikes. The sole is wider and it feels like it "glues" itself to the ground more than the Mizunos do.