31/01/10 - Inverness/ Fochabers

Inverness
Distance: 14.49km/ 9.0miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 2°C/ 36°F
Weather: Cold and bright

To make up a long run of 14 miles today I guess that the hash run will be about 8km/5 miles and set off about 9am to get 14.5km/ 9 miles under my belt. Light snow and temperatures around freezing yesterday mean that the pavements are still slippery but the lightly snow-encrusted scene is attractive and I begin by climbing up through Leachkin past the old Craig Dunain hospital and then down through the woods to the canal. Here I parallel the canal on playing fields in Bught Park before continuing down the towpath to an appropriate turn-around and returning on the canal, crossing the Tomnahurich Bridge and completing the route on the west bank.

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Fochabers
Distance: 8.2km/ 5.1miles
Altitude: 100m/ 330ft
Temp: 3°C/ 37°F
Weather: Cold and blustery

The hash run manages to avoid the snow squalls which have dropped a good coating in the woods east of Fochabers, but at times the wind is biting. We meander generally uphill past a viewpoint over the village and end up at a large cairn commemorating the Duchess of Richmond at around 900ft/ 274m. We enjoy great views over the Moray Coast and across to Sutherland before dropping steeply down again. Some of the forest tracks are very wet and we slip and slide back to the car park.

 

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30/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 13.7km/ 8.5miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 2°C/ 36°F
Weather: Cold and bright

Snowfall overnight and a cold day once again make the canal towpath a good option for a pace run. Today I have to put in 7 miles/ 11.3km at a little under 7mins/mile (4mins 20 secs/km) so like my last pace run I jog up to the Muirtown Locks and measure my out and back from there. The wind is blowing a little in my face and it is quite hard work keeping up the pace on the outward leg but once I turn around the slight tailwind makes running easier, and a little warmer! In the end I'm a few seconds inside my target, not bad as the underfoot conditions are a little slippery at times.

 

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28/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 8.8km/ 5.5miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 3°C/ 37°F
Weather: Cool and drizzly

Back on the training schedule at last, with a series of 5 x 800m reps at 3 mins/ 800m. With the canal bank back to being dark and muddy and unsuitable for speed  I look for a good quiet spot on the roads of an industrial estate near our house after a warmup jog from work. My first effort to discover a circuit with 800m plus a short recovery section is unsuccessful, but then I find a good stretch with minimal side roads to run out, jog gently for recovery and run back the requisite times.

Despite the interuption in training I keep to the time target pretty well, only on the last rep do I have trouble keeping up to speed.

 

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27/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 17.0km/ 10.5miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 4°C/ 39°F
Weather: Cool and damp

Time for the week's long run, a few days late. I always find running over the Kessock bridge with its views over the Moray Firth to make for an inspiring objective on a run, even in the dark, and to add some extra mileage and a hill I opt to run down to the seashore at the old feery slip at  North Kessock, under the bridge and steeply back up onto the road. Combine that with my regular route along the Harbour road and river and I make up 10 miles.

 

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26/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 12.6km/ 7.9miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 7°C/ 45°F
Weather: Cool and damp

 

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24/01/10 - Lasswade

Distance: 8.4km/ 5.2miles
Altitude: 67m/ 220ft
Temp: 4°C/ 39°F
Weather: Intermittent rain

 

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21/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 7.3km/ 4.6miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 4°C/ 39°F
Weather: Cool and damp

 

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20/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 5.7km/ 3.4miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 3°C/ 37°F
Weather: Cool and damp

 

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19/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 11.3km/ 7.0miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: -1°C/ 30°F
Weather: Cold

 

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18/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 6.2km/ 3.9miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 3°C/ 37°F
Weather: Cool

 

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17/01/10 - Inverness (2 runs)

South Inverness
Distance: 7.8km/ 4.9miles
Altitude: 47m/ 155ft
Temp: 6°C/ 43°F
Weather: Mild and breezy

 

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Inverness
Distance: 15km/ 9.2miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 5°C/ 41°F
Weather: Mild and breezy

 

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16/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 11.7km/ 7.3miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 3°C/ 37°F
Weather: Cold and damp

 

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14/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 6.6km/ 4.4miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: -1°C/ 30°F
Weather: Cold and slippery

 

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13/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 5.0km/ 3.1miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 3°C/ 37°F
Weather: Cold and damp

The weather is finally a bit warmer but this doesn't make  running on the pavements (sidewalks) any easier as most of the uncleared ones are now deep in wet slushy snow. Today my short run takes me through town to the Grant Street Bridge, back down the river past town again then over to the canal and up over the hill through Scorguie.

 

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12/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 9.7km/ 6.0miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 2°C/ 36°F
Weather: Cold and damp

A six mile run is on the docket tonight and with the pavements still very snowy I opt for a bit of hill climbing up to the last houses near the old Craig Dunain Hospital at about 120m/ 390ft. This road is increasingly quiet as you get out of town so I could run on the cleared street for much of it, finishing the run with a loop around the streets between our home and the centre of town.

 

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11/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 5.0km/ 3.1miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: -5°C/ 23°F
Weather: Cold and still

Today's short run has a practical aspect as I stop at the local Lidl's en route to assist Tracy in carrying some groceries home (our car is off the road still). Then I pick up the dog and jog another 3.5km around the Reach and the Muirtown Basin on the canal.

 

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10/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 16.1km/ 10.0miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: -10°C/ 14°F
Weather: Very cold and still

It is a gorgeous late afternoon when I finally get out for the weekly long run almost every marathon plan calls for, with 10 miles ahead of me. Today I decide to run on the west bank of the canal which I did once before in late spring, and as I run on a stretch heading west the sunset is spectacular. I avoid the temptation to run  on the canal (there are a number of kids, dogs and a few adults playing on the ice this afternoon) and as I get closer to Loch Ness the ice thins and finally ends leaving open water, not something I've seen at the open stretches our end of the waterway for a couple of weeks. maybe the water flowing from the loch keeps this part clear even though I'm still several miles away.

The towpath on this bank narrows to a track but the footing is still OK and I continue south until I calculate that a detout through town will give me the required mileage, then turn back as night falls. From the canal I head over to the river and run up it into town, stopping in at work before jogging easily home.

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09/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 12.0km/ 7.5miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: -5°C/ 23°F
Weather: Cold and still

After a rest day the conditions are unchanged from Thursday for today's run, and again I have to go quickly (6 miles at marathon pace which is about 7 minute miles [4 min 24 secs/ km]) so I'm back on the canal with a gentle jog to the Muirtown Locks and 3 miles out/ 3 miles back down the towpath at very close to the required pace. Again conditions underfoot are excellent and I enjoy the day.

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07/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 8.1km/ 5.0miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: -7°C/ 19°F
Weather: Cold and still

Today's training is four 800m reps, each to be completed in 3 minutes. With the ice and snow the only place available that I can run fast is the canal ban, so I warm up by jogging gently to the top of the Muirtown Locks and then continuing 800m measured on my GPS. Some vegetation placed on the path indicates the distance and I run at the appointed pace back to my start point, jog gently for a few minutes and repeat until I've completed the requisite 4 repeats. Despite the slighly slippery conditions I manage the reps in only 5 to 10 seconds over time before jogging gently home.

Incidentally one advantage of the lingering snow is the ability to run in unlit areas like the canal bank because whatever light there is reflects off the path and gives the night a usable glow. I hadn't really realized the difference this makes when living in the US where snow lies for the whole winter, but I've enjoyed the contrast with the darkness of November and December.

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06/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 6.5km/ 4.0miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: -5°C/ 23°F
Weather: Cold and still

A near repeat of last night's run, without the dog running at the end. I have finally organized the training schedule, and as I ran a mile short yesterday I do one extra tonight. Again conditions are cold and crisp and pleasant for a run.

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05/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 7.8km/ 4.9miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: -3°C/ 27°F
Weather: Cold and still

Back on the regular routes around my home town after the holiday period, and I take one of my favorites for dark nights down the A82 then home over a fair hill past Kinmylies, Leachkin and Scorguie. Stopping at home to pick up the dog I then do a quick lap of The Reach (the eastern section of the Caledonian canal extending out into the Moray Firth) and back through Clachnaharry. The footpaths (sidewalks) are hard going as the snow hasn't been cleared and I use the road as much as safety allows, but the canal towpaths are actually a joy to run on with grippy crunchy cold snow.

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03/01/10 - Edinburgh

Distance: 7.8km/ 4.8miles
Altitude: 122m/ 400ft
Temp: -3°C/ 27°F
Weather: Clear and sunny

My first Hash House Harriers (from now on hash) run of the year with the Edinburgh group. We started at a bar near Haymarket and ran from one well known Edinburgh landmark to another: Bobby's Bar, the castle, the Heart of Midlothian, Holyrood Palace, Scott Monument and Charlotte Square. Some fairly quick running despite a lot of ice underfoot, interspersed with long waits for others to catch up. But all in gorgeous winter weather and with a coating of snow brightening the scene in this most beautiful of cities.

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01/01/10 - Inverness

Distance: 17.3km/ 10.8miles
Altitude: 5m/ 18ft
Temp: 0°C/ 32°F
Weather: Light snow

My first run of the year is born of necessity not planning. I was supposed to spend Hogmanay with Tracy and friends, house sitting near Uphall in West Lothian (west of Edinburgh) but the car started to make some very unpleasant noises as I drove in the morning to drop Tracy at the railway station. After working the 31st I got the AA to tow me home, and was able to book a rental car online from Inverness Airport for 9am on the 1st. I was a little dubious as nothing much happens in Scotland at 9am on the 1st, but decided that I could at least make use of the 11 mile journey to the Airport to get some early year mileage in.

I had run the night before in heavy snow (which had fallen much of the day, canceling Inverness' Hogmany street party and closing the road south at times) and the only way to get to the airport was to run on the clear (ish) carriageway of the main road west (the A96), rather than detour on snowbound smaller roads. Luckily there was very little traffic and I could easily hop off the road into a snow drift as required. Wet snow was falling the whole way and I was pretty sore as I approached the terminal, but overall things went OK for my longest run in a while. The Hertz man was in work nearly on time too and I was on the road, this time with vehicle, by 9.45am.

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Training Starts Here

This year's running focus is on my first try at the London Marathon, and after 4 goes at the distance purely for myself I decided it was time to get sponsored. I'll be logging my training here and also hopefully talking a little about the sponsorship side of my buildup.

This year I've decided to use a training schedule from well known US running writer Hal Higdon. I used his half marathon plan in building up to run Reach the Beach and the Advanced-I plan looks like it will fit into my life. It is an 18 week regime, but I'll actually start on week 3 as the festive season isn't ideal for sticking strictly to any kind of plan. I think my recent mileages have me pretty well prepared to begin.