Well Prepared “Are you sure you’ve got everything?”, asked Isla as we headed out the door on Friday night. It was a strange question. She’d seen me go over and over and over my kit in the last few days. “Yes! Let’s go”, I said as I locked the door. …”hang on, I need to…
Four weeks until The Highland Fling 2018
It’s Saturday morning and I should be out on the trails. I’m sitting on a comfy armchair watching videos and reading articles. With only 28 days until I line up for my first Fling these should be peak training weeks, which, for me, means 55-65 miles – including a good 25-miler. I came down with…
Training to run Sub 3 in Berlin
Online Marathon Coaching I hired an online coach for my last marathon attempt. I chose one with an Olympic pedigree who offered a tailored training plan. We started 18 weeks out from the race, identified a goal time (3:20, a 21 minute PB), and he set about creating a plan that would get me there….
Winter Training 2017-18
In October/November I did a 6 week speed training programme and one very cold Sunday I went out for a long tempo run. I warmed up quite nicely and then just put the foot on the gas and subsequently broke my 10K and half marathon PB (42:26, 92:05). I was clearly faster than ever but…
Race Report: Devil O The Highlands Footrace 2017
Proper Prep By the time I’d reached Glencoe Ski Center early on Saturday morning I’d already had to stop for a numero dos at the side of the road. Now I was going to have to do it again in the car park. It was 7am in late July. It was chilly and lashing with…
Race Report: Clyde Stride Ultramarathon 2017
The Best Plans My target was, as always, to beat last year’s time. I ran a 6:02 and I felt I could get between 5:40 and 5:50 if things went well. I worked out an average pace for each leg and found my overall pace had to be quicker than 9:00/mile. I loaded last years…
Climb Report: Beinn Narnain & Beinn Ime
“There will be gale-force winds at Munro level, making walking extremely difficult” – BBC Scotland Weather Report October 18th 2014 I have ‘climb five Munros’ on my to do list this year. I should have started in Spring. If I did I wouldn’t find myself contemplating two of the ‘Arrochar Alps’ in defiance of the apocalyptic weather forecast I…
