Weekly Mileage: 65.5 miles
Saturday 24 July: 8 miles – including Musselburgh 10k – 11th place in 35.40
Sunday 25 July: 24 miles in 2hours 50 minutes
Saturday was all about the Musselburgh 10k. I had planned for this race for over a week and since last Sunday’s 22 mile run had been easing off in attempt to taper for it. I did the 2 mile race in the Meadows on Wednesday to tune up and although I hadn’t felt amazing, I had felt pretty quick. Thursday had been an easy day and Friday had been a complete rest, so I woke Saturday morning feeling pretty confident. Parking a short walk away from the field where the start and registration was the weather seemed perfect, no wind, cool air and light clouds.
There was a good collection of EAC runners entered in the race, so there was quite a crowd of us talking away near the start line. It was good to see such a good turnout from the club and by looking at the quality of our runners there was every chance we would be in with a chance of both the women’s and men’s team prizes. I was part of the men's winning team last year.
With 30 minutes to the start I began my warm up with a gentle mile jog with some strides. Straight away my legs felt heavy, but I just put it down to pre-race nerves and lethargic feelings I usually get before a race. The Musselburgh 10k always attracts a top class field and at the start line I could see a dozen or so quality local athletes. This I hoped would help drag me to a fast time, as there would be plenty of groups and people to work with. At the start line I was joined by club mate’s Neil Calder and Martin Ferguson. We set off and the front line of runners blasted out of the blocks. Recently I have been running faster than Martin and I full expected to be ahead of him or at the very least alongside him. Martin is also well known for his excellent pacing, so when he pulled ahead of me in the first 500 meters I was surprised, so pushed hard to keep up with him.
It was only when we hit the 1k mark did I realise Martin and I were flying, clocking 3minutes and 17 seconds, we slowed a little, but still went through 2k at 6.40. It cost me a lot. I think my legs, which didn’t feel good to begin with filled with lactic acid and promptly stiffened up. As we moved through the 3k mark I was passed by several runners including a couple of HBT runners and Martin. I tried to tag on to the end of them and couldn’t and it was at this point I realised I was in a bit of trouble. I reached 5k in 17.14, which was about where I had planned to be, but I was already slowing with every km. At 5k, Martin, who was a few meters ahead of me, pulled up injured, clutching his calf muscle. I felt sorry for him, as he had been running really well. I hope he recovers in time for this Sunday's Scottish Gas 10k.
After 5k everything just went to pieces for me. My legs felt so heavy and I simply couldn’t drag any performance out of them. My lungs felt pretty good, so I know that it was my legs more than anything, although I do wonder if mentally I gave up a little bit too easy as well. There was a strong head wind now and the ground was a little unforgiving, especially over the race course, but to be honest I was a spent force anyway. I tried a few times to push on and find some pace, but physically and mentally I had nothing. I kind of cruised back for the last couple of kms, until the last 500m where I suddenly found a bit of speed to sprint past a runner in front of me. The fact that I was able to pass this runner and finish 10 seconds clear of him by the end tells me that I had totally misjudged this race and not managed my legs very well at all. I crossed the line in 35.40 in a eleventh place.
Some of my club mates fared much better. Neil Calder ran an excellent 33.33 to finish 5th and Jenny MacLean won the women’s race in 36.19, followed by Kathryn Brownlee in 36.46. James Mittra got a PB and Kev ran strongly too. The women comfortably won the team prize with Lyndsay finishing well up the field. Emma also ran well finishing a minute faster than she had aimed for. Unfortunately the men finished one point behind HBT and we missed out on retaining the team prize - gutted The full results can be found here.
After the race we were greeted by a goody bag and a free ice cream from Luca Ice Cream made in Musselburgh. It eased my disappointment greatly. The Musselburgh Athletics Club also know how to put on a buffet and I enjoyed loading my arms up with as many sandwiches and cakes I could fit without drawing too many disapproving looks from the long cue snaking out the back of the door. It's a good race, but maybe not a PB course. Still I reckon I might be back again next year, if for no other reason than the buffet!Reflecting on the race, I think my recent high mileage was probably mostly behind my slow performance. I felt heavy legged on Wednesday at the 2 mile race too and I guess that race just did enough to keep my legs heavy into the weekend. I think next time I taper I will not race mid-week, just some strides to keep things ticking over. The extra rest might be enough. I don’t have a race now until 21 August, The Nairn Half Marathon, so I have some time to lose some weight and get some good training in so I can ensure a good result.
Sunday 25 July
My legs felt fine this morning, a little tired, but on the whole pretty good, perhaps a sign that I did not run as fast as I could have in yesterday’s race. I turned up at Craiglochart this morning not sure who would be there, as quite a few people had already said they were not going to make it. Thankfully Ben, Garry and Kev as well a few others were there and we all set off together.
I wasn’t planning on running too fast today. I was just aiming to get through the 24 miles in one piece. We set off at a comfortable pace and chatted along the way, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that we were moving along at just over an average 7minute a mile per pace by the four mile point. By the time we got to Balerno, Kev turned round to finish off his 12 miles, while Ben, Garry and I carried on. We worked hard up the two hills, although Garry had a small hamstring problem and held back. It was good to have Ben for company and we worked hard to reach the top of the hill and through the 8 mile mark in just over 57 minutes. I felt pretty good at this point and as we sped along through the next 4 or 5 miles I was beginning to think running 24 miles would be easy. At 15miles I said good bye to Ben who was turning off to finish at 16 miles. Garry, I suspect due to a sore hamstring, had dropped back a few miles back. I turned left when Ben went right and it was only then that it dawned on me that I still had another 9 miles to do. I was pretty jealous of Ben, but I pressed on.
The last 9 miles were tough, but I maintained my pace (well it felt like I did, no Garmin to confirm, but a stopwatch and recognised markers kept me right) and even managed to get quicker as I turned back to head to my car at the tennis centre. Those last few miles were tough on the mind as I had to keep talking to myself to keep moving and running at pace. I resisted the little voices telling me to take it easier, to back off and to leave it to next week, which really pleased me. Now I am up to 24 miles I feel as though my endurance running is becoming stronger. Hopefully as I do more running at that distance I’ll get stronger and more comfortable running for this long and it will feel like second nature by the time I get to Amsterdam. All in all another good long Sunday run, next week 26 miles – that will be tough too!!
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