Troon 10k 08/05/13

This was my first trip to the Troon 10k in 4 years. I've always had a love / hate relationship with this race, having had some great runs (and some absolute stinkers) since I first ran it in 1990.That year ,aged 19, i hung on to Brian Craig and Colin Miller ,clocking 33.30, in what was my 2nd ever 10k.Over the years i gradually got my times down until the late 90s when  i clocked my pb of 30.48 ( finishing 6th in the year that the first 12 were under 32 mins!!!)The highest placing i ever got was 2nd in 2004 in 30.57, just holding off  Lee Richardson and Davy Millar who were just over 31 mins.
 It was 5 years before i raced Troon again in 2009 and i just wisnae fit plodding round in over 36 mins.Injuries and lack of motivation had taken their toll.... So fast forward another 4 years to this years race and i'm fitter and training harder than i have for years so was looking for a decent run.... The first kilometre was slow into the wind but as soon as we left the prom and out of the wind the race changed and spread out .I  was hanging onto Robert Gilroy for the first 4k but didn't feel that good and just before 5k my left calve ,that had been bothering me for the previous week, started to stiffen up. So from 5k to the finish i ran myself trying to consolidate what i had and hang on for 1st vet. Was really toiling by the finish but hung on to finish 4th in 33.42. All in all ,not a great run but not the worst I've had at Troon so can't complain

Crinan Puffer 8.5 mile race 21/04/13

5.30 am rise on the first day of a weeks holiday ...must be mad. After cycling the length of the Crinan canal 2 years ago I really wanted to run this race, so  entered last year but couldn't make it due to injury...arrrgh! So I was determined to make it this year....Set off at a decent pace getting to 3 miles in 15.20 and 6 miles in 31 odds but was tiring a bit over the last few miles. Was really happy to win with my finishing time off 46.17 though ,just 22 seconds outside Davy Millars from last year....good race and feel like the trainings starting to pay off now

Scottish 6 stage relays Livingston 31/03/13

Looking back at some past results from this race its amazing how things have changed over the last few years...hard to believe we were 2nd overall and only 20 seconds away from winning back in 2006!! That day I was the slowest of our long leg runners with 29.50!...changed days indeed. For a club like Irvine to get a silver medal at the Scottish Championship was something special indeed. Since then its been a pretty poor championship for Irvine with us struggling to get in the top 30 some years with the main problem being to get all our best runners fit and injury free at the same time. So this was probably our strongest team for a few years, this year and we knew we had a decent chance of a masters medal.
After a last minute change of running order Jim Sneddon  started us off on the opening short leg .Jim went off a wee bit too hard and suffered later in the race but hung in well. Alex was next up on the 2nd leg, which was the 1st long leg. Alex had a great run bringing us through the field and handing over to the evergreen Colin Miller. Colin had a solid run on the short leg before Jamie Findlay who had a fine run despite being isolated most of the way. Mark Livinstone ran the last short leg leaving me to run the last long one.I set off steady hoping to pick it up 2nd half of the race but felt a bit sluggish.During the last mile I could see the Killie boy up ahead but didn't think I would catch him .I dug in as much as I could to catch him by the bridge but the legs were totally gone when it came to sprint finish! Never Mind.....Irvine finished 12th overall, respectable and 2nd masters team......so another hard earned silver medal at this race, hopefully next year we can get a few boys back and try and get that Masters title!!

Alloa Half Marathon 17/03/13

Thought i would get a half marathon in early this year ,having only run 2 in the past 5 years (neither of which were particularly good in terms of time),it was a good chance to test my fitness after my best winters training for many a year.It must be at least 10 years since i last ran this race and what memories i had of it were mainly about the hills in the last 2 miles.
Set off at a decent pace,sitting in a pack with ,among others,Robert Gilroy of Cambuslang.Glanced at some of my mile times and was surprised how comfortable i felt at what was a faster pace than i had raced Halfs since my pre-injury days.The hills at 11 miles were not as bad as i remembered but still tough enough to make the last 2 miles testing.Was outsprinted by Gilroy at the 13 mile mark to finish 9th and 1st vet in 73.05...was convinced i was on for a sub 73 until the last mile when i could feel it slipping away.Still,good run and feel i'll take a chunk off that time later in the year.

Special thanks to Lesley and James for their Support.When Lesley dropped me off at the start James said ,unprompted ,"Good luck with your race Daddy!" just as i was getting out the car.Makes it all worthwhile!

Scottish Masters Cross Country - Forres 02/02/13

Another M40 bronze medal!Ran as hard as i could on the day so have to be happy with that.The re-introduction of the 35 age group meant i was a few places further down the field than last year, finishing in 8th place overall .The 5 mile course at Forres was firm and fast with some absolute killer hills which really hurt on the 2nd lap and i was totally drained by the finish .Thats my Cross country season over for the year.Good way to finish after the disappointment of the Ayrshire xc and non selection for the Scottish vets team (!?)....next years Masters Champs is meant to down in the borders,looking forward to it already!

 

Good runs by George,Andy and Jim....thanks to Andy for doing all the driving!

Scottish Masters Road Relay 27/01/13

Its been a while since the last blog!....the reason being i havnt raced apart from the club xmas handicap.I took ill the night before the Ayrshire XC Champs back in November and had to miss the race .Really frustrating as i was in good shape leading up to it.So after a few days in bed i picked up the training again and put in the best mileage ive ever done in December ,which i hoped would pay off at my next planned race..The Ayr Turkey Trot on Boxing Day.Surprise,surprise i come down with the flu just before it and have to give it a miss ,losing another few days training. So the Scottish Masters Road Relay was my first proper race for a few months.With Alex and George not able to run we were struggling to put a team together that could match our good performances in the past.Big bonus for us,however was the vet debut of Jamie Findlay.Jamie ran the first leg for us,sitting in into the wind on the way out before hitting the front at halfway.Jamie pulled away to win the first leg in 20.16 despite going the wrong way at one point.Great run.I ran leg 2 in 19.34 getting us a 2 minute odd lead.My time ended up being 3rd fastest .The wind made it really hard work so was happy enough with the time.Colin ran 3rd leg for us but was up against it with the days fastest runner, Kerry Wilson ,chasing him down.Colin finished 3rd so pressure was on Jim Sneddon on the final leg.Jim Gave his all but was caught by several runners in the final mile and finished 6th. Graeme McFarlane,Andy and Jim White ran for an incomplete B team. Hopefully we can get everyone out next year,get in amongst the medals again!

Ayrshire XC Relay 20/10/12

     Thanks to my wonderful employers for the 8 hour warm up before this one!!...Legs felt awful jogging round the course when i arrived but eased off a bit by the time the race started.With so many guys from the club injured or ill we had no chance of winning this year but had a wee chance of a medal.Stevie Stirrat had a fine run on the opening leg to finish 6th ,i ran the 2nd this year,didnt feel great but had an ok run getting us up to 3rd.Havnt seen results so don't know how times compared to others.Colin Miller 3rd leg and Mark Livingston 4th,held onto 3rd place with Mark running 30 seconds faster than last year....All in all not a bad result.