Itchy Feet
I woke this morning with itchy feet; itching to go for a run that it, not because I had contracted some strange foot infectin during the night; but I had to contemplate going for a training run or hanging about and then going to do a 10k Fun Run at Dunlop; after all this would be its last year apparently and I had never done it before. Previous years I never knew it was on or I was to early and I mean way to early and couldna be bothered going back later, one year I was injured and one time i just plain forgot.
So I decide to go and run in the 10k, for no other reason other than to put a bit of interest into a training run and give additional meaning to the effort; after all I did say I was going to try and run my Sunday runs for a few weeks at my predicted marathon pace or faster, so what a perfect opportunity to do so.

Dunlop for Fun
Small village fun runs seem to be slipping away into the world of non-existance, cost of running them, lack of support, who knows and Dunlop is no exception. It has only been held for 5 years and was set up as a way of raising money for the local church to help repair and replace parts of the old roof, having never ran it before I never knew what to expect.
I would like to take this time to say that it is one of the best, wellorganised, well marshelled, well signed run/races I have ever had the pleasure and pain to take part in. The worst thing about the race/run was the course, remember I said in a previous post that coming from Ayrshire there aint to many a place one can go to without coming across a hill, well Dunlop is no exception to that rule.
The race starts just outside the playing field and carries on up hill for about o the first 4 Kilometres and then the hill easies of to a rolling road of dips and rises.


First Time, Long Time
Its a late start for a Sunday 10k, normally 10k's start at about 9, 10, 11 o clock sometimes as late as 12 noon, but I aint ever ran a 10k that starts at 2pm in the afternoon, strange time to be starting but in a strange way it was worth the wait.  So arriving in plenty of time; if I rush about a bit; I register for the race, find a quite corner and change into my vest; thankfully I never pinned my vest together, I have done so previously and it aint funny, but thats another story. Trainers on and do a warm up. Its a strange thing but one always needs to head to the evacuation station prior to a race, today was no exception; one, yep just one for every male in the place so the queue was longer than the queue at the checkout in tescos at christams.  Its funny how standing in the queue its as if you canny wait, but once you get to the final destination, like everything else in life, you canny be bothered and you wait for ages.
Waiting for my turn it brings the panic of missing the start of the race, something else i have done in the past and that to isnt to funny, well at the time it aint. Finally we are all called forward to the line-up and given the safety warning and info etc and a breifing about the course. The woman on the load speaker explains that the 3k runners will run the ssame route as will the 5k runners. £k runners will run up and collect a band from a table that tey must bring back, 5k runneres will continue on to their turn pint just past the water station at 2 k and I am sure the woman on the load speaker said 10k runners would run up past 5k and turn at Dunlop House and come straight back also. So i think na worries an out abd back, means we wil come down hill on the way back; and to be fare we do come down hill on the way back, just not as I expected.
So we are given out instructions to line up, 10k runners at the front of the line, we are then piped out onto the street, no not like a big line of whipped cream or butter icing, but with a bloke playing the bag-pipes. So lined up the lady on the loadspeaker gives the countdown 'ready, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 - GO' and we are off standing on the start line I seem to find myself on the front line, so when the gun or rather the voice of authority sounds the 'GO' I need to go and find myself in a position un acustom to me; to be in the front of a race at the start. I am running along with fellow runners Cammy and Mike as well as the other runners who seem to like to take thir place at the front of the run, pushing past at a pace that is impressive for any 10k runner.
Round the corner past the mini-roundabout, over the railway bridge and out into the country, the hill started as we left the start line, but now it is starting properly as we head out past the last bit of Dunlop village civilisation and into no-mans land with nothing but the sound of our feet and the groans of those running beside us to keep us company.
Going up the hill and the first fellow starter drops away, Mike being sensible has settled into his own pace and is a few strides behind. The other who is there is pushing on well and Cammy has found what looks like a relaxed pace on a Sunday afternoon run. Breathing as best i can from everywhere i can it is apparent that I might have pushed on slightly faster than i should have but it is a race and i guess i need to get back into this way of doing things. Reaching the 1k marker I know that i am working hard as my time for a 'k' is fine, its just that this one is the up hill type, lol.

I want to go back :)
By the time I reach the turn around for the 3k run; that would be 1.5 km out, I wish i had just signed up for the 3k, but then i know that once i get into my stride i will be fine. Plodding on know that it would get easier I find the fella that started off with us has gon his own seperate way and I have been cought and passed by another running enthusiast. By this time the gap between us and cammy has turned into a good few yard. Pushing on the next point that comes and that is the water statation, grabbing a cup from the table I feel that i have tumbled about a dozen in the process; why when ever there is a race with a table of drinks cups do those who place and fill them place them so tight that even the skinniest fingered person on the planet would have trouble getting from the table at speeds above walking pace thats closer to stopped than actually moving? Anyway water grabbed it is like most cups of water i pick up, dumped over the head, I am at presently sitting in 3rd place with cammy forging ahead in front a good 20-30 meteres at this early stage and the guy in second somewhere in the middle.
Just beyond is the turning point for the 5k runners and o how I wished right now i had opted for the 5k race, but knowing that, that was not an option I forge on. I wonder at this stage saying to myself 'ok the guy in second aint to far in fron and he is not un-catchable.' Surprisingly though i still feel quite relaxed and I cant hear any breathing on my ear or shoulder so that in one aspect is a good sign.
Forging ever further I wonder where we will be going and at 3k I am still within the time for marathon pacing. I pass through 4 k and push up the hill of the now undulating dips and rises of the road ahead. Just about the 5k marker there is another water station where I position my hand to grab a cup of water but sadly the person in charge has a hand that has a reach higher than mine and so the cup slips from my grasp and ends on the road under my feet. Looking for the ever elusive turning point I wonder if i have missed the turning or worse still mis-read or something and have entered into a 20k run. 6k comes and goes and thenits turning into the road to Dunlop House, but wondering that buy going back will take another 7kms of running, mmm. Turning into the grounds of the estate the last thing I hear is the fella marshall shouting, 'watch out the ground is un-even.' I will give him that the ground was un-even but nothing more so that other roads i have run on. just rounding a bend i hit a pot-hole and the ankle goes tweek, but nowt to worry about its just a slight annoyance and after a few strides and a slight slow of pace things are fine; although getting the pace back is slightly more difficult.

Time to turn
Finally I approach the tuning point I can see it in the distance, but first i need to negotiate another water station. i move over hand at the ready and swoop down on the cup with the grasp of an eagle and the agility of a cat, but thats all in ma head as i spill half the water all over the palce, the rest as before goes over the head to cool me down. Aproaching the turn point Cammy is heading towards me, by now he has a good 400- maybe even 500 metres on me and well lets say he aint a pretty picture; he looks in more pain that one could ever imagine.

I reach the turning point and have to slow the pace down to get the turn, this is the only part of the race that i would say needs changing, but as this is the last year there is no need to do so. Turning I head back down through the estate, not actually having had time to have a look at Dunlop House, but from the surroundings I can only imagine it is run down and derelict; if anyone knows to the contorary please let me know.  I see Mike has found his place in the race and bumped himself up into 4th place, the fella that was with us at the start has slipped into 5th behind Mike. The other fella that was there at the start has all but disappeared and I am sure it is him I spot back in about 10-12th place.
Approaching the 8k marker I look at my watch and notice that my time is still well within target marathon pace so I am happy enough. Exeting the estate at the same point as which we entered we run straight over the road,with the marshells doing their job to fine form and warning appraoching traffic that there is a Sunday runner coming, bet they sit in their car cursing and saying things like 'Sunday Bloody Runners!!!' in much the same way as people who get stuck behind Marth and Boris on a sunny Sunday afternoon say, 'Sundy Bloody Drivers' lol.

The Approach
So crossing the road I notice a yellow sign up ahead, its the 9km sign meaning i dont have far to go, but just like a marathon where the last 385 yards of the race are the hardest, in a 10k the last kilometre is the hardest. Thankfully therer is a down hill section and I try my best to push on slightly and maintain the relaxed running style i have managed to find; although I did at one point have the whole feeling sick in the tummy thing and thought that it would happen, but somehow and i wish i knew how for future use, I managed to fight it off.
As i turn left back into civilisation and the village of Dunlop, I have cought up with 5k runners and although not in the stricktest of playing fare i use them to take me to the finish line. Over the railway, turn left, infront of a car at the junction which i am glad the marshells had stopped, a short burst and a sharp left and down a wee ally path into the park  and then a wee wiggle to the left and then the right and into a right hand side of the funnel for the finish line for the 10k. bang i stop the watch and my run is done.

10k race on a Sunday afternoon, this brings my first week of training to a close and the miles for Moggie's Mony Money Miles to a weekly total of 30.34 miles. The time for today was inline with Troon and i found myself in a 3rd place finish. I even felt like going out for a nice wee run later in the evening, although I never went for sasid wee run, I hope that have the thoughts of such is a good sign.

As you may already know Friday nights is an open night with regards to what type of training I will be doing, it can be cycling, running, the gym and althought I aint done much for a while it could even be a swim.
This Friday however it was a running night; because i was going to attend a surprise 80th Birthday party for a fellow Running Club member, a coach, my coach and advisor on occassions and all-round good guy.

Not the 4 o' clock run
So today was such a beautifull day for a run and one I was glad to have. I was so fortunate today that things fell into place with regards to work, run and tonights already mentioned night out. Having had to take a bus back to the transport depot, I was allowed; and gatefully received; early leaving from my base to return the mini bus to allow a change stop into my running attire, allowing me to run home from the bus depot.
Although over all I did not gain anytime actual time per say, as by the time I dropped of the bus etc I had gone beyond my stop time, making up for the time I used to stop and get changed. However this fortunate opportunity did mean that I was able to venture onto a route that I havnt been on for some time as it is generally a long run route. I was also able to start my run a good half hour or so earlier than I normally plan to start.

The sudden ups and downs of running!!!
So leaving the transport depot in the heat of the afternoon, I feel good, relaxed and flowing. I just run and dont worry to much about pace etc after all I am only just starting my training. I head along the street and dodge a few children on the way home from school face glued to some type of electronic portable device be it a mobile phone, MP3 player or a combination of these, never to be paying attention to the world around them.
I turn onto a nice wee river side path and perfect silence falls; not the Doctor Who silence, just plan no noice silence; and in this silence I feel free of the worries of the world, this is what it means to run, this is what running is all about. The last time I was down this path, parts of it had disappeared during some heavy rains and when the river rose. The rocks underneath had, had enough of just sitting there and decoded to swim away to a better life, maybe they had sore arms from holding up the path, who knows why rocks do these things, guess its like running -  cause we can. The path is winding and follows the natural edge of the field and the river, but is anything but flat it has a stretch in the middle that would put any roller coaster ride to shame with the suden sharp incline with the immediate and equally sharp decline only to find that your legs stop working properly as they reach the bottom; this is beacuse the legs are still in down hill mode but the ground beneath them has once again changed to up hill mode. If anyone saw this from a far they would probably wonder what the hell was going on, why does that person look like they are swimming without water???
So I reach the part that had been previously washed away wondering if it had been fixed or if I would need to traverse Scotlands answer to the Grand Canyon. I appreach to find that some new rocks had been found to hold up the path and to prevent these ones from swimming away they have been put into cages, dont worry though these were willing rocks designed specifically for this task :) .

Speed be gone!!!
Leaving the roller coaster path behind I turn onto the country road and head into the second mile of my run, the sun is still shining slightly in the sky and the chance of rain was sadly still looming however. I was rolling along at a nice comfortable pace and surprisingly faster than what I thought having passed through the first mile and the second mile of the run at roughly the same minutes per mile pace.
This however is short lived as I turn the conner and the hill in front of me 'Templeton Hill' steals my need for speed and reduces me to what feels like a mere walking pace, y running pace is reduced by 30 seconds per mile. This is a nasty piece of work, teasing you with its unseen sumit, you climb on never know where the top is or how fat you have to go, you reach what you think is the tp only to find that it has a short flat section leading into the next part of the hill. Only stretching on for a total of about half a mile this hill gives the suggestion that it is going on for ever. Finally reaching the top I turn away from the hill, but my plight aint over yet this road is a twisting turning, up and down road, which any normal human would probably stay clear of, but here in running world us humans aint normal. My pace is still slowed by this undulating road but I struggle on and once again the sweat of my plight flows down my face rendering me slightly blind for a second.
Coming up into the final 2 miles I begin to eneter back into the civilised world and pass through a donught on the road; a donought that is to act as a roundabout for the bypass. A car approches and decides to well suddenly pull into the edge of the road and stop for what is no apparent reason where by I nearly find myself having an impression of hood badge saab in my forehead.

The final stretch
I decline the idea of having a saab branding on my person and press on turning onto the main road signifying the home stretch. I flow down the hill like warm honey flows from a spoon, sticking to the cycle path rather than running on the path; cant explain why it just happens that way, like I said things in the running world dont always make sence. Down the hill and this brings me to the bottom a the hill I then need to climb, once again I slow slightly. Thats the thing about living here, there is no where to go without coming across a hill somewhere on ones run.

Arriving home feeling good, if somewhat drenched in the proof of my hard work and definatly aware that I have ran today as my legs are slightly soft and tierd.

Todays run saw me cover a nice 5.81 miles brining the Moggie's Mony Money Miles up to 24.16 miles so far. I can go out and enjoy my night tonight knowing that i have worked hard today.

O and No Rocks were harmed in the making of the new path!!! :)

Hard Work Routine
Trying to get into a routine of going out straight after work is proving slightly more difficult than I would hope for, but I guess i shouldnt be to hard on myself after all this is really only the first week of getting into this routine. The thing I should take away from this is that I have been out every night running.

Managing to get out the door
By the time I got home it was already 4 o' clock and I still had a few things to do, checking email from potential fundraising areas. as well the fundraising pages. Sitting at the computer I slowly faded away and dozed off into a nice little land of slumber, waking up to find it was after 5 o' clock. I decided to hold fast and not go for that run just yet I sat and watched some TV and then the Simpsons. I finally found my way out the door at about quarter to 7. Once out the door I felt good, not starting off to fast I plodded along up the long drawn out hill. Its probably a safe bet to say that this long drawn out hill rises for at least 1 and half miles on this particular route. It's just a basic loop with an out and back at the top end totalling 4.23 miles long.

Full of Energy, mmm
As I ran along I felt good, this probably sounds weird, but although the miles havn't been many this week they are consistant and consistancy adds up and sometimes one feels flat; so by feeling good and not feeling flat it means I am finding a good balance between pace and miles, miles and days run, days run and pace.
Tonights pace as I said was nice and gentle and easy and this gave plenty of time to look around me and observe the world, something I dont normally do when running as I am focused on what I am feeling etc. So running along and I am thinking that nothing interesting will happen, there will be no cyborgs, dog walkers or mums trying to control children on this run; it will just be a general everyday boring run; once again i was proven wrong, I dont know what it is, is it the idea that I have a blog to write, is it because I am running slow and steady, is it the idea that I know I will be running 6 days out of 7 for the next 20 weeks and thus my running has meaning and structure that I am finding the enjoyment in it once again? What ever it is I have found something interesting and fun on every run so far. Tonight was no exception.

The things one sees
So your all sitting there wondering what it was I saw, well let me put you out of your misery and hold you no longer in suspence. As I ran along the road, there on the other side of the road heading towards me in the distance was a bright pink jacket, no thats not what the big deal is about, dear o dear. So as the bright pink jacket got closer I noticed it was someone out exercising in the form of walking. Now walking is a great form of exercise and I have respect for those that walk, however this walker was, well it made me have a good chuckle to myself. As they walked the head bobbed about, a wee bit like Paula radcliffe does as she runs, which in itself isnt to funny. The clincher was the invisible rods that the walker had fixed between their feet and their head; invisible rods I hear you say, whats this clown on about; well let me explain. Every time the foot lifted off the ground the body went up right and the head went back, everytime. When the leg went down and the foot hit the ground the body came forwards and the head fell down. in amongst all this action the arms were moving like; cast your mind to ghostbusters and the wee green ghost, slimer, well thats the way the arms were moving.
So picture this foot up, body bolt up right, head falls back arms swing back and forth across the body, foot goes down, body moves forward to a slouch, head drops to the ground almost. Its hard to explain but I hope you get the picture.
Further up the road I passed two ladies out running, bolt up right, but it was clear that these woman had left the house without a bra on, because they seemed to be having to hold there woman bits in place, nestled in the bend of the elbow, with their hads holding onto the opposite shoulder almost. There ways of holding their arms resembled that of the great late Les Dawson characterAda from 'Ada and Cissie'

The return Journey
As I plod on and reach the turning point nothing much more happens. I still feel good and in control of this run and as I head for home i wonder if i will pass my stylish friends or if the fleeting moment on the up leg was all that would be. I pick up the pace slightly and as I move on down the road i come across a set of road work temperary barriers, in the middle of the barriers there is an eruption in the pavement with water shooting out of its centre that would put 'Old Faithful' to shame. We could turn this into a tourist attraction and the revenue it would generate could rebuild the town in gold. To add to this the water that is floowing down the side of the road would put the Nile to shame, we could add 2 more wonders to the 7 wonders of the modern world with this lot.
I thought at one point I was going to get washed away and never seen again, could have ended up as a missing person on the telly, Eye witness story on the NEWS, 'Aye last we saw o him was his bright yella shirt disapear in a whirl pool spiral jist there at thone drain cover', 'suddenly there was a splash and his arse went up in the air, then a grugle and he was gone'. Maybe thats what happened to the two ladies that pranced down the road earlier.

Further down my own personal Nile I was forced to dodge two ladies whom clearly did take notice of a bright yellow jumper zooming towards them at metre per seconds and decided it would be nice to step out in front of me, thank the lord I had my cat head on tonight, which contained my sharpened reflexes, lol.
Disaster overted and I have had some adventure in the last mile, cant but wonder what the next mile would bring.  Sadly it did not bring anything quite like the mile I just had. I did however catch up on the walker with the invisible poles attcheded between head and toes, Apart from speeding up there was no difference in the way she walked other than instead of the arms doing sideway swings like slimmer, she was doing back and forth swings and the legs were getting slightly higher lifts, which only acted in forcing the upper body into a more up right position and the head being thrown further back. I do however take my had off as they were managing to move along at some speed as it took me about 1.5 miles to catch them up.
Down the road and back to the start and nothing else happened, I think it would have taken something special in that last half mile to top what I saw today.

Todays miles were 4.23 miles giving a Moggies Miles Total so far of 18.35 miles

The Vallay Crash
After last nights run I arrived home and had something to eat; that was on top of the loads of post-race sandwiches that I ate last night at the get together in the pub afterwards; roasted/toasted/grilled cheese (thats a slice of bread toasted on one side under the grill, turned over, covered in cheese and them melted under the grill.) with roast beef under the cheese was the order of the night.
Not long after that I sonked out on the chair, woke went to bed and that was me right through to this morning.
I wold this morning and tentativly moved my legs to get out of bed, expecting the worst in lines of stiffness and soreness, but surprisingly I wasnt stiff or sore in any way.

Tired in the End
Came home from a good day at work with the sole intent of going out for a run or heading down to a locla running group depending upon how i felt. So when I arrived home I had a wee sit down and a catch up with things from during the day; big mistake, I dozed off and ended up having 40 winks, thats The Vallay Crash catching up on me.
When I came round for the second time I managed to shake myself alive and muster the energy to get ready for a run, still wondering if I shoudl just run here or nip down and run with the local group. In the end being tired i ffelt the best thing I could do was to just head out and get a run in, then if i came back and felt tired i could have an early night. This is something to expect over the coming months as training increases, becomes consistant and my body adapts to the new training regimine.

Short and Sweat
Normally the saying is Short and Sweet, but with the strange weather that we have had today, rainy to begin, slightly windy and then warmish and sunny when I went out, I felt that short and sweat was more apt, after all by the time I got home I was soaked with the stuff. 
The run today was short and coming in at a nice 4.26 miles. A course that was undulating to say, starting with a nice down hill for about 3/4 mile then a nice climb for about 3/4 mile then down hill for about a mile, although the down hill wasnt as sharp as the up hill was, the down was more flowing than a climb. A short flat and then down again towards the ford which is a sharp down hill, followed by a sharp incline as we come out of the dip and away from the river. The surprising heat and effort of this climb combine to make me hotter than normal and as the name suggests; Sweat becomes a problem as it runs down my face and into my eyes, nipping as it goes. But they say the faster one sweats the better and more accute the cooling system, so I should look upon this as a good thing.

The Route Through the Park
As I asend the hill up from the river I take a sharp left into a street that would appear to be a dead end; but not so; tucked away in the corner ther is a wee entrance into the park. This isnt the Dean Park Country Park, but more your garden style park with grass areas and trees and shrubs and a network of paths. It's a shame as several of the paths have long since been taken away and/or blocked of which limits the routes through the park, but non-the-less it is still fun. I chose a route that starts at the top of the park and winds its way along and down through the paths, down a flight of stairs; which I knew were there and had all intention of going down, yet they still managed to take me by surprise and one nearly went head over heals down these stairs, but being sure footled even if i did look like an elephant on roller skates, I was able to maintain my balance and stay on ma feet. Once I letthe old heart rate settle down it was along the bottom path across the wee wodden bridge and then back up the hill and out through the gate onto the main street.
From there it's a quick shot across the road and along the side street, where I encounter the first wind of the day, which is surprisingly  strong or maybe its just cause i have had it easy with no wind tonight.
Tonights run was nice and easy, gentle on the body and not as hard as I expected, what a recovery run should be like.

Now its time to sit and relax, eat drink and be full; although not of alcoholic drink I haist to add), feet up and read a bit o ma book and watch a bit of telly.

Tonights 4.26 miles brings the total for Moggie to 14.12 miles.

The Vallay Dash
Tonight sees the running of one of the clubs many handicapped events. Everyone puts there name down we get a start time based on our ability and off we go. The idea is that everyone finishes round about the same time and all the hanging about is done at the start, as well as giving everyone a fair chance to be the winner and first over the line. By the time the last stretch of the run is upon you it can be one big mass sprint finish with the strongest being the winner.

Living in Ayrshire there is not too many places one can run without encountering a hill of some description; regardless of how big or how small it is; tonight was no exception and boy-o-boy what a hill it is.
The Vallay dash starts in Newmilns and follows the river path down into to Galston before turning and heading up; and I say up in every sense of the word; and over; again over in every sense of the word;  country roads back to Newmilns, covering a total distance of about 7.3 - 7.4 Kilometres.

And Where Do I Fit In?
Well with a handicap of 18 ish minutes I have enough time to get warmed up and even longer for the nerves to fire up and continually make me feel I need to go potty; as in wee-wee and I aint talking about running down the hill waving my arms in the air here. Its fine though cause I aint the last runner to go off there are another three runers to set off after me.
With my start time looming I dont know if I am ready to go or ready to go or just plain ready to go, John is off 15 seconds in front of me, just prior to him setting of he shouts back see yo at the bottom of the wee slope; the slope is about 100m long and is not much more than a farm style short cut to avoid the hair-pin bend at the other end of the road. Now 15 seconds may not seem like much but in running it is loads. John is off and I am ready, the countdown begins 10- 5 -4 - 3 - 2 - 1 GO and I am away, as said 15 seconds may not seem like much, but it took me a good mile to catch John. I never actually ran along side John, but for a while i was unable to get passed him and the 2 of us pressed on pushing the other slightly faster than before with each stride. Then we approach the first tricky part of the course a narrow path 90 degrees turn to the right. I forge the extra stride to get in front of John as I know that the path for the next mile it is pretty ni-on impossible to pass someone on the path Encoutering a slightly muddy slidie patch the pace slows and John sits right on ma shoulder, pop an immediate 90 degree turn to the left while navigating a slippery section and a good foot deep puddle. Safely round I decide to try and push on slightly and break the tie between me and John, Approaching a makeshift bridge consisting of a couple of railway sleepers over a small stream, taking care not to hit the gap in the middle, I criss cross my stride from one side to the other and get across. Just about to begin a sppurt I hear a thud behind me and turn to see poor John lying flat out on the deck, he had slipped on the wooden sleepers due to the dirt on his shoes. I pause and ask him if he is alright; after all i dont want to srint off in case there is something seriously wrong. Saying he is fine and as he brings himself to his feet I run on.
Along the twisting turning path i pass someone else and push on dodging puddles and mud patches along the way; In my mind I am flowing freely and gracefully but i probably look like a clumsy, lumbering elephant with 4 left feet all on the same side.
From there the path joins the Track in Galston; running round the track in what is the opposite direction from normal, I decend upon the gate to freedom; well to the street section of the route anyways.

Out On The Streets
Turning out of the track and onto the streets, the next  1.5 kilomiteres was the start of the path to heaven; even sherpa from Nepal would find this road hard. Climbing upward i see a bright yellow shirt in front of me, I set my sights on catching them; this gives you something to work towards; step after step I aint too sure if i am catching them or falling further behind. The something strange happens the runner who set of behind me, is somehow and for some reason running down twards me; she had apparently gone the wrong way and decided to do the loop again to make up for the missed bit.
Confused as to how she had ended up there and where she went wrong, I plod on ever concious that John could come to reclaim his place in front of me at anytime.
Ever onward and upward I pass this person and that person, setting my sights on the next player in the field. Then i hear it, the express train coming up on the fast track, leaving me in his wake I am passed by the fella that was the last man off a full 2 minutes behind me. Trundling along with no chance of catching that train, I round the bend to see a sight that shock my running world, Ken our coach was walking; yep walking, all be it up the hard hill, he was walking. There is nothing like coming round the bend to find your coach walking, lol.
Then as I pass Ken I hear it, the breath of the second last guy James echoing in my ear, expecting him to fly by I try to push on to delay the moment for as long as is possible onward, upward climbing ever closer to heaven I reach the top, from here it is litterally down hill all the way to the end.
I push on the first down hill section which is relativly smooth, but I cant shack of the shadow that is James, again I try but to know evail. Then comes the steep section of the down hill Kilometre 6 to 7 and I let lose as best as I can let lose, passing people as I go still expecting james to hrtle past like I am standing still. Still further down and gaining speed with one foot I am brakeing my speed with the other.  the final stretch and I push on to try and pass a further 2 runners, I catch the first on the bend and give a burt to pass him, like a racing car using a burst of nitro, I manage to pass him, but he hangs onto my shoulder; a few yards from the end and he gives a burst and gains an edge on me. Giving my last I surge forward keeping my persuer at bay, however am unable to catch the other who was just infront of me.

Crossing the line I stop the watch and then find that I have over excerted myself and my success of keeping the insides where they should be at Troon is short lived here at the Vally Dash.
A respectable time of 28mins 10 seconds for 4.53 miles. This time is; in comparison to Troon last week;, felt very easy even though there was a nasty big hill for about 1 - 1.5 miles, suggesting a 38 minute 10 kilometre...

A couple of short laps as a cool down and my total mileage for tonight comes to 6.53 miles.
This gives a total of 9.86 miles for Moggie.

Well with the weather changing faster than the blink of an eye, here in the Middle of May when I should be thinking about over heating and/or burning, all I find myself being worried about is getting rained upon and possibly even being to cold; whats the deal with the weather?.

In the beginning
Today I start my training to get myself into the routine of training proper, but how many times have you read that. Although I do have an important halfway race to compete in; I am hoping that this year i can run in the 'Round Arran Relays' and take the last leg North, this will see me running a distance of 11 miles and having ran all the legs in the relay thus completing the whole island. So I guess I need to start training for that as well. But it does and doesnt quite qork like that, I will from here on in be training for the marathon in Septemeber with the relays being slotted in as a race forming part of that training.
Based on of ll this I have stripped everything back down and will be running on basics again, thats light milage easy pace and building it all back up. The idea is to take an active recovery training period that allows for progression while also allowing rest and recovery and building th body up slowly and stronger than before in preperassion for what lies ahead.

So the important run
Tonight was a short 3 miles, when I finished I finished on all the 3'3 thats 3.33 miles; i could say it was only half of a devil of a run, but then that wouldnt be true it was such an enjoyable run tonight.
I headed out the door and across the road, turning onto an open grass area; clearly forgetting that it has done nothing but rain for the past day and a half at least; I find myself already ankle deep in water and grass. Once i get over the inital shock of the cold feet i trundle on regardless actually likeing the idea of running on the grass. reaching the end I realise that I have mised the opening onto the path and find myself doing a spot of hurdling, although high jump might have been better as I climb my way over the 6 ft fence. Not sure if there will be anu 6 ft high fences in the Berlin Marathon, but best to be prepared, lol.
Over the fence and down the steps, only to give a couple of young lads a fright as they round the wall at the bottom to see me trundle down towards them, thats old woman yesterday and young lads today, getting good at this scaring people thing.
Apart from that little bit of excitment there was nothing much doing on this run.

Change of plan
Todays route saw me go round the river loop at the Dean and for those in the know or for those who have read my earlier posts will know that this route takes in the 'B' Hill. But if you recall i said in the first sentence tonight that it was an enjoyable run, so much so i cant recall what was on my mind, which means I was letting everything go. But the real proof of the pudding, foot in the shoe, was that I was up, over and half ways down the other side before I recalled coming up the 'B' Hill.
Once down the hil the norm is to charge up the road hill to the swing gate, but as i dooned the bottom of the hill and onto the road my legs decide to take over from my brain. I find that I have not gone up the road but vered off along the path at the edge of the river and up the stairs at the end. It is just an alternative route that brings us out at the bent Oak amidst Spruce.
Continuing on past the Visitors Centre across the road and into the other park, I prepare myself for the sharp incline that is about to grab the wind from my sails, this one is a sharp short incline with a bend 3/4 of the way up. If it was straight with no bend it would be fine, but its the bend that slows and steals your air. But again I am up and through the gate at the top and onto the main road without even worrying about it.
The last bit home and all is well. 3.33 miles done and dusted.

To Run (The now) or Not to Run (the now)
Once again I find I am awake bright and early and feel quite fresh, then I try to jump out of bed; this becomes more of a shuffle as my feet hit the floor I find that in the middle of the night someone has came and disected about an inch or two off my clave muscles. They are supprisingly tight this morning. So shuffle it is to the kitchen for a drink and then I shuffle back to bed. Lying there, I hear that the sun has already been out to play and the day is to get wetter as it progresse. O hell I am comfy but I neeed to do a run, shall I do it now or wait till later? Lying there  doing the old point and flex of the feet to lossen of the calves I decide it is beter to go just now, after all why put of till later what will still be needing done, when I can do it just now and it still have no fun. Na dont get me wrong I enjoy my running and like everyone I occassionally just  cant get morning motivation, but once out there I am fine.

Dressed to Impress...No One!
Running tights, T-Shirt, couple of long sleevers and a pair of fingerless gloves and my hat I hobble out the door. Now you can see why I wont impress anyone in this dress.
I just hope that the tightness of the calves will ease of a I start to run. Starting as I man to go on I build up slowly till I reach my desired pace of 4 minutes a kilometre and hold it there. The paln..O right...The paln is to hold it ther for as long as I can, the intention being the distance of the training run or till I collapse which ever comes first. The distance today is a mere 10k, same as on Wednesday night, but at a slower pace, after all it aint a race :).

Boring Cycle Paths
Todays run takes me down the cycle path and no matter where you are a cycle path is always boring, nothing ever really happens on them unless they are at the side of the road. Sadly today was no exception to that rule. One foot in front of the other as my feet eat the ground beneath them, I move ever further towards my goal, at the moment that goal is just the mid way point wich sinafies that its time to tun round and head home. Todays run is an out an back.
On the way out I encounter a few people with dogs ruuning freely, but these are no ordinary people; these were runner friendly people and take control of their free running dogs, brining them into the side till I passed. A wee thank you wave and a grunt of 'thanks' for their trouble.. Clearly they understood that my grunt was not an out spoke word of annoyance but more a poor attempt at a gesture of thanks and so I got a nice plesant 'you're welcome' in return.
Further down I encounter a runner going the other direction, although I am not to sure if he is full man of half man malf machine, he is certainly making foot steps as loud as a cyberman and there is more wires and tubes dangling from his person that what you would find hanging out the back of a TV or Computer.

My next encounter was a woman with a dog and a small child, both running free and out of her control, but in her defence she did make an attempt to corall both and to a point she did succeed.

And So I Must Return
A few metres down the road I reach the point of 'to return' and I turn round to head back home. Once again I meet the woman and her dog and her child, unimpressed I feel by my return, she once again brings her hoard under control, I say thanks and gesture a wave on the way past; either my grunts have become inaudible, she has no nderstanding of the ever popular language of running or she just cant be arsed but I get no reply.
Fearless and un concerned I trot on, noticing that what was a comfortable pace on the way out had become a slow creep on the way back, only to suddely realise that the cycle path is a slope and unfortunatly for me it sloops down, I now find that I am on the climb side of this path.  A bit more effort is required to maintain my pace but its manageable and I continue to trot on. Noticing that my cyborg friend has vanished into the distance, I encounter 2 ladies out for a wal, clearly they did not hear me crep up behind them, as they gave a sudden startle as I said 'morning', why they never heard me is anyones guess I must have sounded like a Jet Plane with engine trouble the way i was breathing.
And then in the distance I see him my cyborg friend, not wanting to tun this into a race, afte all I dont know the fella, I notice I am catching him with each step, with him being about 200 metres in front he suddenly drive into the right and disappears into the trees; of course the first thing that springs to mind is that he has sprung a hydrolic leak; but as I approach his vanishing point, my feeling of him being part man part machine are enforced as he has dropped down the side of the bridge face to run on the road underneath.

From their its onward finding out that as I go it is not only car drivers that can be stupid. I am running on the left hand side of the cycle path; we generally move along on the left in this country and when training with the club its keep to the left etc when we doing hill reps or short out and backs, so we dont bump inot anyone, so i figure why should things be different. Sticking to the left, I nitce a bright yellow blob heading in my direction holding my course I figure they will be able to see me, after all I can se them and I have no contatcs in. How wrong I was to asume things, this blob decides to move over to my side of the path and run straight at me, a suicie mission, mm I think not so Imove out just far enough so that they may pass on the inside only to have them move out as well. The thing is I could understand if this were a child but it wasnt a child it was an elderly round gentleman out running. Siuicide mission averted I continue on my way. Comming of the madness of the cycle path I climb the last hundred yards once again in on the left tight to the fence only to have another wired up numpty come onto the path and head straight at me like a bullet from a gun. Put me back on my bike and on the road any day, at least with a car you have a fair idea that they are gonna stay on their own side of the road.
The last mile I dont push but rather I keep to my set pace coming home to finish a nice 6.25 miles in just over 41 minutes.

Cyborgs,, Free Running Dogs and children, Maniac Runners, Frightened Elderly Ladies
Who said a run on the cycle path was boring...o yeh thats right me, lol.

Sacred Saturday is Mine
Well after the race on Wednesday night and the wee cycle last night today was going to be the Sacred Saturday. I woke up about 8:30 and was glad I had nothing planned the weather is back to being typical Scottish Weather, its raining cats and dogs, Niagra falls runing down the window; if any one has ever been to Niagra Falls and went in the tunnels that takes you behind the falls so you see them from the back, you will know what I mean; I am just glad that in this case there is a pain of glass between me and the water as there is no 60 - 70 degree farenheit temperature to go back out side to and dry off in.

So weather in min, I have a glass of water, not from the sky but from the tap. and decide more sleep is required, pop back to bed for what I plan to be another hour to find that when I return to the land of the living it has turned 11:30. The time on the clock seems to be the only thing thats changed as it is still teeming with rain outside.

Today I ate, drank an was mellow, even dosing off on the chair a few times.

Yes I am glad that this Sacred Saturday is Mine!!!!!!

Friday is a day that I leave open to any form of training, it could be a gym session (which i do on bad weather days or winter days, it could be a cycle with a few others, mainly Richard, or it could be a run; which i will do if its nice and no one is up for a cycle.

The Wrong Choice
On the home I txt richie to see what tonights plans were and he felt that the weather was alright to go cycle,
Now I quote what richie said "Legs still a bit sore from Wed. (Richie was running on Wednesday night as well). Just looking outside now and it's not really that bad. A bit damp but there is no wind. I would be up for a cycle." I was to let him know, I decided to go for the cycle, I had my doubts about the weather, but I went along with the cycle idea as I didnt actually fancy going to the gym tonight and finding myself stuck inside grunting and graoning to the sound of clattering and banging metal plates.
Meeting Richie at our designated point it was clear to see that he had got one part of the weather forcast wrong, the rain, it was raining and raining well. A few hundred metres out on our ride and it was most apparent that Richie should not take up a job as a weather forecaster, the wind was terrible and blowing into our faces. We were out and moving, wet already so the idea of turning around was never an option.
But this wasnt to be the only daft idea to pop its head above the stupidity parapet, Richie decides that the route we are going will bering us back over from Dundonald Hill; from the other side, which is supposed to be the hard side.On a night like this, after saturdays efforts; o hell in for a penny in for a pound so to speak. 

No Turning Back
Having devided that seeing as we are already out there will be no turning back, after all both bikes are already wet and would require just as much cleaning and drying off if we we continune as they would had we turned backnow, besides appart from getting wet whats the worst that can happen?
Well apparently the worst that could happen is we get is knocked down and/or run over; as about a mile into the cycle it is apparent that even though both of us are decked out in bright ffluorescent yellow jackets with the bikes having flashinf red lights at the back, people apparently still dont see us and drive up into our pockets. But that wasnt the worst of it, nope that was still to come
Over the back roads and up the wee hill at Dankeith, and right up and over the back road into Symington. By this time we are truly soaked through to the other side o our skin and the wind is making it colder than it probably is to be honest, but on the plus side my upper body is relativly warm and ry thanks to my 'cheap' water proof cycling jacket from Aldi's, who said the dearest is the best?
Down through Symington and care has to be taken, the road is terrible at the far end and full of potholes, we know they are there, but negotiating them in the rain when there is puddles everywhere is slightly more dificuilt, after all one might fall in one and drown.
Coming down the hil and into the small vally the road is flooded with about 6 maybe 7 inches of water at the shallowest part and about 10 feet wide, its a case of hold on and hope there aint nownt in there that we have forgotten about..  On the way back up it is clear to see whee the water has come from; it is flowing down the road like a river, and with the state of the road you would think we were cycling on the river bed,  Keeping out slightly to avoid most of the water and the holes yet cars and impatient drivers still insist on puhing past t speeds more suitd to branshatch, stupidity reins supreme, especially on an up hill section with no idea of what could be ready to come down the hill.

No Time for tea
Passing the farmhouse cafe where we normally stop for re-fueling, we only pause for a moment; not even long enough to unclip ourselves from the pedals; and carry on, no reward of scones and hot chocolate today for these intrepide cyclists. For the next few miles everything is rolling along a small shape incline where we rise from the seat to battle the wind followed by a nice steady down hill section. Off the quite(ish) country roads onto the main road and we are starting to head back home. By this time the rain has all but gone off; even if the wind is still there; but coming up fast are the signs that it has been here and has been heavy,; another massive puddle at the side of the road. looking back to check I gently and flowing move out from a bit back I haist to add, not just a sudden sharp alteration of course. As i pull out I notice a car ready to pull out from an entrance junction jus opposit the puddle and lust at that a car that was approaching from the rear passes us with laods of room to spare.
So the car in the entrance junction is waiting and then suddenly it pulls out, clearly the driver must have been day dreaming, suddenly they stop right in the middle of the road bearlt inches from my front tire, only for them to receive a loud 'Higy can you naw see me?' closly followed by Richards 'What is oor jackets no bright enough?, will we try a brighter one enxt time?'
at this the driver suddenly develops a lead foot and they accelorate away, ven thoguh there is still the chance that they could hit us as we havnt cleared out from their path yet. A few more roars as they came even closer with this manouvere and their lead foot get very heavy and off they spead. As they drovve off they had republic of Ireland number plates, no insult to the irish here, just thinking that they are probably running late and going for the ferry that leaves 5 minutes ago; Troon for those that dont know is a ferry port for Ireland. Shacken but not to stirred we cycle on and our fried takes the left turn at the mini-roundabout on two wheels cutting up a car in the process.
We on the other hand are turning right, right into the path of the other side of 'The Hill from Hell' Having never cycled or ran over this monster in my life I now find that I have done it once from either side in less than a week. The good news is that the wind seems to have dropped and the only battle we face is with the hill and ourselves.

Picking a gear I push on, Richard sitting in behind drafting no doubt. It is surprisingly easy, easy enough in fact that we are able to cycle side by side and have a short brief conversation about how the guys in the Tour de France manage and what their bikes must be like. We also debate, based on another of our mutual friends saying that there is no 'easy side' to this hill and how getting into a rhythm of constant pedalling (for this side) as apposed to the up-plateau-up-plateau and even a short down of the other side; where there is a constant change of rhe pace and rhythm; is far better. That debate ends with, this side being the prefered side.

We aint gonna stop
Reaching the top we decide not to stop and just push on, after all, what with the low cloud there is nothing to see anyway. Coming down the other side Richie has the start but I slowly catch him, as I fall in behind I am geting the kick backs off of his back wheel; its like hale stones hitting me. I pull out ever so slightly and want to put the pedal down and go for it, but behind me I hear the vroom of a creeping up car. Unfortunatly this side does not lend itself well to passing others if you are bigger than a push big and so the car on our tail cant get past or is sensible enough not to try, even when I do pull in behind Richard and receive more kick backs and cast offs.
Finally the car gets past and I am not to far behind. But in the wet conditions I find it truely hard to let loss and my fingers are covering the brakes and I dont push on as hard as I could.

The excitment is over the bottom looms and the road home is short and sweet, no hicup or onything th divulge.
Another cycle, all be it short at 20 miles, it has been done.