Buchlyvie Half Marathon

It's been a couple of weeks since my last blog update. Since then I've been upping the miles a bit, reaching a weekly total of 32.5 miles the week before last. However, the slight increase in miles caused a temporary Achilles heel problem after last Sunday's 11 mile run. I therefore mostly rested it this week, with only swimming and one short run before today's race - The Buchlyvie Half Marathon.

Buchlyvie is a small village near Stirling, the race entry therefore quite small at only 250 runners. The conditions today were perfect for running. Sunny and cool (but not too cold). A proper crisp winter's day. The course itself was an out and back course, following a disused railway line, meaning that it was also flat! A beautiful course, mostly off-road and through woodland, especially nice this time of year with the autumnal leaves. I felt good throughout, average sub 8 minute miles all the way round. I tried to run at a consistent pace and felt strong over the last few miles picking off as many of the other runners as I could. The Achilles heel problem seemed to have disappeared, although my knee (which I've had problems with before) was making itself known in the last couple of miles. Nothing a quick trip to the chiropractor won't sort out! I was aiming to run under 1hr 45mins. I finished in a time of 1hr42min35s, so was very pleased. The last half a mile of the race was round a very muddy field, felt more like a XC than a road race! I was grateful to be handed a nice chunky medal and food goody bag at the finish. I'm pleased to say, the marathon training is on track!!