Musselburgh 10K and Nairn's Hill Race

A quick update of the weekend's races. Saturday started off with the Musselburgh 10km. I headed down there with fellow EYW Gareth, and a handful of other CAACers. Sunny morning, perfect conditions for a run. The course went out along the coast, with beautiful views back along to Edinburgh and ahead to Berwick Law. I head out trying to run each kilometre in 4:15 to try and get a sub 43min, but it wasn't to be. Final time of 43min45sec.

Not much time for the legs to recover before the Nairn's Hill Race on Sunday. This hill race was set up as part of The Gathering http://www.clangathering.org/ ; the world's largest clan meeting and Highland Games. The course involved running 2 laps of a quite challenging course around Holyrood Park. This was my first taste of hill running, and although as I was running round I swore I would not be making a habit of hill racing, on reflection I actually quite enjoyed it! I learnt that running down steep sections of downhill is actually much harder work than going up hill, and my calf muscles are still making me aware of that fact 2 days later.

The weekend of races has been followed by 2 days of rest ready for the Tour of Fife (5 races in 5 days) which start tomorrow night. Almost as glam as the Tour de France, but not quite. Watch this space for full write up later on in the week.

Another 2 miler in the Meadows

I gave the 2 miler another go at the Meadows on Wednesday. Was hoping to dip under the 13 minute mark on this occassion. I went through the first lap in 6:21, which was quicker than the previous weeks. I was feeling strong. As I came into the final straight the time looked good so I gave it one last push to the line. Time: 12min55 secs. Position: 4th woman

Looking forward to a busy week of racing ahead - Musselburgh 10k tomorrow, Holyrood Hill race on Sunday, and the infamous Tour of Fife starting on Wednesday. Can't wait!

Meadows 2 miler

This was my second attempt at the Meadows Self Transcedence 2 mile race, and I'm glad to say it was a marked improvement on last time. I managed to take 22 seconds off. The improvement came in my ability to stick to the same pace on the second lap without slowing down lots. I felt strong and even managed a sprint finish with an HBT runner at the end. Anyone who's familiar with the HBT chants, will know it was a satisfying victory :-)

Time: 13:04 Position: 3rd

I'll be aiming for a sub 13 minutes next time!

Rocks, Hills and Gardens

It has been a good while since I've updated my blog, so I've done 3 races since the last entry.
The first was the Black Rock 5 taking place in Kinghorn, Fife. This was my first run at the event. It takes place on a Friday evening, everyone gets the train over to Kinghorn. The race starts near the village and after a brief spell on the road, moves onto the beach, all the way out to the 'Black Rock'. Depending on the tide, there is a certain amount of running through the water. I think this year was relatively tame, with it only coming up to my shins. Having just recovered from tonsilitis the week before I took this run easy, but the atmosphere was fantastic. I finished the run in 35min23s. The race finishes up a steep hill, but more importantly, outside a pub so you are handed a beer as soon as you cross the line. After a quick wipedown in wet wipes (nice) and a change of clothes it was off to the chippy for a fish supper and the pub for more beer. Then everyone piled onto the last train back to Edinburgh (complete with crates of beer!). A great event.
The next race was the Edinburgh Seven Hills on June 21st. Another new one for me, and equally as unique! This involved running over the seven hills of Edinburgh - Castle Hill, Corstorphine Hill, Craiglockart Hill, Braid Hill, Blackford Hill, Arthurs Seat and Carlton Hill. The hills must be run over in this order, but the way in which you get there is up to you, i.e. there are no marshals. However, this does not include getting the bus as an option! haha! The route is just under 15 miles in total. I'd done a few recce runs in the weeks before and had actually walked the entire route beforehand too so I was sure not to get lost. I absolutely loved it, and enjoyed watching all the confused tourists and pedestrians wondering what was going on with all these runners taking over the streets. I felt good the majority of the way round, only really struggling after I came down Arthurs Seat. Fortunately there was only one hill left at this point! I finished in a time of 2hrs34:13 which I was very pleased with.
Finally, and much more recently, last night I competed in the JogScotland 5km Challenge in the Botanic Gardens. I'd not really been to the gardens before, and it's usually out of bounds to runners. I entered race 2 of the evening. Got round in 20:47, only 7 seconds off my PB, and managed 2nd female so as well as the great goody bag I also got a Run4It prize bag including a buff, Puma bag, water bottle and jelly beans. Really enjoyed it!
So a few races done this summer and lots more to come....Musselburgh 10k will possibly be the next one, followed by the Tour of Fife, Berlin 10k and the Glasgow half marathon! A few more Munros to be ticked off in the next few weeks too. Ben Lomond this Sunday - number 40.