Tag: hills

Weekly Workouts

Weekly Workouts

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Well the Great Solo Run Hallowe’en Accumulator is well and truly underway, and over the last week I got some solid runs in, although some have been rather short. But they have indeed been sweet!

My running motivation remains high and I’m feeling that my trail running is continuing to improve, and I want to make sure that I continue that during the winter months. First up is a need to test out my head torch, so that’s on my list for the coming week. Here’s how last week worked out for me.

Monday-

A lunchtime trail run at Kilmory which I have missed! Of course I didn’t have any company from the usual crew, but I had a chance to get out and so I took it. I skipped the run around Kilmory Loch as I’m always a little worried about slipping on the rocks when I’m on my own, but I did tackle the hill which has not gotten any easier! It felt good to start the week with this run under my belt.

Distance: 2.7 miles

Time: 31m 13s

Pace: 11.32/m

Elevation: 395ft

Thursday-

After a couple of incredibly busy days that meant I wasn’t able to squeeze in any running I was looking forward to hitting the trails. I managed to get out slightly earlier than I thought I might and so was able to get in over 4 miles for the first time in a good few days. Loved it!

Distance: 4.2 miles, though Strava thought it was 4.64 miles

Time: 45m 8s

Pace: 9.43/m according to Strava. Doubt it!

Elevation: 497ft

Friday –

I had just enough time at lunchtime to squeeze in a short 30 minute run, and somehow I managed to dodger the torrential downpours! Result!

I did get a little wet at the end of my run, but it wasn’t too bad at all. First run around the harbour for a couple of weeks!

Distance: 2.9 miles

Time: 29m 46s

Pace: 10.15/m

Elevation: 66ft

I also managed a live fitness class with Jacqui on Friday evening which was a real bonus!

Sunday-

First long run for some time. I had some company for a chance which is now very rare so we had a lovely socially distanced run, starting in Clachan we made our way into the Kintyre Way, which after the autumnal rain was really, really boggy and muddy, with some sections almost like swimming pools! 🤣I think we’ll need to stick to forestry tracks for the remainder of autumn and winter now. The views, however, made it all worthwhile, and it was really fun to splash and slide about in the mud- there wasn’t too much running at this section! We then ran past Loch Ciaran, and rather than joining the Cour windfarm road right away we added in a loop which gave us some spectacular views over to Jura.

It was a stunning autumn day, and just perfect for an early morning trail run. Days like these really remind me how lucky we are to have all of these trails and forestry roads so, so handy.

Distance: 9.75 miles

Time: 2h 3m 41s

Pace: 12.41/m

Elevation: 1,078ft

Let’s see what this week brings!

Weekly Workouts

Weekly Workouts

by TartanJogger ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

Last week was quite a change from the week before, when I enjoyed a few longer runs. Being back at work meant that I didn’t have the luxury of running when I most wanted to, and my runs were all a good deal shorter than the previous week. But I did have a lovely, enjoyable week of runs.

I also signed up for the Great Run Solo- Hallowe’en Accumulator, which calls for participants to do 15 runs of any distance throughout the month of October. So far, so good!

Monday-

It was a public holiday here, and so I had another sneaky day off before going back to work. I started the week with a lovely, sunny trail run out above Torinturk on the timber route. The colours are definitely changing, as early autumn makes itself seen!

Distance: 4.09 miles

Time: 47m 59s

Pace: 11.43/m

Elevation: 364ft

Tuesday-

Back to work, and I was home later than planned, so I was a little worried that it would be too dark to run on a trail by myself. Instead, The Welsh Wookie and I went for a walk, exploring the trail on the other side of the road from Monday’s run at Achaglagach. It was dark by the time we got back to the car, so I made the right call.

Distance: 2.56 miles

Time: 50m 54s

Elevation: 258ft

Thursday- GRS Hallowe’en Accumulator 1/15

I started my accumulator challenge with an evening 5k. Again, I got home later than planned, so didn’t want to push the distance too far. I’ll be fine running in the dark, but I need to check my head torch and leg torch to check they are working ok. It was a lovely evening to start a new challenge!

Distance 3.3 miles (Strava said 3.94 but that’s not accurate!)

Time: 34m 4s

Pace: 10.12/m

Elevation: 468ft

Friday- GRS Hallow’en Accumulator 2/15

I managed to head out for a lunchtime run, for the first time in weeks! It was just what I needed and I really need to find time to build in more lunchtime runs, making the most of daylight. As I was working from home I opted for a short road run to the West Loch, but I added in Carrick Hill.

Distance: 3.22 miles

Time: 33m 3s

Pace: 10.15/m

Elevation: 509ft

Sunday- GRS Hallowe’en Accumulator 3/15

My original plan was to get in a longer run, somewhere between 6-8 miles but when I got up my back and knee were a little niggly. I don’t want to take any risks now that I’m committed to the accumulator runs so instead I decided to head to Cour wind farm and have a little fun with a 5k. It was really wet and rainy, so I deliberately ignored any focus on pace and just enjoyed my run.

Distance: 3.32 miles

Time: 39m 21s

Pace: 11.51/m

Elevation: 488ft

Not quite the strong finish to the week I had planned, but it’s been a solid couple of weeks so I’m pretty happy with that. I think I’ll be taking it easy again this week, seeing how the back and knee hold up. Have a great week!

Weekly Workouts

Weekly Workouts

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Now that I’ve restarted blogging after a hiatus driven by boredom and a lack of clarity around the blogs’ direction, I’m thinking I should really include some running content again.

I’ll perhaps do a race review of the Kintyre Way Ultra Relay soon, but for now I’m going to share my weekly runs and other workouts, when I fit those in. Jacqui has moved her fitness classes all online, and we now have an amazing catalogue of 100+ workouts to tap into, across a really broad range of sessions. More on that another time too.

For now, here’s a summary of last week’s sessions, though there’s nothing spectacular to report on. Only two runs, but both were solid and enjoyable.

Monday- run to the West Loch and back. Lovely weather, and it was my first road run down that way for a few weeks. I also tackled the hill up to Carrick Cemetery just to keep it challenging.

Distance: 3.18 miles

Time: 36m 4s

Pace: 11.20/mile

Elevation: 214 feet

Wednesday- back on the trails at the Timber Route, out behind Torinturk. It was a tough day, and I couldn’t really be bothered lacing up, but I was so glad I did. I absolutely loved it!

Distance: 4.11 miles

Time: 47m 26s

Pace: 11.31/mile

Elevation: 497 feet

Friday- 5k walk along the harbour in glorious sunshine

Saturday- 5 mile walk

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Last week was a good ‘un. I had a solid week both in terms of fitness and eating well, and I had some fun along the way!

Here’s how it all worked out:

Monday: run. Hill repeats with some of the Jog Scotland crew- something is never do by myself. A great start to the week

Tuesday: walk. I was too late for classes😏

Wednesday: Jog Scotland Easy Run

Thursday: lunchtime hill run, followed by a fantastic PiYo Class in the evening

Friday: at home PiYo and a walk

Saturday: a walk around Glasgow’s West End

Sunday: a walk around the village

I didn’t manage to fit in a long run, and although I felt like I’d missed out at the time my legs today have definitely felt the benefit of three days without running. I went for a 10k morning run and I felt strong. I also managed my fastest 5k and 10k time in well over a year, including a sub 30 minute 5k. Yay!

We’re just over three weeks away from the Glen Scotia Marathon relay and we’ve just agreed who is running which section. It’s getting exciting!

My running mojo has been great recently, and I think today has helped to reinforce that too 👍🏻 But I know that can be a fragile thing, so here’s some motivation whether you are on a running high- or low:

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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What a quick week! This summer is flying by, and I’m not achieving as much this summer as I had planned. I’ll have to keep pushing through the early part of August before schools are back.

In terms of eating well I’ve had a pretty strong week, and I’ve run more miles than I had scheduled. Woo hoo! Here’s how my plan worked out last week:

Monday: a lovely long walk around the harbour

Tuesday: an evening run. It was warm and sunny- I set out to do 5k and managed slightly more, bagging 3.6 miles.

Wednesday: Jog Scotland Run- we headed out the Kilberry road and did a hill which was good. It was another warm run, and we clocked up 3.4 miles

Thursday: back to class! We started a new round of PiYo and it was so good to be back. I’m already loving the second Flow track – it’s shaping up to be a good round!

Friday: I was in the office all day so I headed out for a solo lunchtime trail run. Again, it was hot and my legs felt tired. But I did 2.8 miles so I was happy enough with that.

Saturday: I was up earlier than usual as we’d arranged with some Jog Scotland members to run at Freasdail wind farm. We walked up the first hill and had a fab morning exploring around the wind turbines. I’ll definitely be back soon to try out some routes to increase the mileage. We had planned to do around 4.5 miles and actually did 5.5 miles. Not bad! It was my longest run in a while, since my knee injury.

Sunday: I took a well earned rest day 👍🏻

Here’s to another positive and strong week. Let’s keep everything in balance:

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Hello everyone!

I’m still banned from activity, especially running, but I did get the stitches in my knee out last Thursday, after a long 12 days. So, I’m on the mend!

I had been training for the Kintyre Way Relay which took place on Saturday, and what a brilliant day it was. I couldn’t be more proud of my team: Alison and Morag were superb and ran amazing times on such a warm and sunny day. TheWelshWookie was a star, too, stepping in for me at such short notice. Well done team JAMathon!

I’d also like to give special mention to all of the Ultra runners who did all 32.8 miles, especially Gordon, Kathleen and Lorraine. Very well done! 👏🏻

While they were running I was busy scoping out our next challenge 😉

The Kintyre Way Relay was so well organised and such a fun and friendly event that I would highly recommend it either as an Ultra or as a relay.

I’ll be taking a short break away from my blog, as we’re off on holiday. I’ll be back in early June, no doubt refreshed- and I hope by then I’ll be back running again!

Until then, follow me on Instagram and Twitter @TartanJogger for regular updates.

Here’s your motivation until I’m back:

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Well, that was some week! I’ve been away at the lovely Heythrop Park for work, so I’ve missed some classes but I’ve run in some new places, so there’s a pay off. I’ve also been dealing with a cold, which has improved as the week progressed, thankfully. Here’s how my week worked out.

Monday: after Sunday’s 10k I was still a little tired, but very much looking forward to Core Conditioning. Due to ongoing roadworks we had only one class but it was a good one. I definitely felt that I had made progress and felt a little stronger. Happy!

Tuesday: the roadworks were still playing havoc with class plans so again instead of two classes, we had one – Sculpt. I moved up the intensity of my bands and it was tough! But again, for the second night I felt like I was progressing. As we didn’t have TPP I did some myself when I got home just to keep the niggles under control.

Wednesday: we kicked off Jog Scotland’s new block with a 35 minute run. The training is a little different this time around as we’re doing the 10k training programme for those running the Mull of Kintyre 10k in late May. I’m happy to go with it as each week we’ll be building distance. We saw a stunning double rainbow on what what a lovely evening!

Thursday: a full day of traveling meant that I had no time for meaningful exercise but I did fit in a short walk before the CEDAbond dinner and awards. It was a good night of networking.

Friday: I was up at 6am for an early run around the grounds at Heythrop Park before a full day’s conference. I saw the sun rise and I had the grounds to myself. I did keep stopping to take photos as the sky was stunning.

Saturday: after the previous evening’s gala dinner and awards I was still up early for another run exploring the grounds before leaving. I headed in a different direction and came upon the most amazing hill- so I just had to run up it!

Afterwards, we headed to do some shopping at Bicester Village before we drove home.

Sunday: knowing that the Birmingham Half Marathon was a week away I wanted to get a final decent LSR done, but not one that was too long. I headed out planning on doing something like 8 miles. It was a tough run, but by 10k I was feeling ok so pushed it a little. I did 9 miles at a surprisingly decent pace.

All in all, I’m happy with that. Week one of my 5×50 Challenge is done, and I’m looking forward to seeing what next week brings. I’m away again to another conference this week, heading off to South Wales on Wednesday, but on the way back we’re diverting for a couple of reasons, including the Birmingham Half Marathon.

If you’re struggling to get out there, here’s your motivation for this week:

Make it a good one!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Today’s blog post is brought to you with DOMS! Having DOMS is always a good thing, it’s a sign of regeneration & recovery and it acts as a good reminder that I’ve been working hard!

Have you sprung into spring? I certainly have. I finished February strong and feel ready to take on the rest of this fresh new season. In the past week my eating and activity has been on track, though with our February challenge ending on Thursday I did have a couple of small celebrations. More on that in my round up! Here’s how my week went:

Monday: no class for me- I was travelling to Dunfermline for a seminar so I knew I wouldn’t make it to Core Conditioning and Veraflow. Instead, I packed my running gear and headed out for 5k as soon as we arrived at the hotel.

Tuesday: with a full day planned I knew I’d struggle to get back in time for Sculpt and Trigger Point Pilates, so I was up early and headed out for an early morning run, something that is very unusual for me! I don’t love running in the morning but I’ll make myself do it when needs must. I ran for time- making sure I got in 30 minutes.

The sunrise was beautiful!

Wednesday: more running! This time it was our weekly Jog Scotland session. Our group did 10 minute warm up, 20 minute tempo run, 10 minute cool down. It was ace! Very pleased with our average pace!

Thursday: I was back on my mat- hooray! Back to my favourite class, PiYo. I felt really good, and strong. I worked really hard on the lower body section and I found the challenging core section not too bad. Making progress!

Thursday was also the end of our Feel Good February challenge, and I pretty much stayed on track for the whole month.

Friday: I found a short window of time to head out for a quick lunchtime trail run. I skipped out Kilmory Loch and headed straight up the hill instead. For the second time, I managed it without stopping and I ventured a little beyond the top of the hill. I was absolutely stunned when I got back to the office and discovered my time- I was one happy runner!

To celebrate this and the end of our February challenge I did have a couple of squares of tablet in the evening- it was lovely, but so sweet when you haven’t had sugary sweets for a while!

Saturday: rest. I had Clarsach class in the morning, and the afternoon was a busy one in Oban. We did get a good walk in while we were there.

Sunday: this was our first big recce run in preparation for the Kintyre Way Relay. We decided to run the final section first, taking us from Skipness back to Tarbert, a distance of 10 hilly miles. Our plan was to do this as a run/walk as we still have 10 weeks to go until race day. The weather was kind, and the company was great! Morag, Alison and I set off with Kathleen, Gordon and Amanda too.

I think we did really well- our pace was fine and included several photo stops. It’s the longest run I’d done in at least 18 months so I was very pleased with it. We did it in 2 hours, 20 minutes and our elevation gain was over 1,500 feet. Not bad!

Tony made a lovely omelette to refuel for lunch, after a dip in the hot tub, and in the afternoon I treated myself to one beer. I really enjoyed this bad boy:

Today I’m feeling good after it- my legs are feeling ok, I have some core DOMS no doubt from the rugged terrain.

My mileage has increased from 18.1 miles the previous week to 21.8 miles last week. It will probably drop a little this week as The longest run I have planned is 7 miles.

We’re also back on track with our new month’s challenge, so my eating and exercise goals have been refreshed and ready to see me through March.

Here’s today’s motivation:

My plan is to get more miles in this week. Hope about you?

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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Did you enjoy the mild weather last week? I certainly did. I made the most of it while it was mild and dry – it was perfect running weather.

We had no classes last week as Jacqui was recovering from a nasty virus, so I pulled on my running shoes and got outside. All in all, I ran five times! I didn’t want to overdo it and cause any injuries so I tried to keep my runs structured and sensible. I also ate well and fuelled properly for a change instead of leaving my diet to chance. I also made sure that I stayed properly hydrated.

Here’s how my week went –

Monday: I planned to run 4 miles, but after my first kilometre I realised that I was running quite quickly (for me) so I changed my plan, deciding to do 5K, increasing my tempo as I ran. I did it, and really enjoyed it- and I was really pleased to see my time at the end of the run. It was a great start to the week!

Tuesday: my legs were feeling tired after Monday and probably after a busy weekend catching up on me so I took a rest day.

Wednesday: Jog Scotland run- we did hills in Tarbert which is something I struggle to do on my own. I really enjoyed it, though it was tough. It’s exactly the type of training session I needed.

Thursday: a slow recovery run. The Welsh Wookie headed out with me at the start of my run and did the first couple of miles before breaking off to do the remainder of his run at his own pace. I had wanted to do the 4 miles I had planned earlier in the week, but I forgot to change my watch from kilometres to miles so I ran 7K instead and enjoyed it.

Friday: our weekly lunchtime trail run was arranged for Friday and it was such a mild day! I reached a real milestone- I was able to run all of the way to the top of the hill without stopping. Woo hoo! I was so pleased, and very grateful to Alison and Morag for keeping me going!

Saturday: we had a busy day, helping out at Fèis and Tairbeirt. When we were finished I was keen to get out for another run. I didn’t want to push myself too far or too fast, I just wanted to go out and enjoy my run, which is exactly what I did. I kept my pace steady but slow and ran an easy 5 miles. I also wore capris for the first time this year!

Sunday: another rest day. As much as I could have run, I chose not to. I have a busy week ahead and wanted to be prepared and ready for it. I also did my food prep for the week so that I can keep on track as much as I can.

This sums up the past week for me, and I’m very grateful to have made the most of it:

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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How on earth did we reach the middle of February already? 2019, please slow down!

I’ve had a good week again, staying on track up to the weekend. Here’s a quick rundown of my activity for last week:

Monday: walk. I had a meeting in Glasgow and so I knew that I wasn’t going to make it to class. Instead, I was sure to get enough steps in for the day.

Tuesday: a triple activity day which made up for the day before – Alison and I had another lunchtime trail run. It was sunny and mild, and I made progress, running slightly farther up the hill than before.

In the evening I enjoyed Sculpt- I upped my resistance bands for every exercise and Jacqui upped some of the reps, so it was a real challenge. After, we had Trigger Point Pilates, working into shoulders in particular.

Wednesday: back to Jog Scotland- and we did lamp post sprints this week. 10 mins warm up jog, 10 mins sprints, 10 mins cool down. Loved it!

Thursday: it was Valentine’s Day but we still had class to go to! Jacqui ran a special PiYo Candlelight Flow class which was beautiful. And she had a rose for each of us to take home at the end, it was lovely! 🌹

Friday: It was an early start and a full on day in Edinburgh to see Les Miserables. I kept my eating on track but didn’t do much by way of exercise.

Saturday: we spent the day in Edinburgh, and while there we walked. A lot. One example – We walked through Prince St Gardens, then up the zig-zagging hill to Edinburgh Castle, then we walked the length of the Royal Mile to Holyrood Palace. And lots more besides!

Sunday: rest. Travelling home and getting organised for the week was my priority.

I was this pic on Reece Witherspoon’s Instagram during the week, and I really need to share it as today’s motivation:

Have a wonderful week!