Tag: trail

Weekly Workouts

Weekly Workouts

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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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Last week I was on leave, and the weather was just gorgeous. That meant I could enjoy some lovely early autumnal runs during the day, taking my time to make the most of them. I was conscious that I didn’t want to do too much, as I could easily have run every day!

Monday- I had a lovely, relaxed weekend and so headed out on Monday morning feeling refreshed. My initial plan was to run somewhere between 5k and 10k, depending on how I felt. I headed to the trails around Torinturk and set off, listening to podcasts. I was running well, and so I actually had to rein myself back from running too far, especially as it was warm and sunny – and I wasn’t carrying any water. So I turned around at 4 miles, making for a fab 8 mile-ish run.

Distance: 8.16 miles

Time: 1h 32m 47s

Pace: 11.22/m

Elevation: 908 ft

Wednesday- I wanted to keep my run a little shorter after Monday, and so I thought I’d mix things up with a little road run around the harbour which I hadn’t done for a while. It was just lovely!

Distance: 4.09 miles

Time: 45m 4s

Pace: 11.00/m

Elevation: 66 feet

Friday- another gorgeous trail run! This time I headed to the trails around Cour wind farm, which I hadn’t done for a while. It was another beautiful and sunny day, and again I felt that I could have run on for longer. When i got back home I was a little annoyed with myself- I had turned around just before Loch Ciaran, and I hadn’t realised! Oh well, next time!

Distance: 7.13 miles

Time: 1h 22m 37s

Pace: 11.35/m

Elevation: 651ft

All in all, it was a fab week of running!

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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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:

Wednesday Wisdom

Wednesday Wisdom

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This week I’m really looking forward to getting back to classes, doing some cross training, strength and conditioning- and stretching.

Last week was mostly filled with running, which I’ve been thoroughly enjoying for the past few weeks. I’ve also been eating well most of the time. All this running has made me so hungry!

Here’s how my week went:

Monday: I started off my week with a rest day, making it a record two test days in a row, to keep my hip niggle at bay. I definitely felt the better for it.

Tuesday: I had a lunchtime trail run, by myself as I couldn’t make it later in the week when Alison and Morag has arranged to run. I struggled- my legs were heavy and I didn’t make it all the way up the hill this time without walking. No matter, I enjoyed it anyway!

Wednesday: the weather was absolutely awful, but I went along to JogScotland ready to run. They were short of leaders, so Alison, Gordon and I headed off ourselves, doing a 10 min warm up, lamp post sprints and then a 10 min cool down. We were soaked, but it was amazing!

Thursday: I only had a short window of time to run on Thursday, so I managed to get a quick run done around the harbour.

Friday: it was time for a long, slow run, and as I had a day off that was my plan. But another storm was making its way through, and the wind was ferocious! I was also pelted by hail stones, so it was not the most enjoyable 8 miler I’d ever run.

We’ve had an off-track weekend, I was away in Glasgow on Saturday and when I got home I met TheWelshWookie in the pub, celebrating the Six Nations wins. We may have also gone out for dinner 🤷🏼‍♀️

Here’s your motivation for this coming week:

Make every mile count!

Monday Motivation

Monday Motivation

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What a week!

March is off to a flying start, though I wasn’t to happy to see ice and snow yesterday ❄️, I wonder if that will be the last of it for this spring?

Fortunately yesterday was a rest day for me so it didn’t affect my training. You might remember that I finished up the previous week with a 10 mile recce run, so I did head into the new week with a touch of DOMs. Here’s how the past week stacked up:

Monday: we had no classes this week, so I knew I could focus on some running to improve my stamina and build up some mileage without overdoing it. I headed out at dusk to do a recovery run, with no fixed distance in mind. I ran a steady 4 miles, my legs actually felt great afterwards.

Tuesday: I headed out at lunchtime with Alison and Morag for a trail run. Despite the long trail run on Sunday I coped fine with the big hill, so I was really pleased!

Wednesday: Jog Scotland session, and this week we did another 10 minute warm up, 10 minute weave run and 10 minute cool down. It always passes so quickly!

Thursday: 5 days of running in a row- a bit of a run streak for me! Again, I only planned a steady recovery run after Tuesday and Wednesday. I did just over 4 miles and captured the most beautiful pink sky as the sun began to set.

Friday: I forced myself to have a rest day, though I did want to run. Instead I spent some time doing some trigger point pilates at home to help ease out my fascia and muscles. I did feel good afterwards.

Saturday: I had a meeting in the morning, but I was keen to get a long slow run under my belt. But after a days rest and some repair work my legs felt tired, and my piriformis was niggling a little so I listened to my body and cut my run short from the planned 7 miles, finishing up at 4 miles again. I’m happy with that- I’ve been consistent but running a lot and I know I might just be edging it too much. I’ll cut back the number of runs I’m doing in the next week.

I did spend some time stretching and doing some more TPP too.

Sunday: I took my own advice and had another rest day. My body will thank me for it, I’m sure. But when I saw this picture, it did tempt me a little to lace up- but I resisted….

Have a wonderful week!

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: