As far as I’m aware, there is no manual for hill reps, you just make up a routine that totals 20 minutes, and hope you don’t lose anyone (well, not more than one, absolute tops).
Given it was dry and not windy, it seemed it was about time to make it a reps “journey” up Allermuir. It was a decent turn out for a Tuesday. Slightly belatedly I did a count, and found there were 11 of us.
Not quite remembering the recipe used by the ‘master’, aka Gordon, we set off on a 30, 60, 90 ladder, aiming to finish at the top after the 20 minutes were up. After each rep, the deal was for those at the front to come back to the second last runner.
Well, after 15 minutes we were all admiring the panorama plaque, and the only way was down. This was despite delaying tactics, resetting the time on my watch, and not blowing the right end of the ‘stop’ whistle a couple of times.
So now something else was needed. We invented a new rule: Down 1 minute, back up for 2, and circle back round again if you manage to do that. For the historical record, the algorithm to really make this work has to be way more nuanced.
Anyway, it did the trick, everyone was still there, and most showed off a bit of leg for the photo. It must be Spring.
Pete Cain