My t-shirt has a picture of a vinyl record on it. It was an amusing discussion with my seven year old Godson and his little brother trying to tell them what a record actually is; “like a world record?” was their only reply… Their dad finally came up with “like a big CD made from black plastic”. We left it at that, and went back to playing Mario Kart. Kids, eh. 
Thank you to everyone who has contacted me to ask if I’m safe: I’m not running the Original Mountain Marathon this weekend, and am at home in Edinburgh (it’s Hazel’s birthday, otherwise…). The competitors are hardy souls, with a full shelter (tent, sleeping bag) and food (stove, supplies) on their backs, in addition to many years on hills and mountains. I’m sending my very best thoughts to everyone down there, and watching SleepMonsters for the latest information.
On behalf of my running partner at work … if you’re looking for a fun arts and crafts class for pre-school kids in Dunfermline, then check out Doodle and Splat.
Amazingly, my online ballot application made it through the filter to get into the line-up. Now to decide whether I can face it or not…
In case you wonder what I’ve been up to over the last few weeks(!), there’s been a lot of outdoor activity. A few weekends ago (just think back to the last REALLY wet weekend) was the ACE Race (report here) down in the Borders. That was a lot of fun, although hard going, especially with the weather.
Last weekend was the Edinburgh Rat Race, my third time doing it. I raced with Julien and Gunilla, whom I’d met at the ACE Race, and we made a good team. After finishing 72nd after the Saturday night prologue, we had a very steady day on Sunday finishing 35th (out of 130 teams), and one of only 50 to clear the course. Our overall position of 41st/130 was well earned after 10 elapsed hours of racing. There’s a full report of that race, including a nice picture of the steel ladder I climbed to the roof of the Edinburgh International Climbing Arena, over here.
The steel ladder was tough going, and about 20 rungs from the top I had run out of energy, but there was a reserve somewhere. As well as that, my highlights were kayaking in the Forth, especially the return leg with waves crashing over the bow … and then the knee-deep mud at the slipway, jumping into the murky water of the quary and rocking around the orienteeting sections much more easily than ever before.
Next up: the Wan Dae Pentlands race and then the ACE Race in the Lakes.
last.fm
del.icio.us
