Dreaming of a White... Easter?!

Edinburgh for Easter and an early start to good friday to make the 8am train up there. Nice sunny day to go with it and show off the English countryside, nuclear power station and all. Despite this there was much that seemed to still be untouched in parts or at least look like it had been around for centuries.

After a brief walk through the city it was back to Charity’s place for a cruisey indoor arvo and evening thanks to the weather being less than hospitable. It had turned at around the same time I reached Newcastle and I’d come into Edinburgh to rain with the weekend high of 5C. Dinner and a dvd it was.

Saturday and Charity had a client to see, so for me it was back to marathon training with a 25km run through the Pentland Hills (above right) and Penicuik. Some seriously nice countryside despite the cold and the nice arctic wind that was blowing for most of it. But, there was at least one point that had me thinking I was in the opening credits to the tv show All Creatures Great and Small.
Shortly after this on the return journey back to Edinburgh it began to snow. Not hard nor in great bulk, but enough to know it was snowing and to have to wipe it from my eyelashes every now and again. That cold wind came back with a vengeance in the last few K’s and really had me wondering why people would live in such a place. I guess as kids, they didn’t get the choice...
Chalking up 25kms and nearly 2 and a half hours running without injury is a major confidence booster after all the injury and cold issues. The flipside however, is that on the day of the marathon, I’ll need to add about another 2hours to that effort...
Unfortunately, Charity's client cancelled on her at the last minute - not good!

Saturday afternoon was spent along the Royal Mile (left), poking through some of the shops and side alleys. We just missed out on doing the Mary King's Close tour that evening. So we booked into one of the Sunday tours and continued on our way. We ended up in a small bar for a pint of guinness and some entertainment thanks to the guy with the guitar and the mike. He was quite good too.
Once he finished we headed out into the cold evening to locate somewhere to eat. While cutting up an alley to get back to a main street, we discovered a small dual level restaurant. Nice little spot, good food, lovely company and a cruisey ambiance - well, it was til a table of 10 aussies came in, stupidly making the statement that it wasn’t easy to hear the person opposite without realising that it was his group making all the noise...

A slow start to Sunday, and perched at the top front of the double decker bus like obvious tourists taking in the world, we made our way to our tour of Mary King Close. It’s a tour into the bowels of Edinburgh during medieval times and what it was like hundreds of years ago before the council chambers (right) were built over the top of it. The close itself is actually the original 'street' that is about four storeys down to the original ground level. Quite a good tour, with an enthusiastic guide who seemed to be enjoying himself by making members of the tour jump or react at certain parts of the tour. Alas, no photographs allowed, and no ghosts made an appearance as touted as being likely. Oh well, plenty of other haunted tours to do next time...
After passing by the council chambers that were built over Mary King's Close (see pic on the right), the nearby Filling Station was dinner after the tour - an American styled diner/restaurant/bar. Good value for £ and at least it was warmer than outside.

No bank holiday for Edinburgh on Monday, so Charity had to work, but at least not til midday, so a cruisey morning it was to pack and make our way into the city. On the walk to the train station, it began to snow again. If you click on the pic on the left, you may be able to see some of the snow once the pic enlarges...


Let it snow, let it snow...

Pounding the Pavement

What was I saying about watching the sun come up in the morning? Talk about shot my mouth off this weekend - cloud, drizzle and rain all the way...
Thanks to our dodgy landlord having not registered this address (so he doesn’t have to pay council tax and other things) my attempt on Saturday to get mobile internet failed as our address wasn’t on their database. It’s been the same deal with trying to get a phone line put in for a landline phone, cable tv and home internet...

Anyway, Sunday morning and another long run to do. Since the knee issues that started in Jan, I’ve not done a run over 2hrs until this today’s. 2hrs 15mins all up and only 2kms more than the half marathon the other week. I’ve been told that the atmosphere and crowd along the London marathon route will ‘carry’ you for much of the marathon. I now know that this is what happened back in Reading for the half marathon, because today’s run was much harder to cover just over the same distance in just over 20minutes more. Then again, 20+knot winds and constant rain may have had something to do with it too - I’m hoping that the weather’s much kinder for the main event!!
Everything’s still intact this time, which is a plus, even if it just aches at the moment. It’s funny... getting the muscles through it has been fine and cardio fitness isn’t an issue, but to get the joints (well, mostly one main one) through it is a different matter.
With only four weeks left til the Marathon, I could be looking at a very LONG second half of it unless I can get in some good niggle free long runs in the next two weekends.

And because I know you’re in a generous mood today... http://www.justgiving.com/aussierunner

The Sun Does Shine Here

After a week of basically being sedentary, an early Friday night was definitely called for. A few knock off drinks with the work crew and that was shot to hell pretty quickly. And I’m told that our Kangaroo Rat isn’t a marsupial - drunk English aren’t too bright it seems.
I got home around midnight, and Saturday was a slow start...

Sunday morning, the sun up and a pleasant hour and a half run ticked the box for easing back into training. The afternoon then belonged to football and the visit of West Ham to White Hart Lane. You may recall my earlier post ‘West Ham Away’, well this time it was the turn of the West Ham fans to be marched to the ground by the cops.
A beer before the game, seated next to the BBC cameraman in the front row of the upper stand and the arvo was looking good.
Within 11minutes of the start Spurs were two goals up, (see the pic below) and the west ham fans were singing “We’re gonna lose four nil”. Having lost their last two games 4-0, you couldn’t say they didn’t have a sense of humour, and we duely applauded them.
Before half time they were singing “You’re sh*t if you don’t score 4”, as not only had one of their players been sent off, but Tottenham had had a few misses that could well have made the score 4-0!
Early in the second half and Spurs third goal was scored. This time it was our turn to sing “You’re gonna lose 4 nil!”. To which their lot clapped us. Clearly losing interest in the game, they were soon taunting one of the stewards whose job it was to get people to sit down. Poor sod had no luck with getting them to sit, and foolishly showed them five fingers when they were singing “two pounds an hour! You get two pounds an hour”. He was moved to another section of the ground, which prompted a chant of “sacked in the morning! You’ll be sacked in the morning”. A little later and there was a fight amongst the west ham fans - rather funny to see them fighting themselves and the ensuing fracas with the cops.
Tottenham’s fourth goal brought our attention back to the game and that the Spammer fans had predicted the 4-0 scoreline correctly. Quite an entertaining day all up, and the game wasn’t half bad either!!
Over a hundred years of football and the English fans know how to create a top atmosphere. Unfortunately, a hundred years of Aussie rules/AFL and still the best they can do is “Bombers! [clap clap clap] Bombers!”.
Anyway, it made for an interesting Monday morning - the boss is a West Ham supporter...

It’s been pretty much back to normal this week. Nice to be back on the bike after just over a week off bussing it to and from work. A run along the Thames at Friday lunchtime with a group from work was good fun in the intermittent sunshine. But Friday night was the same “mistake” as last Friday...
The best part of the week? Easy - watching the sun come up during 6am runs!!

Four weekends left til the Marathon. The pack arrived this week with all the info about the event, starting zones, race number and how to register at the expo in the days before it. Unfortunately, you can’t cram for a sporting event, so it’s just a matter of continue as you go - knowing that I’ll be underdone for the event for my target time. Then again, after the Reading half marathon the other week, anything’s possible...
As for the £1,000 I still need to raise for the Spinal Injuries Association... http://www.justgiving.com/aussierunner

Surprises

With my voice eventually returning properly by Wednesday, the joys of the weekend at Wembley had to come to an end. Tuesday’s mailbox presented an electricity bill of nearly £1,800 and the news that an electricity company was going to get a warrant to break-in and turn off our electricity! Somewhat of a surprise for our first electricity bill since moving here... A quick phone call and I discovered a couple of things - 1) the bill went back to 2003, and 2) that they had the wrong meter and address. Phew!!

So, that solved, Thursday arrived with the return of Charity from Edinburgh and what turned out to be a pretty good couple of days. Friday night we caught up with Marty n Karyn Cairney again (and that should give you a google hit there Karyn!). Brick Lane was our destination after meeting up in one of Liverpool street station’s pubs. We made our way there to be offered tables at restaurants all claiming to be either restaurant of the year or to have the chef of the year. 20% off the bill and a free round of drinks was the best offer, so that became our restaurant of choice. Excellent food, somewhat interesting service and a nice surprise awaited inside. At the end of our meal, Charity, who had somehow managed to not only find the cake you see in the pic, but also to smuggle it in, produced the cake and musical candle to go with it. (It played Happy Birthday, not the theme to Doctor Who).
The evening finished off in a cafe in Spitifields indulging in some rather decadent hot chocolates.

After a fairly cruisey Saturday spending some time in the shops up the High Rd, came Sunday and the Reading Half Marathon. With a sore throat on the Saturday morning making me question whether or not to even run, on top of the fracas of a training schedule brought about by the issues with my knee, I wasn’t particularly confident in doing well. In fact my original plan of properly racing this half marathon and trying to break 1 hour 50mins was pretty much out the window - as was doing it in less than 2hours. I would be happy just to finish in one piece with no injury or other health issues.
We left home just before 6am to get the bus to waterloo before then getting a train to Reading. From there it was a free shuttle bus to the Madjeski stadium, joining 17,000 other runners and their friends, family and supporters. At least the sun came out for the early part of the event, even if it didn’t do much about the cold wind...
In the starting “street” were all sorts of folks, and I don’t just mean runners of all ages and sizes. I started next to two people in a camel suit! (you can see my white cap just by its head) Pink Panthers, gorillas, Mr Men and also sorts of creatures were out in force amongst what turned out to be the best atmosphere I’ve experienced at such an event. It seemed that most of the town were out along the course for this one, happy to cheer people on or donate to the collection buckets carried by those costumed folks, or even be offering jelly babies and other sugary lollies. I can also recall about 4 or 5 bands along the course as it wound its way through the township, playing all manner of tunes from Tequila to the Great Escape. Even my ipod chimed in by timing some songs at what seemed to be just the right time as well.
Entering the Madjeski stadium for the end of the run was something else. It may not have been full of spectators, but those that were there gave you quite a lift. All this combined to make this the most enjoyable run I think I’ve ever done with the added bonus of finishing with a time of 1:51:58!
With medal and goody bags collected, it was lunch in the stands watching others finish, before heading back to London and a quiet arvo and evening.

With a BIG Thankyou to Charity for coming along and doing all that she did on the day!

I’m feeling far more confident about the London Marathon now, but there’s still several weeks to go til I get there and that sore throat came back with a vengeance on the Monday night to leave me with a bad cold and unable to train all this week!

http://www.justgiving.com/aussierunner