The sun was always somewhere else today...

I nearly lost my fingers taking these last 2 photos

It was very cold...

Weather man say big sun, no hat - but he lie! I went to the Pentlands to try to settle the problem of whether to enter the Carnethy 5 again this year, or whether that's just a recipe for pain and humiliation. It was pretty cold out there. There was a stiff wind in my face as I was coming up from the Balerno side. I hoped this meant I'd get blown all the way back but it didn't seem to work out that way.

The car park was full but there didn't seem to be a soul about. I passed 2 walkers on the way up the Drove road and a tight little pack of proper looking runners passed me going the other way, that was it. I later saw what was probably most of the car drivers in a natural crater at the foot of Carnethy, eating sandwiches and drinking tea. There were about 30 of them. I should have taken a photo but I couldn't keep stopping. Did I mention it was c-o-l-d out there?

I took the obligatory pictures of the lovely views, and it always seemed the sun was somewhere else. I thought this meant that sooner or later the sun would shine where I was and I would relax and think "ah, that's better!", but I thought wrong, it never happened.

I went up West Kip and East Kip, Scald Law and I was thinking about skipping Carnethy...but then...well it's only one more, so I slogged my way up Carnethy. It was bloody cold and windy up there. Nothing was lighting my "I want to run the Carnethy 5" fire. "Run" is a bit of a euphemism anyway, mostly slogging your guts out up unfeasibly steep hills with your feet slipping in the wet peat and your calves screaming...

I was glad to turn around and run back down. It was only when I was already half way down to the Howe that I remembered that the 10 mile route I had planned to do entails going back up Scald Law and then running down from the right hand side of East Kip to near the Howe, and along the path...oh well, too bad. 8.5 miles rather than 10.

I had driven most of the way from Balerno to Leith before my hands thawed out. And then I got in and had an eatathon.

Peter is down at the Green Mantle Dash with Michael G.

The jury's still out about the Carnethy 5. Looking at the site, though, it isn't fastest finger first anymore (it used to sell out in an hour or two from entries opening) - now you have to apply to enter the race and then someone somewhere judges you on an unknown criteria. Almost worth doing. Presumably we're all being watched on cameras and then "the public" votes us in or out and then Davina phones you up when you least expect it...

...now that I've eaten my fill I might take my duvet jacket and hat off and think about maybe stretching and going in the shower. It has been quite a nice mid-winter break really. It ends tomorrow.