I'm in Crump and the Berlingo is in the dog-house.

Wow, a lot has happened since I last wrote and I don't have much time. We will have to go word-lite, picture heavy.


Somewhere around last Tuesday, all round good-guy and lean, mean ultra-runner Roly McCraw "floated" the idea of an Arthur's Seat Marathon and Half Marathon Challenge. He had discovered that if you run 4 X round Arthur's Seat on the pavement it's pretty much exactly a half marathon - and 8 X round - well you've guessed it - it's the full marathon.  The idea was for runners to do solo attempts any time they like, any direction they like, and post proof from Garmins etc. All to be done by October 4th. Roly would collate the results and there would be medals, awards, honours and prizes. There are lots of age-group categories. I happened to have the next day free and it was billed to be sunny.

I dillied and dallied however. And dallied and dillied. So it was hot as the very blazes by the time I set off. Arthur's Seat was a bit mobbed. Particularly challenging were the bikes who doubtless have their own opinion about it but I think since the roads are emptier than ever before they don't need to go round and round the closed road of Arthur's Seat and they can fuck the fuck off. They also clearly thought me and everyone like me should also fuck the fuck off. The pavements were crowded. Without meaning to I cheated a bit, running up the road on the right hand side, away from the folk and under the shade of the trees - and the third and fourth time coming down the other side I ran on the grass rather than the pavement, which I didn't really want to do, but, again, the pavements were heaving and keeping the social distance would have meant stopping and walking at points. I took the whole thing super-slowly as all I really wanted to do was get a feel for it and put that amount of climbing in my legs, so I sent in some very messy homework to Roly - sending him a link for a 16.4 mile run that included 4 times round Arthur's Seat. It was so slow that I don't think anyone looked at the detail or if they did they just felt sorry for me, so I got away with not doing the pavements.
Roly said well done and would I mind taking a guess at what the hell my actual half marathon time was. I think it was about 2 hrs 18 minutes, which I intend to beat.

Since then there is a ground swell of interest and some quite impressive half marathon times have been set. Roy Buchanan ran an absolutely storming 1h 39mins in very windy weather but hadn't looked at the detail so didn't do the pavements, for the same reasons I didn't.

Part of the challenge is going to be finding a time when the Seat is empty enough. Nick Williamson took the interesting tack of running it at 3am. Admirable, but I don't fancy it tbh.

If you think you'd like to have a shot at this join the facebook group and declare your interest.

The 'Math' was getting more difficult at this point.

On the 4th one I genuinely went through a period of thinking maybe I was only on my 3rd. The fact I'd done this finger thing was what helped me figure it out. It was pretty hot and everything was wobbling about. (Except my bottom. Shut up.)

If it gets any more popular we should maybe actually help Roly.

Anyway. I knew I had Monday off as I booked it off work 1000 years ago when I still believed there might be an Edinburgh Marathon on the 24th of May. I had predicted that I would have sore legs and possibly even a hang-over and that it might be nice to be off. Well it's always nice to be off.

Ever since Nicola relaxed the "once a day" exercise rule I had intended to cycle (exercise 1) to the Pentlands for a run (exercise 2) and then cycle home (exercise 3) - but the weekend before wasn't very nice weather and I couldn't really be bothered. This weekend wasn't due to be nice weather either. It was stormy on Saturday. Less so on Sunday. Monday I couldn't go far as even though I was off work I had stuff I had to do in the afternoon.

So Saturday Pierre and I went for a run around Edinburgh. It was windy, so we set out to take in both the castle and the top of Arthur's Seat in order to enjoy it to the full...

Lovely.

The next day it was time to head to the hills, ready or not, nice weather or not. There was a relentless south-westerly wind although not as gusty as the day before. We cycled out to Red Moss and did a slow run over West and East Kips before coming back between the hills and back to the bikes. It was lovely to get out, and we ran into Sarah Ormerod and partner coming down off West Kip and ready to start heading back out of the wind.

The cycle home was a whizz-bang-wallop. It was the first time all day I felt I could risk pushing as I was scared I'd run out of steam somewhere out in the Pentlands. I know. What a baby. You don't have to tell me. Anyway, it was 10 miles home on fast wide roads with the wind behind, all downhill. What's not to like? We ventured onto the WOL for about 30 seconds and it was immediately evident that no progress would be made there. Hoaching with folk.

On Saturday I went and tried the Berlingo for the first time in exactly 2 months (I figured out afterwards), not because I was going anywhere but because I may some day soon be allowed to go somewhere. It started first time which was good but when I went to move it it made a god awful metal wrenching tortured noise. I thought it might be brakes stuck on so took it forwards and backwards a few times but that didn't do much, so after letting the engine run for a while I went and phoned my garage, who are doing a bit of work. I took it in today and apparently a shock absorber had collapsed, snapping a link, which had dug into my tyre and dug a deep groove. I knew deep down in my bones it was more than just a bit of rusty brake. It has to wait a few days to get the parts as so many places are closed, but I was glad not to have to go and pick it up again today really. It has been a sunny day and I wanted to go out and enjoy at least a part of my day off. So I went a tootle around Edinburgh City Centre armed with my little camera as the sun beat down.

It was a lovely day and I am now all sunned up.

Meanwhile in  Virtual Land,  I am 9000 and somethingth out of 19000 in the Great Virtual Race Across Tennessee and I am playing a very steady game with a predicted finish date of 22nd of August at present. (I plan to up my game later on, if I'm fit.) The map is a day behind as the mileage gets updated at midday and I've done a further nine miles, but at least yesterday I was in Crump, Tennessee.

Une autre semaine de confinement.

Why the french? Why anything?

Another week. Hungin oot the window.

Avoiding Arthur's Seat because Covids.

 

 

 

Saturday comes around and Peter announces he wants to run 17 miles. Hmmm, okay. We're both tired so the coffee pot goes on twice. For a while everything is marvelous. I see that in the shadow of my bike, miraculously, the bike has a rider! I take a photograph! I point it out to Peter. He sees it too and gets his camera!

Wow! 

I'm in charge of the route. It's necessary to think out of the box at the moment, because everything inside the box is full of Covids. The A70. There won't be many people out for a scenic stroll along the pavements of the A70.

So off we go, first of all taking a good look around the centre of town. Peter took some good photos of that but I only had my weenie camera so I didn't. I held back and took pictures later on, more to tell the story.

We headed out along Dalry Road, dipping into Dalry Cemetery and then North Merchiston Cemetery further on. Pierre was in pursuit of les papillons. There was only the odd white. I don't know if they were large, small or green veined. We had some socially distanced relations with a fat spaniel, a very vocal robin, and a small rotund gentleman with a carefully groomed beard. Well Peter was taking a picture of the robin in the tree, and the chap said "nice picture" as he passed. "I think we're being told off" I quipped, referring to the vociferous robin, and the man laughed appreciatively. I gave myself a pat on the back for my deep appreciation of nature and understanding that the robin, far from its jovial Christmas Card reputation, is actually only into fucking and fighting.  

I had already had some to and fro with the chubby spaniel as it did that dog thing where it comes near you but doesn't admit it has seen you. It was panting hard having heaved its plump little body up the hill in a hurry, so I made comical panting noises back at it. Then I saw the owner and stopped.

By the time we left the graveyard I felt partied out to be honest.

 

As we headed along the A70, Peter pointed out that we were passing the home of renowned Trig Pointer JH. I thought it was only right to have a bit of a point in homage.

The team got grumpier along the way. Peter likes to use my tip-top planning skills but then rebels a bit at the inflexibility of these excellent plans. He persuaded me to go off piste a bit and actually run past the house of another friend - not recorded here. For the social distancing daleks out there, I emphasise that I mean we literally "ran past the house". Quite soon however I could see my plans being stretched and pulled all out of shape and I returned to my desired direction. There was protest from the other one. My lockdown chum.

Then going along another road, Peter remarked that this was the road where Richard, Christina and Ben live, and then as if by magic, they appeared on the other side of the road! 

From Fairmilehead we turned back down into the centre of town. Someone grumbled about how we weren't going to make up the distance and were we going to be doing laps of Arthur's Seat? I patiently explained that he had no idea what he was talking about.

I agree. Cockit All.

I was thinking about marketing a "choose your own street performer" virtual festival. Too lazy to show you what I mean though. Use your imagination.

 

 

One last stop up at the Castle and we made our way home, having run just a little more than 17 miles.

I'm off for another 7 now.