Big WeekEnd

A very busy weekend of orienteering. A night event on Friday at Kind Buildings. Short sharp race taking just over 20 minutes.

On Saturday there was a long city race starting at Bristo Square and going through the Old Town. A good performance probably as I know the area very well.

On Sunday a prologue on Arthurs Seat and some bitterly cold weather. Time was pretty poor for this one. Then a chasing event in the city centre starting and finishing near the Parliament building.

Tri-Trail Race Pentlands

White out conditions for the Tri_Trail race in the Pentlands. Weather was fine at home but on arrival at Threpmuir Reservoir the snow started and didn't stop for the whole race. A new event and first of a series this race brought a slightly different crowd of triathletes as well as hill runners. I started very slowly and was falling off the back of the field over the first half mile. Eventually moved forward into second last place and enjoyed a very slow paced jog in the freezing snowy temperatures. Was struggling a bit at Carlops but after snacks at Nine Mile Burn and a bit of a walk up the hill to Monks Rig I was pleased to run at a reasonable pace over the last couple of miles. Around 22 km in 2 hrs 43 mins. Tough but enjoyable.

Glentress

Colin headed off to Glentress for a ride round the blue course. Around 1 hr 45 minutes to complete the loop.

Greenmantle Dash

Another festive favourite. Temperatures were relatively warm at 8 degrees although the ground was very wet. Felt tough at the beginning and wasn't expecting a good time but was very surprised to be hitting the road at around 20 minutes and pushed hard to get a personal best time by just 3 seconds from previous best in 2007.

Portobello Promathon

My 7th time running on this new years day race. A nice clear morning and first year the race has run at a new start location and with pre-entry. Organisation and parking seemed to be an improvement. Set off at a steady pace and got HR up to around 164 and maintained this for a couple of miles. Pushed harder at the end but finished with a slightly disappointing time of around 29.45 which was my 5th best time at the event.

Later in the day we had a wee trip to the National Museum, the Caves and then to see Life of Pi in 3D.

New Years Resolution - never, ever go to a film in 3D again !