Bioparc

On Thursday we headed off to the Bioparc - again just by the old river bed. Some great urban landscaping in this part of the river bed.

The zoo was very nice. A good size and lots of space for the animals. Another day of great weather.

Ciudad de las Sciencias

We walked on Wednesday morning to the area with the new modern science and culture buildings in the dry river bed of the Turia river. The buildings look fantastic from a distance and are very photogenic. They're not quite so impressive close up but still very interesting structures.

 We went round the science museum exhibits which was faily typical of science museums with some interesting stuff and lots of exhibits not well maintained and working.

We then walked back up the river bed to visit some gardens. First stop was the Jardines de Monforte. Small but very nice.

And then on to Los Viveros which were OK and nice place to stop for an ice cream.

Valencia

Tuesday was a day for a tour around the Valencian old town. Saw the Bull Ring and the intricate ceramics at the Estacion del Norte before strolling through the old town and the various churches and cathedrals. Our progress was eventually stalled by an official event with lots of police meaning the gallery we were visiting was closed. Instead we hired some bikes and had an excellent trip along the old dry river bed which was really nice.

Castle of Santa Barbara Alicante

We headed out on Monday morning for a long and interesting climb up Castle Santa Barbara. It was a winding path to the top and we were never quite sure if we were going the right way. Got their eventually and enjoyed a free visit round the really interesting Castle with great views over the city.

A nice walk down through a very old quarter of the town and nice views back up to the Castle. Definitely recommend Alicante and the castle for a day or two visit.

Later in the afternoon we got on the train to Valencia.

Holiday - Alicante

Hannah, Cherry & Colin got the bus to the airport and were again delighted by the lack of queues and hassle free check in with Jet 2. After a reasonable flight we were in Alicante by late afternoon and went for a quick stroll before the sun set. Nice city centre and harbour and beach.

Carnethy 5

Conditions were pretty tough for the Carnethy 5 race with slippy snow in many parts and water and mud on others. It felt like a downhill skeleton event at times as I slid front ways or backwards down the hills. Time was pretty poor at 170% of the winning time.

ESOC Sprint O at South Queensferry

Weather was very mixed this morning. One minute sunshine and the next freezing rain. Sprint O this year was on the streets of South Queensferry with bits in old town and cycle ways but mostly in modern housing estate. Good event. The Prologue was tricky with a few early legs having multiple height levels to negotiate. Did OK with a couple of mistakes making up around 2 minutes.

Made up some ground on the Chase which I did pretty much error free.

Tri Trail at Dunbar

Very early start for a race at the very scenic John Muir Country Park in Dunbar. The weather was surprisingly nice with clear sky and even a bit of sunshine. There were a number of CaniCrossers out running with their dogs - I got beat by 4 or 5 of them ! Felt fairly heavy legged over the 14 km course but the time wasn't too bad coming in at 1 hr 16 mins against a winning time of around 50 minutes.

Great event.

Mogwai

Max and Colin went to see Mogwai at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. RM Hubbert warmed up with a nice set and cheery chat. He was joined on stage for the last song by Aidan Moffat.

Mogwai then played a mix of old and new at high volume. Great venue and good concert.

EUOC Big Weekend

3 Orienteering events over the weekend. Friday night was night orienteering round the King Buildings university campus. Pretty decent effort with generally good navigation.

Saturday was the city race in pouring rain. Took about an hour round the MV course finishing 30 of 41.

On Sunday with the forecast for 4 degrees temperature, strong winds and heavy rain I headed out in my waterproofs and with lots of food in my bag. Conditions started bad but improved later on. Finished in a dreadful time of around 1 hr 55 minutes and feeling very tired.

That's 9 races completed in January !

War Horse

Went to the Festival Theatre to see War Horse as Cherry's birthday treat. Very good indeed - especially the horses ! The pleasure was slightly reduced by some chattering neighbours in the seats behind us.

Feel the Burns

A trip down to Selkirk for a fabulous race in the Scottish Borders hills. 21 km with 800 m of ascent the course took in several summits with a highest point of 524 m. Some nice long trails near the peaks and some lovely long downhill stretches.

I was feeling pretty tired at the 2 hour point but seemed to cope better than those around me with the final steep ascent to Foulshiels Hill. Managed a wee sprint at the end to pick up two places and complete in a reasonable 2 hrs 30 mins and 160% of the winning time.

Orienteering at Greenhead Moss

A new area near Wishaw. Very boggy and fairly rough area. Did the long brown course and was out running for 1 hr 47 minutes. Very near the slowest runner but good fun once I got into it. 1 big mistake with all the other controls fairly accurate.

Dropped Max back to Uni afterwards.

Great Winter Run

5k Race round Holyrood Park on a cold Saturday morning. Nice, well organised race. Came in 275th of around 1900 runners.

Night O at Mary Erskine

A quick 30 minute run round the short course. Not too much time in the forest so didn't get too lost !

Greenmantle Dash 2014

Another active start to the year with a trip down to Broughton for a short sharp dash up Trahenna. The weather was nice at the start but by the time of the ascent the freezing rain was coming down making it very cold. Lots of mud and water on this one. My worst ever time at this race :(

Portobello Promathon 2014

I started the new year with the annual 4 mile race along the Portobello promenade. This was the first year at a new earlier time of 10.30. The weather was kind for the big crowd. My time was fairly slow at 30 mins and 5 secs.

South Queensferry

Maxwell was across for a long weekend. Pictured out at South Queensferry on a cold but sunny morning following by lunch at the Hawes Inn.

Festive Frolic - Vogrie

The 4 of us plus Maxwell went out to Vogrie for the annual festive orienteering event. The puzzle element was relatively straightforward this year. Max had a good run whilst Colin and Hannah had a leisurely walk with an occasional jog. Nice meal at the Sun Inn afterwards.

Beecraigs Trail Race

Great weather for this annual boxing day event. I went for the two lap 14 km option around the lovely woodland course which takes in a loop of a lake and a small hill. Felt fine for lap 1 saving myself for a strong second loop which never happened as I was feeling tired and ending up plodding round the second loop at a very slow pace. Lovely event though.

Queens Drive Race

A warm but windy Sunday morning for my fourth outing in this race. A couple of weeks for fairly active training helped to pushed fitness levels up and was able to push hard round the course. Beat quite a few familiar faces by a decent margin so felt like a pretty good effort.

Glasgow 3 Parks

Max and Colin entered the 3 Parks race for the first time in a number of years. The weather was nice this time - clear skies and relatively warm for the time of year. Courses at Garscube, Kelvingrove and Drumpellier Country Park.

Fairly decent performances but as always the competition is tough.