Philiphaugh Hill Race

After several wet days the weather for Sunday's hill race was continuous rain. The route was awash with mud and paths had turned to streams. The rain didn't relent for a second before, during or after the race. Temperatures were mild however. So after feeling fairly unpleasant at the start once I got moving and the body temperature rose the run was jolly good fun. I was a bit stiff after a big hill walk on Thursday so the time wasn't great but the return journey was fabulous on a really nice 7 mile route.

Beinn Achaladair and Beinn a' Chreachean

During a very wet spell there was one day on the forecast with clear skies so decided to head out for some munro bagging and to do my last 2 of the Bridge of Orchy munros. Weather was pretty good for most of the day. The ascent was a bit unpleasant underfoot at the start but was very nice once up onto the high ground with a high level traverse between the two peaks with great views out over Rannoch Moor. The descent was OK but there was then a long trudge back to the start.

Edinburgh Fringe

On sunday Colin and Cherry headed out to a couple of fringe shows. First off was a Dublin performer  doing "Everything I do" at Summerhall. Very quirky but not particularly good.

Then at the Circus Hub on the Meadows we saw Circa:Humans which was a mix of acrobatics and dance and was fabulous.

Creag Dhubh Hill Race

Colin took the train from Edinburgh to Newtonmore to compete in the British and Scottish Hill Running Championship race as part of the Newtonmore Highland Games out. There were big crowds in the field to watch the events and the temperatures were sweltering. The Hill Race had a big turn out of 300 runners.

The race started with a lap of the games field and then headed over some fences and a river crossing up the hill. With large numbers there was a bit of welcome queuing behind other runners on the sharp climb up. Views were stunning at the turn looking northwards towards Newtonmore and the Cairngorms although no time to stop and look. Quickly down, through the river and back to finish in the stadium.

Great event. My time of 47 mins was a bit slow in terms of % of winning time but that is often the case in championship races.

Playground

Colin and Max went along to the opening night of Hannah's fringe show, Playground, at the Scottish Poetry Library. Cherry went along to the Saturday show. A very good performance.

Scurry to the Sea

Another very nice event from Scurry Events. Start at Hillend Ski Centre with a sharp run up to the top of Allermuir which was today covered in thick mist. From there down to Swanston village and onwards to the sea via the Hermitage and cycle routes and quite roads with a finish at the beach near Musselburgh harbour. Legs were a bit heavy as was the rain but very much enjoyed the run.

Liberton Urban Orienteering

First time orienteering in ages and really loved this thirty minute blast through complex streets near Liberton.

Hannah's Graduation

We started the day with a visit to Hannah's new home near Selly Oak before heading to University of Birmingham for some milling around the campus, photo taking and the graduation ceremony.

We had dinner in the early evening at The Lost & Found and the oldies all ended up heading back to the hotel afterwards feeling very tired whilst Hannah went on for some further celebrations.

Ghetto Golf

We took the train from Edinburgh to Birmingham on Sunday and met up with Hannah for some pre-graduation fun.

First stop was to Ghetto Golf for some trendy crazy golf which Colin won - Hannah second.

We walked a short distance to the Digbeth Dining Club for some street food and managed to catch the final stages of the Cricket World Cup on the big screen. Well done England !

We then headed to Piano & Pitcher near the canal for drinks with Hannah, some of her uni friends and their parents.

Dechmont Law Orienteering

A day out to Dechmont Law helping at the Interlopers event. A bit of set-up, some time at the start, a run on the Light Green and then control collecting at the end.

Gardens of the Lower New Town

Trip by bike with Cherry to the New Town for a wander around 10 small New Town gardens.

Eildon Three Hills Race

Walked to Waverley, train to Tweedback, walked to Melrose. Then a lung and heart busting steep climb up the first of three Eildon Hills. Stunning views seen only briefly before taking on the other two hills and a sprint back down again. Around 55 mins of high intensity effort. Time was 150% of the winning time.

Journey home by public transport.

The effort led to a very poor nights sleep and being wrecked the following day. Decided to take 2 weeks off exercise to see if this improves my sleep.

Tweedlove Skinny Sportive

A return to the Peebles the day after my 18.5 mile run for a nearly 50 mile cycle ! A reasonable start time for the cycle with starts up to 10.30 am but I got there by around 9 am. There were unfortunately long queues in setting riders off which seemed excessively cautious on there part.

The first part of the route was quite nice made easier but helpful wind direction.

The latter parts were more painful when the wind blew very strongly into the face. The route again had a mile or more along the A703 and the very fast moving traffic which I really don't enjoy.

Overall - unless they change the route I think this is one to skip in future years.

Gypsy Glen Run

After having to defer this adventure several times due to work I finally managed to get a saturday free for a long hilly run. I took the X62 bus from Edinburgh to Innerleithen. This was a lovely bus with USB chargers and bike storage. Journey time was 1 hr 30 mins but it passed quite quickly.

From Innerleithen I ran along the railway line cycle path to Peebles where I stopped for coffee at Costa. It was hot and humid and felt like hard work.

Refreshed by the coffee I headed out of town and into the hills make the long climb at a fast walking pace up the Gypsy Glen route. A nice downhill before later hitting the road back into Innerleithen which was a bit of a slog for the last 3 miles and I was reduced to run/walk given the tiredness in my legs. Overall not in too bad a shape at the finish. Overall the journey took around 4 hrs. 18.5 miles distance and 500 m climb.

A very nice coffee and toastie at No 1 Peebles Road then back in the bus home.

Mallorca Day 3 - Soller

Today we to took the tourist train to Soller and the tram to Port de Soller. A very nice trip. Just a gentle stroll along the seafront from end to end and several beers.

After the return by train we walked homewards via the old town, the port, a nice roof top bar and a bar playing classic rock videos which put us all in a pretty good mood on our last evening.

Mallorca Day 2

After a leisurely start we all headed up the hill behind the hotel to the Castle Bellver. Pretty awesome castle.

We then walked onwards to the old town.

Everyone ran out of steam a little earlier this evening after drinks at the Irish bar near the hotel.

Mallorca Day 1

After a night spent at Gatwick Airport at the Bloc Hotel I took a BA flight to Palma arriving just after lunch and meeting up with Ian and Warren at the airport. Took the bus to town and stopped at the first bar, where Mark and Glen joined us, to start the long afternoon and evening of drinking and wandering along the seafront and into the old town.

Tour De Forth

I need to remember that cycle sportives invariably have a horribly early start time. Departure from Ingliston was at 8 am so I needed to set the alarm for 6.30 am and make a quick getaway. The weather wasn't great with light drizzle at the start and threat of rain most of the day. Things were going well until Limekilns where I punctured on the cobbles. Dealth with the puncture reasonably well but only got a few miles further before another puncture. Another change and then another puncture shortly afterwards. That was me out of tubes so I needed to call event rescue who fixed me up at Torryburn. Kyle Strachan the mechanic found the sharp chunk of glass embedded in the tyre - I'd looked for stuff in the tyre but hadn't found anything.

As three hours had passed and I was only a quarter way round I decided it was best to call it a day and head back the way I came rather than try to go the whole route.

Bournemouth

Work with LV= takes me down to Bournemouth several times a year and this May two weeks in a row. I don't generally get much time for leisure but managed an hour long run along the sea front on a glorious sunny evening.

Scurry Along The Esk

Another ramping up of distance run with this low key race reaching 15 miles. A mix of old railway tracks and the Penicuik estate this was a very pleasant route although there was light drizzle most of the time. Took around 2.5 hours at a slow easy pace with walking up the steep bits.

Bike from Ballachulish to Salen

Fabulous ride from Ballachulish to Coran Ferry and then onwards to Salen. The weather turned for the last hour with some very heavy rain but the early bits of the ride were lovely. Cherry picked me up at Salen and we drove home on a loop via Glenfinnan. We'd been running into motor bike trials all week and today was the worst in terms of heavy bike and support crew on the roads making the drive quite unpleasant.

Enjoyed some great dinners during the week at the Laroch Inn and the Hotel by the Loch in Ballachulish.

Hidden Valley

With overnight snow covering all the munro peaks in the morning a summit attempt wasn't happening. Instead we both headed to Glencoe for a walk up the hidden valley. There was a steep ascent up to a very high and hidden hanging valley with a wide flat floor.