Sunrise

This morning I woke at 5.45am.  After hiding under the pillow for a while trying to go back to sleep I decided that, as I was awake, I should get up and go for my run.  This oppossed to getting another hours sleep then rushing around trying to get the right stuff ready, faffing and probably arriving at work late having not run as far as I would have liked!

So I left the house in the dark at about 6.30am.  The sky was rapidly beginning to lighten so I didn't need a head torch, but it wont be long.  After a couple of miles along the flat I entered Holyrood Park from the Duddingston entrance and took an immediate right.  This route, new to me, took me up lots of uneven stairs to the top road round Arthur's Seat.  I got 2/3 up the stairs and stopped, rested then finished them off then followed this up with a steep hill to the road.

I stopped again and turned to look at the view.  It was stunning.  The horizen was bathed in rose coloured light.  There was just enough light to see the city stretched out below but the street lights were also still on.  It really looked like half day and half night.  Very pretty.

I turned once more to face the hill.  I ran to the top of the grass section stopping twice to 'look at the view'/get my breath back.  THe hoizen was getting more and more beautiful as the depth of pinks, roses and oranges grew.  I thought, if I get a wriggle on, I may make it to the top for sunrise.  It was going to be tough.  It was going to be touch and go.

I dug down and stode on up.  Running isn't so possible at the top as you I need to use my hands to scramble up.  I stopped to check out the sunrise regularly, hoping to catch the sun break the horizen where ever I got to.

I made it to the top!  Three others were buried deep in their winter jackets waiting for the splendor to being.  I sat down with my arms wrapped around me to keep warm, and watched.

Sunrise is truely one of the most beautiful times of the day and today was no exception.

The big ball of fire suddenly burst over the horizen.  The underside of the clouds were bathed in reds, oranges, yellows and pinks and every shade in between.  The sun slowly rose from its night time slumber filling our hearts with joy and awe.  Blinding us and burning off any negativity to start the day fresh and new.

I didn't stay to watch the sun duck under its daytime cover of cloud.  I was getting chilly.  But I was smiling to myself all the way, still bathed in the joy.

What a great start to the day.

Paying for it!

The problem with having a break from training; and then having a great first day; is the risk that you may push your self harder than you should in your enthusiasm to be back.  The consequences are that you hurt the next day.

Yup, that is me today.  My quads and calves are really sore.

A risk of getting sore so early in training is that you then take a day or so off to recover!

I didn't do this and I'm very proud of myself.

This morning I went out on my bike with the intention of cycling two 5 mile time trials.  I headed out to the start of the course, about 6.5 miles, feeling particularly stiff and wondering if I could just go for a ride instead.  I persevered with the first 5 miles though I hurt and didn't feel like I was going very quick.  Indeed, I only averaged 17.4 mph.  Through out those 5 miles I was wondering if I could cut it short, if I could maybe just cycle back easily or maybe head to the coast instead.  After a bit of a spin I gave myself a good talking too and turned around to start the second 5 miles.  This was helped by the fact that the course was not flat.  It is slightly more uphill on the way out and therefore slightly down hill on the way back.  Sure enough, though it still hurt, my average on the return leg was 19.4 mph.  I took it real easy cycling home!

I'm dead chuffed that I did the session and didn't bail out.  May the good motivation continue as the nights draw in.

No kayaking tonight

I pitched up at the swimming pool tonight for the regular pool session but unfortunately they only had two boats.  I hung about for a bit and then headed home.  The pool sessions very much rely on people bringing their boats with them only tonight there were lots of new people and therefore no boats.  Never mind, it gave me an evening in to write some thank you emails to the fab people who sponsored me in Antwerp.

Training starts again

I have found it hard to get back into training.  My bodyclock was changed over the summer with log work hours and lots of socialising.  I was finding it hard to make that first step out the door for anything other than kayaking or my commute cycle to work.  Today I changed that.

   

Today I headed to Arthurs Seat on leisurely run to work.  I took the slightly longer, flatter route that meant I was more warmed up by the time I got to the park.  On a commute to work, I usually go down the hill but today I went up.  My destination was the top!

I got 2/3 of the way up, the start of the rocks and decided that that was enough for day one so I stopped to take some photo's.

This was the bit I didn't do and some more hills to do another day on my commute to work.

( I live behind this one)

However... after taking my photo's I had got my breath back and loosened my legs off a bit.  So I went for the top, half walking, half running, half scrambling (Oops, too many half's!).

This was the view I was rewarded with.  What a great first day back!

My summer of bangs is over... phew - part 3

After 4 weeks that included Antwerp 70.3, 11 hours a day for 3 weeks working on the Edinburgh Military Tattoo AND working at Venture Scotland, 2 weddings, a two day 1^st aid course, a kayak session and a trip to Glentress mountain biking… I took a week off… And worked on the Bank of Scotland (BOS) end of festival firework concert! No rest for the wicked!

The BOS fireworks concert is the biggest fireworks display in Europe. It is choreographed to a live orchestra (Handel), contained 4.5 tonnes of gross fireworks and lasted for 45 minutes. I took 15 of us 7 days to set up, 45 minutes to fire and 4 hours to clean up after. There is also plenty of social life in the pub!

The fireworks cover the whole area that you can see in this photo, including down the ramparts on the right and in the bays that you can just about see on the left.

My role in this display started off rigging some of the 700 candles to 45 of the racks seen here.

The first three days went well. We had good weather and we got a lot of kit out. Unfortunately, it rained so hard on Thursday and Friday that the waterproofing started to fail… big time. I moved into the firework ‘1^st aid’ tent. We had to bring in the kit that was soaking up the water, try to dry it, rebuild it where necessary, re waterproof it and put it back. This was hugely time consuming, not to mention dangerous and stressful.

Our good start to the week rapidly disappeared as we utilized every bit of daylight to do the 1^st aid, wire it all and then test it all.

We got it all done in the end and here are the photo’s!

My summer of bangs is over... phew - part 2

On the last Friday of the Tattoo I took the day off from my day job (I forgot to mention that I maintained my 9-5 job whilst doing the Tattoo 7-11) to do a pyrotechnic job at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre.

This was a wee piss take of Britain's Got Talent, called TVs Got Talent, as an opening celebration for the Edinburgh International Television Festival. Thank god it was tongue in cheek, I would have hated for it to be too serious! The winning act was a woman who could sing with her mouth shut!

Me on the right in the foreground, Ant and Dec behind on the stage and the big screen.

Here are some of the effects I used...

Silver jet 1/2 20" (1/2 second burn time and maximum height of 20 feet)

70g Flame pot

My summer of bangs is over... phew - part 1

As some of you might know, one of the reasons I chose Antwerp 70.3 was its timing. It was early August. The reason it needed to be in late July or early August is because I spend the summer blowing things up!

The Wednesday after my race I started working on the Edinburgh Military Tattoo. This is 3.5 weeks of massed pipes and drums, plus other acts, matching up and down the Edinburgh Esplanade in front of an audience of 9000.

(Photo by Susie)

My role is to set up, fire and clean up the punctuation fireworks that run through out the 1.5 hour long show.

The mortars (Photo by Lynn)

A Mine (Photo by Lynn)

Loading the mortars with mines (Photo by Lynn)

Cannon Maroons and Gavin (Lynn)

Shells, Gavin and Stuart (Photo by Lynn)