Conic Hill

Just back from Loch Lomond and a wander up Conic Hill. A serious amount of snow up there. Intercepted Ellie and David who had just run 18 miles from Milngavie. We experimented with finding a different way back through the woods directly above the Balmaha car park.

Conic Hill

Jack Crawford 10k

27th February 2010

Results

This was never going to be easy, having barely run in the last 4 months. Most of last week I couldn't even walk with gout, and I've had a strained adductor since mid December, which gives shooting pains down my thigh if I try to run.

So this so-called race was really a test to see if I could run pain free. I deliberately didn't race for the first kilometre, thinking I could make places with that approach. The 2nd kilometre I felt OK, and passed a few folk and thought I might get away it, but then around kilometre 3 the wheels came off and I realised I was running on empty, and just went backwards the rest of the race to record my slowest ever 10k.

I knew even before I started that this would be my slowest 10k, but I was still hoping to get under 40 minutes, and just managed this by clocking 39:49, which was more than 5 minutes slower than 2 years ago.

My right adductor is now extremely sore, so I guess I won't be racing again for a while.

Glasgow Parkrun No.62

Results

I wandered down to Pollok Park this morning to take a few photos of the Parkrun. The race was won by Jethro Lennox in 16:19, just ahead of Martin Fishwick in 16:37. First female was Toni McIntosh in 19:14.

Glasgow Parkrun No.62

Elephants

Have you ever wondered how hard it is to climb onto an elephant?
I find it quite tricky, since it's not something I practice on a regular basis.

Click on the image below to see how the expert does it:

From Chitwan - Day 2

Chitwan - Day 2

From Chitwan - Day 3

These photos were taken at Chitwan National Park in Nepal, November 2008. The area is inhabited by the Tharu people who live a quiet simple life growing rice and building their houses from mud and straw. It was strange going into one of these mud huts and discovering it had electricity and a colour TV.

During the day we had fun on the elephant safari, and during the evening we sat around in the hotel gardens getting savaged by mosquitoes.

Gout (again)

Bupa Gout Info

Today, I am being punished for watching the National Cross Country yesterday, and have a disturbing level of pain in my right foot. I've drunk gallons of liquid, and am sitting with with a bag of frozen peas over my foot, wondering how much more ibuprofen I can take. I know it's drastic action, but I think I will need to become a vegetarian.

Scottish National Cross Country

20th February 2010

Results

Today, I watched the Scottish National Cross Country at Callendar Park, Falkirk.
Freya Murray of Edinburgh AC won the women's race with a lead of nearly 2 minutes. The under 20 men's race was closer with Callum Hawkins (Kilbarchan) holding off Matthew Gillespie (Shettleston) by 3 seconds, and in the senior men's race Alastair Hay of Central AC successfully defended his title, with a 5 second lead over Shettleston's Tsegezab Woldemichael. Last year's under-20 champion Derek Hawkins of Kilbarchan finished 3rd.

Scottish National Cross Country (senior women)

Scottish National Cross Country (under-20 men)

Scottish National Cross Country (senior men)

Carnethy 5 Hill Race

13th February 2010

Results

Rob Jebb clocked up his 5th win at Carnethy 5 Hill Race, with Andy Symonds 2nd, Prasad Prasad 3rd and Robbie Simpson 4th. Claire Gordon was 1st woman.

Carnethy 5 Hill Race 2010 (Scald Law)

Carnethy 5 Hill Race 2010 (Carnethy Hill)

Carnethy 5 Hill Race 2010 (Finish)

Bidean nam Bian

12th February 2010

Photos

I first climbed Bidean back in July 1983 with David Farnworth. I have climbed the hill 3 or 4 times since, but not for many years, so I thought a return visit was well overdue. The weather in Glasgow had been clear blue skies for most of the week, so I took Friday off and made an early start, and was hiking up the hill shortly after 9.30am. Unfortunately it didn't turn out as clear and sunny as I was hoping, and was cloudy for most of the route with no views at all from the main summits.

The descent out of the Lost Valley was quite tricky, scrambling down huge greasy boulders since I managed to lose the path. I spent a bit of time just before the bridge across the River Coe trying to visualise how my friend Bish McAra could have fallen and died here back in January 2005. There seems to be path cutting back right just before the bridge that simply leads to a precipice, which wouldn't be obvious if it was getting dark.

www.flickr.com

Glasgow Parkrun No.59

Results | Photos

Jethro Lennox clocked up his first win at the Glasgow Parkrun, with a PB of 15:31, finishing just 5 seconds ahead of Parkrun regular Robert Gilroy who ran 1 second slower than his own PB. Tommy Hearle (42) of Kilbarchan finished in 3rd place, just ahead of Scott Hawkins (19) also of Kilbarchan. Ellie was 2nd woman in a new PB of 20:03, but was awarded 1st place since the 1st woman didn't have a barcode.

More Moon Photos

These photos were taken last night from my kitchen window, two nights after the full moon.
I experimented with using a tripod and self-timer, plus using the 300mm lens.