Wednesday 1 July 2009

Rocks, Hills and Gardens

It has been a good while since I've updated my blog, so I've done 3 races since the last entry.
The first was the Black Rock 5 taking place in Kinghorn, Fife. This was my first run at the event. It takes place on a Friday evening, everyone gets the train over to Kinghorn. The race starts near the village and after a brief spell on the road, moves onto the beach, all the way out to the 'Black Rock'. Depending on the tide, there is a certain amount of running through the water. I think this year was relatively tame, with it only coming up to my shins. Having just recovered from tonsilitis the week before I took this run easy, but the atmosphere was fantastic. I finished the run in 35min23s. The race finishes up a steep hill, but more importantly, outside a pub so you are handed a beer as soon as you cross the line. After a quick wipedown in wet wipes (nice) and a change of clothes it was off to the chippy for a fish supper and the pub for more beer. Then everyone piled onto the last train back to Edinburgh (complete with crates of beer!). A great event.
The next race was the Edinburgh Seven Hills on June 21st. Another new one for me, and equally as unique! This involved running over the seven hills of Edinburgh - Castle Hill, Corstorphine Hill, Craiglockart Hill, Braid Hill, Blackford Hill, Arthurs Seat and Carlton Hill. The hills must be run over in this order, but the way in which you get there is up to you, i.e. there are no marshals. However, this does not include getting the bus as an option! haha! The route is just under 15 miles in total. I'd done a few recce runs in the weeks before and had actually walked the entire route beforehand too so I was sure not to get lost. I absolutely loved it, and enjoyed watching all the confused tourists and pedestrians wondering what was going on with all these runners taking over the streets. I felt good the majority of the way round, only really struggling after I came down Arthurs Seat. Fortunately there was only one hill left at this point! I finished in a time of 2hrs34:13 which I was very pleased with.
Finally, and much more recently, last night I competed in the JogScotland 5km Challenge in the Botanic Gardens. I'd not really been to the gardens before, and it's usually out of bounds to runners. I entered race 2 of the evening. Got round in 20:47, only 7 seconds off my PB, and managed 2nd female so as well as the great goody bag I also got a Run4It prize bag including a buff, Puma bag, water bottle and jelly beans. Really enjoyed it!
So a few races done this summer and lots more to come....Musselburgh 10k will possibly be the next one, followed by the Tour of Fife, Berlin 10k and the Glasgow half marathon! A few more Munros to be ticked off in the next few weeks too. Ben Lomond this Sunday - number 40.

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