Missing another event...

following on from the luck of this summer it looks like I might well not be able to do the 10km this weekend - I have come down with a lovely, heavy cold...

Given that a) a lot of people at school have had this and

b) It has rained non-stop for nearly a week here....

then I suppose this is not much of a shock...the timing is exquisite though as I felt quite strong whilst running last weekend.

the power of nature.....

or yet another example of the crass stupidity/arrogance of man and global warming..

This was taken this morning - the time I am posting this is due to the fact that school is closed today as half of our students would not be able to get there. Ironically, the weather today is actually pretty nice - although the forecast is awful for tomorrow..

Just back from the gym - I actually feel quite strong at the moment; next weekend will tell

Il pleut....

Lots and lots and lots......early from school today as it was closed at 3pm; we may not even be in tomorrow at the moment...

It is very autumnal here at the moment - lets hope its better next weekend for the 10km

Trying to find the right form of words...

I am back working on the personal statement for the GTTR application before I go down to Lancaster in a couple of works. This is one of the most important things I have ever written and, like a lot of my written work, is going through several drafts (my record is something like 12 edits of a 1250 word book review and I have NO idea how many 'cuts' of my MA dissertation I did!)..however it feels like it is getting somewhere. The trick is that you are only allowed 47 lines on the online form and there is a lot to put in as I get more and more experience each day....

New Yoga class....

is one that was running at school before I went away for the High Atlas trip...I went for the first time tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it - nice and relaxing after a day at school.

Another wintery/autumnal day today...will need to get back in the gym but was pleased about how the yoga went.

Marvin is back.....

Following his convalescence in the workshop of Arragon's cycles' with the post strike hampering Phil's attempts to get the relevant parts I can report that Marvin has returned to his owner - looking in a lot better shape than when he went in!!!

He does still need a bull bar to replace the one that came off on day 2 of the High Atlas trip; however the repairs were still cheaper than buying a new bike and pennies are tight given that Tibet is looming next year...

I must confess that riding Marvin is not my highest priority at the moment - given the small amount of biking done over the summer and the need to do some running - not to mention the fact that winter has arrived with a bang in Cumbria today...god its cold!

Have I finally got the knee strapping right...?

Did one of my circuits last night - the flatter of the two and its about as flat as one can get up here..probably just shy of 4 miles although I have not measured it. Actually went pretty well with no knee pain at all - admittedly off a pretty slow pace - so all in all am quite happy....

The stresses of modern life...

This was taken on day 3 of the High Atlas Trek - the village to the left is where we came from...to the right is where we were headed that day...

What is NOT apparent from the picture is that Zaouiat Ahansal was over two passes with a 600m drop in between them; a 20mile uphill that we had tackled before lunch....just another day on what is the hardest physical thing I have ever done.

As the rain pelts out of the sky in Cumbria and we all settle in for autumn training and dark nights a big thanks to Rob who took this picture and whose CD of photo's arrived yesterday - I must do mine as well and send them out...a nice reminder of what was less than a month ago.

Hopefully this can also be used as inspiration for those having especially bad weeks....hopefully you have got to the top of the climb...