Fly Cemetery

Yesterday was quite traumatic. A mountain bike ride was planned but I stupidly decided to do ParkRun beforehand. That involved a 90min round trip on the bike in very strong winds with a race effort in the middle. Whilst fun, I had also had a tough "running" week with two hill runs totalling 6 hours which both had ended in exhaustion.

After a pre-midday lunch we headed out and even at a sedentary pace my legs were objecting. This wasn't too much of a problem on the Waters of Leith path but as soon as we hit the steeper and more technical trails of the Pentlands I was in trouble. It wasn't helped by gale force winds. Food didn't help, with both physical and mental capabilities being nil. When we eventually did get home, I lay on the bike room floor, helmet and jacket on, and fell asleep. The remainder of the day was a right off.

Today was better. Whilst still tired, we pedalled down to Portobello for a swim with the Wild Ones swimming group. Cryotherapy always helps aching limbs and so it was to prove. Water temperature wasn't too bad...around 10*C although it did induce slight hyperventilation and around 5 attempts to get ones face staying in the water.

Waves were minimal but I managed to swallow quite a bit of sea water as the high winds were 'pushing' water into my mouth when breathing. 30 minutes was just about right as core temperature would have started to drop if we'd been in any longer. Some people may think we're mad swimming in the sea at this time of year, however, the opposite is true. The happiest people I come across tend to be those who expose themselves to the natural elements and accompanying highs and lows that they bring.

After bumping into friend Sheila on the prom, an egg roll and repulsive latte in The Espy, we pedalled home into the tooth of the gale, followed by a relatively relaxed afternoon. I became restless though and bombarded Rosemary with choices of stuff we could do. We settled on a walk to Stockbridge Farmers Market.
The plan was to go through the Botanics but they were shut because of the high winds. Steampunk Coffee at the Market to keep me happy. I also had a mouthful of scotch bonnet chilli pickle stuff that blew my head off. Better was the fly cemetery fruit slice and biscuits that somehow were purchased. Then we had a wander along St Stephen's Street, through the New Town and home. Eek......a 7km round trip. Oh well, pizza from La Favorita was a good cure for the fatigue.