The blogging has been hampered of late by abit of unpleasantness. Something unwanted has got into the computer. It was evidently well armed and has sown a mild trail of destruction. I've had to revert to the work laptop and hope there's no repetition. I don't know if its related, but the garmin is also playing up now and I'm in techie limbo.
No technology was required to run the Alnwick cross country league on a beautiful Saturday through the grounds of Sir Duke's place: very nice of them that live in the big castle to let us trample across the fields and through his lordships leafy woods. I had a good run and finished around 22nd and will be promoted to the medium paced group for my efforts. However, with the average field of 350, it shouldn't be too hard to catch a few at the back and get lost in the melee at the last event in Prudhoe.
After a steady 8 miles on Sunday morning, four of us jumped in the jalope and headed off to Manchester for a two hour session on the boards. As I polished the wheels on the old track bike the night before, I couldn't believe the bike was over 30 years old; but it still looked good, well at least in a retro way. Woodrup's (the maker) is still going in Leeds and I might take it down for a re-spray.
We joined the folk from Alnwick Tri Club and it was a blast. Fantastic fun. Afterwards I read the do's and don'ts of track racing and I must admit to not being aware of some of the rules (no watches, no garmins, no taped tyres, etc, etc). Didn't seem to matter at Meadowbank and Leicester all those years ago - if your tyres stayed on and you could pedal forward, you were good to go. I suppose it all makes sense.
Although I 'd spent plenty of time in velodromes in my youth, I'd never rode indoors before and was surprised by the heat and how quickly you dried up. It was great though. A real rush. I mean to go sniffing out the Glasgow track when I'm next up that way. The legs are fine, but couldn't manage more than 5 miles running on Monday night. I'm being talked into doing the local duathlon in April...mmmmm...not sure. (thnx to Stu B for the photie)
It was cool but calm conditions for the two thousand or so runners at this years North Tyneside 10k. A straight coastal run from North Shields to the Lighthouse, it looked like Ian Hudspith (Morpeth) and Aly Dixon (Sunderland Strollers) were the front runners. Photos (batches 1 and 2) on the gallery (Flickr site). Results of the 2013 race here on link below:
I’ve been in the north topping up my accent. The criteria for
the holiday was a cottage with a real fire. Just as well. It’s been so cold in
the last week that if I sat any closer to the fire I might as well start to
rotate and baste myself in gravy. Strangely, there was also a pub nearby.
Yesterday was the best though. I intended to run to
Killiecrankie but took a trail up by Craigower and ended up ploughing
through the deep snow at around 600m just below Ben Vrackie. In the early morning
sun it was pretty splendid. I came across three small deer grazing on the heather. They took off pretty damn sharpish. I
nearly came a cropper once or twice on some buried rocks but all in all, the
run was a photographic event and I wished I’d had the good camera. Two hours
for seven miles. Pretty slow stuff but don’t forget the two thousand feet of
ascent. 
Andy Burrows was just a name and a tune I heard on the radio last week. So was Artmagic. Now I'm listening to both, (though not at the same time) as I drag my meagre musical collection into the decade. A1. 
Came across a bike race yesterday. I, myself, have been working the cycling in with the running of late. The result is a drop in pavement pounding mileage and an increase in pot hole hell riding. Gordon Bennett; the roads are sh**te. My Council tax bill landed with a thud this morning. I really wonder what I'm paying for (except for the repair of tyres and bent wheels). The road miles are up now to about 80 or 90 a week which is no small feet in this boreal, nipple-numbing cold. Can't believe I'm bothering to keep the fridge and freezer plugged in. 
