To see if I can...
That's the main reason I do anything. And the main reason I've done stuff up to now. Call it 'being pig-headed' as my Aunty Joan so eloquently puts it, or a family trait (have noticed mad relations doing things as I do just because) it also makes for a good story, which is the other reason my family/friends also attempt things...
To see if I can. If I can, cool! If I fail miserably, ah well, that wasn't meant for me was it? Not a talent I can put down on me list of attributes. move on....preferably onto a beach for a coupla weeks...
Anyway, So what is this all about Rosa? I hear you say. Whachya gonna do now?
Well, I cannot take the inspiration to try this. I have a mad acquaintance (well, I have several mad acquaintances, but that's another story) who has roped me into trying to complete a Quadrathalon in central Scotland in July. Sounds interesting hey? not even a bi-athalon, or triathalon, but flicken Quadrathalon. Not that I've ever attempted any kind of 'athalon' apart from doing a half marathon 9 years ago (yep, 9 years ago, to see if I could, and swearing I'd never do that again). ...
This whole idea was thought up by some mad laird up on an estate on Loch Tay who wanted his mates to do something when they came up to Scotland in the summer hol's.
And I was placated with the fact that there's no running in it! (hoorah!) but there is
1) a 1.2 km swim across Loch Tay, water temp. in summer: 6deg. peaty, murky water, needs a navigator to swim in front so you don't end up in circles.
2) a 15mile hill-walk across 5 munro's including Ben Lawyer (quite a tall chap), website interestingly states: hillwalk/run. (!!!! fell-runners are just bananas, even more than me!)
3) a 7km kayak back across Loch Tay, to original starting point.
4) a 50 odd km bike ride around the circumference of Loch Tay.
5) stop the clock and the race timer by slicing a watermelon with a samurai sword and eating the melon. (something the Laird invented to make use of his samurai sword collection, and you have to eat the melon, cos it costs him £1.50 each don't ya know!)
Ah sure, I just about fainted watching it one sunday avo when my mate text me and said 'this is the challenge I was talking about! you can do it with a bit of training no bother at all!'. yep she's a bit deluded.
So even after watching the physical and mental pain of last year's contestants, I thought 'jeez, it'd be good to have a crack at it, not many people will be able to say they've swum across Loch Tay', and for aforementioned reasoning (however unrealistic that reasoning is).
So I've started training (after a delay with getting crook at New Years). I'm not committing to doing the whole event (i.e. all 4 events) as you can enter as a team, as long as there's 2 of you doing one of the events. So G got interested at the swimming bit too (?gluttons for punishment) and he'll be a teammate. nothing like sharing the pain I reckon.
At about Easter time I reckon we'll have an idea of what we'll be able to do.From how training is going currently, I'll be lucky to get away with the swim and hill-walk (stress walk, there is absolutely no way on this earth I am running up scottish mountains thanks very muchly).
Just to add a bit more pressure (and to again make a good story out of it), I've decided to try to do a masters module in neurology, assessment of case-study essay, to be handed in day before easter. (insert: to see if I can here).
These things always remind me of a really good (bad) joke whenever I'm out training in gale-force winds and hail: A bloke on a construction site at tea-break, sees this Irishman/(insert ethnicity of choice here) hitting his head with a hammer. He rushes up to him and says: "what the bloody hell you doing that for?" The Irishman replies "Cos it feels so good when I stop!"
God loves a trier......
To see if I can. If I can, cool! If I fail miserably, ah well, that wasn't meant for me was it? Not a talent I can put down on me list of attributes. move on....preferably onto a beach for a coupla weeks...
Anyway, So what is this all about Rosa? I hear you say. Whachya gonna do now?
Well, I cannot take the inspiration to try this. I have a mad acquaintance (well, I have several mad acquaintances, but that's another story) who has roped me into trying to complete a Quadrathalon in central Scotland in July. Sounds interesting hey? not even a bi-athalon, or triathalon, but flicken Quadrathalon. Not that I've ever attempted any kind of 'athalon' apart from doing a half marathon 9 years ago (yep, 9 years ago, to see if I could, and swearing I'd never do that again). ...
This whole idea was thought up by some mad laird up on an estate on Loch Tay who wanted his mates to do something when they came up to Scotland in the summer hol's.
And I was placated with the fact that there's no running in it! (hoorah!) but there is
1) a 1.2 km swim across Loch Tay, water temp. in summer: 6deg. peaty, murky water, needs a navigator to swim in front so you don't end up in circles.
2) a 15mile hill-walk across 5 munro's including Ben Lawyer (quite a tall chap), website interestingly states: hillwalk/run. (!!!! fell-runners are just bananas, even more than me!)
3) a 7km kayak back across Loch Tay, to original starting point.
4) a 50 odd km bike ride around the circumference of Loch Tay.
5) stop the clock and the race timer by slicing a watermelon with a samurai sword and eating the melon. (something the Laird invented to make use of his samurai sword collection, and you have to eat the melon, cos it costs him £1.50 each don't ya know!)
Ah sure, I just about fainted watching it one sunday avo when my mate text me and said 'this is the challenge I was talking about! you can do it with a bit of training no bother at all!'. yep she's a bit deluded.
So even after watching the physical and mental pain of last year's contestants, I thought 'jeez, it'd be good to have a crack at it, not many people will be able to say they've swum across Loch Tay', and for aforementioned reasoning (however unrealistic that reasoning is).
So I've started training (after a delay with getting crook at New Years). I'm not committing to doing the whole event (i.e. all 4 events) as you can enter as a team, as long as there's 2 of you doing one of the events. So G got interested at the swimming bit too (?gluttons for punishment) and he'll be a teammate. nothing like sharing the pain I reckon.
At about Easter time I reckon we'll have an idea of what we'll be able to do.From how training is going currently, I'll be lucky to get away with the swim and hill-walk (stress walk, there is absolutely no way on this earth I am running up scottish mountains thanks very muchly).
Just to add a bit more pressure (and to again make a good story out of it), I've decided to try to do a masters module in neurology, assessment of case-study essay, to be handed in day before easter. (insert: to see if I can here).
These things always remind me of a really good (bad) joke whenever I'm out training in gale-force winds and hail: A bloke on a construction site at tea-break, sees this Irishman/(insert ethnicity of choice here) hitting his head with a hammer. He rushes up to him and says: "what the bloody hell you doing that for?" The Irishman replies "Cos it feels so good when I stop!"
God loves a trier......
posted by Rosa at 4:41 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home