Speed of Light! Part 1

As I put my make up on I wondered if I should be blacking out my face too. My gear – all laid out on the bed – looked more like I was preparing for a black ops mission than a run! Ha the thought is preposterous since I can’t even rescue a spider without mishap. Great loss to my wonderful Garscube Harrriers mug as it lay in smithereens due to misplaced fear!  

An eight legged freak of nature got precariously close to my pillow this morning so I used the cup beside my bed to capture it. Covering it with paper I took it up to the front door. However my hair brushed against my neck and I irrationally imagined the monster had escaped its ceramic prison and crawled up my arm and trying to construct a massive web in my hair to hide in! I threw the mug outside with a blood curling scream slapping at my neck and terrifying the puppy so much it took many treats to coax her from her hiding spot under my dirty washing! Yeah that bad!  It was a monster - its leg-span was 4 inches and its body defo over an inch! Seriously could even see the hairs on its legs!

Anyway way off track there! My gear is all ready for Speed of Light rehearsal run in Edinburgh tonight! Layers of black clothing so all that will be seen in the dark will be the light suit we are to wear for the event – and my head torch! Yaktrax in case it is slippy – well is has been pishing down for days true to Scottish summer weather and muddy hills are only to be expected.  So I don’t need to worry about white trainers as they are already truly camouflaged in Mugdock mud from previous training runs! 

The only good thing is the forecast is for dry, cloudy but a mild 17 degrees C, which isn’t too bad!  Must admit I did have a wee bit of a panic when I saw the training video and the warnings about hill training and fitness!! The Maragirls and I fitted in a few hill runs of Khyber and Bardowie [ten hills on that run] and some more than others, to build our strength up and some even did some running in the dark [Vasquez like the true soldier she is went out onto the Mugdock hills in total darkness one midnight run and on a separate occasion Expedition Donna and GI Jules literally went on an expedition in the darkness on a Mugdock run that was meant to only be and hour or so starting at 8.30pm ended up nearly being an all-nighter with threat of sending out a search party when they didn’t return home till eleven thirty! FFS!! That is way beyond call of duty girls! I might retract that statement however after I get to tonight’s rehearsal run!

I was relieved when the latest info came in stating that our expected pace is 10-12min miles downhill and 20-22 mins/ mile for the steep uphill sections! EASY! I hope! However there is some light [as in the luminous type] choreography so that should be interesting on the slippy hills of Arthur's seat in the pitch dark lit only by the light from our suits. Look out for the stray light zipping off down the hill on its ass! That’ll be me! I do hope NOT!

The final run is on the 31^st August and will be a momentous day for me as I cease employment as a lecturer to become a student again and also a full time professional photographer! Scary biscuits!