[In lieu of a real post

(come back tomorrow for that), here's a bit of random musing/rambling about the très exciting subject of running.]

I have finally (i.e. four weeks later than planned) started running again in a weak imitation of training for the Water of Leith 10K (visit Sponsor ME on the sidebar to gain some karma points) in August. The run follows the river as closely as possible, and my usual training route is to head down to Stockbridge, up the same path as the run itself and head back from Roseburn along the main road. It's somewhere between 3 and 4 miles, and it's a nice enough route so that it doesn't feel too much like a chore.

On Tuesday I hit upon the cunning plan of doing this in the other direction. It was around 7 pm, and I'd just finished the sweaty cycle back up from work. The weather was muggy and warm but had cooled down to a pleasant level when I left the flat, and the moisture in the air made it almost a little chilly. Going in the other direction means that the first mile and a half or so is more or less flat, and it's a far better warm-up than thundering down the near-vertical St. Stephen's Street into Stockbridge.

The next section along the Water of Leith itself is probably the most picturesque mugger's paradise in Edinburgh. It's green, shady, pleasant, lined with excellent hiding places and populated exclusively by poncy middle-class joggers bearing iPods. (I make no bones about being the absolute apex/nadir of said pretentious muppets.) It really was an excellent night to be out: the little bit of moisture left meant I didn't overheat and the sun slanting down through the slightly dank undergrowth gave everything a terribly HP Lovecraftian aura.

Of course, running up the near-vertical St. Stephen's Street is infinitely worse than charging down it. Not exactly an ideal warm-down.

[Normal service will be resumed tomorrow.]