Well I've started!
On New Year's Day I started off by doing Edinburgh parkrun. For those of you who don't know about parkrun.... you should. It's a brilliant concept. A free, timed 5K race that's on every week in various locations up and down the land. It was the first time I've been able to race for 5 months and it was GREAT to be back properly running with other people. When I last ran it back in August I managed just short of 20 minutes. I figured I'd be somewhere between 25 and 30 minutes this time, given lack of fitness and not yet being 100% free from injury. So I was delighted to manage 23.08. (And the course is 87 metres longer than it used to be, having been remeasured recently...)
So a good start to the year. But the next challenge of the day was going to be even tougher. It was the first event in my '11 in 2011' plans for the year.... The Loony Dook at South Queensferry...
Was delighted to see the car thermometer say it was 2°C as we parked up about a mile's walk from the town (closest we could get) and it was that familiar feeling of nervousness tinged with excitement that you get at the big races as the family and I walked to where the procession started. I'm sure the temperature dropped another degree or two as we dropped down in to the main street, and I left it as long as possible before removing my outer layers and getting into my t-shirt and shorts to join the crowd.
It was still a long wait... My feet had been cold while I was wearing socks and shoes, standing around in flip flops for 10 minutes and they were absolutely frozen. Basically I couldn't feel my toes at all except for a kind of vague soreness. It was good to get moving when the time finally came for the procession to begin. I was also pleased to see a friendly face - a friend from work, Craig, who'd signed up a day or two before on a whim. Basically anything to distract me from the cold and the rising trepidation about what lay ahead at the end of the procession!
We were quite far back in the crowd and we kind of got stalled towards the end of the town as we hit the crowd of spectators and the first dookers started to head back while we were still trying to make our way down. There was a huge number of people about to watch the event, and there must have been several hundred fellow mentalists also taking the lunge.
I'm told by my wife that when I finally made my way down the steps to the beach, I had a look of genuine fear rather than excitement on my face, which doesn't surprise me! Was glad to have Craig there too as we posed for a photo from his wife and then waded in to the water. Our plan was simple - get in, get under, get back out again. (Some people were literally just getting their feet wet, but we reckon it only counts if you go under). I'm not sure how it was possible for the water to feel even colder than we were anyway (but I believe it's something to do with specific heat capacities and the fact that water is a better conductor than air). So didn't want to hang around, just walked in as quickly as possible. There's a line of RNLI men stopping you going too far in to the water, and when we were in to about thigh deep, Craig decided there was no time like the present anyway and on the count of three we dropped down. It wasn't really deep enough and I went in to neck deep first. It was, as expected, extremely cold, but not so bad once I was under. Final step then was to duck my head under, which I duly did. A quick splash about after, and then I was perfectly happy to head back out..!
Another quick photo call for my sister in law and I went to grab the hot drink I had just found out was on offer for all dookers. My feet were colder than they've ever been in my life, and a part of me was genuinely worried I might be doing myself permanent damage, stupid as that might sound.
My wife had brought my change of clothes down to the beach for me, but it was surprisingly difficult to get dressed again when I couldn't feel anything below my knees. There was a great party atmosphere going on (my kids were dancing to the ceilidh band with their cousins) and the rational part of my mind knew that there'd never been any stories of anyone losing toes to frostbite after doing the loony dook so I surely wouldn't be the first!
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| After the dook. Hot drink and ceilidh band provided. I know my feet are there cos I can see them - can't feel 'em but... |
So what next? Well, flights are now booked for Berlin marathon in September, which is pretty damn exciting. I need to get a few more running races done over the coming months to ensure my body is holding together ok and I can manage the distance.
Plans also coming together for bike journey (Anyone fancy cycling from Edinburgh to Aberdeen over two days in August?)
Still need a few more challenges, so keep the ideas coming. Thanks for your support.
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