Committed!

I've been getting back into the swing of running again after my enforced lay off due to pulling something in my back. The pain in the back has become something in the past, so I decided to run in the Devilla 15 kms, track race. The idea was to take it very steadily, and restart my running season. The first half of the race was one of those nice things that sometimes happen in running. I felt really good and was simply gliding over the trail and enjoying every minute of it. I knew that my three and a half weeks without running  meant that my stamina would be lacking and I was right. After about 45 minutes the first real hill in the race appeared in front of me. I struggled up it, remembering that the hills at Berwick a few weeks before were a breeze... not any more. From there till the end of the race I was running on memory and resorting to asking the marshals how far till the end. I know that if I do that, it's red alert and danger signals. I made it to the end in 1.21 and kicked myself. Why hadn't I thought it out and started at the back and used the race as a way back into running. As it was I felt knackered and had a recurrence of the sore knee, meditation injury (that's another story.) Since that race, a week last Sunday, I have run three times and the sore knee is reacting the way it did earlier this year. The soreness recedes after a few miles. Last time the doc, told me to keep running because it wasn't cartilage  trouble and it would be best the keep the knee muscles strong. So, I've been using the ice pack and anti-inflammatory gels. This is a first for me, so lets hope it works. Fate was good to me last Sunday because the Lasswade 10 miler, was full when I tried to enter it. Instead I ran down the railway track and then along a track through a field towards Letham mains. I hadn't run there for years and really enjoyed it. I was out for 1 hour 15 and felt pretty good.
Yesterday, I went for a longish cycle on my bike with the butterfly handlebars. http://triboy57.blogspot.com/2012/01/butterfly-handle-bars.html
It was an interesting ride! The new handle bars mean that I am not so crouched over the bike and less likely to get a crick in my neck. I feel as though I am much higher on the bike. The good news is that it feels good holding onto the top of the bars going up hill. The news gears are working well. The only glitch is the odd feeling of not being completely in control going around corners at speed. This must be because the butterfly handlebars are much bigger than the previous drop handle bars and so a smaller movement of them leads to a bigger movement of the wheel than I am used to.

The BIG NEWS of this week is that I have bought a flight ticket for me and the bike from Edinburgh airport to Bergen, dated 18 May 2012. This is where I will start the North Sea Cycle Trail. My original idea was to head south from Haddington towards Harwich and onwards to Holland. The route goes north from there and eventually reaches Bergen where the ferry used to take you to Lerwick. The ferry no longer takes you to Lerwick because it has stopped running, hence the Bergen start. I have been dithering about whether to do this trail since last year, buying the ticket means I'm committed to it, so now the planning starts. I will need a tablet to take with me so that I can write about my progress as I go. I would also like to let people know where I am so that I can get some riding buddies. Advice on cheap and durable tablets would be appreciated because I know nothing about them.