Ran there, did that, got the tshirt (1hr10min 12sec)

My alarm clock goes off at 7am and I almost turn it off and go back to sleep. Then it hit me like a wall when remembering I need to paint myself blue and run 10km - a thought that is hidieous enough and even more silly at such an early hour on a Sunday.
After Tommy and I transform ourselves into cartoon characters we get in the most appropriate car for smurfs (a marvellous mini) and try to drive across town, alas due to traffic the little mobile is abandoned in a nearby car park and we warm up by walking to the Start line, in the rain (soundtracked by myself singing the Mission Impossible tune). Tommy doesn't remember ordering rain, neither do I. Our paint dulls and our photographer threatens to retreat back to bed but luckily the drops disappear just before we run off in to the fog.

The first 2km whizz past. On the 3rd kilometre a logistical problem arises, mental note to self next time don't run in skirts made of thin tshirting - the material stretches very easily and no longer stays where you want it to be! Luckily I have a few extra safety pins from my number so that saves the day. Past the spectacular Edinburgh castle, up the hill on the Mound, still going strong, bands playing and spectators shouting 'Go blue people', Marie Curie cheerleaders shaking pompoms and handing out jellybaby sweets, down the Royal Mile bouncing along on the cobbles and into Holyrood Park. Wait, it's uphill ... slow down to walk for a while, purely to enjoy the lush scenery ofcourse! Following that comes the hardest time for me, a mundane stretch of road and houses down to the Cowgate. 8km, can that be right, that far already? Tommy comments about the camera-men, why do they always stand at the top of the hills so they can film runners staggering up rather than watch you pacing downhill comfortably? The end is close, more strangers provide us with encouraging cheers, fellow faster runners stand by whilst recovering and they fashion 'knowing' smiles. Right turn into the meadows and the finishline appears, a brass band dictates the pace and suddenly I am showered with more adrenalin and a deep feeling of achievement, Tommy's eyes show he's feeling it too. A Zimbabwean friend Lynda was at the end to have some after-race banter. I feel as though I could run it all over again but after standing still for a few minutes I try to move my legs and they send me a slight feeling of unappreciation for what they've been through today. My heart is full of love for everything. My admiration overflows for Tommy as it was the 1st time we have run together and his pace is a certainly faster than mine, yet he stuck with me all the way. My mind feels awake, alert and most of all extremely alive!

Home for a beer from Marc and Andrew. A long shower to un-blue myself back to human, then off to an Italian buffet for a massive meal! Spent the afternoon watching Mission Impossible 3, Tom Cruise's errands seemed a little more radical compared to mine but I am confident that I'll be sent a self destructing message for the next adventure soon enough.

Until then I am going to let my aching muscles recover, relax and enjoy the sensation of winning a personal battle.