Chocolate Salty Balls

What a busy last day of the year.

I insisted that we went for a swim. R has been poorly I argued that if she was fit enough to do her race tomorrow, then she must be well enough to do a wee swim today. She was faster than me of course. I then did a quick lap of Arthur's Seat and had to rush back before my clothes got locked in the pool for the evening.

We then pedalled down to the National Portrait Gallery as we hadn't had time to see the Jitka Hanzlová photography retrospective. It was pretty cool, especially the image of the spider with 7 legs. We then went to the contemporay gallery where images of 'modern' Scots was being shown. The Nadav Kander of David Millar was my favourite.... Not because it was an image of a cyclist, but how Kander manages to get intensity into the of his subjects. Then it was the BP (British Polluter I think it stands for) Portrait Award exhibition. Some truly wonderful portraits.

It was a struggle to stay awake even until 11pm so I missed the bells!

Doing a retrospective is customary at this time of year and I'm going to be no different.

The Olympics was great as was Bradley winning the TdF. Mo Farah was my hero though. It's not only about victory though. There's plenty of people doing brilliant things everyday without recognition so chapeau to them too.

The most notable things I've done this year have been to start training almost properly again. The catalyst was me riding from the west to the east coast in a day....all 270km of it! It was an epic ride in which I suffered like a dog, because I was too heavy and relatively unfit. Subsequently, I did a few triathlons, both enjoyable but certainly plenty room for improvement in 2013. Being able to run again has allowed me to explore my area the Peak District in all its barren beauty.

It sounds cheesy, but I think I've 'grown' mentally quite a bit over the last year too. My camera has helped me look at the world in a new way, seeing it in a good light and opening my eyes to the world of art. Scientific process, logical and objective thinking help explain the 'observables' of life. However, not everything is explainable. Religion fills that void for some....I call it delusion, and prefer art! Try to explain what beauty is... try to explain how senses combine to make us 'feel'! I bet you can't.... art does that without providing explanation as to why. Moreover, philosophically, it's not possible to begin to understand humanity without combining science and art, (although quantum physicists may disagree!). Michael Gove's philistinian restructuring of our education system clearly misses this point.

Rosemary, my other half has had an epic year! She was 2nd in probably the toughest Ironman distance triathlon out there, certainly the toughest in the UK. She won the Open 5 adventure race series, completed the Adidas Terrex 5 day race and had quite a few other notable performances.

Such success doesn't come without sacrifice and it's been tough for the both of us. I've never seen sport from the 'partner' side before, worrying when she's tired, injured or simply a bit down; or, waiting for her to call when she's been out racing in the wilderness during a storm. I wouldn't change it for the world though...it breeds patience and understanding and makes me a better coach.

For 2013:
? Complete a photography project and print it in my own wee book
? Do an Olympic distance triathlon in 2 hrs 20 mins or faster
? Do something epic, yet to be decided