The Tumble of Bowhill

We were off to the Bowhill off-road Duathlon, one of friend Paul's events. He does them so well....everyone starts n finishes with smiles but there's still plenty of hard racing on challenging courses.

Glen picked us up just after 9am for the trip to Bowhill, a beautiful estate, owned by the Duke of Buccleugh, just outside Selkirk. I pussied out of racing not having ridden my MTB enough but Rosemary was raring to go. On arrival I got changed into my running kit and ran both the bike and run course. Stunning scenery. The terrain was tough going but not too technically challenging. One hill did go on forever though! Nearly the end, in a wee glen was an innocuous burn crossing bridge. Allegedly I'd been warned about it having a frictionless surface but have no recollection! "Geez...cribbins, help mah boab".....or maybe i just screamed a profanity. As soon as my foot hit the wooden surface, it slipped violently from underneath me and I slammed into the fenced barrier at critical velocity!

"I'm gonna be sick.....I'm gonna be sick" I thought as the pain excruciated throughout me. I got to my feet and just kept running. It couldn't be that bad.... which it wasn't but it took 5 minutes before I was running freely again! Getting back to the transition area, I just had time to grab my jacket and camera to see the leaders coming in. Rosemary was in 4th place going into the bike, a few minutes behind the leader but just behind the other girls! Good news as she's quite a bit stronger on the bike. That said, Jo is a brill athlete so I didn't hold out much hope of her losing her lead.

Just over 20 minutes later, Rosemary was flying towards the finishing line at great pace. I shot off a few photo's and then cheered loudly. She slumped over her bars, wheezing like an asthmatic camel..... "You've won?" and she managed to get a smile out. Yah.....beauty. I was well excited and proud. Jo crossed the line shortly afterwards, also slumping over her bars but was quick to congratulate Rosemary.

Following a wee bit of socialising in the cafe and the prize giving, we headed back to Edinburgh and a relatively chilled evening. La Favorita pizza was Rosemary's reward and my medicine for a wounded leg! The day ended with a coaching call and a wee bit of a read.