Ben Nevis and the Great Glen Way

So, last week a bunch of my friends and I went on a five-day hiking trip. We started by climbing Ben Nevis, the tallest mountain in the UK. From there, we went to Fort Augustus and hiked the lsat 43.5 miles of the Great Glen Way, a trail that ends at Inverness Castle. It was an incredible experience. I am so glad I went. Here are some of the images from the trip.

Marathon Monday

Yesterday, thousands of people ran the Boston Marathon. I did not. However, I did run 11.75 miles, broken up by climbing a small mountain in the middle. It was great. The other day I was on top of Arthur's Seat with some friends, and we looked out over the city and saw some bigger hills across the way. We thought they looked cool and decided we should go there sometime. So, yesterday morning, my friend Ken and I set out, ran to the mountain, climbed it, and ran back. I haven't exerted myself to that extent in quite some time, and it was miserable while I was running but felt great after. I feel like I really accomplished something. I hadn't run that far since I was in high school and training for hockey, so I feel really good about myself. Plus, the views from the mountain were stunning. It was really magnificent. I'll go back there sometime and take pictures.

Brief anecdotes from today:

I woke up later than I'd hoped this morning, so it was already about noon when I went for my run. I set out as usual, but felt like switching things up a bit. Instead of doing a relatively long run at a medium pace (what I've been doing), I decided to do something short but intense. There happens to be a set of steps at the base of Arthur's Seat that I've often run as a part of my route around the hill. Today, I ran those as if they were stadium stairs. I went up and down ten times and was exhausted, but thrilled. I felt like I was back in high school working out with my speed and strength coach, Dick Sullivan. It was a good feeling.

Then, it was lunch time. Since I had had cereal for my last two meals, I didn't really feel like doing that again. Instead, I went to this small café where I've become a regular over the past couple of weeks. The woman who works there is really nice and jokes with me. It's just a cool place. So I was there, enjoying my lunch and doing a bit of studying, when I noticed that I was the last person there and it was about time for the place to close. I packed up and went to go pay at the counter, where I was greeted with, "That you then? Aye, ok. And oh, do I have goodies for you today!" I was confused at first, then I saw her packing me a nice little bag of muffins and cakes and such. Turns out they're not open on weekends and need to get rid of leftovers that won't get eaten. I ended up walking out with a nice bag of free supplies for the weekend and a big smile on my face.

It's been a good day so far. Now back to my revising...

Just a few images from the Isle of Skye