Sunday, June 15, 2014

Ain't Nothing but a Wee Stroll in the Park

So after months of hard training and team effort to push each other to our limits, I finished the Edinburgh Tough Mudder. What I didn't know about this lovely race is that it is a HALF marathon and obstacles. When I signed up I thought, very naively, that this was a short 10 km run with obstacles. I was wrong - just under a half marathon with obstacles. Tough Mudder was created by the US Special Forces for the purposes of basic military training camp then it got popular and they commercialized it. My friend, Lis from Calgary noticed this in about February and asked if I wanted to do it. I didn't take much thought to it and signed up. Goals for training are always welcomed. Over the next couple of weeks, I convinced a few more law school friends going to the castle to join in so that we could have a solid team. In the end three of us trained together for three months. The other two decided last minute to join which was fine. Tough Mudder sent us a training program to do - hilarious but oh so necessary. It was an hour and a half program that ran 12 minute straight programs of cardio, arm strength, or leg strength with three minute breaks in between sets. I can now do man push ups, burpee, wall sits, and skipping for three solid minutes. Running in Kingston was actually nice to train for but I didn't train enough for the Mudder to be running full tilt the entire time. Kingston does not have enough trail running for that to be possible.

We came to Edinburgh on Friday to get settled and carb-load. It felt like the day before competitions - not too much walking, a little bit of shopping, and a whole lot of pasta and chicken. Saturday was an early morning. We got up at 5 to paint our faces, warm up, and head out on public transit to Dalkeith where the race was taking place. We got there and it was incredible to see. There teams upon teams dressed up in team shirts or costumes. After spray pairing numerous Canadian flags in ourselves we joined in the collective warm up (think step class like). The atmosphere was a little like what I imagine a football locker room to be - a lot of chanting, groaning, and war cries. Before we eve got to the start line you had to jump over an 8 foot wall, which I am proud to say I did without help. Always good to get muddy before you even start the race - why else would they call it Tough Mudder? They make you chant once you get over the wall to get into the spirit of the race. The entire race is ran in about 8 inches of mud that they create specifically for this race. My runners were trashed at the end. Our first obstacle was an army crawl in the mud with barbed wire above us - key to this was keeping your bum down and sprawling. Some of the memorable obstacles were climbing through pipeline in pitch black, climbing up a 30 foot wall by rope only, jumping into an ice bath then swimming 40m in it, being electrocuted a couple of times, and the entire mile of hip deep mud. We got electorshocked twice - you had to army crawl the first time through this 50m course then run the second one. Half the team ran together which made it 100x worse, this is the only time that team work did not pay off. I ran alone after seeing our guy hit the ground in pain because the girls with him got hit. The worst one by far was swimming backwards with only your face above water because you were in a cage. I hate small spaces and that just about made me cry... Might have made me cry, don't know and will never admit it either way. A lot of the course was grit to get yourself through the obstacle or the running. Running in mud is harder than it looks, your feet stick and they slide and its not like you can just power through on straight aways. The one nice thing about Tough Mudder is that you do everything as a team because you have to, which makes it a lot easier than a normal half marathon. There is no way you can sheer climb a rope without someone holding the bottom or even get yourself up to climb over a 20 foot wall without a little bit of help.

Our team was pretty good besides one girl who whined and gave up and ruined that team spirit. Fair enough you hurt but you do not give up in the middle of no where because you are muddy. We all scraped our knees and elbows and other body parts hurt but you do not give up and whinge about it. I have more bruises and scraps than is imaginable but totally worth it. I would totally do it again but I would just run a little bit more prior to. My muscles this morning are on fire. Everything burns.

AFN







Sunday, June 08, 2014

Castle (aka Herstmonceux Castle, Hailsham, East Sussex, England)

By the end of the 12th Century, the family at the manor house at Herste had considerable status. Written accounts mention a lady called Idonea de Herste, who married a Norman nobleman named Ingelram de Monceux. Around this time, the manor began to be called the 'Herste of the Monceux’; a name that eventually became Herstmonceux. Essentially, the cast was reclaimed by Henry VIII from the Fiennes family until the time of Elizabeth I. Seventeenth century England was rife with uncertainty and social unrest, yet the owners of Herstmonceux appear to have prospered, carrying out renovations and even were able to avoid the extremes of the 1640s when civil war gripped the country. In 1933 Sir Paul Latham purchased the castle and continued the process of reconstruction, completing the remodelling of the northern half of the castle. Extensive work was also undertaken on the gardens and grounds, with the addition of a tennis court, a swimming pool, extensive plantings and the excavation and flooding of the moat. Further changes to the castle came during WWII when it for a brief time housed the Hearts of Oak insurance company which needed a place where its’ records would be safe from Germany’s Blitz on London. While Herstmonceux Castle did not see any serious action, it still felt the effects of the war and was on numerous occasions strafed by German planes. An RAF camp, part of RAF Wartling, was established on the estate and a large air-raid shelter was constructed immediately south-west of the drawbridge. In 1946 Sir Paul Latham sold Herstmonceux Castle to the Admiralty, which established it as the new home of the Royal Greenwich Observatory. From the early 1950s until 1989 Herstmonceux Castle remained a centre of scientific research and home to one of the world’s leading astronomical organizations. However, "light pollution” from the nearby city of Eastbourne, along with other factors, combined to make staying at Herstmonceux impractical and in 1989 the RGO was moved to Cambridge. The castle was sold to developers who planned to turn it into a hotel and golf resort. The idea was opposed by a group of local residents who formed 'The Society for the Protection of Herstmonceux Castle'. After a lengthy battle the castle and estate were saved from the developers. In 1993 the Castle was purchased by Drs. Alfred and Isabel Bader and donated to Queen’s University, with the intent to establish it as a centre of international education. Queen’s International Study Centre was born, and in 1994, after extensive renovations to transform bedrooms into offices and work areas into classrooms, the first students arrived. Since that time the Bader International Study Centre has continued to grow and today welcomes students from around the globe. (See Herstmonceux Castle website)

In other news, caste life is awful. It is British boarding school food on a timed schedule (8, noon, and 5). Typical meals are slop, stew, and potatoes. It means a whole lot of spinach salads for all meals of the day. I appreciate meals outside of the castle and raw crunchy vegetables a little bit more now.

The photos below are the castle and the set of girls at the castle. The "bros" are an interesting crew for sure. Nothing much else is to tell about the castle - we hang out in classrooms or the pub on campus. It is a tame lifestyle that is very moderated and scheduled. 






Thursday, June 05, 2014

Ibiza, Spain

Hello all,

Elisabeth, Alyssa, and myself found last minute flights to Ibiza to get away for the weekend. Ibiza is Europe's version of Vegas without the shows, or gambling, or things to do other than party. Oh well. The first day we got there was quite tame. The girls found Sangria at a small bar on the beach. I had the most delicious milk shake that was devoured in under four minutes. Castle food is brutal and revolting. We walked around Sant Antonio until we found a beach and just laid down for a couple of hours. Albeit, that only lasted until dinner time when we found a tapas place. The group decided to go to a day club to see the Ibiza party scene in a tame manner. The Ocean Beach Club was incredible. We watched Steve Aoki play live which I guess from other people is a major deal ad should have been more than the 20 Euro cover we paid. The club had a pool on the inside of it, which was hilarious to watch all of the people deal with and maneuver around. Of course we met several lawyers and had some great chats about how we should change our minds and work in London. English lawyers, for the most part, are regulated in their hours per week. We went for a quick bite to eat at a local place then out to the Cafe Mambo to rap up the night. I cannot believe that people do a day club, mid night club, then a superclub. The clubs in Ibiza close at 6 in the morning. We called it a night around midnight which was super tame according to the rest of the castle crew. I am not a partier nor will it ever be my thing. The rest of the weekend was spent on a lovely beach in Sant Antonio reading Commercial Arbitration and International Trade Law. Lis got one of the best burns I have seen in a while. It appeared to have given her wings (cue Red Bull joke).

As a whole, Brody would love Ibiza and the rest of the world should just pass. It is a constant whomping of awful dubstep music and a lot of drunken English people.






AFN