Yesterday I did the ultimate in alternative training. My wife Elaine had arranged for 3 tonnes of soil to be delivered to Rosemead - soil for the 4 raised beds I'd built during the Summer holidays. (Yes, they're big beds.) Normally, soil gets delivered in big bags by a lorry that has a crane that can deposit the soil wherever you need it.
Unfortunately the lorry couldn't get up the narrow (and steep!) drive up to the playground, so the lorry driver dumped the soil on the pavement outside the school. This meant I had to shovel 3 tonnes of soil into a wheelbarrow, push it up the hill, and tip it into the beds.
I'm not sure of the maths, but 3 tonnes of soil equals a lot of trips with a wheelbarrow. I kept telling the curious children that we were moving the equivalent of an Elephant. (For the Trivial Pursuiters amongst you, a 20-year old female Asian elephant weights about 3500kg.) Elaine helped with the digging, but the lugging and the tipping of the barrow was down to me. Several hours later, job done, and I'm a bit fitter than I was before. One more step to victory over the Channel.
The Lido felt good this morning. Okay, so the temperature was only 9.2 degrees, but it did my back, shoulders and blisters a world of good. I swam for thirty minutes.
Definitely recommended - 3 hours digging and humping soil followed by a 30 minute swim in icy water.
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