Caught short on the railway walk!

Last night I'd had a great idea that involved getting up early and heading off into the Pentlands to run with Nethy. I thought Matt could take Ruby to school and my parents could pick her up. I was quite excited! Unfortunately my plan unravelled when I found out my folks couldn't manage pick up. I was actually pretty peeved and couldn't think what else I'd like to do. I only have a 3 hour window so the Lammermuirs would have been cutting it fine, and the thought of a local run just didn't float my boat. I set out my running stuff and decided to plan my route in the morning.

Unfortunately after another late night of reading (on book 7 of True Blood on my Kindle...can't..stop...reading!) I felt in no fit shape to do anything. I very rarely have a free Friday morning, and the weather was awful, so I had visions of me curled up on our new chais longue (yes I said chais longue!) with my kindle, the fire on, a cup of tea and Eric and Sookie for company. Luckily I talked myself into my running kit and ran down to school with Ruby and the dog.

From there I decided on a simple run along the Longniddry railway walk, turning off at Cotterburn car park, and then heading on the road towards the Garelton hills where we joined a VERY muddy track which heads East. Then back down to Haddington via the equally muddy shelter belts path. The first few miles were hell! I was plodding, feeling sick and my stomach was churning. I almost gave up and walked home, but I'm not a quitter. I may be a slow runner but one thing I can happily say is that when I set my mind to doing a certain distance I always get there in the end. I was glad to have Nethy for company, as I can chat/moan to her and not look entirely mental if someone sees me.

At mile 4 my stomach was not happy. I'd had cereal before I left the house, thinking (foolishly) that I might actually run fast enough today to need the carbs (I dabble in glycogen depletion running so often run on empty, so to speak). I slowed down even more, and started looking around to see if anyone was nearby. Thankfully the railway walk on a Friday morning is not a busy route and only one man had passed me and I could see there was no-one up ahead, so I swerved into the bushes, apologised to the dog (who wondered what I was up to!) and did my business! TMI?? I guess probably, but this is a running blog and we trail runners are well versed in pulling down our running tights and ducking into the undergrowth when the need arises. You urban road runners should try it sometime it's very liberating, although I don't think the Meadows or Leith Links counts as trail, so I wouldn't recommend giving it a go there!

Lightening my load certainly perked me up. I felt much better and the rest of the run was actually rather pleasant. 8 miles completed and I actually managed to be back home in time to shower and still have time for the cup of tea, chais longue and some True Blood. Braw!

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