It was already getting dark, but I knew we had about an hour of 'light' so we headed up the shelter belts which run alongside the road from Haddington to Drem. The Council have very kindly put in a path on the verge leading into the shelter belt, which is rather delightful. The track which leads through the trees was pretty dry at the bottom half but as we got further up it turned into a bog! The trail fairies have been out and there have obviously been more bikes on the track lately, which is great for them but not so great when you want to run on it. We got to the top and turned right onto the field margin. From here you get a fantastic view of the town nestled infront of the Lammermuirs. There were fresh tracks in the field but we didn't see the deer who'd made them. Nethy doesn't really bother when she sees them, probably because she realises they can outrun her!
As we were running back downhill on a farm track I caught my foot on a stone and fell (at speed) flat on my face! The ground was soft and muddy at this point, lucky for me. Nethy came over to check I was ok and I jumped to my feet quickly in case anyone saw me, which is highly unlikely given we are in the middle of some fields with no-one else around! :) The next bit, where we have to go through the farm, is my least favourite part of this route as I was once shouted at by the farmer! Luckily there was no-one around today, and despite more thoughts of the bloke with the chainsaw running out of a barn we got through safely. A small section downhill on a quiet road took us across the A1 (old and new) and then we were heading back to Haddington on a nice dry farm track. Despite the fact you can see the traffic on the A1 (and hear it) I don't mind this path. It has quite a few signs on it serving the drivers on the A1 which make great markers for sprints, and usually by the time I'm running here I'm tired and I can stop looking at my feet and just plod along. Nethy gets off her lead here and gets to run into the fields so she likes it too. By the time we got home it was alost dark. Nethy was foaming at the mouth, but looked happy enough. She's crashed out in her bed now!
I've been posting my routes but I realise there are some rather annoying (and inaccurate) distance markers on them. I sent an email to the folk at Map My Run and they assure me they are trying to sort the problem. Another good reason for me to have a Suunto I reckon!!
Although my last few runs have been pretty short I'm happy with my post Christmas comeback. My legs and lungs feel in good shape, and with the exception of some extra inches around my middle I haven't let myself go too much. My main goal is to keep the momentum going, and try to get out at least every second day with longer runs at the weekend. This will mean more headtorch runs once I'm back at work, but I think I can cope with that as long as the weather settles down. I also need to lose weight and incorporate some cross training.
My WHW map arrived today. My plan is to run a 26ish mile section in March or April, so the map will help focus my mind and let me plan the trip. More on that later...
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