Pans2NB

Hair by the Wild West Wind

All change on the bus of life. I found out on Friday my contract isn't getting renewed at the end of the month. Working on the nurse bank - which is my back up plan, you get paid at the end of the month after the month you worked. So I have to try to earn enough in my spare time this month to cover me for a wage-less month come April. That was why,  instead of doing my customary longish run on a Saturday,  I did a wee recovery run in the morning and then went to work. Because I was fresh it wasn't that easy to hold my pace back. Which is maybe why I felt a bit crap today.

I stacked everything in my favour anyway. There was to be a ferocious west wind today and so it proved. I thought I would get a train to Prestonpans, run to North Berwick, and get a train all the way back. I wanted to build on the long runs I've been doing and maybe do 17 or 18. I was awake early though - about half past 5 in the morning. I found out the first train wasn't until 10.33 and I played around with the idea of just setting off from here. But even on the road, it's 23 miles to North Berwick, and I was trying to be sensible and not do too big a jump in mileage all in one go. I've been enjoyably injury free, apart from the odd yoga thing, of late.

So I waited around for the train. But then, when I got the train, it was delayed because there was a tree on the line at Drem so the trains were queueing for the one track apparently. It was well after 11 by the time I got to the Pans. And I was starving. Three miles into my run I stopped for a big pastry and a bottle of cola.

Roly McCraw had a nasty experience running along the paths at Longniddry the other day. He stumbled across 3 men engaged in an act of love in the long grass. Actually I'm not sure it was love. He said there was two old geezers and a young guy in a hoodie who jumped up and ran away. I've cleaned this story up a fair bit. So I was keeping a weather eye out as I ran along the dunes there. Nothing much going on though. Three old ladies on a picnic blanket. It didn't have the same impact.

The kite-surfers were making the best of the high winds and were getting well up in the air. I stopped for a good while trying to get pictures of them up there, but it wasn't easy. I was too far away. It was a funny hot and cold kind of day. When I was running I got really hot but the minute I stopped the wind felt drafty and I got chilly.

Round Aberlady bay the scenery was spectacular. It kept me going though my legs were heavy. I'd planned to run the coast all the way to North Berwick from here but the wind was knocking merry hell out of me and the tide was far in so I was having to run in the dunes which was tiring out my already heavy legs. I wimped out and cut back up to the road at Archerfields. Then I didn't have to pick my feet up very high to get blown along the road all the way to the station. 20.5 miles. In retrospect I'm pleased about it.
I have to be up early tomorrow morning to go and do another bank shift. I'm trying not to feel sorry for myself but in fact I do.
The up-side is I've applied for another job I'd really like. Send me the vibes.