CAAC 5 miler vs thank Friday it's
Pentlands.
These 2 outings shouldn't really appear
in the same blog as they were on opposite ends of my running
spectrum. Most of this was due to the weather which was foul on
Wednesday and beautiful by Friday. However it didn't help that I ran
like a twat at the Corstorphine 5 miler and found nothing much about
it enjoyable.
Great to see Susan Johnston (139) back to racing after falling at the Fling and breaking her jaw.
I cycled home earlyish from work
getting soaked for the second time that day. I then changed and
caught the airport bus (zooming past the slow trams) to Maybury; to
the rather downbeat industrial estate from where the race starts. It
is a pretty grim place to base a race and the steady rain did nothing
to improve the scenery. After chatting to a few Porties and other
pals we set off down the traffic light roads between Maybury, the
airport and Barnton. It's an okay route neither ugly nor particularly
scenic, though I would prefer a course that rose to a midpoint and
descended to the finish.
Michael had a strong run.
The first mile is problematic. After a
small rise it romps downhill at a pleasant gradient. I think they
used to call this a “friction free” (more correctly friction
compensated) slope in physics, where a vehicle attached to ticker
tape will accelerate at blah blah blah. I have never referred to an
iota of my higher physics till now and I think it was irresponsible
of them trying to cram that guff into my head when there are a
million life lessons you could be putting into the head of a daft
teenager. O Grade and Higher physics is not even close to important.
Golden girl Nicola set course record. The power of coordinating kit.
Anyway picture a Buchanan on a friction
free slope running at 5.18 for the first mile. After 2.5 miles how
f*cked does he feel? This physics (those physics?) happened almost
identically last year. It's that first mile. I had even warned Nicola
not to set off too fast – she is still not fully injury free but
missing the thing she does so well. Don't get carried away in that
first downhill mile says I and then I do exactly that. First to
come past was Paul Thompson. There goes £30 for first 50. Then first
lady Sarah and, keeping her in sight, Nicola. (Nicola goes on to set a
course record winning £100! Hurray!) Michael came past a little
later than last year though shows us all how to do proper pacing, finishing ahead of Nicola and Paul T. There was a downhill section and I kept my
place but on the next climb (which seemed WAY steeper than the little
blip on the garmin gradient) my lungs bottomed out and I got a stitch
as if my whole ribcage was in a corset and felt a heart attack was
just around the next corner. No such luck.
This went on for a hellish long time
and then we had a steeper ascent before topping out and into the last
mile which at least is downhill. To remove any relief from this Colin
F appeared and as we dropped down onto the finishing straight and the
last 2 minutes, he went past. I didn't have any come back and frankly
couldn't see the point in fighting over 2nd or 3rd
m50. He put a determined 7 seconds and another competitor between us.
Hats off to him, I just wanted to get changed, go home and get out of
the flipping rain. The rain got heavier after we stopped and I was
very drawn to the cakes and homebakes (like Jeff Goldblum in The Fly)– a sure sign I was a bit low-blood-sugar.
The only vague success was running exactly the same time
as last year but in much worse conditions. I was thoroughly hacked
off and went home in a filthy mood, getting soaked through for the third
time. I met a runner at the bus stop who was pleased with his time
and had enjoyed the race. I only just managed to avoid telling him
how shit a race it was and that I was much quicker than him, which I think
you'll agree was pretty sporting.
Thank Friday it's Pentlands
The forecast remembered it was summer
and promised sunshine, and lots of it, on Friday. Angus had been in
touch. He was giving a lecture in Edinburgh on Friday and was keen to
head into the Pentlands afterwards. I put a line through the day's
work and threw some snacks, a drink and the good camera in a back
pack. We dropped off Angus's suit and schoolbooks at Waverley Left
Luggage and caught the bus to Balerno terminal. I had initially been
reluctant about the bus option remembering shivering on the long
wintertime journeys in the days before the Berlingo. However the day
was warm and the bus miles flew by (zooming past those sluggish
trams) and in no time we were off the bus and heading into the hills.
It only adds an extra mile to and from the Bavelaw Car Park. Quite a
steep mile though. As I waited for a Garmin signal and unpacked the
camera Angus headed off and it took a bit to catch up. The heady
aromas of the damp fields drying in the sun wafted across the road.
And seedy blossomy things snowed out the bushes. It was all very
promising.
white blossom fluffs across the road
I decided to leave the Red Moss walkway
as the pièce
de résistance and
we headed up Beech Avenue, turned right and out the drove road
towards West Kip. The chat never let up despite the climbs. Well we
possibly reduced the blethering going up West Kip but the climb was
worth it for the view along the ridge. Angus's interaction with the
Pentlands up till now had been the Carnethy 5, so not the most
relaxed introduction to these hills. Today we went at chatting pace
and the weather was ideal – a mild breeze to cool the baking sun
which soaked your back and head.
3 men in a boat
self timer on Beech Avenue
West Kip
Like
last Friday when I did much the same route with Michael, the hills
were not busy – just a handful of folk, all enjoying the sunny
interlude in preference to the torrential rain and thundery downpours
earlier in the week. We were having such a good time that when we
descended from Scald Law with the option of heading down to the Howe,
Angus decided we should knock off Carnethy as well, and see off the
ghost of the C5 when a nearby runner declared at the bottom of the
climb, “prepare
yerselves for 20 minutes of hell!” I
ran ahead towards the top and set the self timer to catch us
approaching the summit.
A female Emperor Moth
("a beautiful fluffy moth" the only large moth with 4 eye spots, one on each wing)
This website says "the males fly during the daytime in search of the greyer females which fly at night. Which I'm not sure I understand, but check out the fancy pyjamas of the males in the website picture. (And also the caterpillars which I have often seen in the Pentlands and wondered about.)
Meanwhile Angus, seeing me occupied with the moth made a break for the summit of Scald Law.
Approaching Carnethy with Scald Law behind.
Carnethy
But a delightful end to a brilliant run and as we approached
the bus stop Angus asked how far we had run. Last week's run with
Michael had been just under 8 miles. So I was surprised to see the
Garmin said well over 12, and equally surprised to see we had been
out for 2hrs45. I had been thinking we would get back into town for
5~5.30 however it was 6 as we got back to the bus terminal. The time had
flown by. The distance is less certain. For sure we had run an extra
bit to Carnethy and back and the couple of additional miles to and
from the car park but closer inspection of the Garmin details has us
flying across Threipmuir Reservoir at... .09min/miling = 400mph. We
had a good run but not that
good. I wasn't wearing the towelling band under the Garmin strap. I
have previously killed a Garmin by sweating profusely into the
connection on the back and the towelling band helps prevent this. So
I think the erratic parts of the run with sudden jumps across the
wormholes of the Pentlands can either be put down to alien abduction
(again) or my perspiration leaking into navigation control and adding
a couple of diversions.
This more reliable map is from last Friday's run with Michael. The route we took then in solid red was 7.8 miles. Today's route started and finished at the bus terminal which is a mile from the car park. Then the out and back to Carnethy would take it up to around 11.5 miles possibly.
There
was a bus waiting for us at the terminal and while I chatted to the
driver, Angus, never shy, sauntered off to a nearby house and asked if
he could have a glass of water. We had run out of fluids a while back
and Angus had already been drinking from the stream below Black Hill.
It
was a perfect day out in the hills and we finished it off with a
couple of pints in the Cafe Royal, a haunt from my past I hadn't been
in for decades. They were possibly the best pints I have had in
decades as well, and I floated down Leith Walk somewhere between 7
min/miling and 400 mph dodging through the Friday night trash
stoking themselves for a hectic night out. It was a superb day's run
and difficult to believe it was the same week as the CAAC5.
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