Ever since the clocks changed there has been a feeling of terminal gloom squatting on my shoulders. That we have a few months to get through before it lifts, including the horrors of December, fills me with dread. With Mary being "elsewhere" this weekend I noised up Nick to see what he was up to. He was up for a medium sized run on Saturday and so we agreed to meet on Leith Links and head to Dalmeny. He had liked the look of last week's run and I had no better ideas about where to go. With the weather being uniform grey there didn't seem to be any reason to travel further afield.
The first mile down to the Links was the quickest of the day. We had said 10am but I knew Nick would be early so I dashed down for 9.55 and sure enough he was there. It was good to see him. He has far more on his plate to worry about than I have, but is always good upbeat company and the first few rather drab miles along Granton and the esplanade flew by as we caught up on recent events. I hadn't even taken any photos until we stopped for a break at Cramond, to say hello to the gulls.
this goosander had it's peachy winter waistcoat on
The gulls were as enthusiastic as last weekend, and at the first sign of a poly bag with bread in it took to the air and circled closely. Quite a few swooshed past while others hovered at arms length taking the bits of bread from my fingertips. I never tire of this, it is exhilarating to be so close to such beautiful creatures. I could see Nick was impressed too, and got the whole Hitchcock-like experience, though I saw he was throwing the bread to the gulls rather than handing it over and enjoying getting stabbed by their pointy beaks.
there was a lot of murky water coming downstream
The run to Dalmeny is just under 14 miles. So we decided to extend that (by about 4+miles) by adding an Airport Circuit. At Cramond Brig we went under the motorway bridge and ran up the side of the Almond, crossing at Grotto Bridge and continuing upstream to the railway at the airport. There is a handy square there that comes back to the river and back down the same way.
the vertical view from Grotto Bridge
We came back down the Almond then turned left at Cramond Brig and continued along the coast into Dalmeny Estate. It is quite pretty scenery but with not much other than grey skies almost impossible to take decent photos without stopping or setting fire to stuff. The pace was fairly brisk but with almost continual chat.
One of the biggest disappointments was the bird table. Last week it was full of nuts, seeds and fat squirrels. This time it was empty. Totally swept clean. Bummer! We ran onto Dalmeny. We just missed a train and the messages about the next ones weren't optimistic. Nick changed into dry clothes for travelling. I knew he had to be back in time for a couple of things he had to do so I hadn't told him about my plan B. Which was to run home. That if I didn't feel too knackered then the 13miles home would take the day's total to over 30 miles. I know, the whole Tynecastle Bronze project is finished! However I had been slacking of late, and drinking too much red wine and had inadvertently established a bit of a tummy, far too early into Winter. As a punishment exercise I felt a 30 miler might be suitable. And if I didn't eat too much en route I'd start burning off the belly flab. I wished Nick bon voyage as his train was arriving at the station and tried to loosen off my legs which had seized up while we stood about for 20mins.
Judging by facebook posts I think Nick wasn't allowed on that train and had to wait ages for another train. Very poor service. Not enough carriages on the Fife trains and they were all full up. Makes me glad I don't have to commute. Meanwhile my legs were working very badly and it took more than a mile for them to ease off. At which point I ran out of drink in the reservoir in my pack. I kept my eyes peeled for outside taps and tried to think where the next cafe was. (Not till Cramond.)
Going at a slower pace than on the way out there were more opportunities for photos. I took the beach for a while and there was a fair bit of walking.
small copper beach
I had imagined a gentle jog back into town, taking pics of the warm grey twilight and setting sun. Actually it turned out pretty harsh. I was really thirsty and probably should have eaten more (my brain was a bit below par and I forgot about the Soreen loaf in my pack.) And my legs felt like they didn't want to run anymore. Had a bad mile around 23 (4 after Dalmeny) with lots of walking. Still a LONG way to go. Best to just disengage the brain and jog slowly. At times I struggled to run faster than some folk were walking dogs. I dug out a sports bar and a tiny mars bar we had got at some race. It helped. I was glad to get to Cramond and threw the last of the bread at the gulls. They said thanks but I couldn't even be bothered to get the camera out. It was drizzling on and off. I paid £1.50 for the smallest bottle of Highland Spring at the cafe there.
I tried not to think about the distance still to cover. As I came out of that bleak Granton Industrial Estate at the Square another runner drew alongside. I had to work my eyes which had gone into shutdown mode along with everything apart from basic life support. Turns out it was Jim Scott. I flipped on all available power and it really cheered me up to have company for about a mile along to the cyclepath. I went from 11min miling to about 9. Great to see Jim. He reminded me it was the PRC Christmas bash that night although he didn't sound much keener than I did. Being old I find anything with loud background music renders me completely deaf and I can't have conversations without shouting and missing most of the replies. So I avoid (Christmas) parties where I am force fed music I wouldn't listen to at home; with the temptation to nose-dive into the booze.
The pace slowed again once onto the cyclepath but I was nearly home and thinking about buying a beer in the coop. Something to enjoy after a long hot soak in the shower. (In other news Nick reported spending the whole night with a smile on his face - he had gone to a Smiths tribute band. Haven't heard the details but I presume they were the ideal way to receive the Smiths live: a good quality impression doing all the best known numbers of the real band but without Morrissey giving lectures. Now that has more appeal.)
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