long day out

 

26th March

Nick and I both agreed we were long overdue a scenic 30miler. It would be useful marathon training and it was almost exactly a year since we had run this East Lothian circuit, so we should watch out for a decent weather day and pencil it in. I was not super-keen but hoped it would be less painful than the other torture Saturdays we had been doing. (16~20 tarmac milers as marathon prep.) It was about the same, (amount of pain), but with better views. 

We parked in Haddington and set off towards the Longniddry disused railway-line that is now a cinder cyclepath. It is lined with trees full of peeping birds. I best say right off I had committed (reluctantly) to the run aspect of the day and photos took second place. I only carried my compact camera. It used to be my best camera. Over the last year I have got very used to the bridge camera which I will carry on shorter runs and occasionally long runs but it is quite large and heavy (like its owner) and I didn't need anything slowing down what was already likely to be a long day out. So we probably ran past many things I'd normally stop to photograph.

Nick had said he was happy to stop for photos and he knows my habits, but I had a couple of things I wanted to include on this trip and felt I couldn't stop for every single bird and butterfly we passed. Consequently the first half of the day whizzed by and very few photos were taken. I hoped I hadn't set off too quickly and would pay for it later. (I kinda did.)

First stop was Aberlady. I took photos of the blossom trees (a cherry?) in the mainstreet while Nick bought a sandwich. We had three potential foodstops: Aberlady, North Berwick and East Linton. Memory is a bit hazy but did Nick have a sandwich in each? Surely not, but not the worst idea. It is easy to run out of fuel and you don't feel hungry because you are running. But it can really ruin the day to suddenly get low blood sugar and grind to a halt. I have done this several times and now know the symptoms. From feeling weird and light-headed to feeling emotional and teary! And you don't often feel hungry, but can sort the problem by eating something, preferably something easy to digest and that  quickly gets sugar into the bloodstream. Like a gel. Or Portuguese Custard Tart. The current favourite running treat from the Coop bakery section in East Linton. Anyway well done Nick for preventing low blood sugar! 😁 It prob wasn't three sandwiches. 

Nick's plan was to eat his sandwich while I checked Postman's Walk for early Holly Blue. It was unlikely there would be any but the weather was unusually warm for March and there might be a confused outlier. There wasn't. But we slowed to a walk for much of the field perimeter. There was a small tortoiseshell and a yellowhammer. We didn't spend long looking for Holly Blues. But long enough that had there been half a dozen sunbathing then we would have spotted one. 

Just past the corner (where orange tips will be laying eggs on garlic mustard in a week or 2) there was a woodpecker, but it escaped being photo-ed. We ran on to Gullane - going via the road rather than over the bridge and along the coast. The main reason for this was to check for more absent Holly Blues at Goose Green and in St Adrian's churchyard. Nothing at Goose Green Rd. Sometimes you get a feeling that it is worth more scrutiny or hanging for a while. But this seemed like optimism in the face of unassailable odds. We had a look over the fence into the churchyard but were more interested in the top of the hedge than the holly trees at the back.

The hedge had been lopped very severely by some large and fierce mechanical force. While we considered this a woman, maybe ages with myself, exited the churchyard, saw our interest, and invited us into the gardens. We were on the point of declining when I asked was she aware of the famous and rare butterfly that flew in her churchyard. She was not - had nobody told her of all the middle aged people with long lens cameras loitering here last Spring and Autumn? Obvs not. I spilled the beans as she seemed to be interested. Just as we were talking Nick spotted a silver fluttering in the further holly tree! We accepted the invitation to go into the churchyard! (The woman left before I could find out what relation she had to the church, but I got quite a lot of chat in about how we appreciated the well maintained grounds and an implication that we were, as a group, respectful of flowerbeds and boundaries, while pursuing the quarry) and to my great delight there was the first Holly Blue of 2022.

Unfortunately while we could see it was defo a Holly Blue, it would not come lower than about 20' except to fly by our heads before returning to the higher branches and settling almost always, out of sight. The compact was not getting the results the bridge camera would have. Nick was extremely patient. He wandered round the churchyard then waited across the road while I watched the HB flit about then land once again, out of reach. After about 15 mins I gave up and we ran down towards the coast and onward to North Berwick. I was stoked to have seen one of the highest tariff butterflies possible today, but it used up nearly all my credit and there was little else the whole day!

nothing here

only 2 shots out of dozens taken were any use
and they were a long way from spectacular

miles away but definitely a holly blue (m)

Nick - personification of patience!

We went halfway between the beach and road between Gullane and Archerfields - across the savannah. Then down onto the beach briefly and up the new ramp and along to Yellowcraigs. Then inland across that field and along the road to NB. I had packed a sandwich but it was good to get a cold drink in the Coop and I think Nick bought another sandwich. I had a maple pecan pastry. I also felt absolutely shit. I'm not sure if it was low blood sugar (I had half a sandwich before Gullane) or just the early pace but I felt wrung out and unsure how on earth I would manage the remaining miles. We had done about 19 approaching North Berwick so that left about 10 or 12. We sat on a seat just along the high street eating and drinking in the sunshine. Then started slowly up the back street to the bottom of the Law then out the John Muir Way. I had taken a couple of paracetamol and within half an hour I began to feel much better. I had fancied a milk shake in NB but there wasn't one so had had to settle for an iced coffee. They are very sugary and then some, and this had helped too.

I had forgotten that element of ultras: you descend to a low point and it feels dreadful. Then you bottom out and it never gets any worse than that (for probably another 20 miles) and so you begin to feel like it may not be quite so bad after all. NB was the low spot today. I could have happily got a train home right then.

treecreeper - oh for a decent camera!

out the John Muir Way

comma on the path

feeling chipper enough to take a selfie
trying to get Nick in the reflective sun specs

Nick had said it was downhill to East Linton to try to raise morale. I reminded him of this big hill before we got there. I'm pleased to say we both ran up it without walking. My pace was very little above walking but I kept going all the way to the top. 

coop at East Linton - lifesaver on several adventures!

I was also cheered up by the prospect of the last 5 or 6 miles. Although we were heading upstream and therefore up hill, this was the best chance to see any exotic butterflies; which at this time of year would be anything white, yellow or white with orange tips. Reports of a Brimstone near Haddington on several occasions by 2 different observers were tantalising. And also proof that last season's sightings weren't just an anomaly. Maybe brimstones, a large, yellow, leaf-shaped butterfly, were coming to this part of the world? Better still would be an orange tip. Although when they first appear they charge about like crazy and do not settle for photos. 

We popped into the Coop in East Linton and I bought mainly fluids. Some fizzy water and flat juice and combined them in my reservoir to just the right blend of lightly sparkling, slightly flavoured drink. (Can't remember what Nick had but I'm going to say another sandwich just to wind him up!) (He has been limiting his intake recently to vegan foods and no beers which is really working well for him.)

I was pleased I was still running. I had told Nick the pace would be falling drastically and he said as long as we could still walk that was okay. But I didn't really think so. Happily we ran almost all of the way - only walking at the couple of points I reckoned were the most likely spots for butterflies. I don't think we saw much of interest at all. I mean it was beautiful scenery, which made things pass along nicely, but apart from a comma at the point I was looking for orange tips and not even getting a sniff, I don't think there was much to stop for. And I was feeling fairly ragged - I was more interested in ticking off the miles than wildlife. 

Another of the signature ultra patterns is the last few miles taking an age to pass. And hating every minute as your whole body grinds painfully towards 30 miles and beyond. Actually the painkillers dealt with the majority of the general ache, and because I had run this riverside twice recently I knew most of the twists and turns and knew what we had to look forward to. I also knew that we left before the usual end in Haddington which is quite drawn out. Instead we would go over the bridge and through the golf course which leads out to less than a hundred yards to the car. So we were able to finish strongly rather than me crawling to the end of the first 30miler in a year, in tears. It turned out to be 32.84 miles. I was tempted to jog down the road and back to get the suunto to turn over to 33, but really? Nah. Instead I put my energies into getting into clean dry clothes before I started to cool down. Even on a sunny day a complete change of clothes is the best idea. And remember a poly bag for the sodden salty ones you take off. And sit on that rather than sweat directly onto the new car seats of your chauffeur's new car. It's only polite!

ahh early lambs!

last half mile! Hurray!

I have spent a lot of time slagging off Suunto and their change from the previous website to a new app while dropping all the old website. Well I suppose I should say how much they have improved the new app/website. My original and most pressing complaint, that it only operated in portrait format - to suit mobile phone zombies - has been rectified and it now operates landscape as well. Thank you Suunto, a great improvement. And the new animated dot round the route (although not proportionally in real time - it doesn't wait at a point if you spent an hour having lunch) is quite good as well. Though there appears to be no way of sending the animation to, for instance, one's blog. So I had to use a camera to film the animation (on my iPad) then edit on software, and upload the film to here. (Above). Not sure how often I'd do that - whereas if it were send-able or you could embed it... now that would be helpful. Nice to see the circuit - gives an idea of distance covered.

But rather than end on any kind of a sour note I'd like to say a big thanks to Nick for not letting me shirk out of doing this run. And for picking me up, driving me there and returning me home in nearly one piece. I really enjoyed at least more than half of it! Haha, that is not selling it. I really enjoyed a large amount of it and was very pleased to have done it, even if there were bits that felt way more painful than most of the Tynecastle Bronze 30mile runs between 2014 and 2019. It was a great reminder to not let things (fitness) slip, and to get back out there and do more long distance adventures. Especially as a whole Summer of butterflies and dusty trails lie ahead!

32.84miles
mostly a great day out!