run along the coast

 

Friday 30th August was a pretty good forecast so we opted to go another longer run. This time, instead of roads, it was mostly off road on our favourite trails from Longniddry to North Berwick. About 14miles depending on which route you take. It took slightly longer than the run to Cramond and back but felt much easier and we weren't falling to bits in the last mile or 2. Possibly the constantly changing terrain, pace and visual stimuli helping to keep our bodies and minds fresh and keen. It was still taxing, but considerably more enjoyable. Also the weather was great.

We allowed plenty time for messing about in the station which was just as well. I went to get the tickets while Mary got coffees. There was a long queue at the windows, so I went directly to a machine which refused to take my card. So did the next. You only find this out at the end of a long process of choosing what ticket to buy and by this time I would have been shouting out loud at those machines if it were not for an assistant who came to the rescue. It is good they have people to help with the machines especially when busy, it is an indictment that they definitely need them; that the machines so often fuck you over and don't work properly.

The assistant said something to the effect that they only ever break down when it is busy. She kindly printed out my tickets on her hip held machine and managed to swipe my card in her reader. There were 4 minutes left to catch the train. Mary had been watching from a couple of feet away with a cup of running coffee in either hand. We flat-footed dashed for the train carrying coffees like the egg and spoon race.

Normally when we do this route we carry heavy cameras and walk. Today we were travelling light: just compact hand-held cameras, small packs and running all the way rather than walking. (We both took swimming kit and tiny towels just in case the desire to get in the water overtook us. Strangely, it did not!) Actually I took the DJI Pocket (gimble camera) as well as the TZ 100 and for quite a few miles had a camera in both hands. However it was a much easier and more liberating day out not carrying a lot of gear. I almost hoped we wouldn't see anything spectacular and then regret not having a better camera.

first stop SOC, Waterston House, Aberlady
photo Mary

I managed to persuade Mary to call past Waterston House. It has amazing flowers that attract butterflies. It was on the understanding we would do it quickly and then run on. Although there were a few peacocks the highlight was a Southern Hawker female egglaying in the pond round the back of the place. I was hoping the photos would come out okay as I don't think I have ever seen one of these before. It looked like a large neon green beast and I first wondered if it was an emperor female.

great wee pond with peacocks on the water mint

photo Mary

female Southern Hawker

photo Mary

I only just got away without a telling off for staying too long at the SOC pond. But I got a sound reprimand for stepping onto the road to take this photo (despite the lack of traffic). Almost as bad as the telling off from Alex Jackson during the E2NB race years ago cutting that corner by crossing the road! Anyway we were on our way again and in no time across the bridge at Aberlady. There were loads of graylags sat along the coast.

A Berlingo the same colour as ours but not ours. Notably the word Berlingo on the right of the boot has also fallen off ours as have all the hub caps which are held on here with zip ties! It was a deja vu moment.

several fox moth caterpillars out and about

These mating common darters were very frustrating
and I chased them for ages until I got a couple of pics. 

very like a chinook helicopter in silhouette

I've no idea what this tray was or where it came from but I wanted to look underneath for toads, mice and newts. However I noticed there were a number of water-filled segments and each had some small shrimp-like occupants. Were they sand-hoppers or had some shrimps actually got in to this set up and if so, how? Rather than lift and turn the thing and risk displacing creatures that looked like they need water to survive, I had to leave it alone. 

how did this come about?

we had pretty much the entire beach to ourselves

there were some delightful sanderlings at the far end
and again I regretted not having a better camera for recording them

video of sanderlings, click twice

yeah, I know that's not a great photo of Mary
but to be frank you should have seen the other 2 pics

There is always/often a puffball mushroom at the Gullane end of Aberlady Beach around now. It is one of these annual occurances and the spores must remain all year round before they fruit in late August/Sept. There is also a tradition of us taking photos of them pretending to eat them. Needless to say we don't eat them, nor do we recommend doing so; it is just a whimsy. A fungi whimsy. 

don't do this!

I forget the old camera doesn't do bird recognition
(and therefore focussing on the subject) the way the new one does

the DJI Pocket did a better job in the woods than the compact

I had forgotten to get the DJI Pocket out until just after Gullane. From then till the end of the run I took wee clips of video which I ran together into a video at the bottom of the page. The gimble part of the camera works really well and makes for a relatively stable shot when running at any speed up to flat out when it begins to shoogle a bit. But if you compare it to an un-stabilised video, the difference is remarkable. Go-Pro type cameras have been bringing this (stabilisation) technology along and it makes what used to be unwatchable, watchable. I must get round to doing some music for a better soundtrack than just my breathing. I didn't realise I make so much noise when running until I filmed this!

stonechats

adult male

adult male with offspring

running through the long grass

some lovely beaches along the coast
nicer than the well known ones, but no parking nearby so they are empty

new shoes Hoka Mafate Speed 4
 wasn't convinced by the dung-fly colourway, but beginning to love them

- very light and great grips (worn with Alpkit gaiters to keep sand etc. out)

Fidra with a distant Isle of May

oyster catcher, heron, merganser

I was realising we were nearly finished and it seemed far too soon. Possibly a couple of hours faster than walking the same route. I suggested we take the slightly longer route along the front but Mary was more keen to do the way across the field and up the road we had done previously as she was beginning to feel tired. 

another hairy oobit

there is something appealing about this path across the farmers field

Mary getting a lead in the final 2 miles!

Alpine A110 
More exotic than a Porsche or Mercedes

Now, had we gone straight to the station we could have caught the waiting train back to Edinburgh. However Mary likes to have a protein snack within a short time of finishing a workout so we had to call in at the Coop and get a sandwich and drink. I was trying to hurry this along as much as possible because we were within time to pick this up and make it back to the station for about 2.22. We didn't know what the exact time of the train was but knew it would be two twenty-something. I carried the bag of goodies and we ran like mentals back to the station. All this time I was also remembering there are loads of buddleias at the station and maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing if we had to spend an hour in the sunshine, eating, drinking, relaxing and taking butterfly pics. 

Which is exactly what happened. We raced to the platform but the train had gone about 2.21 and we had missed it by a minute. I do enjoy a race to the station and felt we could have managed it better, but at the same time it was a glorious afternoon and no great loss to have to kick back and take butterfly photos, sipping water (which tasted marvelous after all that running!) and chill. Nothing more exotic than admirals, peacocks and a large white, but the hour sped by and the next train arrived in due course. Mary even had her shoes off to let her hot feet breathe.

RA

peacock

photo: Mary

Also: the observant will realise I have different shorts on. After all that sprinting the shorts I was wearing were soaked through. However I had an extra pair in case we went swimming; into which I changed. Sitting around in damp shorts after a run makes my hips creak and groan horribly and a dry pair were a real boon. I think we might have even done a bit of running down the final mile from Waverley to home. 

Mary lets those feet breathe on the NB platform

old graffiti peacock

green bottle on platform plants

large white

M and P
what a fab day out!

14.4miles, 3hrs22
plus one mile up to the station and another back home

Because the video is 358mb it had to be loaded into vimeo and embedded. Link here if it doesn't play directly from here. It is not the easiest thing to embed and manage over different platforms.