Training for the Race vs Racing for the Train 15/03/09
The wrong side of the LawI woke up this morning with a really sore toe. Alarmed that I wouldn't be able to do the planned run I limped into the workroom to see it was only a blister in front of the toe nail of the largest toe. I drained it with the help of a craft knife then hunted around till I found a single remaining paracetamol which I thought might help then had breakfast.
Mary was working this weekend, and with no races on I had emailed Ben to see if he had any running plans. He phoned at 11.50am Saturday just as I was about to have a late breakfast to say he was going for a session in Holyrood. To do the “Cooper run.” Surprised to hear someone would actually do that gruelling session from choice I said I'd join him there shortly. I put breakfast on hold had a couple of gels and a drink then headed up to the park.
If I had timed it a bit better I would have arrived during his third lap between the Rad Rd and Commie Pool roundabout but instead caught the end of his first. Fortunately this took the edge off his speed and we ran similar rates for the next two laps. One of the results of Ben's recent sabbatical to have a baby is I can run alongside him rather than trailing 50 yards behind gasping for breath. I suspect this won't last long as he is recovering from childbirth quicker than Paula. We finished the session with an hour's run round the tops done at chatting pace then home via Sainsburys in about 1.55. Didn't even notice the blister till this morning.
During Saturday's run we planned a longer day for Sunday. I baulked at the thought of the road down the coast as the return leg would be into the teeth of the wind which was nearly gale force up Arthur's Seat. Ben smartly suggested we run to North Berwick and get the train home. Good idea. He had suggested an 8.30am start. In response to my gibes about head torches I was told that round his place 8.30 is the third feed of the day. After looking at train timetables it became apparent we should be aiming to return on the 11.20. If we ran at a comfortable 7.30 pace we would take 2hrs 45 to cover the 22 miles. I got the feeling Ben thought 7.30 pace would be a walk in the park. I suggested we kick off sharp 8.30 – the worry being if we missed the 11.20 we would have an hour in damp kit before the next train. In fact due to a bit of Kemping about it was 8.36 when we set off, legs a bit stiff from yesterday's run but the blister well below the pain threshold. There was so much blether I didn't notice the first miles passing by and we seemed to be way ahead of the 7.30 schedule.
It was a splendid morning: the tide was out and the wind of Saturday was more like a Spring breeze today blowing fresh sea aromas along our route. We took the John Muir coastal paths where possible, which involved a seaweedy puddle or two, some slippery green slabs and going round the back of Cockenzie Power Station. However, as Ben said, he had no doubt we would make the 11.20. We stopped for a brief refuel about 10 miles where Ben had some tablet. I had had too recent a breakfast to eat anything further and was finding that the sports drink from my Camelbak was in danger of “breaching the harbour walls” for a return journey. And then – was it about Longniddry Bents? - we bumped into Adrian Stott out running with a pal. Adrian asked had we heard about Lucy? Apparently she had not only come first woman but first overall at the Glasgow to Edinburgh double marathon. (55 miles in 6.50 – over 16 minutes ahead of second place. Details here) What a performance! We explained we didn't have much time to chat due to racing for the train and set off again.
Going through Aberlady I remembered the fun and games Scott, George and myself had running the Edinburgh ~ North Berwick race last year. Actually not that much fun. In fact it was hellish. Really sore and just a torture that felt way longer than the 2½hrs it had taken. Today we were zipping along the same roads with a breeze on our backs and everything was jackets-off fine. Until at some point after Ben's second tablet break, he looked at his watch and suggested at our current pace we would miss the train. The stopping and setting off late had accumulated and it looked unlikely we could make the train. How fast do we have to go? I asked. I was impressed he could work it out on the go. Maybe faster than 7 minute miling.
I always find the long drag up the side of the Gullane Golf Course is a kind of watershed. The rise breaks up the rhythm of the flat miles preceding, but this can be a good thing. Makes you pay attention. We had scooted up fine and now we were going through Gullane when we picked up the pace. You cross over the road to get the benefit of the pavements on the left side out of Gullane. Willie had come past around here on his bike during the race. I had been falling apart with Scott silent and steady behind, not enjoying it but sticking in. Then you go round that corner and Berwick Law looms large, its bulk letting you know it will all be over soon. The traditional shout is “Thar she blows!”
We were now belting along at about 6.30 miles – having rarely climbed out of chat mode for 17 miles we had 4 or 5 fast ones left. But fast enough? We thought it might be quicker to miss the left hander to Dirleton sticking to the unpavemented main road – but hey we were nearly going as fast as the cars. This all makes for a rather ugly entry to North Berwick. Still, we were going faster over those last miles than I have ever gone at that point in the race. Ben took the lead as we climbed the slight incline from where the last water table as you leave Dirleton is, to the long pavement full of speed bumps where the tree roots lift the asphalt. And then you realise you have crossed the brow and are descending into North Berwick.
Having briefly looked at a Google map last night I checked the station and found it was appropriately on Station Road which should be appearing soon on the right, before the full drop into North Berwick and at this speed we were just minutes away from boarding our train. I flipped my watch from splits to real time and it said 11.17. Aaargh 3 minutes if its on time. There were several streets off to the right none of which were Station Road and I wondered had we run past it? I didn't want to run down into NB only to find we had to climb back out and up the hill again. I gambled and took the next right. It wasn't Station Road but might lead round. Up the top of the street I could see a sign that might say station. There was a pedestrian coming down the street and I shouted with some urgency was this the way to the station. He looked a bit anxious as to why a very excitable scantily dressed man was running and shouting at him, however by the time Ben was passing he understood and told Ben that the train was already on the platform. The gamble paid off – there was a hedge lined passageway opening out onto the platform. As I ran up to the train the doors closed. I think it is to my credit I didn't jump on and wave bye-bye to Ben as the train pulled out. I think I may have shouted open the doors please or something – I can't remember exactly what, but the guard who wasn't visible must have heard and – three cheers – the doors opened and we got on.
Epilogue.
Since Mary has upgraded to a 405 she has leant me the use of her Garmin 305. However as this has failed me about 4 runs out of 5 I have yet to give it the thumbs up. In theory its a great bit of kit particularly for measuring the distance of an unknown run. So today I learnt that its .9 of a mile from my house to Ben's. (And the sun was up well before 8.30 by the way.) However Ben and I then ran the same distance which was 22.5 on his 305 and 22.4 on the one I was wearing. I noticed during one of the last miles, where there was precious little in the way of trees and no buildings, that it got tired and had a little rest. If I wanted cheap and unreliable.... (Okay so I didn't pay for it. In fact if you want a second hand 305 offer Mary a good price and she'll probably sell it to you as I don't think I will be allowed this one again after such oral scrutiny in a gift horse stylee.) I can't believe Garmin have the neck to sell stuff that fails on a regular basis. Its a bit like me saying to a client never mind the patchy paintwork on that wall, look at the three others, they're perfect. Time and again the Garmin has a little holiday and lets you guess the distance and pace instead of doing its job. On the upside each new model appears to be improving (though the movable bezel seems to be too clever for its own good). And if you go to the USA where the sky is full of satellites you can get a signal in a lead lined dungeon. (That was some holiday.) I think some of the problem is we have to make do with very few euro-satellites: the leftovers from the USA spying on ladies-in-comfortable-shoes at Greenham Common. I have found if the Garmin stops working during a training run you can stop and assume the position (mime leaning on a high wall) and eventually the earth will stop spinning too quickly for it and it will continue to record slightly contentious information. (Obviously we had a train to catch today.) Why do different types of Garmin on the same run record different distances? Mary suggests I don't have the right karma to create the environment for optimal usage. I'd like to think I run too fast. Its interesting to note the variation in pace being recorded every few seconds going from say 5.30 to 8.30 minute miling over a hundred yards at the same perceived effort; however this does even out over a mile. Sometimes I think it may be the result of armswing.I find the whole speed, time and distance thing and the recording of it a fascinating game. Alan Young (and his solid-wheeled bicycle rides in the night to avoid traffic) is the man to speak to about this though he may not be that popular as he is responsible for measuring and correcting the distance of many of our favourite “fast” race courses. How many will continue to target the Kirkcudbright Half now it has been corrected to the full distance. And is that old pb still valid?
As a final insult, while we were stiffly hobbling the last miles today from the station, home, the Garmin, unable to get a signal asked sarcastically “have you moved indoors?”
From Ben's to North Berwick Station 22.5 miles in 2.40 (stop time not incl.) approx 7.07 miling
Report pb
Photos BenAnybody noticed the Edinburgh to North Berwick Race is changed this year to
20 miles and starts from the Prom? Details here
