LAST LONG RUN
22 Miles - North Berwick to Edinburgh.
I'm not going to lie, I was hugely apprehensive about this run. Not because of the distance, last weekend I ran 20 miles, an extra 2 on top of that shouldn't make a great deal of difference. I mean, running 20 miles is horrible, but once you resign yourself to that inexorable truth, adding another 2 miles of horribleness shouldn't really make much difference.
My apprehension stems from the somewhat OCD nature of my training. It's not news to anyone who knows me well that I like "a plan" - I am definitely my father's daughter in that regard. I need structure and order in my life, that has morphed into a completely different beast since I started marathon training.
I need to plan my route. I need to know where I'm going. I need to know what the contingencies will be if something goes wrong.
This is not a route I have chosen and it's not one I have run before. I also know that it's the Fox Trail John Muir Way Ultra Marathon today and that there will be crossover on the route - proper athletes running 50km. I'm so worried about getting in their way. About running on the main road. About the weather (the forecast was utterly awful in the days before)....
So at 07.40 James and I boarded the train to North Berwick. It was a very nice journey on a very nice train, with a very nice toilet. Thank God there was a toilet. 
We arrived at North Berwick at about 08.30 and started out straight from the train station. I must have asked James about 20 times "Are you sure you know where we're going?". Poor man.
The first few miles were fine, other than it was cold and windy and sleeting. Not going to lie, I felt pretty good. As an aside, Direlton is very lovely and also has very lovely public toilets.
We hit Gullane and after dodging a couple of straw golf balls, we saw the first sign for the 50km.
We ran through Aberlady and received a welcome heads up from the Fox Trail volunteers that they were expecting the first runners through "now". They weren't wrong. On the way out of the town we met the front runners - including the awesome Owain Williams - from whom I received my first ever proper mid run high five. That cheered me up massively. As did the smiles and banter from the other runners, who all told us we were going in the wrong direction!
The wheels started to come off at Prestonpans. I was experiencing some serious discomfort in my right hip and James' knee had also received the same memo.
It was that point we made the executive decision that we would have to run/walk the remainder of the distance. It's a pretty difficult thing to do, when you both don't want to let each other down. However it was the only sensible option.
We had estimated that the 22 mile finishing point would take us out at Constitution Street in Leith, but by the time our Garmins alerted us to that fact that we had only 1 mile to go, it didn't really matter.
We both pushed it, the pace picked up and we ignored the niggles and the pain.
I have never been so happy to finish a run as I was at that point. I've also never been so proud of a run.
So, main takeaways from this: I know I can run further than 22 miles, the marathon distance, should not be a problem (barring force majeur) and I didn't shit myself mid run. All positive things, I think you'll agree.
Now it's time for taper, but not before amazing vegan cake and coffee at Printworks in Leith.
I'm not going to lie, I was hugely apprehensive about this run. Not because of the distance, last weekend I ran 20 miles, an extra 2 on top of that shouldn't make a great deal of difference. I mean, running 20 miles is horrible, but once you resign yourself to that inexorable truth, adding another 2 miles of horribleness shouldn't really make much difference.
My apprehension stems from the somewhat OCD nature of my training. It's not news to anyone who knows me well that I like "a plan" - I am definitely my father's daughter in that regard. I need structure and order in my life, that has morphed into a completely different beast since I started marathon training.
I need to plan my route. I need to know where I'm going. I need to know what the contingencies will be if something goes wrong.
This is not a route I have chosen and it's not one I have run before. I also know that it's the Fox Trail John Muir Way Ultra Marathon today and that there will be crossover on the route - proper athletes running 50km. I'm so worried about getting in their way. About running on the main road. About the weather (the forecast was utterly awful in the days before)....
Basically, I was shitting myself at the prospect. Hence the addition to my normal "pre-long run" prep kit...
So at 07.40 James and I boarded the train to North Berwick. It was a very nice journey on a very nice train, with a very nice toilet. Thank God there was a toilet. 
We arrived at North Berwick at about 08.30 and started out straight from the train station. I must have asked James about 20 times "Are you sure you know where we're going?". Poor man. The first few miles were fine, other than it was cold and windy and sleeting. Not going to lie, I felt pretty good. As an aside, Direlton is very lovely and also has very lovely public toilets.
We hit Gullane and after dodging a couple of straw golf balls, we saw the first sign for the 50km.
We ran through Aberlady and received a welcome heads up from the Fox Trail volunteers that they were expecting the first runners through "now". They weren't wrong. On the way out of the town we met the front runners - including the awesome Owain Williams - from whom I received my first ever proper mid run high five. That cheered me up massively. As did the smiles and banter from the other runners, who all told us we were going in the wrong direction!
The wheels started to come off at Prestonpans. I was experiencing some serious discomfort in my right hip and James' knee had also received the same memo.
What should have been the homeward stretch, the sight of the "Welcome to Edinburgh" sign at Musselburgh, filled me with a wash of disappointment. There was so far still to go and we were both flagging. Massively.
It was that point we made the executive decision that we would have to run/walk the remainder of the distance. It's a pretty difficult thing to do, when you both don't want to let each other down. However it was the only sensible option.
Portabello promenade was a slog. There's no other word for it. We may have walked in part but we did not stop, which I'm incredibly proud about. Especially in James' case, as I know his knee was giving him a lot of pain by this point.
We had estimated that the 22 mile finishing point would take us out at Constitution Street in Leith, but by the time our Garmins alerted us to that fact that we had only 1 mile to go, it didn't really matter.We both pushed it, the pace picked up and we ignored the niggles and the pain.
I have never been so happy to finish a run as I was at that point. I've also never been so proud of a run.
So, main takeaways from this: I know I can run further than 22 miles, the marathon distance, should not be a problem (barring force majeur) and I didn't shit myself mid run. All positive things, I think you'll agree.
Now it's time for taper, but not before amazing vegan cake and coffee at Printworks in Leith.
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