From the mountains to the sea

In complete contrast to New Year’s Day, today I found myself running at the sea (or Aberdeen beach if we want to be precise) with friends. One of Alan’s favourite runs, it tends to be one of my least favourite due to my dislike of getting my feet wet! However, on a chilly day like today the prom can offer sanctuary from the icy pavements and trails elsewhere.

Meeting Ali and Alan we set off from Footdee with the intention of running to the Bridge of Don and onwards for a couple of miles along the sand from Donmouth. For those of you that happily run in all conditions, you’re quite probably unaware that there was anything resembling ice at the beach today!

Once past the beachfront cafes, Ali took the cross country line, following the grassy bank, while I hugged the verge and hoped for the best. For once I was delighted to reach the safety of the sand, and better conditions are scarcely seen – there was hardly a breath of wind! Fingers crossed we get a Saturday like this soon for parkrun (not that I’m in PB shape right now but I do like to see others do well)!

A very pleasant run ensued with Alan leaving us to watch in his wake as he found his stride and went into the zone. Ali and I continued in the ‘blether zone’ as per usual. Nothing passes the miles like a good gab and it’s amazing how much you can get through.

Today we were blessed with the tide being sufficiently far out to limit the dookings of our feet. This is what upsets me most about beach running. I love the sound of the waves and the tranquility of the often deserted shores, but while others skip through without a care, I’m concerned about the miles to come and the potential blisters that always seem to follow these hazardous crossings! Any tips on how to prevent these would be appreciated! Surely I can’t be the only one that suffers in this way?

A couple of miles along we turned and retraced our steps, this time having the pleasure of meeting Jane, a friend and fellow feartie of icy conditions, who was running repeatedly up and down the grassy area that starts Aberdeen parkrun. A welcome reprieve, we stopped to exchange New Year wishes and other pleasantries before carrying on to finish at Footdee, 10 miles in the bank.

A short onward drive landed us at the Tramsheds Cafe (Satrosphere) to enjoy a well earned bacon butty (toast for Ali), coffee, another coffee, and even more chat!

Normality resumes on Monday!