Having established that no-one was even remotely interested in accompanying me to the Alloa Half Marathon, I gave up the loosing battle and accepted several glasses of wine and some whisky at dinner with friends in lieu of the race. The next morning I thoroughly enjoyed the lie-in I'd effectively paid my £14 entry fee for and hit Runfinder to plan a route that would be the distance of a half marathon and also allow me to pick up the car, which I'd left at my friends'.
This was easier said than done, considering they only live about three miles away. I plotted out a coastal route, heading east to Portobello followed by a huge loop north west to Cramond and cutting back through Crewe Toll. Very scenic and seasidy - apart from the sewage works. And it would have been further improved with the removal of the gale force northerly, which left me stumbling into the freezing head wind for an hour. As soon as I turned around things got much easier!
There was an unusually high spring tide too, with the grey waters of the Forth swirling around the legs of benches at Trinity. All in all, the run certainly blew the cobwebs away!
More importantly, my knee held up well thanks to a support bandage and judicious use of sticky sports tape on my foot: creating an artificial arch by hauling my instep up and strapping it in place. Instead I've developed a whole new pain in my hip, which I'm hoping is just the previously unused muscles kicking in to make up the difference.
An eight mile runs awaits tonight. Can't wait for the hour change when I can do all this in daylight!
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