March-ing On! (March, get it?!)

In Which I Get Faster, But Shouted At

Last Sunday I couldn’t really be bothered going out running, but had a word with myself and got up and went.

I’d planned out a roughly-1/2-marathon route a few days before, so grabbed my iPod, gels and drink and set off.

Worked my way along the pavements of eccleshill and idle, then worked my way down towards the canal which was around the 4 mile mark. It had rained a bit through the night and it killed me seeing the mud splashing on my Brooks. 😦

Plenty busy down there though (down on the canal, not down on my feet) saw loads of runners and cyclists, all happy to be out and about.

Reached the turn around point at shipley (roughly 8mile) and set off back again to the start of the canal. Felt quite good all the way and got there (about 12 mile) with a mixture of running/walking. Looked at my tracker and it said 11.

Bugger.

Sucked it up then carried on for the last couple miles.

Before that run my quickest 13.1miles was 02:07. My new quickest 13.1miles is 02:01! So close to getting under 2 hours! Maybe next time.

After work this week I decided to cycle the longer way home which works out around 7 miles, but is a bit flatter so can get some speed up.

I’d reached some traffic lights at a funny shaped junction and got in the left hand lane, for going straight ahead (or turning left, I guess.)

To go straight ahead where I wanted to head, you have to turn left a bit first then turn back to the right because it’s a stupidly shaped junction, plus then there’s a crossing island in the middle. Rush hour traffic, plus darkness and on a bike meant I took the turn slowly and steadily.

Shocked then, was I, when a car tried overtaking me on the right, right before the traffic island and he started shouting at me!

“WRONG LANE MATE!”

I was shocked at how close he’d gotten and that I was being told off so forgot to swear. Instead, I shouted “YOU WHAT?” (Brilliant comeback, me.)

I must’ve looked right angry because he looked shocked, wound his window up and sped off.

Luckily for him, it was then uphill. Otherwise I’d’ve rode him down like the Demon Bike Rider.

I was proper annoyed at him and to prove to myself that I had every reason to be annoyed, I went on Google earth. (That well known stress reliever.)

Didn’t know the name of the road, so traced my journey back to see if I could find the junction.

Found it, then zoomed in to see if there were any road markings visible to prove me right, and (due to the wonder of modern technology) there were, and I could make them out quite clearly.

So to that bloke in the car, the one who shouted at me when he said I was in the wrong lane, I say this:

“I was in the wrong lane. Sorry about that.”