It's only 40 miles from home to work and yesterday I had lots of time to work out how long that would take me to run because a lorry blew over on the Forth Road Bridge at 6am, shutting both northbound lanes. I discovered this as soon as I put on the radio at 7.10am as setting off for work, which made the daily 'Kincardine versus FRB' decision easy. The roads were spookily quiet until just past junction 4 of the M9 - yes, the one junction where I could have come off and gone a different way. Then: gridlock.
Junction 4 of the M9 to Kincardine Bridge is not very far. To give you a flavour, I timed it on the way home and it took eight minutes. Yesterday morning it took me ...
THREE AND A HALF HOURS
I got in at 11.30: four hours 20 mins after setting off. I was unhappy and my left foot was sore from constant clutch action (though to be fair there was also extended periods of sitting in neutral). Apparently the lorry driver was unhurt, so he must have stayed well away from the M9 where several thousand drivers would happily have rectified that fact.
At least I was kept entertained by the variety of weather on offer: from sleet, to snow, to gales, to sunshine, to rain. Even the presenters on the local radio station were being apologetic about both the traffic news and the weather news. At one point, the newsreader added 'And that's the worst weather forcast I've ever read: sorry.'
So anyway, I could have walked that section, let alone run it, more quickly.
Went to the Alloa gym after work to relieve frustration and give the traffic time to disappate. Tried the ladies' gym for the first time. It has slightly newer machines but fewer of them and no water dispenser - surely that is a health and safety issue? Incidently, the hairdrier in the changing room is also crap. It is about as effective as asking someone to breath gently on your wet hair from a distance of three miles. I now dry my hair by getting in the car and turning the heating on.
Did 6 mins on the step machine as the only cross trainer was busy, doing 8 floors per minute I think. Then 15 minutes on the treadmill at 10.4kmph (found one treadmill set to kms, though it was ancient and I kept worrying it was going to conk out on me and it wouldn't show the time and the distance simultaneously). Then three full and one half Yassos. Still hate them. They're not getting any easier. Or rather, the first one is very slightly easier but I still want to die from the beginning of the second one.
Finished with some random weights, but they didn't have half the ones I wanted and the settings are all different from the Edinburgh ones. Did 12 x 3 pull down at level 6, which I think is 30 kg. Then some free weights and the pec machine. Think I'll be back in the mixed gym next time, less fragrant though it may be.
Was supposed to go tonight for a hill session but came home to move some stuff to Al's instead. Al was due to get the ferry at 5pm yesterday and was about ready to set off on the possibly five hour trip to Rosyth (usually 30 mins over the FRB) when the ferry was cancelled due to high winds. So he got up with me this morning and I've just heard he's arrived safely in France via the chunnel.
Just took some vitamin C and echinacea as I have yet another sore throat starting. I'll go to Meadowbank tomorrow, or do a couple of loops of Queen's Drive if it's not snowing. At least I'm not dropping the speed sessions, which is what I did last year - because I hate them they were always the first to go! Need to do a longer run Sunday too.
Forgot to say I weighed myself again last week - down two pounds so back to 9 stone, which is my usual sort of weight. Jeans fitting better again. Thanks to a regime of gym sessions and eating half my meals in my car. Perhaps I should write a book called 'The All-Car Diet' and make millions.
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