I left work on Friday, overhearing a couple of guys reluctantly having to re-arrange an on-line gaming session as one of them 'had to go out'! Well, unfortunately, I had to stay in this weekend, turning down a great offer of a run with Pete up in The Lakes. But Damian's coming Monday with his Kango and some Acro Props. That leaves a stripped out downstairs and a microwave in the bedroom, though one of Wilmslows best take-aways is just across the road from the laundrette!
On the running front, it's been kind of interesting. I heard a great debate on Jeremy Vine about a pedestrian who was involved in a night time RTA and the ensuing debate about who was at fault. There was much talk of high viz vests, lights and so on, and of course callers phoning in recalling their experience of runners at night who are all but invisible. It took the edge off my planned night time run out to Nether Alderely and back down the by-pass again. I know there's no street lights out there.
But I felt confident because there is good pavement and the by-pass has a cycle path. I made sure I had all my flashing regalia on, as well as my new head-torch. I did get spooked by a couple of cyclists which freaked me out a little. As did the weired purple lights glowing from the middle of a random field. Turns out it was the tomato farm! But never mind the 9 miles or so of the run, I came back with a smile on my face. Yes, I was alive, but there was also a sense of adventure in taking a lone torch run.
Maybe it's my naivety, but I can't work out if I'm taking silly risks or not. I think not. Chatting with Chris about staying in and 'gaming' or getting out and about and having fun, we talked of our childhood adventures, cycling across the weir, climbing over the 'keep out' sign at the disused via-duct and crawling across, watching bits of masonry drop down below into the river. It's just stuff we did. Adventure? Not deliberately so, more consequential, perhaps. They were simply things we did without thinking.
And this brings me to Thursday. A day off and an invite from Max to do a recce of the Kinder Downfall route. What could possibly go wrong? A beautiful crisp sunny morning, snow capped peaks and weather that wasn't due to change for the best part of the day. The scenery was stunning. Max isn't the fastest of runners, but that wasn't the issue. I assumed she and her friend knew the route. After a couple of falls and an ascent into the cloud, her friend stopped and declared this was as far as she'd ever been...we were on our own from now on.
In retrospect, there was little to fear, but we'd been out for 3 hours. Unclear as to which route we were on and frustrating running conditions in soft snow, I had the occasional feeling of wishing I was somehow better prepared 'should' something happen, the kind of feeling that robs the sense of fun of the occasion. Of course we got back fine without drama, and I look back now and recognise that this was a pretty epic adventure...with a bit of running thrown in. one of my best running experiences for a while. Sometimes you don't go looking for adventure, but it finds you!
