I couldn't have sucked in more air, this was my limiting factor on the 2 mile circuit during Tuesdays speed session. Hanging on to the back of the Big Boys group was a risk and I soon reached my mechanical limit. Like a throttled engine, I too needed more air. But what air I drew in rasped down the back of my throat, smell senses in meltdown. Particularly in the bypass tunnel. At first curiosity, a slight distraction from the pain, then recognition. A quick look up and confirmation. Fresh graffiti. The Cheshire Rat?
Then a tune comes into my head. Down in the Tube Station at Midnight. Weller's lyrics describing the sights, smells and sounds, a threatening environment and his approaching assassins. But there's no threat here, just memories and emotions. Another night, another tunnel. The pristine pedestrian walkway under R2 of Manchester Airport. It's unfeasibly bright, clinical almost. Tonight, it's the sounds that dominate. The rumble of an aircraft hurtling above, resonating in this concrete tube...and the same song in my head.
