So after my promising start to the year (2 sessions in 4 days) Tuesday found me planning a very early great escape from work, as I had a Ryanair flight to catch at 6:40am on Wednesday, no big deal right? Wrong I had to drive to Manchester to catch it.
I’ve already spoken here about the difficulties my family seem to have in coordinating travel arrangements so you wont be surprised to learn that for the three of us to enjoy a week together (enjoy might be a bit of an overstatement) we have to take 5 separate flights. (This time it’s all to do with teenage triathlete being on a Ski trip and then having to be back at University the day after we return).
You may all have been aware that the north east has suffered pretty badly from the michaelmas monsoon and the constant downpour on Tuesday made the drive look a bit ominous so I found myself rather guiltily leaving the office at 6:30pm ( see previous great escapes here here, and here. ) having only been back at work after the Christmas break a mere 33 hours.
Packing was a little more protracted than usual as I had to take with me not only my gear, but TT’s stuff for Lanzarote (she couldn’t possibly take it skiing) and repack all the stuff she came back with at the end of last term. This included a very painful altercation with a family of mini cacti, and one with particularly vicious spines all of which have now been abandoned in the back of my car for the next 11 days.
I suppose I should try and make these blog posts bear some relation to their title, so I found myself in seat 33F on Ryanair flight FR2131, for those of you who do not possess detailed knowledge of the seating plans of this particular aircraft it’s the very corner seat at the back of the plane, you know where the fuselage sort of tapers in, and I found myself in very close proximity to a lovely couple from Manchester.
We spent the flight trying desperately to be mindful of each other’s personal space as we balanced, books, iPads coffee and snacks on the world’s smallest tray tables, talk about a cramped cabin!
Never mind despite a late departure we arrived on time and it took me less than 20 mins from wheels down to the taxi rank at Arrecife. Bob was following a couple of hours later on a Newcastle flight and had thoughtfully sent me what he termed an “acclimatisation workout.” Within a couple of hours I was checked in unpacked and heading for the pool in glorious sunshine.
To be hit with this little taster session….. My body and mind (and I know that excess of the former is compensated by lack of the latter) were equally unimpressed with 4,700 metres, and at the 2850 metre mark my left calf rebelled at the exertion and went into the most excruciating and severe cramp I have ever experienced, it was like my calf muscle had morphed into a golf ball….. I floated back to the end of the pool and spent a frantic few minutes trying to unknot the cramp, then gamely set off again, only this time my right calf came out in sympathy!!! My body was telling me something and I decided it would be wise to listen to it….
Anyway the first 3 k down and plenty of swimming over the next 10 days….
Bingeswimming 