#24 - Wow Sydney's awesome. But feeling sad about London

Just back from a really great lunch-time run over to the other side of the harbour. Lachy and I ran over the bridge and out to Cremorne Point.

Stunning views out there. Really stunning - makes me appreciate living in this stunning city. Perfect blue sky, not a cloud to be seen. Still, clear, crisp views over the calm water back to the Opera House, the city, enjoyed best from the path around the Cremorne Point and to Mosman Bay down those neat little lanes through the trees.

I was also well over the pain and discomfort by then and enjoying the running - "jogging" I think I should really call it given the pace. Or maybe trotting! The first few kms as we went over the bridge were not fun. I had come into work this morning with a cold. It being a Friday morning a few people asked me if I'd been "out on the turps" last night - one of the quainter colloquialisms of this fine land. I hadn't but I was dribbling snot, my sinuses grieving and shopping bags hanging under my eyes. But a couple of coffees, a Lemsip and a chicken & cheese jaffel [that's Aussie for toasted sandwich]...I was ready for action.

We were originally planning to run to the zoo but had settled on a shorter one cos of my weakness. In the end we ran just as far, maybe further and up and down a bit. I really started to feel weak at about the 10km mark. And the last km the pain kicked in at my hip. The same grating that I was getting a few weeks back that got me going to the physio. My ITB problem is far from over, and I really think it might even be worse by the time I get to the big day.

I went to "Yoga for runners & cyclists" on Wed. Which I've been thinking about for a while but I was a bit shy and had been putting it off thinking I should master some of the yoga basics first. Well - as is often the case with these things - I now wish I'd gone earlier. It was excellent. 1.5hrs including some great relaxation time at the end. We did some of those ITB roll things where you roll your body over the roller on its side, and other good leg-unstiffening stuff.

But the bad news today of course is on the other side of the world. I woke in the night to a text from my mum "3 bombs in tube stations and one on a bus" it said. I deleted and resumed my sleep - thinking it was one of those occasional SMSes that gets wedged in cyberspace for a while then gets dislodged and lands in your inbox an age after it was sent, ie one that she would have sent only 2 weeks ago.

Well I was wrong. In my email inbox when I got to work was a message from Malarky (who I've mentioned before - he ran the London for the first time this year)....

"Various tube scares in London today the nature of which is not known at time of writing. Victoria and Northern Lines have both been suspended at the time I was trying to get on them.
Police everywhere etc.

I just hope it is just a false alarm............................

The atmosphere here is a worried one. Being in Sydney must be safe and given England are currently kicking the Aussies in the first test 97 for 5, British morale must be good with you."

Well it's clearly awful. And I have had many thoughts about all this stuff lately, which are probably for another forum. Or at least another time. It's 4:30pm Friday at my desk and the beer trolley has just trundled by.

Also been missin m'Katie this week. Three sleeps til she's back. Distance and fondness and hearts.
Keep on movin'