Heavy traffic on the Thames

[marathondan]

Time for a run this evening. My girls have for 6 years been going to a gymnastics club a stone's throw from the Thames and Dorney Lake, but I never noticed that they're only a short jog away. So with the girls deposited in their classes, I toddled off for my first miles in a couple of months. 

It looked quite straightforward on the map. Head down Monkey Island Lane, and keep going till you find a footbridge. The well-to-do chap at the gated entrance to the marina confirmed as much. But it seemed to be taking a while. I expected the marina was pretty much adjacent to the river, and I'd left it behind some minutes ago. Ah but what's this? The road ahead rising in a most bridge-like manner. That must be it. 

But hold on - there's a distinct rising noise of traffic. That doesn't sound right. No, please don't say that's the... Yes, it was. What I thought was the River Thames was in fact the M4. How embarrassing. 

Naomi is having a go at orienteering tomorrow. Hopefully she hasn't inherited my sense of direction. 

I backtracked and eventually found the very long, winding watery thing and even the quite long, very straight watery thing. Last time I was there was for the Olympic rowing; RCers have also bagged a few 10Ks there. I ended up banking 4.5 miles at what would be a decent marathon training pace - more than I bargained for, and a good innings after a long layoff.

Anyway, I'm back in the game for a while. My main teaching placement is done, I just have another couple of weeks (and an assignment that's likely to cause me a few sleepless nights) and my course will be finished. After that I'm going back into school to start preparing for next year, but the pressure will be off and I'll be able to devote a bit of time to some aerobic exercise. Maidenhead Half Marathon is in early September - I really ought to commit some readies to an entry. That would set me up with a nice target, and with enough time to make decent go of it.

Here's to a summer of running!