Back in the saddle

After a week of no running (although I did my runners' yoga class and felt slightly fraudulent), I went for a 10K along the False Creek side of the Seawall last night, including a lap around Granville Island. Time: 56:50, which is quicker than my Sun Run time, although I wasn't trying to beat it. I probably went a bit faster than I should have, but my muscles wanted to move.

It was warm enough to wear short sleeves for the first time this year, and bright enough that I didn't trip over the uneven rocks that "pave" the pathway. (Seriously, I'll have to get a photo of it, because it's so spectacularly ill conceived. Here's someone else's photo in the meantime. People are actually supposed to rollerblade on that.)

Last night, a cyclist missed a curve and went over the edge of the Seawall, and there was footage all over the news this morning of his dramatic emergency rescue. They couldn't get the ambulances in there because the Seawall is still unstable in places. Apparently, he was intoxicated and riding in the dark with his friends, which I guess seemed like a good idea at the time.

I've had my share of run-ins with cyclists in Stanley Park. I really make an effort to stay in the pedestrian lane and shoulder-check before I cross the bike lane. So imagine my surprise early one Sunday morning when a cyclist came barrelling toward me, not only in the wrong lane, but going in the wrong direction (the cyclist lane is one way only).

He looked like he'd lost control, but he wasn't making any effort to stop or get out of the way. I was only about 8K into my long run and still half asleep , but I dodged him at the last minute. He mumbled some sort of apology as he continued to straddle the lanes unsteadily. Now that I think about it, maybe he was drunk, too. Perhaps one Sunday morning I will carry beer in my Fuel Belt and see how far I get.