Road Rage

I was talking to a friend, who will remain nameless, about driving recently and they told me about how they used to drive: with aggression and confrontation. They even got into a couple of road-side fights many years ago! Hard to imagine...

Myself, I drive quickly and responsively but not selfishly. Although I'm likely to honk or make an irritated gesture when I see an inattentive driver impeding others (i.e. me) or driving aggressively. But I'm as likely to let someone in as I am to criticize. My driving philosophy is that helping you complete your journey quickly helps me complete my journey quickly. A few girlfriends have asked me not to interact with other drivers that way, but I've never been able to cure myself of it.

Today I followed my regular hard hour of spinning at the Dunfield Club with a 6K run on the treadmill. This is what we triathletes call a "brick" (B for bike, R for run, ICK for how you often feel). The transition from cycling to running is a critical one in triathlon races, as you go from semi-horizontal (easier on the heart) and bent at the waist on the bike to upright on the run (strains the heart and stretches muscles that have been contracted for perhaps several hours). I actually felt pretty good doing it today, although my left ankle and knee hurt for a bit in the middle of the run.

I want to be back in shape for New Year's Day, as I've committed myself to an internet triathlon. Some members of the "International Tri-Blogger Alliance" have agreed to swim, cycle and run at least a short distance wherever they can on New Year's Day. Plenty of us live in cold climates and will have to suffer for their rash commitment. I however will be in the Florida Keys on the day in question, so it should be easy for me.

Listening to: Mad World cover by Michael Andrews with Gary Jules from the Donnie Darko soundtrack (and the Gears of War television commercial).