Homeward Bound

I knew we'd tempted fate!

Early morning - sisterofMG750 had to get up at quarter to six to catch her flight home, HMG and I were booked on the 8.45 train from Brighton to London so at least had time for breakfast, although we took slightly too long over it (so much choice!) and ended up leaving in a bit of a rush.

The hotel reception was on the first floor and having got in the lift with our luggage we decided that it would be quicker if I went to check out whilst HMG carried on down to the ground floor with our luggage and I ran down the stairs to meet her, and it might have been if the lift hadn't had it's own ideas and taken her back up to the third floor en route! Passing comment that it was turning into a farce, little did we know what was to come.

Hurrying up the hill, I put my hand in my pocket and couldn't find the tickets, which I was sure I had put in there before we left to save us time on arrival at the station. A quick search of my bag and they were no where to be seen. Trying hard not to panic, there was only one thing for it - leaving HMG guarding our luggage I ran back to the hotel and up to reception to explain that I needed back in the room, only by now having checked out our automatic swipe cards were no longer activated, and in the end the receptionist had to abandon his post and come with me! (oh for an old fashioned lock!)

Despite his best attempts to reassure me that we wouldn't miss our train, I politely pointed out that we had! It was now 8.38 and we were in a lift in a hotel at least ten minutes from the station, but there was still a glimmer of hope that we could catch a different train to London that would enable us to make our connection. On arrival at the room the master key wouldn't work, and it took the poor man two attempts to get a card from housekeeping that would open the door - there on the floor having fallen out of my pocket were the tickets.

Grab them and run all the way back up the hill (although with my right IT Band having locked my knee it was more of a child pretending to ride a horse galloping motion) to where HMG was waiting and then a dash to the station.  A hasty decision to jump on a train bound for London that was leaving at 8.56 and an hour and ten minutes to worry about if it was going to get us there in time!

Negotiating our way around commuters and day trippers we made it through London Bridge, and the Underground arriving in Kings Cross at 10.28 for our train at 10.35. The new layout at Kings Cross obliterating the view of the platforms we could hear the announcement that our train was boarding and ready to leave but we couldn't see a way to get to it....

To have come so close and then missed the train by so narrow a margin would have been galling to say the least, but we are endurance athletes and although we didn't think our skills would be tested quite so quickly again after yesterday we made it! Jumped on board straight into first class, continually checking with everyone between breaths (which were slightly on the heavy side) that this was the Leeds train and then proceeded to lug our cases the whole length of the train to the cheap seats in Coach C.

After that the rest of the day was fairly uneventful! But awfully nice to see all of my boys again.

M - 442

Liverpool Half - 111

Glasgow Half - 223  
Total Distance covered   503.2 miles