Split Second Decision

I think all decisions we make in life are split second decisions, we just don't realize it because our life is not in danger. So when making a sudden decision when you are out of your comfort zone you tend to think of it as a split second decision because it could change your life forever.

Tuesday night was one of those moments for me. The picture above is of the N12 Highway (Freeway) I travel on everyday of my life. As you might know I life in one city (Witbank) but work in another city (Springs) which is just over 100km apart.

Therefore I travel everyday 100km+ to work and 100km+ back home after work. During Winter it is the worst as there's a lot of Fog in the morning and part of the morning and the whole evening trip is done in the dark.

The Highway is one long stretch of highway with no bumper to bumper traffic, so speed can be a problem.

On Tuesday night as I was coming home with about 30km to go an Idiot (no other way to describe the person) in an 30+ year old car (no surprise) made a U-turn right in front of me on the highway as I was approaching.

I had little time to react and slam on the brakes and swerved to me left only to swerve back again as the idiot immediately changed lanes after he made the U-turn. I braked so hard that the hazards switch on my car came on (a safety precaution on the VW Touareg, whereby the hazards come on if you brake too hard) and this has never happened before.

It was the closest I came to Road Rage and just wanted to pull the person over and sort him out but decided to just keep on driving. When I got home I was still shaking.

Lesson learned from the night: drive slower, be careful, be thankful, think for others, greet your family morning and night as if you will never see them again and remember every decision is a split second decision.

On a lighter note, DJ suddenly has this urge, passion and determination to learn how to drive a car. There is an open piece of veld less than a kilometer from our house and for time being that is her training ground.

She turns 12 this year and can only get her learner license at age 17 but she says why wait till then to learn if she can start now. Than reminded me of the 10 000 hour rule but more on than later.

It is amazing to see the passion and excitement on her face when she drives. My car is an Auto which make it so much easier for her as she just need to control accelerator and brake while driving. No need to worry about gear changes, but as long as she develops the feel for driving that is fine with me.

I am amazed at how quickly she learns. In just two "lessons" I am actually not feeling nervous when she drives.

On the Triathlon front, which is what the blog is actually about it is going good considering it's Winter. The Calorie counting is on target and I've lost 1kg so far this week just by recording what I eat and by making sure I end the day with a 500kcal "negative split".

Training is also spot on so far this week and I have a brick session this Saturday with some hard intervals within the session, going to be a real challenge. Next week is another easier week as I prepare for another leg in the Multiman Duathlon series next Sunday and will aim to improve on that 5th Overall place.