Coughing up a lung

So, time for Vertical Rush again and the early trek over to Tower 42 in London for a race up 920 stairs. Last year I made the mistake of walking 6km there. This time I braved the much-hated London Underground. The first difference I noted was that, starting at the back, I overtook a lot of people which is nice because it appeals to the competitive animal inside. The downside is that overtaking people is hard work and costs a lot of energy. The freezing cold air coming into the stairwell did me no favours either and I spent some lovely moments coughing like a madman in an effort to find out what my lungs taste like. Anyways - times are in and I was 1m33s faster than last year. Which is a 15% improvement. Most surprising. I thought I might be 30s quicker. Now if I could just learn to breathe again...