The sound of a pneumatic woodpecker, the smell of marijuana as I round a corner, a loved up couple sharing earphones. It reminds me of an earlier part of my life where I'd sleep on floors at the end of a party and rise before everyone else excited to explore the surrounding area. Early mornings are a place of patience, of slow pace, of low stress. Where newspapers are bought and dogs are walked. A world through which I've grown used to happily sleeping, but a place to which I've now returned to enjoy the mist and dew. But this time it's different. It's regular, it's for a purpose.
Last week I ran 9.95 km one morning before breakfast. In the process I was overtaken by two other runners, but it didn't matter because the important thing was distance and height gain. After three months of running, I can't expect to be the fastest but I can enjoy pushing myself further and further. Far beyond what I expected when I began.
Although, I do wish I could wear a jersey or a hat across which would be emblazoned, 'I'm running 10 km, don't think I'd be this slow otherwise.' The problem is if everyone wore one of these then I'd learn that I was deluded and wasn't running further than anyone else. So the message to myself is 'get over it.'
Outside the city walls
I'm attending the Swift Summit this weekend and there are a few runners among the speakers, so a Sunday run is being organised around Regent's Park. I won't be able to take part in the run because of travel arrangements, but the event made me think about running in London and what challenge I might set for myself in the capital if I made time to run there.
The route I came up with on MapMyRun is one from St Pancras International along the Grand Union Canal through Camden to Regent's Park, around the outer circle of the park and back to St Pancras. A route of approximately 10 km, which I'd very much enjoy because I like to see how things link up in London. The problem is unless I was heading straight home afterwards (or staying somewhere in town), then I'd need to use the station showers at King's Cross and store a change of clothes at the station baggage service.
The route I came up with on MapMyRun is one from St Pancras International along the Grand Union Canal through Camden to Regent's Park, around the outer circle of the park and back to St Pancras. A route of approximately 10 km, which I'd very much enjoy because I like to see how things link up in London. The problem is unless I was heading straight home afterwards (or staying somewhere in town), then I'd need to use the station showers at King's Cross and store a change of clothes at the station baggage service.
I was tempted to propose the route as a pre-dinner run before the speaker's dinner on Friday, but aside from the organisation of showering and changing, there is a fear that as a running newbie I'd be left in the dust. And so I'll put it on my one day soon list instead.
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