London Loves

I never thought I'd see the day when I said this but London has managed to raise itself from loathe to like in my 'favourite cities' list.

Why didn't I like it before? Well, it's the Tube you see. I am simply not a creature meant to be transported at speed, in close proximity to strangers, beneath the ground. And that can really ruddy put you off a place.

But today I did the city a different way (and there is a Team RFGR point to this!); I walked.

Arriving into St Pancras station I had an hour to get to Barbican for a workshop I was attending. TfL journey planner gave me an estimated 25 mins on the dreaded Tube while a walk was estimated to take 40. A peek outside showed a favourable Spring sky and air as fresh as it can be in Kings Cross. I loaded up iMapMyRun on the new iPhone, stuck some tunes on (somewhat unimaginative of me but went with Blur) and off I went down the Pentonville Road.

Winding my way along to Angel and then down through Islington I really enjoyed the hotch potch architecture and effect of new buildings leaning on new. And strolling through Smithfields market, although it was way past it's rush hour, was pretty cool.

My heart was thawing for this city and I admit, it was a little disappointing to reach Barbican (great, brutal, 'cities in the sky' buildings) seemingly so soon. I perked up though when I realised I was not only far more relaxed than on usual trips but that I'd completed a 1.96mile route (and only 15 mins slower than if I'd gone underground).

I was so pleased with how well this had worked for me – no panicky escalator rides down, down, down into the depths or confusion about which line I needed or pushing or getting in the way – I decided to reverse it all and head back to St Pancras on foot at the end of the workshop.

So I've completed nearly 4 miles walking today and learned to like this place a little more. I also proved to myself that being busy or away from home for the day doesn't have to mean I'm entitled to excuse myself from training. It might not have been a run but it's all counting toward being able to make it round that ten km route come July.

I'm chalking today up as a good day – and thinking about when next I can come back and explore more of the capital on foot.

S C-P x