June 10, 2008 at 9:32 am · Filed under Challenges, Juneathon, Running, Salomon Challenge
I woke with a stinking cold yesterday but as I was in central London for a meeting I could hardly evade a quick tube running session.
The plan was to tick off the yellow Circle Line, starting at Aldgate.
It seems to me that every photo I’ve taken on the tube map challenge has included either the telecom tower or the Gherkin, I feel like I’m doing a massive maypole dance around the two landmarks. Only its June so I can’t be.
I headed down the Minories of Jack the Ripper fame to The Tower of London and then promptly sat down for a rest.
Running this route along the north bank of the Thames is actually quite feasible. The tourists flock to the South bank so you have a relatively unhindered passage and the views are great all the way out along the Embankment.
Unfortunately I had to keep stopping to retrieve tissues from my rucksac and I gave up earlier than anticipated and jumped on the tube home at St James’s Park.
Salomon XT Wings Challenge
Today:
10 Tube Stations
7.25 km
Cumulative:
81 Tube Stations
71.42 km
See the combined progress map here.
Juneathon Tally
Runs: 8/30
Total Distance: 31.1 m
Popularity: 19% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Circle Line, Juneathon, London Underground, Salomon Challenge, thames, tube
June 8, 2008 at 10:19 pm · Filed under Challenges, Juneathon, Running, Salomon Challenge
An absolute scorcher today, June has finally arrived and what better way to enjoy the sun than spending 2 hrs locked in a tube train and another couple running through the crowds of Central London?
I wonder if I’ve ever mentioned my dislike of the London public transport system. I’m sure the feeling is mutual, I hate it and it feels fairly venomous towards me.
There are some building works going on outside my flat that have resulted in restricted traffic flows. As I left my flat this afternoon I could see my bus waiting patiently for an opportunity to turn into the main flow. I sprint down 3 flights and out onto the street, timing my crossing perfectly to run between a car and the bus to arrive just in the nick of time at the bus stop. Arm goes out but the bus doesn’t stop, instead he honks his horn and starts to gesticulate as if he can’t understand why I would have just run in front of him and stood by the bus stop. The woman running along behind me is absolutely incensed by this and taking no chances, throws herself in front of the next arriving bus.
The next bus decides to pull off just as I’m about to climb onboard but temptingly he leaves his door open so I try a run and leap manoeuvre. The jury is still out so I’ll leave it until tomorrow to decide whether I’ve done myself any lasting ankle injury.
On the way back home the tube decides I’d look better as an amazon and with a particularly swift and violent door closure, attempts a single mastectomy in full public view. Not pleasant, but I survive with a solid black line bisecting me from chin to nipple.
I did manage some running as well as performing heroic transport antics. I started in Belsize Park for my journey along the Northern Line (Charing Cross branch). I love this area of London, the moment I become monied I’ll be buying a flat on this street. perhaps one just above the book shop.
It’s a great start to a run as well, from the top of Haverstock Hill you can enjoy a downward sprint all the way to Camden. I had to slow down briefly at Chalk Farm for graffiti purposes and then ground to a complete stop by Camden Market. Camden on a hot weekend is a nightmare, far far worse than Oxford street. There is no room to run but even if there was, this is not a street for deep breathing. Inhale too hard here and your head will be swimming for hours and I didn’t have time for the munchies.
I start running again past Mornington Crescent, which is pictured here for the benefit of any Radio 4 listeners. Quite an unassuming tube station but obviously carrys a great deal of competitive importance.
The Northern line is relatively short, about 7km from Belsize Park to Waterloo so I decided to make the most of my travel card and complete the Central line as well. Heading back to Embankment I took the district to that joyful little retreat at Mile End. This time round it was sunny which added a positive glow to the place and I noticed the canal which I’d missed the first time here but I still didn’t want to linger. Some error in navigation had me running along the road to Stepney Green again, before I hung a right, heading through social housing city and up to Bethnal Green.
Bethnal Green to Liverpool street is quite an interesting route. I liked it around there. It looked like I’d just missed a street market as I was having to work quite hard not to slip on discarded portobello mushrooms and grapes. I’d also overlooked my invite to a hip biker event. There were stacks of cyclists around and every one had a cool fixie with aero wheels and aggressive track styling. Odd to see people bouncing down curbs with 5 spoked wheels though, can’t imagine they’ll last very long.
Beyond Liverpool Street it was in to City Boy Land.
This shot shows St Ethelburgers Church which was apparently destroyed in 1993 by an IRA bomb. It had previously survived the Great Fire of London and the blitz.
It has recently been rebuilt and they’ve done a fantastic job as the building just grabs your attention, maybe its enhanced by the backdrop of the Gherkin.
Threadneedle Street has many more impressive buildings but at this point I’m getting a little too hot and bothered for further architectural appreciation. Besides, I’m preparing for the Underground surgery awaiting me at Holborn.
Two more lines completed!
Salomon XT Wings Challenge
Today:
19 Tube Stations
16.04 km
Cumulative:
71 Tube Stations
64.17 km
See the combined progress map here.
Juneathon Tally
Runs: 7/30
Total Distance: 26.6 m
Popularity: 20% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Central Line, injury, Juneathon, London Underground, Northern Line, Salomon Challenge, Swimming, tube
June 7, 2008 at 9:19 pm · Filed under Juneathon, Running
Eventually woke
Considered the Northern Line
Ran a mile instead
Juneathon Tally
Runs: 6/30
Total Distance: 16.6 m
Popularity: 11% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Haiku, Juneathon
June 6, 2008 at 9:13 pm · Filed under Challenges, Juneathon, Running
Too tired to blog.
Ran 1 mile.
Went to bed….may not surface til Monday.
Popularity: 11% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Juneathon
June 5, 2008 at 11:58 pm · Filed under 100 mile Challenge, Challenges, Running, Salomon Challenge
For the last 4 nights I have left work with the declaration, “Right, I’m off to do the Piccadily Line”. Tonight all excuses escaped me and I finally had to knuckle down and get it completed.
It wasn’t as grueling as I expected, Garmin reported a total distance of 11.6 km but there were a lot of squiggles on the trace so it may have been quite a lot lot less.
Not much running in the proper central London bit, too much risk of being mowed down by a tuk tuk.
I started upping the pace around Piccadilly Circus as I didn’t want to make myself a sitting target for Eros.
After the lure of the bookshops on Piccadilly I managed to get a good stint of running done, past the Ritz through the relative oasis of Green Park and then out onto Wellington Arch and the traffic chaos of Knightsbridge.
Salomon XT Wings Challenge
Today:
13 Tube Stations
11.57 km
Cumulative:
52 Tube Stations
48.13 km
See the combined progress map here.
Juneathon Tally
Runs: 4/30
Total Distance: 14.6 m
Warriorwoman vs Jogblog 100m Challenge Combo
38.5 miles total
Popularity: 16% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Garmin, Juneathon, London Underground, map channels, Piccadilly Line, Salomon Challenge, tube
June 4, 2008 at 9:46 pm · Filed under 100 mile Challenge, Juneathon, Running
By adding a 30 minute run to my morning schedule yesterday, I managed to delay my arrival at work by 1.5 hrs. Not sure how I managed that but it required creative excuse making along the lines of “My gerbil was going blind”. It works, try it.
So last night I went to bed early and I remembered to adjust the alarm. It did no good though. Someone started sending me texts at midnight and once woken I couldn’t ignore the fact that my psycho neighbour downstairs was throwing pans at his girlfriends head. I think she should have left a long time ago, sometime between the end of the bonking period and the start of the “you silly little girl” screaming phase.
In the end I got up later than ever, ignoring all 3 alarms and didn’t manage to squeeze in the Juneathon run. Not wanting to fail at such an early point in the season I decided to run an extended route to my mates this evening, where I was expected for tea.
So today I managed a whole 1 mile of running but probably caught pneumonia for my troubles as I was required to stand in the garden to evaporate before I was allowed in to eat.
Juneathon Tally
Runs: 4/30
Total Distance: 7.4 m
Warriorwoman vs Jogblog 100m Challenge Combo
31.3 miles total
Popularity: 12% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Juneathon
June 3, 2008 at 8:33 am · Filed under 100 mile Challenge, Juneathon, Running
Forgot to set the alarm early but headed out into the pouring rain to complete the 3.5k river route again. I returned like a latent waterfall ready to release torrents onto my hall carpet.
These little loops are feeling damn tough, I’ve lost so much fitness over the last couple of months but I suppose June will either kill or cure me.
Short run and short post - jolly late for work now.
Juneathon Tally
Runs: 3/30
Total Distance: 6.4 m
Warriorwoman vs Jogblog 100m Challenge Combo
30.3 miles total
Popularity: 9% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Juneathon
June 2, 2008 at 9:34 pm · Filed under 100 mile Challenge, Juneathon
I was planning to run the Piccadilly line after work but strangely enough I didn’t feel like it by the time I’d finished. Nontheless, I am a committed challenge runner so I headed to the loos to change into my running clobber anyway.
I let out a less than silent whoop of delight behind the cubicle door when I discovered that I had forgotten to pack my t-shirt. Not wanting to run through Leicester Square in pinstripe, I headed home.
I can’t escape the fact that it is Juneathon, although I tried quite hard. I came home feeling knackered and ravenous, started to prepare a broad bean and pea curry and settled down to surf the web. Here I discovered that a whole host of people have jumped onto the Juneathon band wagon and after reading their Day 2 posts and comments on the facebook group and assorted blogs, I was duly shamed into going out for a run.
Yesterdays 3.5k river loop repeated and actually enjoyed.
Here are the bloggers on board so far (let me know if I missed any):
Jogblog
Joggerblogger
Londonjogger
Fit Artist
I Like To Count
Marble Cake
Juneathon Tally
Runs: 2/30
Total Distance: 4.2m
Warriorwoman vs Jogblog 100m Challenge Combo
28.1 miles total
Popularity: 8% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Juneathon, t-shirt
June 1, 2008 at 11:34 pm · Filed under 100 mile Challenge, Juneathon, Running
I rolled out of bed at 11 this morning, an all time record, and stumbled from mattress to the wii fit board where I proceeded to run the long distance course. Long distance note, that’s the advanced setting.
My mum’s mii overtook me within the first stretch and I had to start sprinting on the spot to retake the lead. My controller fell out of my waist band under the exertion and a 60 year old cartoon character passed me for the second time. By the time I retrieved it and continued to the finish line she’d lapped me.
How humiliating?
The wii informs me that I’m a VERY good runner though so I’m happy. I almost forgave it for screaming when I climbed on the board this morning. It told me to step up and then squealed “ouch” and after weighing me, squeaked “too high!” Cheeky little……
This afternoon I began to worry that perhaps my wii fit run wouldn’t be accepted under the exacting Juneathon rules and so decided a proper run is required until I can seek verification. I’m having a tube station aversion though so I head out on my old familiar riverside route where I promptly pull my calf and have to hobble my way around the 3k route.
Popularity: 10% [?]
Related posts
Tags: Juneathon, wii, wii fit
