Trailwalker 2011 - training walk four.
In a bid to get a few more miles training in, Adrian, Bradley and I decided on a jaunt around London town, following the Thames for the most part.
The idea was to walk along the north side of the river for about 7-8 miles, then cross and walk back. Our distance goal was 15 miles (24km)
The weather looked to be a problem at the start - but we were lucky again, after a few drops of rain at the start it was cool with a pleasant light breeze.
From the office we headed south(ish) and did a right when we hit the river:
To start; it was all most pleasant. The conversation was witty and there are an astonishing number of very fit young ladies who go running along the Thames! By the time we got to Chelsea my feet were feeling a little tender but our spirits were still high. Bradley was mentally pricing up all the properties in the area, looking for a "doer-upper".
It was when we considering which bridge to cross and walk back from that it dawned on me that we wasn't even half way through yet. We crossed Wandsworth Bridge and started back on the "wrong" side of the river.
The Thames Path is a great idea, but as things have been built in its way we ended up walking down less than inviting back streets in industrial looking areas. The worst of these diversions is around Battersea Power Station.
By now my feet were more than a little tender - and my legs had that "made of lead" feel. Annoyingly, Adrian was still very cheerful and Bradley was still pricing up the properties as we passed them.
As we got closer to the centre of London and as the night drew in I began to shut down and all my concentration was aimed at putting one foot in front of the other. Adrian and Bradley tried to get me to talk, but apart from a few acerbic responses I could not be coaxed. I am a miserable bugger (at times?)!
It was as Tower Bridge came into view (our "end point") that Adrian got this strange notion in his head that we needed to walk 20 miles. We had done just over 18 by then - at least a couple more than originally planned!
It was due to his craziness that we ended up walking around the block near Liverpool Street just to get in an extra half a mile to top it off. We finished at Liverpool Street McD's having completed 20.01 miles. To make up for his squirrel-shit nuttiness he did buy me a chicken burger... so I forgive him.
The idea was to walk along the north side of the river for about 7-8 miles, then cross and walk back. Our distance goal was 15 miles (24km)
The weather looked to be a problem at the start - but we were lucky again, after a few drops of rain at the start it was cool with a pleasant light breeze.
From the office we headed south(ish) and did a right when we hit the river:
To start; it was all most pleasant. The conversation was witty and there are an astonishing number of very fit young ladies who go running along the Thames! By the time we got to Chelsea my feet were feeling a little tender but our spirits were still high. Bradley was mentally pricing up all the properties in the area, looking for a "doer-upper".
It was when we considering which bridge to cross and walk back from that it dawned on me that we wasn't even half way through yet. We crossed Wandsworth Bridge and started back on the "wrong" side of the river.
The Thames Path is a great idea, but as things have been built in its way we ended up walking down less than inviting back streets in industrial looking areas. The worst of these diversions is around Battersea Power Station.
By now my feet were more than a little tender - and my legs had that "made of lead" feel. Annoyingly, Adrian was still very cheerful and Bradley was still pricing up the properties as we passed them.
As we got closer to the centre of London and as the night drew in I began to shut down and all my concentration was aimed at putting one foot in front of the other. Adrian and Bradley tried to get me to talk, but apart from a few acerbic responses I could not be coaxed. I am a miserable bugger (at times?)!
It was as Tower Bridge came into view (our "end point") that Adrian got this strange notion in his head that we needed to walk 20 miles. We had done just over 18 by then - at least a couple more than originally planned!
It was due to his craziness that we ended up walking around the block near Liverpool Street just to get in an extra half a mile to top it off. We finished at Liverpool Street McD's having completed 20.01 miles. To make up for his squirrel-shit nuttiness he did buy me a chicken burger... so I forgive him.