Lonely London

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I'm now in London and safely ensconced in a new home. I have been looking forward to getting out and about and seeing the sights. Also attending the local running club and doing some of the Capital's parkruns.

Well....obviously, none of that is happening. London is locked down and the streets are deserted. parkrun is cancelled until at least the end of April and the running clubs are likewise suspended indefinitely. Not what I was expecting.


Still, looking on the bright side, I am healthy and able to run. We are still allowed out to exercise each day and I am taking full advantage of that. I have thoroughly explored my local park - Mountsfield Park - with numerous loops of the playing fields, bandstand, local allotments and wild area. Another local park is Ladywell Fields where Kent AC and the running track are located. I managed a couple of laps there too.

I returned to Folkestone for a day to hand back the keys to the old property and managed a 10k along the Leas, Harbour and Sunny Sands beach for old time’s sake.

Today I headed little further from home and tried to find Crystal Palace Park. I didn't realise that there was so much uphill involved until I started to ascend through Sydenham. The park itself was interesting with wide open spaces, woodland, statues, steps, small lakes and sculptures. I was on a time limit for starting work so couldn't stay long. I'll have to head back there again.


One thing I noticed was that although the park was beautiful, the route there was very dull; just houses, shops and traffic. I'm used to the whole route being attractive, but I think in London it will be a mixture of long dull stretches punctuated by the occasional oasis of beauty.

It is also hard to relax on a run at the moment as I am constantly scanning for people and a way to remain more than 2 metres away from them. It isn’t so bad in the parks but in the built up areas it can be quite hazardous.

Hopefully this weekend I will go for a longer run up into the centre of town. It will be quite a unique experience to see places like Trafalgar Square emptied of people. It might even be easier to avoid people there than in the 'burbs.

I've managed some stretching, some core exercises and rest. However the eating better and drinking less hasn't happened yet. Still, difficult times...

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