Favourite London Running Haunts Pt 1

Regent's Canal. Going from Paddington to Limehouse Basin, connecting Grand Union Canal and the River Thames. It's almost 14k long and the towpaths are very popular with runners and cyclists. The scenery is quite varied and idyllic, linking northwest London with east London.

These pictures are taken near the Old Ford Lock in October 2012.

Bounce Back In Style

After yesterday's slightly disappointing session I wanted to do something hard today, to bounce back in style. The preparation for today's training was a world of difference from yesterday - as I'm on a day off today I had a good lie in, a good breakfast and then I got on my bike to cycle to the West End to do a treadmill run with progressive pace increase. I could have gone to a gym in the East End, but I find the 35-40 minute cycle to be the perfect warm up before a run, not to mention that the sun was out and I wanted to catch some vitamin D.

Once at the gym I got on a secluded treadmill and got going. The plan was to do a one kilometer warm up and then increase the pace every third kilometer until I had done 15 kilometers. The first 10 k's were easy, with the pace only going up to 11.5k/hour. When I hit the 10k mark I increased the pace to 12k/h which isn't very fast even for a Captain Slow like myself but as I'd already done 10k my calves were struggling just a little bit. The two last kilometers, from 13 to 15 k, I ran in 12.5k/hour pace and they were actually a bit painful. I didn't feel like I was dying of tiredness in the way you sometimes do when you do a really tough interval session, but the accumulated distance and the ever increasing pace had taken its toll - even if the speed wasn't great towards the end, it had progressively increased for a fair few kilometers.  I felt tired when I was done but very happy with both the distance and my execution of the session...I did leave it all on the field (treadmill) today!

Cycle commuting, Viking-style!

4th of February, shorts on. Who needs summer to cycle in shorts??!

Surviving Cycling in London

Sensing a theme to the clothing....

 Anyone who's been cycling in London (or any other big city) knows it can be a nerve wrecking experience. After two years cycling in London, and one year in Bristol, I've found the following 'rules' help a lot:

1. Be visible! Wear bright clothes, high vis gear and proper lights. If your fellow road users can see you life on the road becomes a lot safer.
2. Follow the rules! It might sound obvious, but a lot of cyclists seem to think that some rules don't apply to them. If you want the same rights, then you have to follow the same rules.
3. Take the (quieter) back roads! Trust me, Euston road during rush hour is a scary story. If you're commuting on your bike, map out your route on the quieter roads and save yourself from a fair few close encounters.
4. Be vigilant! Motorists in London are notorious for not indicating (or indicating really late) when turning left, or before pulling out from the side. Not to mention black cabs and buses don't seem to notice anyone on a bike.
5. Cycle 1/3 out in the road! This forces the cars to properly overtake you, and not try and sneak past you where it's really too tight. Claim your space on the road.
6. Travel outside of rush hour! I know it can be hard, as a lot of people cycle to and from work, but cycling on quieter times is way more pleasant than cycling in rush hour.
7. Don't pass buses/lorries/HGV's on the inside! They can't see you, but they can crush you.
8. Make sure your equipment is safe! Wear a god helmet, make sure your tyres are in good condition, check your breaks regularly etc.
9. Use your arms! Signal where you're going by using your hands/arms, so that fellow road users know where you're going.
10. Err on the side of caution! It's better that your ride takes 5 minutes longer than that you risk your life...and for heaven's sake, don't cycle with headphones!