No time to run?

Sometimes weeks just don't turn out as you planned and this week I've been really busy - but in a good way. Last night Lenore and I went to a preparation meeting for a parenting course that we're starting (at the New Learning Centre) and tonight we've got one of those rare child-free evenings where we can pretend to be young again! I wanted to squeeze a run in and that meant running to work across the Heath, and so on down to the river, although today I decided to throw in a few new diversions to keep things fresh. Now, as everyone knows, the weather has been great recently and even at 7:30 this morning the sun was bright and starting to lift the early morning chill:

Sunrise on the Heath

I was feeling pretty perky, with a spring in my step, and so when another middle-aged runner took me on down Grafton Road (at the back of Kentish Town) I girded my loins and rose to the challenge! There was going to be no competition here and I managed to carry this 6:30 min/mile pace all of the way down past Mornington Crescent. Here I decided to divert through some park gates that I must have gazed ineffectually at hundreds of times and found myself in St Pancras Gardens. I won't claim that they're a major new addition to my running repertoire but at least I now know where gravestones go to die:

St Pancras Gardens - a little cramped!

After this charming departure I then kept a green theme and passed through Tavistock Square Gardens, also new to me, Russell Square Gardens, which enjoys a pleasing symmetry, and Bloomsbury Square Gardens. Before writing this I hadn't quite realised how many garden squares I typically pass through but in reality I try to seek them out; there's something very refreshing from gaining just a few moments with the grass under your feet in a city like London. If I had my way I'd probably knock down all of the ugly '60s office-blocks that are dotted around and replace them with gardens (just so long as I didn't have to do the gardening!).

Distance: 8.4 miles

Time: 1h 4m 13s