Going the extra mile

1921 bridge sign from before Greater London existed

The sun was bright again this morning and the temperature was pleasant but not hot - ideal conditions for a run. I dropped the kids off at school and figured that the exercise would help to de-stress me and give me more focus when filling out the day's big job application upon my return.

Now my closest and most basic long* run is a big circular route which links four main roads up in a kind of wonky rectangle shape, roughly 7 miles long. Today, though, I felt particularly good and wanted to add a little more onto this. After a quick map check I decided to veer a bit further east into Barking and Dagenham, and take my run up to the civic centre and Coventry University campus. Then, by returning through Rush Green and rejoining my usual loop I would hopefully notch up just over 8 miles.

Nike route map

For the first time in ages I decided to listen to a podcast on my way round. I've had plenty of runs with music in the past, but just for a change I thought I'd listen to a conversation instead, and I'm happy to say that Frank Skinner and his pals didn't disappoint. Their musings about Peter Crouch, banoffee pie and Henry VIII kept me smiling throughout the run and it was so well timed that the podcast ended the very moment I arrived back at my own street! Physically, most of the run went well, although I did come to regret going out in normal cotton trainer socks, as I picked up an annoying little blister about two thirds of the way round. That'll teach me. While I was out I spotted an old metal sign on a bridge by Central Park which was dated 1921 and showed the Essex county crest - clearly a remnant of a time before the creation of Greater London, and hard to imagine that it's been there almost 100 years. I can't begin to imagine the changes there have been to the area around it over this time. And the application? Well, I worked hard when I got home and submitted it later that afternoon. Win-win!

* For me, 10km and upwards