Mile 15 - UGH ( Updated)

The early part of the day was pretty rough.....As for now, I'm exhausted. I leave you with a few teaser photos. Will return tomorrow for more in depth coverage. My eyes are literally closing as I type.

UPDATED

Right, so I'm a little behind. Nevertheless, first things first. Sunday. Wow. Note to self, don't go for the second bottle of wine when you have to get up and run the next day. Lesson learned the hard way. Saturday's birthday party was a huge success. So much so that I'm honestly shocked that I managed to construct a coherent blog post at 3am after being at the party since 7:30 pm. Good to know. However I must contribute most of my lucidity to the large German sausage I consumed directly after leaving the bar.

Sunday morning turned into Sunday afternoon by the time I finally got out of bed. I managed to get up and down a glass of water before throwing on my running clothes and heading out the door to "get this thing over with". Surprisingly, I started to feel a little ambitious after jamming to a few MJ songs on the ol' iPod. So I decided to continue on with the original plan I made earlier in the week - to go to Hackney Wicked- a glorified hipster 'art' festival where quote " It’s like a post-apocalyptic world where only the artists survived!”. http://hackneywickedfestival.co.uk/

By the time I arrived to Hackney Wick - deep in the industrial side of East London- I immediately started to regret my decision to get out of bed this afternoon, much less run in what had become the hottest day in weeks. Determined to make this blog post more than simply - I hate life, my head hurts, I'm going to run in place for a mile because I'm an idiot and drank too much wine last night - I decided to tour around to at least get a feel for what was going on. In a nut shell. Hackney Wicked is a Dali painting come to life by way an annual world hipster convention and the very confused bystanders - myself included. The girls in the picture below spent at least 45 minutes on stage, chanting sounds. "Ohhh ahhh laaa ummm yaaaa" Now I consider myself to be moderately progressive, but I just couldn't get my head around the chanting ? Perhaps footnotes would have helped.

I walked around for about 30 minutes, then started to realized my running shoes, ponytail, spandex running shorts,and t-shirt, weren't quite fitting in as well as I had hoped..  I snapped a few photos and decided to find a quick place to run so I could go home and take a nap. Unfortunately the heat and lingering smells of cannabis and body odor weren't exactly conducive to running whilst fighting a wine hangover. That said, I felt it best to go home and start this run over after more water and meditation.



A few hours and quite a few glasses of water later, I decided, If this run is going to make me vomit then I better do it close to home. Back to old faithful. Then back to bed.  Then off to the Proms.

Mile !4 - Yay

Today was a great day. Not only did I get to contribute towards my friend's birthday surprise, but I also had the honor of having a friend join in on my run . I soon discovered that we were actually jogging. In which case I've been 'jogging' all along. UGH. I still need to sort out the difference between a jog and a run. Run means? Jog is grandma pace. Fair enough.

So Alana decided to join me today! Not only was this the first joint mile, but also the first mile without music. Just my breath and good company. I must admit it's not quite as bad as I thought it would be. Running without music isn't so bad so long as you have company. It's a bit relaxing, indeed.

Alana and I went to visit Jon's sister in Limehouse. The two girls were in cahoots to build the most spectacular birthday cake for Jon and Si's birthday party tonight. Success. After a successful cake decorating hour Alana and I jogged around the basin of Limehouse. Beautiful. It felt lovely. So did tonight's birthday party. Happy 30th Birthday Jon Boy and Simon. :)

Project Birthday Cake.

The birthday boys enjoying their cake :)

Mile 13 - done.

I'm going to be honest. This blog is coming to you after a few glasses of wine and a long bus ride home. Let it be known that yes, I did complete the mile for the day. I hated it. I have never not wanted to do something so badly in my whole life. That's not true. There are other things in my life I didn't want to do. The "things" in question escape me. But I'm sure they had to do with eating something foul, making something that wouldn't last, and hurting someones heart.

Today was not that bad. It started early. I actually woke up before 9 am. Came home to Cash eating an entire tupperware full of brownies. Spent 2 and a half hours in a Vet's office. Then came back home desperately wanting to take a nap. 25 minutes and two snooze buttons later I woke up to a big. UGH! I got up, put my running clothes on and made it happen. I hated every second. Went around the block. Old faithful. Mile 5 and 11. I think this route will be my go to when I'm just not feeling ambitious. The positive part of all this is that I'm starting to sort out running as a daily task, like brushing my teeth. Goal is to make it stick.

This is as good as it gets. Vets office. 

Mile 12 - Slow news day

It's a slow day in the news room, folks. I'm coming at you again from the 21 heading south.

Now waiting for the train at Waterloo. Delays delays .

Regarding the mile in question. I decided to brave the London tourist crowds by venturing down to Trafalgar Square then past Buckingham Palace up to Hyde Park corner. One mile is all I could manage as time quickly ran out before I needed to head home to get ready for tonight. Might sort out another 2 miles tomorrow.

Thank goodness I'm going to Italy on Tuesday as I'm running out of London locations!

Just boarded the train and quite thankful I have a seat!

Signing off until tomorrow.

Starting Line



*curtsy* "Your Majesty"



End at Hyde Park Corner

Mile 11 - Grandma locks it up!

Ladies and gentlemen, today, Grandma ran TWO miles, non stop! Two laps around the neighborhood ( see Mile 5) Today's goal. Met. I'd like to thank...

My fans. Mr. Boxer who so graciously cheered me on for two laps.

This sign for making me laugh. Twice

And the cute boy who works at the corner store for making me paranoid every time I ran past the door.



Black and White hides the red face and perspiration

 I have a feeling today's dedication had a lot to do with the less than satisfactory clothes shopping excursion experienced earlier in the day. I'm not sure when or if I'll ever walk into a dressing room without wanting to shoot myself in the foot. Goal #145, walk in to dressing room without wanted to shoot myself in the foot. Noted.

I decided to do a repeat run today for two reasons. 1. I wanted a familiar and easy path so I could focus more on the two mile goal. And 2. I spent too much time deciding whether or not I liked the red dress or the green dress at H&M.( I chose the green dress.)It's amazing what kind of motivation one receives from the clarity of a three way mirror inside a 40x40 cubical. 4 dressing rooms later, there was nothing keeping me from completing this 2 mile goal. Nothing.

I returned to the grandma pace my legs so obviously love, then dominated the two miles.

To top it all off, I celebrated with the most amazing Malaysian food feast. Malaysian food is fantastic. Highly recommended!



Ok, I'm exhausted.  Sorry for the lame post. I'll try better tomorrow. I promise.

Mile 10 - Kensington Gardens

Welcome to Kensington Gardens. Walk through and become entranced by the formal avenues of magnificent trees and ornamental flower beds.

    

Feast your eyes on Kensington Palace, the meticulously sculpted Italian Gardens, and the grandiose Albert Memorial.

   

Become inspired by the beloved Peter Pan sculpture, the Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain......  


the Serpentine pond...



the Senile Old Lady Walking Her Dog Shouting/Mumbling Anti-Immigrant Xenophobic Obscenities?

Oh yes, today, this seemingly sweet little old lady demanded me to quote "Get out of my country!" ... She said it quite mater-of-factually. As if I had heard it a million times and should be accustomed to such demands. I, however, was flabbergasted.. Confused - mainly because what makes her think I'm not English? I'm alone in a park, wearing running clothes like every other person there!

It all started with an innocent picture of the trees,a monument, and a precious dog. There was no one else around, just the three of us walking along. Overwhelmed by the beauty of my surroundings, I started to take a few pictures of the landscape. After the second photo, I realized I could hear mumbling. Then a loud demanding voice yelled "Get out of my country!". I looked beside me, behind me, beside me again...It took about 7 seconds for me to realize this woman was actually yelling at ME!  In absolute shock I conjured up the most polite/slightly British "Sorry?" I could manage. Silence. We stood there staring into each others eyes for what felt like an eternity, but what was actually about 5 seconds. Then she shouted " I don't care if you're from here, you shouldn't be taking pictures in public!" Again I replied with " Sorry?" I couldn't help but continue staring in totally amazement. It was as if someone had just told me to get out of my spaceship and put my hands on the ground. Her eyes were glaring, she actually hated me. Despised my presence. After another 5 second staring contest, she - I can't make this stuff up- puffed out her chest and yelled "you askin' ?!". Silence. I decided this was the point when I should just walk away. So I did. 

Now, I could have rebutted her initial demand with the standard stereotypical American reply " If it wasn't for the help of MY country, you'd be speaking German" But I have too much respect for the British soldiers who fought in the World Wars to ever say anything of that nature, especially to a direct descendant of the period. What I REALLY wanted to say was " Your COUNTRY fought for hundreds of years to rule the countries of the people you so eagerly wish to eradicate. Be careful what you wish for! We're all here now, so stop complaining and start ruling!" But, instead I walked away, with but a picture to remember her by.

The truth is, she made me quite sad. Not sad because she wanted for me to leave her country. Sad that I will never be able to understand where she's coming from. Was her mind simply infected with dementia? Even if so, those emotions had to come from somewhere? Where? How? Why? In all honesty, It has to be said that most Londoners dread the tourist season. The crowds, the lines, the countless pictures being taken on every corner. But they dread the idea of tourist season, not the individual tourists? Perhaps she was tired of people taking pictures of her dog? Fair enough.

On a more positive note. Touring Kensington Palace reminded me of a haunted house, but without the annoying scary people dressed up, walking around, popping out from behind walls, trying to scare everyone. The Palace itself is under intense construction. Most of the rooms are blocked off. The state rooms are stripped of most furniture and transformed into modern art installations- the Enchanted Palace. Very dark, mystical, quite interesting actually. The window curtains were drown closed leaving most of the rooms dark, except for the intended light from the installation. Most palace tours are restricted to daylight hours. This tour gives you an idea of life in the palace, after dark. Spoooky. http://www.hrp.org.uk/KensingtonPalace/stories.aspx

The run was quite relaxing. Kensington Gardens is a glorified park with trails and ponds. Perfect for running or walking. I'm still frustrated with my performance. I thought I'd be more comfortable by now. Not the case. Nevertheless, I shall go on. Tomorrow I'm going to do two miles, even if it kills me. It's not going to kill me. I will be fine.

And now for the slide show.

The Italian Fountains

Kensington Palace - Birth place of Queen Victoria.  Home to Princess Diana until her death.

Each red ball encapsulated a wish made by recent visitors.

Agreed.

Staircase with a fleeing princess

The room where l8 year old Victoria was woken from her sleep to find she was queen.

Soldiers

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Albert Memorial. Queen Victoria's beloved husband.