A River Runs through It

I like to run along the Thames Path, but I rarely do so apart from on bank holiday weekends because the 20-minute Tube journey down to Waterloo or Embankment is anti-motivational and causes me to hang out in my flat in my pyjamas until lunchtime, instead, by which point both banks of the river are hella busy with Confused Northern Peeps and other incompetents.

St Paul's peeping over the Millennium Bridge

Today, I managed to pull on my trainers in time and thanks to an unusually prompt Bakerloo Line, I was at Embankment by 10.30. Usually, I go to Waterloo and run up the South Bank to Tower Bridge, cross the river and then run back down the North Bank to Vauxhall Bridge, where I cross back over and finish the loop to Waterloo. Today, I did the same loop but starting from Embankment Tube station and running along the North Bank to Vauxhall Bridge. The Waterloo start is better because the stretch of river west of the Houses of Parliament is pretty dull and it's better to leave this until closer to the end of your run because then you know how much motivation you have. I just guessed that I'd be happy to do a eight-ish mile run this morning and so crossed at Vauxhall.

Running the Thames Path is a pain at the moment because as well as the usual diversions from the path on the North Bank, a large chunk of the South Bank is being redeveloped at the moment, meaning frequent detours to contend with, as well as the tourists. I'm glad I did it, though, if only to add some variety to my running.