4 August – Week 6 Run 3 -The Land of the Hidden Fluoros –

The alarm went off early. I woke to the dulcet tones of Mamma Mia. Running kit all set out, get changed, brush teeth, have customary glass of water and then coffee, get earphones and go. Except no earphones, cue me re-enacting the opening scene from Four Weddings and a Funeral, shouting f’ f f and f…ety f. There are four rooms in this flat, two of which I haven’t been in, whilst am here. Frantic unpacking of travel bag, so carefully packed the night before to save me time, still no earphones, ransacked my bedroom, moved furniture and then looked finally behind the bedside cabinet. Aha, so that was that noise I ignored last night. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Am flying back home to Italy and today is my promised Regents Park run.

Now on the tube, mercifully quite empty and out at Great Portland Street, cross Marylebone Road, already roaring with traffic and into the hum of Regents Park. Frieze Art Fair is on and so as usual there are sculptures in the park. I am told you can actually buy these, well I can’t, but I think multimillionaires do and so any multi millionaires reading this post, I quite like this one – although not sure she’d fit anywhere.

She was situated just about where my run started and as Prince finished his last bars of Let’s Go Crazy, Mr Smooth suggested that taking it easy was the key to success today. Hmm who to listen to? Prince or Mr Smooth – naturally Mr Smooth won. Ran through to the quieter part of the park to the North, past the lake and round through the large gaggle of geese. At this point I was wondering what is the collective noun for us C25Kers? Not a movement that’s way too tantric or medical eeugh. How about a rumble?

Mr Smooth interrupted my thoughts telling me I had only 5 minutes to go and about a minute later the Kaiser Chiefs were singing every day I love you less and less. I love that song, Mr JCR and I thought it would have been fun at our wedding… weird sense of humour!

So what about these fluoros then? – in the City I was a shocking pink dash amongst grey termites. But today I found the fluoros hang out in Regents Park. They still don’t smile – Londoners are way too cool for that; they still don’t look at you, except for one very cute Idris Elba lookalike.

Maybe he was shocked at my orange, pink and sky blue combo. Or just maybe he knew I’d done Week 6 and was giving me that knowing look that we runners share. And I am officially a runner, Mr Smooth said so.

Playlist

Save a Prayer – Duran Duran

Girls and Boys – Blur

Let’s Go Crazy – Prince and The Revolution

Rehab (twice in succession) – Amy Winehouse

Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll – The Killers

Daydream Believer – The Monkees

Let’s Stick Together – Bryan Ferry

Everyday I Love You Less and Less – Kaiser Chiefs

Warwick Avenue – Duffy

Rock the Casbah – The Clash

Blasphemous Rumours – Depeche Mode