Tour de Princess Diana land

Much better this morning; varied pace five miles in Kensington Gardens. Running in London is like running in a museum at the best of times; this particular bit of London park is becoming a permanent shrine to the "people's princess", who died (or was killed, depending on your preferred theory) some ten years ago, Kensington Palace, her favourite home, dominates the area, then you're tripping over Princess Diana Memorial Walk flagstones, avoiding the Princess Diana memorial "Fountain" (it really sucks and looks more like a tarted-up drainage channel, and her image is on hundreds of mugs, postcards, tee-shirts and other tourist crap in all the surrounding shops.

I actually got a smile and a greeting today - this from a mother running with her child in one of those big push-chair things. I realised I have just been out of the big bad city too long.... the runners are probably just being normally cautious (for a city)... like on the tube trains and buses here in a city you don't make eye contact with anyone in case they are a nutter or a mugger.... and everybody's normal state is Red Alert. I had forgotten what it is like. Wow! Boulder is so different.

So this morning I started at 9-minute pace, then got progressively faster, eventually topping out with a 6:20 burst alongside the Long Pond, which in the early morning drizzle is populated not just by wildfowl of all sorts and a pack of the notorious Royal swans which legend has it will break your arm as soon as look at you. I was also blessed with the sighting of a couple of medieval tanks -- actually the massive destriers/war horses of the Household Cavalry regimental band -- out like the rest of us for their morning jog.

Other parts of the park are filling up with the organizational paraphernalia of the Tour de France; the world's greatest dope-fest starts in London this weekend.

I'm still surprised at how hard it feels running on the flat and at sea-level; however, the going is soft grass, so maybe I am being a bit hard on myself. The other runners I see do seem to be running fairly slowly.