Running the Central line

After a whole week of no training and treading very carefully on my left leg, Beth and I boarded Saturday’s 09:30 underground train towards my starting point for this challenge, West Ruislip Underground Station. This was the first time I’d travelled anywhere beyond Northolt in a westerly direction on the tube so the scenery was new to me. In case you’re confused, the Central line is entirely above ground by this point (about 65% of the line is), hence “the scenery” and not just “the unrelenting darkness”.

Seven minutes later we arrived at the near-deserted station and Beth took a quick picture of me standing outside for evidence. We agreed to meet at Northolt in 45 minutes and she disappeared back into the station towards the platforms. It would be like a Top Gear race but without the suspense and the unconvincingly close finish.

The run between West Ruislip and Ruislip Gardens was pleasant enough and I was relieved to find that my knee only hurt very faintly as I ran. Just before arriving at my second station, I passed the school where they film The Inbetweeners. So that’s interesting, right?

When I reached Ruislip Gardens Station I began scouting for a stranger with which to entrust my camera for the first of many times. I summoned over the first I came across, a middle-aged women, who kindly agreed to help me. Unfortunately, by her own admission, she “wasn’t very good with technology” and held the camera up to her face despite my camera having no viewfinder. Luckily, an unsuspecting Asian man walked past and she hastily delegated the task to him before slinking off, looking embarrassed. I feel a bit bad for putting her on the spot like that.

My Asian friend did a much better job and took the following shot.

The short run towards South Ruislip station was pretty unmemorable. My body coped well despite the hot weather and lack of recent exercise, but I could feel the pain in my left knee gradually begin to resurface.

At South Ruislip station, the second guy I spoke to (the first was holding a dog. Looking back: a poor choice) was willing to help me out with photography. Despite my protests, he stubbed out the cigarette he was in the middle of smoking and reassured me that he was trying to quit anyway. He took the below picture and we had a little chat about my project. A very nice man!

It was during the final two mile stretch between South Ruislip and Northolt that my knee really started to hurt. The closer I got to Northolt, the more pain I was in and it reached a point where I had stop and walk 100 metres or so before continuing. This was extremely frustrating because the rest of my body felt relatively unfatigued and could have easily tackled the remaining distance (and beyond). I eventually arrived at Northolt station almost exactly 45 minutes after setting off from West Ruislip.

I’ve decided that this week I’m going to see a doctor. If I can’t make an appointment in time for next Saturday, I’ll suspend leg two (I don’t mean hopping…) until I am able to make an appointment. As a few people have told me, this challenge isn’t worth permanently damaging my knee, which is actually a pretty useful part of my anatomy that I tend to use quite a lot.

So there we go, leg one of nine completed. Apart from all the agony stuff, I actually really enjoyed myself today and I can’t wait to continue in the weeks to come.

Thanks for reading.