I walked HOW MANY miles today?!?!?!

Never have I ever been so energized in my entire life! (At least that I can remember)

Once you hear what I did today, you will be wondering how I could ever feel this way. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you.

My day started off just like any other. My plans for the day, however, were ambitious. Because it was going to be sunny and 50 degrees, I was going to attempt to walk to Hyde Park and then do the "Hyde Park Walk" outlined in my guidebook, then go to Marble Arch, and depending on whether the sun was still up, I would walk back. In all, I would be able to check 5 things off my list- Green Park, Hyde Park, Kensington Gardens, Speaker's Corner, and Marble Arch.

And this was for AFTER I completed my mock-triathlon!

Yes, you read that right. I wanted to see how ready I would be for my triathlon if I had to do it today. My triathlon (a sprint triathlon) will consist of a 0.5 mile swim, 12.4 mile bike ride, and a 3.1 mile run. Because there is no pool at King's College, I decided to swap the 0.5 mile swim for a 1 mile row.

I completed the "triathlon" (with equipment cleaning breaks) in 1 hour and 20 minutes. Now it's time to improve. But I did it!!!!

After I finished, I was ready to take on London. I started out along South Bank, and crossed Westminster Bridge. I then walked through St. James's Park to Buckingham Palace, and then walked through Green Park. Which is really... green.

Green Park, walking towards Wellington Arch

I enjoyed my brisk walk through Green Park, and soon I was at Wellington Arch. And now it was time to do my 2 mile walk through Hyde Park. It all started at Hyde Park Corner... which is basically a huge marble archway into the park:

Hyde Park Corner

Inside Hyde Park

My tour brought me along The Serpentine (a giant pond in the park where you can rent paddle boats), to the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, the Serpentine Gallery, the Albert Memorial and Royal Albert Hall, Kensington Palace and Gardens, the Round Pond, and the famous Peter Pan Statue. Here are some of my favorite pictures from my walk...

The Serpentine

Princess Diana Memorial Fountain

Albert Memorial during the day

Peter Pan!

Next, my mission was to see Marble Arch and Speaker's Corner, which is a place where anyone can say anything, as long as it is not blasphemous. I like to think of it as a mini USA within England...

Marble Arch

By the time I got around to completing these things, the sun was setting, so I decided to head back to Hyde Park Corner, and then retrace my steps back to my flat. After all, I had basically gone around the entirety of Hyde Park, and even gone to it's center.

I returned to my flat just as Big Ben started to announce it was 6pm. I had been walking for 3.5 hours! I knew that my "Hyde Park Walk" was 2 miles as outlined in my guidebook. However, I had added extra by visiting Marble Arch and Speaker's Corner, and I also walked to and from the park. Curious, I went to the "Map My Run" website in order to see how far I had walked.

9.5 miles. WHAT?! I was only gone for 3.5 hours! HOW DID I DO THAT? HOW AM I NOT TIRED? Why is it 9pm now, and all I want to do is go for a run so I can get out some energy?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?

NINE. POINT. FIVE. MILES. AFTER my mock-triathlon. That means that the total amount of miles I have rowed/biked/run/walked today is 26 miles. I am still amazed.

If I keep up this pace, I won't have to worry about not seeing all of London. I will finish London within the week and walk to every town in England. Nothing's impossible.

...well, except maybe that. But one can dream!

Cheers!