Just Another 8K Photo Essay

   I ran 8K today. This is the second farthest I have ever run and only the second time I have ever done it. I ran 8K about this time last year as part of my gradual climb up to 10K. The following week I did 9K and that's about where the PF hit. Next weekend, I'll tack on an extra kilometer, body willing.
   Today, I used the Flower Jovia method of distance running! I ran for a bit, took a pic, ran for a bit, took a pic, ran for another bit and so on and so on. Flower is a running blogger from Florida who does these amazing photo essays while out on her runs. All sorts of wonderful scenery and a whole whack of wildlife to boot---pelicans, dolphins, turtles, peacocks---pretty well you name it!
   Now, today I had no exotic wildlife (I spared you all a pic of the deer carcass I came across....) to show you but I did stop briefly quite a few times if there was anything of note. My route today was an extension of the river route I've been running the last few weekends and, at this point, it is taking me right downtown or at least pretty close.


Yes, I went toward the light...

   I started the run near the dreaded sewage treatment plant I told you about a couple of posts ago. The smell wasn't too bad today, I guess the wind must have been blowing in the right direction. Eventually, the path took me out of the park where the plant is and onto city streets.
   To exit the park, I had to take a tunnel underneath a set of train tracks. My wife always tells me that if I find myself in a tunnel with a light at the other end, I should try not to go into the light. Today, I ignored her.
   This tunnel was actually named after Greg Curnoe, a well-known London artist. He was tragically killed in a cycling accident back in 1992. In his honour, they have a plaque erected at one entrance to the tunnel. You can read a little about him here.
   From there, I popped out into a little neighbourhood near Wharncliffe Road, a reasonably busy north-south street. Happily, the path along the river runs under it. At this point, I managed to get a pic of both the Wharncliffe bridge I was about to run under along with some reasonably cool graffiti under it. It sort of looked like the commissioned kind of artwork.


Headed for the Wharncliffe bridge

   From there, I totally ignored the sign which informed me I was running on a flood plain and continued on.


Graffiti under the bridge

   This shortly had me arriving at the Forks of the Thames. I drive by the Forks all the time but this was my first opportunity to see it from this angle. Actually, at this point I was seeing London from a whole different perspective than I usually do altogether and it was a little disorienting and yet kind of cool at the same time. I'd see a building from a different angle than I was used to and I really had to go through the memory banks to figure out just why the building was familiar and what part of the city I had popped up in.



The Forks of the Thames

   Once I had figured out where I was, I decided I should probably head back in the general direction from whence I'd come. In truth, I think I'd totally lost track of the path I had originally been on and could go on no longer following it. So I ran along the city streets for a bit before I made it back towards Greenway Park.


Bethesda Centre

   On the way back to Greenway, I passed what used to be the Bethesda Centre, a home which was run by the Salvation Army for unwed mothers and their babies. It is currently unused and up for sale. I only mention this because this is where Justin Bieber's mum stayed back when she was heavy with him. Now North America is heavy with him. 
   So, back under the Curnoe tunnel and on to the Sewage Plant, where I'd parked. From there I had to tack a couple extra kilometers on just to bring me up to eight. This part of the trip twice took me past the deer carcass, which was conveniently already in the cemetery.

   Back at the car and my 8K was in the books. The Jovia method got me there without thinking I had actually stopped nine times along the way, if only briefly. I was only doing some photojournalism, right?