Love for a London Lido

Image from Tired of London Tired of Life

Well, yahoo, my first triathlon is now completed. My legs still ache a bit and I am looking forward to a few days off at least. Although I do now feel at  a bit of a loss…what to do now?!

Luckily I have a race coming up in a few weeks so that will keep me occupied, and of course my next triathlon…I finished third in my age group, which was a pleasant surprise, and means it’s worth doing again (even if that news might drive my husband crazy).

I pretty much went from swimming two lengths non stop to being able to swim 2-3k over the past few months so I’m extremely happy that the hard work paid off. I have now grown to love swimming…especially when training for it means you’re lucky enough to swim in Parliament Hill Lido, when the sun is going down behind the hill on the heath.

It is truly beautiful and in an incredible place. The lido has a bit of an art deco feel to it and going into it feels like  stepping back in time. Built in in the 1930’s it’s 60 metres long which is great for training, as it means you do siginificantly less laps which somehow makes it seem easier. The pool also has a metallic liner which makes the water silvery and incredibly clear.

It’s also very peaceful on a cold May evening. I had a bit of a disaster the first time I went…I was so cold I panicked and couldn’t find my breath and rhythm and went home quite despondent. and convinced I was going to pull out of the tri. Getting back in there was pretty tricky, but the rewards were worth it.

You can’t help but love London when you’re in some freezing cold water with the sun setting over you…and be extremely grateful for the little husband sitting on the bench by the side who’s come along for moral support.

All that for a £2.50 entry fee. I cannot think of anything else which costs £2.50 that can bring that much joy (except perhaps for the sausage and egg mcmuffin I had the day after race day. I know. Bad, but oh so tasty, times).

 

Images above from CarolineNo

The beautiful image above is by Martin Smith and avaiable to buy here.

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• parliament hill lido