Harpenden Here I Come!

Last Thursday at 6.30am, during a gentle snow flurry, I set off on foot from my flat and walked between five and six miles to my parents house.

When I first started training, one of my goals was to be able to walk to my family home in Harpenden from my new place in St Albans. Being a big fan of cars - especially fast ones - I have always had a tendency to assume that driving from place to place is the best option. I have also always imagined that walking to Harpenden from St Albans would be near impossible (and yes I know how ridiculous that sounds). So when I began to train I had it in the back of my mind that this journey was something I really wanted to attempt.

The walk took me about an hour and twenty minutes and although it was freezing cold and snowing (and I don't own an ipod), I really enjoyed it. I went a scenic route which made the walk longer but of course prettier. I cut through the Childwickbury estate which meant that I trundled past Stanley Kubrick's house (where his wife the artist Christiane Kubrick still lives) and came out by the turreted gatehouse (which I've always dreamt of living in as I have a Rapunzel complex).

When I arrived at my parents house (with time to spare before a personal training session), I said to my folks "ask me where my car is, go on, ask me", and when they did, I triumphantly replied "at home, I walked here!" Of course they were absolutely astonished, nobody expects the Princess to do such things, despite the fact she is of course in training, and I spent the rest of the day showing off!

And then I spend the next day stretching and having a long hot soak!