Training: Byker Estate (incl. Byker Wall)

What a contrast to Monday's run. My body definitely wasn't up for it today, with my knees lacking spring but my lungs feeling it most. Good job I was out for a longer run and not focused on the times I was getting for each kilometre.

Part of the Byker Wall in the distance as I started to cross the Byker Bridge.

That lack of focus on speed also meant I felt free to stop for a few photos (and not pause Google Fit), which was nice. Lately, I've been reading and watching a fair bit about the Byker Estate — of which the Wall is the most visible part — trying to understand what makes it so different to the much-lauded Barbican Centre in London; what's good about it and what's not so good. Today, I went out to see the reality for myself.

And to take a few pictures when I didn't feel awkward doing so. After all, there I was as a privileged homeowner living in a nice area but taking photos of an estate that replaced slums and reportedly still has more than its fair share of poverty, knowing fine well that I'll be running back to my comfortable job in a few minutes. I risked looking like I was treating the whole thing like some academic exercise or social science experiment while not having to worry about being part of it. Not a good look.

Probably the nicest view of the estate that I got today, showing both low- and high-rise

Anyway, for all the praise I've heard about the Byker estate, typically coming from fans of modernist architecture, the state of the area today felt pretty much as I'd expected. It's generally in reasonable condition, all things considered. There are patches of greenery, the bright colours that mark it out as different from so many of its brutalist forebears are still present, and the litter problem seems no worse than in other areas of the city. The lush green balconies that I'd hoped to see didn't really materialise mind, but that may well be because it's winter. Still, it could definitely do with a bit of TLC. In places, the paint of the distinctive colours is coming away, wooden parts of facades look like they need replacing and the roads are a patchwork of tarmac fixes. But I'll say this for it: I didn't notice any obvious signs of vandalism; it was more just neglect, probably coming from a lack of funding. I feel like the place is doing well with what it has available.

But enough of all that; back to the run. My meanderings through the estate saw me repeatedly climb a little and then descend a little, only to climb again. Part way through, I chose a route — not one I'd planned — that saw me climb set after set of steps, which probably accounts for a major slowdown in my recorded pace. That and the photo above, which required a pause. Those steps, however, half killed me, with my left knee clicking like crazy once again. But... that was pretty much the high point of the run once done. Most of the rest was downhill; at least, the section back through the estate and out towards Ouseburn was pretty steeply downhill in places.

Looking back towards the city centre from (the very steep) Clydesdale Road in Byker

Eventually though, I got back to City Road and the constancy of traffic. It's only just struck me now, typing this, that there was very little traffic in the Byker Estate itself. There aren't really any through roads or rat runs in it, I guess. And maybe car ownership is fairly light in there anyway. But back in the fumes I was. Had I had a little energy and a little more lunchtime left, I would've found a quieter route back to the office, but my main priority was not having to do too many more hills.

As I approached the back of the office, Google called out the 40-minute mark, telling me I'd done 7.13km. That wasn't enough. I wanted a purple mark on my run calendar, so I added an extra loop that took in the Bigg Market before finally entering the front of the building instead. 7.92km overall, and at almost exactly the same pace as my Great North 10K. Given how long I stopped for pictures (see the three dips in pace below), and just how not-up-for-it I felt today, I'm quite pleased with that. Maybe it means I could beat my 10K record if I were to do another on similar terrain? Maybe, just maybe, it's time I actually booked myself on one.