After a fairly good start in Sydney, my half-marathon training ground to a bit of a halt. There was just so much to see and do, that I didn’t quite get around to putting on my running shoes again during the course of my stay.
That said, I did do a lot of walking. There are some smashing coastal paths all over Sydney and the surrounding area, and I racked up a few miles. I did a lovely stroll around Watson’s Bay and South Head during the first week – finishing up with fish and chips from Doyles on the Beach (it has to be done).
I did a wonderful 10k walk with Clare on a blisteringly hot day from the Spit Bridge to Manly, followed by a rather delicious trout salad lunch with homemade chips and a couple of beers. Another day I walked from Bondi Beach down to Clovelly, via various other pretty little bays (much nicer than Bondi).
I also did the Bridge Climb (1,337 steps to the top of Sydney Harbour Bridge, where the ferries in the Harbour appear to turn into little toys). Even managed to get out to the Blue Mountains for a day and did a bit of low-level bush walking. It rained a lot that day and I was rather glad that I didn’t find out until afterwards that the leeches come out in the rain (I was wearing Merrell sandals)…
Walking also seems to be pretty popular in Oz, and it’s very common to see people in gym kit pounding the streets/beaches with their iPods on. It’s certainly the perfect climate for it.
Back home in the UK now, and just about coping with the jetlag. I hopped on the scales yesterday morning out of interest, and discovered that I actually LOST five pounds during the course of my holiday. Unless I am really seriously dehydrated after the flight, that suggests that walking is a pretty good way of burning calories. After all, I consumed a serious amount of ice-cream and other naughty things while I was away. Waddle on folks.
Filed under: half marathon training, hastings half marathon, running | Tags: artarmon, half marathon training, hastings half marathon, running
I’m in Australia visiting my oldest friend, her husband and gorgeous 17-month old son. He’s into learning new words, and I’ve taught him how to say “bamboo”. Random but amusing.
Clare and Bryn live in a suburb of Sydney – Artarmon - on the north shore. It’s a really nice, leafy area just fifteen minutes from the City on the train which runs reliably every few minutes and is clean. First Great Western could learn a lot.
I managed to get out for a short run on my first morning here which was more of a run-walk-run-consult map-run affair that allowed me to get my bearings. The cycle and walking paths are absolutely excellent, and teaming with people commuting to work on foot or on two wheels. I was out for about forty minutes and, after a 53-hour day, that was quite enough in the heat and humidity.
This morning, armed with a new iPod Shuffle bought at Heathrow during a tortuous delay, I extended my route out east and down through Flat Rock Gully – a pretty, wooded (and cool) creek. From there, I ducked under a striking suspension bridge and into Tunks Park whose marina opens onto Long Bay, part of Sydney’s Middle Harbour. It was a stunning run, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Even the incredibly steep climb back up from Flat Rock Gully back towards Artarmon. Good training for the Hastings Half.
Running seems pretty big in Australia. Lots of people run with their dogs; others on their own or with other people. I was over at Manly yesterday and there were hoards of beautiful people bouncing along the promenade in the heat of the day. I thought only mad dogs and Englishmen (and women) were silly enough to risk heatstroke in the midday sun. Apparently not.
