Parkrun 3

I went to my third Parkrun today, and bumped into Yvette right at the start. I don't have an issue with doing things alone, but it did feel nice to meet up with a friendly face. My time in Brisbane so far has been pretty isolated thanks to a demanding work + uni schedule, so now that uni is over it feels good to get the chance to be more social :)

We didn't exactly run together along the route, Yvette is coming back from injury whereas I am coming 'back' from zero fitness, plus I'm new to trails. I felt strong today though, and pushed harder at the start. Yvette wasn't far behind me, and her encouragement helped me score my fastest kilometre (5:45) since returning to running - including road running. She also caught me up during the second half and yelled encouraging things pretty much the whole way back. I have no idea how she could keep shouting at that point - I could barely breathe! 

Yvette at the front, me at the back

At the final hill up to the finish line, Yvette stormed past me and a whole bunch of other people in a really strong push. It was impressive! I felt inspired, and when the hill levelled out at the top I put in a sprint and managed to catch the group who had pulled away from me up the hill, passing a few of them over the line. It felt good!

I forgot to stop Strava at the end, but the Parkrun time was 36:54

I felt strong on this run, I think I'm finally feeling effects from a few weeks of running, gradually getting stronger. And I shaved nearly a minute off last week's PB, so that made me feel good! So good in fact that I think I will commit to this trail running malarky, and buy trail shoes!

The Kedron Brooke Bikeway - To The Sea!

I finished work unexpectedly early today after a meeting was cancelled, and decided to head out on the bike again after enjoying yesterday so much. A storm had been forecast for the area today, but the most recent forecasts reckoned it would miss the Brisbane area, and there was just a slight chance of rain. The weather was much gloomier than yesterday and a bit windy, but I was still feeling good about it, and at least the gloominess kept the temperature down a bit.

I decided to follow the Kedron Brook Bikeway again, but find the rest of it this time! I followed yesterday's route until the part where I had looked for the cycle in coffee place and ended up looping round via a park. This time, instead of following the road around I crossed over, and found the bikeway continuing past a sports field and onwards.

After a little while, the bikeway became very new and well kept, with some areas separated for cyclists and pedestrians, complete with road markings and junctions painted on the ground. Very cute.

A little further along, and I saw a guy on a strange looking contraption, one large wheel with a footplate either side that you stand upon to ride it. I was curious, so I asked about it. Apparently it is an airwheel and this guy thought it was really great. I'm not totally sure of the point of it, but horses for courses!

Just a short way further along, and I saw another guy on another one wheeled contraption. This one was configured more like a skateboard with the wheel in the centre, but before I caught up to him he turned off on a different route so I couldn't ask about this one.

I continued along, passing some large roads and eventually coming to Toombul Shopping Centre. I was starting to feel hungry, but I was also curious to see where the bikeway led so I decided to carry on. I'm really glad I did, as it wasn't much further along that the path passed under some really large roads, and all of a sudden the suburbs were left behind and the scenery was drastically different.

As well as the land looking different, the brook itself was changing too. Mangroves began to appear at the water's edge, and the air took on the smell of briny water as I reached the tidal zone. The bikeway followed the edge of the river here for a while - sometimes perhaps a little too close, as erosion had caused a few bits of bikeway to fall away!

The smell of the salty water made me wonder if I could get all the way to the sea, so I carried on with renewed enthusiasm. I was rewarded a few kilometres later as I passed through a lightly wooded part of the bikeway, and a gorgeous 3 metre carpet python crossed the path in front of me. We were both a little startled by each other, and the python (pretty harmless to humans) stopped in its tracks and just stayed there for ages. I stayed too to get a good look at it, it was so beautiful.

After embarrassing myself by getting overheard chatting to the snake by a cyclist who passed me, I decided it was time to carry on... Just a couple of kms later I saw a sign advertising a shop at Nudgee Beach in 2kms. I hoped it would serve coffee, and figured this could make a good end point for my outward journey. I was in luck. At the end of the bike path I followed the road a little way, and came upon Pam's Cafe. A little place with a small shop and fish n chip counter, I ordered a coffee and some chips and sat outside. The guy who had caught me chatting to the snake was also there, and we had a friendly conversation over our coffees. One of the things I love about getting out and about is that the people you meet tend to be really friendly :)

After my little break, I took a short ride to the sea - just so that I felt I had completed my journey. It wasn't the best beach in the world, but looking out to sea always feels good.

Then it was homeward bound. The wind was kind and held its direction, becoming a tailwind for the return journey, and I was joined by another cyclist who caught me up on his electric bike. We chatted together the whole way back to where I left the bikeway to get home, and he told me there are lots more bikeways to explore - if I can just find them. Hopefully I can do some of that next week...

26kms out...

...and another 26kms back :)

Back Behind Bars

I finished work early in the afternoon today, and felt a really strong urge to get out on my bike. Luckily, for once I didn't have any punctures when I got my bike out of the garage (I seem to attract punctures at an incredible rate since coming to Australia - I think I need to learn to recognise which types of bushes and trees have thorns!)

I made my first stop at my local coffee shop down the road, the type of situation in which my Ortlieb handlebar bag comes in really handy. Although expensive, I'm so glad I bought it from my friends at the Bicycle Pedlar in Townsville. It's great to keep spare glasses (I have clear ones to keep the bugs out in the dark, and sunnies for the daytime), wallet, camera, phone etc in this bag, and it simply unclips from the mount so I can carry it in to the cafe and not leave any valuables behind :)

Coffeed up, I decide to get onto the Kedron Brook Bikeway, which I can access a short ride from here. I rode a small part of it several months ago, before I started work, and I also run along a little section sometimes as I prefer it to the roads. This time I want to see how far along I can get, and see where the bikeway goes.

It is a beautiful day, and I see heaps of birds - sulphur crested cockatoos, long-billed corellas, galahs. I don't have a camera with me, just the one on my phone, so not many photos come out too well...

Galah, I love these birds!

I follow the bikeway for a while, mkaing plenty of wrong turns as it is not well signposted. There are plenty of signs, pointing off to 'Road X' or 'Road Y', but if you don't know that Road X is nearby and this track will take you off the bikeway and back to the roads, while Road Y is further along and so that path will continue along the bikeway, then they are not very useful. A simple addition to the signs to label the actual bikeway more often would be really useful.

Eventually I come out to a section where a road is involved, and different paths are signed. I get distracted looking for this place, which seems like a great idea!

I can't find any more signs for the bikeway, but I see signs for a greenway and follow those. I arrive at a picturesque little area with a large pond and lots of ducks, swamp hens, and even a large water dragon in the distance, too far away to show up on my phone's camera. I have no idea where I am, but it's really pretty.

I explore a couple of different path options from here, one of them takes me through a nice little park and back onto the Kedron Brook Bikeway at a point I already passed. I don't feel like riding back out and looking for the rest of the bikeway again now, so instead I decide to head home. It's been a good ride though, about 30kms in total. I thoroughly enjoyed getting back out on the bike, seeing the wildlife, the sense of freedom in being being out alone under my own steam. I need to do this more :)

Trailblazers!

Yesterday I was invited to come along to a Trailblazers Run Coaching session. This was taking place in Bunyaville park, but in a different part to the Parkrun. Today's session was a steady, relatively easy run aimed at beginners and also as a recovery run for some people who had done a 50km event the previous day!

I was hoping to meet Yvette there, but she had gotten stuck somewhere and wasn't able to make it. It was no bother though - there were several other newbies coming along, and we all ended up introducing ourselves and getting along just fine. I'm noticing that trail running includes lots of really friendly, supportive, and great people, making it an ideal activity for people wanting to make friends, or who don't have a running buddy already.

This run was led by Michelle, who runs Trailblazers. She had also done the 50kms the previous day, so it was impressive to see how fresh she seemed on the trails! Michelle led us on different sections, with lots of stops in between to regroup and give a chance to drink enough water, and for a group photo too!

Once we were thoroughly warmed up, Michelle then gave a bit of a coaching session. Today's focus was running up hills, making sure to keep good posture, cadence, and short strides, pumping the arms to help keep momentum. I am pretty terrible at inclines, let alone proper hills, so it's good for me to have this practice. I need to add more hill training in as I develop a running routine.

By the end, we had run 6.4kms. This is a measly distance compared to most of the veteran trail runners I have met, but it's my longest trail distance so far. I'm still enjoying it, I just need to get fitter and stronger!

Parkrunning 2

Today saw me getting up early again (on a Saturday!) to head to Bunyaville for my second trail run at Bunyaville Parkrun.

There was a really good attendance again, with friendly and helpful volunteers to welcome everyone and ensure the event goes ahead smoothly.

This time on the run I wasn't feeling too good. I had been a little ill with my sinuses through the week, and I felt like it was really hard work just to keep going around the track. Somewhere near the halfway point I passed another runner, who yelled some encouragement at me, and we ended up having a little bit of a joke together. I pulled away from her, but she caught back up towards me further on and carried on yelling encouragement. When I had to break and walk a little she caught right up to me, and encouraged me to keep going round the rest of the way. She was awesome - so much energy and such a positive attitude, it really helped. She completely left me for dust on the final uphill section towards the finish line, but with her encouragement I was nearly half a minute faster than last time (my first Parkrun PB!).

Parkrun time 37:52

My new running mate, Yvette, invited me for coffee after the run, and I gladly accepted the invitation. We met up with a few others, and I was fascinated and impressed by the tales of their distance runs, stage runs, ultra runs, and so on - plenty of things for me to dream of aiming for in the future. And less far off, I got invited along to a trail session tomorrow afternoon too - I see trail running in my future...

Back On My Mountain Bike!

No Parkrun for me this Saturday. Not because I am dropping out after just 1 week, but because I looked on Meetup the other day and happened to see a mountain biking lesson coming up for just $30 Australian. Bargain!!

The lesson was aimed at beginners, but as I am not very good, and haven't been on a bike in some time - let alone mountain biking - I thought beginner was the right level for me.

The lesson was through a mountain bike meetup group, and provided by Roadie Rob's Bicycle School. Roadie Rob himself was an experienced rider, and seemed to get a great balance of lots of instruction without making it feel too tedious or dry. There were only 2 of us who turned up at Gap Creek Reserve, and we both seemed to be at a similar level, so it was a really great (and super cheap!) session. We practiced a few different handling skills that make a foundation for more advanced skills later on, and then used the obstacle skills park for a bit more handling practice.

The lesson culminated with some trail practice, working on cornering first on an area of switchbacks and then on gentler trail. This was ideal for me, as cornering is definitely a huge downfall (often literally!) for me. I will still need lots of practice - and maybe even some more lessons - to get any good, but learning is fun :)  I just need a new Owen to take me out on the trails ;)

I'm the top one - photo credit to Roadie Rob

Parkrunning

Today I did my first Parkrun, which was also my first trail run!

I turned up to the start point for the Bunyaville Parkrun, a 100% trail route, feeling quite excited. I got lots of kudos from the volunteer I approached to ask about how it all worked, as I was not only there for the first time, doing a trail run for my first one, but also I had come alone. I'm kind of used to turning up to stuff alone - I think it would be more sad to sit home alone and miss out on stuff, than to get out there and do stuff alone - but apparently some people find that a bit impressive, so I got to feel kind of good from the positivity :)

Parkrun is a free, timed, 5km run organised at many locations in many different countries. You register online first, and that gives you a barcode which is then used every week to save your run times to your profile. This profile keeps a record of all your runs and keeps track of your PB (personal best).

My slow run - the proper time 38:18 - I always mess up Strava recordings!

Bunyaville is a fairly hilly trail run, with just a little bit of single track amongst the slightly wider bits. The trail is shared with mountain bikers, so we give way to them - must be the only time mtbs are not bottom of the trail-priority pile! I wasn't fast, especially uphill, but I finished with a smile and will definitely be doing it again!