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!

(Almost) Trail Blazing

Way back at the start of my time in Brisbane, before I began this year's uni course (a distance ed Graduate Certificate in Human Services) and before I got my current job, I had plans. Lots of them. For all kinds of fun adventury-type things!

I made a list of some of them here, and looking back over that list I have actually actioned more of them than I would have thought, given how busy I've ended up being (I should do a re-cap at the end of the year, see if I can tick them all off!).

www.wildrunners.com.au

Anyhoo, one of the items on the list was to have a go at trail running. I had written to a group called Wild Runners, who seemed like a good bunch from what I had read online, and then, well... I didn't really do anything else... I made a couple of half-hearted attempts to get up in time for the antisocial 5.30am starts, and then between uni, a trip back to the UK, then starting work on top of uni, I simply gave up.

Fast forward to September, and I decided to pop into a trail running shop to ask about trail shoes, with a view to saving up for some if I decided I liked trail running. It turned out that the shop, The Trail Co., is run by the same people as Wild Runners! So they managed to persuade me to drag myself out of bed the following day at the horrendous hour of 4am, so that I could meet them for a run conditioning session.

Somehow I did manage to get up, and even feel enthusiastic enough to follow through with getting ready and heading out of the house. Very unlike me to be so human early in the morning!

I drove to the area at nearby Mt Coot-Tha where the session was to be held, and despite such an early start everyone was really welcoming and friendly.

Tim led the session, with a mixture of strength and stability exercises after a bit of a warm up. Some of the exercises were pretty funny to watch, so there was lots of laughing involved too!

We were working too hard for me to take photos at the session, but this one is from a similar session via the Wild Runners Facebook page.

I worked hard through all the variations of squats, lunges and various plyometric exercises. At first I was amazed at how well I was keeping up with the group, given that I had only started back at running some short distances a couple of weeks before. The following day I realised that it had been enthusiasm rather than fitness that had gotten me through - I suffered the most excruciating DOMS for several days after!!

It was great to get out though, and I even felt enthusiastic enough to sign up for the Bunyaville Parkrun, which is a 5km Parkrun, but all on trail. It sounds like a great way to begin trail running for me, although this week I'll have to give it a miss thanks to the dreaded DOMS...

Back on the Water

I still don't really know anyone here in Brisbane, as my work can be pretty isolating and spare time is mostly taken up with uni work. Recently however I have been getting the chance to work collaboratively with someone else, Suanne Lowery from Fitness Forever. After meeting and chatting with her a few times, I plucked up the courage to invite her out kayaking with me sometime. Suanne was enthusiastic - she had never been kayaking, but was very keen to give it try!

We found a date where we both had the day off, and Suanne met me at mine to help load the kayaks on the car before setting off to Enoggera Reservoir. Getting the kayaks down the track to the water's edge went smoothly, and I gave Suanne a bit of a dry-land lesson on what to do if she capsized, and how to paddle, before hitting the water.

Suanne was in Adam's sit-on-top kayak, as getting out in the event of a capsize is super easy - you just fall off! That didn't really matter in the end though, as Suanne was a real natural and only had a couple of 'nearly' moments, no capsizing at all!

We paddled around the sheltered area of the lake, taking in the views of the wildlife and exchanging friendly chats with other paddlers we passed.

My silly hat gets another outing

Getting to a more open area where the wind was whipping up choppy waves, Suanne fancied carrying on. She had picked up the paddling so easily that I thought this would be fine, so we picked a far off spot to aim for.

It was good for me to practice paddling further and with more resistance, my little arms aren't what they once were and need all the workouts they can get! We made it though to a little sheltered bit of water on the far side, where we paused a while to watch the beautiful, elegant sulphur crested cockatoos up in the trees - and listen to their hideous, ear-splitting screeches!

We couldn't stop for too long as the wind was still pushing us around a bit, so we turned around and paddled back the way we had come. Back at the more sheltered area, we were treated to the sight of some river turtles basking on a log. Shy and timid creatures that they are though, we couldn't get very close before they plopped back into the water.

When we finished up paddling for the day and were taking the kayaks back up to the car, we were treated to more wildlife - there was a goanna up a tree, and another couple down nearer the water. What a great day!

 

Hitting the Water

Having discovered Enoggera Dam and its kayaking opportunities, I was keen to make time to get out there for a paddle as soon as possible. In a brilliant spot of luck, Adam found himself a reasonably-priced sit-on-top kayak from Gumtree one evening while I was finishing up an assignment, and he collected it the following morning. Then we just had to wait for an appropriate weekend...

That part of the plan took a while, as a few times in a row either one of us was too busy, or the weather was too bad. Finally we got our chance though, and loaded up the kayaks on the roof of my car to head to the dam.

Adam's bargain kayak had come with all the accessories (although we did replace the seat with a Father's Day bargain from Anaconda. Gotta love a sale!) and the extra goodies included a little trolley. This was excellent, as there is a bit of a walk down a little trail to get to the water's edge and the kayak launch area.

I helped Adam launch (he is still a beginner kayaker) and then joined him for a paddle around the lake. We stuck to the sheltered parts, as Adam's kayak is a bit less tubby and stable than the kayaks he has tried before. This was deliberate, as it will make his kayak faster and more maneuverable as he improves his kayak skills, allowing us to take on more demanding kayak trips when he is ready.

After an hour or so on the water we decided it was time for a coffee back at the cafe, where we chatted about making kayak practice a regular thing so that future trips can be planned... 

Local Bushwalks

I may still be missing my friends and lifestyle up in Townsville, and I may not be much of a city person, but the good thing about Brisbane is that it does have a lot of bush around. For a big city this is really great, and it means you can get into nature without travelling far at all - even without leaving the city limits.

Not having much free time due to work and uni commitments, a short drive to get to somewhere where I can go for a bit of a walk in pleasant, natural surroundings is a real winner. I've recently discovered 2 new places that are ideal for those occasions when I don't have much spare time, but I just need to get out of the house.

The first of these places is Enoggera Dam, a mere 15-20 minute drive from where we currently live.

This water reservoir dates back to 1866 and is heritage listed, although we were more interested in being outdoors and enjoying the 5km Araucaria walking track that encircles the dam.

I was also pretty interested in the friendly local wildlife, like this super-handsome guy

The walking track played host to plenty of trail runners while we were there, it's fairly level going so it might make a reasonable starting point for me if I can pluck-up the courage to actually start trail running... (still fearing my unstable ankles...) There are also mountain bike trails to explore for when I have time to get back on my little yellow bike, and I was further pleased to see lots of kayaks and canoes out on the water. I could have my own little mini Adventurethon if I get fit enough!



The second place we checked out the following weekend was Toohey Forest Park. A bit of a further drive over to the south side of Brisbane, and this forest park nestles right up against the suburbs!

There are a few little walking tracks there, we didn't have time to do much (assignment pressure...) so we just ambled around a bit aimlessly, thinking that we might come back another time if we wanted to see things properly.

On this particular little amble there were lots of other people around, so we didn't get to see too much wildlife - although I did take a few moments to watch a few Australian king parrots playing amongst the trees (sadly too far away for decent photos).

The parrots might not have shown up brilliantly in my photos, but the xanthorrhoeas, or grass trees, were looking pretty magnificent. These trees appear kind of, 'other-wordly' to me for some reason. Very unlike any native British trees.

So, plenty of ideas for when I have time, but for now it's back to the uni work...

Monkey Walk

While Australia has so much to see and do, my husband has been having a tough time at work and he just wanted to get away for a week's holiday to somewhere completely different.

We were both so busy that we couldn't take much time to research anywhere new to visit, so we decided to return to Malaysia, a place we had visited on our first ever trip together 7 years ago, where we knew we could have an interesting and relaxing time without too much research.

We had a week on Pulau Pinang (Penang Island) mostly staying in historic Georgetown, visiting a few sites and sampling lots and lots of local food, including possibly the best Wantan Mee in the world from a little street cart on Lebuh Chulia.

Despite longing for adventure, both of us were mostly too tired to get up early enough to achieve a great deal during most days, and it was a refreshing change for us to have a relaxing time rather than trying to cram in as much as possible. Me picking up an illness on the plane didn't help matters... but we couldn't return to the island without at least a small almost-adventure.

Having decamped to the cheapest hotel-with-swimming-pool we could find north of Georgetown, it was an easy bus ride to the Taman Negeri Pulau Pinang (Penang National Park) where we could enjoy a good walk with hopes of spotting wildlife. We started out at the entrance to the park, with its views over the small harbour.

The canopy walkway was closed when we were there so we couldn't do that. Instead, we opted to walk to Monkey Beach along the well marked and maintained trail. It wasn't particularly arduous as walks go, but to be honest I was mostly interested in looking for wildlife...

We experienced our first wildlife encounter almost immediately in the form of some dusky leaf monkeys. 

We didn't know at the time that these were called dusky leaf monkeys however, so we called them 'hello Dave monkeys'... 

"Hello Dave!"

The walk took us through beautiful forest around the edge of the coastline, so we were treated to spectacular beach views through breaks in the foliage, though it was disappointing to see so much litter everywhere (I was careful with my camera shots to eliminate as much litter as possible).

On one of the beaches we had an almost-wildlife encounter when I spotted tracks in the sand. The monitor lizard that left these tracks must have been impressively large!

We continued walking, following the trail. If you ever do this walk the trail is easy to find and follow, but don't be fooled by the distance markers - some of them are WAY out! Luckily the jungle scenery is beautiful. It is still tropical jungle, but subtly different from the jungle back in tropical north Queensland.

The jungle also provides very different wildlife encounters to those found in Australia, this time in the playful forms of some long-tailed macaques scampering around the branches above our heads. The small group contains lots of youngsters who are chasing and pranking each other, pulling tails and jumping out at each other. Wrestling and tumbling around. They are a delight to watch and we stop for a while. Photos are difficult due to the low light levels and the fast-moving monkeys, but I do my best to capture their antics.

We're very nearly at Monkey Beach itself now, and the weather really is very hot. We emerge from the jungle onto the sand, it is a pretty beach, with lovely colourful boats moored at the shore some distance away.

I find a bit more wildlife, this time it's a little hermit crab with a rather exotic shell. It is high up on the beach, so after photos I put it nearer the water in amongst some rocks so that it doesn't dry out, overheat or die prematurely. I've always liked hermit crabs :)

At the beach we are delighted to find a bit of a shack where people are selling canned drinks from containers of iced water, exactly what we need after walking in the heat with just tepid water to drink. We sit in the shade with our cool drinks, enjoying the scenery and watching the boats.

We are offered a boat ride back to the harbour at the entrance to the national park for just 40 ringgit (if you pre-arrange a boat ride back at the start of your walk, it costs around 200 ringgit!). We think about it for a bit, we fancy the walk back but it is really hot and the boat ride would be a novelty, so we decide to go for it. We spend the saved time relaxing at the beach, then enjoy the scenery on the ride back. I love the way the jungle appears to rise straight out of the sea.

Back at the harbour area, we see fish farms, rickety jetties, coloured fishing boats... it's all so different to home - both the UK and Australian versions. 

The smallest of adventures in a relaxing week :)