April 4, 2015
April 5, 2015
April 6, 2015
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Monday, April 06, 2015
Sydney Holiday 2015, April 6
Another early start for an 8am morning race, this time with no daylight savings complications. Because the event was in Centennial Park, about three kilometres away, it meant leaving the hotel around 7am and jogging over to the location. After completing registration and trying to stay warm, the race didn't end up starting until about 8:15, with the half marathon event leaving first and then the seven kilometre race we were entered in.
The start was a mad dash like usual, so I was way down in about 20th place by the first corner, then began to overtake those who had gone out too hard, in the two or three kilometres afterwards. The fun part of this is when other people get overtaken but can't accept it, and desperately try to hang on for another couple of hundred metres - you really have to just run your own race, at a speed you are comfortable with.
By about this point Jason had just moved past me and I was happy to sit behind and follow off his pace for a while, which these days is actually more like trying not to fall behind. Because of the nature of the course being an off-road trail event, it is a little bit more difficult to run fast and close behind someone, you need to spend about half your time watching the ground. At one stage I was third in line and almost ran straight into a big log lying on the ground because my view was obstructed.
For the final two kilometres I was pretty exhausted, but just managed to match Jason's time, I didn't see any point in trying to race him across the finish line since he'd had the lead most of the way, and I wasn't really sure what position we were in overall either. My time across the line was 26:58 for seven kilometres, not great but slightly better than last year.
The reward for running yourself close to death is free pancakes for breakfast at the finish line! Also there is fruit. I got two chunky pancakes topped with nutella while we waited around forever to find out the results. After a long time I found out that I'd finished in sixth and Jason fifth - but you get trophies for the first seven.
After the trophies were handed out it was time for a quick dash back across Sydney to check out of the hotel by 10am - just missed out by a few minutes but it didn't matter. So that was the end of Sydney, for once I had organised plenty of time to get to the airport, have lunch and relax for a bit before the plane arrived on time once again!
That wasn't quite the end of the story though. I jumped on a bus just outside the departure door which was marked for the long term car park, we took off in the bus with several other people, went all the way to the end of the first long term car park, made all of the stops...then ended up back at the airport again! Apparently there are two different buses for long term parking - there is a whole separate bus just making one stop in the overflow long term car park - and of course no instructions or announcements to explain it. Thanks Melbourne airport...
The start was a mad dash like usual, so I was way down in about 20th place by the first corner, then began to overtake those who had gone out too hard, in the two or three kilometres afterwards. The fun part of this is when other people get overtaken but can't accept it, and desperately try to hang on for another couple of hundred metres - you really have to just run your own race, at a speed you are comfortable with.
By about this point Jason had just moved past me and I was happy to sit behind and follow off his pace for a while, which these days is actually more like trying not to fall behind. Because of the nature of the course being an off-road trail event, it is a little bit more difficult to run fast and close behind someone, you need to spend about half your time watching the ground. At one stage I was third in line and almost ran straight into a big log lying on the ground because my view was obstructed.
For the final two kilometres I was pretty exhausted, but just managed to match Jason's time, I didn't see any point in trying to race him across the finish line since he'd had the lead most of the way, and I wasn't really sure what position we were in overall either. My time across the line was 26:58 for seven kilometres, not great but slightly better than last year.
The reward for running yourself close to death is free pancakes for breakfast at the finish line! Also there is fruit. I got two chunky pancakes topped with nutella while we waited around forever to find out the results. After a long time I found out that I'd finished in sixth and Jason fifth - but you get trophies for the first seven.
 |
| Participation award. |
After the trophies were handed out it was time for a quick dash back across Sydney to check out of the hotel by 10am - just missed out by a few minutes but it didn't matter. So that was the end of Sydney, for once I had organised plenty of time to get to the airport, have lunch and relax for a bit before the plane arrived on time once again!
That wasn't quite the end of the story though. I jumped on a bus just outside the departure door which was marked for the long term car park, we took off in the bus with several other people, went all the way to the end of the first long term car park, made all of the stops...then ended up back at the airport again! Apparently there are two different buses for long term parking - there is a whole separate bus just making one stop in the overflow long term car park - and of course no instructions or announcements to explain it. Thanks Melbourne airport...
Sunday, April 05, 2015
Sydney Holiday 2015, April 5
Because Sunday morning was the end of daylight savings I set my watch alarm for 7:15 am (meaning 6:15 am in adjusted time), only the watch automatically updated itself! I managed to wake up before the alarm went off however, so we still made it out in time for the first train to Katoomba, close to the Blue Mountains. The train took about two hours and was quite boring, so I just caught up on sleep most of the way.
At last we arrived at the destination and set off through the main street towards the mountains, which is essentially full of bakeries and cafes and not a lot else, and dominated by two very steep hills. Our first stop was Echo Point, which was also the first stop for all of the tour buses and tourists it would seem. From here you could see the Three Sisters rock formation - which is like a poor man's Twelve Apostles I assume, although there are accurately three of them. I was more surprised by how large the surrounding mountains were, not in height as much as area, most of it looked like it would be inaccessible however, similar to visiting The Grand Canyon.
After squeezing in a few quick photos through the eager crowd, it was off along the Prince Henry cliff walk. Because of all the rain yesterday most of the track was full of puddles, making for slow progress. The trick was to find any dry rocks to get across the flooded points and try not to slip over - so I was two for two.
Almost at the end of the track there was a lookout point back towards the Three Sisters, I was temporarily distracted with my phone and stepped in a big puddle, so that was pretty annoying. At the end of the trail another path was supposed to lead to Katoomba Falls, but it had already turned into a mud pit so was basically inaccessible. A detour ended up at Katoomba Cascades and Reid's Plateau, which had another view of the mountain range.
Scenic World was close by, it has some stuff like a cable car and railway but didn't seem all that interesting so we headed back to the town for lunch instead - uphill all the way on return, and I had packed a heavy backpack with all kinds of stuff that turned out to be useless on the day - like hats, pants and umbrellas...
The train back to Sydney only ran once a hour, so you have to make sure to plan your time in advance - no near misses this time. On the way back to the hotel I visited the Asian bakeries again, only the bottom of the bag broke in under a minute and my buns all fell on the ground! Lucky they were each in separate plastic bags, since I didn't get to pick them up in under five seconds...
Having purchased a daily train ticket for $24 it seemed like a good idea to make use of it, so after getting back on the train to Circular Quay we grabbed the first ferry about to depart, which was going to Mosman Bay and back. As with most ferry routes you get a good view of the harbour to the north and south, as well as numerous yachts and expensive waterfront real estate. None of the stops had anything worth disembarking for, so we just stayed on until the end and came back to Circular Quay about forty minutes later.
 |
| Katoomba. |
At last we arrived at the destination and set off through the main street towards the mountains, which is essentially full of bakeries and cafes and not a lot else, and dominated by two very steep hills. Our first stop was Echo Point, which was also the first stop for all of the tour buses and tourists it would seem. From here you could see the Three Sisters rock formation - which is like a poor man's Twelve Apostles I assume, although there are accurately three of them. I was more surprised by how large the surrounding mountains were, not in height as much as area, most of it looked like it would be inaccessible however, similar to visiting The Grand Canyon.
 |
| Three Sisters at Echo Point. |
After squeezing in a few quick photos through the eager crowd, it was off along the Prince Henry cliff walk. Because of all the rain yesterday most of the track was full of puddles, making for slow progress. The trick was to find any dry rocks to get across the flooded points and try not to slip over - so I was two for two.
 |
| Cliff walk. |
 |
| Blue Mountains. |
Almost at the end of the track there was a lookout point back towards the Three Sisters, I was temporarily distracted with my phone and stepped in a big puddle, so that was pretty annoying. At the end of the trail another path was supposed to lead to Katoomba Falls, but it had already turned into a mud pit so was basically inaccessible. A detour ended up at Katoomba Cascades and Reid's Plateau, which had another view of the mountain range.
 |
| Just Stepped In A Puddle face. |
 |
| Mud pit. |
 |
| The falls. |
Scenic World was close by, it has some stuff like a cable car and railway but didn't seem all that interesting so we headed back to the town for lunch instead - uphill all the way on return, and I had packed a heavy backpack with all kinds of stuff that turned out to be useless on the day - like hats, pants and umbrellas...
The train back to Sydney only ran once a hour, so you have to make sure to plan your time in advance - no near misses this time. On the way back to the hotel I visited the Asian bakeries again, only the bottom of the bag broke in under a minute and my buns all fell on the ground! Lucky they were each in separate plastic bags, since I didn't get to pick them up in under five seconds...
Having purchased a daily train ticket for $24 it seemed like a good idea to make use of it, so after getting back on the train to Circular Quay we grabbed the first ferry about to depart, which was going to Mosman Bay and back. As with most ferry routes you get a good view of the harbour to the north and south, as well as numerous yachts and expensive waterfront real estate. None of the stops had anything worth disembarking for, so we just stayed on until the end and came back to Circular Quay about forty minutes later.
 |
| I'm on a boat. |
Saturday, April 04, 2015
Sydney Holiday 2015, April 4
Saturday morning I set off for the second annual Sydney trip, this time only two days instead of four, since I covered most things last year. The long term airport car park seemed like the best option for two people for three days - cheaper than the airport bus and certainly cheaper than a taxi...
While waiting for the plane I was able to change my Taiwan dollars that had been sitting around since last year - $50 for free! Thankfully there were no issues with the flight this time, and we arrived in Sydney roughly on time. Thirty seconds earlier and I would have perfectly timed the change over from the plane to the train, since I had no checked baggage, but they come every fifteen minutes so no big deal.
Leaving sunny, and mildly warm, Melbourne to arrive in Sydney for a rainy day wasn't my idea of a perfect vacation, but at least it wasn't heavy rain - just never ending as it turned out. It was about time for lunch so we went to the local Mad Mex before I visited the hotel reception - we got to check-in two hours early so that was great.
Since it was going to be a rainy afternoon I figured it would be the best time to jump on a train out to Auburn for the annual Nike Outlet Factory and Krispy Kreme visit - a pretty expensive weekend return trip at almost $10 when compared to current Melbourne prices. Not many bargains in the clothing section this year, but I did find a pair of Fly Knit Lunar and Jason got two pairs of shoes as well.
After a quick stop for donuts it was back to Auburn station, this time missing the train by about a minute. With a bit of time to waste before the next train I decided to have a look around the shops in the nearby street and found a place called Nice Bakery, which was like a local family run version of a Bread Top - with good products and good prices!
I didn't want to carry around a big bag of shoes all day so I dropped them off back at the hotel before adventuring around the city, still in the rain. The same Asian bakeries were operating in Goulburn Street so I had to make a quick stop before continuing on to explore George and Pitt Street. There weren't too many new or interesting stores that had changed since last year, but I did some across a cool Bob's Burgers t-shirt in a comic book store, only problem was it only came in an unfashionable light blue, which looked a bit too much like a Manchester City jersey.
After an early dinner at Grill'd burgers I picked up a cheap Converse t-shirt at Market City behind the hotel, then re-packed a backpack for the night.
We set out on foot through Surry Hills - without an "e" - to Moore Park, where Allianz Stadium is located for the A-League match of the day - Sydney FC vs. Adelaide United - I guess I was supporting the home team for the night. Since the gates had only just opened we managed to find a good seat in the GA section that was undercover, in one of the corners but with a decent view of the field.
The stadium had free wifi to keep me occupied, so the match began in no time at all. Because of the non-stop rain the field was quite slippery which made things a little difficult for the players, Sydney were definitely the better team, with much more attacking play and a number of crosses, only none of them really created much threat of an opening goal.
Early in the second half Sydney thought they had their goal off a free kick, only the forwards had jumped offside just before the ball was in play. The game looked set for a 0-0 result until an Adelaide sub put together a nice solo goal around the edge of the box to set up a good final ten minutes. Sydney increased the pressure and had a number of chances to save the match, but just fell short.
So that it was it for the game, and it was time to head back to the hotel for the night. The rain had started to get heavier in the evening, so the umbrellas were useful for the two kilometre trip back - since there is still no train station anywhere near the football stadium district...
While waiting for the plane I was able to change my Taiwan dollars that had been sitting around since last year - $50 for free! Thankfully there were no issues with the flight this time, and we arrived in Sydney roughly on time. Thirty seconds earlier and I would have perfectly timed the change over from the plane to the train, since I had no checked baggage, but they come every fifteen minutes so no big deal.
Leaving sunny, and mildly warm, Melbourne to arrive in Sydney for a rainy day wasn't my idea of a perfect vacation, but at least it wasn't heavy rain - just never ending as it turned out. It was about time for lunch so we went to the local Mad Mex before I visited the hotel reception - we got to check-in two hours early so that was great.
Since it was going to be a rainy afternoon I figured it would be the best time to jump on a train out to Auburn for the annual Nike Outlet Factory and Krispy Kreme visit - a pretty expensive weekend return trip at almost $10 when compared to current Melbourne prices. Not many bargains in the clothing section this year, but I did find a pair of Fly Knit Lunar and Jason got two pairs of shoes as well.
 |
| Donut days. |
 |
| Nike, also Lonsdale... |
After a quick stop for donuts it was back to Auburn station, this time missing the train by about a minute. With a bit of time to waste before the next train I decided to have a look around the shops in the nearby street and found a place called Nice Bakery, which was like a local family run version of a Bread Top - with good products and good prices!
I didn't want to carry around a big bag of shoes all day so I dropped them off back at the hotel before adventuring around the city, still in the rain. The same Asian bakeries were operating in Goulburn Street so I had to make a quick stop before continuing on to explore George and Pitt Street. There weren't too many new or interesting stores that had changed since last year, but I did some across a cool Bob's Burgers t-shirt in a comic book store, only problem was it only came in an unfashionable light blue, which looked a bit too much like a Manchester City jersey.
 |
| Not as good as The Great Northern Hotel. |
 |
| Raining. |
After an early dinner at Grill'd burgers I picked up a cheap Converse t-shirt at Market City behind the hotel, then re-packed a backpack for the night.
We set out on foot through Surry Hills - without an "e" - to Moore Park, where Allianz Stadium is located for the A-League match of the day - Sydney FC vs. Adelaide United - I guess I was supporting the home team for the night. Since the gates had only just opened we managed to find a good seat in the GA section that was undercover, in one of the corners but with a decent view of the field.
 |
| Still raining. |
The stadium had free wifi to keep me occupied, so the match began in no time at all. Because of the non-stop rain the field was quite slippery which made things a little difficult for the players, Sydney were definitely the better team, with much more attacking play and a number of crosses, only none of them really created much threat of an opening goal.
 |
| Game time. |
Early in the second half Sydney thought they had their goal off a free kick, only the forwards had jumped offside just before the ball was in play. The game looked set for a 0-0 result until an Adelaide sub put together a nice solo goal around the edge of the box to set up a good final ten minutes. Sydney increased the pressure and had a number of chances to save the match, but just fell short.
So that it was it for the game, and it was time to head back to the hotel for the night. The rain had started to get heavier in the evening, so the umbrellas were useful for the two kilometre trip back - since there is still no train station anywhere near the football stadium district...
Friday, April 03, 2015
March Review
March 2015. I don't think I accomplished a lot, but it still felt like a busy month.
Nothing much new with running and just one race for the month, Run For The Kids that I've already written about. I had some promising training results beforehand, then ran into a bunch of injuries. I've had yet another recurrence of this annoying gluteal issue, which starts to get more painful when sitting down for long periods of time, I wish it would just go away once and for all. I've done a little more skipping, but haven't made a regular schedule for it.
I finally reached a conclusion for the Easter holiday - a final change to just a couple of days in Sydney. There's not much to do in Sydney, and even less so since I was just there just about one year ago. I booked some soccer tickets for the Saturday night and made a short itinerary for the rest of the time, hopefully the rain stays away, but the forecast isn't looking so good at the moment.
Taking the train to work like usual, but all of the school and university students are back now, which means standing up for half an hour on the train! I even tried to leave a bit earlier, but it makes no difference which train you get! My only solution when I'm having a bad morning with various leg ailments (just about all the time) is to jump across at Blackburn to the stopping all stations train - about ten minutes longer, but at least you get a seat.
Projects at work have been busy, mostly due to poor planning and being under resourced, but at least it keeps me occupied. Construction has begun on a huge apartment building next door which has left our whole office rattling at times, and just plain noisy the rest, I might need to use it as excuse to start listening to music at work again. A colleague Peter, who I worked with on a project for a little while last year, died of a sudden heart attack over the weekend, so that was very sad. Puts some things into perspective I guess.
There's been a little more sport to watch this month, with the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup and the beginning of March Madness. I only watched a select few matches of each, but they were generally entertaining. The New Zealand vs. South Africa semi final was probably the pick of the cricket games, since the final ended up being an easy win to Australia. In the NCAA basketball I've just tuned in to live streams of a few close games through the first few rounds, there's still four teams left and hopefully anyone except Kentucky wins.
On a related note I qualified for the finals in both of my Fantasy NBA leagues, which was good. I expect I should be able to win one comfortably, the other is a bit too close to call. I like the NBA much more than NFL, but the lack of injury updates is still very annoying and makes me question if I will play again after this year.
I only managed two baking updates for the month, but that's a 100% increase on previous months. I bought a new small chopper / food processor unit which should make some things easier. The previous chopper I had wasn't big enough and didn't work very well.
My to do list project is going alright, the list doesn't seem to be getting much smaller yet, maybe it's not supposed to, but at least it gives me some focus and priority - I just need to make sure it remains manageable and not depressing. Some progress from the list:
The list has also shown me that I tend to identify but then put things off for too long, so that's another challenge to solve too.
So that's it again, time for the summary:
Nothing much new with running and just one race for the month, Run For The Kids that I've already written about. I had some promising training results beforehand, then ran into a bunch of injuries. I've had yet another recurrence of this annoying gluteal issue, which starts to get more painful when sitting down for long periods of time, I wish it would just go away once and for all. I've done a little more skipping, but haven't made a regular schedule for it.
I finally reached a conclusion for the Easter holiday - a final change to just a couple of days in Sydney. There's not much to do in Sydney, and even less so since I was just there just about one year ago. I booked some soccer tickets for the Saturday night and made a short itinerary for the rest of the time, hopefully the rain stays away, but the forecast isn't looking so good at the moment.
Taking the train to work like usual, but all of the school and university students are back now, which means standing up for half an hour on the train! I even tried to leave a bit earlier, but it makes no difference which train you get! My only solution when I'm having a bad morning with various leg ailments (just about all the time) is to jump across at Blackburn to the stopping all stations train - about ten minutes longer, but at least you get a seat.
Projects at work have been busy, mostly due to poor planning and being under resourced, but at least it keeps me occupied. Construction has begun on a huge apartment building next door which has left our whole office rattling at times, and just plain noisy the rest, I might need to use it as excuse to start listening to music at work again. A colleague Peter, who I worked with on a project for a little while last year, died of a sudden heart attack over the weekend, so that was very sad. Puts some things into perspective I guess.
There's been a little more sport to watch this month, with the conclusion of the Cricket World Cup and the beginning of March Madness. I only watched a select few matches of each, but they were generally entertaining. The New Zealand vs. South Africa semi final was probably the pick of the cricket games, since the final ended up being an easy win to Australia. In the NCAA basketball I've just tuned in to live streams of a few close games through the first few rounds, there's still four teams left and hopefully anyone except Kentucky wins.
On a related note I qualified for the finals in both of my Fantasy NBA leagues, which was good. I expect I should be able to win one comfortably, the other is a bit too close to call. I like the NBA much more than NFL, but the lack of injury updates is still very annoying and makes me question if I will play again after this year.
I only managed two baking updates for the month, but that's a 100% increase on previous months. I bought a new small chopper / food processor unit which should make some things easier. The previous chopper I had wasn't big enough and didn't work very well.
My to do list project is going alright, the list doesn't seem to be getting much smaller yet, maybe it's not supposed to, but at least it gives me some focus and priority - I just need to make sure it remains manageable and not depressing. Some progress from the list:
- Bike research
- Checked out prices online
- Checked out some models in a local store
- Book tickets
- Bunch of Gold Class vouchers about to expire
- Comedy Festival sessions
- Sydney A-League match
- Sydney fun run
- Buy a new desk chair and speakers
- Buy travel insurance - Gold Coast and Sydney
- House cleaning
- Car interior - first time in years
- Carpet stains - been there since we moved in
- Doors and window frames inside and out - first time since we moved in
- Rubbish bins - smelled like death!
- Organise the Easter holiday!
- Update health insurance - $1100 these days!
The list has also shown me that I tend to identify but then put things off for too long, so that's another challenge to solve too.
So that's it again, time for the summary:
- Books
- Black House by Stephen King
- Very long, not quite as big as The Stand though
- Starting to drag on a bit
- 7 out of 10 (so far)
- Movies
- That Sugar Film
- A documentary shown at the Rivoli in Camberwell
- One half was about the effects of a healthy diet with everyday sugar on the director
- The other half was less interesting food facts
- 8 out of 10
- Kobe Bryant's Muse
- Just a documentary about his career basically
- 5 out of 10
- Focus
- Everything was a trick planned so many steps in advance
- Hard to take it serious
- 6 out of 10
- Insurgent
- Gold Class!
- I couldn't sit still in the recliner due to leg pain
- A bit long with a limited plot
- 5 out of 10
- Music
- Nothing
- TV
- Halt And Catch Fire
- The first few episodes were good, then it was just way too slow
- Took a few months to find the motivation to watch all ten episodes
- The characters were unbelievable, always something new was going wrong
- No real ending, just ready for a second season
- 4 out of 10
- Motorway Patrol
- A fun New Zealand police show
- The narrator quotes are brilliant
- 10 out of 10
- Renters
- New Zealand rental horror stories
- 8 out of 10
- The Jinx
- A thrilling story reviewing a series of murders, well presented
- The subject was quite fascinating and peculiar
- 10 out of 10
- Video Games
- Nothing
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)