August 03
August 04
August 05
August 06
August 07
Monday, August 13, 2018
Saturday, August 11, 2018
July Review
A bit late this month due to holiday.
Weeks of windy days haven't been good for running, and I only seem able to recover for one good training session during the week at the moment. I missed a few days with a calf injury, but it was good to avoid any serious injury by taking the rest rather than risking it. Only one race at Princes Park, slowed down a bit by the hills I only managed about 39 minutes, so still not getting close to my 38 minute target. Had my longest run for the year, and 20th overall, with a half marathon in training on a Sunday.
No biking, probably have to start soon if I'm going to do a triathlon this summer.
I thought my shares were going well after one had a big increase, but I compared my amount invested to the increase for the year and found I've made no money at all...
Still a bit slow for sports other than the World Cup finals, France was a good alternative after England missed out again. The Tour De France was not really interesting.
Time for the to do list:
Making some progress on work exams, passed AWS with 85% and have the second scheduled for early August. I might do another AWS exam since the material is similar to the previous one, not sure about any others yet.
That's it for this month.
Weeks of windy days haven't been good for running, and I only seem able to recover for one good training session during the week at the moment. I missed a few days with a calf injury, but it was good to avoid any serious injury by taking the rest rather than risking it. Only one race at Princes Park, slowed down a bit by the hills I only managed about 39 minutes, so still not getting close to my 38 minute target. Had my longest run for the year, and 20th overall, with a half marathon in training on a Sunday.
No biking, probably have to start soon if I'm going to do a triathlon this summer.
I thought my shares were going well after one had a big increase, but I compared my amount invested to the increase for the year and found I've made no money at all...
Still a bit slow for sports other than the World Cup finals, France was a good alternative after England missed out again. The Tour De France was not really interesting.
Time for the to do list:
- Holiday
- Townsville trip organised for early August
- I noticed I'd been planning a Cambodia and Vietnam trip since 2015, which still hasn't happened
- Looking at options for a short trip for Christmas that's not too expensive
- MIFF
- Most sessions were late during the week
- Just got Arctic and Finke: There And Back for one Saturday
- Tax Return
- Filled out all the details, half of it had to be done manually
- Now have to wait until August for my investment activity report to be generated
- I had to prepay $1200 during the year, I might be $600 back so I still lose in the end
Making some progress on work exams, passed AWS with 85% and have the second scheduled for early August. I might do another AWS exam since the material is similar to the previous one, not sure about any others yet.
That's it for this month.
- Books
- None
- Music
- Franz Ferdinand at Festival Hall
- Good songs too, would have liked a few more rare ones
- 8
- MGMT at Festival Hall
- Good songs, presentation could have been better
- 7
- Movies
- None
- TV
- Alex Inc
- A bit predictable and unrealistic adaption of a true story
- 5 out of 10
- Cobra Kai
- Really good, better than expected
- 8 out of 10
- Corner Gas Animated
- A bit uneven but some good writing and characters
- 7 out of 10
- Mr Mercedes
- Better than The Mist at least, a little different to the book though
- The Pixies track in some episodes was good
- The second season will be interesting, as the second books is very different
- 6 out of 10
- Video Games
- None, waiting until exams are finished at least
- Planning to buy a Nintendo Switch some time
Tuesday, August 07, 2018
Townsville 2018, August 07 (Let's Rock)
Last day. Started with a tough hike up the 'goat track' to the top of Castle Hill which overlooks Townsville. Tough on the legs with all of the wide steps. Good views from a few different ledges.
The walk back down was easier, stopped at Queens Gardens for lunch. Would have been a good spot for running. Back to the city again to buy a magnet, only a couple of shops with limited options, but picked the best option.
Revisited Jezzine Barracks, near where the race was held on the weekend. Had some World War 2 stuff around, and various public art. There's a big public rock pool right on the beach, but was a bit to cold.
Drove down the long cape road to Cape Pallerenda. Looked like another good running track with some hills on Strava, but so rocky you'd twist an ankle for sure.
Just driving around a bit more before having to head to the airport, went past The Strand again and some botanical gardens. Got some dinner then drove to the airport. Best airport drive ever, just driving down a road with houses on it...and there's the airport car park!
Steps: 26,500
Drive: 350km approx
 |
| Castle Hill. |
 |
| Not one goat on the goat track. |
The walk back down was easier, stopped at Queens Gardens for lunch. Would have been a good spot for running. Back to the city again to buy a magnet, only a couple of shops with limited options, but picked the best option.
 |
| Downtown. |
Revisited Jezzine Barracks, near where the race was held on the weekend. Had some World War 2 stuff around, and various public art. There's a big public rock pool right on the beach, but was a bit to cold.
Drove down the long cape road to Cape Pallerenda. Looked like another good running track with some hills on Strava, but so rocky you'd twist an ankle for sure.
Just driving around a bit more before having to head to the airport, went past The Strand again and some botanical gardens. Got some dinner then drove to the airport. Best airport drive ever, just driving down a road with houses on it...and there's the airport car park!
Steps: 26,500
Drive: 350km approx
- Townsville
- 7 out of 10
- Good
- Better place to be during winter
- Having a car
- Running and walking tracks
- Townsville airport
- Traffic
- Bad
- City centre size
- Jellyfish in the water
- Limited entertainment options
- Melbourne airport
- Missed Out
- The Big Brolga - if it still exists
Monday, August 06, 2018
Townsville 2018, August 06 (Death Magnetic)
Bit of a rush start:
The boat only took about 20 minutes to get to Magnetic Island, not much to see.
Got off the boat and walked to Arcadia and Alma Bay along the road. Surprised by how the amount of housing development on the island.
There were no footpaths going up the big hill to the other side of the island, so a good time for lunch.
Hiked through the bush instead towards The Forts track, hard work climbing up all the steps, only passed a couple of people. More walking around The Forts track to reach some old fort lookout towers, very dusty. This was supposed to be the best place to see koalas, but did not see any!
Walk through the bush and along the street to Horseshoe Bay at the other end of the island. Probably ended up with about three hours of walking on the island.
Wasn't too much to see at Horseshoe Bay so got a bus back to the ferry, since the next run wasn't for more than an hour.
Steps: 26,000
- Drive to city
- Find somewhere to park - the one 'main' street gets busy on a week day
- Stop at the supermarket
- Run to the ferry before departure
The boat only took about 20 minutes to get to Magnetic Island, not much to see.
 |
| I'm on a boat. |
Got off the boat and walked to Arcadia and Alma Bay along the road. Surprised by how the amount of housing development on the island.
 |
| Not one arcade machine in Arcadia. |
There were no footpaths going up the big hill to the other side of the island, so a good time for lunch.
Hiked through the bush instead towards The Forts track, hard work climbing up all the steps, only passed a couple of people. More walking around The Forts track to reach some old fort lookout towers, very dusty. This was supposed to be the best place to see koalas, but did not see any!
 |
| Bush walking. |
 |
| The fort from the other fort. |
Walk through the bush and along the street to Horseshoe Bay at the other end of the island. Probably ended up with about three hours of walking on the island.
Wasn't too much to see at Horseshoe Bay so got a bus back to the ferry, since the next run wasn't for more than an hour.
Steps: 26,000
Sunday, August 05, 2018
Townsville 2018, August 05 (Road Rules)
The 10km race start was only at 7:45am, probably could have been a bit earlier. Drove from the hotel to the race, I thought roads might be crowded, but plenty of street parking everywhere!
Did a quick 2 kilometre warm up around the streets, while the marathon and half marathon was already out on the roads. Sweating from the warm up wasn't a good indication, walked over to the start and got in the front row.
Started a bit slow off the start, having gone too quick in the heat in Singapore earlier this year. Skipped the 2.5km drink station which was a mistake, struggling by the next drink station which wasn't until 5.5km. Need more drinks!
Not a huge field of fast runners, I probably made my way up into the top 25 quickly but was mostly running by myself afterwards. There was a couple of hills later in the race which were a bit difficult, not having a great time trying to stay under 4:00/km.
Grabbed another couple of spots late in the race, gave me something to focus on. The distance was 10.13km which didn't help my finish time, just came in under 40 minutes but not close to any personal beats. Lately my races haven't even been as good as my training runs, need to make some improvements to race preparation, especially hydration.
Drive back to the city to the farmers market on Flinders Street, not much for sale except cronuts! Got some food for lunch at stopped at the Palmetum - a place will palms. Good place with a little rainforest.
Started a long drive north to Paluma, but took a detour first to the Frosty Mango. Basically it's just a larger version of a milk bar on the highway, selling lots of ice cream flavours and a few other mango specific products.
Took the road inland to Paluma, one of those annoying roads with bends every few seconds and narrow roads, 40km/h max speed. Stopped at Little Crystal Creek for a break, had a river and some rock pools.
More slow driving to get to Paluma, nothing at all in the town, almost drove past the other end without realising. Got out of the car at last, walked around for a while, had some nice tracks though the forest. Otherwise very quiet and deserted.
Drove back to city, lots of dead kangaroos on the highway, no near misses this time.
Steps: 13,000 + 14.5 km
Did a quick 2 kilometre warm up around the streets, while the marathon and half marathon was already out on the roads. Sweating from the warm up wasn't a good indication, walked over to the start and got in the front row.
Started a bit slow off the start, having gone too quick in the heat in Singapore earlier this year. Skipped the 2.5km drink station which was a mistake, struggling by the next drink station which wasn't until 5.5km. Need more drinks!
Not a huge field of fast runners, I probably made my way up into the top 25 quickly but was mostly running by myself afterwards. There was a couple of hills later in the race which were a bit difficult, not having a great time trying to stay under 4:00/km.
Grabbed another couple of spots late in the race, gave me something to focus on. The distance was 10.13km which didn't help my finish time, just came in under 40 minutes but not close to any personal beats. Lately my races haven't even been as good as my training runs, need to make some improvements to race preparation, especially hydration.
Drive back to the city to the farmers market on Flinders Street, not much for sale except cronuts! Got some food for lunch at stopped at the Palmetum - a place will palms. Good place with a little rainforest.
 |
| Palmetum. |
Started a long drive north to Paluma, but took a detour first to the Frosty Mango. Basically it's just a larger version of a milk bar on the highway, selling lots of ice cream flavours and a few other mango specific products.
 |
| The Big Frosty. |
Took the road inland to Paluma, one of those annoying roads with bends every few seconds and narrow roads, 40km/h max speed. Stopped at Little Crystal Creek for a break, had a river and some rock pools.
 |
| Little Crystal Creek. |
More slow driving to get to Paluma, nothing at all in the town, almost drove past the other end without realising. Got out of the car at last, walked around for a while, had some nice tracks though the forest. Otherwise very quiet and deserted.
 |
| Somewhere in Paluma. |
 |
| Downtown Paluma. |
Drove back to city, lots of dead kangaroos on the highway, no near misses this time.
Steps: 13,000 + 14.5 km
Saturday, August 04, 2018
Townsville 2018, August 04 (Stranded)
Because of the climate the parkrun starts at 7:00am instead of 8:00am. There's three parkruns around Townsville, the closest was about 15 minutes away. Bit of a weird drive to get there, seems to be a separation between where the city ends and the suburbs start.
Got to the parkrun at Aplins Weir just in time, a good spot along the river. The course wasn't so special, just a cement footpath along the river, but good scenery at least.
I was just going for an easy run, started about 4:00/km but dropped it down to 4:30/km soon.
My only goal was to finish in the top ten, made it without too much effort.
Drove back to the hotel then found somewhere to park in North Ward - north of the river where almost everything else. Walked down The Strand, a beachfront road almost identical to Cairns.
Walked down Flinders Street! in the city centre, a bit smaller version though. Spotted a couple of souvenir shops, some street art, but otherwise it was fairly quiet, maybe because it was the weekend.
Got back to the car and drove up to the top end of the city to Jezzine Barracks. Picked up a race pack from the Townsville Running Festival expo. Free singlet! although I don't wear singlets, and a free 15 cents Coles bag! which had the race bib and not much else.
Drove to Hermit Park, ordered some pizza, drove to some park to have lunch. The park had some kids miniature train going around it, also happened to be near part of the V8 Supercars street circuit. After lunch walked around a bit of the circuit, some of it is just normal road so couldn't determine the full track layout.
Didn't want to walk too much with a race the next morning, so went back to the hotel a bit early.
Steps: 17,500 + 5.5km
Got to the parkrun at Aplins Weir just in time, a good spot along the river. The course wasn't so special, just a cement footpath along the river, but good scenery at least.
I was just going for an easy run, started about 4:00/km but dropped it down to 4:30/km soon.
My only goal was to finish in the top ten, made it without too much effort.
 |
| Aplins Weir. |
Drove back to the hotel then found somewhere to park in North Ward - north of the river where almost everything else. Walked down The Strand, a beachfront road almost identical to Cairns.
 |
| The Strand. |
Walked down Flinders Street! in the city centre, a bit smaller version though. Spotted a couple of souvenir shops, some street art, but otherwise it was fairly quiet, maybe because it was the weekend.
 |
| The other Flinders Street. |
 |
| Some street art around town. |
 |
| Some other street art. |
 |
| Victoria Bridge. |
Got back to the car and drove up to the top end of the city to Jezzine Barracks. Picked up a race pack from the Townsville Running Festival expo. Free singlet! although I don't wear singlets, and a free 15 cents Coles bag! which had the race bib and not much else.
Drove to Hermit Park, ordered some pizza, drove to some park to have lunch. The park had some kids miniature train going around it, also happened to be near part of the V8 Supercars street circuit. After lunch walked around a bit of the circuit, some of it is just normal road so couldn't determine the full track layout.
 |
| Possibly part of a V8 track. |
Didn't want to walk too much with a race the next morning, so went back to the hotel a bit early.
Steps: 17,500 + 5.5km
Friday, August 03, 2018
Townsville 2018, August 03 (The Town)
So this is what my winter holidays have come down to, a weekend interstate.
Started with a three hour flight from Melbourne after work, left late afternoon and arrived in the evening. Made a good decision to hire a car for the duration, cost about $220 which was easily worth the convenience. Got a free upgrade - aka we don't have your car - to a Toyota Camry, I would have preferred to have the compact Yaris or similar I booked, since it's easier to park.
The car was alright, it had a foot parking brake but would still roll after being engaged. The drive from the airport to the hotel was easy, since I brought along my own GPS unit instead of paying like $20 a day to hire one!
The hotel reception had already closed for the night, but they had a phone to use to get a room key from the safe. The people in the next room were the worst, they went out for the night at like 9:00pm but left the TV going at full volume. Then they finally got back after 1:00am and started making a ridiculous amount of noise. Lucky they were gone the next day.
Steps: 5,000
Started with a three hour flight from Melbourne after work, left late afternoon and arrived in the evening. Made a good decision to hire a car for the duration, cost about $220 which was easily worth the convenience. Got a free upgrade - aka we don't have your car - to a Toyota Camry, I would have preferred to have the compact Yaris or similar I booked, since it's easier to park.
The car was alright, it had a foot parking brake but would still roll after being engaged. The drive from the airport to the hotel was easy, since I brought along my own GPS unit instead of paying like $20 a day to hire one!
The hotel reception had already closed for the night, but they had a phone to use to get a room key from the safe. The people in the next room were the worst, they went out for the night at like 9:00pm but left the TV going at full volume. Then they finally got back after 1:00am and started making a ridiculous amount of noise. Lucky they were gone the next day.
Steps: 5,000
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