Sydney 2024

July 26

July 27

July 28

July 29

Sydney 2024, July 29

I had my alarm set alarm for 5:50am so that I'd have time for a short run before breakfast and then leaving for the airport. Before that I checked my flight status online and saw the flight was cancelled already, as well as many others from Sydney to various destination.

Quite concerningly I had received no further email or text message correspondence about the cancellation and what supposed to do next. I found this incredibly disappointing from the airline, and even worse was when I complained about it they claimed they had sent both an email and text message about a flight change and somehow I just didn't receive both...

Since I didn't want to be stuck in Sydney all day and night, and with no advice on what to do, I jumped on the computer to check for other flights that were still scheduled. I found one leaving at 8:15am for a reasonable price of $150 so booked it quickly.

The change of plans meant I had to race to have a shower, pack the rest of my clothes and leave for the train station. I got to the airport with sufficient time to spare in the end, but missed running and breakfast. All the while I still had received no information about the cancelled flight.

The flight thankfully left on time, and I even got lucky with the connecting bus and train at Melbourne and made it home by 11:30am. The conditions in Melbourne were as bad as usual, cold and raining and less than 10 degrees. Later in the afternoon at about 2:30pm, several hours after I had been home, I got a message saying I could check-in for a different flight leaving Sydney at 4:30pm - incredibly this was the first information I'd received all day.

This was the last of three interstate trips in about two months - Brisbane, Gold Coast, and now Sydney. The races have been enjoyable although the results have been mixed. However between the cost of flights and hotels, the amount of time spent travelling from end to end, and the challenges of being away from home means it is not something I would want to do every month. Now I'll have a month break before a standard week in Hawaii and then a bit of a break from travel for a while.

Sydney 2024, July 28

I slept alright before the race but like usual still woke up about once an hour. In the morning I was quite thirsty so had some drinks, but didn't eat anything before the race. Leaving the hotel at about 7:45am I had a two kilometre jog down to the start line.

It turned out that nothing much was happening when I arrived, so I could have got there ten or fifteen minutes later. They finally opened up the entrance to the starting line with about fifteen minutes to go., where there was lots of cold winds coming through while standing around.

Once we were off I started out very slow, with legs feeling quite tired and big crowds of people around, more than I expected. We had a really strong headwind and tailwind in the first few kilometres depending on the direction, even getting physically pushed forwards at times by the force. Getting towards half way we hit some narrow sections and I got slowed down a little by having people in the way.

I couldn't use my watch for lap splits as they were impacted too much by the buildings. I had some horrible splits that were slower than four minutes per kilometre, I was hoping they were substantially wrong. Into the second half I finally got moving and felt much better, actually overtaking quite a few people at last. Even running into a bit of wind I managed some splits around 3:40/km which were probably more accurate as we were close to the harbour with less buildings around.

Before the race I though I might get close to the top 100 but wasn't even in the top 150 at the end. The course was alright except for the extreme wind and a couple of narrow sections, although I don't think I would be desperate to do it every year instead of trying some other events. Also I was expecting a few hills but there wasn't much at all, which didn't help with my conservative pacing either.

After the finish line it was another two kilometre jog back to the hotel for breakfast. Checking the train schedules I had to run down to Central station for the next train to North Strathfield, and made it with less than one minute to go. Getting off the train it was a long walk of about 1.5 kilometres to the new DFO location at Homebush. Sadly I didn't find anything really worthwhile at the Adidas, Asics, Nike,  or Puma stores.

Instead of walking all the way back to the station I got a snack from the food court while waiting for the next bus to Strathfield station, then another train back to Museum station via Central which seemed to be going very slow.

Had another visit to Woolworths and Bread Top again for some food and drinks on the way back to the hotel for lunch, where it was getting even more windy in the city. During the walk I even got some flight warnings ahead of my flight departure tomorrow morning, likely due to the wind continuing.

After a good rest back at the hotel it looked like the wind had reduced a bit, so I went out for an afternoon jog through Hyde Park and Domain down to the Opera House lookout to make up a few kilometres due to the shorter run in the morning. I stopped for a few photos at various points along the way then back to the hotel for dinner and packing for the morning.

Sydney 2024, July 27

I had a 6:45 alarm to get ready in time for parkrun. Checking the weather radar there was lots of rain due to come in from about 7:30am so I was a bit undecided about going. The main concern was having no other shoes to wear except for my race shoes for the weekend, and soaking wet shoes take a long time to dry.

The bus was a bit delayed and slow due to so many people getting this bus instead of the usual train service. I was about to give up and get off the bus because it was already 7:30am and the rain was getting heavy, but just then we made it on to the Harbour Bridge. From the bus stop at the other side I had to walk up a steep hill for a few blocks to get to the course, the rain was a bit lighter and some parts were undercover thanks to the shopfronts.

The event was a short three lap course around a small park, the rain got heavier during the race but I avoided the biggest puddles on each lap. I was running even slower than the effort felt like, didn't get much better than 4:40/km at any point. The race finished and my watch was only up to 4.80 kilometres so I got a bit of a bonus to my finish time at least.

I ran back down to the bus stop to travel back to Museum station, going back the other way wasn't very busy. I headed down to check out the free hotel breakfast, it was alright but didn't have a huge range, I got my usual bowl of toasted muesli and some mini croissants and muffins.

I went back to the hotel room to check the radar again before going to pick up my race bib for the race tomorrow. There was steady patches of rain still coming through for a few hours, but only very light. I hoped that my rain jacket and shoes had dried off a bit, and lucky there weren't too bad.

Heading off to get the circle loop train from Museum station, it was only two stops to reach Circular Quay. The race just a small tent out on the footpath near the Overseas Passenger Terminal, so it was good that it wasn't busy and raining. I collected my bib for Group A which was for anyone finishing in less than 45 minutes, so a very diverse time range. The preferred start criteria was a crazy 34 minutes, there would be lucky to be fifty people doing that.

It was cold and drizzly outside in the city still so I didn't stick around at Circular Quay for long. The train was only going to Town Hall and not back to Museum due to other maintenance work. I could have stayed on this train all the way to Homebush and walk about 1.5 kilometres each way to the DFO and Nike Factory, but thought it was a bit too much before race day.

Instead I had a slightly longer walk back to the hotel from Town Hall station to drop off the bib and also found a Bread Top along the way. My legs were feeling a bit sore already, so I had to limit my walking for the rest of the day.

My next trip was to nearby Darlinghurst and Surry Hills for food, and the rain had finally stopped. I got some groceries from Woolworths and a burrito from Zambrero on the way back, the best of the Mexican fast food chains. I ate lunch and watched some episodes of the rebooted season one of The Mole USA from Netflix.

I was feeling a bit better after a bit of rest so walked through Hyde Park to Australian Museum. It was free entry but there wasn't that much to see on the three levels, a few dinosaurs and lots of stuffed animals exhibits. I also quickly stopped in at the ANZAC memorial on the way back to the hotel.

After those afternoon activities my legs were back to feeling quite tired again. I had some dinner and an early night to be ready for the race in the morning at 8:30am.

Sydney 2024, July 26

 Another five hour travel experience:

• 1:00 train
• 2:00 airport bus
• 4:00 flight
• 5:40 train to museum
• 6:00 walk to hotel

I dropped off my bags at the hotel and walked to the closest Coles at World Square. Purchased some Oak banana milk which they don't sell in Melbourne for some reason, and food from the bakery for a small dinner.

Back at the hotel I planned out the final details for the early morning parkrun. I found out earlier in the week that no trains were running to North Sydney for the whole weekend, so had to find the bus routes that went near Museum station. I got a plan worked out for the first bus of the day on one of the routes.

The AFL was on Channel Seven's secondary channel, Carlton were easily ahead at half time but lost again. This time I had lots of noise every hour or so from the mini fridge right next to the bad, the usual problem.

Gold Coast 2024

July 05

July 06

July 07

July 08

Gold Coast 2024, July 08

 I had to get up at 5:30am to have time for running due to an early flight at 9am. I just got in a quick eight kilometres which was about all my legs could handle, that meant I could retire my shoes at 750 kilometres.

The trade off with getting home earlier in the day, with a quicker bus trip to the airport, is the very early wake up. The flight was roughly on time with no other issues, and the Melbourne trains were even running on a limited express schedule rather than stopping all stations, which takes forever. I still didn't get home until about 1pm, so close to 6 hours of total travel time again.

That was it for the third consecutive Gold Coast trip. Another good event overall, just slightly disappointed with the result and the lead up. If I register again for next year I might consider travelling on the Thursday afternoon instead and returning on the Sunday. Given a recent bad experience with my preferred choice of airline I might have to switch to one of the other equally bad options next time.

Gold Coast 2024, July 07

 I was still a bit tired in the morning so didn't get up early to see the marathon leaders go past in person. The race would have been going past the hotel at about the thirteen kilometre mark from around 7:00am and then back again after twenty two kilometres.

After a late start I got the tram and bus up to Harbour Town like previous years. Nike had 40% off so I opted for another pair of Zoom Fly 5 over another pair of Vomero 17. This was called a premium version that came in orange and white dots, but it felt a bit bigger than most Nike size 13. There was nothing good at Asics or any other stores.

I got the bus and tram back to hotel, picking up a lot of the marathon finishers at Southport along the way. I got some lunch while watching the marathon stream replay this time, with many commercial breaks because it was also on live TV at the same time. There was much better weather for the races on today, a bit of sun and no rain, and less wind too.

I was finally planning to try a bit of running by mid-afternoon but the rain had just started again. It was just a brief patch of rain but there wasn't much sun afterwards, although good enough to go out for a run. Somehow I managed to get thirteen kilometres completed along the beach footpath, although one section was closed off again.

I was having lots of leg cramps particularly in the beginning, and near the end saw Moneghetti going back the other way. I got my Pegasus 36 shoes up to 742 kilometres, so just about ready to be thrown out before heading home tomorrow.

I got some Subway for dinner but still no soccer highlights online for the first time in the whole tournament strangely. There was a very conveniently located 7-eleven at the ground floor of the hotel, and the automatic drink machine producing smoothies was operational too. That was it for the day, back to the hotel room to pack for the monring.

Gold Coast 2024, July 06

Once again there was a lot of noise to deal with inside the hotel room overnight. There was a constant humming sound that made it seem like the heating was still on, but I ruled that out and it was even louder towards the hallway. My best conclusion was it was from the nearby outdoor pool pump or other similar machinery that has been positioned way too close to these street level rooms.

I had to sleep with a pillow over my head just to try and drown out the noise, so I can't believe everyone else allocated to these rooms hasn't already complained about the noise too. I got some sleep despite this issue and woke up at 4:30am ahead of the 6:15am race. I wasn't very thirsty so just finished off a powerade and an energy gel for some basic food.

There was lots of rain outside so I made a run for the tram at 5:00am and tried to avoid any big puddles to keep my shoes and socks dry for a bit longer. Like every other year the tram was almost full by the third stop, travelling slow due to the crowds, but it was just good to be inside and warm. It was freezing cold with a bit of light rain still when we got out at Southport about 5:30am, I should have planned ahead and brought a disposable rain poncho at least.

Somehow the Australia Fair shopping centre was already open, maybe for extra toilets, so I waited inside there to keep warm for a while longer. I finally decided to brave the weather and went over to the start line at about 6:00am before too many other people. I was worried I might be a bit too far back due to the late arrival but it turned out to be quite spacious from the start, better than previous years.

My main problem from the beginning was having had no warmup, and stiff legs from standing around in the cold. The first five kilometres in particular was much too slow, and there was still quite a large bunch of runners all around. The following six kilometres up to the turnaround point went much better and the field started to spread out a lot more. I was only a few seconds off PB pace but knew the second half would be slower with the headwind about to arrive.

After the turnaround I immediately felt that strong wind and lost about ten seconds per kilometre right away, and with no crowds around to help either. I took out my gel for a bit of energy recovery but still started struggling a bit from around fifteen kilometres, which is about the usual time that happens.

There was still a few position changes late in the race, where I gained more than I lost. The wind picked up even more for the last few kilometres and a bit of rain arrived, for the first time since the beginning of the race. I managed to speed up a little just for the last kilometre or two, to finish about 1:19:30. It would have been good to be under 1:19 but the slow start and wind prevented it.

My finishing position was initially similar to last year just inside the top 200, but after the final results were published I think it was around 225. After the finish I picked up a participation medal and a black finisher t-shirt, maybe not as good as previous ones.

I quickly got on an empty tram back to the hotel, got changed then asked about getting another room that wasn't so noisy, although it was a bit late now since the race was over. They said they'd sort something out after the morning checkout and call me about it, I couldn't tell if they thought the request was reasonable, probably not.

I walked across to Pacific Fair to buy some food for later then back to the hotel to watch the race live stream replay. I was only about half way through the live stream and my new room was ready. I had to quickly throw everything back into my bags and take the elevator up, which took forever to show up every time.

The new room was good, with a separate bedroom and a second TV, but most importantly it was quiet. I walked over to Woolworths to buy the rest of my lunch, then came back to watch the rest of the live stream. My legs were very sore while walking still, both hamstrings in particular.

The men's half marathon was good to watch, the four leaders were all within a few seconds up until the last kilometre, and the commentary was good. I tried to check for any changes to the half marathon official results but they had all disappeared and didn't come back until Monday or Tuesday.

I rested in the afternoon before going to the shops at Pacific Fair again, one hamstring was cramping a bit while walking. After picking up dinner on the way back to the hotel I watched the Euro 2024 quarter finals highlights.

Gold Coast 2024, July 05

 The usual pattern of several hours of travel for a two hour plane flight:

• 6:40 train
• 7:30 bus
• 8:00 airport

I had started getting email and phone warnings on Thursday night about possible delays due to weather, probably morning fog in Melbourne. After a month of training you don't want to have a cancelled flight the day before the race, but luckily there wasn't much fog around and all flights were going on time. However the previous flight coming in from Canberra arrived late so we took off about twenty minutes behind schedule, since they never leave enough gap between flights to maximise profits.

I must have just missed the previous bus leaving Gold Coast airport at 12pm so had to wait about fifteen minutes for the next one. The bus was really slow again on Gold Coast Highway up to Broadbeach, maybe even slower this time due to lane closures for the light rail extension. Hopefully in a year or two that light rail goes all the way to the airport, but it only looks like Burleigh Heads for the first stage. Incredibly this means Gold Coast could also have a train to the airport before Melbourne starts thinking about it again.

I rescheduled my appointment for the expo from 3pm to 1pm while on the bus ride due to being a bit ahead of time. I got to the expo just after 1pm and there was no line, unlike last year having to stand for half an hour - a great job recognising the problem and fixing it. I picked up my bib then walked through the expo with an impressive amount of stores, much better than what Melbourne marathon has to offer outside the MCD.

I purchased an Asics shirt with a black and white design for $50 on the way through, plus two pairs of discounted Steigen socks for $10 each. With the expo visit complete I walked over to Oasis shopping mall. The Subway shop on the way was packed out the door like last year, since it is the best local fast food option. Instead I got some baguettes from Baker's Delight and a few supplies from Woolworths then ate lunch in the park across the road, it was rather cold and windy with a little bit of rain.

I decided to head over for hotel check-in since it was almost 3pm. I had booked a street suite apparently, I don't remember what I selected but I would have intended to get a street view apartment like previous years and picked the wrong option. The room was one of only a few on the ground floor, with an outdoor balcony area and gate with direct access to the street. The rest of the hotel foyer was under reconstruction so it was a bit messy but otherwise functional.

I went back out for a quick 500 metre jog to test out the legs and get a bit of refrigerated food from Woolworths. At the end of the day I was feeling a bit sore and tired from walking around with a backpack and laptop bag for a total of about 8000 steps over several hours. I finished the day watching some shows streamed on the TV and the start of the AFL before the early start tomorrow.

June Review

A slightly busier month than usual.

Nothing for miscellaneous so straight on to running. Started the month in Brisbane with the South Bank parkrun and 10 kilometre race at the Brisbane running festival, more details on that in the Brisbane report linked below. Picked up a second pair of Vomero 17 at 50% off at the Brisbane DFO then Zoom Fly 5 for 30% off at the Melbourne DFO, so fully stocked for shoes again for a while.

I had a goal to run an international race last year that didn't happen, but I might just make it this year after registering for the Singapore half marathon in December. The rest of the month was pretty boring as I was in training mode every Sunday ahead of the Gold Coast half marathon in early July. To help prepare I only ran slow park runs for the month but ticked off event 350 and volunteer event 25.

I managed to get through four half marathon training runs at about 4:00/km but was disappointed to not go a bit quicker wearing race shoes for the last two. I purchased a box of Precision Fuel gels to try since my Maurten gel were past their use by date, and I did like the "custard" consistency a bit better than the "jelly". They are a bit bigger and heavier so I'm not sure if I could fit two inside my shorts pocket, so might have to carry one at the start of the race if I choose to take an extra.

To finish off the month I got a free entry to the Sydney Harbour 10 kilometre race in late July, so that will replace the previous plan for Adelaide City Bay in September.

I've renamed this section to money for this month. Firstly shares are going down almost every day again and have made no progress for the first half of the year. Secondly my finances are running very low due to a lot of spending.

• Flights
• Hawaii
• Singapore and Vietnam
• Sydney
• Hotels
• Gold Coast due on arrival
• Hawaii
• Singapore and Vietnam
• Sydney
• Passport renewal
• Quarterly tax bill
• Another $2000 !
• Races
• Singapore half marathon
• Sydney 10 kilometre - free !
• Suitcase
• Still need to buy a replacement

A busy time in sports with the Euro 2024 championships and T20 world cup. The soccer is on in the middle of the night but the daily highlights are a good alternative. The cricket was on in the late morning but I wasn't too interested. Only a few more weeks until the Olympics also.

The to do list has been busy as per the above spending section:

• Brisbane report
• Holidays
• Early July - Gold Coast
• Late July - Sydney all paid
• Late August - Hawaii all paid
• Early December - Singapore and Vietnam all paid
• Late December - the usual forced time off with no plans
• Password renewal
• Finally got it done, took about three weeks for processing
• Running holidays
• Gold Coast, Sydney and Singapore as above
• Adelaide replaced with Sydney race
• Perth replaced with Hawaii holiday without a race

Getting a little bit bored at work at the moment. Had the annual performance review with basic pay increase, no promotion and not even the top rating. Another week without train lines to deal with.

That's it for this month.

• Books
• None
• Movies
• None
• Music
• None
• TV
• The Summit season 2
• More interesting than I expected, but ruined by a terrible ending
• 4 out of 10
• Video Games
• Xbox One
• Dredge
• Purchased from the digital store
• Fun adventure game navigating and upgrading a small fishing boat
• 7 out of 10
• Xbox 360
• Gears Of War 2
• Just started but didn't get very far yet
• The aiming on controller is not smooth at all