Scenic route

I had to drop the car off to get the window fixed this morning, so I thought I'd jog home. I decided to take the scenic route and see if I could find the river. All up 7km but it's still taking me an hour. Sigh. Percy tells me I was stopped for 96m. Not sure how that works. At least he is registering more of my running as jogging now, instead of walking. I still haven't managed to register any actual "running" but that will come. I had a few walk breaks today, too. It's weird - I feel better about my running, but I'm running less distance than I was in Karratha. Lots and lots of lovely houses - mansions some of them. At the point where I eventually found the river is a suburb called Peppermint Grove - VERY swank! Lots of BMW's and Porche's. People with far too much money.




I've filled in my application to become a member of the Western Australia Marathon Club, which is for people of all abilities and many members never run a marathon!! The club was formed years ago and they never got around to changing the name even though it's more just running, than marathons. Anyway, I'm going to mail in my membership. Hubby suggested to take out a "family" membership so that he could come along to events and walk them!!! I think he might finally be starting to accept that this running interest of mine is not going away!

There is a fun run in my neighbourhood on February 11!!! It will be my first "race"! There is a 10km and a 4km. I'm going for the 4km because I am absolutely paranoid they will pack up and go home before I finish the 10km. I've yet to ring the organiser, but I'm pretty excited! There seems to be scheduled runs all around the place on a fairly regular basis. Could also be a great way of getting to know Perth.

River run

This is my run this morning. I wanted to run along the river then climb up to Kings Park and come home through the park. I went along the river but the pedestrian access to the park was closed! I knew I could keep going and find another entrance to the park, but I'm still not comfortable on foot in all that traffic! I'm pretty sure there's a way into the park but I'll have to find it on a day when I can explore a bit. So I just stood at the closed gate for a while, disappointed, then turned around and came back the same way.

It's been hot recently in Perth. And I thought I was meant to be escaping the heat! At least it cools down over night so the mornings are still relatively fresh. We haven't got quite to Karratha temps but it's still been unpleasant - air conditioning weather! There always seems to be a breeeze on the river, and plenty of trees for shade so I'm not complaining.

All up today about 8km. I need to start thinking about a longer run in the lead up to Bunbury. But I'm not running the full 8km yet. Percy tells me I'm running faster but I don't seem to last as long as when I was in Karratha. But then I can recover quicker and take off for another burst. I guess I'll settle into it. I may have to concentrate on slowing down! Me!! Ha!!!

I've landed!

I'm in Perth! Phew what a trip! I've been going through withdrawals without my internet access! The cat is here safely but I suspect she will take some time to settle. Now the unpacking begins and I have to start with routines again. I went for a run yesterday and again today - there is so much to explore! I wish I was capable of running really long distances - I want to do it all in one go!! Perhaps it is better that I have to ease into it.

The weather is magnificent!!! In the mornings it is cold enough to be slightly unpleasant until you get warmed up in the run. It's wonderful! I went straight to the river yesterday and to Kings Park today. There are so many people out exercising - some who look somewhat like me! I don't feel silly being super fat and trying to run - others are in the same boat! I'm not sure if my fitness has been affected or if I am simply shell-shocked from the trip but I needed quite a few walk breaks over 5 and 6km. But the running itself WAS easier! When I stopped to walk I cooled down and could start running again much easier than if I was in the heat. Percy tells me I am running faster (when I do run)! I LOVE it here!!!

I'm sure the weather will not last but my first memory of Perth will always be this perfect weather - clear skies, cool and a gentle breeze. I've found myself just sitting outside whenever I can. The temperature during the day is perfect - that temperature where you can't really tell if it is hot or cold, it is comfortably neutral. And last night I had to wear long sleeves! I'm going to have to buy a jumper soon!!!

I haven't joined a running club yet - but will do soon. Hubby wants to do all the touristy things so we might take a drive down south in the next week and have a look around. When I settle properly I'll get into a routine. And I still need a job!!

Thanks for all your comments - bear with me while I work through all the blogs I haven't read in the past week.

Monkey Mia

We left Karratha yesterday after a couple of mad days furiously packing. The removalists came Wednesday morning and I spent the remainder of Wednesday cleaning the house. Twelve hours in the car yesterday (with a cat) and we arrived in Monkey Mia. It’s a huge state – we’ve still got six hours of driving before we get to Perth.

I haven’t been for a run in four days. It’s the longest break I’ve had since I started. Strangely enough I don’t feel all that guilty – simply because I have not had the time or ability to go for a run. If I skipped it out of laziness, I’d probably feel differently but I just physically haven’t been able to run. However I am worried about what little fitness I have been able to accumulate. I feel like it’s all just ebbing away – all that hard work. I wanted to run yesterday, and I said to my husband that I was going to go for a run come hell or highwater – but we didn’t arrive in Monkey Mia until 7pm and the restaurant closed at 8pm (can you believe that?? And it doesn’t get dark until 9!) so we decided that eating was our top priority. Then it was too dark – but I did walk on the beach! There was no way I could have run on the sand though, man that’s hard work!!

This morning we got up and went to the obligatory dolphins – it’s the ONLY thing to do here! The dolphins are beautiful and very friendly. There were three mothers with their calves including one calf that was only days old. Very special. They reckon that the dolphins are just as curious about us as we are about them. They roll around in the shallow water having a good look at us. Then they’ll splash the water with their tail and the crowd will go “ooooh” and you can almost see the dolphins laughing at us. After about half an hour they leave. Just like that. They only feed them one fish each these days to encourage the dolphins to hunt their own food. So the only reason they come into shore is really for the interaction. And it appears to be generational. The young will continue to come back to Monkey Mia and bring their young, and their young will bring their young.

Another walk along the beach to get to the interaction area and a walk back to the room has been my only exercise so far today. At least it’s light enough to see what I’m doing. There don’t appear to be any running tracks, but I’ve have a bit more of an explore today. We don’t leave until tomorrow so I’d really like to find somewhere to run this afternoon – or even at midday since the maximum temperature is expected to be only 28!!!!! Bliss!!!!!

The do have pedal boats so we may hire one of those and I’ll see if I can get a sweat up that way. Still no guilt feeling about the running, but that nagging worry about my fitness. I’ve brought Percy thinking he could draw me a pretty picture of Monkey Mia – but I’ve had no opportunity to use him yet. Maybe later.

I have to say that I did not realise that the resort was a backpackers. There are only six “chalets” and they were all booked so we are staying at the “Dolphin Lodge”. Beautiful view of the ocean from our balcony (as I write this!!) but it is backpacker accommodation. Unless you are the sociable touristy kind I would not recommend it. Still, the room is clean and we managed to get a private bathroom but it reminds me of boarding school. Communal everything else – kitchen, laundry, living area. Not really what we had in mind! And at $195 a night, a bit more communal than we were expecting. We were expecting motel units. Ah well – it’s all part of the experience.

Another two or three days until we get to Perth. I will run when I can, and probably post less, but when I arrive in Perth I hope a routine will quickly develop!

Goanna!

No run today - just a comment. I was at the shopping centre today and was walking along the footpath when a GOANNA crossed the footpath in front of me. In the carpark! How often is that going to happen in Perth??! There are a lot of lizards here - geckos, the ta-ta lizard (called ta-ta because it runs on its back legs with its front legs in the air as if it was waving ta-ta - don't know its real name!) and the thorny devil, but I haven't seen a goanna in town before. I didn't get too close - goannas have a nasty bite!

Pre-dawn oven

As I stepped into the oven that is pre-dawn in Karratha, it occurred to me that I will probably whinge about the cold when I get to Perth!! It was only 30.4 degrees but it felt hotter. If I ever start complaining about the cold I will repeat to myself "no flies, no flies". Right at this second, I would rather the cold and no flies than the heat and flies! My theory is that you can warm up when you run, but it is damn hard to cool down!! And there is NOTHING you can do about flies!

I struggled through 7.6km this morning. It was supposed to be a 10km run, but I slacked out. Percy tells me I walked about 4.8km of it!! I'm not sure how much I really did walk, but it still took me over an hour. I certainly had a couple of walk breaks this morning. I'll get there.

Packing today. The removalist comes on Wednesday. Hubby and I plan on taking a couple of days to get to Perth instead of trying to drive it in one go. We've yet to see Shark Bay and Monkey Mia so we might stop there on the way down.

Fast walk this arvo

This afternoon hubby walked home from work, so I walked to meet him then turned around and walked back with him. For some reason he's started a health kick and although he will not run, he WILL walk! Normally when he walks it's a stroll but since this health kick started he walks with some serious pace. It was too hot to even contemplate a run, so I had resigned myself to just walking before I even left the house.

All up tonight it was 4.7km in about 45 minutes. Not too bad I guess. The problem was that I couldn't keep up with hubby!! I was walking as fast as my pudgy little legs would move but he just strode away. I had to run every minute or so just to keep up! The irony, of course, is that he COULD run with me because he WALKS at my running pace but he refuses to. I don't know how people walk that fast! And that's still slow compared to some! The benefit was that I had a SIGNIFICANT negative split for the "walk" so that's gotta count for something.

In fact, as I think about it, I think that's my first ever negative split! Now just to do it when I'm running a marathon!!!