Sunday Run (9)

Endomondo Running Workout

Looking for an easy run this week after last week's gut-buster (although more accurately, thigh-buster) and picked on the Brighton-le-Sands loop which in my mind is about 20 km (I remember the first time I ran it was on the day of the Sydney marathon last year, and I had to finish off with a couple of laps around a football oval to build up the extra 1.0975 kilometers. However, the best thing about it is that (when I run it by myself) is that it is substantially flat, as you can imagine following a river down to the sea and running alongside the shore would pretty inevitably be. Normally when the club does the run we come back through Arnecliff, for the hills. But this was a scheduled quiet day, and the other Andrew, who is the CRRC guide, was off resting up for the 6ft track 45 km race next week, so I had no guide and that meant no Arnecliff. I was a bit surprised when I got home and found I'd run 23 km - someone must have stretched the Grand Parade, Brighton's imaginatively named beachside road. Probably a real estate agent; it sounds so much better than General Holmes Drive, of which it is a direct continuation.

Perhaps I was a little late setting off because I missed the spectacular dawns of the last couple of weeks - mind you, that could also be a side effect of atmospheric conditions. Perhaps the air wasn't refracting. I just re-read a book on the surveying of India by George Everest; refraction played a big role in his success. Indirectly, amongst other things, it meant he was better off surveying in winter than summer (there's more refraction in winter and it means you can take sightings further) and this hugely reduced the toll of sickness in the surveying parties - which were enormous, I had no idea. Another thing I realised, in passing, while reading this book, was that all the maths I learned at school would have been more than enough to do the maths required for surveying. I wonder if that made school education feel more relevant to students? Probably not. (Thinks Stalky & Co)

I'm not sure how I failed to notice before that this run takes you right under the approach path for the EW runway - maybe the wind was in a different direction this AM -  but a point on the path halfway between the freeway and the hockey club (Kyeemagh RSL) is exactly in line. No more will I say that planes fly low over Shepherd St. I can't say I saw the pilot wave back, because the sun reflecting off the glass made him a bit invisible, but I'd be damned sure he saw me waving. Also, just past the hockey club, you get to run almost parallel to the runway for a couple of hundred metres, separated only by the engineered course of the Cooks river, which is pretty narrow at that point. Surprisingly the noise isn't particularly overwhelming from the side.

The beach was very empty and just raked, if raking is what tractors do. Manicured, in preparation for the day's beach volleyball. It was pretty cold this AM, so I doubt a big crowd was heading down (but our local market was packed - later - despite the grey skies). It's such an unimpressive beach - for Sydney - it's hard to imagine anyone using it, although of course if you live locally you do.

Having reached Brighton I turned around and came back. Nothing exciting happened, except perhaps that my fastest kilometer was the 19th; that's not usual. Normally it's the 3rd (it's downhill into the park where we meet)