Socceroos

Normally, soccer is about as popular here as in America. It's all right for kids, but real men play rugby, AFL and cricket. But with Australia qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in thirty two years, it's huge. Of course, it also helps that Sydney has a large number of international residents who are following their home countries. But this past week, everyone has been bleary-eyed from staying up way too late to watch a soccer match. I'm expecting a higher than usual number of absences tomorrow due to the Socceroos 2:00 AM game versus Brazil tonight. While trying to find a pub to watch Game Four of the NBA Finals Friday night, I kept hearing "What time is the game over? Soccer goes on at 10:30." The Socceroos weren't even playing. Movie theatres are charging five bucks to watch games on movie screens with a couple hundred other fans and they're packed.
Yes, the team name is the Socceroos. Most national teams here have a nickname. A full list can be found here, but a list of notables would include the Wallabies (rugby union), Wheelabies (wheelchair rugby), Matildas (women's soccer, from Waltzing Matilda), and the Mighty Roos (ice hockey (?!?)). I can't think of a nickname for any American national teams, largely because we don't get too involved in international competition. I find this unfortunate--I've enjoyed international comps for rugby and cricket in our time here. There has been a push to rename the Socceroos, however, due to the effort to start calling the sport "football" like the majority of the world. There is similar resistance to this here that is found in the US since people informally refer to rugby and AFL as football or footy. If you have any suggestions, leave a comment--I'll pass it on.

Fun with anagrams

Found a website called Brendan's Online Angram Generator. The hidden truth will now be revealed.
Chris Taylor--A lyric short. (So that's what was wrong with my various musical efforts.)
Mavericks--Mark's vice
Pat Riley--Real pity
Miami Heat--Can't hit a free throw (kidding) --I emit a ham (?)
Follow the link above and see what you come up with, and leave a comment if you discover any hidden truths, too.

The Queen's Birthday

Monday is The Queen's Birthday. You say, "Oh, Queen Elizabeth was born on June 12?"
Wrong. This is a national holiday in Australia and most of the other Commonwealth countries. However, Queen Elizabeth was not born on June 12. The date is variable to create a long weekend. So you say, "Fine, everybody likes a three day weekend. But Lizzy was at least born in early June, right?"
Wrong. She was born on April 21, 1926. "That's odd. But all the Commonwealths honor her birthday on the same day, right?"
Wrong. Monday won't be celebrated as The Queen's Birthday in all participating countries. It won't even be celebrated then in all of Australia--Western Australia celebrates it in September or October, depending on the mood. In most of Australia, it is on the second Monday of June. In most other countries it is some time from April to June. "So why the June date?"
Wrong. (I know, not a "right/wrong" question, but we've got a pattern here. Ask a better question.) It goes back to King George III, who was born on June 4, 1738. New Zealand has done the best job regarding accuracy with their "first Monday in June" date. Your next question: "I bet you will really get into the spirit of the holiday and honor King George/Queen Elizabeth."
Wrong. I got no problem with Lizzy, but this is the same King George who had a beef with American independence. Remember "taxation without representation"? That's him. Unless I am mistaken, he is also responsible for Transportation--the sentence handed down to English criminals shipping them off to Australia. So I protest. That doesn't mean I'm going to work, though--this is my only chance to watch the NBA Finals live (Go the Mavs!). Besides, what did you do for President's Day this year? "Good point. So when Lizzy shuffles off her mortal coil and the reign of Charles begins, we'll celebrate The King's Birthday, right?"
Of course.

Mavs win

What an exciting game--and that was just watching the scoreboard on espn.com. I can't imagine what it was actually like to see on a real live TV. One benefit of watching the score on the internet--I was the first person to vote in ESPNation's Finals poll. Mavs-1, Heat-0. I should have taken a screenshot because two minutes later there were 2000 votes--and the Heat led with 51%.
My prediction for the Finals? Mavs in six. Just when everyone figures out the Mavs can play some defense, they are going to show they can still run, too. Shaq and the Heat's lack of depth out are going to get run out of the gym.
Either way, the NBA will have a new champion. This will be the first time since 1986 the champs have NOT been from San Antonio, Detroit, LA, Chicago, or Houston. If you add Boston and Philly to the list, you can go back to 1979. And if it wasn't for the MJ Baseball Experiment, Houston could be dropped from the list. A new era has begun?

Iron Chef

Heather and I saw a guy making
sushi rolls on an Australian cooking show a few weeks ago, so Friday night I thought I'd give it a try. I got a sushi mat and the proper ingredients and had myself a cultural experience. I went with rice, carrot, cucumber and salmon. I cooked most of the salmon because raw fish isn't my favorite. I did leave a third of it raw. If your going to eat raw fish, salmon is definitely the way to go.
The verdict? I thought I had a nice presentation. The roll actually came out round, the stuffings were contained in the middle, and it sliced cleanly. Probably a little too much rice and not enough salmon. But it was pretty good. I'd do it again. I need to look around and find a place that sells eel--that's good stuff. Most of all, it was fun (and easy) to make. I think I've got a new item to add to the dinner menu.

Sorry Day

Today is Sorry Day in Australia. It's an unusually named holiday for a very serious issue. Today is a day of recognition of what is called the Stolen Generation. This was the systematic removal of Aboriginal--and mostly mixed descent Aboriginal-European--children from their families to be raised by "superior" white families. This was done up until 1972. In 1995 a formal inquiry began to look into this part of Australia's history, and in 1998, Sorry Day was first observed. It is not a national holiday, and many people, both pro and con, have an issue with it. But the idea behind Sorry Day is that it is a step towards reconciliation of past offenses.

The Great Barrier Reef: The Rest of the Story

Let's wrap up this trip to the Great
Barrier Reef. The first picture was taken at a tourist shop right before we boarded the ship. Heather made me do it. That's all I have to say about that.
The second picture is me as the captain. This isn't on our cruise ship, but on our stroll down the river after the croc farm. Note the captain's hat. I actually steered the boat, too.
The last picture is a longer story. It all began when I almost killed a lizard at the Cairns Rainforest Dome. I tried to
open a gate but it only opened a few inches before it jammed. I yanked on it a few more times, but same result. That's when I noticed the two foot lizard with his head stuck in the gate. Heather stuck around to keep anyone else from trying the gate while I went for help. An employee came back and tried to free the lizard, but he was jammed in too tight. She left again to get reinforcements in the form of another employee and bolt cutters. They clipped the part of the gate holding the
lizard and he appeared to be fine once free. They also mentioned it was the second time it had happened that week. I'm wondering why they haven't covered the gate with mesh or something. Anyway, we had missed the start of the koala pictures while all this was going on, so I asked one of the rescuers if that was still going on. She said the pictures were taken in the gift shop. Then she asked if we had a voucher--$13. We said no, thanks. Both of us said to each other, "didn't we just save their lizard's life? And we can't get a koala picture comped?" So we improvised and took this picture instead--for free.

The Results

The Great Barrier Reef: The Water

Sorry for the delay for these pictures--it's been a while since I had to get a roll of film developed. Without further ado:
Coral-This is one of the more
colorful pictures we took. The water filters out all of the colors, starting with red then moving through the spectrum--remember ROY G BIV? All the great postcard coral pictures you see are taken with a flash and usually at night.
Parrotfish-Named because it is
colorful and has a beak like a parrot. They bite off bits of coral, eating little organisms lliving on it. Parrotfish are responsible for a cup and an half of sand per day from chewed up coral.
Clownfish-Nemo! Nemo! These
little fish are funny because they aren't afraid of anything. You swim down to them and they'll get right in your face, daring you to mess with them or their anemone.
Starfish and clam-The blue
starfish shows up well because blue is the last color filtered out by the water. The clam on the left is rather small. We saw others that were five feet across.
Diver-That's me.
We had a picture of an octopus I was disappointed to see not come out. We only saw its head (the rest was down a hole in a boulder), but it was the size of a soccer ball. He was red, but turned white as you approached him. The marine biologist on the cruise said they do that to appear unappetizing so you don't eat him.
Hope you've enjoyed these underwater photos. The snorkeling was for me the hightlight of the trip. One more entry to go on the cruise, but you shouldn't have to wait as long for the next one.

The Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon

Well, it's done. Things got interesting last night when I was getting ready. I double checked my route I have been running to get a pace time for the race and discovered that what I thought was a six mile circuit was really only five. Meaning that the past few weeks when I thought I was running twelve miles, I was really only covering ten. Meaning it's the night before the race and I'm still three miles short. And meaning instead of running 8 min/mi (or 7:30 last Sunday), I'd really topped out at about
9 min/mi. My adjusted goals were 1:55 for the race and 5:30/k. So here's the damage:
1K 5:48
2K 4:57 Good view of the Opera House from under the Harbour Bridge.
3K 5:33 I missed the marker for 4K, so 3K and 4K are averaged. Happened again at 13K/14K--same place in the course. There is a big climb at the beginning of 3K and I think that's why I missed it. Also made 3K (and 13K) the toughest in the course.
4K 5:32
5K 5:00
6K 5:18
7K 5:17
8K 5:02
9K 5:11
10K 5:14
11K 4:40
12K 5:26
13K 5:20
14K 5:20
15K 5:03 Hips start hurting.
16K 5:31 This is the farthest my training ever took me. Everything beyond here is uncharted territory.
17K 5:28
18K 5:18 Feet start hurting.
19K 5:36
20K 5:18
21K 5:06
TOTAL 1:50:57
AVE 5:17/K (8:28/mi)

All in all, I was pleased. I took another 30 seconds off my mile time under race conditions while covering an extra three miles. And I felt good when I finished.

The Great Barrier Reef: The Animals

Our tour today covers some of the animals we encountered on our trip to Queensland. The first picture is of a red footed booby that took a break one night on our ship. Other than the beak, he looked like a duck until he spread his wings--very long and narrow.
We had a short return to Cairns
on Friday before heading back out, so Heather and I took a tour of a crocodile farm just outside of town. The next picture is of an 800kg monster saltwater crocodile at the farm. He was one of their breeders but is currently living out his retirement in a private pen enjoying free chicken dinners every day. He was about five or six metres long and they estimated about eighty five years old. The second croc photo is some of the youngsters in what the tour guide called the "handbag area". These are two to
three years old. We learned that they are raised in these pens, grouped by age, until they are four, at which time their hides are "harvested". Four is the limit because they start getting territorial at that point. It isn't cost effective to keep them individually and if you leave them in groups, they'll tear each other up--women like their expensive Hermes handbags defect-free. Read a Sydney Morning Herald article here for more info and a picture of the final product.
While walking across Hitchinbrook Island,
we saw this goanna making itself at home on someone's resort boardwalk. It doesn't look all that big in the picture, but it's about a metre and a half long. Claws like an eagle, too--click the pic and get a look at them. Pretty amazing what you can see while hiking across a GBR island.
We had some time before our flight out on Monday, so we paid a visit to the Cairns Rainforest Dome. It had many rainforest animals roaming free for you to see and perhaps interact with.
Pictured is a frogmouth, but Heather kept calling it the "little grumpy bird". They also had several cockatoos, one of which climbed from my arm up to my shoulder where he proceeded to chew on my hat. What can I say--animals like me. We also saw koalas, a croc (neither of which were roaming free like the other
animals--"darn" and "whew!" respectively), kookaburras, pademelons [which are like rainforest wallabies (which are like small kangaroos)], pythons, frogs and turtles. The croc's name is Goliath, and he is one of only two crocs to leave the previously mentioned crocodile farm alive. Big time bonus points to anyone who can identify the other one. There are a few other adventures worth mentioning at the Dome, but I'm saving them for another entry.

The Raconteurs

If you haven't heard the news yet, The Raconteurs new album will be released in just over a week. Who are The Raconteurs, you ask? They are the "super group" (but don't let them hear you say that) formed by Jack White of The White Stripes, Brendan Benson, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler, both from The Greenhornes. Listen to streams of "Steady, As She Goes" (and watch the video) and "Store Bought Bones" on their website. The site is worth a look alone--it looks and navigates like an old DOS program. For those of you using iTunes, you can download a free acoustic version of "Steady" through Monday. (For those of you not using iTunes--what are you waiting for?) And when you listen to "Steady", either acoustic from iTunes or full from the website, I suggest headphones--there are some great stereo Beatle-esque vocal harmonies you'll miss otherwise.
By the way, what the rest of the world knows as The Raconteurs will be known as The Saboteurs here in Australia. There is a band in Queensland already called The Raconteurs who wouldn't sell the naming rights, or rather demanded too much money and didn't get it. So all CDs, promotional materials, tours, etc will read "The Saboteurs." Even the website, otherwise identical, has been renamed. Collector's items?

The Great Barrier Reef: The Land

We have returned from our Captain Cook Cruises Ultimate Reef Cruise and are settling back in to life at work. I've decided to break the cruise down for you into what will likely end up as a four part mini-series. Today we cover The Land.
We made several stops at small islands during the week. We saw Green Island, Cooktown, Lizard Island, Ribbon Reef No. 5, Hedley Reef, Hitchinbrook Island and of course Cairns, our port. This first picture is Cook's Look on Lizard Island. It is 1200 metres up, and we hiked to the
top Wednesday morning. The second picture is of me at the peak. This site is called Cook's Look because Captain Cook's ship was stuck in the reef and he couldn't find his way out. He climbed to this peak to get a view of the reef and figure a course that would allow him to get out without wrecking his ship. He actually climbed it twice because when he climbed it early in the morning, the sun was at his face and he couldn't see the coral. When he went back in the afternoon, the sun was at his back and
the reef was easily visible.
We also took a second hike on Lizard Island, but not back up Cook's Look. On Wednesday afternoon, we walked across the island to a lagoon on the other side. The water was waist deep and crystal clear as far out as you wanted to go. That walk took us along an airstrip. There is a very exclusive private resort (three night spa package: $2700) on the island that the VIPs are flying in for. Another part of the walk took us past these mangroves. Cook's look is
in the background.
We saw more mangroves back in Cairns on Friday on a tour of a crocodile farm (more on that coming), as well as the mountains pictured fourth. As you can see, the river was smooth as, leading some tourists to ski on it from time to time, we were told by the guides. These tourists are apparently unaware of the crocs lurking just under the surface.
All in all, we saw some fantastic views on the trip. Heather said she enjoyed the walks more than the snorkeling. While I personally wouldn't go that far, it was amazing. At Cook's Look, you had trouble distinguishing the water from the sky on the horizon. We saw and climbed mountains. We walked across wild islands virtually untouched by man. If you want to "get away from it all" the islands of the Great Barrier Reef would be an excellent choice.

Random thoughts that probably aren't significant enough to warrant their own post but are still worth mentioning

Some of you have been waiting for a kangaroo photo, so here you go. I took this one myself.*

The Mavericks are better, but still can't consistently beat the best teams. Winning a seven game series against the Spurs or the Pistons will be tough. And will the NBA fix the playoff seeding mess during the offseason? Did the BCS have input in the current plan?

Heather and I watched a Bollywood movie on TV a few weeks ago called Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India. Classic underdog story--get down to Blockbuster and check it out.

One night last week I heard rustling in the tree directly off my balcony. It was a flying fox--yeah, the ones that I posted about previously. Standing on the balcony, I was three metres away from this thing.

I got a step down transformer last week so I finally have my Xbox up and running. I finished Splinter Cell a few days ago, which will make Heather happy because she doesn't like the "scary" music. Now I have a new game to play: Rugby 06. Review forthcoming.

Heather and I were in Mooks and I saw these retro threadbare tshirts that had been cut down the middle and sewn back together in a mismatched harliquin sort of way. I flipped through them to see what shirts they had used. I saw half of a purple Vikings, White Sox, some mom and pop restaurants. Then I saw a City of Columbia Parks & Rec tshirt--yeah, that Columbia. Even had the Cola "bridge" logo. So how much for this piece of nostalgia? Ninety bones.

*Well, actually...this is a picture of a picture. Right now there is a big exhibit at Hyde Park of these large prints of photos from Australian history.

ANZAC Day: 25 April

Next Tuesday is ANZAC Day here in Australia honoring those who served in WWI. ANZAC stands for Australia New Zealand Army Corps. There is an ANZAC memorial at Hyde Park near our home which we visited several months ago, pictured here. The first photo is taken from the
north, looking back over the reflecting pool. The second photo highlights the architecture of the memorial. Each corner houses a large statue representing each of the military branches. Each side has four statues representing various military duty personnel. The memorial contains a small museum that has many Australian artifacts from the wars of the 20th century.
Want to help recognize ANZAC Day this Tuesday? Try this:

ANZAC Biscuits
ANZAC cookies are a favorite treat on this holiday. This recipe is from allhomemadecookies.com

This very old recipe started during ration times in World War II since not many ingredients were easily available for purchase. The word ANZAC is the abbreviation of our brave soldiers "Australian and New Zealand Army Corps" and the biscuits were named in their honour. They are still a family favourite today in many Aussie homes, and at local cake stalls and fairs.

50g (2oz) plain flour
50g (2oz) rolled oats (oatmeal)
50g (2oz) desiccated coconut (flaked, dry coconut)
100g (1/4 lb) castor sugar*
75g (3oz) butter
15ml (1 tablespoon) golden syrup** (or honey)
2.5ml (1/2 teaspoon) bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

Heat the oven to 150C (300F), gas mark 2. Lightly oil or grease 2 baking (cookie) trays. Sift flour, combine with other ingredients except the bicarbonate of soda and set aside.
Cut the butter into small pieces, place with the syrup in a heavy based saucepan and melt together, stirring. Then remove from heat.
Combine bicarbonate of soda with 15ml [1 tablespoon] of water and blend in with syrup and butter mixture.
Gradually mix in dry ingredients. Drop mixture on to baking trays 1 teaspoon at a time, spacing 3 inches apart.
Bake in the center of the oven for 20 minutes. Cool slightly then transfer to wire cooling rack. Store in an airtight container.
Yields 24

*Castor sugar is the English name for super fine sugar. Super fine sugar dissolves quickly and can be found in the regular grocery store. You can make your own by processing regular sugar in your food processor for a minute. Or you can substitute regular refined sugar for this recipe, if desired.
**Golden syrup is a sweetener used primarily in England and Australia. (In England, it's also known as light treacle). This liquid sweetener has a clear golden color and is the consistency of corn syrup. It's made from evaporated sugar cane juice and has a rich, toasty flavor unmatched by any other sweetener. The most readily available brand is Lyle's, and you can find it in some supermarkets and many gourmet markets. Use golden syrup as a substitute for corn syrup in cooking and baking, and for everything from pancake syrup to ice cream topping. You can also order it at www.kingarthurflour.com/cgibin/start/ahome/main.html.
Recipe submitted by Maureen from Tasmania, Australia.

You can find more information about the ANZACs at anzacsite.gov.au.

"For the Fallen"
They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember, lest we forget.
Laurence Binyon

Golf!

I played golf yesterday for the first time in nearly nine months, and it was good. I shot 87, but there are a few disclaimers, both pro and con, to mention:
Cons
1) Par was only 68, not 72.
2) I fudged a little on the front nine (+7)--hit a second ball a few times if I didn't like my shot. Back nine was legit (+12).
Pros
1) I used hired clubs. It was your standard set: D, 3, 4, 6, 8, W, BP (Bent Putter). I refused to hit the driver given that it had a dent in it, and the 4 iron was failing me by the end of the front nine. I played the entire back nine (including three par 5s) hitting nothing longer than a 6 iron off the tee.
2) Did I mention I haven't played in nine months?
All in all, I was rather pleased with how I played. It was certainly very relaxing. I can't wait to get my clubs here and play more. No one would mistake my bag with a PGA pro's, but at least I have a complete set and a straight putter. Plus I won't have to pay for a hired set, so that money can be applied for green fees at a nicer course--I'm thinking something with an ocean view.
Finally, I saw something that reinforces my thought that you should always carry a camera with you. Outside the train station was a Vietnamese pho restaurant (pronounced "fur?") that has adopted the Houston Texans' bull logo with two changes:
1) Instead of blue/red, substitute black/red.
2) Instead of a star "eye", substitute a chicken.
If I'm out that way again, I'll be sure to get a picture for you.

What I saw at the Sydney Royal Easter Show

A Welcome banner and mascot-The Sydney Royal Easter Show is Australia's version of the state fair, as you can probably tell by the poor version of Big Tex here. There are some differences as you will see in the following pictures, but basically, it was a day at the fair.

A Yoda cake--Yes, there is a cake in there or so they say. Kind of creepy.











A Yumcha cake--This is a restaurant in downtown Sydney--think Chinese Luby's. Heather and I ate there a few months ago, and this "cake" looks exactly like their food. Australia's Biggest Loser held an immunity challenge there a few weeks ago, too.

A Japanese Quilt--There weren't many quilts on display, but I was impressed with this one. However, Heather could do better.









A Bulldog--I also saw a huge Bullmastiff, a couple of Rasta-dogs and lots of cats. Most of the dogs had already gone home, but this dog was the best of what I saw in my opinion. The cats were all in travel cages and difficult to get a picture of.







A Doggie Rugby Jersey--When we get a dog one of these days, Heather wants to dress it in clothes, which I am adamantly against. But, I'll lose this one, I'm sure, so at least I found an acceptable choice. Go the Wallabies!







A Woodcutters Championship Competition--and the place was packed! Woodcutters from NSW, ACT, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, and New Zealand all competed. No big surprise that the Tasmanians and New Zealanders dominated.


Real Live Bilbies--There is an effort to replace the rabbit with the bilby as the official Easter animal. Many people here don't look too kindly upon the rabbit--they aren't native to Australia and were brought here for sporting purposes. You know what they say about rabbits--soon they had taken over the country. I know the picture isn't great, but the glass was dirty and scratched and the bilbies weren't in a vogue kind of mood.

The Gold Cup Championship Polo Match--ACT beat Queensland in this 2006 Championship game, providing the win in polo that the Brumbies could not in rugby union the previous night. In this photo, a Queensland player is taking a penalty shot. These penalties routinely went over the safety nets into the crowd. Before each one, the announcer would remind the crowd the "keep your eye on the play" because a wooden ball flying that fast could really ruin your day.

Now where else can you do all of this in one day?

Go the Tahs!

Sunday night I went to the
Waratahs v the ACT Brumbies rugby union test, my first in Australia, or anywhere for that matter. I still don't understand everything about the game--I've seen less RU than any other sport since we've been here--but the game was a lot of fun. The Waratahs were victorious,
solidifying their place at number two on the ladder. My original seat was behind glass, but I was able to move to an open seat nearby. A program cost me $7, but it came with the obligatory plastic sky blue wrist band. The Brumbies jumped out to a 14-6 lead in the first twenty minutes,
but the rest of the game was all Waratahs. Full story from the Sydney Morning Herald can be found here.
The first picture is a scrum, a staple of rugby union. I still haven't figured out how players avoid breaking their neck every time they do this. The second
picture is a line out play. This is an inbounds play thrown in by the team who did not put the ball out of play. They have to throw the ball in between the two lines, but their team has the advantage because they know if they are throwing the ball short or long--notice the Waratah
player who has been lifted into the air by his teammates. The third picture shows the teams and the scoreboard at "full time". A month ago I mentioned the ads painted on the playing surface of sporting events in "Footy Season". I got some pictures of that at the game. The fourth was taken near the TV camera--you can see the Tooheys New ad is nearly square and the HSBC ad appears to be standing upright on the try line--note the "shadow". The next picture was taken from my seat and you can see how skewed the ads really are.
Running update: I ran nine miles Sunday afternoon, and it was easy--much more so than eight last week, or even six a couple days ago. I ran it in 70 minutes, just under my 8 min/mile pace. I'm considering the marathon next year again--I think I'm going to go back and forth on this quite a bit.

Dog days of running

Another running update. Not much else going on since Heather is back in the States. I'm bored. I'm on holiday now, and I have a few plans for next week, so there should be plenty of updates and pictures then.
I ran my park/harbour/Opera House circuit again yesterday. The total distance is just under six miles. When I first ran it my time was an hour. The next time was 48 minutes. Yesterday, I cut it down to 42:30. That's really too fast because I won't be able to keep up that pace during a half marathon. But I could do that for a 10K, which means I could keep Michael in my sights for, oh about 500 metres or so, and that's saying something.
I've talked to some people who "get in tune" with their body while running. Not me. My body hates me when I run. Going up stairs, even just four or five, is a killer. At about the 20 minute mark I get a sharp pain in my mid back to the left of my spine. What is that? Any thoughts or ideas? It goes away if I take really deep breaths for a minute or so. Anyway, I do fine after that goes away. At least I thought so until last Sunday when I ran eight miles, my longest so far (I do nine tomorrow). I found out I hit another wall at about 6.5 miles. Maybe I won't be crazy enough to try the marathon next year after all.
So to get my mind off the shortness of breath, aching legs, and sharp back pain, I find distractions from my body. Rather than consciously tuning in to my body, I try to slip into cruise control and ignore it. I watch tourists in the park and at the harbour. I dodge their cameras--maybe I should try getting into their pictures instead, Heather-style. I look at the trees, animals, the water, whatever is around. I listen to music--Nelly's "Country Grammar" gave me a second wind at the 35 minute mark yesterday--good up tempo pace song for me, too. White Stripes came up next--a little eclectic mix, but effective. I think about school lesson plans or other things to blog about--I've come to terms with being a self-absorbed blogger. I try to figure mile time averages, but I never spell-that's Heather's thing. I play a perfect round of all 18 holes at LinRick Golf Course in my head. Anything. Before I know it, I'm done, mostly pain-free.

Runnin' Time

On Monday, I registered for the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon, and today I finally found out that I'm in. That's a pretty big deal because they limit entry to 5000, so it won't be anything like 42,000 trying to get over the Cooper River Bridge. (Saw your results, Kerry--thought you weren't going back. How's the new bridge?) This is a race I have wanted to run since I heard about it a year ago. The race is May 21, and I have already been training for four weeks. The website has a map of the course, but basically it runs though the harbour area of downtown and the Royal Botanic Gardens, home of the flying fox mentioned several months ago. My last few training runs have been through the Gardens and around the Opera House. It's nice living in a place that a local run takes in world famous icons. As for my conditioning, I'm feeling pretty good. I'm up to six miles on my program, and still have six weeks to go. My goal is two hours--I'll let you know how I finish.
Next year I hope to run the Great Ocean Road Half Marathon, or possibly the full marathon if I'm crazy enough. It is run the same weekend as the SMH, and follows the road along the ocean outside of Melbourne. It is supposed to be gorgeous, too much so to drive--hard to keep your eyes on the road. Just right for a run, though.