Australia Running

CHAPTER 1: pre-cruise

Canyon Dan (California)

They call him Canyon Dan. That’s because he is known to say things like, “The trouble with canyons is that when you run down into them, you have to run up to get back out.” Dan is staying in Northern San Diego for a few days before flying off further to Australia. He has a bit of a cold, so yesterday, he only shuffled on the hotel treadmill. Today, he’s shuffling for real (meaning he’s outside), although not all cylinders are firing.

Make no mistake about Canyon Dan. He is running on roads, not trails. But there are canyons galore around here, and it’s impossible to avoid them. Another mistake not to make about Canyon Dan is to believe that what he’s doing can truly be considered “running”. It would be a stretch to even call it “shuffling”. And when he goes this slow, it’s tough to get any kind of decent mileage. He’s already decided that this week will be a bust. Maybe he can pick it up once he’s down under.

Canyon Dan has changed his name. He’s now to be known as Ridgerunner Dan. Make no mistake about Ridgerunner Dan. He is running on roads, not trails. But there are ridges galore around here, and it’s impossible to avoid them. This run seems to go better than the one Canyon Dan did the other day. And the early morning scenery up high is better than that down low.


Dan the Bloke Man (Perth)

Dan the Bloke Man is a silly name for Dan, but it does indicate that he is now doing his running Down Under. Stay tuned, maybe he’ll come up with something more appropriate.
Perth is pretty far away from home. Even Aussies from the rest of the country think so. But it’s a wonderful place to run. Blokeman Dan does his best. And that means running alongside the Swan River. Nice all-purpose trails and beautiful scenery. It’s all great, except that is, for Dan himself. He has a day like his first couple in California; all cylinders are not firing, once again.

Crossing the Swan River on a pedestrian bridge

Sunrise on the Swan River

But Dan’s second day is much better. He runs west along the river this time, and the trail goes on and on. Dan is able to pick up the pace enough to call this an actual “run”. Ten whole miles. Dan gets even more running in later, during his stay in Perth. He could get used to living (and running) here full-time.


Oenophile Dan(Adelaide)

Oenophile Dan (he prefers this name to ‘Wino Dan’) sets out on his second run in Adelaide. He’s here mostly to sample the wine, but also to see the sights in South Australia. His first run had its ups and downs. On the upside, running along River Torrens was scenic and interesting. On the downside, the preponderance of bugs detracted from the experience. Dan thinks they’re like the deer flies he deals with back home. But since there are no deer here, maybe they’re kangaroo flies. Yeah, he’ll go with that. But they’re no fun. This time, Oenophile Dan finds a city park that’s away from the river. Maybe there won’t be so many flies here, he thinks. He thinks wrong; they’re bad here too. Otherwise, the run is okay. After arriving, he circumnavigates the park for a loop of about 1 ¾ miles. Dan decides to do a few more loops to reach ten miles. Early in his first loop, Dan notices some people who appear to be Aboriginal standing in the park as he runs by. Not much else happening at this early hour. As Dan runs by the second time, there are several more people, all sitting down on a nearby hillside. The third time, one of the people, a lady, calls out to Dan, “Hey, are you a marathon runner?” Dan stops, smiles, and answers, “Yes, I do run marathons, but not today.” She mentions something about running around and around. Dan moves on, thinking, yeah, that’s what I do. The fourth and final time, Dan is considering doing only a little more in the park before getting ready to return to his hotel. The people are gone, but a lady (it may have been the same one who called to him earlier) is out in the street, disrupting traffic. As Dan cautiously approaches, he notices that she is naked from the waist up. She’s yelling something at the drivers, who clearly don’t know what to do. There are multiple lanes of traffic, so this is a dangerous situation. Dan is afraid that something very bad may happen, but he is not sure whether to intervene in some way. Then he sees a man emerging from the park. He’s yelling loudly at the woman and walking over to her. Dan is relieved that he’s apparently rescuing her from the traffic, but then Dan begins to wonder if perhaps she was trying to get away from him for a good reason. Dan hopes everything is okay with the people. He’s relieved further as he returns to his hotel.

Oenophile Dan does even some other running in Adelaide, but none of it is so eventful. This is a good thing.

River Torrens pedestrian bridge

Devil Dan (Hobart)

Dan would have preferred ‘Tasman Dan’, but we’re not going to let him get away with this one. He’s here in Tasmania in part to find Tasmanian Devils, so we don’t mind referring to him as such. Hobart is the capital and largest city in Tasmania. The summer weather couldn’t be better – cool, crisp mornings and clear days. Dan finds a nice city park with memorials to World War I soldiers. He enjoys these trails (which, unlike Canyon Dan, he's actually using), even though they’re hilly – something he’s not used to. He spots some lorikeets. They’re stunningly beautiful!

Devil Dan glances at his watch as he begins a new circuit. 6.66 miles. He’s in the same park, but he’s doing different trails this time, including one called “Max’s Infinite Loop”. It’s about 1.8 miles of various surfaces, including dirt, asphalt, and some nice, soft woodchips.
As if Dan needed a reminder that he’s not in Kansas anymore, a wallaby and a few kangaroos cross his path. Then he sees the cool lorikeets again. Although the Roos are fairly close, Dan doesn’t approach them any more than he has to. He doesn’t want them to become “jumpy”.

Devil Dan is now Speed Demon Dan. He’s a speed demon because he has found a 400-meter track, of all things. It’s in the same park he’s been running in, but he hadn’t known it was there. There are several other runners here. He does a Half-Yasso workout, and guess what? It ain’t half bad. Of course, Dan ain’t where he was a couple of months ago, but anything of this sort is encouraging.

Speed Demon Dan does decent. He runs once more in Hobart, again at the track. This time, he does a 5K tempo run there, and it’s not so awful, either. 

Diesel Dan (Sydney)

"I love the smell of diesel in the morning," states Dan in his best Robert Duval imitation. ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning" is an iconic, oft-quoted line from the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, delivered by Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (played by Duvall). Dan is in Sydney for one night before embarkation to his cruise ship. Thus, he has one run here. Unfortunately, he's staying close to the airport, where there are diesel fumes galore. The running isn't so great, but then, neither is Dan. He gets a few miles in. The good news is that his ship has come in. Time for chapter two.

CHAPTER 2: cruise'n

Dan the Seafaring Man (Sydney and Beyond)

Dan the Seafaring Man does a short run in Sydney before embarking on the Oceania Riviera. This is for a little 35-day cruise from Sydney to Sydney. Dan the Seafaring Man’s running suddenly becomes less adventurous and more tedious. Unless, that is, you consider running around in circles or running on a treadmill exciting. Dan promises not to burden you, dear reader, with tales of his circuitous running. But let's see what other mischief he can get himself into.

Not much. Dan the Seafaring Man does manage a few real runs - on land, that is. But those are merely short shuffles. Nothing to write home about. So he won't.

Dan will say this, however: a sinus infection isn't good for running. Even when it gets better, the running still leaves much to be desired. In fact, that's pretty much the story for the cruise portion of the trip. Let's put it this way: less-than-optimal.

For more about this trip, see Dan's travel blog posts: Part 1 and Part 2.

Playing in the snow

When you're a kid (or a dog, for that matter), playing in the snow is a natural thing to do. Not so much when you're an adult. Unless you're a runner with running friends who apply peer pressure to join them on the Towpath.

There was much fear and trepidation on my part. I've only just begun to get used to running indoors and in warm weather. Stepping back out in the cold didn't sound so great, especially with several inches of fairly new snow on the ground. But Julie Boggs and Theresa Wright were doing it, and that's almost like everybody. Peer pressure applied.

The snow on the path slowed us a little, but not as much as expected. It was soft and quiet - about as nice as a run can get.

Not wanting to overdo things, I quit early, after twelve miles. Only near the end did my feet begin to feel cold. But it was also fun. Now, back to warmth.

Julie, Theresa, and Dan

Finishing up alone

New Baby Has Arrived!

She came into the world in the usual way. And not a moment too soon.

The Landice L7 (and Dan)

Remember the old 23-year-old True machine? My Landice L7 is the replacement. I anticipate that she will last at least as long and get at least as many miles (~10,000) as her predecessor. The first 10.7 went fine this morning.

Hot to trot - running on the Miami to Miami cruise

Note to self: when you're looking at Google Maps for a place to run, and you see a place with "memorial gardens" in the name, that place is not a park-like area where you can run early in the morning. It's a cemetery, stupid.

We're staying one night at the Hilton Blue Lagoon Miami Airport before embarking on our seven-day Miami-Miami cruise. It's a last-minute thing to get away from cold Cleveland for at least a little while. This initial run of the trip is okay, but nothing special. These Floridians ought to do a better job of respecting nature and people's appreciation of it. For example, there should be pedestrian byways near the abundant shoreline areas. There isn't. But... at least it's warm.

And warmth is what we came for. 

Here's a rundown of one of my shipboard runs on the Oceania Insignia. It's not much different from my other shipboard runs for the week, or for that matter, other shipboard runs I've done on these types of ships in years past.

4:40 AM: I try to get coffee from the espresso machine in Horizons Lounge. The machine is out of order. This will not stand. I need my coffee. So I head over to the Terrace Cafe. That one works. I get two - I'll need them after all of last night's Italian food and wine.

4:55 AM: The laps have begun. It's 13 per mile, but less if you run a little way down each hallway, then turn around. This technique also enables one to do fewer laps per mile and to avoid turning the same way all the time. I also temper the turning problem by running clockwise early on, before anyone else shows up. When they do, I have to go with the flow: counter-clockwise all the time. But the stopping and turning are stupid.

5:55 AM: I've been getting a tiny bit faster with every mile. Perhaps the coffee is finally beginning to work. But the splits are still pretty slow. Now that it's nearing 6:00 AM, the fitness room will be opening up. I've been doing fine, but maybe a treadmill will feel better.

6:10 AM: Go better, it doesn't. The treadmill TVs barely work, and the sound through my headphones is even worse. I run less than a mile (a slow one) before going back outside.

6:20 AM: I'm back outside. And I'm running slower than ever. Now, there are more people about, so I have to be more careful about potential collisions. It's a little fun to terrorise the walkers, however. On a break between miles, I speak with a fellow runner.

7:30 AM: I am done. Done done, as we used to say in project management. 12.5 miles isn't bad, but it wasn't pretty today. I jump into the pool. Now that feels good.

After more running in circles, I finally get out into the world for a run in Cozumel. It's midday, and it's hot! The kind of hot that I am not used to. And I'm dealing with thousands (literally) of people coming off the Carnival Breeze. But it's only a couple of miles. Time for a jump in the pool and a beer.

All in all, it wasn't a bad trip with regard to running. I got my ten miles a day in, and some of that wasn't half bad. But dry land and friends are always better.

For more about this trip, check out the travel blog post.