Week Nine - On the Road

Well, I'm not going to lie to you...I haven't exactly lived up to the promise I made in my last post to run every day. In fact I've only gone for two runs all week. Much of this can be blamed on the road.

In the past week I have travelled from Melbourne to Alice Springs via Broken Hill and the Oodnadatta Track. However, the pledge to circle Uluru still stands and I'm heading there tomorrow.

Yes, it can be a lethargic life on the road, and the food does not help much either. In Melbourne I have a diet that consists largely of living foods, no bread, no red meat, and red wine over beer. On the road it's piles of chips, veggie burgers, beers galore, fried fish, and even a plate of Australian animals. That was the 'Feral Mixed Grill' at the Prairie Hotel in Parachilna, which I highly recommend visiting if you're in the area.

Frosty morn in Peterborough. Note the gloves.

I'm on my way up to Darwin and back for a holiday, and this is my first time in the Northern Territory. Seriously beautiful country thus far. Yesterday I found myself at the Camel Cup in Alice Springs. No gambling there, just fun times and laughter. I'm not really sure who won the cup as each race was a bit of mayhem, with riders falling to the ground and more than one camel running the wrong way around the track. A truly novel experience.

The first time I managed to squeeze in a run amongst all this travelling was at Peterborough in South Australia. We had pulled in for the night around dusk and checked into the local pub. I was determined to make the time to run as the fish, chips, and beer lay heavy in my stomach. The next morning I stepped outside to weather that was literally freezing. The car was covered in a fine layer of ice, as were our mountain bikes. But it would take more than an icy morning to stop me and I was off for a lap of the town, which it turns out is only about 7km in circumference.

Sweating it out through Alice.

The second run was only this morning in Alice. After the extravagances of festival food at the Camel Cup and a night out on the town, it was time to pay my dues. I dragged The Boyfriend from his cosy cocoon of bed and together we ran up the dry Todd River. The riverbed is mostly fine sand, so it was tough going as we ran along the actual river at the start. Then we located a path that goes alongside and followed it all the way into town.

It's always fascinating to be out for a run in the early hours of a Sunday. Most people we passed were heading home, bleary eyed. Although I can't say we looked much better all red-faced and puffing. Even in the morning the sun here is balmy warm and it was something to contend with after my Melbourne winter days and the frost of Peterborough. I still prefer cool days over the heat when it comes to running.

So here are my times for my two runs this week and stay tuned for the results of my Uluru run and more travelling adventures!

Wed- Peterborough: 6.49km in 55:33 at 8:33min/km
Sun- Alice Springs: 6.81km in 57:36 at 8:28min/km