A Nice Ladylike Jogette.

 Today's trail run seemed a really good idea. A nice 10 km. ladylike jogette around Lake Bullen Merri. No stress, no pain and it certainly looked inviting from the lookout .

It started off a bit tricky with all these  small volcanic rocks scattered everywhere. This lake is in an extinct volcanic crater and as there were so many rocks, some concealed under the grasses,  it made running quite dangerous.
There were also lots of cows grazing in the area and so there were plenty of cow poo's to be had. The scenery around the lake was truly spectacular, so it was nice to walk and enjoy it.

As we made our way around the lake the grasses became long and prickly. And as there has been a lot of rain just lately is got muddier and muddier. I tried to dodge a large area of mud and ended up getting into the worst mess of my life. I sank up to above my ankles and when I tried to lift my foot, my runners stayed firmly bogged. The mud was very thick and black and I'm thinking that there was a generous amount of cow poop in it. It took me some time to get out of this mess and I can tell you that the end result was less than ladylike.

 

 This trail eventually became quite irritating as there were no discernible trails to be found and the local farmers kindly had barbed wire or electric fences going right down to the lake. As the walk is a tourist attraction I can only think that the farmers were making it as difficult as possible to discourage runners. In some places we had to wade through the icy water to get around fences which we couldn't climb over.
Despite all of this the walk was enjoyable and I'm glad we persisted with it and didn't give up.


When we finished I was in such a mess that I had to take a small dip in the water and it was FREEZING.

 Thankyou for visiting my blog,
Cheers Karen and the Chubby Hubby.

How good can a trail run be ?

This run is truly trail running Nirvana. The scenery is absolutely spectacular and apart from an initial steep climb to the trail up some steps it remains mostly undulating. This run is a small section of the Great South Western Trail Walk, starting in this section at Cape Bridgewater just out of Portland in Victoria.

  

My only complaint with this run is that the views become more fabulous the further you go. It's oh so tempting to keep saying , just a couple more kilometers and then  forget that you need to turn around and run back.

 

Even I can get a bit of speed up on this easy trail.

 

 

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 The Chubby Hubby wanted this photo of his very self included because he thinks he looks like George Cloony here. Nuff said !!

 Moi living dangerously !

 A lovely gentle run up this hill and you are rewarded with more fabulousness .

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This beautiful coastline goes on and on . See why it is impossible to stop running ?

We ended up running for about 3 hours on this trail , the only reason for stopping was because we were running out of daylight and it was starting to get extremely cold.

We plan to return here in a couple of days and start running again further up the trail . This trail is over 300 km. long so there is tons to see.

Thankyou for visiting my blog,

Cheers Karen and the Chubby Hubby.

Griffiths Island Run.

The Chubby Hubby and Moi were still quite sore from yesterday's epic bike ride and so our trail run today was just a cheeky little 8km. run around Griffiths Island at Port Fairy.

 

The run starts here on this causeway which leads you out to the island. At the end of the causeway you step out onto the island which is very exposed. Next  landfall is the Antartcica.

 

The island is quite rugged in places with lots of beach rocks to climb over. The Antarctic winds were freezing.

 

The run then takes you across a small beach on the island. Soft sand ; a trails runners nightmare.

This is my fave bit, the Light House. I've always been fascinated with Light Houses and would love to live in one. The Chubby Hubby ran well despite having a sore butt from our bike ride.

 

I just couldn't resist jogging by the Light House. 


Thanks for visiting my blog,
Cheers Karen and the Chubby Hubby.

 

Cycling is a Blood Sport.

The idea I thought was a good one. The Chubby Hubby reluctantly packed our bikes to bring away on holiday with us. It took quite a lot of skillful negotiation on my part to get him to agree to this. The excuses from him were plentiful.
- What, exercise on holiday ?
- Isn't it enough that you'll make me run ?
- How will I have time to visit the bakeries ?

Anyhow, the Port Fairy Council has constructed a bikeway from Port Fairy along an old railway easement to Warrnambool 37 km. away.
Now I was quite keen to do the full 37km. with a return trip of 74km. Luckily the Chubby Hubby is the more cautious of the two of us and suggested we just cycle as far as Koroit 19km., lunch at the bakery and then return to Port Fairy.

The first 2km. was bitumen track and made for very easy cycling. After that the trail becomes impacted gravel or dirt. We have never cycled on trails before and it was honestly very hard on the legs. They have had a lot of rain in this area just recently and so the dirt trail was very soft and quite muddy in places. It took a lot of effort on the legs to pedal through this. Plus we had a very strong head wind blowing on us all the way.

 

All the surrounding farmland was flooded with water.

This is usually just a very small creek.

 

The Chubby Hubby taking Bot Rot rest number one.

 

It was a really beautiful cycling track and we both really enjoyed it .

Moi taking Bot Rot rest number two.

 

Water, water everywhere !

 

After 2 hours we finally staggered into Koroit, with the Chubby Hubby quickly locating the bakery. As he ate his pasty and cake he declared that was the toughest thing he had ever done. Too bad we had the return 19 km. to go.
Those of  you who frequently visit my blog will know that I can not be relied upon to stay upright on my bike. Well the inevitable happened with only about 2 km. to go. But did my Knight in shining armour come to my aid ? Oh No ! Out came the camera to record my indignity. He thought it was my just deserts for the suffering I had just inflicted on him.

Thanks for visiting my blog,
Cheers Karen and the Chubby Hubby.

God's Fave Run.

The Chubby Hubby and I are staying at Port fairy for a couple of weeks. Port fairy is in Victoria, one of the southern states of Australia. We have traveled overseas many times but this remains one of our all time favorite destinations. The Chubby Hubby loves anything to do with the sea and fishing, and I love all the trail runs here.

This small 10 km. run has got to be one of the prettiest anywhere. The above photo shows the beginning of the run and goes along the boardwalk at Port Fairy for about 1km. On many of the days the wharf is full of yachts and large fishing vessels.
 

 

The run then winds it's way past the boardwalk and along a quiet coastal road until it meets a seawall which was built in the 18th century when Port fairy was a thriving port for ships going to Melbourne.

 

The causeway is quite long and wide enough to run at a good pace without going over the side. The water here is quite sheltered as the causeway separates the ocean from the Moyne River which runs into the sea here.

 

On the far upper left of this photo you can just see the causeway leading out into the sea, and this is where this run takes me.

 

Looking back along the causeway you can see it is very eroded by the waves splashing over and so Miss Clumsy here has to watch her step. You also often have to dodge waves splashing over.

 

The Chubby Hubby doing what he does best when I finally dragged him to the end. He was quite happy to tell any walkers how cruel I am to make him run.

 

Here's me quietly enjoying the wind and cold and ready to run back.

Thankyou for visiting my blog,

Cheers Karen and The Chubby Hubby.

 

Botanic Park Loop.

Last Sunday Twisted Sister Tracy and Moi competed in the Botanic Park Loop event here in Adelaide.
This event has three different distances to choose from; these being 5km., 10km., and the 25 km distance. These shorter distances are very popular with folk new to running whilst the 25km. is seen as a training run for the upcoming Adelaide Marathon.
The route is a 5km. loop around the parklands of Adelaide and it is a very pretty track. Tracy and I entered the 25 km. distance which meant of course 5 laps in total. I actually don't mind lap running and prefer it to an out and back long distance course.

 

 Dear friends John and Bette were the race organisers for this event and they did a brilliant job. The running course was well marked and there were plenty of race marshalls out on the track to offer support. All the competitors were cheerful and friendly and everyone was out just to have a good time.

This is Tracy and I at the 15 km. mark, still feeling great and maintaining at a steady pace of 6km. an hour. We are running with a lovely man called Euan, who at 75 is one of the veterans from our Running Club. Tracy and I have run with him a couple of times and he is a lovely man. He entertains us with all the gossip from the club. If Euan doesn't know it then it's not worth knowing. Who said that it's only girls who gossip ? He still runs marathons and embarrassingly still beats Tracy and I to the finish line.

At 21 km. our pace had started to slow and we're not smiling quite so much. I was experiencing some hamstring pain here. Tracy and I are both mainly trail runners and so we find it quite hard on the body to run on the roads. Trails runs are traditionally much longer distances but personally I find they don't cause any where near as much discomfort.

This is Tracy, Euan and I at the finish line, and yes he shot off with 50 metres to go and crossed the line before us. Most competitors chose to do the 5 or 10 km. distances and only 59 folk did the full 25 km.
Unfortunately my usual running buddies at the back of the pack did not compete and so that left me to carry the Tortoise flag all by myself.

My overall position for the 25 km was 59. I was the 15th female and first in my age group. Time, a less than brilliant 2:53:05. However this was a fun run to do and I would recommend it to all SARRC members. Do not be put off by running loops. 


Happy Running,
Cheers Karen.