Brisbane Kangaroo Point oh-bloody-pain run

Is it that time again?

OH YES IT IS!

Run time!!

This evening, I took my Garmin out on the Brissy town.

When we first got to Brisbane, I was amazed by how many walking/running/biking trails there were all over the city.

They even made 3 specific paths for a shorter run (red, 3.39 km), a longer one (blue, 6.47 km), and the longest (green, 8 km).

In my non-running condition, I decided to do none of these. Just go as far as I could along the river to Kangaroo Point.

The running path seemed awesome when I first started.

Designated pathway for bikes vs. runners.

Beautiful river to the left, arbour pathway to the right.

Eventually the cliffs appeared to my right. Lots of local rock-climbing groups use these cliffs as practice. You can sort of see two people standing at the top. I think they climbed up there. Or they're climbing down. Not really sure. 

In any case, they're definitely having more fun that I was, fighting the wind today!

These Brisbane-ers are really healthy. 

The paths were busy with runners/walkers and I saw plenty of this along the way--outdoor boot camps! These guys were kicking and punching on a giant chessboard (I think?) in front of Kangaroo Cliffs. 

This was the view from the Kangaroo Cliffs looking out at Brisbane River. Awesome sunset that my crappy iPhone didn't really get. Sorry! 

By the time I was running home, I could really feel my knees and the blisters on my feet. I'm in no running form, and the hard concrete path didn't help either. 

My sad, sad stats: 

27.24 minutes

2.77 miles

9:53 min/mile average

Not exactly a stellar run, but every run counts, even the sad ones, right? 

Santa surfing

This is how Santa travels in Australia--rally up the dolphins and surfboard his way around the continent.

Walking isn't cardio, Steven

Steven and I spent this past weekend at Surfers Paradise (yes, they don't have very good grammar sometimes here Down Under). 

One of my heart challenges from my sister was to jog 5K up a mountain, 5K on a beach, 5K in a desert and 5K in a city. 

Well, there was plenty of beach at Surfers Paradise! 

My stats: 

21:51

2.18 miles or 3.5 KM

10:02 min/ mile

The verdict: 

Running on sand is bloody PAINFUL. 

My feet, toes, calves, ankles, front of shins, back of shins, insides of shins... everything HURT for days after my run. My feet still feel sore and stiff! 

This is not the work of 2.18 miles... it feels worse than 10K, and it's all because of the shifty sand underfoot. It doesn't help that I run barefoot either! 

Later, Steven and I were on the bus and this happened:

Steven: "I feel like we got a good cardio workout in with all our walking."

(We walked from Surfers Paradise to Broadbeach, just in case you wanted to stalk me with Google Maps or something creepy/sweet like that.)

Sandy: "Walking isn't cardio, Steven."

Steven: LOL "The look on your face when you said that. Let's recreate it and take a picture so you can blog about how silly I am."

That's a totally true conversation absolutely word-for-word it really is.

Later, back in Surfers Paradise, we found Yoghurt City, a self-serve yogurt bar like Menchies or Yogurty's back home.

Unfortunately, the people in the joint never heard of mochi balls.

Aussie-land, YOU MUST LEARN ABOUT THE MAGICAL DELICIOUSNESS OF MOCHI.

YOU MUST!

We got an assortment of fruits and candies and dried banana pieces, which was really all that appealed to us out of their small selection of toppings.

The yogurt (we got a mix of passionfruit and green apple) lost its taste once we added the fruits and banana. This is where Menchies is the KING! Their yogurt manages to stay tasty and tart through the toppings.

Steven rates Yoghurt City 2 and 1/2 kangaroo kicks out of 5.

Don't kick kangaroos. Stay in school.

Byron Bay Lighthouse hike

Last week, Steven and I visited a suburb near Byron Bay, a popular surf/vacation/resot town. 

One of the highlights of our trip was the Byron Bay lighthouse hike. 

The views were so jaw-dropping that our jaws literally dropped and we had to pick them back up, dust them off, and surgically sew them back into our faces.

To get to the lighthouse, we took a 20 minute bike ride.

So, you see, we started off already tired.

The winding, little residential streets took a steep uphill at some points, so we got off our bikes and walked it (don't judge me, it was a HUGE hill!). 

At the start of the walk (and throughout), we got lots of signs and notes.

Already, from the height of the start of the trail, you can look down and see the entire Byron Bay.

Water dragon alert!

 There were a LOT of steps! Great cardio workout. There were even people running this loop. Our host calls this path their local gym.

The trail reaches the most easterly point of the Australian mainland. Sorry for the face...sun in eye. I was also worried about losing the sun, and having to bike home in the dark.

Which we did.

Scary.

This was definitely one of the most beautiful hikes I've ever done.

The lighthouse is by FAR the most beautiful lighthouse either Steven or I have seen. Very well kept, pristine, beautiful lands and structure. A really amazing hike.

I put on my Garmin so my sister could Garmin-Connect-stalk me. Here are the stats:

Bike to lighthouse walk:
23 min
3.38 miles

Hike:
51:16 min
2.19 miles

Bike home:
16:59 min
2.51 miles
(because we walked into town for dinner, and biked from there)

Marvellous Creations!

Jelly beans and crunchie wafer bits covered in milk chocolate.

Weird and delicious!

Australia, you are awesome.

Kangaroo hunting

Steven and I are staying at a private home here in Byron Bay. The host family has an apartment attached to their house with it's own entrance, kitchen and bathroom.

Not only is it AWESOMESAUCE, but the family is awesomesauce as well.

We chatted late afternoon yesterday about how Steven and I haven't ever seen a wallaby, roo, or really anything yet.

So the family offered to take us for a little drive into roo country (a big park, really).

"Is that a tree stump in the distance?"

"No, it's moving!"

"It's a kangaroo!"

They never let us got close enough to feed them or anything (after all, this wasn't a zoo. We literally walked around a park). This one here stood in the sunlight all James Bond-like staring at the Canadians approach.

They hopped away once we got too close. It was hilarious! But also marvelous! It's so cool that these animals HOP to get away from things that could possibly hurt them. WONDERFUL IDEA, EVOLUTION!

There it is! That's a roo!

After our Roo Sightings, we walked over to the local golf club and had dinner at The Deck, a nice little eatery.

It was curry night, so we both had a nice curry with rice, yoghurt sauce, crispy chip-like things, and NOT HOMEMADE NA'AN! Oh, sister, I miss you (and your GAH-mazing baking skills) so much.

I ordered chips with aoili (French Fries with flavoured mayo, for all you Canadians) on the side because I'm a Chip-a-holic and gosh-golly-gee these were AMAZING. Are the potatoes here yummier or something?! Mmmm!

Today, we did a big beautiful hike that I'll post about later! The photos are so amazing you'll have to hold onto your socks. Or maybe take them off completely. Or whatever you're into with socks. I accept you. Cool.

The right way to do breakfast

After a home practice (those back bends HURT) and a quick shower. 

Breakfast at 9 AM, while your boyfriend is still sleeping....