Sydney: My First 24.

I landed early and made my way to my rented room- the one in the Victorian-era house with three comedians living there. I will say this, they forewarned me it was a bit dilapidated. And the dilapidation I could handle. This place is very Dickinsonian but, on top of that, these boys are some piggies. I'd planned to stay a few more days in Sydney than the five I'd booked here, and I'd prefer to stay in one spot but I think five days in this house will be ample. Let's just hope my immune system holds out.

But I digress. So I checked in, got cleaned up and ventured off on foot. I walked all of the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) and then some yesterday. And, man oh man, is this town pricey. But the folks are nice! I finished up with some olives and wine at a neighborhood wine bar, with a stop into the Dr. Seuss Art Gallery (only two in the world!) where the very nice salesman, Fuzz, recommended a run through the Botanical Gardens and around the Opera House once he heard I liked to run. So this morning that's just what I did. It came out to 6.6 miles- further than I've been running but city running, garden running, and zooming around the Opera House made it a damn fine run.

My run route. I'm staying in Paddington (search for my body there) and the tippy top of this route is the Sydney Opera House.

Runnin' and Runnin'

A run in NYC today.

First, my route.....it came out to be 3.72 miles (thank you GoogleEarth).

Second, some observations...

-My first mile came in at six and a half minutes. While I'm an optimist, this was a clear sign that my Garmin 405 was having a difficult time acquiring satellites with the buildings.

-Running in the city is very very similar to trail running: some starts/stops, side-to-sides, fast then slow. Nothing at all like my normal runs.

-Central Park is surprisingly hilly. This made me sad thinking about all the level city around it. 

-I thought Central Park did not have vehicle traffic. This is not true.

-It's easier to run here than it is at 6700 feet (ahem, Wyoming).