Marathon

[khiemtran]

Today, my weekly "long" run finally topped 42 kms, which means I have now run my first ever marathon.

I left almost exactly at five am, which, thanks to daylight savings, got me to the seaside in Cronulla in time to catch a glorious sunrise...



The run along the esplanade was unusual quiet this morning, although there were plenty of photographers and surfers out.



And down at Elouera Beach, they were getting ready for a surf life saving carnival. Surf life saving is a competitive sport in Australia, with various events meant to test the skills required for actual rescues. You can see a surf boat heading out, apparently for a bit of practice. Not that anyone uses rowing boats for rescues anymore, of course, it's simply become a specialised sport now.



Going past the helipad at Wanda.



And then the now-familiar sand dunes...



Heading along Captain Cook Drive towards Kurnell. Not the most scenic route, but it does offer glimpses of the wetlands around Towra Point.



Captain Cook's Landing Place, the furthest point of my run. This is the spot where Cook and the Endeavour first landed on the Australian mainland.



An oil tanker on Botany Bay. The pipe on the left leads to the soon to be closed Caltex refinery.



Just behind the oil lies Bonna Point, where we sailed to on our sailing expedition earlier in the year. There's a cafe on the left appropriately named "Endeavour"...



Not many photos on the way back, but I did take this just before I got home. Five hours is pretty slow by marathon runner standards, but I took it pretty easy. Perhaps there should be a special biathlon for photography and running?

Comments

[carl-allery.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! First do the distance, then worry about the time. Great scenery and photos though.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's nice to know I can do the distance now. I've probably been aerobically fit enough for quite a while, but as I've been building up week by week, I've been encountering and knocking over all sorts of little niggles that appear over distance - blisters, chafing, muscle cramps etc. I was quite pleased that nothing really went wrong yesterday.

I might delete the stretch along Captain Cook Drive in future, as it doesn't feel safe with all the cars and cyclists and it's a bit long and boring.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

"I might delete"--our computer lingo transferred to outdoor life :-)

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The way the clouds curl above the sun in the sunrise shot....

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

It was a wonderful sunrise, although the effect only lasted for a minute or two. The sun was a classic golden orb.

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

A marathon for fun. Colour me impressed.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Most of it actually was fun, because I was taking it slowly and taking lots of photos. I'll concede that the last 10 kms wasn't quite as enjoyable...