Sabbatical X - Brizzy and Breaking Two

Saturday June 1 – A day to see a little bit of downtown Brisbane.  My priority was to hit the race expo on the way to the South Bank of the Brisbane River, which has been redeveloped into parkland and a museum/art complex.  I’d also be following the route to the start of tomorrow’s half marathon.

The Expo was at the finish line, in the Brisbane Botanical Gardens.  Got my bib, visor, and race shirt.  They all feature golden arches as McDonalds Charities are the main event sponsor.  There is something vaguely ironic about this. 

Across the Goodwill Footbridge to the South Bank.  Brisbane is clearly an outdoor, warm city.  Lots of drinking fountains, lots of shaded walkways between the cafes.  More evidence: a massive archway of purple bougainvillea weaved past the large beach/pool complex:

My first stop was the Queensland Art Gallery, which was exhibiting an array of Australian art.  Nice space:

As a sign said, art has been made in Australia for at least 28,000 years, most of that time by Aboriginals.  I’ve always liked Aboriginal Art, which I first saw in Perth in 1985.  It communicates place and feeling in a way that directly reflects place of origin.  It’s evolved over the years, as new techniques and methods have been adopted by newer generations.  But the cultural roots remain strong.  A few examples, with their interpretive signage:

I have always liked Rover Thomas:

On to the Gallery of Modern Art.  A modern building:

I immediately liked this place.  The curators defined “modern” as art made recently, be it abstract or traditional.  Further, they exhibited works from the region: Australia, Bougainville, Indonesia, Taiwan, Kiribati, Okinawa, and Micronesia.  Here are a few examples of what I enjoyed:

 

I returned to Brisbane’s CBD on the Tank Street footbridge and made my way back to my Airbnb.  The CBD is a giant mall.  It was overrun with people.  There’s a fair bit of diversity here; European, Asian, Polynesian, Aboriginal, African, Middle eastern.  I was not observing very carefully, but I sensed less mixing than I’d seen in Auckland.  That said, the dance troupe performing on the mall was pretty broad spectrum.  I didn’t need any stuff, so having gotten lost a few times, I finally made it home.

To eat, to prep for the race.

Sunday June 2 – Brisbane Half Marathon

- Up at 4:45am for the 6am start.

- Whoa, it’s 63 F, 10 degrees warmer than predicted.  Rain still in forecast.

- Ablutions, dress, bananas and coffee.

- Head to start line.  I knew vaguely where it was and figured I would follow other runners. 

- Through the Botanical Gardens, across the Goodwill Footbridge, to Colridge Street in the midst of the TAFE campus.

- Wait.  Restroom.  Dynamic stretches.  At 5:36, drizzle starts.  Venue:

- Line up.  2500 half, 500 full marathon runners.  Drizzle stops at 5:59.

- Off along dark and narrow streets, surrounded by a mass of moving people.  This freaked me out a bit, it felt too closed in.  Bad start, but nothing to do but keep running and sort it out.  I did.

- Hills.  Bugger, I forgot that the elevation profile was in meters.  I know how to run hills, so just proceed.  I took my one picture along here somewhere:

- Course opens up as we run at the foot of Kangaroo Cliffs.  Coffee cafes are also opening up.  Another quiet race.  Sunny, so much for rain.  Fast, I am passed a lot.  Well done.

- Across the Story Bridge.  This was celebrated in the pre-race warm up.  First time.  It means another hill.  As I climb, the half marathon leader passes me going the other way.  He’s at least 4 minutes ahead of everyone else.  Trail of sparks.

- A 180, back over the bridge and a few more hills, seems flatter.  I’m feeling the effort a bit, right quad and of course left knee region.

- Past TAFE and up the South Bank Boardwalk, where I went yesterday.  The arts complex is a blur, course narrower now.

- Around a meander bend into South Brisbane.  I am well past half way, so I decide to keep the pace up.  See what happens.  Generally tired, but so what.  The race will be over at some point.

- Another 180.  This is first race unconservative race, where I am running with effort as opposed to be cautious for recovery purposes.  Feels OK.  This is good, as a lot of people speed up in the final 3 km, and I can almost respond.

- A final damn climb over the footbridge.  Finish Line.  Watch time: 1:59:46.  I’ll take it for half marathon # 50:

- Stretch.  Get my medal, towel (it’s horrid) and gear bag.  It’s still sunny.  Listen to the awards ceremony and stretch more. 

- 9:30 am, return to apartment, ablutions, a lot of food, nap, and gear sort for tomorrow’s flight to Darwin. 

Tomorrow - I meet Paul and Paul for our traverse of the Kimberley Region.  Outback, finally.  This means fewer and rarer words and pictures from me for a while.  I have no idea what the internet situation is up there.  I will no doubt gather impressions and share them when I get to Perth in mid-June.