A year ago I ran with people, this year I run away from them.

Just when this "new normal" is starting to feel a little more like "normal" I am bombarded by reminders that it is anything except that. This week the Aldi cashier told me that (I'm pretty sure) not me, but my groceries were too close to the person's groceries in front of me, our downstairs neighbours are starting to loose some patience with increased noise from my children, and I was reminded that a year ago I ran a marathon WITH other people opposed to my current swerve at all expenses running strategy.

I read the articles and some of the online chatter that say people should stop running during this time, they should become more considerate like cyclists, and they need to stop pushing walkers aside while muttering profanities and flinging sweat on others around (I can guarantee you I'm not doing this nor have I witnessed this happen). Can't we all just show a little kindness and consideration for one another and do our best while we work together? I need to keep running for my sanity, I'm just hoping I don't need to resort to 4 am to avoid death stares while I seek out the least utilized routes.

Because after all, this was the year I was hoping to run my 20th marathon with, get this, other people. Silly me, 2020 sounded like a good year to do just that. So as likely options keep getting wiped from the calendar, I'll in the meantime relive what a great weekend away in Canberra we had last year when I ran #19.


We decided Canberra would be a good place to run a marathon and for a weekend away since we had done little more than use the city as a rest stop for other trips since we first moved here. It was also touted as a flat and fast race course, and while the flat part was pretty accurate, only the first half of the course was pretty fast for me. But I'm getting old, marathons seem like a lot more effort than they used to be, and well the end time isn't quite as important as it used to be. I actually don't even remember my exact time now a year later, which says that it's really not that important to me anymore, or it was really that bad that I just wiped it from my memory.

Aside from my 42.2 km run on Sunday, Emma got to run a 1 km kids dash during my run. There was gorgeous crisp autumn air the entire weekend, actual colour changing leaves, massive wide roads with plenty of parking and orderly streets. None of these things really exist in Sydney, but do in midwest America, which is why I realized I felt so at home in Canberra. After the couple hour drive Friday evening and late arrival we enjoyed a leisurely brunch Saturday morning outside of the National Library of Australia followed by an entire afternoon of fun for the kids at Questacon.

Emma was so excited to be at the National Library!

Brunch bliss

Her choice of face paint at the marathon expo gave me a fright!

So much fun for everyone at Questacon, reminded us so much of the Magic House back in St. Louis

Charley really had no hair a year ago!

Post marathon on Sunday we gorged ourselves at the incredible Patissez (while I was sadly reminded of my inability to consume much food after a run and let my kids enjoy the bulk of the sugar-loaded milkshakes). We also tried to Aussie-educate ourselves by visiting the Parliament House (aka The Capitol of Australia). Since they were not in session we could easily meander our way around most of the inside and outside of the building and even literally "roll down" the grassy lawns. It is known both for its interesting architecture and openness to the public. No required guided tour, booked appointment time, entry fee, and relatively minimal security.

I always love my "good-looking" running shots.

Yum!

Outside of Parliament House

The marble foyer

I don't think they were impressed in the House of Representatives Chamber

On the roof reminded me of the Louvre

Beautiful views all around of Canberra from the gardens

I think my husband needed a nap after his exhausting morning of solo parenting these three

I'm not sure if rolling down the lawn is a thing to do at the US Capitol... only in Australia. 

There were so many more things we could have done with the kids in Canberra, its full of museums and history and could certainly warrant another trip in the future. However, it did feel like the most non-Australian city there could possibly be, no beach, no red dirt.

Looking back on our primary motivation for the trip to Canberra, I ran a great first half of the marathon, but would have loved to just have stopped and given up for the second half of the race. I'll give myself the excuse that I still had a baby not sleeping through the night, I had just walked a 60 km race with friends almost exactly a month earlier, so let's just say my training and prep was a little atypical. I swore off running another marathon a number of times while I was running, but now I'm sitting here anxiously wishing I could put another one on the calendar to train for. Hopefully one day, sooner rather than later, when this "new normal" becomes the "old normal," my body will still feel up for the challenge and I'll have my cheerleaders both to motivate me on race day and to keep me seeking this form of early morning me time training. And for now I'm going to keep holding out on finding some normal in 2020 and finding a way to run #20.