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.
That was the ongoing joke when we made last minute plans to escape to the town of Orange over the long Labour day weekend in early October. Emma and Morgan couldn't stop laughing hysterically over the idea that we were going to a town called Orange. Orange is about 3.5 hours northwest of Sydney. While Orange and the surrounding region is well known for its food and wine, oranges are not grown there, but rather apples more predominantly. I guess the same person that appropriately named the nearby gold mining town called Lucknow did not name Orange.
But really we were all excited to getaway for a few days with some good friends and explore a region we haven't seen much of. While multiple times we thought we probably should have cancelled the trip between over half the family being sick just prior to leaving, to the car breaking down on the side of the road, we still managed to have a pretty great weekend away. And used it as an appropriate time to recount terrible travel tales with our friends.
We arrived late on Friday night. It's one of my favourite ways to travel. You wake up the next morning to the sunrise unsure of your exact surroundings. But then, on the good trips, you find them to be better than anticipated. While most accommodations were already booked 10 days out when we made our booking, I think we did alright by finding the Turner Vineyard Motel which sits perched atop rolling hills covered with vineyards. And when you're in Australia it gets even better and you wake up to kangaroos hopping through the vineyards.
We also woke up to some beautiful smiling faces.
It was a good thing our Saturday schedule was packed full (before the car broke down on Sunday). We explored the neighboring heritage-listed village of Millthorpe, which had a main street lined with antique and boutique shops. A pre-lunch stop at Heifer Station Vineyard was the perfect choice to make both adults and kids happy complete with a petting zoo, sand pit and plenty of area for the kids to explore while adults do, well what adults do at a vineyard.
Cute little entry "gate" to Millthorpe, proud to say a friend's dad helped build this!
First signs of spring
Who knew a 50 cent purchase could make someone so happy!
All the kids.
I need the designer of Heifer Station Wines to come to my house.
The weekend crew (minus me).
Freshly sheared!
Charley kept putting herself in with the chickens.
Morgan doing what she does best, making herself happy.
My favourite sign on the trip!
We have our friends to thank for making sure pretty much everything was planned and really we just tagged along. Most importantly they made sure we had good food stops. Lunch on Saturday was at the Agrestic Grocer before we headed into the actual town of Orange to explore with stops at a nostalgic milk bar (for my American fans think milkshakes & candy shoppe) and small art gallery. We made pit stops to prepare for the picnic we were planning to have on Sunday and dinner at the hotel with kids while our friends headed out for dinner.
As alluded to unfortunately Sunday didn't quite go according to plan as we planned to daytrip to the town of Dubbo (still about 1.5 hours away from Orange) to go to the zoo. We made it about 20 minutes before the car broke down. Much to our surprise the girls handled it shockingly well. I guess when you have ipads in hand whether the car is moving or not, it doesn't much matter and the idea of missing the zoo in 37 degree celsius heat wasn't totally terrible. And Charley thought sitting in the front seat pressing all the buttons on the car was great while batting away all of the flies that are a sure sign of spring in Australia. Thanks to NRMA, the tow truck driver (who was somehow related to the mechanic - remember small country town), the taxi driver, the Hertz rent a car man (that didn't have a rental car to "fit" all of us), a hotel receptionist who took pity and gave us a bottle of wine while we twirled our thumbs at the hotel, and the nice mechanic who came in on a Sunday (as we were doomed to be stuck if he didn't as Monday was a public holiday) we managed to get the car semi-repaired and back to us by mid-afternoon.
Happy as clams in a broken down car.
A picnic outside our hotel room really wasn't too bad.
All smiles before she ran through the grass and stepped on a bindi weed.
We made a quick stop at the Orange Adventure Park before meeting back up with our friends (who had visited relatives for the day instead of going to the zoo) at beautiful Nashdale Lane Wines. It felt like the whole day wasn't a total waste as we relished in the extra sunshine that comes with the first day of daylight savings time and stopped by Lake Canobolas as well before heading to a pub to catch the "grand final" NRL game that was kind of a big deal to most of Sydney.
A quick lesson in chess.
Charley packs the love on Morgan when she catches her snoozing.
Nashdale Lane Wines. So simple. So good.
Future wine connoisseur.
Kids play area at the pub on steroids. A recipe for kids to run reckless while parents drink.
The weekend went too quick by the time we headed back Monday mid-morning. On the recommendation of our friends we had to make one last stop at the Racine Bakery for some amazing pastries before getting on the road and saying a quick prayer that our car would make it back to Sydney. Thankfully it did just that.
Racine Bakery delights.
Happy souls.
Telling jokes seemed to be a theme for our trip.
Country New South Wales surprised me. It still feels a little anti-Australian to not have a beach, but I'm starting to understand there are some pretty great areas of Australia that don't rely on iconic stretches of coastline and beaches. Unfortunately because its not on the coast this area of Australia could really use some water right now, so keep it in your prayers.
Now I better start asking our friends when and where they are planning the next trip for us.
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.
