230. The Bridge Run

The day of the Sydney Marathon actually had 4 races organised all beginning from Milson’s Point with staggered starts. There was the marathon, the half marathon, the Bridge run (9km) and the family fun run (4km). Isla was running the half marathon which had the crazily early start time of 6:20am while I didn’t have to be there for the Bridge run until 8:30am.

My plan was to try and drag my 100kg round the 9km in under an hour since the embarrassment that was the City to Surf saw me doing 14km in 1 hour 52 mins that was a dreadful 7.5km per hour. Ok, so I had cramp and had to pee because I drank too much before the race, etc, but this time I had a better idea of what to expect.

At 7:30am I jumped on the train having had one glass of water and a small piece of nougat. I took my time to stretch all my muscles and warm up properly then when the gun went to signal the start of the race I pressed play on the specially put together playlist appropriately named “speed running” and took off.

It was hard. As you know, I’m no runner. However, the route was beautiful and made up for my fitness level (or lack there of). The Harbour Bridge was closed to traffic for the whole morning as the initial section of all 4 races allowed participants the rarity of running over it. It’s a real privilege and something most Australians and Sydney siders alike never get the chance to do. When the 75th Anniversary Bridge Walk took place in March of this year 200,000 people turned up to walk over the historic structure which just goes to show how highly that opportunity is regarded so really this paragraph should have the sub-heading “230a. Walking (Running) over Sydney Harbour Bridge”.

After that the route headed down to towards Woolloomooloo (what a mental name) and then doubled back towards the Opera House where the finish line was. I had no cramps, no blisters, stopped once to grab some water and eat some energy gel, never walked and crossed the finish line in 59mins and 16seconds. I was so chuffed. Really think I’m getting the bug. Not for the running itself but for the thrill of the event and the challenge of reaching a goal. I realise that 9km per hour is slow but compared to the last race I was 1500m ahead of where I would have been a few months ago so a marked improvement.

The next plan is a 10km race in under an hour. We’ll see…

229. The Lindt Café

For the chocoholics out there this place is a must – the veritable centre of the chocolate universe. Isla and I have long been fans of the delicacies made by Lindt – in particularly we hold a special place for the chocolate balls they produce which we have nick named Angel Shits. So when we encountered this café which is run by the Lindt company we had to have a look.

If the queue outside (which was about 20 people long at 4pm) was not a good enough indicator of how wonderful the chocolate creations within the café were then the heavenly aroma and the drool at the feet of the waiting patrons surely was. Surprisingly rapidly we had a table and were soon scouring the menu. To be honest you could have just taken a pin and stuck it anywhere on the menu and it would be an excellent choice. We opted for two hot chocolates and a slice of chocolate cheese cake to share.

The drinks comprised of a jug of steamed milk and a small pot of rich warm liquid chocolate that you poured into the accompanying teacup. It was everything a hot chocolate should be but there was so much of it that I ended up refilling my cup 3 times. That left almost no room for the gastronomic cheese cake that followed. The slice was small but one bite made you realise why – it tasted like they’d taken 5 cheese cakes worth and condensed it into 1. The word rich just doesn’t cut it – perhaps luxuriant comes close.

Incidentally – almost everyone in there was fat!

228. The Argyll

I don’t think I’ve mentioned any bars that we’ve visited since we been here and in all honesty it’s not the sort of things that belongs in this challenge but this place deserves a mention, not just because of the name, but because it’s one of the coolest bars that I’ve ever been in.

From the street you walk through a set of massive burgundy coach-house style doors that open into a large courtyard with tables, high chairs and outdoor heaters. There are a couple of mobile bars in this area but the main bar is inside. The most fantastic designs have been employed to create a spectacular space that I can only describe as futuro-rustic (my own word!). There are large booths which are of the ilk of two sofas pushed together so you only option is to kick your shoes off and lounge out and relax on the abundance of cushions. There are regular tables and chairs also but they are aesthetically pleasing due to there chunky hand-fashioned nature.

The bar itself is miles long and the graphic stone masonry that faces the customer is beautiful and tactile. The selection of beers is extensive and world wide in its origin and the bar menu is not too bad either.

The unisex toilets are a weird but alluring and the gents urinals make you feel like you are peeing into one half of a 6 foot vertical clam shell.

Apparently there are 4 other floors but since we were there during the day those other areas were closed off. We’ve been sitting outside a bar near by on a Saturday and watched a steadily growing queue form outside the Argyll but we didn’t understand why until now. An awesome looking bar with a great vibe but relaxed attitude, so much so that we’ve decided to have our leaving do there. So if any of you are in the neighbourhood…

227. The Rocks Market

Rated one of the better markets in Sydney, the Rocks Market winds its way from Circular Quay through the narrow streets to finish up under Harbour Bridge under specially erected canvas covered stalls. I think the main reason this market comes across as being less scabby than the other ones that I’ve been it is that it’s a total tourist trap and as such has tons of council money sunk into it to make stylish and user friendly.

Although I’m not much of a market person this one was quite good fun. It still has the usual crap but the environment is so pleasant that it’s impossible not to enjoy it. We picked up a big bar of nougat (pistachio, cherry and cranberry flavour) which we munched while we inspected some genuinely interesting pieces like laurel chopping boards and eucalyptus wind chimes and smirked at some complete rubbish like crap kids toys that were probably decorated with lead based paint.

We stopped for a beer and the end of the market and for once I didn’t have the pent up stress that I normally develop from these things. For that reason alone I’d recommend it.

226. Baking

Even though it’s spring and I had the day off the weather failed me and by 10am the heavens opened and it stayed that way for the next few hours. I was watching Ready Steady Cook as something to do in the rain-induced boredom where some bloke was knocking up a loaf to go with the soup he was churning out and I thought to myself “I’ve never baked anything and that looks easy.”

20 minutes later I’d returned from the local supermarket and was kneading my first dough creation which was ambitiously mixed with sun dried tomatoes, oregano and parmesan. Ridiculously, it actually tasted quite good and I spent the rest of the day experimenting which resulted in cranberry scones, linseed and sunflower seed rolls and sun-dried tomato flat bread. It was awesome fun and most things tasted pretty good but the kitchen was destroyed with flour and dough. I think it’s going to take a few more attempts before I’ve at Jamie Oliver’s level.

225. Hypnosis

About ten years ago I was in Ibiza and I watched a stage hypnotist put a bunch of people under and the make them do the most amazing things. People were swearing but only allowed to say the word “banana” and there was folk acting like various animals and one girl was made to think she was a plank of wood and was suspended between 2 chairs while the hypnotist sat on her. Really quite incredible but the whole way through it I thought “if he looks at me I’ll be hypontised”. Thankfully he didn’t look at me and I wasn’t hypnotised.

Years later I worked with a surgical Registrar who did hypnosis and she said she was able to tell if people would be an easy subject or not. She took one look at me and said I would be a cinch. Now in all honesty that’s something that I already knew. Since I watched the guy in Ibiza do his stuff I knew that if I’d been on stage I’d have been clucking like a chicken and shouting “banana” at the top of my voice.

So… where am I going with this story? Well, I saw and advert for a hypnotherapy session and I was interested in giving it a bash. I’ll not going into the details of the theme but suffice it to say it was like having a private session with Paul McKenna. It was all… floaty and calming but I don’t know that it did any good. Certainly, I didn’t go to the gym straight after. Instead I went to Blockbusters and got 3 DVDs out which I spent the rest of the day watching. Still have two more sessions as part of the package but I’m pretty sure it’s just money down the tubes.