Fire

Another Friday night finish, this time knowing I have 3 days off. I leave 29.

I go home, feed, and return to the city with Lauren and meet Benny for a small Blues gig at the Oxford Art Factory. The highlight a Japanese Busker who played the blues; with broken Englishand slide guitar. Several beers and some interesting Aussie blues artists later , it was time to keep it sensible... It was going to be a tough, but enjoyable weekend.

I took it easy through Saturday, went to the driving range with Oren to get in some practice for an upcoming round of golf. An afternoon of tea and chatter followed before heading home for some dinner and then a Katherine Heigl movie at EastGardens movie theatre.

Sunday morning, I awoke, got dressed in light weight running gear and then hopped on a bus at 7.35am. Before I knew it, I was stood on College Street next to Hyde Park in amongst several thousand other people, dressed similarly to me. I plugged in my ipod and listened to random tunes whilst I waited for the inevitable shuffle. at about 9.15ish, we started to shuffle forwards. I ran across the electronic start line, and my tag clocked 0.01 on the computer, and I started running up William Street, the first turn of a 14km route from Sydney to Bondi Beach.

Bloc Party, Doves and Kasabian were helping me along the way... I was totally zoned in this time, and determined to make the entire 14km non-stop, including the 2km incline 'heartbreak hill'.

I made it, and past the 10km mark feeling pretty good. As I passed the 12km mark with Bondi Beach insight, I stepped up my rate, still having to skip past some of the other 84,999 people. On to Campbells Parade, I was sprinting, or something like sprinting, the slightest knock woulda sent me flying, but I held on, and managed to lock in a time of 73mins 44secs. I missed out on 10,000th place by a few hundred spots... old age definitely kicking in!

I returned back home to get showered and eat something before Lauren and I headed back out of Maroubra, and wound up in Clovelly rather than the packed out Bondi. I think I sank about 7 celebratory beers, and left, well, pretty well sozzled. I woke up at about 4am having already taken in 8hrs sleep and realised my legs were feeling about as responsive car on bricks.

A few hours of broken bad dream sleep later I awoke sober and happy. It was my birthday, an apparrant "big one". Lauren and I had the day off from work, so decided to recover from the comfort of home.

After some Breakfast, I was spoiled rotten with gifts. Some awesomely stylish cuff-links and a lensbaby for my camera (a type of the lens that allows for some trippy effects).

At this point, I was casting my mind ahead to the following weekend, and as such decided to go for another practice hit at the driving range, this time with Todd & Lauren. We blasted nearly 200 balls off the platform before retiring stress free on a

After I'd played about with my new toys, we headed out to North Sydney and got lunch at one of my favourite Thai restaurants (Stir Crazy) in Kiribilli, near Luna Park. We filled our bellies with some awesome meaty tastes and then let the food settle, before driving along the North Shore to Toronga Zoo to go visit the newest addition; my namesake (ish); Luk - an 8week old elephant.

When we initially arrived, he was asleep - though not like the snow leopards (I have yet to see a snow leopard even when zoo's report to have one, as they are always asleep). He was asleep standing up, using his trunk as a fifth leg; talented little blighter!

After checking out all the rest of the zoo had to offer, including an entertaining mating ritual courtesy of the giraffes we headed home and cooked a fresh Salmon dinner... awesome.

I return to work, 30.

A Certain Romance

A little luxury in my own back yard, Sydney, Australia

Work was over with for another week and another escape from the day to day monotany of work was due. This time, and quite unusually, the escape would come without getting away from the city physically. More so, just emgracing the city as a tourist destination rather than a place of work.

That evening I started out my drinks at a clients site, before heading out to a pub on Jones Bay Wharf with my work colleaugues. I split from there at 8 and went to meet friends, one fresh from a year in the UK, at the Ivy lounge on George St. There we sipped drinks in the VIP section for the evening before slipping home for the weekend ahead.

After some early house hunting in the morning, I took Lauren on a mystery drive which would wind up in the Rocks at Sydney. Once she thought I was hopelessly lost, in the city I spend 8-9 hours per day, I turned in to the valet parking driveway of the Shan Gri La 5* hotel and feigned to ask for directions. Of course I just handed over the keys and proceeded to check us in.

An afternoon of freakishly high temperatures so early in spring (30+) was a great way to sit 29 floors above sea level sipping Moet and watching everyone below scuttle around Circular Quay and the Opera House.

Evening time came and we dined Al Fresco with the Opera House over Laurens shoulders, and the Harbour Bridge over mine. A lovely setting for a feed - it was just too bad they let kids in there too :P After that we headed up to the Horizon bar - something I've been meaning to do for all of my two years in Sydney; and sipped on AWESOME cocktails (at a price!) overlooking the Sydney Westerly horizon.

The following morning, we ate Brekkie at the 'La before jumping on a packed out train to Milsons Point for the start of the Annual Sydney Running Festsival. We were hopelessly late for the event we'd signed up for but luckily we were able to slip into the 9km walk. So similar to last year, where I ran - this year I strolled along with my camera to take some nifty shots of the bridge from some rare vantage points (the usually busy roads!). The day was again lovely and warm and it made for an awesome stroll taking in all of Sydneys best loved cliched tourist spots; the Botanic gardens a highlight.

With the walk over, it was time for lunch, and a very late checkout at 4pm after yet more R&R. An awesomely relaxing weekender.

Keep on Runnin'

Sydney Running Festival 2007

*All photography on this post belongs to Warren Clarke Photography published on the official Bridge Run Website.

The past few weeks have been nice. Meals a plenty, nothing too stressful, and good weather returning, meaning several days at the beach sun baking... albeit in 22-26degree heat - regardless way better than the past few months.

Staying out of trouble I was half training for another organised race/run. This time it was the 9km Bridge Run starting at Milsons Point, shifting up and over the Harbour Bridge, across Circular Quay and then up and into the Botanical Gardens before returning back down Macquarie Street to a final finish on the Quayside.

Myself and Aaron managed to get up at 6am and to the start venue by 7.25am - pretty bad going since we could've stayed in bed some extra time, or stayed out a bit longer at the previous nights engagement party in Wooloomooloo. But hey, heroes we are and a race we were to run. So after Glen McGrath had started the family 5km run off, it was, an hour later, our turn.

Unlike City 2 Surf, this race was about me bettering a previous known time, rather than about extending a personal running boundary. I was aiming for 5minute KMs, considering my C2S ones were about 5mins 14seconds. I was going for the full distance in 45mins.

So the start pistol sent us all packing, and pretty soon we were jogging across the highlight of the run. The police had shut off the Harbour Bridge to Traffic and it was the one chance of the year to run across it. So a completely different perspective on one of the big tourist attractions I see and travel across day in day out - pretty amazing really. I remember being a little in awe of the steel girders rising above me in perfect symmetry.

2kms, all good

3kms, I was wishing it were 4

5kms, I was into the Botanical Gardens watching the race winners running the opposite direction past me - not the best thing for running morale!

8kms, Finally the home straight down Macquarie Street. I dug deep and upped my tempo down hill to the Quay - only to find out what I'd thought was the finish line wasn't... and I still had the length of East Circular Quay to run to the finish line. Luckily the power of the people stepped in to help me out. A real roar of encouragement, and I found not just a 2nd wind, but a hurricane. I sprinted down those last couple of hundred metres feeling almost floaty light. The shouting crowds making me feel like I was finishing the Olympics rather than a Sunday morning Running Festival. One last lunge and I was across the line and virtually motionless other than my rapidly expanding/exhaling chest. I looked over my shoulder at the clock and noticed I'd not only cracked my target of 45mins but also cracked 42minutes - official time 41minutes 22seconds. 462nd place. Stoked Fon.