Having never run 20km before, I finished the run this morning with high fives to my running partners and a festive sense of self-satisfaction over breakfast. It is with growing realisation that my state of mind will be as significant as my physical preparation for tackling the marathon in November. It’s remarkable how the objections from the body shift and change over the course of a longer run.
The last day of autumn gave no hint of winter around the corner. The Husband assisted in setting our course. He also calculated our estimated time of our arrival to the café, based on averages to date. He handicapped his starting time by 20min with the intent of us all arriving together for breakfast. This plan was to everyone’s benefit, with we three left in peace to catch up on the weeks’ news free of his ripostes (from the front) about “more running less talking.”
We followed our familiar Highgate hilly start from home to Southbank, past the GOMA and across the Go Between Bridge to join up with the Coronation Drive pedestrian path towards Toowong. It was great to find the entire path is now re-opened following the reconstruction of the Regatta river cat terminal. It may have been the pleasant conditions and excellent conversation but what used to be a long drudge along Coronation Drive, ten weeks ago, seemed to pass by without much effort. We continued along Gailey Road, passing the old Little Athletics oval at Perrin Park, with me partaking in a little reminiscence of many a pleasant afternoon spent cheering and helping out at the finish line at Toowong Little Athletics. Caitlyn fought off the urge to detour and try the old triple jump pit. Instead we made our way steadily to the top of the hill at Hawken Drive which offers some quite spectacular views back towards the city. A short descent down Tarcoola Street brought us to the entrance of a gorgeous bush trail that follows the river southwards. It gains a little elevation from the river and provides a pretty outlook on a bushy stretch of the river. Despite written instructions to take a right turn when we reached Meiers Street, we were enticed onto the empty stretch of road to the left, resulting in a detour from our intended route. The sojourn along the river was peaceful and provided an unintended bonus of achieving a longer distance.
The termination of the road confirmed our rising suspicions that we had gone in the wrong direction. We retraced our steps and followed Meiers onto Hart Road then Lambert Street towards the Indooroopilly Bridge. It was familiar territory from the Bridge, keeping the river intimately on the left. We decided to stop at the 20km mark and enjoyed a short wind down stroll into the Tennyson Tennis Centre and Buzz Bistro.
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| Vegetarian ( not so big) Big breakfast |
The hare Husband, having unknowingly passed us while we were exploring Meiers Street, had already enjoyed his first coffee, although he had only completed 18km by taking the direct course. He’d been shown to a table at the back of the café having been told those outside were all reserved. We ladies were somehow able to secure one of these outside tables with a delightful outlook of the river and parkland and this time, the Husband was allowed to be seen in this more desirable part of the café after being told that someone had just cancelled their reservation! The white table cloths, higher end breakfast prices and, initially, attentive service hinted at a more upmarket vibe. This vibe was dampened when I had to wait an inordinate amount of time for the cold milk to accompany my tea, resulting in a lukewarm broth. Caitlyn and I ordered the Vegetarian Big Breakfast for $19.50. The menu describes the dish as a potato roesti, roasted field mushrooms (of which there was one) , avocado salsa (the initial wait staff neglected to advise us there was no avocado available), slow roasted tomatoes , poached eggs and buttered toast. The dish was tasty enough but the reference, ‘Big Breakfast’, usually suggests a more generous portion and it looked a little mingy on the plate. Whilst a delicious piece of haloumi was provided, after we alerted the staff to the missing avocado salsa, the dish was underwhelming. Perhaps another small piece of toast might have helped? Bronwyn’s corn, zucchini and mint fritter (also without its advertised avocado salsa), bacon, poached egg and hollandaise sauce was also tasty but meagre for $19. The Husband had the dish of the day: an omelette with caramelised onion, sweet potato and mozzarella served with buttered toast for $18. The post endorphin high after exercise didn’t change my low opinion of the Buzz Bistro. The location is lovely but the pretentious attitude appears to be a front to hide unsatisfactory service, lacklustre meals and higher prices, and reinforces my belief that there are better places to Breakfast on the Run around Brisbane. The potential of my returning in the future is unlikely.
The run was fantastic though!
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| Corn zucchini and mint fritter |
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| Omelette |
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