Week 35: South Narrabeen to Driftwood Cafe ( 25.4km , 2hrs 28min)

Note to self. Don't leave The Husband full control of the course planning as it always leads to hills, unnecessary pain, and suspicions of being lost (which can never be confirmed as The Husband always confidently trots out comments like its OK we just keep going South a little further then turn East: who really thinks in terms of comapss points?).

The running program is now all about 'going further' over the the next few weeks. This is as much about mental prepraration as physical.

We are visiting my Mum in Sydney this week and ,along with enjoying family and catching up with old friends, I have been looking forward to some new trails and the picturesques options around the Northern Beaches. Mum has recently moved to South Narrabeen. What better way to rediscover and explore old and new territory than by foot.

Narrabeen Lakes is a pretty spot that has been a popular location for water sports for some time. The beach and lake are in close proximity and offer a few excellent running options. A newly refurbished 8km trail circumventing the lake was our starting point. There are some testosterone laden ducks that are to be negotiated at the start (or were they geese?). In no time we are away from the busy hustle and enjoying a hard packed trail, with a mix of boardwalk and bridges through the pretty lake-side scrubland and wetlands. We then turned off the trail and skirted the Cromer Golf course and wove our way through some very undulating streets! My suspicions that a couple of waywide child cyclists had mistakenly following us off path was proven correct. We redirected them back to their mother who, no doubt would have soon noticed them missing .

I am a little vague as to how we arrived at Dee Why but it was hard work, very hilly and involved stairs. We joined another green stretch on the cycle way behind Dee Why Lagoon and North Curl Curl Beach. There is a fantastic dog walking spot behind North Curl Curl beach and the lagoon. Happy pooches of all shapes and sizes enjoy off leash time in the sand dunes with a chance to also swim in the lagoon.

With the beach on our left we ran towards Harbord and Freshwater Beach, which is a place I spent many happy days as a child, surfing and sun baking with coconut oil lathered all over through the melanoma and ozone free 70's and 80's. The boardwalk between South Curl Curl and Harbord is as good as it gets for scenic ocean views and closeness to the powerful surges of the ocean. In blustery conditions, we turned around hailed the statue of the Duke on Freshwater headland, a Hawaii'n who apparently introduced surf board riding to Australia, and headed on a more direct route back towards breakfast. There was one more large hill to take on at the end of Curl Curl beach into Dee Why. The hard packed sand of Dee Why beach beckoned us towards Long Reef headland. Stunning! Adding to the cooler conditions the sporadic side stepping of blue bottles ensured we weren't tempted into the water. At this stage I took the lead and remained so, with The Husband needing a 'moment' at kilometre 22 as we descended our last headland at Long Reef beach. We trudged the last couple of kilometres towards Narrabeen and Driftwood Cafe, and ended up exceeding the targetted 24km by an extra 1.4km. I have not felt the level of fatigue before that I experienced when I finally stopped. Perhaps a hint of what was ahead. Surely nothing a cup of tea and good meal couldn't repair.

Driftwood has an attractive street frontage and is a popular location on Ocean Parade in Narrabeen.

While prepared to revel in a delicious menu, Driftwood produced a fairly standard breakfast experience, lacking in imagination and with a Sunday 10% surcharge was a little underwhelming. Caitlyn and I enjoyed the taste of our Ocean Breakie: poached eggs , a meagre portion of smoked salmon on hash brown, avocado and a sad and lonely looking herbed tomato with home made hollandaise ($21.45 with surcharge). The eggs were a little over-done and the the hollandaise was a little bland and orange. The Husband was very happy with his Driftwood breakfast ($21.45 with surcharge), a generous portion of bacon, sausages, sauted mushrooms, eggs, grilled tomato and sourdough. Baked beans out of a can are always a little disappointing for me.

The strength of the Driftwood Cafe's fare is the size and mass of its offerings, but there are places which offer tastier food and much better value. BOTR have another Sydney run to enjoy next weekend and I and am determined further research will unearth a jewel for week 36.  

Ocean Breakie

Driftwood

Week 34: Highgate Hill to Anöuk (1:10, 12.5 km)

Twelve kilometres today looks to be the last of the shorter weekend runs recommended on the training plan for the next few weeks.  We revelled in the thought of ‘only’ running 12km.  We aimed for a slightly faster but still comfortable pace.  Embarking in high spirits on the Laura Street hill, we followed the river towards the Story Bridge.  The anti-jump barriers (A sad but necessary piece of infrastructure) are finally being installed on the western side of the bridge, so we headed towards the Kangaroo Point Hotel and exuberantly attacked the stairs on the eastern side of the bridge.  The app on my phone has trouble with GPS connections around the iron mass of the bridge and had me running out into the river.  Instead, we stayed on the path and followed the river loop around the Botanic Gardens, under North Quay, up to the Kurilpa Bridge and Tank Street.  All was quiet in the river city as we made our way past the law courts into the Roma Street Parklands.  The last few kilometres were unfamiliar territory with only a partially understood route sketched on a scrap of paper.  We crossed over the Inner City Bypass near the landmark Normandy Hotel and tentatively followed St Pauls Terrace.  Following further consultation, we then sniffed our way towards the Paddington eateries via Wellington road and Great George Street.  A cruel sharp hill climb at the final 50m left us breathing heavily, eagerly anticipating our breakfast destination.

Kimchi Pancake

Anöuk café is in a cute character building located on Given Terrace in Paddington.  It was a recommendation from a work colleague to whom I am grateful.  The delicious after-taste pleasantly lingers even while I sit here with fingers hovering over the keys.  The very hill we had earlier suffered is what adds to the beauty of the Paddington area. The undulating aspect with pretty views across historic houses makes this gentrified location, with its edgy inner city vibe, a great spot to people watch and chill.
In true BOTR spirit Bronwyn yielded on her initial meal choice when it became apparent we both had our eye on the Kimchee Pancake with delicious pickle, chilli olive oil, topped with fried egg ($16). The flavours were beautifully balanced with a perfect chilli tingle.  Bronwyn oohed her way through a very appealing looking Quesadilla filled with pulled pork, black beans, corn and coriander salsa ($21).  Similarly, Caitlyn’s approval rating was also very high for her perfectly crispy bacon and haloumi stack, aioli and roughly chopped pesto, with a serve of sourdough ($16 + $2).  Fun and friendly staff, unique and delicious meals with an attractive but understated street presence is going to make Anöuk a tough act to follow in the closing weeks of our BOTR journey.
The positive appeal of Anöuk could be gauged in the BOTR crew’s discussion on the journey home, with it inspiring a discussion about which breakfast experiences to date should make the BOTR Top 5.  The crew unanimously agreed that Anöuk may supplant one of our other favourites out of the top 5, which will be announced at the conclusion of the adventure.

Quesadilla

Bacon Haloumi stack

Week 33: Highgate Hill to Café 63 (20km, 2hrs 6 min.)

Apparently it’s all about building distance for the next few weeks. Having always been a comfortable 5km runner, it still strikes me as remarkable that I am planning 20km runs.  At the risk of appearing to be a little tedious on running locations, I chose the familiar territory of the river paths again today with the additional twist in the last couple of kilometre negotiating New Farm.
It is noticeably getting lighter in the mornings, with the promise of hotter and sweatier runs around the corner.  The self-appointed early morning vigilante was back in the fold this morning and there are rumblings of even earlier starts in the future.  Bronwyn’s rationale is that it will be strategic to catch as much of the early morning cooler conditions as we can.  Unfortunately there is a lot of sense to this argument, so I may yet have to yield to an earlier alarm.
We departed home and followed a well-trod path across the bridge to The University of Queensland, following the undulating route through St Lucia to Coronation Drive.  It was then a flat easy run through the city, onto the New Farm floating river walk and up to the New Farm Park.  We took on the bend of the river past the chic Wool shed apartments then turned onto Beaston Street with an unexpected steep little hill climb up and over towards Brunswick Street at the heart of New Farm.  The pleasing reality of this morning’s run is that we both felt comfortable and not overcome with despair at the thought of having to extend a little further in the near future (a fortunate realisation!).

Stephanie Rice

Café 63 has the appearances of a great spot to stop and while away some recovery time.  It is attractively fitted out with flower pots and produce, welcoming street frontage and plenty of seating.  The size of the venue is mirrored in the extensive menu choices that left me feeling oddly underwhelmed.  Having perused the menu for some time, I finally selected the Stephanie Rice omelette ($18) with, on Bronwyn’s’ wise recommendation, a side of fresh chillies at no extra cost.  The portion was generous but, despite attempts of further seasoning it was a fairly bland nondescript meal redeemed only by the delicious fresh chilli.  Bronwyn couldn’t resist Gary ($15) (again) in a quirky twist mirroring her inability to resist her real life Garry.  In his meal form, Gary was a combination of smoked salmon, poached egg, mashed avocado and toast.  There was none of the usual lip smacking joyful sounds signalling her dining pleasure.  The chillies were a welcome addition; however, Gary on the plate was a mere shadow of his human form.  In true planning perfection, The Husband jogged in right at the finish line and joined us for a Tardis ($6), a winningly priced bircher muesli, topped with Greek yoghurt, berries and macadamia nuts.
Concerns about landfill have obviously not reached this corner of New Farm, as we were each provided a plastic water bottle with our meal. My request for tap water was met with a reassurance that the water bottle was complimentary.  Although well intentioned, I was left feeling deflated with this unnecessary waste.
We departed Café 63, assured of our improving strength and endurance following a satisfying two hours pounding towards our New Zealand goal.  The food fuelled the bodies, however Café 63’s airline style food with complimentary water bottles and unnecessarily complex menu was underwhelming.

Gary

Bircher

Week 32: Highgate Hill to The Bakers Arms: Dad’s Day Handicap (17.7km, 1hr 47min)

The decisions on the choice of run and breakfast destination was handed over to the Husband on this special day.  It was Father’s Day handicap this morning by his decree. As can be expected from a planning engineer, he profiled each runner’s average pace and determined departure times.  I can attest to this as he had scrawled his calculations on the kitchen bench. Without Bronwyn and her early wake up, we all had a little sleep in, with me setting off on zero at 6:20am. The Husband and Milly were next away at 6:30am (Milly did not have a choice at her departure time or distance). Caitlyn was set a shorter course today, as her ultimate goal in New Zealand is the half marathon. She exited at 6:45am. I’m beginning to think I clicked on the wrong button when entering the distance selection!  Ashleigh, our youngest and current non-runner, due to a netball injury, only needed to roll out of bed and drive to breakfast; she therefore departed at 8am.
The Husband chose his favourite two runs and combined them to extend to 17km.  It includes the river loop via the University of

Queensland, Coronation Drive, around the Botanic Gardens and the City to the Story Bridge then back via Kangaroo Point.  Caitlyn detoured off at the GoodWill Bridge to accommodate her requisite 12km distance. I added 500 m to my loop with a slight addition at the beginning:  while unsupervised, I unwittingly headed off in the wrong direction!  Realisation hit me and I was able to adjust before I mounted an attack on the hill climb on Laura Street.
Observations of note this morning were an increase in families out running, including fathers assigned their special powers today directing their offspring into some early morning exercise.  At around kilometre 6 at the Regatta ferry stop, I encountered a flotilla of rowers; perhaps representing rowing fathers.  They were accompanied by a drone overhead filming their progress up the river.  The river was tranquil and serene this morning, perfect conditions for rower, biker and runner alike.
At kilometre 9, I perfected my consumption of the banana I had been carrying.  Training notes recommend trialling different food types as a means of replacing muscle glycogen stores over longer runs. Having discovered jelly beans are chewy and difficult to manage, I have fallen back to the old stalwart banana.  I can’t come to the gel packs that are commercially available.  To date my experience of gel has been sickly sweet. I perhaps might feel differently over 42km.  Consistently, I have also found that a couple of glasses of wine are highly effective for recovery on the night after a run.
I arrived in second to the Bakers Arms, with Caitlyn rested and stretched, suggesting she had been there for 11 minutes.  Dusty and Milly came in panting heavily 9 minutes after me.  As way of explanation, the Husband explained he did not anticipate all the Milly comfort stops enroute and would otherwise have been along more promptly.  Ashleigh, dishevelled with blanket creases still imprinted on her face, arrived in last.
The Bakers Arms Specialty Bakehouse is tucked away at the start of Logan Road in Woolloongabba.  It sits in good company in a cute character row of shops opposite my favourite café ‘The Pearl’ (Week 10).

Brioche French Toast

Truffled Mushrooms

The team made their selections from a menu with some mouth-watering unique twists on themes we have experienced over the last 31 weeks.  Conveniently we all chose a different dish, ensuring broad dish coverage.  Other than Caitlyn, who coveted her delightful looking Truffled Mushrooms ($15.50), we shared our dishes around until they found their decided favourite owner (this seemed to come about as a result of Ash joining us for breakfast?).  Ash’s Brioche French Toast with citrus mascarpone, vanilla poached pear and maple syrup ($14.50) had a final resting place with the Husband, who has a sweet tooth and weakness for all things French or Belgian (Chocolate, wine & Tintin).  My Bangers and Beans ($17) were coveted by Ash, who is a bean fan.  It was a tasty and generous portion of house made baked beans, grilled bratwurst and kransky sausages on toasted ciabatta.  Having enjoyed half of the bean dish, I happily dove onto the Husband’s Savoury Breakfast Bowl ( $17) and, having sampled the other dish flavours, proclaimed it as my favourite.  It included little portions of Kipfler potatoes, sweet roasted cherry tomatoes, spinach, spicy tomato sauce and a fried egg topped with Greek yoghurt, coriander and red Chillies and accompanied with flat bread.
The Baker’s Arms has the right ingredients for a BOTR:  Tasty, well presented food, teas, coffees & juices; courteous & thoughtful staff;  a central location with a quiet street setting;  and a funky last-Century décor.

Bangers and Beans

Savoury Breakfast