OK, it had been over 2 weeks now since I last ran and my hip still ached! It was like a stabbing pain in my side every time my left foot touched the ground. I felt like a smoker without any nicotine. An alcoholic with no booze. I dreamed about being injury free. I searched online for a miracle cure. I read articles on muscles and bones and injuries. I read running forums and blogs. I definitely am an exercise junkie - I couldn't cope. My name is Elaine and I am addicted to running! God help poor Ryan who must think I was utterly pathetic but I couldn't help it - I was desperate to run. It wasn't to be though and I just had to suck it up, I was on holiday after all. I suppose I could use the hip injury as an excuse to have a bit of a break and just enjoy our week in Sydney, hopefully by then it would feel better. I was just starting to get panicky that I would never run again - petrified in fact. It didn't help that everywhere we turned there were runners taunting me, jogging past in their lycra clobber, pitying me with their smug looks of fitness. I looked on envious of anyone who could run, jog or even walk happily whereas I was still hobbling on like a geriatric. Remarkably it didn't spoil my holiday at all, however, I know I would've loved to join in with some of the running malarky or even one of the races such as the Surf to City race that finished at Bondi beach - wow. I managed some good walks though in that area and it was great, not as good as running but I'd take anything that got me moving without a limp! Here is my diary of an injured runner for the week, it doesn't seem too miserable -
Sunday - After toasting our friends recent engagement with some prosecco we continued the celebrations at a nearby restaurant in trendy Newtown which was Thairiffic. No really it was, that was it's name and it didn't disappoint. We shared a banquet of thai curries, noodles, sticky rice and jasmine tea before hitting the sack for some kip - our tour guide Pete had planned for a 7am start!
Monday - Up bright and early we jumped on the busy commuter bus into the city centre where we picked up coffees en route to our first main stop Coogee Beach. For a winter's day the sun was splitting the sky and Coogee was a beautiful white sandy beach. The area packed with walkers, joggers and tourists. From there we walked along the coastal path taking in the various bays and spotting humpback whales before arriving at the magnificent Bondi Beach. I can see why all the surfers and sun worshippers flock there. This is what I envision Australia to be about! My elation soon turned to devastation when I went to pay for our lunch, realising that my purse was missing - gutted! After a bit of 'manning up', I realised that I would spoil the day (only day Peter could get off on holiday) if I spent the rest of it trying to get it back or tracking it. We had walked over 5k and I'd probably spend more on transport trying to get back to the start. Liklihood is it was long gone by now so I just had to 'man up' and try to forget about it. For me, that is an achievement itself as normally I'd fret and wonder and think and beat myself up over it for ages but at the end of the day it was only cash, no cards were lost, I didn't have
that much money in it so I just had to write it off and enjoy the rest of the day. Which I did! Peter took us further up the coast where we got the most fantastic views of Sydney Harbour, the bridge and the Opera House as well as the cliffs and coastline. You wouldn't think you were in the city. We then stopped off for the obligatory banana bread and coffee before catching the ferry to Circular Quay. Sailing in as the sun was setting was perfect, what a way to arrive! You couldn't wipe the smile off my face! To finish off our long day, feeling decidedly thirsty, we took a wander into the Opera House bar for a wee beer or prosecco in my case. Thanks to Ryan and Peter for subbing me for the day! Runners dodged in and out us all day and I stared at them enviously. As we headed back to Peter and Louise's flat it was only around 6.30pm but it was pitch black already and quite chilly. Not cold enough to put me off a wee swim in their outdoor pool though! I jumped in and managed 32 lengths to give me a mile whilst Peter and Ryan headed to the pub and to pick up pizzas for dinner - yum! Brilliant end to a brilliant day.
Tuesday - Ryan and I decided to live like Aussies for the day, albeit a weekend day. We borrowed Peter and Louise's bikes and cycled down to the fish market to pick up some salmon for dinner. It was another beautiful day and we were following Peter's organised maps. Although we didn't quite realise the scale of them and ended up cycling miles too far but as a bonus we got some spectacular views of the harbour and we cycled over the Anzac Bridge. The fish market itself was an experience - millions of huge freshly caught fish, crabs, lobsters, langoustines etc packed the market but we managed to pick out some lovely fillets for dinner. After breakfast on the decking we got on the bikes again for a 10k bay run before cycling through pretty Balmain to Darling Harbour. We stopped briefly at a hotel to get our bearings - turned out it was the Glasgow Arms! Peter had expected us to get all of this done by 5pm but we were home for 2pm. Plenty time now for us to relax or head to the gym. For me, I managed to track down a Sports Physiotherapy at Sydney University that I was going to take a chance on getting an appointment. Luckily I managed to get a massage therapy appointment but no physio. This, again, was excruciatingly sore and she asked me if I had never been given a massage before as my muscles were so tight around my hip and glutes. She seemed to think even though I was getting pain at the front and side that it stemmed from my glutes and that my sciatic nerve was getting trapped causing some of the pain. That seemed believable but unfortunately - no quick fix! I was hoping that she would magically fix me in an instant. So I was somewhat disappointed afterwards. Ryan, my holiday husband, made me a lovely coffee when I got back to make me feel better and I went for a long soak in the bath. That night was time for a proper catch up with our friends as we drank beer, wine, ate good food and played cards. Obviously I won.
Wednesday - Ryan and I headed into the city early in the morning to catch the train after an early morning swim in the indoor pool, to Katoomba the gateway to the Blue Mountains. We had looked into tours but they all seemed expensive and intensive. We opted to go by train and by tour bus so that we could have a more relaxed day and choose to stop where we liked. The views at the 3 sisters out over the Blue Mountains were amazing but some of the footpaths were closed so we couldn't walk all the way to the scenic railway. I say scenic but it was near a vertical drop, being the steepest railway in the world, I opted out! Well I did turn 30 this year, it must be the old age but I was happy just trekking round the sights, looking at the waterfalls and the rainforests. Once we returned in Katoomba we regretted taking the tour bus at all as we could have easily walked from there to the main sights. There was only 1 train per hour so we managed to catch the 3.30pm train back to Sydney where we instantly fell asleep on the 2 hour journey. Although we were rudely awakened by Australia's biggest gossip who took great delight in the sound of her own voice for the remainder of the journey. Peter met us at the station but as the rain started to come on we just headed home again for the evening so that Peter could cook up a storm again - a barbeque of course!
Thursday - We woke up to Scottish weather on Thursday so decided to have a lazy morning. I went to the gym and managed some time on the bike and weights before feeling too achy so I was pleased with my token effort. I wanted to swim too but thought I would leave that until before dinner - I hate washing my hair twice in a day (OCD still there). Ryan and I decided to walk into the city today and we headed to Paddy's market first. What an eye opener! An indoor market filled with clothes, food and souvenirs where it was encouraged to haggle. We also got dragged in to get a massage, I wasn't complaining. After more banana bread and coffee we went for a walk down to the Rocks adjacent to circular quay for some holiday snaps, to walk along the harbour bridge and to book a restaurant for dinner. So much choice! We opted for a trendy bar, bar100 which offered a mixed menu and cocktails although arriving at 8.01pm we managed to miss the BOGOF cocktail offers. Prosecco again then! We met up with our other toonie friend, Graham Rennie, here and his lovely Dutch girlfriend. It was really nice to catch up and here how much he was enjoying life in Sydney. The Argyle bar was next where although the cocktails were expensive at $18 they were superb. In the mood for cocktails, Peter had told us about the bar on the 37th floor of the Shangrila Hotel where we could get the best views in Sydney. Wow. Wow. Wow. We certainly did and I opted for their signature cocktail - the Harbour Rose which was served with rose petals on top. Unfortunatley it tasted of them too, a bit too much like pot pourri for my liking. Clubbing next! Well, no not really, we happily headed home before 1am for tea and tim tams #addicted.
Friday - the sun was back in Sydney for our last day and we were feeling sad to be leaving, especially leaving our friends and fantastic hosts behind but we were also excited about our final destination of Thailand. We awoke early so we could dine out for breakfast - I was liking this lifestyle. The restaurant was large, rustic and busy. I chose my new favourite of bircher muesli and poached fruit which was delicious but was lying heavy in my stomach after too many tim tams so unfortunately by the time we got back to the flat I had emptied my stomach again. Yuck. I refused to believe it may have been the cocktails... After a little nap my runner's envy got the better of me and I decided I couldn't leave this city without running once so I doped up on my last ibuprofen and paracetamols and used Peter's maps and instructions to navigate down to a nearby park and right down to the harbour. It was only a slow 4 miles and I could feel pain in my hip with every step but I didn't care - I had ran. After a hot shower, I felt a little back to normal and my hopes were high that I would run once home. It was now time to get organised, grab some souvenirs and jet off to Bangkok for hopefully a weekend of sun, spa and sticky rice!
