Friday 3 May 2013

April walks

With Easter almost behind us April seemed to arrive early. This was going to be the month to start running again but it seemed that everything was conspiring against my plans. Still, I did manage to get in a fair bit of walking at the start of the month around the last of the school swimming carnivals.

This month I did achieve a number of milestones even if running was not one of them.

Monday 1 April:
Trevor and I headed over to Cooleman Court in the early afternoon, in the car, and I walked back tracking up past the Chapman shops and onto Cooleman Ridge and then following the Stanhope Highway around the base of Mt Arawang. This is a very pleasant 6km walk with about half a km of reasonable climbing in the middle.

Later I took the opportunity to do a circuit of Mt Taylor. I took my camera so that I could record some of the views from the track as well as the kangaroos and the actual track itself. There were a number of co-operative roos who were not fazed by my attention. I'll do a Mt Taylor post once I have a chance to check out the photos. With an extension around the ovals this walk was a little over 10km.

After dinner I did my Marconi Crescent walk. From home to the end of Marconi Crescent and return is just a shade over 4km.

Total for the day: 20.45km

Tuesday 2 April:
First up today was another regional swimming carnival. This was the shortest of the 12 & under carnivals and I was pleased to get home, do the results and other post carnival stuff. Unfortunately, Meet Manager wanted to download an update so I took the opportunity to head down to the Village to grab some items for dinner.

Once I completed the carnival reports I headed out and did the Mt Taylor circuit.

Total for the day: 12.04km

Wednesday 3 April
Wednesday is my day for torture. I have a 9 o'clock session with my personal trainer Sue. Most weeks I walk to the gym and home. This week was no exception. It is always nice to get out and it is amazing just how many regulars I encounter on the path between home and the Tugg town centre. Generally I walk along the lake shore on the way home. I'm always a bit slower on the return following my session with Sue.All up it is a little over 12km.

In the afternoon Astrid came over to spend some time with us while Nic tackled some cleaning jobs at home. We walked down to the village so that Astrid could have a baby chino and Trevor and I had a coffee.

After I got everything ready for Thursday swimming I did my Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 18.25km

Thursday 4 April
I was not feeling all that brilliant this morning. Faced with another day at the pool was not my idea of fun when not 100%. Still, the carnival ran well and I was pleased to get home, albeit feeling rather poorly.

After completing the post carnival activities I set out to do a slow Marconi Crescent walk. Slow it was.


Total for the day: 4.1km

Friday 5 April
My throat felt like it had been sandblasted overnight and my nose was running. Still, my temperature was normal so there was no reason not to go for a walk.

For lunch Trevor and I went down to Brother's Oven, a bakery cafe at the Tuggeranong Town Centre. After lunch I walked back, slowly, along the lake shore.

Later in the afternoon I realised that I needed to get some scripts filled so I headed off to the Village and went for a walk while waiting.

Total for the day: 11.21km

Saturday 6 April
I didn't sleep all that well. I seem to be awake every hour with either a blocked nose or a rough throat. At least I was feeling much more human by the time I got up. Hopefully I am on the mend.

Trevor and I decided to go to Cooleman Court for lunch and I walked back. I think it was my slowest walk from Cooleman Court home to date. Still, I did it.

I had been spending a lot of time hunched over the keyboard so I decided to stretch my legs again in the late afternoon and did my Marconi Crescent walk. Once again, I was not beating any records. It was slow but good to be out.

Total for the day: 10.18km

Sunday 7 April
Having slept badly as I woke up every half hour or so with a running nose and cough I had a pretty miserable start to the day. During the morning I attempted to clear some of my backlog of swimming stuff but found it difficult to concentrate.

In the early afternoon I decided to go for a slowish walk and headed out into the glorious autumn sunshine and almost no breeze which was a problem for the people trying to sail on Lake Tugg.

In the end I walked down to the Tuggeranong Town Centre and enjoyed a coffee at Brother's Oven before returning home. Walking along the lake shore was particularly pleasant. While my nose started to run after I had been out for a while and I did end up with a couple of coughing episodes, no thanks to people who were happily putting smoke into the air for poor sods like me to encounter, it was great to be out and I enjoyed my very snail paced walk.

Total for the day: 12.04km

Weekly total: 88.25km

Monday 8 April
Still not feeling great I took it easy this morning. I still have a heap of swimming things to clear up so it was easy to fill in the morning.

Around lunch time we trundled down to Woden Plaza. The place was full of oldies, obviously let out after being confined over the weekend, or young women with young children.

I walked home from Woden through Chifley and the Mt Taylor Nature Reserve. It was a lovely warm day and I had not expected to see in kangaroos so was pleasantly surprised to come across a mob lazing in the shade of the trees in the area below the Old Kambah fire trail. There were some big roos in the group.

Trevor and I wandered down to the Village later in the afternoon and after dinner I did my Marconi Crescent walk.

No walk today was speedy however I was certainly faster than the previous few days and my muscles seemed less tired.

Total for the day: 11.57km

Tuesday 9 April
I finally had a good nights sleep and ended up sleeping in until after 11 o'clock. When I go up I started to cough again. Bother. I obviously had junk in my lungs as it kept coming up.

Astrid came over this afternoon so we had a slowish walk to the Village returning via the ovals and the playground across the road from us. I only logged a mere 1.93km today. Will need to do better tomorrow.

Total for the day: 1.93km

Wednesday 10 April
When I woke up this morning I was felling awful. For the first time in a very long time I cancelled my PT session.

At lunch time Trevor and I went down to Brother's Oven. Suitably revived I headed home on foot along the shore of Lake Tuggeranong. It was a glorious day, warm with just the hint of a breeze. Very pleasant.

Once home I tackled some of the school swimming related emails. After a number of frustrating hours I decided that a walk around Mt Taylor would do me the world of good and it did. There were a number of spots where kangaroos had gathered, some quite close to the track. They were not in the least bother by my passage.

There is a program that comes on at 6pm which has walks around/across Britain. This week has the Coast to Coast. I'm not sure whether I want to see it or not. The program was shot in September when it is usually relatively good weather and so far the presenter has had 3 wet days out of 4. It looks as if we will get some use out of our wet weather gear!

After dinner I did my Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 20.29km

Thursday 11 April

I did go to my session at the Family History Centre today but I was really feeling lousy and was pleased when 2 o'clock came and I could head home.

We were babysitting Astrid this afternoon while Nic and Antony had a late afternoon appointment.

Not having done any walking during the day I did my Marconi Crescent walking before turning in for teh night.

Total for the day: 4.05km

Friday 12 April

Friday is generally the morning that Astrid swims. We sometimes head to Brother's Oven for breakfast before going to the Young's Swim School pool where Astrid has her swimming lesson. She is starting to actually kick rather than being pulled around the pool. She obviously thoroughly enjoys her swimming regardless of how much effort she puts in to the half hour.

I walked home after the swimming.

The day was gloriously warm so in the late afternoon  I headed out to do a slow circuit of Mt Taylor. I took my camera with me again and got more shots to include in my Mt Taylor post when I finally get around to doing it.

Total for the day: 13.24km

Saturday 13 April

Another pleasantly warm day. After lunching at Brother's Oven I walked home along the western side of Lake Tuggeranong.

My only other walking for the day was a stroll to the Village with an extension part way along Marconi Crescent.

Total for the day: 8.16km

Sunday 14 April

How quickly the weeks are flying by. The second week of April is compete.

It was another lovely warm day. After lunching at Cooleman Court I walked home along the Stanhope Highway. In the middle of the day I don't expect to see kangaroos and I didn't. There were lots of people out and about taking advantage of the warm day.

I the late afternoon I decided to do a Lake Tugg circuit. Once again there were lots of people out as well as their four legged friends. Bike riders are a potential hazard. Most do not give any warning that they are about to pass you. There is no noise until they are alongside. One day I'm sure that I'll step to the right for some good reason and find myself wearing a bike!

Before calling it a night I did a slow Marconi Crescent walk to get the kinks out of my shoulders and back from slogging away at swimming stuff.

Total for the day: 24.15km

Total for the week: 83.39km

Monday 15 April

Taking advantage of another warm day I walked from Woden home through the Mt Taylor Nature Reserve.

In the late afternoon I did the Marconi Crescent walk coming back via the Village.

Total for the day: 10.59km

Tuesday 16 April

Today was cloudy but still reasonably warm. I took advantage of the warmth and walked from Tuggeranong home along the lake shore.

Astrid visited us in the afternoon and we walked down to the Village and home via the playground just off Barritt Street.

After dinner Trevor joined me on the Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 12.49km 

Wednesday 17 April

Today was my session with my personal trainer. While I had woken up a couple of times during the night coughing I was feeling reasonable OK. My right arm was a little sore. This seemed to be consistent with the wog that had been plaguing Trevor and I for a while. Anyway, not to be put off I headed off to the gym a little earlier than I normally would have left home so that I did not have to hurry. Walking at a comfortable pace and concentrating on my breathing seems to minimise the coughing fits.

Sue, my PT, modified the plan she had set for the day, reducing the weights and substituting stretching exercises for a number of those she had intending getting me to do.

After my PT I headed home via the western shore of Lake Tugg.

I walked down to the Village to do some shopping around lunchtime.

At 4:30 I was meeting my fellow selector to go though the selections for the swimming ACT D Squad. The meeting place was to be the Tuggeranong Pool. A walk to and from the pool was a very pleasant respite from the other swimming activities I had been dealing with.

Total for the day: 25.19km

Thursday 18 April

Thursdays are always a bit of a challenge as I am generally tied up for much of the day with my session at the Family History Centre. Today was no exception. On top of everything else I was still feeling pretty lousy and I only did my Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 4.06km

Friday 19 April

At 4 o'clock I headed out to do a circuit of Mt Taylor. It is always wonderful walking around the mountain in the late afternoon and early evening. The views are lovely, the roos fun to spot and watch and the sunsets can be awesome.

Total for the day: 10.19km

Saturday 20 April

Trevor and I had lunch at Brother's Oven and then I set off for a longish walk. Initially I walked along the western side of Lake Tugg. On reaching the northern end of the lake I turned east towards Wanniassa covering some paths I had not used before.

At Wanniassa I stopped at the bakery and had a coffee. It was pleasant to just have a quiet sit for a few minutes.

Leaving the Wanniassa shops I headed up towards Sullwood Drive and crossed it near the reservoir situated beside Sullwood Drive, just before Athlon Drive. Crossing in the the Taylor Nature Reserve was a little tricky until I discovered that the fence between the reservoir and the reserve had been breached and there was a track beaten by quite a few passing feet.

Once in the reserve a narrow path meander along the bank of a drain which passed through spindly trees. The path eventually delivered my to the Manheim Street entrance to the park. Now I was on more familiar territory.

I set off one my one and a bit circuits of Mt Taylor doing it in a clockwise direction. I initially took the lower of the two tracks that traverse the southern side of the mountain and on the second pass of the southern side I took the higher route.

My exit point was my frequent entry point: the gate leading down onto Colquhoun Street. From here is was three and a bit ks home via the Village and the ovals.

All up this route was some 17.39km.

Having been nicely warmed up I ventured out just on 6 o'clock and did my Marconi Crescent walk with an extension.

Total for the day: 22.50km (This is the average distance we will walk on the 13 days of the C2C walk).

Sunday 21 April

Setting out from Woden just before 2 o'clock I headed through Chifley and into the Mt Taylor reserve. I did a complete clockwise circuit of the mountain picking the southern side on the first transit and continued on around the mountain until I reached the Colquhoun Street exit gate. A circuit of the mountain is around 5.5km give or take a little. All up I did about 9kms around the mountain. When I reached Marconi Crescent, instead of turning right and headed for home I turned left and walked to the end of the road before turning around and heading back towards the Village. Passing under Drakeford Drive I did a loop around the edge of the ovals before heading home. All up the walk was 16.11km. I was pleased that I had maintained a speed faster than 6km/h for this walk.

In the late afternoon I did the Marconi Crescent walk with a deviation through the Village, shopping, and then across the ovals on the way home.

Total for the day: 20.54km

Total for the week:  105.56km ... pretty good averaging just over 15km per day

Monday 22 April

Somehow I had not managed to get out until quite late in the day. A trip to Cooleman Court for a coffee and some groceries allowed my to start my walk from Weston. Walking up through Stirling and then across Waramanga I passed under the Tuggeranong Parkway and entered the Mt Taylor reserve just before the walking track crossed Waldock Street. This was new territory for me and it was good to follow the path passed the odd unconcerned kangaroos until the path joined the Western Powerlines FT. Here I discovered copious kangaroos grazing beside the track. I continued along the Western Powerlines FT powering up the steep ascents and coming down the descents at quite a quick pace. When the trail intersected the Sulwood FT I headed towards the higher route, the one that follows the power lines along the southern side of the mountain and completed an anticlockwise circuit of the mountain. On reaching the Western Powerlines FT I crossed it so that I could walk along my preferred Old Kambah FT which affords lovely views across the ranges, particularly at dusk.

Once back at the Colquhoun Street exit gate I left the park and headed home via the Village and a loop around the ovals. It was pretty dark by the time I got home. This was a 12.68km walk which I had doen at an average pace of 6.29kph.

Before retiring for the night I did my Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 20.35km

Tuesday 23 April
I had arranged to meet a couple of swimming people at Brother's Oven, the first at 12 o'clock and the second at 12:30pm so I headed off to Tuggeranong about 20 minutes to 11 so that I would not have to push it. I did have another objective. Astrid needs something like a painting smock to keep her clean when she is "mixing" and I was hoping to pick one up at the Hyperdome on the way through. I did eventually find one at Target although it is a little big on her at the moment but it does the job.

On the way down I took the short route along Athlon Drive. It is a mere 5.7km.

After my meetings, and the odd cup of coffee, I headed home. It was a very pleasant day. The temperature was in the low 20s and it was sunny. I walked back along Athlon Drive as Astrid was visiting us and expected to arrive around 2:30pm.

When Astrid comes for a visit we generally head off to the Village so that she can have a babychinno followed by time in the playground across the road from us. Her current favourite bit of play equipment is the slide.

After dinner I did my Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 17.48km

Wednesday 24 April
Wednesday is generally a good walking day as I walk down to the gym and back with my PT session in between. I made good time to the gym. I'm not sure whether it was the cool morning, it was only 6 when I set out, or whether I was finally on the mend. My return time is always a little slower - a reflection of the effort expended in the PT session.

After a latish lunch at Woden and some browsing at possible walking gear I headed home via Mt Taylor taking the longer clockwise route from my Chifley entry point to my Colquhoun Street exit. The temperature had climbed to 22 and it was bright and sunny. Very pleasant to be out and about.

I had a meeting tonight which was quite short and I managed to get home at a reasonable hour allowing me to get in my Marconi Crescent walk before hitting the sack. 

Total for the day: 26.35km

Thursday 25 April
Even though it was Anzac Day and a public holiday Jim thought that we should still open the family history centre. It did allow me to check some of the Maling information where my records differed from my recently discovered Maling cousin.

Having done no walking for the day I set out just on 5:30 to stretch my legs and walked through the spine of Kambah as far as Athlon Drive and back home.

I did do a trip to the Village a little later in the evening.

Total for the day: 7.52km

Friday 26 April
Trevor and I did a circuit from home around Lake Tugg with a lunch stop.

After returning home I dealt with a number of issues relating to school swimming. Some of the school swimming was beginning to frustrate me so I figured that getting out and checking the Mt Taylor kangaroos would keep me from going insane. It was very pleasant.

After we ate dinner Trevor and I did the Marconi Cresent walk.

Once again, before turning in I figured that stretching my legs was a good idea and I did another Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 32.13km

Saturday 27 April
Having finally got my swimming club brochure updated so that it could be handed out at the AIS Open Day I headed down to Office Works at the Tuggeranong Town Centre to print of the 200 odd copies I needed. I took the western lake shore route.

I joined Trevor at Brother's Oven for lunch and returned home along the western lake shore.

The day had been pleasantly warm and just before 5pm I headed out to do a Mt Taylor circuit which was a bit of a challenge as it getting quite dark by the time got back to the Colquhoun Street exit. just as well I'm very steady on my feet and manage quite well on rough terrain without needing to see where my feet are going. I should have taken a torch or a head light but I hadn't thought to do so. Still, the twilight provided some wonderful light effects and the many kangaroos kept the walk interesting.

I did the Marconi Crescent walk before turning in for the night.

Total for the day: 28.37km

Sunday 28 April
Today was the AIS Open Day and I headed out early as I had to pick up stuff from the storage room and I wanted to be there before the crowds arrived. The coffee van which was already doing a good trade when I arrived was a welcome sight.

We had been allocated a tent near the entrance to the pool. We had local radio station MIX 104.6 just feet away from us but they really didn't cause too much of a problem. Things were fairly quiet until about 10:30 and then the crowd started to build. The Ginninderra girls were great but it was a tiring day as it was standing up all day and I was pleased to pack up at 2pm and head for home.

I had taken a break and gone for a walk around the AIS to stretch myself after a lot of standing.

After I got home I did a walk down to Woden, sat down and enjoyed a cup of coffee and walked home.

Total for the day: 18.37km

Weekly Total: 150.57km and 21.51km average per day!

This was the end of a big walking week. I suspect it is the most walking I have done in a week in my life. My step count for the week was a whooping 213,176!

Monday 29 April
The month seems to have flown by.

With so much swimming stuff to deal with balancing walking and swimming and everything else has been a challenge.

Around 2 o'clock I figured that I needed a break and headed off to Chifley via Mt Taylor, enjoyed a quiet coffee and then returned home. The day had been warm with temperatures in the low 20s. It was great to get away from the PC. My shoulders have been complaining about too much keying and mousing of late.

I got a call from Trevor, who had gone out to the airport to pick up Anto, Nic and Astrid, asking me to organise food. While I waited for the food that I had ordered I walked around the Cooleman Court precinct.

When I finally got home I did my Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 18.76km

Tuesday 30 April
I was out of milk so did a morning walk to the Village. I was surprised by the number of oldies I encountered going to and from the Village as well as at the Village itself. I obviously don't visit the Village at the time of day as a general rule.

Trevor and I went over to Cooleman Court for lunch and I enjoyed the warm afternoon as I walked home along the Stanhope Highway. 

Before dinner I did the Marconi Crescent walk.

Total for the day: 14.28km

Monthly summary for April
During April I walked 457.22 km which is an average of 15.24km per day
Calories burnt: 19,612
Elevation gain: 5,669m

The tracked walking obviously does not include incidental steps such as walking around the house, supermarket or shopping centre. I generally carry my pedometer so I get a fuller count of what I have been up to. In April my step count was: 714,433. Gosh, almost 3/4 of a million steps in the month. This was an average of almost 24k steps per day.