Still running...

On Saturday I managed to get my act together and went for another run. This time I went up to Fyansford and back as far as Moorabool Street before deciding that 15km would do and walking back the rest of the way. Not my best effort and certainly not my fastest, but at least I got it done.
The weather once again was not at all "summery". It was by turns windy, warm, showery and cool which may in part have accounted for my lack of pace. There was nothing too out of the ordinary - unless you count a stray table floating upside down not far from the James Harrison Bridge. Perhaps the result of a Christmas party that became a little too festive?
The only birds in attendance appeared to be the most common and I discovered firstly that moorhens are adept at surfing the backwash from passing speedboats and secondly that they are none too concerned about where they choose to perform certain activities - and that despite the backwash!

Barwon River trail near Queens Park.

This was the first time I had run as far as Fyansford since the track re-opened after the World Championship Cycling. I can't say there was anything astoundingly different to last time I ran there. Clearly the cricket season was now under way and quite a few golfers were getting in a pre-Christmas round at Queens Park. As I ran past the King Lloyd Reserve there was a solid thwack of leather on willow, followed shortly after by a resounding cheer as a wicket was taken. There was no such luck for the teams playing at Queens Park as I passed that particular ground some thirty minutes or so later.
As I headed in the general direction of the Fyansford Pub I was pleased to note that the magpie which had attempted to part my hair on more than one occasion in the past, was nowhere to be seen. Clearly swooping season is finished, so someone needs to tell the cyclists who spend most of spring riding around with little spiky bits of plastic sticking out of their helmets, that it is safe to remove them. Whether this is an effective deterrent or not is debatable, but as a runner, I can't say that the thought of running a significant number of kilometers with the plastic equivalent of a porcupine strapped to my head is particularly appealing. Perhaps I'll just avoid that end of the river during the season.
I have many favourite sections of the Barwon and the part near the Queens Park Golf Course is one of them. The trees on either side join in the middle to form a continuous canopy which not only provides very welcome shade, but at this time of year is green, leafy and it makes me think - very English. It will be a different story come late autumn after a few showers and with the leaf-fall well advanced at which point it will be more like skating than running, but at the moment it is very pretty.