Trail Note
I had another nice run this morning. I’m trying to go down streets and visit neighborhoods that I don’t really see that often, so this morning I headed towards Pyrmont. The plan was to jog up Broadway to Harris Street and then run all the way down it to Elizabeth Bay at the end. Along the way I passed the big ABC Studios, the Powerhouse Museum, and the Jean-Marc Patisserie that made our wedding reception croque en bouche. When I couldn’t go any farther – on account of the harbour – I went around left in a big loop by the Channel 10 Studios and past the Sydney Fish Markets. (I’m happy to report that they aren’t very stinky on a Sunday, so I didn’t have to hold my nose.) Then I followed Pyrmont Bridge Road up into Glebe and down Glebe Point Road, checking out all the stalls being set up for today’s Festival. Pretty soon I was home… and wondering about my stats. Unfortunately that whizzy GMap Pedometer thingy doesn’t work in Australia, so I had to cobble together a bunch of street maps and manually measure out my path. I’m a little disheartened though. Total Distance: 5.2km (or 3.2mi). Elapsed Time: 50 minutes. Speed: 6.24km/hr (or 3.88mph). That sucks! On the treadmill I used to go way faster than that. I’m not sure what to attribute it to. I guess I’m definitely stopping more, as I have to cross lots of roads and occasionally wait for stoplights. Sydney can also be pretty hilly, so I can see where that would slow me up a little bit. Maybe I’m just not pushing myself since I haven’t had the numbers before. I’ll run this route again this week and see if I can speed it up a bit…
Jonathan
November 20, 2005 — 3:19 pm
Well done, but I would have guessed the distance was closer to 6.5 Kms
Kris
November 20, 2005 — 3:39 pm
Ooh, really? My calculations were really rough. I was using the line tool in Photoshop to draw my route and then writing down the length of each segment, then adding them all up and dividing by the scale marker given. Maybe a piece of string on a physical piece of paper would be more accurate… but now I feel way better about my speed!
kristen
November 21, 2005 — 6:23 am
kris – my running speed outdoors is slower than the treadmill pace. and for what it’s worth, i tend to average somewhere in the region of 6 – 7 min per kilometers. good for you for getting out there and running – it’s not about how fast you go (if it were, i’d be screwed!)
Tricia
November 22, 2005 — 9:34 am
I’ll second what Jonathan said and add that stopping for stop lights takes way more time than you probably think. These days I usually stop my watch for lights, and on a typical hour-long run, I might be stopped for 5 – 10 minutes (even longer if I run by the longest-wait-for-a-walk-sign-corner-ever on one of my regular routes).
Like Kristen said, it doesn’t matter what your pace is. And I run much farther with much greater enjoyment outside than I ever would or could on a treadmill.
I love seeing these trail notes!