Running the Tan

Going to try and blog my three weeks here in Melbourne. This is the second day that I'm here, a Saturday, and I'm still getting settled. Part of getting settled is setting this up, to pass on details of my stay for anyone who is interested.

Not sure where to start this blog or how to go about it. I got in at 8:30 a.m. yesterday morning after a long flight, and just kept going with things until I collapsed into bed at about 10 p.m. Slept fine and got up, feeling like there was much to do.

Not only much to do, but also much to write about. I am not going to try to catch all this up. Instead, I'll start with the familiar. My run. Running is the way I orient myself to a city. Its pace is well-suited for sightseeing, and with a good running app I can head out in a general direction and not worry about getting lost. I figured I'd go where the locals go - the Royal Botanical Gardens, or "the Tan", which seems to be Melbourne's equivalent of Philadelphia's Kelly Drive. It was about a mile and a half to get there, down Lygon and Russell Streets and through Chinatown, past the Ian Potter Centre and Federation Square, through what looked like Boathouse Row and onto the packed dirt "track" that goes around the perimeter of the Tan. About 2 1/2 miles around and then back to where I'm staying, down Batman Ave and Exhibition Street. Total was 6.2 miles, a bit longer than I wanted to go but I'm happy with my little jaunt.

Some of these places I recognized from last night, when Guy, who arranged my stay here, gave me a quick tour of Central Melbourne, but with this run I started to fill in my mental map of where these places were in relation to each other and to my hotel, which is in the Carlton neighborhood. It was gorgeously sunny out, apparently for the first time in weeks, and a brisk 50 degrees or so (it is winter here).

The run went fine. I was not looking to do anything but finish back where I started, as I frequently stopped for lights and to get bearings, and even on the track around the Tam, when I could start getting into a rhythm, I wasn't comfortable enough to do so. But that will come. Just like this entry, which sticks to running, something that I am familiar writing about. I feeling like I am missing much by sticking to what is familiar, but the rest will come.

Stick with me.

The Tan track with the Shrine of Remembrance in the background

Crossing Batman Ave. Bridge, with a view of the Ian Potter Centre and Central Melbourne

My route