March of the Executioner

Monday I elected for the simple pleasure of just running. No hills, no tempo, nothing long or slow ...... just a run, with the dip in the Southbank beach pool to finish off with. The conditions were ideal, somewhere in the mid to high 20s Celsius and sticky but not overly humid. So I took off at an easy pace, round the Brisbane river on a path that has become very familiar to me. Just to be completely crazy, I ran the other way around, anti-clockwise. I was inspired by Elizabeth's Just get out the door run and felt secure knowing that there were no geese to attack me.

After a little while, the psyche of the "executioner" occupied my mind and I was scanning around for a suitable adversary. Not a hill or mother nature's fiery dragon breath or torrential rain this time, instead I honed in on another runner a little further ahead of me. She was graceful, swift and seemed to be effortlessly gliding along the path like a gazelle. It was time to put the head down and raise my imaginary battle axe in order to claim this trophy. The distance between us began to close. My easy run or "canter" was now a full on gallop as I rode through the night as only a Black Knight could. The gazelle continued her pace without appearing to tire, but I knew now that it was only a matter of time before I would overtake her.

And so it was ...... I galloped past the gazelle swinging my imaginary battle axe claiming this fine scalp ..... take that small 10 year old girl who dares to defy the Executioner ....... feeling pleased with myself, I venture forth to the Royal Botanical Gardens, where the evil creatures of the night lurk.

Passing through the rich inner city forrest, I could hear the creatures in the nearby bushes. There had been times in the past when they bared their gnashing teeth and puffed up their thick skinned coats, threatening to attack me. Sometimes this has caused be to deviate from my planned path and narrowly escape being torn into little pieces. Alas, the possums would leave me alone tonight and I was free to finish and enjoy a swim as reward for my efforts.

Distance 9.3 km
Avg Speed 4:54/km

This morning (Tuesday) I returned home from the gym after the heavy rains of the early morning. The humidity quickly drenched me in an otherwise uneventful run.

Distance: 9.08
Avg Speed 5:02/km