July 25

Today was a fairly busy day. I had a 2 hour lecture at 8:30, and then three more one our lectures and seminar at 11:30, 1:30, and 3:30. After my last class I came back to my room and changed to go for a run. I felt much better on my run. It had stopped raining and cleared up somewhat by this evening, which was nice. I felt really good on my run today, nothing hurting or sore at all. I felt like I had a lot of energy, probably one, because I've been eating like a pig lately (:-D), and two, I didn't run yesterday. I ran the loop around Lake Ginninderra again today, finishing right as it was getting close to dusk. My time around the lake was 31:04, as compared to 33:55 the last time, and the low 33's the previous time. I wish I knew exactly how big of a loop it is around the lake so I could figure out how fast I was running. I'm guessing it's somewhere around 4.5 miles, maybe a tad longer. I think I was probably running 7:00 mile pace, or maybe upper 6's. I was definitely pleased with how the run went, and am looking even more forward to this weekend's 5K now! I think I might run around the lake again the next two days, or I might throw in a shorter, speedier run tomorrow. Then on Friday I might just run slow for about 15 minutes or so, so I am all rested up for my 5K on Saturday morning. I think I'm going to try to catch a bus on Saturday morning that will take me to the city bus exchange with enough time to walk/jog to the start of the race (about 1K or so from the bus station). It's definitely different than what I am used to, not having a car here. I'm learning to get around pretty well by foot and bus, and occasionally by bumming a ride off someone. It'd be nice if I could find a cheap bike somewhere so I could explore more that way, but so far the cheapest bikes I've found are over $200.

Tonight I had spaghetti with pasta sauce and cheddar cheese, and then brocolli and zucchini for desert. So I guess I'm learning to cook all my own meals, and eat healthy. :-D I have classes all day tomorrow (with several breaks) from 8:30 until 7:30, so tonight is going to be an early night for me. I guess I'll have to party some other time. haha.

Oh! I saw a kangaroo in some brush/field stuff on campus today when I was walking to class. It wasn't too close, but it was still cool. I found out from my one biology professor this morning that apparently platypuses live here in the Canberra area, and they can be found along creeks and stuff, especially at dawn/dusk. He said I definitely have to put it on my list of things to do while I'm here, to go out and find one. I need to find someone that will be my guide, since I don't really know the area that well yet, nor do I have a car. It will be so cool to see one in the wild!