Run 72. Tram route 16. 29/1/2020.
Second tram route in a row as I have fallen a bit behind on this schedule. Decided to run route 16 in reverse so that I didn’t have to start at Melbourne Uni. Caught the 109 tram to the far end of route 16 at corner Glenferrie and Cotham Rd. Only just made the tram cutoff before another rolling strike at 10am.
Dead straight run for the first 6km. Kept to the left side of the road to keep in the morning shade. Saw a number 16 tram so knew I was going the right way. Crossed over Dandenong Rd and continued south on Hawthorn Rd. Finally I saw another tram and had a WTF moment. It was a route 64 tram. Had I gone back in time to last Saturday? Did this tram take a wrong turn, or did I take a wrong turn somewhere? Turns out the 64 tram and 16 tram share about 770m of track in Caulfield North, go figure.
Back on track (of the number 16 tram). Wound my way through St Kilda and headed into the city along Fitzroy St and St Kilda Road where plenty of shade made for a nice run. Running through the city towards Melbourne Uni was uphill but still got the short kilometer bonus. Turned around at Melb. Uni and ran back to RMIT to finish the distance. Ended up outside a Boost Juice store so given it was a warm day, I recovered with a smoothie. Ran a nice 1:46:20 without much stress.
My Three Learnings
Time travel whilst running is highly unlikely
Shade is good on a warm day.
Smoothies are a good post race reward.