Run 70. 1977 VFL Grounds: Part 10. Windy Hill. 21/1/2020.
The last of the 1977 VFL football grounds.
Finally got around to running the last of the 10 active VFL grounds during the 1977 season. Windy Hill lived up to its name, not that it was particularly windy, but it appeared calm nearly everywhere else that day.
Not a good year for the bombers in 1977, finishing 9 out of 12 and missing the finals. Even back then they seemed to need an injection of new blood. Too soon?
Started the run by catching the train to Essendon station. This meant the first part of the run would have been the same course that so many supporters would have taken to get to the ground. So after 450m it was time to take a break to get a selfie. From there it was mainly downhill into the city suggesting that Windy Hill was actually on a hill. Through the city that was busier than normal near Flinders St due to the Australian Open which meant some dodging and weaving and running around buses parked on the road. No more dangerous than the buses on the Great Ocean Rd.
Did my normal detours around the Elwood area to build up the distance. Really got the advantage of the downhill and city running and recorded second fastest time since starting at 1:44:26. Now have 210 learnings from 70 runs so I can only imagine how fast I will be when I put all these learnings into a single run. Maybe 1 hour is being
conservative.
My Three Learnings.
Know what goes into your body.
Starting high and ending low (elevation) aids speedy time.
Avoid big sporting events.