4 months - give or take.....

So.  I did the Centennial Park Ultra.  50km for those playing at home. 

I ran the whole horrible thing, with one leg and foot totally numb from 25km onwards.  I changed shoes, I "favoured" my "good" leg and I totally fucked my Achilles.  After the race I literally hopped to the Bottle Shop for some liquid anaesthetic.  I woke up the next day unable to put my foot down.  I frantically googled "snapped Achilles" and learnt that if I could stand on my tiptoes - it wasn't snapped.  I could, but only just.  Here I am nearly four months later, feeling like today was my first proper attempt at proper running, still in pain, still troubled, but I dug out a very old playlist from the days when I used to run alone, cranked up some Green Day and despite a big massive effort and lots of huffing and puffing and trying to regulate my breathing, I GOT THAT EUPHORIC FEELING THAT YOU ONLY GET WITH CRANKING TUNES AND A BIT OF A LASH AT FANGING IT.  My version of FANGING IT clearly differs from most, but hell, it was fun.  So, as I ran up that particular piece of pavement, I thought about how often I had run up there telling myself I was going to get fit again, run again, enter races again, feel good running again.  But you know, it doesn't bloody matter how many times it's happened, how long I've been out, running is always there, it's sometimes a little out of reach, but it's always waiting and it's always always rewarding to make that leap of faith once more. 

All my running in the last few years has been strictly recreational.  No "training" - just social runs - sometimes this constitutes training and sometimes it doesn't.  I realised I haven't really run on my own for a very long time, and I haven't listened to music on a run since I can't remember when.  So it was actually really nice to have an old, rocking playlist, no pressure to keep up with anyone and an awesome feeling of euphoria and achievement by heading out alone on the Mean Streets of Blaxland ;)  Streets are easier than trail and at this stage of my fifty seventh "comeback" I need the confidence boost of an easy run to motivate me to keep going.  I am hankering for the days when I can ask my mates to run 20km in the bush with me and not worry about keeping up, but part of the fun will be getting back there.  If tonights rush of endorphins is anything to go by, it will just like one big massive snort of cocaine getting there.  OK ok, I have never had cocaine and there might be bits in between runs where things hurt but I'm seeing the positives, ok?!!  Allow me this indulgence......

Until next time, when I hope I am not reporting banjaxed lower limbs or a total lack of motivation...... :)


 

The Universe

I have a bit more of an appreciation for the Universe after this week. 

It appears to just KNOW shit, and organise your life accordingly.  Well, it seems to with mine. 

It knows you are not ready for something, it withholds it.  It knows when you have done the hard work on something, it gives you what you need. 

What I will never to this day understand is frigging running injuries.

I need my running right now.  I need it for mental health and what happens?  Haven't been injured in a year and half and suddenly I have injuries coming out of my arsehole. 

What's that about?

Achilles - niggling to nagging.  Back - totally fucked.  Hip - all round aching.

All was going so well and all of a sudden, life shifts a gear, things start to get better and the one and only thing that has been able to carry me through the last few months gives up on me.  I've signed up for camps, I've committed to races, I'm worried and I'm sad but most of all I am scared.  What happens to my weekends if I can't run?  I simply can't contemplate that.

I might have to get a cat. 

And teach it the salsa. 

Fark.

 

Work!

Blue Mountains Joggers 10km today - bloody hell, a while since I have run on the road (Narrabeen All Nighter was the last time) and it hurt hurt hurt!!!  Plus it is full of hills.  And I came third last so that was just wonderful ;)  Anyway, I'm trying to remember to wear my heart rate monitor so I gauge better what is happening - how many calories I am using, what my heart rate is doing etc.  I wish it could tell me what is wrong with my freaking hip!  So sore.  But then I was complaining about my lungs this morning and Fi (theatre nurse) goes - show me where it is sore - so I did, and she seemed to think it was my liver, which was odd, why would that be sore????  Nothing to do with getting scuttered on vodka with Louise on Friday night I am sure.  Anyway I have put on 1.5kilos since Xmas and I am not a happy camper.  So I've joined up to myfitnesspal to work out how to lose it.  It was all going swimmingly on Friday when I sneaked in extra walking, ate mainly vegetables and did everything right.  Until after our walk, and our healthy dinner, I proceeded to get stuck into the vodka.  Its not really the calories that bothered me, it was the crazy thoughts going through my head, my perceived need to express my feelings on social media and my desire to call someone totally inappropriate in the hope of letting them know how well I was doing without them.  Arrrrghhhh!!  AND then the next day the need for pasta for breakfast, salt and vinegar chips and pizza for dinner.  Dieting doesn't get more unsuccessful than yesterday I can tell you.  I did manage to get out for a day in the Southern Highlands with Mountain Climber Man and have a swim in a river which made me feel much much much better.  So this week there will be a cap on the vodka consumption and I'm calling two normal drinks per night.  Not the whoppers I decided I wanted on Friday night.  And no wine on weekdays.  Actually no wine ever again would be awesome, but that's never going to happen....
I did really like what I did with my running last week though.  After Knapsack I was quite sore, but got up the next day for a run with Ian and Rach.  Ran every day last week, only short 5km runs, but keeping the legs ticking over.  I felt good physically and most importantly, mentally.  So might keep up the momentum with that. 
So myFitnessPal tells me I have 1,142 calories left to consume today.  That's awesome because to lose 5kg I have to eat 1,200 a day, but if I run, I can take those calories off my total.  So my run "cost" negative 470 calories, which is perfect, because I'm going out for dinner tonight with MM.  So I'm off to google how much wine, pizza and garlic bread I can have for that.  The obsessive compulsive in me loves this shit but unfortunately once there is a nice Reisling down my throat I conveniently forget I am dieting, so I need to remind myself.  Maybe I need to buy myself some jewellery, like a ring, a dieting ring, that reminds me not to overindulge.  Good excuse to go shopping.  Yay!!!

Back

Back.

Back to talking about running.  Back to being happy about running.  Back to being me and being happy and being well.

Back to the joys of the trail, running in the rain and rejoicing in friendships and simple things like sunrises, big moons, birds singing and laughter.

The smell of the trails early in the morning, the smell of the trail just as it starts to rain.  The feeling of the fresh air on your skin as you run, the beating sun on a stinking hot day and stopping for frozen oranges afterwards.  Good friends, laughs and shared stories on the trails. 

I have missed really immersing myself in all this.  But I'm back to it and it feels marvellous.
 

2nd "Post Normality" post...

Never underestimate being normal.  It's quite a nice place to be.  Unfortunately I swing.  Yep, I swing from very very high to very very low.  And it is actually quite scary sometimes, but sometimes I feel like never wanting those highs to go away and other times I know they are so good that they are not normal and they will lead to disaster.  So whilst being engulfed in this huge high, I am experiencing these flashbacks to reality and where I go after and I know it is going to happen, it is just a question of when.  So here I am "after".  I would dearly love to control it all but I can't.  There is NO WAY I am going to start taking drugs to manage it.  Well, at least, not yet.  I don't think.  But I am really not sure.

To be honest, I don't really know what I would have done this last two months, had it not been for running.  No idea.  I am really scared by the thought.  BUT - I am on my way back upwards now and feeling so much better and once again, the whole running thing  and all my running friends are helping. 

That's all I can say really.  So many utterly fantastic things have happened in my life this last few months, but for some reason its all been eclipsed by a horrible sense of something that I just cannot explain and that there is no reason for.  I know these phases come and I know they go and so I am just hanging in there trying to feel like Mrs Positive until it goes away and I can be me again......

Back to normal - whatever "normal" is.....

Blogging - such an introspective passtime.  Lately - no blogging, which has either meant I am afraid to look inwards or I just didn't like what I was seeing.

But, the fog appears to have lifted.  I am in love with life again.  I am still running, and have been consistently for the last few months, and sometimes its been the only time I've felt alive - when I run.  Or, most specifically, after I run.  But normality appears to have resumed, my head is out of my arse, I'm not thinking of jumping out in front of the 7.09 to Central any more and the joy of life has come back to me.  The positives of this little sojourn into the dark side is that training has been consistent and that means running has become easier, more enjoyable and more "normal".  So that is really good.


Today was the first day of Spring.  I didn't Spring out of bed, I wearily got up under duress, because I was tired and still sleepy, but I had arranged to meet friends and run long with them.  I think I was still asleep driving up there, but what a joyous, fantastic morning for running.  Possibly one of the best morning runs I have ever experienced.  It was chilly at first.  The mountains were hazy from the burning off and the trails were peaceful with no breeze.  The sun was coming through the trees with a yellow shimmery haze, the bush smelt clean and new and beautiful and it was just the most perfect day for running.  I'd planned to meet the guys on their second lap, so got some quiet time to myself and my thoughts (after a bit of a crazy, emotion fuelled, but wonderful Saturday) so it was nice to just be at one with the world, deep in my own thoughts and happy to be experiencing the most beautiful surroundings.  Caught up with Steve, Chris and Fi at the 4km mark and ended up doing 28km all up on the trails this morning.  I felt wonderful the whole way (despite forgetting to bring water, food or anything sensible) but after the run my hip has been sore and tight.  If not for the hip I think I could have run all day.  There is no better feeling that just enjoying every step and being totally "there"....

Next weekend is Woodford to Glenbrook, then our big run in Katoomba and then Blackmores.  Then I might have a little break from events until Kedumba.  I've got other stuff to focus on at the weekends for a while ;)

When I wake up, it's going to be tomorrow. And tomorrow is such z wonderful day :) 

The Smell of Freshly Burnt Decay

Fark. 

I knew it.

I knew two things. 

1.  As soon as I sat on that chair I would start blubbering
2.  They would try and coerce me into Root Canal.  The Evil "Up Sale" of the Modern Dentist.

Unsurprisingly, both things happened.  I was waiting for the root canal discussion and had my "take the fucking thing out or else I'll have you kneecapped" response ready.  But this wee lad was soooo gentle and nice, he farking CHARMED me into letting him put his needle in my mouth and then his drill and drilling away at my tooth until he found the root, and then drilling away at that until I held up the lollipop stick (the international symbol for STOP or else).....and when my knee started playing "Seven Nation Army" on his chair he was kind enough to allow me a break.  Honestly, I did think of blow jobs whilst he was in there, and how those porno women can keep their mouths open that long.  I was struggling, I can tell you.  In fact the little stream of concious thought that went through my head was something like this.....

"he's drilling into my head, he's about to hit something and its gonna hurt.....keeping my mouth open this long is really hard, how do those porn stars do it?.......he's gonna hit something.......urgh, burning decay, that smells yucky............that farking drill is drilling into my skull......it's gonna hit something very soon......my leg has suddenly developed a very acute case of Parkinsons.......he's drilling into my SKULL....I am not going to die.....it will be over soon......he's still going.....stop!!!!.......surely he's finished.....ok that's enough, I'm going now, I don't care if he's not finished.....please stop drilling.....ohmygod he's stopped drilling and is now poking something very sharp up into my forehead......."  etc etc....

I actually didn't think I was going to be able to let him finished, but it is wonderful what shame and fear will do, as well as being hooked up to fifty million different suction methods. 

Anyway I lived to tell the tale.  Whilst the anaesthetic was still taking effect, I felt like I could hug every single stranger in the street.  When it started to wear off and the sensation of having my nerve roots fiddled with became apparent, that feeling subsided somewhat and it was time.  Yes it was time to forget work, forget housework and to take as many damn painkillers as was legally possible and bunker down for an afternoon of unadulterated snoring.  Then wake up and swiftly replace painkillers with beer.  Which I also managed the transition admirably.   I am sure tomorrow the pain will be a distant memory and I will be back to my normal self (keeping the fingers crossed for that one....)

Gob problems....

The best laid plans and all that......

The plan was to run this morning with Fi and then run this arvo with Bundy and MJ.  I did do both, but both runs felt really bizarre, possibly because of the huge amount of drugs I've been taking for this farking big hole in my tooth that I should have got looked at in January 2012.  And now I have to find someone to pull the farking thing out tomorrow.  Which probably explains my grumpy cow mode all of last week and my ability to quaff inordinate amounts of cleanskin wine on Friday night in an effort to numb my gob.  So today I DID do 23.5km of running.  And the 10km this morning, to be honest, I think I was still mainly asleep and didn't really notice it.  I crawled back into bed straight afterwards, popped some more drugs and drifted back into oblivion, which was quite nice.  Then I got up and hoped to sail through 13.5km on the trails.  I sailed through about 11km then I started shivering and shaking and feeling sorry for myself and to my absolute horror, in front of my friends, I started to cry.  How farking embarrassing!!!  So we sort of run / walked back to the car and I was totally mortified and couldn't get warm and had a throbbing head and generally felt like shooting myself.  This is just about the only feeling that will coerce me to go to the dentists.  So tomorrow I plan to ring around the fang farriers in the area until I find one who sounds sympathetic enough to pull the fecking thing out and be done with it.  Bloody teeth.  Why oh why were they invented with nerves?  Even the word makes it sorer, I'm sure.  So the good thing about tomorrow then is that I don't have to go to work.  But conversely I think I have been disliking work because my gob has been sore.  So maybe if I get it sorted my attention span will suddenly resume and I will be back to normal functioning Sonia.  Because I have been a bit scattered of late and I can't think why.

Anyway,. this week only 40km of running, but aren't we winding down to a marathon or something?  Going to see the lovely man in Bathurst on Wednesday and then he comes for the marathon weekend on Friday, so I am very much looking forward to both, and even the race!!!  Of course I am looking forward to the race!!!  I will have the gob problems solved and will be ON FIRE!!! 

You know how your grumpiest friends on Facebook share all these uplifting posts about how you should live your life?  And there's like 15 pointers for you to learn and live by?  And you read them and go, yep, tick, yep, tick, yep, state the fucking obvious why don't you, etc etc etc?  Well one I just read said "what did you achieve today?".  Well, I will tell you what I farking acheived, if I may.  The NSW Police Force don't farking hate me as much today as they did yesterday, that's what I achieved, condescending Facebook Post.  It's not like I had a win.  No sir.  I just didn't have a "lose".  Which makes me inordinately happy. 

Remember how I have been going on about being terribly happy and jumping around with glee and generally being very annoying?  Well I knew it would come to an end and it did.  Monday night I hit the happiness wall.  I was exhausted about being so chirpy.  I was knackered from being so positive.  And I was exhausted to be so nice to everyone.  Eventually, something has to give.  Because seriously, I was over the top happy.  I think I just wore myself out, especially this weekend, when I did so much smiling, running and hanging from trees, it was really unnatural.  But by god it was fun.  So Monday night I had an early night and Tuesday I had to work from home I was so tired.  And I had a nanna nap.  And then I was knackered Wednesday and grumpy again and had to have ANOTHER early night.  And then I slept for like 13 hours and I think it was all that happy smiling and other stuff this weekend.  I am fine now.  I think.  It is ten to ten so I really should be in bed.  But I had dinner with a girlfriend which was another really happy affair so I guess I need to balance life with less happy events so that I dont wear myself out from smiling.  Hence I am going to work tomorrow.  But really.  Life is good.  But awfully tiring.  At one point I was worrying that I might have some incurable disease but I really think that all that bounciness and glee lead to quite a lot of exhaustion.  So I went to Tuesday nights night running trail session, becuase it is so much fun, but missed last nights road run with Bentley man.  Ran today on the road to make up and we have a long run planned for Sunday.  Next week I gotta take it easy as we have M7 marathon on Sunday.  Paul is coming down on Friday so we won't do any running until the race on Sunday - gotta think of things to do on Saturday that don't involve legs..... Hmmmmm...... :)

Loving this.....

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/running

Is it legal to be this happy? 

Really, my work colleagues are getting sick of getting a big look at my teeth every Monday morning when I come in and I am grinning from ear to ear.  Ash asked me today "how was your weekend?" I swear he went RED when I bared my fangs and gave him a good view of my ivories and started to giggle.  In fact, I spent the ENTIRE weekend giggling.  It is good when you have an accomplice who is equally adept at giggling at silly situations.  I'm just loving my life at present, everything is just wonderful.  No, I am not on drugs.  Yes I still have my figure.  No, I didn't get a tummy tuck.  No, I have not turned into an alcoholic.  I don't know what happened.  There were lots of things and they all happened around the same time, they all involved an effort at first but they have all paid off majorly.  Feel like I have invested a little, I have diversified, and it has all paid off. 

Anyway, I'm not gloating, I know the transient nature of things.  I know how things can change,  and I know how I feel today can come crashing down tomorrow.  But it is soooo nice to be soo happy.  So just let me wallow a little.  After all, what are blogs for if you cannot indulge yourself a wee bit?

This weekend was pretty marvellous.  Beautiful run Saturday morning with beautiful people.  Paul came down Saturday afternoon and we had a romantic trip to Bunnings.  Yes, the hardware shop.  Then he replaced my taps.  Then we had some dinner and drinks.  Ha.  Sunday we had booked that swingy tree thing.  Terrifying and fun.  Terrifying especially when you get stuck halfway on a sort of mid air sixty feet up skateboard with the only thing keeping you up is you, hanging onto a rope.  Note to self.  Don't attempt this ever again ever ever ever.  I hope that is emphatic enough for me.  Never. Ever. Again.  No sir.  Then don't be "polite" and say, yes, lets do another round.  Because they are all farking terrifying.  But man it was fun.  Afterwards.  After I stopped trembling.  And that night I dreamt about falling.  A lot.

So that was a good date, really.

All was going well. 

So really, it was a lovely weekend, and that's why I am smiling and showing my porcelain and generally not being bothered by anything much in the world at all, ever, full stop.

Now, I've got to go and be blissfully unaware of life in general.

Bye :)

My fave song at the moment.....

More happy ramblings....

Another great week, both training wise and "other" wise :)

Other covering career, family, love life, finance, knicker size.

Firstly, the training.  I loved every minute of my training this week.  Every single farking minute.  I really did.  Even when it was tough, I still loved it.  And you can't beat that.

So summary of week:

Monday - 7km road run with Bentley Man
Tuesday - 10km (?) I keep forgetting my garmin - with Summit Sisters and some little intervals thrown in
Wednesday - A day of rest.  Sort of.... :)
Thursday - Naff all.  Actually I had really jumpy legs on Wednesday night so thought a day off might be the go
Friday - 6km with Bentley Man - bloody tough little run - too much uphill to declare as "fun" but the fact that we did it on an unlit road on a friday night in the dark with headlamps under the stars and then had a beer after made it fun.....
Saturday - 27km with the motley crew out at Faulconbridge Point.  Totally awesome morning, gorgeous views, brilliant company, 27km seemed "easy" in these conditions.  I fucking love my running friends.  Great to see Bentley man and Graham come along and do their longest runs ever (one loop 13.5km) and Maylinda the little champion did her longest run ever ever ever and was charging ahead to clock up 27km yesterday.
Sunday (today) - I wanted to do 10km to make the tally for the week 60km - managed 9.91km.  Lets round that up to 10km!!!  I thought I was struggling at about 7km but it is amazing what a great song and a bit of a mental talking to will do for you - managed to actually speed up a bit on the last few kms. But that was probably to get it over with.  I wanted to do 10kms to round up to 60km but also because I fancied some garlic bread tonight.  Been dreaming about garlic bread.  Got home, didn't fancy garlic bread at all.  Had hummous.  And cruskits.  Possibly a better option.

It is fair to say I have been sort of floating about on a cloud of happiness lately.  I won't bore you all with the details but honestly, it's fucking great.  And I should really stop swearing.

Last night went to see Ball Park Music - they were amazingly good, and, the support band, Eagle and the Worm - hello????  Brilliant!!!  Youngsters, maybe early twenties, little brass section, lovely boppy music that could have been written in the sixties or today, just timeless, gorgeous, beautiful music.  We got in the standy upy bit and danced away, what a totally brilliant, happy, joyous gig.  I think everyone walked out of there smiling their heads of singing FENCE SITTER!!! FENCE SITTER WITH YOU!!!!

And next weekend is shaping up for more fun, my lovely man is coming down to see me and I am just over the moon about that :)  

Euphoric Post Run Ramblings

So here I am enjoying a "Monkeys Fist" Pale Ale, full of post night time trail running endorphins and of course the beer endorphins.  Is there any better feeling?  I'm not sure.

Tonight I did the Summit Sisters Tuesday session again which was once again totally brilliant.  Unti she sprung speed intervals on us.  Which at the time was hard.  But only for two minutes.  Times Four.  Then it was ok again.  It was actually good to get pushed and have someone watch.  For the lazy runner such as myself, this is EXACTLY what I need.  There was a lot of internal grumbling going on in my brain but it was good.  I guess speed work AND hills is hard, but a wise man once told me that hills are good in the dark because you can't see them and so your brain doesn't do that mental thing where it just assumes it cannot run it, so you stop and walk.  We didn't stop and walk so the theory must work. 

Last night I ran 7km with Bentley Man.  Thought I would struggle because of Sundays long run, but I felt fine, right until the last hill.  Luckily he kept going and literally dragged me mentally up it.  Another really respectable run in the bag.  Getting a reasonable consistency happening now which I am very happy with.

Tomorrow is a night off because B Man is coming to visit again. Thursday I have the option to go to the Summit Sisters run or go see the family.  Is it wrong to want to go to the Summit Sisters run?

Saturday planning long run with Bundy - Saturday night is Ball Park Music!!!  Woo hoo!!!  Another great week flies past......

Weight Watchers Wine

Another fabulous weekend has whizzed past.  This is how I've managed to get old without even noticing, seems I've been having such a good time I haven't noticed that I am now officially ancient. 

Anyway, Mr B (not Mr Bentley, the other Mr B) came down on Saturday and we went out for dinner.  So that was nice.  Then we drank a lot of good red wine.  And talked a load of nonsense.  So that was nice too. *Beams in a slightly retarded way*

Sunday was the replacement run since Woodford to Glenbrook was cancelled, so 8 eager individuals left my place at the ungodly hour (ungodly after drinking red wine and talking shite until almost midnight) of 6.30am and set off for a nice hilly 20km run.  The run consisted of two laps of 10km and I seriously doubted my ability to do both laps but surprised myself by bouncing up and down at the halfway mark BEGGING the girls not to leave me with the boys and come and do another lap.  They agreed and I think we all surprised ourselves this morning.  Very very nice run, great company, challenging little route, I just loved it and I love how I am feeling stronger and stronger with every run.  This week I did Pump class on Monday but ran every other day except Wednesday.  So I managed 52km and a few faster runs for me, one with Summit Sisters and the other with Bentley man.  So feeling good about the week and the running but not the bloody weight!  Over the last three weeks I've been running on average 5 days a week - and I've put on two kilos!!!!  I hate that!  Am I watching what I eat?  Yes!  Am I eating junk?  No!!  Am I drinking heaps?  No!  Am I hungry all the time?  Hell, yes!!!  Anyway, I can see another couple of days of meat looming (thank you Dr Dukan) to fix that, and I am currently imbibing a Weight Watchers accredited wiine.  Yep, you read that right.  No carbs and 70 cals per glass.  And it is LOVELY. 

So in other news, I did a reverse park today.  And I was going back to my car and saw this lady pointing at my rather ineffectual attempt at parking and laughing and clearly pointing out to her partner that the owners parking skills were up her arse.  So I did what any proud person who totally lacks the reverse parking gene would do, and walked past, pretending it wasn't my car.  Furtively hanging about waiting for them to leave so I could get out of the rain and get into my car.  So that was good as well.

Anyway. This WW wine is fab so I might sign off now and go drink some more :)

Protein Balls Take Two

Today I decided to try again with the protein ball idea.  Total success!  They were yummy.  Here is my made up recipe which just seemed to work.

Small bag almond meal
About three tablespoons of LSA
A good whack of cocoa powder  (the unsweetened kind)
Coffee flavoured low carb protein powder
Citrus rind (comes in a bag from the cooking section) - but only a wee bit
Cinnamon - I used lots and it tasted like one of those yummy cinnamon buns
Water
Teeny wee bit of rice bran oil to bring it all together.

Form into balls, sprinkle with cinnamon - seriously - heaven!!


Then in a ball kind of a mood, I made lamb balls:

Lamb cut into cubes, in blender with yoghurt, mint and garlic cloves.  Form into balls, bake in over.  Die with the garlicky lamby gorgeousy goodness of it all.

Finally, I went chicken balls:

Chicken thigh cut into cubes, in blender with lemongrass, ginger and chilli and a little bit of almond meal to bind it all together.  Form into balls and bake.

So, that is the weekend food sorted, got my exciting visitor coming tomorrow, a group run on Sunday morning, I've done a good little week of training and I am a happy camper:

Monday - Pump.  Arrrghhh.  Can't sit down, getting up from my desk hurts, brushing my teeth hurts, raising my eyebrows hurt!
Tuesday - my first run with the Summit Sisters - awesome!!  Pissing rain, puddles, trails, bush and fabulous company - came home soaked, tired and happy.  This will be a regular Tuesday night thing now.
Wednesday - ok I lied.  It wasnt THAT great a training week...
Thursday - 7km in the dark with Bentley Man.  This too is going to be a regular thing and we are working towards a goal that is a little bit challenging and a lot exciting.  Plus he is great company. 
Friday - Laps of the Sack of Knap.
Saturday - don't know yet!!  Might google and see whats on - B Man coming to visit - FARKKK!!!
Sunday - group run - 20km - W2G cancelled so we are doing two laps of the local 10km Saturday morning run.  Looking forward to seeing my running buddies.

All in all, so far has been a wicked week, really enjoying this night time running business.  All is really well in my world. 

Glow Worm Trail Run

Today was just fabulous.  Great company, beautiful scenery, fantastic course, great organisation - seriously - it had it all.  Except for heat.  It was SERIOUSLY cold - we got out of the car at Lithgow and it just hit us.  Can't ever remember feeling so cold.  God, Lithgow is one bleak place.  Ugly landscape, unattractive people, cold weather, the only thing the town has going for it is McDonalds and that's saying something.

Anyway. Enough being cheeky.

We got there a full two hours early so it was all about leaping about from foot to foot to keep warm.  Finally it was time to run and to strip off.  That was vey unpleasant.  Then we got running.  Within 500 m there was a water crossing.  Take your time and go over the stepping stones and stay dry (and warm) or balls out and dive in, running through the river (and it wasn't a little piddly one) in absolutely freezing water.  Yep, guess what I did?  I ran the heck across that water - yep and that felt GOOD!

Off we took and it was such a relief to get running and get warm.  What a beautiful beautiful run.  Really really loved it, loved the tunnel and the having to use the headlamps although I was kinda on my own and little scared but then people started appearing out of nowhere and it was good.  After the gradual 10km uphill to the tunnel it was a sweet downhill 10km to the finish, although my lack of much training since Japan apart from a spurt this week meant I wasn't race fit, although my legs felt strong.  I guess all that walking makes you fit for WALKING!  Not running!  But it was a gorgeous day and I don't get hung up on times or placings or any of that shit that shouldn't concern anyone except the top three, maybe four.

So, next week is the next Sydney Trail Series with Chris, week after is Woodford to Glenbrook and an exciting day beforehand which I am SO LOOKING FORWARD TO but in order to protect the innocent and keep myself nice I will keep to myself. 

All in all, it's been a very interesting week, and I have another one coming up, then two nice races over the next two weekends.  Need to sort my shit out for July - talk of Gold Coast and of course Adelaide, but if I don't get my act together I will be going nowhere and racing nothing.....!!!

Stiff Little Fingers - Suspect Device

Best band I have ever seen live full stop....

this is them in their early (tracksuit wearing) days.....

I'm loving this delve into the past....

Thanks Andrea for the memories....xxx

Stiff Little Fingers - Alternative Ulster (Rockpalast '80)

Tough day.

Andrea's birthday.

She'd be wanting me to listen to some Stiff Little Fingers and jump around my bedroom.

So,