Running With Dogs

I went out for a run this morning, first one in a long time, it seems. I felt duty bound, to try and wear off the kilo of chocolate I’ve eaten in the last week. I wonder if it’s a reflection on my character, I have absolutely no self restraint when it comes to chocolate and wine. If either are in the house, I indulge.

Anyhoo, back to the run. I looked the part - tights with shorts over the top, running singlet and my new long sleeved shirt. I cut my regular loop a bit short so Hubby could leave for work at 7am. Well, it was cold. So  cold. There was snow in Stanthorpe, which is about 3 hours from here, but still - snow in Queensland isn’t all that common. Mind you, probably not as cold as Melbourne on a bike. The wind blew right through my top, and it was before sunup so a bit glum. I just couldn’t get into it. I don’t do cold well, whatever I need to do. Guinness, however, loved it, and we ended up doing a touch over 6km in I don’t know what time because I couldn’t find the Garmin. I was given a $50 note for my birthday and didn’t know what to do with it. Now I do - I’m putting it towards a treadmill!!

I dyed my hair last night - it was supposed to be Iced Chocolate in colour which paints the picture of a nice soft brown. Instead, it’s chocolate mudcake, and very dark indeed. I’m so over hair.

The rest of the day was totally uneventful. Miss 8, after an awesome day yesterday as far as schoolwork goes, decided she just hated SOSE and wasn’t going to do it. After a D&M along the lines of if she didn’t do it for me she could go to school and do it for someone else, her attitude changed and we got a fair bit done. I’ve organised photography workshops for our local homeschool group and they’ll start in about two weeks. We’re all looking forward to that.

My friend Debbie is calling around tomorrow morning to show me her new camera. The Nikon D300 digital SLR. It’s a tad over 12 megapixels and apparently really nice indeed. I’d love one - you can blow 12 megapixels up pretty big - but I really can’t justify it at all. I’ve got a D100 which does me just fine. Maybe when I’ve made a fortune selling my photographs I’ll upgrade. Don’t hold your breath! I went to the local camera club for a night out last week and really enjoyed it, so who knows…

Off for an early night as I’m planning on getting up at 5am to get some writing done, and I’m not really good with no sleep.

I survived another year, and turned 42 yesterday. Same birthday as Mick Jagger, John Howard and Vitas Gerulaitis. Who, you may ask? When I was a kid, I used to love watching “Seven’s summer of tennis” during the Christmas school holidays. Those were the days of Ivan Lendl and Guillermo Vilas (my big crush!!). And, of course, Vitas Gerulaitis.

It’s funny really, two years ago when I turned 40, everybody gave me a bottle of wine. This year everybody is giving me chocolate. Not sure which is worse..or better . I had yesterday off work, so Hubby and the kidlets made me pancakes with maple syrup for breakfast, with a vanilla latte. Then, we walked the dogs before the in laws came for dinner. It was a really pleasant evening. The highlight being MIss 8 asking Grandma if she had tea, and Grandma baring her fangs at her. She thought Miss 8 had said “teeth” so showed her. We paid out on Grandma for the rest of the night.

Today we had a barbie with a couple of homeschooling families, and my mum and my father in law. It too was a fun day. However, I’ve eaten so much chocolate and had a few glasses of wine that I really need to start running again. I find it really easy after a break to not start again, and I need to be mindful of that. What will help is that Master 6 gave me a really nice Asics long sleeved running shirt and he’s keen for me to try it out.

Quite unmotivated and un goaled again, I won’t be going to the Noosa half marathon at the end of August because Miss 8 is keen to go in a highland dancing competition. She missed out on her studio’s competition, the highlight of their year, because it was on the Saturday of Kokoda, so I think it’s only fair that she gets to have a dance. She and I used to go to Kingaroy each May and stay the Friday night in a motel and had dinner together, and she danced at the eisteddfod on the Saturday before driving home. It was a nice girls night away. There’s no more highland dancing at Kingaroy eisteddfod any more. There’s a comp for her in Armidale in September and Grafton in October, so we may end up still having our night away. MIght have a look around for another run for me, but I don’t think there’s too many half marathons left - maybe Toowoomba?

Off to dye my hair - getting a bit grey again.

Yep, haven’t written at all since we got back from the Kokoda Challenge. Haven’t done much of anything. It was a beaut weekend, and one for the calendar next year for sure.

We stayed on the Friday night at a motel I’d booked sight unseen after searching for ages for something suitable for us. It turned out to be a fair bit away from the start and finish, and right on the Gold Coast Highway so was quite noisy. Still, got a bit of sleep before our 3am rise on Saturday morning.

I’ll try and do a bit better than my half marathon report (started, ran/walked a bloody long way all day and all night, got extremely cold and tired then stopped when we finished, LOL). Weather was absolutely perfect for the event. Clear skies and quite cool.

There were lots of people at the start, it was freezing cold and the loudspeaker was playing Queen - We Will Rock You. The start was staggered with the faster runners up the front, and us towards the back of the 20-25 hour section.

After the Last Post was played, we were off like a sea of humanity.

Took a while to get to a place where we could run at all. The first part of the course was on footpaths before turning into some nice little trails.

Very hilly terrain and we started by walking the uphills and running the flats and downhills. Having said that, the downhills were often quite precarious with loose gravel and stones. When we got to the top of the uphills, we were rewarded with some great views over to the coast - high rises and the sun reflecting off the ocean.

Here we are at the top of a climb.Me, Hubby, Will and Sean. It was funny because they hadn’t updated their records yet, and the electronic scanning gear at the checkpoints had Will listed as Robyn.

There wasn’t much of the course that wasn’t up or down, and for some reason my metatarsal heads started to really hurt around the 20km mark. As in really hurt, so that I was thankful for the uphill climbs because the downhills were very sore. I figured the best chance of finishing reasonably comfortably was to walk from there on, so we did.

Here’s Will heading up one of the earlier hills. They didn’t get any smaller, that’s for sure.

Checkpoints were well manned with smiling volunteers with mint leaves. So nice after not brushing your teeth for a while. Our crew, Parso, was fantastic, everytime we saw him, he had boiling water for a cuppa and couldn’t have been more helpful. He even had chocolate!! Won me over completely.

When darkness fell, we just kept walking, crossing creeks, climbing hills. It was warm enough while we were moving, but when we stopped, it was soooo cold.

Yep, we had to get up to the top of that ridge and go along it. No idea what time it was there, it looks like late afternoon in the pic so we would have been going for around 8 or 9 hours by then. Still feeling quite cheerful, and having a good time.

The hardest part was the last 10km, I was pretty keen to get over the line. Hubby was nodding off on his feet - he’s a good ultra runner and has never been out on a course for that long, and he got very tired.

This hill that Sean is climbing is in the 85th kilometer, on Sunday morning leading up to the last checkpoint. They just didn’t let up.

Just before we walked into the velodrome and under the finish line, Will realised they’d be calling out the team name, CRR Doubledate, and he’d be walking in with Sean. That got us laughing. We finished at around 10.55am, feeling pretty okay although my feet were stuffed, and headed home. Hubby fell asleep in the car, while I drove but it wasn’t long before I had to pull over to have a nap. Just too dangerous. We got home around 3pm and had another quick sleep before going to our friends place to pick up the kidlets and have a barbecue tea.

Here’s the thingy from the Garmin, up until dinnertime when the battery went flat. Some good hills around the place.

I’ve been feeling pretty good since. No leg pain at all but I did have to walk on my heels for the first few days. It’s probably taken me until about now to feel I’ve caught up on missed sleep.

This is a fantastic event, I loved it and can’t wait until next year. Although I’m sure I’ll be stronger and my feet will be in better shape, I’ll still walk it - it’s something to be savoured slowly. The winners did it in 11 hours 54 or something, which is amazing.

So that’s it. We survived, we didn’t have any arguments in the team, we finished as a foursome and Hubby and I are still married. A good result in anyone’s language.

This will be the last post before we head down the coast for the weekend. I’ve got lots of yummy food and snacks, the kidlets are just about organised and I need to pack our clothes, shoes and toiletries. Hubby will be making some of his rocket fuel gel - it’s a ton cheaper than the commercial varieties and is at least as effective.

Tomorrow will be busy too - dogs to kennels, kidlets to gymnastics then to Mariyas, then we head to Burleigh Heads for the night before an early morning rise. Check in is between 5.30 and 6.30am, but at least the weather forecast is good.

So, I should have a tale to tell when I next post! My legs may not be working but my fingers should be okay.

This is my 200th post on this blog!! Who would have thought I could waffle on for so long? Yeah, okay, don’t answer that!

I’ve done nothing since my 6k run on Saturday. My tooth has been niggly and uncomfortable, and believe it or not, I was glad to get to the dentist yesterday. Troy has an amazing setup. Digital xray equipment - took a picture of my tooth and it’s immediately on the computer screen in front of me!! Even I could see the cavity under the filling. Troy said he might be able to root canal it and put a crown on but it may not work, so we decided just to pull it. It’s at the back so it’s not going to affect my dazzling smile! The tooth came out so easily, it didn’t take much pulling, so obviously it wasn’t a happy tooth to start with. I spent yesterday aching, couldn’t eat or drink til dinnertime so couldn’t swallow any panadol. Feels better today.

It’s pouring today!! The forecast for the weekend is fine, so we should stay moderately dry during the Kokoda Challenge, but the creeks will be flowing big time. I’m going to make sure I’ve got plenty of dry socks. I won’t be running today but might get an hour on the elliptical trainer while Oprah is on.

Those who have been reading this blog for a while will have seen the youtube video of Rookie, Carolyn Scott’s Golden Retriever who danced to the Grease music. For those who haven’t seen it, here it is again - this is one of the most awesome examples of not only dog training, but of the wonderful relationship you can have with a dog, that I’ve ever seen.

I was really saddened to hear that Rookie was helped across the Rainbow Bridge on Monday after a battle with cancer. I can imagine how absolutely devastated Carolyn must feel. I’m off to cuddle my dogs for a while.

The Rainbow Bridge

inspired by a Norse legend

By the edge of a woods, at the foot of a hill,
Is a lush, green meadow where time stands still.
Where the friends of man and woman do run,
When their time on earth is over and done.

For here, between this world and the next,
Is a place where each beloved creature finds rest.
On this golden land, they wait and they play,
Till the Rainbow Bridge they cross over one day.

No more do they suffer, in pain or in sadness,
For here they are whole, their lives filled with gladness.
Their limbs are restored, their health renewed,
Their bodies have healed, with strength imbued.

They romp through the grass, without even a care,
Until one day they start, and sniff at the air.
All ears prick forward, eyes dart front and back,
Then all of a sudden, one breaks from the pack.

For just at that instant, their eyes have met;
Together again, both person and pet.
So they run to each other, these friends from long past,
The time of their parting is over at last.

The sadness they felt while they were apart,
Has turned into joy once more in each heart.
They embrace with a love that will last forever,
And then, side-by-side, they cross over… together.

It was a non stop day at work on Saturday, it’s a long time since it’s been quite that busy. I was tired when I got home, not just physically but mentally too. I took Guinness out for a run, and we only did just short of 6k, as I took my time getting ready and it was almost dark when I got home. I’m not too worried about doing much this week, I can’t see how anything I do now will make it any easier next weekend, so my focus is on staying limber and avoiding getting hurt. My right quad tendon is a bit tight so it’s getting a lot of stretching attention, but other than that, legs are good.  We watched a taped episode of Spooks before an early night. There’s nothing quite as good as British cop shows. Well, I don’t include The Bill in that any more - it’s turned into a soapie and I don’t watch it.

This morning was the usual club 8k at the Environmental Park. I didn’t run but took the kidlets to find our geocache - it’s in good nick. Had a cuppa and then went to Suncoast Fundogs to take some photos for the annual fundraising calendars and Christmas cards. It actually went really well. Very orderly and the cloud cover and nice scenery meant we got some good shots. Walked the dogs this afternoon and again, another quiet night after watching Battle of the Choirs. The whippets have survived their desexing very well, and we’re already seeing improvements in Sherbet’s behaviour.

We have our accommodation for Friday night sorted - just an inexpensive motel room, one for Hubby and I, and one for the three boys. It’s going to be a busy week - shopping for the weekend as well as the usual grocery shopping, laundry, packing for not only us but for the kidlets for their sleepover, as well as the start of the new school term and all that entails. I also have to remember to vaccinate the dogs, the vaccines are in the fridge and the dogs will need them for going into the kennels on Friday. A bit like the plumber who has a dripping tap, eh?

My Hubby has been playing a darned tune over and over again, he’s got it on his mobile phone, he plays it on his computer and he’s taught the kidlets the words. Drives me nuts. It’s actually an awesome song, by Fleet Foxes. Have a listen and see what you think:

 Nice easy week running wise. A few 5-8km runs and that’s about it.

Since Robyn has pulled out with her sore knee, Hubby phoned Will - similar age to us, has kidlets, likes trails, has done similar distance to me but is a ton faster (don’t think that’ll matter much over 96k ). He thought about it for a bit, and he’s in. So we have Sean, Will, Hubby and myself, with Mark crewing.  I’m told I get to carbo load next week, eat as much as I like… I think I do that anyway. I’m going to make some calls for accommodation for Friday night. It’s only 7 more sleeps. Seems like not so long ago it was 6 weeks or so to go. Time passes. There’s a website where people can keep track of our teams progress from the warmth of their cosy  house - click here and you can enter our team number and watch where we are at some ungodly time of the night. Our team number is 180.

Quiet night at club last night, I just did some slow jogs around the track. Still no leg pain, I wonder if I’m doing something wrong. It was really cold last night when I went to bed. I’m looking forward to summer.

When I was at the shopping centre yesterday, the Coffee Club was promoting their Melbourne Cup function. This is July, Melbourne Cup is in November, that’s just a bit premature if you ask me.

Whippets have gone into work for their little operation. I’ll get some chores done today, then the kidlets have a birthday party this afternoon. Working tomorrow, and photographing the dog club dogs on Sunday, so a pleasant few days lined up.

Since it’s only 9 days until the Kokoda Challenge, Hubby and I went for another night trail run at Bunyaville State Forest last night. Yes, it was cold, but at least it wasn’t raining this time. Nearly 16km later, we picked up the kidlets from Roseanne’s, came home and crawled into bed. Today, I have zero leg pain, no muscle soreness or tightness. So, I must be getting stronger.

I took the kidlets to see Get Smart with Kylie, Matt and their two children. I must admit, I was quite taken aback by the amount of violence in the movie - it’s rated PG. Transformers is rated M, and isn’t as bad. Get Smart had people being shot, kicked in the guts and kneed in the groin…. I usually try to keep my kidlets away from that sort of thing. But, it was a great film, I really enjoyed it. Steve Carell is excellent. I’ll have to get it on DVD so Hubby can see it, he’ll like it too. Next on the agenda is Mamma Mia. I saw the stage show a couple of years ago and loved it.

I’ve had a little black dot on one of my teeth for a few weeks now, and Kylie, being a dental receptionist warned me that I knew as well as she did that it could abscess. Well, she jinxed me for sure, and now it hurts. I’ve got an appointment next Tuesday. All I want is it to be not sore for the Kokoda - imagine 2am, dark, cold, sore and tired with a toothache!! Not good.

I’ve brought forward the whippets’ desexing appointment and they’re going in tomorrow morning. I’m tired of the indiscreet “morning glory”, and am way over the amused comments from the kidlets, so their pockets are being picked. Guinness was never like this, and he’s still not desexed. He’s the perfect gentleman!

Running club tonight, it’ll be cool again. Will probably just have a lope around the track. I’ll have an easy mid distance run on Saturday, the club has an 8k at the Environmental Park on Sunday morning, then I’ll be sure and have an easy week.

Miss 8 was engrossed in a book at Angus and Robertsons today, “Where Did I Come From?”. Sigh. I thought I had a few more years before discussing the birds and the bees!!

After planning a long run in the hills last night, we got away a bit later than expected and to prevent Poppy and Grandmarl sitting at our place until around 2am, we just did a little over 15k. It was dark and rainy, and a bit hilly still, but what was really nice was that there was low lying cloud over the hills and at times, we couldn’t see more than 5 feet in front of us. We took the big dogs along, and they really enjoyed it too, but they were doing a fair bit of stretching this morning.

Having a bit of trouble with the team for the Kokoda Challenge. Robyn has pulled out because of problems with her ITB, so we called on our reserve. He’s got a bit of an ankle injury so would rather not. Our crew person said he could do it with us and could rope someone else into crewing for us, but since he’s not long back from trekking in Nepal, he’d rather crew. So, we’ve got one more person we can suss out. These team events add a bit of a new dynamic to going out for a run.

I’ve joined a team on Kickrunners for the Virtual Race Across America. The idea is that teams are put together consisting pretty evenly of runners from the full spectrum of ability and experience. You get points for each mile you run, and the winner is the team who covers the virtual distance first. Last time the route was from LA to Anchorage, this time we’re starting at Coney Island and heading south, then west. It’s kind of fun, and the idea is that it should motivate you to get out for a run to gain more points for your team.

I have no idea why, but my clean, unsorted, unfolded laundry is breeding. No sooner do I fold and put away, but it’s back on my couch. I’m sure it’s laughing at me.

Quiet night tonight - the grand final of Gladiators, followed by Battle of the Choirs, then we’ll probably watch the episodes of Silent Witness and Spooks we taped on Friday night. I’ll probably take Guinness for a run tomorrow - it’s all points.

I haven’t done a whole lot of running this week, in fact I’m not sure I’ve done anything since last Sunday’s accidental half. The days go past so quickly I can barely remember what I’ve done from one day to the next. Maybe I did have a run, but I do know I’ve been really enjoying snoozing in the mornings.

I went to CRR tonight, and did 4 x 800m with a one lap recovery between. I tell a lie, it was 3 x 800m and the last one was only 400m… I was drained from the day and ready to go home. It was quite funny - most of the other club members ran their recovery lap faster than I did my fast laps  . But that’s okay, I tried to keep my fast 800m at under 5 min per km pace, which I guess by some standards isn’t quick, but it’s pretty quick for me, and I’m still working on avoiding any injury. I still have absolutely no leg pain at all, and it’s so enjoyable. I’m also really enjoying not having an agenda and just going for a run when it fits in and doing whatever distance I feel like. I’m still thinking of doing the Noosa half at the end of August, but there’s also the Russell Island half the week later. I’d like to support Russell Island, it’s a brand new running festival with a 5k, 10k and half marathon around an island out in Moreton Bay. It’d be a nice family day out, and it’s $15 entry for the half marathon! What a bargain!

The whippets are now booked in for desexing on the 16th July. I figure they’ll be desexed on that Wed, then they can hang with me on the Thursday to make sure they’re recovering well, then they’ll be confined in the kennels for the weekend while we’re doing that Kokoda stroll. That way they won’t be running around too soon. It’s very harmonious around here - all four dogs get on very well.

Linda, who bred our whippets, is staying with us tomorrow night and bringing down a few of her dogs to be vaccinated, It should be fun - last time her idea of ” a few” was 38 dogs! Bedlam.

Other than that, Grandmarl and Poppy are babysitting on Saturday night while Hubby and I have one last decent hill run - thinking of aiming for something near 30k at Mt Mee. Then we’ll just do that “taper” thingy, LOL. Sunday - pancakes and latte, and a relaxing day.