Running With Dogs

It was a gorgeous day for a run on the beach yesterday morning. Our 3 x 12k relay team were suitably attired in hula skirts, leis and flowers in our hair. Probably looked fine on Caroline and I, but Hubby was a bit less umm feminine Caroline was back in around 1.13, and I was expecting to take a fair while, not having done much running, but I managed to finish in around 1.23.

It was hard going, on one side there was the ocean lapping at my feet, there was a narrow patch of firm sand to run on then on the other side was lots of soft sand that had been churned up by the four wheel drives. By the end of my run I was running in the water as it was easier than running on the uneven soft sand.

Poor Hubby had the worst of it because for his whole run there was no firm sand at all and he did his 12k in the water. He ended up doing a bit more because when he got out to 6k, they’d taken out the turnaround pole and the fella in front of him had gone too far. Hubby kept going to tell him to turn around; he’d have gone on for ages further.

So, we came third out of three in the relay, but we did win best dressed team. Having said that, we were the only dressed team, LOL. Here’s Hubby looking good in his skirt!

I was pretty whacked for the rest of the day, so took the dogs a walk and   pottered around the house. Watched that new television show “The Mentalist” before an early night.

I had my eyes checked last week because I’m getting sore eyes when I use the computer. Need some stronger lenses in my glasses. Need to actually use my glasses for computer work - I keep losing them on the pile of junk on my desk. Just goes to show there are benefits in being tidy.

Back into schoolwork today but it’s hard, it’s a glorious day and I really fancy taking the kiddies to the lagoon for a swim. May be able to use that as a bribe.

Had a nice night at running club last night, I ran a few laps with Heleen and met her new border collie puppy, Miesje, which apparently is Dutch for little girl. Knee is good. Had a chat with Caroline, our other relay team member for Sunday’s Bribie Beach Bash about costume, and unfortunately, my Hubby has escaped the opportunity to run in black fishnet stockings and a feather boa We’ve got a bit of an idea for a costume, and  I’ll post a photo if we can get one taken on Sunday.

After we got home, we were looking at some music on youtube, including this Bulgarian woman who was singing “Without You”, but she didn’t know the English words so sang them phonetically.

Imagine if your name was Ken Lee, LOL.

My friend Ian came over for a coffee this afternoon. Ian and I used to play in the Redcliffe Scottish Pipe Band together, and he had a new set of bagpipes he wanted to show me. Just stunning engraving on the silver, and it really made me hanker to get my pipes out again and play. He tells me there’s a new pipe band started up just up the road… no, no, no, there are just not enough hours in a day… I’m at the moment fiddling with my practice chanter, trying to come up with a bagpipe score for Josh Grogan’s tune “You Raise Me Up” - I think that would be awesome on the pipes.

Other than that, not a whole lot happening. I still haven’t sorted my laundry, I need to clean my kitchen, and term 4 schoolwork starts on Monday.

Didn’t run today, figured two days in a row not ideal while my knee is recovering, so slept in. Nice. Knee is feeling very good indeed this afternoon so obviously nothing major. I think I need to stretch more.

I’ve been trying to think of five achievements, following on from yesterday’s post. One is that I survived another year’s homeschooling, and both children got an excellence award for their schoolwork at the end of last year.  Must be doing okay somewhere. I finished my first half marathon in under two hours. I guess a third is that I’m managing to have dinner on the table for Hubby coming home maybe 3 days out of 5. I know, not great, but better than it was. My friend said another would be that Hubby and I are still married. So cynical, she is. How many is that? Three.

We’ve got a quiet day at home tomorrow so I might do some more cleaning up and scrub the kitchen cupboards. I’m not usually so domesticated but it really needs doing.

The knee was feeling pretty much back to normal this morning so I took Guinness out for a slow 5k just to see how it all felt. Seems good, so I’ll start to slowly up the ante. The poor black dog thought all his Christmases had come at once, and it was an indication of how little running I’ve done lately.

I’ve cleaned up my desk and found a pile of stuff I’d forgotten I had Including overdue bills!) . I found this really neat book called “Life Makeovers - 52 Practical and Inspiring Ways to Improve Your Life One Week at a Time” It’s a nice little book and designed to have you living the richest life you can. One of those new age type books, but some of them aren’t a bad read. For example, the first chapter task is to get a really nice journal and make a list of the 25 things you are most proud of accomplishing in the last year. I’m not sure if I can thino of 25. Heck, I wonder if I can come up with 5.  I’ll have a think, see how many achievements I can list and post here tomorrow. Why don’t you readers do it too?

I think Miss 8 is ill - she’s in her bedroom with a CD playing, and she’s cleaning up!!! Whatever she’s got, I hope she doesn’t get better soon.

As of last Wednesday, I’ve had a niggle on the inside of my right knee. It hurts most when I flex the knee and because of that, I haven’t run too much. Went to club on Thursday night and did about 300m and decided to socialise for the rest of the night. On Sunday, the club’s 8k race was on and I did the timing, so I’ve been getting lots of rest. According to Noakes, who is my hubby’s running guru, he reckons most injuries don’t necessarily have to stop you running, but I’m a bit reluctant to do too much while it hurts. I know why it happened - Glasshouse 30 followed by the half marathon 6 days later and the 5k the next morning, all on very little training in between. That, and the fact I’m very very slack when it comes to stretching.

I should use this as an excuse to try out that shiny new mountain bike that’s sitting there forlornly.

I was at Westfield North Lakes today and who should I bump into but Wendy. I met her when I was pregnant with Miss 8, we were at the same ante natal classes , we had the same obstetrician and her daughter was born the day after Miss 8 in the same hospital. We haven’t seen them in oh, it must be 4 or 5 years. We’re having coffee on Wednesday, and the girls can meet up again. I’m so looking forward to it, Wendy is just lovely.

The Bribie Beach Bash is on again on Sunday. It’s a variety of distances along the sand of Bribie Island, it’s just gorgeous - sometimes there are dolphins out there. It’s a fundraiser for the Endeavour Foundation and Geoff does a great job of getting sponsors and prizes. Hubby will do the 30k and I’ll hang with the kidlets for the 3k. Caroline and I are trying to find a third team member to do the 3 x 12k relay with us. I’m doing the third leg very slowly so I may end up having the occasional dip in the ocean if it’s too hot. If any readers are interested in being our third runner, drop me a note. You may have to ummm dress up

It’s been about two weeks since my last post. End of term stuff for the kidlets, getting their work packed up to send off to the distance ed college. It’s still not gone, it’s sitting there on the ironing board in two piles. Honestly, it’d be easier just to register directly with the state government, they ask less of us than the school we go through.

Been running a little bit.

Did Glasshouse Trails 30k with Hubby, who was coming back from an injury. Took 5 hours and 01 minute or so, and it was a top morning out. I really enjoyed it although I was a bit undertrained and my feet hurt again.

The weekend after was the Mooloolaba Half Marathon. That was last Saturday, and we headed up early cos the half started at 6.30am. Hubby and the kidlets hung around until 7.30 for their 5k start. Gorgeous course along the river there and then out along the oceanfront and back, then rinse and repeat. Not only did I have the lack of training to contend with, but my legs were quite tired early on in the run, possibly left over from the Glasshouse run. So, I had a few walk breaks, enjoyed the scenery and finished in 2 hours 03 minutes. That was enough to place me 2nd in my age category, but it was a very small, very slow category . This run was a lot like the Caloundra foreshore run, just a small run in a lovely location, and it was well organised. Definitely another keeper, and we may try and arrange the weekend up the coast next year.

I still haven’t got a goal worked out, but I am starting to run a bit more. Guinness is putting on a little weight; I can’t see his pelvic bones any more, LOL. I’m not sure what organised runs there are coming up. There’s the Byron Lighthouse run which is 8k, I’m trying to convince Roseanne to ask her aunt to mind the children and she and I go down for the Saturday night.

The kidlets have started running with their whippets. They want to do the couch to 5k again and have got up to week 2. They’re finding this week hard so we’re just taking it easy.

I haven’t yet taken the new mountain bike out for a spin. I need to get a new helmet and just haven’t got around to it.

I’m a bit worried - I’ve forgotten my login for internet banking - I’ve only been using it now for around 6 years.  Is this the start of the slide into age related memory loss? I never forget numbers!!! It means I have to make my way into a branch because I need to transfer money into the mortgage account!! I’m not sure how many tries you get before they freeze your account, and I’m not game to have another go. I wonder if fish oil will help?

Off to running club tonight, and Anja will be there, she’s just got back from Germany and has a few days before moving to Bundaberg. It’ll be good to catch up.

I can’t believe I’m only running once a week at the moment. Well, I can really. Last week was too wet to get out of bed, Saturday I worked, and Sunday was Father’s Day so spent the day at home.

My only run this week was this morning, just under 10k with Guinness. I found it really boring. I think I need to go a different route but the one I use is so convenient because I know I can be back in time for Hubby to leave for work. I won’t get out in the morning because I have a really early dentists appointment to check my root canal. I know that if I stop for much longer, I may never start again. I’ve already put on 3kg over the last month and a half or so.

Our entries for the Mooloolaba half marathon will go off tomorrow. I’m sure it’ll do my head in. It’s two laps of a 10km course, and with my current level of enthusiasm, I’ll probably finish the first lap and figure I’ve seen the nice view, and that’ll do. I keep thinking maybe I’m not up to half marathon distance any more, but I’ve spent enough time on my feet over the past weeks to be okay.

Sunday is the Glasshouse Trails series, and Hubby and I are doing the 30k. He had to pull out of the 100 mile event because of his bung leg, but if he’s not okay to run the 30k, we’ll just walk it. Should be a nice morning out.

Nearly the end of term and I’m looking forward to school holidays. I’ve got a couple of neat little business ideas (stop laughing, you lot!) and I can work on them when I don’t have to worry about schoolwork. I need to tidy my desk again, I’m losing things.

I’m sitting here with my root canal half done, and part of the temporary filling fallen out. Troy’s not worried though, even though the hole left when the filling fell out feels massive. Next week that will be finished, I’ll have my three fillings done, then the composite that’s on my broken front teeth will be replaced. I’m booked in for an hour in the chair. Thank goodness there’s Foxtel on the ceiling television!

I took the Guinn out for a 10k loop this morning, and I should have had a fair idea of what I was in for. He had a big drink of water before bed last night and this morning when we let him out, he just sat on the patio rather than going and finding the nearest tree. Yep, this morning’s run had a number of pee stops, he drove me nuts!!

Dogs must zone out when they’re running too.  We were trotting down the road and a dog barked at Guinness from the back of a ute. He just about jumped out of his skin and for the rest of the run he was skittish and jumpy. Every time a truck went past or a bus farted, he had a fit. Not the most fun run.

I’ve got the Saturday off for the Mooloolaba half, so that should be a nice morning out. Hubby and the kidlets are doing the 5k.

I got a phone call from the local indoor sports centre yesterday, I’d won the mountain bike in the lucky draw. I picked it up today, it’s very nice indeed. My old bike is quite decrepit, and Guinness had eaten the seat when he was a baby, so this will be very useful. To the bike riding readers, Andrew, Sara - look out, I’m nipping at your heels on my thick tyred, sturdy blue mountain bike.

Kidlets and I had haircuts today. Master 6 had a gorgeous thick messy mop, and now it’s tidy. Miss 8 lost a lot of hair as she decided to go for a French bob, and now looks much older than 8, it really suits her. I’ll have to get some photos. I had a trim, to get rid of the dregs of that poxy perm, and now all I need to do is colour my hair to get rid of the grey speed stripe.

Not sure if I’ll run tomorrow, Hubby is going to try out the leg and the cough, so maybe I’ll sleep in then iron his work clothes. I’m back at the dentist at 11 to finish my root canal.  I have so many people tell me they’re horrified at the thought of a root canal, but I’ve had no pain at all, and it’s been not a drama. Maybe I’ve just got a good dentist - Dr Troy Clifford at North Lakes Family Smile.

Thursday night is running club, Friday night Wire in the Blood is back on with my heart throb Robson Green, then working on Saturday. I can’t believe how fast the weeks are flying by. Two weeks til school holidays  and I have to send more schoolwork into the distance ed college. Sigh.

TIred today… had a very active weekend indeed.

Went to club on Thursday night for the 3k handicap. Did a 55 second pb, mind you, slow is still slow, LOL. That’s okay. I found out that there’s a half marathon at Mooloolaba on the 20th of this month. Having missed Noosa, this would be a much nicer option than Toowoomba. I just need to speak to the boss about having that Saturday off work.

I was almost up and about to go out with Narangba Runners on Saturday morning, but I was tired (too many late nights) and slept in. I took Guinness out for 12k anyway when I got up, but it was warming up and he struggled a bit with the heat.

We then took the four dogs and two kidlets to walk the Somerset Trail. Had sausages on the barbie for lunch, and then a quiet night at home.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, I went out for a recovery run with MBRR on Sunday morning. I seriously considered turning the alarm off when it rang, I need to get up just before 5am to get to Redcliffe by 6, but I’m so glad I didn’t roll over and go back to sleep. I met a really nice girl, bit younger than me, two kidlets, who likes to run trails and is a budding entrepreneur. She did the Kokoda Challenge last year, so we had lots to talk about as we were running together. We’re going to see if we can catch up now and again for a trail run.  Did 10k along the foreshore then went for coffee.

Sunday afternoon - tidying, housework, laundry. It’s never ending. Hubby made a fantastic spinach and ricotta canneloni for tea. Yummm!

My friend Aldian in Indonesia put me onto a site called Just Answer, it’s like yahoo answers but the people answering are experts in their field. The people asking pay a fee for the answer to their questions. I’m a dog and a cat expert on the site. You have to do a lot for a pittance to start with, as you increase your expert level, but when you get to the top level, earning $7 for spending 5 minutes typing an answer isn’t too bad. They’re going to put US$101 into my paypal account tomorrow, just from dabbling in the last week. It’s a bit of extra pocket money, and it doesn’t interfere with family life or the kidlets. I might also add it’s a bit addictive.

Off to whip the kidlets into shape and get their schoolwork done, and rearrange some furniture. I feel like a change of scenery.

Hubby has a leg injury. Pes something or other. It means he has a cankle - a calf combined with an ankle due to oedema and swelling. Major bummer because it means he has to pull out of his 100 mile run. Not to worry, there’s another 100 miler before the end of the year and it might be an option for him if he recovers well.

Sorry as I am that he’s injured, it means I can hog all the running time I want. No need to “discuss” who is running when. After last weekend when I didn’t run at all, I did a 10k on Monday and an 8.5k this morning. Tomorrow night is running club, and then on the weekend, I will probably hook up with Moreton Bay Road Runners, now it’s getting a bit warmer in the morning. Alternatively, Narangba Runners are heading along the Deception Bay foreshore which is nice, but they only go around 12k, and I think I should probably do 15 or so.

Hubby suggested that since he wasn’t running at Glasshouse, I should do the 30k, and I think that’s a good idea. His leg is recovering well enough so that he can more than likely do that distance with me, so I’ve suggested he enter too. The kidlets will still have their sleepover, but we’ll change the dogs’ kennel booking to the weekend after, so we can go to Toowoomba and I’ll do the Ridge to Ridge half marathon. I must admit, sometimes I feel like I don’t do enough because I don’t come back from a run totally spent, but I like it that way. Maybe a 30k trail run followed by a half marathon will tire me out a tad.

We were walking the dogs last weekend up near the IGA, and a couple asked us if we’d seen their lost labrador. After chatting with them a bit, it turns out it was their dog we found hit by the side of the road the other Thursday after club. I guess it’s good that they knew what had happened to her and she wasn’t suffering, but still very sad.

I took Miss 8 to her highland dancing competition last Sunday, instead of going to the Noosa half marathon. It was a nice morning and in spite of his total boredom, Master 6 was very well behaved. Miss 8 came home with one fifth, two fourths, and a second, for overall third in her category. So, four medals and a trophy, she was rapt. I videotaped her dancing and when I figure out what to do with it, I’ll stick it on here for all to see.

I have discovered cleanskin wine - inexpensive bottles from wineries with a generic label on them. I’ve partaken of a nice Shiraz this evening, and there’s a chardonnay chilling in the fridge. I read somewhere that it’s better to drink less frequently and higher quality, but there’s naught wrong with a cleanskin.

It’s been an awfully busy week, socially. Kidlets have had lots of activities, and I’m looking forward to the weekend to have a rest. I’m not working, so it’ll just be pottering around the house and tidying up. We may take the four dogs to Somerset Trail; the whippets are quite fit and it’d be good to start them on trail walking.