Wednesday Wanders

Wednesday Total: 21k
Week Total: 36k
Month Total: 306.8k
Year Total: 306.8k

Time: 2hr 6.28min
Av pace: 6.01min/km
AHR: 142; MHR: 171
Started with: Special K - Placebo
Finished with: Maneater - Nelly Furtado

I always think those elevation maps a bit deceiving because when you first look at them you think "omg, how impressive, look at all those pointy bits" but actually when you look at the scale at the side, its not really that dramatic - well at least not for this run. Yes, there are hills but I don't recall them quite the way they are depicted in the graph!

Anyway it was an uneventful run. I didn't feel too bad after yesterday's runs, though I have to admit 4.30am came around far too quickly. Saw lots of kangaroos - cute little ones and one huge one with massive shoulders; I picked up the pace a little after spotting him! Also saw an echidna busily waddling along, doing its own thing.

Two Times Tuesday

Tuesday afternoon Total: 5k
Week Total: 15k
Month Total: 285.8k
Year Total: 285.8k

Event: ACT Cross Country Summer Series: Weston Park
Time: 22.02min
Av pace: 4.32min/km

I decided yesterday that I would do this event, even though it meant running twice today. Next week I will rearrange my schedule so that I run Monday morning, and then go to the gym Tuesday morning and run the Summer Series Tuesday afternoons. There are 8 events in the Summer Series and most are around 5km, with the longest being 7.1km. These races are good for speedwork, especially as there are some very fast runners who compete in these.

I managed to see Roy and Ray before the start and said hello to Will, who was marshalling. I seeded myself near the back for a relatively slow start as I was still feeling a little stiff and sore from yesterday's gym session! Fortunately the weather had cooled and while it was warm it wasn't unbearably so. Also a good part of this race is shaded, which helps. Once we had started I began picking my way through the group (it was a good turnout) and once we hit the cycle path I was feeling really good. Its a blast to be able to run fast on a flat surface when most days are spent running almost vertically! And before I knew it I was heading back to the start. I'd forgotten how short 5km is!!!! ;-) It was a good run. Afterwards I bumped into Carol who I hadn't seen since my triathlon days (in the dim, dark, distant past!) and I hardly recognised her - she has lost a lot of weight and looks really incredible. Fortunately she recognised me.


Tuesday morning total: 10k
Week Total: 10k
Month Total: 280.8k
Year Total: 280.8k

Time: 56.43min
Av pace: 5.40min/km
AHR: 139; MHR: 159
Started with: Stinkfist - Tool
Finished with: Here it goes again - Ok Go

Took it slowly this morning as I had a 5km race this afternoon. Nothing to report.

Muscles Monday

No running but a gym day instead. Legs feel fine; I'm just suffering some residual tiredness from the weekend's long run. So it was a lower body workout plus abs this morning; which is kind of ironic because my poor old legs get enough of a workout anyway!

There were less people at the gym this morning - guess the new year resolutions are starting to peter out about now. The regulars were there but not too many new faces. I had to drop back on the weights for some of the exercises because my legs were objecting, but it was still a hard workout.

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Freddo Inventor dies (as reported in today's Canberra Times)

A Freddo Frog flag will be draped over the coffin of the man who invented the Australian chocolate icon more than 70 years ago. Harry Melbourne, who thought up the idea of the chocolate frog named Freddo when he was 18, has died in Melbourne, aged 94.

And from the Cadbury Australia website:
Seventy years ago Harry Melbourne invented our beloved Freddo Frog.

When MacRobertson Chocolates was looking for a new idea for their Children's range, a chocolate mouse was most preferred. Harry Melbourne, who was employed at MacRobertson, knew this would not sell and in 1930 created Freddo Frog.

"I told Macpherson Robertson (the owner of MacRobertson Chocolates) women and children were afraid of mice and a chocolate mouse would not sell".

When Harry pitched the idea to Macpherson Robertson he said "I'd like to see one, make one up and bring it over to my office".

"I did and three days later the Marketing Manager said I had backed a winner."

iliketoast I owe you a freddo frog.

And in response to ihatetoast's question about what I did on my do. nothing. day - naturally I had coffee (2 in fact), went for a walk, and read. Pretty boring actually....

Sleep-in Sunday

That's right...no running...its a do. nothing. day!

And how am I feeling after yesterday's almost-marathon effort? Tired but the legs feel fine; no soreness or stiffness.....yet.

Sensational Saturday

Mt Ainslie/Rollercoaster loop x 2 1/2 (inc 3 x Mt Ainslie)

Saturday Total: 40.7k
Week Total: 80.7k
Month Total: 270.8k
Year Total: 270.8k

Time: 4hr 34.43min
Av pace: 6.44min/km
AHR: 152; MHR: 197
Temp: 23.8*c avg; 26*c max
Started with: Throw it away - Jake Cartel with Toby Rand
Finished with: St Elmo's Fire - John Parr

This morning I ran my longest ever training run - 40.7km. And I'm happy to report, I think I'm improving on the hilly runs. Yay! Finally....... Mind you, I'll probably go out next week and run an absolute shocker. So I will revel in today's accomplishment for a little while!

Don't get me wrong, there were still times when I walked...I think that's a given for me on a lot of these runs. I'm constantly amazed at John who ambles along up the hill making it look like its nothing more than a gentle undulation; and Steve, who bounds along full of energy; and they are both having a full-on conversation; and then there's me, bringing up the rear, concentrating on my feet and my contribution to the conversation, when I am still within earshot, are single syllable words.

On the second loop, which is done in reverse, I lost contact with John and Steve and so had to make a decision as to which way they would have gone, heading back up Mt Ainslie (this was not long after you passed me Ewen). I decided to go the way we did a fortnight ago, and which proved to be different to the way they went, but we managed to regroup back at the War Memorial.

For the 3rd time up Mt Ainslie, I was positive I would be walking it so it was very satisfying when I found I could run most of it. The run back to the finish seemed to go on forever, particularly the Campbell Park bit which was exposed and hot, and then the golf course section which just seems to go on forever. However finally I had made it back and it was bliss to stand in the lake, cooling my hot achey feet and just. stand. there. doing. nothing.


Congratulations must go to iliketoast for managing to get 4 songs out of 5 in the Frappe Five. Commiserations to Tesso. I only managed to get 2 songs: Hilltop Hoods - The Hard Road; and Muse - Starlight. However, on my ipod I do have 4 songs out of the top 5.

Triple J's Hottest 100 2006 (Top 10)
1. Augie March - One Crowded Hour
2. Eskimo Joe - Black Fingernails, Red Wine
3. Hilltop Hoods - The Hard Road
4. The Killers - When You Were Young
5. Scissor Sisters - I don't feel like dancing
6. Gnarls Barkley - Crazy
7. Snow Patrol - Chasing Cars
8. Gotye - Hearts a mess
9. Muse - Starlight
10. The Grates - 19-20-20

Fantastic Friday - Rest Day

Have a great Australia Day holiday!

So far so good - up to no.53 on Hottest 100 and none of my selections have come up yet........!

Just for Katy, here's Thekthy Thursday!

Wednesday Total: 10k
Week Total: 41k
Month Total: 230.1k
Year Total: 230.1k

Time: 52.44min
Av pace: 5.16min/km
AHR: 148; MHR: 222
Started with: Its the end of the world as we know it - REM
Finished with: Times like these - Foo Fighters

I really did not want to get up this morning. In fact I wanted to start the long weekend a day earlier. Mr CJ brought me a coffee before he left for work. I drank that. I lay there a bit longer. True to form the little nagging voice started - you really should get up and run; you can't run after work so you'll have to do it now; you'll feel guilty all day if you don't run; you'll wish you'd run, blah,blah.....

15 mins later I was dressed and heading out the door for an easy 10km with 6 lots of 100m strides thrown in to break the run up. My legs were tired and I'm really glad tomorrow is a rest day - I feel like I'm due for one.

Wonderful Wednesday

Wednesday Total: 21k
Week Total: 31k
Month Total: 220.1k
Year Total: 220.1k

Time: 2hr 6.03min
Av pace: 6min/km
AHR: 151; MHR: 240
Started with: Minority - Green Day
Finished with: Common People - Pulp

Woke up in the early hours of the morning to the sound of falling rain. What a lovely sound - unfortunately we don't hear it all that often. It was quite a heavy shower but all it served to do was make things muggier than they already were.

Then it was up at 4.30am for breakfast - toast with honey and banana (yum!) and coffee. The mornings are darker now - at 5.30am when I left on my mid-week medium long run it was still dark. I ran up, up, up Springvale Dve - this morning it seemed extra long but finally I reached the top and continued along to Mt Painter nature park - more hills that seemed to go on forever. Then it was on through Cook, Aranda bushland and finally, Black Mountain nature park. It was only on my return trip that I started seeing other people out for walks, some were jogging, others had their dogs, a few were cycling. By the time I got home I was dripping in sweat - it was extremely muggy. And that was my half marathon (well almost - didn't run that extra 100m!) before work.

Terrific Tuesday

Late edit - I have officially entered Six Foot Track Marathon.

Tuesday Total: 10k
Week Total: 10k
Month Total: 199.1k
Year Total: 199.1k

Time: 48.50min
Av pace: 4.52min/km
AHR: 160; MHR: 194
Started with: Here Comes Another One - SGT
Finished with: Pretty Vegas - INXS

Oh man, have I got sore musckles today. DOMS has moved from the legs to the upper body and getting the crop top on and off this morning was an exercise in pain and patience. However I'm pleased to say it didn't really affect my running. An amazing fact I learnt this morning: within 15mins I can go from being asleep to running my first km in 4.58min/km. Isn't caffeine wonderful!!!

The way I've found to motivate myself to run at a fairly brisk pace and not slacken off, which I am prone to doing on my own, is to set Garmin Girl to Virtual Partner mode. Usually I will set it to run at 5.30min/km pace. Then my competitive streak kicks in and I try to beat her by a sizeable margin. Today the gap was 1.17km - happy with that!

The Crown Affair
On 8th December last year I went to the dentist for the first of 2 visits to have a crown put on a tooth that had root canal treatment in 2005. Two months and 8 visits later I finally have the crown fitted. So 2 months, 2 crowns (1 crown broke and I was nowhere near it – in fact, I wasn’t even there), 2 temporaries (inc 1 swallowed!), 4 replacements of temporary crown, 1 visit in person to ceramist, 3 visits of crown to ceramist (without me)…..I think that’s it!!!! *touch wood*

Correction: I love Mondays but hate big hairy spiders!

I know; its sounds like I’ve ingested way too much caffeine for my own good but today has been a good day. I don’t know why; maybe because it’s not so hot; maybe work has been interesting and challenging without being mundane or miracles expected; maybe it’s just a change in attitude. Whatever; today has been a good day and it started with a visit to the gym. That’s it! Maybe it’s the endorphins kicking in!

It’s been way too long since I’ve been to the gym (I think it was before Christmas) and I have been putting it off lately. After all, the plan was to go back when I started work and I did start back at work last week. But then I reasoned that I needed to ease back into work and concentrate on my running. This morning I momentarily thought about starting next week after the long weekend but I promptly dismissed that thought, had my breakfast and went to the gym. No more internal arguing!

This morning I focused on the upper body mainly because I am suffering a bit of DOMS in the legs after Saturday’s run. Then I did ab and back exercise because sadly, I have been neglecting these as well. There were a few familiar faces but also lots of new faces – new year’s resolutions to get fit and buff I guess.

I left the gym feeling very virtuous this morning! 0:-)

Late edit: So where does the spider come into this you may ask? Driving home after work, and approaching the large roundabout, something to the right of me caught my eye. I looked and nearly ran off the road in fright - a large hairy spider was skedaddling across the driver's side window. Ok so it was on the outside, and all I can say is thank god for air-conditioning otherwise I would've had my window down and I don't even want to go there. Still it was enough to get my heart rate racing and I spent the rest of the drive home wondering whether there was anyway that eight legged fiend could get inside the car. Then I had visions of the big hairy spider waiting for me to get out of the car, ready to pounce....(I do credit spiders with far too much intelligence). I was so tempted to ring Mr CJ to come out and check the outside of the car before I got out however the mere thought of this little incident being brought up in conversation for the next x number of years was enough for me to get up the courage to open the door.......while leaning back just...in...case....and......then leap out of the car! Any neighbours who happened to be watching through their blinds or curtains must've wondered what I was on! Now I'm worried it might have got inside the car. I will be thoroughly checking the sun visors, pockets inside the doors, beneath the steering wheel, etc, etc before I leave home tomorrow!

Rest day

Now this is a mountain!

Mt Tennant in the distance - where we ran (walked) today

Saturday Total: 30.7k
Week Total: 74.8k
Month Total: 189.1k
Year Total: 189.1k

Time: 4hr 26.26min
Av pace: 8.39min/km
AHR: 156; MHR: 240
Max elevation: 1,396m
Started with: The Saints are Coming - U2 & Green Day
Finished with: Ain't no other man - Christina Aguilera

That was one helluva training one this morning! Temperature range for the run was 20*c - 34*c. It began with a very steep uphill rocky path followed by some great trail running among the trees and then onwards and ever upwards to the top for the first time! Great views but then we were away again and after this it all becomes a blur - lots of uphills and downhills, some running out on exposed trails and that relentless uphill the second time around. I did lots of walking and even that was a challenge at times particularly as the temperature rose and the cloud burnt off. The final run back down to the start never seemed to end - it was the same very steep rocky path - put one foot wrong and it could be a very painful descent; not even worth thinking about. However, despite the heat and the relentlessly steep and never-ending hills, and rocky paths, I did enjoy it - there were parts that were really great and parts that weren't so great. But that's what running is all about...... Oh and when I finished I was handed a cup of bubbly - perfect way to end a hard run!

Rest day

Fartlek before breakfast

Thursday Total: 10k
Week Total: 44.1k
Month Total: 158.4k
Year Total: 158.4k

Time: 54.07min
Av pace: 5.24min/km
AHR: 145; MHR: 186
Started with: Bohemian Like You - Dandy Warhols
Finished with: That's the reason I'm leaving - Franz Ferdinand

19*c at 5.30am - its hard to believe this is Canberra. But lately we have had very warm nights and mornings, and its hot during the day (33*c today; 35*c tomorrow).

Anyway I learnt my lesson from last week - do my run in the morning on Thursdays, otherwise I have to front up at track that night to do a run and we all know what happened last Thursday!

It was a fartlek run this morning which made it slightly more interesting than usual: 2 x 60sec (60sec RI); 4 x 30sec (30sec RI) - repeat all this again then 2 x 60sec (60sec RI). I run a couple of kms to warm up (aka as wake up) and then a couple of kms as a cool down back home. That's it - nothing more to say really. Very boring.......

The rest of the day went in a coffee haze - its was just one of those days. I won't admit how many I had; suffice to say it was more than 5 cups of 'real' coffee....:-) And no, I wasn't wired.......However I did get a lot of work done!

I think I can....I think I can.....

Wednesday Total: 16.7k
Week Total: 34.1k
Month Total: 148.4k
Year Total: 148.4k

Time: 1hr 40.24min
Av pace: 6min/km (I think Garmin Girl is playing games because for my 2nd km I apparently managed to run it in 2.07min!!!! The times for the other kms seem to make sense tho)
AHR: 149; MHR - 173
Started with: Dr Pressure - Mylo Vs Miami Sound Machine
Finished with: I can dream - Skunk Anansie

It was back to Mt Taylor this morning because I had an appointment in Deakin at 9am so it made sense to run in a location that wasn't too far away. It was warm and muggy and I was dripping with sweat before I had even got halfway up Mt Taylor and yes, I admit, I was walking! I was puffing more than the little steam engine and it was a case of "I think I can...I think I can...I think...oh bugger who cares, I'm walking...!" There were not many people out and about this morning; I only saw a handful of people.

I also had 2 'almost falls' - with the first one I was almost horizontal, arms outstretched, ready for the 'splat' when I somehow managed to pull myself back upright. Whew! The second one almost happened as I was negotiating my way through the narrow gap between the gate and fence, at speed, and almost lost my balance. No other incidents to report.

Easy peasy

Tuesday Total: 8k
Week Total: 17.4k
Month Total: 131.7k
Year Total: 131.7k

Time: 42.37min
Av pace: 5.19min/km
AHR: 145; MHR: 170
Started with: The Fallen - Franz Ferdinand
Finished with: Evil and a Heathen - Franz Ferdinand

Different time of day and cooler temperature and the result is an easy, comfortable run - very enjoyable. I love running first thing in the morning, before everyone else is up and about. A good start to the day; fingers crossed the rest of the day goes so well!

Muddle of a run

Monday Total: 9.4k
Week Total: 9.4k
Month Total: 123.7k
Year Total: 123.7k

There are some days when I just should not be let out the door to run - especially in afternoons when it is still 32*c at 6pm; when I think I can run like its only 16*c but the sun is beating down and I have no water and there is not a lot of shade. There are some days when I just do really stupid things and today was one of those days - can't help it, its in the genes.....or maybe it was one cup of coffee too many......or because it was my first day back at work after having a month off.............

The plan was to do a steady 10km run - and I thought if I could 5min kms that would be a steady run; 50mins and I could call it a day. Well actually I was still debating whether to do 8km, 9km or 10km - after all, it was still hot outside and my legs were still a little stiff from last week's runs. So I left my options open.......after 5.8km I revised my options.........have a break and then do another 4.8km, call it intervals and then call it a day.........after another 3.6km call it quits and walk home the last kilometre. Mr CJ just shook his head and mumbled something about lunacy or suchlike as I walked back into the yard, looking very hot and bothered and thirsty.

1st interval
Distance: 5.8km
Time: 28.14min
Av pace: 4.51min/km
AHR: 164; MHR: 181
Started with: Real Wild Child - Iggy Pop

Rest Interval: the time it took to listen to We're not gonna take it - Twisted Sister (3:40min)

2nd interval
Distance: 3.6km
Time: 17.09min
Av pace: 4.43min/km
AHR: 176; MHR: 184
Finished with: Seven Nation Army - The White Stripes

So sometimes runs don't quite go to plan................

Rest day

Hot, hilly and dusty*

*its all a matter of perspective so see here for another perspective on today's run!

It's not clear from the photo but my socks were almost brown from the dust, as were my legs before I stood in the lake to cool down after the run.

Saturday Total: 35k
Week Total: 76.6k
Month Total: 114.3k
Year Total: 114.3k

Moving Time: 3hr 49.38min
Av pace: 6.31min/km
AHR: 148; MHR: 193
Elevation gain: +1,500 / -1,489
Max elevation: 850m
Started with: Livin' la Vida Loca - Ricky Martin
Finished with: Real Wild Child - Iggy Pop
Special mention: Teenagers - My Chemical Romance (best song of the morning!)

Yesterday the temperature reached 40*c - not very nice at all. It was cooler when we started our run this morning but halfway up Mt Ainslie the first time and I was feeling hot. My legs, especially my quads were still feeling tight from Thursday's 10km on the track - in fact, it felt like I had done a lot of downhill running.

Anyway got to see Strewth and Barb very briefly before the groups went their separate ways. I started slowly (and didn't get much faster) and just tried to keep the guys in my sights - this didn't always work! For a lot of the run it was just me and my music which got louder as the run wore on. The rollercoaster was okay the first time but coming back over it a little later from the other way was a helluva lot harder, but as John pointed out, we had also run 20km by then and it was a lot warmer. In fact the temperature range for the run was 17*c when we started to 26*c when we finished.

Ewen went for a tumble - I gave him 10/10 for style. In fact I hadn't realised that he had fallen, that's how good it was - he tumbled and got to his feet, practically in one move!

So the run was hot, hard and hilly - nothing new there! However, the last 5km back to the finish at Molonglo Reach was pretty impressive for me, particularly after all of the above:
31km - 5.01min/km
32km - 4.50min/km
33km - 5.17min/km (not sure what happened here)
34km - 5min/km
35km - 5.03min/km

The morning after.....

After the 10,000m - very glad to be finished!

Friday Total: 9k
Week Total: 41.6k
Month Total: 79.3k
Year Total: 79.3k

Hmmm, not feeling so sprightly this morning as I headed out on my easy run - I was very slow and stiff to begin with. The plan was to do 10km but then thought that 8km was more achievable, but ended up running 9km anyway. It was very warm and muggy and when the sun did make an appearance from behind the clouds, it was hot. And I'm talking 7am!

Time: 51.07min
Av pace: 5.41min/km
AHR: 171 (quite high); MHR: >200
Started with: Oh Yeah - End of Fashion
Finished with: SOS - Rihanna

So its another hot day - 38*c. Too hot to do anything but sit in front of the aircooler and watch the one day cricket.

Tomorrow: long hilly run

Useless bit of (interesting) trivia: In 1453, Turkish law made it legal for a woman to divorce her husband if he failed to provide her with her daily quota of coffee.

25 laps later........

"Medal presentation"

Thursday Total: 10k
Week Total: 32.6k
Month Total: 70.3k
Year Total: 70.3k

It was still over 34*c at 8pm so it hadn't cooled down a great deal. I was in two minds about running the 10,000m, in fact if I had had my way I would've gone home and just run 10km in the dark! However Strewth was having none of that and was busy bustling around finding me a lap scorer and keeping an eye on me to make sure I didn't escape! I had arrived at the track just before Luckylegs started in the 800m and I managed to get a photo. This was taken as the start of the second lap and you can just see Aki to the right, who was setting the pace for LL. Well done LL! It was hot out there.

Back to the 10,000m..........

"You spin me right round, baby
right round like a record, baby
Right round round round
You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round round round"

(You spin me around (like a record) - Dead or Alive)

Those words came to mind several times over the next 45mins. Thank goodness for lap counters (and a BIG thankyou must go to PRB, Carolynne and Ewen) because I lost count after the 12th lap. I was lapped umpteen times by the fast guys (and there seemed to be lots of them or maybe I was just seeing the same ones again and again...).

However I was being sensible - this was after all the training run I didn't get to do this morning (when it was a lot cooler), so tried to run at a steady pace and pretend I was running out at Black Mountain nature park. And I did have someone to chase - SA. If I could keep her in my sights and not let the gap get too large, then who knows....? There was a time though when bridging that gap seemed almost insurmountable...it was hot, I was hot, and I had to stop several times for a drink.

To cut a long story short, I passed SA in the last lap, put the foot down and took off. After all, once I've passed someone there is nothing worse when they manage to pass me again!!! And I won the 10,000m ACT Championships (women)! And no, I don't usually run a 45min 10km as a training run!

Congratulations must also go to SA (who gave me something to focus on for 25 laps), Aki (who had also run 800m a little earlier in the night) and Strewth (my best running buddy!). And lets not forget Mr B - this was his very first track experience!

*a photo of the girls will appear here when Blogger will let me*

Hot, hot, hot

It is forecast to reach 38*c today and it is 35*c now (1pm). I have 10km on my schedule today and so I set my alarm to run before meeting Mr B and Strewth for breakfast. Only problem was I think I was still operating on Qld time because I set my alarm for 6am when I should've set it for 5am. There was no way I was going to be able to run 10km, have a shower and then drive into Civic all in the space of an hour! So Strewth, bright spark that she is, suggested I run the 10,000m at Track tonight instead!

So tonight at 8.15pm think of me running 25 times around the track in the ACT 10,000m Championships.....slowly.........

Revenge of the hills

Today Total: 22.6k
Week Total: 22.6k
Month Total: 60.3k
Year Total: 60.3k

The holiday is over and its back to training so I was up early this morning for a medium long mid-week run, before it got too hot. I thought that having an easy week would mean having fresh legs and feeling revitalised so why did it feel just as hard as before running up those hills?! However it was good to get out on the trails - its a really pleasant run if you disregard the uphill sections. They're there to keep me honest! And I did run it slightly faster than the last time I ran this route, which was on New Years Eve. Some of the trails are very rocky - not huge boulders but rather the paths are covered with lots of small pebbly rocks and this can be very uncomfortable to run on, particularly if you land awkwardly on them, which I seemed to be doing quite a bit this morning.

After the run I had a slice of toast with honey- it was soooo delicious and crunchy and mmmm, mmmm (this is for Katy!!!!!) *hehehehe*

Time - 2hr 16.54min
Av pace - 6.02min/km
AHR - 149; MHR - 172
Started with: Turn up the radio - Masters Apprentices
Finished with: DOA - Foo Fighters

"jones the grocer group of stores seeks to provide you with a truly individual gourmet experience every time you enter one of our stores.

Each store will stock premium local products and sumptuous delights made in their own kitchens, which complement the “jones the grocer” range of products."

Had lunch with Bec in Manuka at jones the grocer - very upmarket! The sumptuous delight I had was the poached chicken, walnut, aioli, and mesclun in a sourdough roll (aka a chicken and salad roll with mayo!). Coffee was good.

And on the 5th day there was sunshine!

Sunday - aren't they a friendly looking bunch! This was post-run and breakfast and I think by this stage the smiles were frozen on our faces from all the photos that had been taken! Thanks guys for a great morning and a special thanks to Tesso for organising it.

It was a great run to the Spit and back (10km), at a very leisurely pace. It might've been early but I was still feeling the heat.



Sunday evening - our holiday wouldn't have been complete without a night out at Dracula's Cabaret restaurant. Ok its not highbrow or classy but it was a lot of fun - in fact, it was a hoot!














Final day - omg, I do believe that is sunshine and blue sky. This is how I picture the Gold Coast and this is what we got weather-wise for the last 2 days! Bewdiful!

Surf, sand........and sun?!

I'm back! Above is a photo of our first day on the Gold Coast - not a good start. The weather did improve but hey, we didn't let it slow us down. There was plenty of shopping, eating, coffeeing to do but..... not a lot of running! However, rather than bore you with words, here are some photos....

1st night - Jupiters Casino:

Thursday

Thursday evening

Friday - checking out our boat!

My favourite chocolate/coffee shop!

Saturday - shopping!

to be continued......................................

A grey day

Today Total: 12.3k
Week Total: 12.3k
Month Total: 12.3k
Year Total: 12.3k
(thanks must go to 2P where I got the idea from!)

Today's run
Distance - 12.3k
Time - 1hr 6.28min
Av pace - 5.24min/km
AHR - 144; MHR - 161
Started with: Special K - Placebo
Finished with: Sarah - Eskimo Joe

Slight niggle with R knee this morning but it soon wore off. Wasn't feeling as light on my feet this morning - that could be attributed to a) a bad night's sleep and/or to b) the fact that I'm a couple of kgs heavier than I normally am, thanks to Christmas festivities. Whatever; I felt as though I was moving more like a baby elephant rather than a gazelle!!!! I will deal with the weight issue after the Gold Coast!

Tomorrow we are off to the Gold Coast - I am so looking forward to getting away for a few days for some, hopefully, sun and surf. It was cool, grey and miserable here today - hard to believe its January. And maybe I might see some of the Bris Vegas CRs!!!!

So its over and out until next Monday. Have a good week; I know I will!!!!