It's all go round 'ere!

Well again its been a few days since the last post - had a totally hectic weekend and way too many late nights - so blogging, both reading and posting, has had to wait.

Firstly, thanks to everyone who sent birthday wishes. "Gorgeous" and "Grown up" ah?!? Well thanks girls, I've been called a lot worse! Hee hee!

Here's a rundown of whats been happening since Thursday:

Friday 13/04/07:
Didn't end up getting out for the intended run. It was absolutely bucketing down and blowing a gale at 5.30am - in fact it had been doing so all night and continued to all day. I don't mind running in the rain - but when its accompanied by cold, gale-force winds and darkness, it just all gets a bit much really... I was still pretty paranoid about my hip too and it continued to be a bit niggly on Friday...

Saturday 14/04/07:
Decided I would go ahead with the usual long run with the boys and put Mum on stand-by that if the hip did play up and get worse, she may get a phone call from somewhere to come pick me up! Headed off on my own at 6.30am - it was still rather cold and windy and I wore my long sleeved Cool-max top for the first time this year. I ran the 4kms to Colin's place, met up with the group and the 7 of us we were off. We did the Rotary track as usual, then as the tide was further out we went round to the first beach, managing to keep the feet pretty much dry over the rock pools and onto the sand. Then it was back onto the roads for the remainder. It did rain several times along the way, but at least we were warmed up by then and I didn't mind. By the time I got back home, doing the last 4kms on my own again, this is what I'd done:

Brisk walk warmup: 5mins
Long run: 2hrs17mins, 25.10kms, Ave 5.27min/kms, Max 3.58min/km.
Slow walk cooldown: 2mins

Fortunately the hip behaved perfectly - even on the many steps and turns thru the track. Whatever it was, its seems to have sorted itself out and has not bothered me since - phew!
After spending all day doing the dreaded housework, grocery shopping and running round after Courtney, I was off out for a big night with friends to celebrate both mine and my best friends birthday, whose is a week before mine (only she's a year younger!) About 8 of us girls had dinner at a really nice restaurant in the city, overlooking the Viaduct Harbour. The weather was still pretty crappy, but there was no way it was dampening our spirits! Then we headed off to a couple of bars and various other friends and partners joined us. The Auck Blues were playing the Sharks at North Harbour stadium (their first loss this season - boo!) and when it was all over, people were just pouring into the central city! We had a really great night, going to lots of new places, then eventually ended up at my fave disco club! By the time I got home from the city and crawled into bed, it was 5am! OMG, a 23hr day and a 25km run to boot! There must be some life in the old girl yet! Here's some pics!


The birthday girls! Vicky & Fi.

We 'let' the boys crash our party! Vicky, Daryll & Raewyn.

Vicky and Amber - starting to look a little worse for wear...!

Oh and thats a Coke I'm holding - but alas, not mine - I was on the Vodka by then! With Lance & Raewyn.

Sunday 15/04/07: I should probably drink Vodka rather than wine more often! Despite feeling very tired when I dragged myself out of bed at about 10am, at least I wasn't terribly hung over! But I wasn't exactly in any fit state for a run either! Did think about it later on, in the early evening, but decided I'd be better off doing a more decent session in the morning when I'd fully recovered. An early night was planned, but as I ended up having more ironing to do than a Chinese laundry, it wasn't as early as I would have liked! Oh well, you only turn 35 once! And its probably just as well!

So I bit of a cut-back in mileage this week, due to piking out on a couple of days when I really shouldn't have... Still I managed 50.5kms over just 3 runs, so probably not a bad effort on that score

Monday 16/04/07: Courtney was at another sleep-over last night, due to it still being school holidays, so I could stay in bed till 6am this morning and still get a decent session in. The wet, windy weather had finally abated after about 5 days of it! Was still a little nippy tho, so I wore my long sleeves again...

Brisk walk warmup: 5mins

Steady paced run: 47.22mins, 10.16kms, Ave 4.39min/kms, Max 3.57min/km.

Brisk walk cooldown: 5mins

The intention was to get along to the first Pakuranga 5km group run tonight, but I still wanted to do my morning session in case I didn't get away from work in time. Besides, it didn't do me any harm last time. As it was, I managed to get out the door on the stroke of 5pm and dashed home to get changed and collect my Mum and Courtney. Courtney has been dying to participate ever since I told her all about it a fortnight ago. My Mum walks quite a bit and is fairly fit for someone in their mid 60s, so she said she'd come along as well. We only just got there in time really, it was about 5.55pm when we signed up and got our race numbers. Courtney was so excited and I told her so long as she could walk and jog fast enough to stay ahead of Grandma, she'd be ok. There are only a couple of minor roads to cross and they have marshals on them. Its also an out and back course now and all on the footpath. They have a rule of which side of the path you have to be on depending on which way you are heading and you have to be single file if there's on-coming runners/walkers, but even so, I have to say the previous loop course at O'Hagans was much better.

Well I did manage to start my watch at the right time tonight - but even tho I thought I stopped it on the finish line, I later saw that it was still ticking over! God, I worry myself sometimes...! I do remember seeing the timing clock at the end, seeing 19-something and thinking - wow, it hasn't clicked over to 20mins yet, I'm faster than last time - as I came up the coned shute! Even tho it was a different course, there was rather a nasty longish incline right before the end - worse than the one on the old course, so I'm really pleased with my time. Again I felt and sounded like I was about to die by the end, I ran my guts out! That wasn't enough to get me home first tonight tho - I was second to a lady called Lorna. After a cup of Leppin I jogged back out onto the course to see how Courtney was getting on. When I passed her after turn-around, she was running with another little girl and her Mum and my Mum was walking quite a bit further back, but both looked like they were doing fine and having fun! When I found Courtney, she was still chugging along and proudly told me she had only stopped to walk two times! I jogged the last km or so with her, before letting her sprint over the finish on her own. She did so well and she was soooo proud of herself! I think she came in somewhere around the late 30s and Mum walked her way in somewhere around 43mins. Will have to check out the proper times when they go on the website tomorrow!

Here we are after finishing our first 'official event' together!

It was hot chips (groan!) and cold drinks all round at the club rooms afterwards and again a really social atmosphere. I also saw Anthony again from the other week - but he had been taking it easy tonight after a very vigorous first footy game of the season on Saturday! There were actually prizes for 1st in each category tonight (damn it!) and then lots of spot prizes again. And wouldn't you know it - my Mum had her name drawn out and won a $50 Hedgehog Bikes voucher! She is sooooo lucky like that! So well worth the $6 of entry fees I'd paid!

Oh and one other piece of exciting running news! On Saturday I got a phone call from Bruce who is on the committee at the Pakuranga Athletics Club and organises the Monday night runs. He asked me if I'd consider running for them on Saturday in a relay to make up a Masters team! (gulp!) They are one short and you don't have to be a club runner to do it. I have already entered the Orca Womans 8km Challenge on the Sunday and I really want to do that, but the relay its only a 3km stage each, so I figured I could do both... But the relay is all on grass, thru a park. Have to say I am feeling rather nervous already - I've never run as part of a team and certainly not a running club team! And I've never run a 3km distance flat out like that! But I know I am only expected to do my best... As its an inter-club event, Athletics NZ rules apply - which means no watches! Any advice that anyone can offer up would be most appreciated! I think I'm going to be a nervous wreck on Saturday morning!

Right, that's a bloody long post! Haven't had a chance to blog about the cricket or the pending Americas Cup Challenges that are about to get underway! That will have to wait for another post! I'm knackered and about to fall into bed, but I promise to catch up on every ones blogs in the next day or two!