Friday started the weekend with MGirl having two friends over for her “Friend’s Fest”. A long thought about weekend where they would stay up all night, eat junk and watch ALL the seasons of Friends. What she hadn’t counted on was the fact that it would probably take a week of sleepless nights to get through 10 seasons, and the fact that her friends could only manage one day and one night! With all the mucking around they did, their 10am start turned into a 2pm start, and by the time I got home from work they weren’t even through Season 1. We made home-made pizzas for dinner, which they could barely eat after all the chocolate and chips and junk they’d consumed. With an early morning start for me, I was organising all my running gear for the morning and realised I’d left my running shoes at work. After a late dash to work with CBoy to get the shoes, I left them to it after 10pm so I could actually get up when my alarm went off at 4.50am!
I have been trying to go running with the marathon club for weeks now. Each Saturday they meet in the “hills” and break into groups according to talent (ie speed) or lack thereof! I knew I’d be running with the C Group and hoped I wouldn’t shame myself. For the few weeks I’ve been back running I haven’t gone as I didn’t think I should run as far as they were running, typically 20+km. This past Saturday I learned that it was an out-and-back trail, so that I could cut mine shorter and turn around to only go about 15km. I vaguely knew where we would meet, but having not been there for many years I left home at 5.10am for a 6am start. I checked on the “Friends”… all snoring on the sofa bed when I left – weak, weak I say! After a 30 minute drive, I was the 3rd car in the car park and waited for the rest to arrive.
I only spied loads of men (finally) and knew that the C Group usually had mostly women in it. When a car pulled up with a woman I walked over to introduce myself… and it turned out to be a woman I knew (AGal) from years ago as our sons went to primary school together! What a small world. As the New York Marathon had recently been run and many of the C Group had gone over to compete, the C Group turned out to be me and AGal and another newby, RGuy who’d recently run his first marathon at Rottnest. With AGal having only attended about 3 times previously, we were really a group of newbies. Thankfully AGal knew the trail, an easy (but gradual and butt burning) climb out and back. Luckily that meant the way back was downhill.
RGuy is training for the Comrades Marathon in South Africa around May next year. He had a nice story to tell of his father’s involvement with the race, his special “green number” and how he hoped to run with his father’s number. RGuy swore this would be his one and only attempt at an ultra; but boy AGal and I suggested he might become addicted once he’d done one. It was nice to have all the chatter, it was keeping my mind off the fact that my calf was hurting. I knew I should turn earlier than the 10km turnaround, but by the time I got to about 7kms the pain had dulled to a throb and I opted to continue.
It was a really nice run, mostly shaded on wide gravel paths and we were overtaken a few times by mountain bikers out for the morning. There were plenty of pit-stops along the way with water and toilets, but I was still carrying my Camelbak… it’s just habit now. We stopped for a quick stretch and something to eat at the 10km and turned for home. There was a slight uphill, but the rest was downhill all the way. I ran out in front and cranked it up a little, bringing down to my regular pace I’ve been running. RGuy stopped talking so much, and the sun was warming up by then, and I wondered if I was running too fast but he said he was ok. We finished just over 20km in 1 hour 56+ minutes… and headed into the local bakery for a coffee. My hamstrings were so stiff with the start stop and gentle uphill gradient of the run… and I sat on the deck stretching while the others ate their pastries! I wasn’t trying to make them feel guilty I was trying to ensure that I would walk the next day! We talked about the Death Race and RGuy decided I was definitely more insane than he was, and he’d thought he was pretty crazy for committing to the Comrades!
On the way home around 9.00am (cool to think I’d already run 20kms at this point of the morning!) I deviated past the 2nd hand brick and paver yard looking for another 10sqm of the pavers I am using around the pool. My main objective was to match size more than colour, but I was lucky enough to get a near-on perfect match. With the pavers coming back on Friday to finish off, hopefully the pool yard will be beautiful just as the weather is heating up!! Brick pavers purchased, I headed for home. I pulled up at a red light to watch a car going the other way brake suddenly for the light changing in his direction. As quickly as he’d braked, 50 lengths of jarrah skirting board he had strapped to his roof rack went sliding down over his bonnet! He’d obviously on secured them from left to right, and not front to back. As my line of traffic headed off on a green light, I spied the man getting out of the car in front of the skirting board car to help the poor man collect his shopping! Some of those pieces had skidded over 20-30m down the road. It was kind of hysterical, and reminded me that when you think you’ve got it rough, there is always someone who is in a worse position… like in the middle of a main road collecting skirting boards and your wife sinks in the passenger seat and buries her head into her hands!
While icing my leg after the run, downing some breakfast (part 2) to combat the 1380 calories I’d burned, I attempted to also get ready to leave the house again for CBoy’s baseball game. His game had been moved forward this week until 1pm; he had to be there at 11.15am so we left the house at 10.30am. I am learning to score (baseball that is) this season, and it was my turn to do so for this game. Sitting for 2 ½ hours after running 20kms turns out isn’t a very good thing. My legs were twinging and getting stiffer as the inning progressed and I couldn’t wait to stand up and stretch them. CBoy and I headed home and the rest of the afternoon was spent pottering… can’t remember specifically what I did I just know I was busy at home. Probably washing and the like, but the house doesn’t look any more organised!
Sunday morning was another early start, this time for MGirl’s baseball game. I left the house at 7.30am with a bleary-eyed daughter and a bouncing-out-of-her-skin great dane! FD#1 got walked 4 times during the week, but she was still chasing her tail on the bedroom floor the minute we both woke up. Kind of funny really as she has no traction on the floor…circling and sliding after her tail. I knew she needed to get out, and as I was only watching for this game I could take her for a walk as the team went through their warm up. The weather was gorgeous and I was happy to sit with the Sunday paper and the dog, while enjoying MGirl’s game.
Home again by lunch time and the afternoon focused on the house again. The inaugural mow of the new lawn was conducted, after going to buy another gerry can as the old one has rusted through and gone in the bin a year ago. With the tank full, I crossed my fingers the mower would start as I’ve not had a lawn for more than 12 months. I pulled on the cord repeatedly with no luck, but as it had half-spluttered once I asked CBoy to have a turn before I admitted defeat! He got it going right away and was disappointed when I turned down his offer to do it. It was new, it was mine… I wanted to mow it! I told him he could do it next time. It looked fabulous! I love looking out in the yard now, green grass, new garden and paved properly. It looks lovely.
After the lawn mowing I would’ve been fully within my rights to flop. I was fairly tired after what I’d already accomplished for the weekend, but I was busting to get some more paint on the walls. Then the prep work… that was nearly enough to put me off, but I pushed through it and by the early evening I could see the inside all coming together. The family/kitchen area is still a pigsty with loads of things out of place and waiting for a new home, but the colour on the walls told me that it was all coming to an end! It is so gratifying to look at.
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