Keep on Running

Two days of perfect Winter's sunshine make for a very good weekend. Yesterday I hit the sand running. It was bitter. Just myself and one other lunatic freezing our butts off doing laps of the beach. I only managed 8 laps (4km), because it was cold. Real. COLD. By lunchtime, I had thawed out enough to enjoy a picnic with my boys at Watson's Bay. Barramundi, calamari, chips and salad on the menu. Such a delightful spot to be on a chilly July afternoon. The boys, so worn out from their adventures, were both asleep by 6.30pm. Just in time for Mama to slip out the door for some dinner and a movie with a good friend. Potato gnocchi with chicken, pumpkin & spinach in a creamy white wine sauce for dinner. Absolutely sensational. Feeling way too full for dessert, we rolled on down to the cinema and shared many a belly laugh watching Bridesmaids. One of those films that is so wrong... but so right.

Today, Scott and I continued our training plan, with another 10km time trial. Both making significant improvements on our times from last week. No mean feat in the blustery conditions thrown our way. Trying to run headlong into gusts of wind, upwards of 30km/h, is strenuous, yet exhilarating. Inhaling the arctic fresh air, certainly dusts away the cobwebs. Slowly, slowly, I am starting to feel shreds of former fitness coming back. It has taken some time to reach this space, but my endurance is increasing and my mind is focused. It's not easy maintaining the enthusiasm from day to day, but when I do get the opportunity to run, I snap it up eagerly.

Due to the gale force winds, we retreated to a more sheltered area of the park, than we normally take the boys to play. Protected by a cluster of brilliant trees, we found an ideal spot to set up camp. Angus delighted with darting in and out of the little nook hidden beneath a canopy of branches and leaves. The little monkey would throw his ball as far as he could and whilst I was retrieving it, hide behind the massive tree trunk or amongst the low lying branches. In and out and round and round he went, giggling and squealing with delight. How lucky we are to have a place we can go, where imaginations are free to run wild.