Tuesday update

Thank you blogger gods for finally allowing me to write this little update!!!

Mrs W has headed off to WA with work for a few days so on Sunday the kids and I headed to the beach with Holly for a walk. I figured we weren't in any hurry so as we walked along skipping stones and admiring shells I suggested we keep going up to our favourite cafe at the Black Rock shops. In hindsight I suppose it's a long way (3kms) for kids to walk along the beach on soft sand especially a 10 and a 6 yo but hey we were having fun. The hot chocolates/lattes and biscuits went down an treat and we stopped at the playground to enjoy the swings etc. Let's just say the walk back seemed longer than it took getting there even though we took the coastal trail that I used to run on a lot to avoid the soft sand. At the same time you need to picture a big rain squall coming in over the bay and we were still a good km away from the car without a rain coat between us.... and here am I begging two very leg weary kids to hurry up or we will get soaked.

We all slept very well on Sunday night - despite my cooking.

I have had a couple off days off work while Mrs W is away - basically ferrying kids to school etc. On Monday I saw Dr Chris (the specialist sports Dr.)who thinks that my shin is not sufferring a fracture but is close to it. PHEW!!! My sub-talar joint however (never knew I had one of those before) needs some physio work as it has become very restricted in movement and may be the cause of the problem. More physio and another 2-3 weeks off and I should be fine to start running again. I wonder if I will remember how to do it?

Special thanks: I want to say a vey big THANK YOU to all of those very kind fellow bloggers who have sponsored Wobblette #1 or wished her well with her MS Readathon fund raising! You guys and gals absolutely rock!!! Your generosity is overwhelming!! Not only are you supporting a very worthy cause but you have all helped make a 10yo girl extremely happy and proud of her fund raising efforts this year. She has decided to start her own blog now (following her new found fame)at: Anna Banana.

Tuesday update

Many people....well a few .... actually one.... alright nobody has asked why I am not posting any running reports but I'm going to let you know anyway! Seriously though, thank you to those that have inquired recently.

Since the Canberra Marathon in early April I decided I would stop running for long enough to get over the growing list of little niggles/injuries I had been putting up with. During my time off I seem to have managed to injure my shin (I think I did it while running in my business shoes across a Melbourne Street trying to avoid the rain). I ran a week and a half ago (13k) and really enjoyed the run but my shin was very sore the next day (Grrr!). After a few days it felt fine so I waited a week and ran again last Saturday (7k) and again the next day it was very sore in one spot (double Grrr).

I am now waiting to see Dr Chris down at the Olympic Park Sports Medicine Clinic. The earliest appointment I could get is next Monday. I might just be being over-careful but I suspect it might be something worse - thus seeing a doctor rather than trying to ignore it and hope it goes away after a while like I usually do with sore stuff.

Apart from trimming hedges, pruning the roses, transplanting plants, washing/vacuuming cars (hence the rain this week), it was a quiet weekend - nothing worthy of getting the camera out really. The highlight for me was coffee and a hot chocolate with Wobblette # 1 in a cafe on Sunday morning.

Wobblette # 1 has asked me to mention that she is looking for sponsors (or donations) in this year's MS Readathon. This is her fourth year doing it. It started as a great way of getting her reading books and has now grown into her means of helping those less fortunate than herself. If you feel like you would like to help her, please do so via your comments (even if it is by way of encouragement)or you can e-mail her via at: anna.richardson@optusnet.com.au . She has an MS Society receipt book and will cheerfully send a receipt for any donations received (it's tax deductible) and a hand written thank you to anyone making donations.

The rest of Saturday....

I usually cook a family meal on Saturday nights - my specialty at the moment is the world's best fettucini carbonara. Seems like the family can't get too much of it. I should say it is only the world's best through the ingredients I use (not my cooking skills) and they can only be found in Melb at a few places - my favourite place being the famous Vic Markets. Wobblette #2 and I cruised into town and once at the markets went to the free range egg man (they don't get any fresher unless you live at the farm), to my favourite deli for the freshest and silkiest fettuncini ever created. It also sells the yummiest smokey bacon I have ever had - we got a couple of extra rashers for Mrs W's mother's day breaky tomorrow too. Then to the cheese shop for parmigiano reggiano. Mine obviously is a non-traditional version (using bacon) and I also add some swiss brown mushrooms which I get from a little mushroom merchant.

Ingredients collected we headed to another Melbourne icon for hot chocolate, coffee and cake at-
Peligrinis
a shop that is 53 years old and serves traditonal Italian dishes and magnificent coffee - even if they are a bit rude when serving it. Over the laneway is a little bookshop so we poked around in there for a while.

After getting home I took both Wobblettes down to see the local footy team play (and win in a nail biter). After polishing off dinner and some chocolate mousse cake for desert, I think we will all sleep well tonight.... (if I can ever get that Postman Pat tune out of my head)

The Postman Pat run....

I had a really crappy night's sleep last night. I fell asleep on top of the bed at about 9:30pm after putting the kids to bed and then woke at 1am and 3am and 4 am and finally at 6:30. Grrr!

After checking the weather on the net I read a couple of blogs and have titled today's post after the evil rubbishrunner who can take credit for putting that darn song into my head!

I haven't run for 4 weeks and have felt great for a week now so a really easy run was in order. Holly the ever happy lab was dead keen to come as always. We took the coastal trail (all the while singing postman pat, postman pat, postman pat and his black and white cat. Early in the morning, just as day is dawning, Pat thinks he's a really lucky man.....) and also ran along the beach for a km or so and then out along the Sandringham Yacht club rock wall. (postman pat, postman pat, postman pat and his black and white cat. Early....) All up it was just over 13kms and nothing hurt the whole way. Woohoo!

Sadly my "queens of the tree" (see last post) have been deposed. The fallen tree was chopped up on Monday and is just firewood now. On a brighter note though we now have a couple of budding dog trainers who drop dog food along the obstacle course while pulling holly over the "jumps".

No big plans for the weekend. With Mother's day tomorrow we will be doing the breakfast and newspaper in bed thing and the slippers we bought on "The Great Shopping Expedition" last weekend will need to be wrapped tonight. Must remember to buy some wrapping paper.

Happy Mother's Day to all the readers who are also mums.

Today's non-running activities

Today marks the end of the third week where I haven't run. The last time this happened was following my eye lasering operations last April. Back then I enjoyed the rest and used it to rest my body allowing me to fully recover from all the aches and pains that had been building up. I remember my first couple of runs and thinking how wonderful it was to be running completely pain free.

Where I live we back onto a golf course and on Firday one of the big gum trees just behind the back fence decided to turn up its toes. The wobblettes have now crowned themselves "queens of the tree".

Today the weather has been wicked to say the least (rain, hail and snow predicted down to 800m)! Down at sea level however, it was just windy and sometimes rainy. After providing Mrs W's birthday breakfast in bed, Wobblette # 2 and I headed to the local beach to give Holly a run off the lead and collect a few sea shells. Holly just loves it on windy days and chases everything including the froth from the waves as it is blown onto the beach.

With a big rain squal coming in over the bay we headed for the Ricketts Point Tea House for a latte and a yummy hot chocolatewhile it rained.

Bewtween rain squals we quickly headed for the car and were rewarded with the best rainbow ever!.

So ends today's non-running pictorial...

It's finished.... (at last)!

Some of you will remember the recent renovation of Wobblette # 1's clothes stand (the Paul Frank inspired ) one back in February.

Well, you guessed it, Wobblette # 2 after seeing her father's handywork also wanted her's renovated and updated (new head and base).

I think this little job only took me about 7 weeks to complete.



Even though I got a bit carried away making and painting the new base I have to say I am pretty happy with the final result. It's easy to imagine myself retired, fiddling away in my storeroom with an old radio, a couple of power tools and a paintbrush making stuff like this.

This afternoon I went to the Podiatrist (who is going to alter my orthotics) and followed that with some physio treatment on my left leg. The upshot is that while things are mending nicely, I will wait another week before running again (or until I can hop on both legs without pain) - sounds pretty sensible to me.

Trouble is I am likely to miss the Walhalla Wound up *sniff*

Best caption award from my last post goes to... *insert drum roll* ....2P!. BTW, you didn't really think I would post a photo of me standing naked in a river did you?