Goodbye November......

Hello......

Not quite December yet, but today is the first day I've 'run ' since the beginning of November, so I'm quite happy to say 'goodbye' to this month, having had the most painful infection that I could ever have imagined in both eyes. During this time I spent 5 days in hospital ....screaming, crying & kicking (almost) from pain in my eyes & pounding headaches. Viral Conjunctivitis of the worst kind..say no more!

Anyhow, I was forced out of the lethargy that was fast becoming a daily routine, by the horrendous pictures of the terrorist attack in Mumbai.....lives suddenly & tragically ended; others, never to be the same again. It shocked me out of my little world of discomfort that I thought couldn't get much worse & so I went running this morning instead of waiting until Monday as I'd intended. Time is of the essence for everyone.

My run was a very easy, lower aerobic 50 minutes (AHR 75%) along Diamond Fields Road where all was quiet, the countryside green from recent rains...nothing to disturb the beauty & solitude of this lovely part of Mittagong and, even though the pictures of the terrorist attack were constantly before me, I completely loved being out & feeling my legs moving again, albeit ever so slowly!

Very funny, Ewen!

That must be it...Roundup in my eyes! Then that begs the question, "Who done it?"

I'll post again when my eyes are properly open...I don't want to sound like a whinging pom (like Joy)!

Woe Is Me!

I know I should stop moaning, but if I can't moan here, where else can I? I'm so miserable & cranky & my eyes are unbelievably painful. I'm no good at this out of action thing & not being on top of everything!

Fishers Ghost....not likely!

I returned to the doctor today as my eyes were becoming unbearably sore. He took one look at me, picked up the phone & called the eye specialist in Bowral. Instead of the usual 1 -2 weeks wait to see these specialists - the Southern Highlands is brimming over with oldies going blind and/or deaf - I was given a letter & sent straight to the specialist's rooms!

He saw me immediately &, both he & his optometrist, said they'd never seen eyes that looked so terribly sore! Anyhow now I know for sure - I'm not going blind! - but have a really severe viral conjunctivitis! Now I have 2 different drops to use 3 x daily & see him again in 2 weeks or earlier if things worsen.

So....Fishers Ghost run on Sunday is a no-no, unless I disobey orders & a miracle occurs & I can see where I'm going!

Maybe, as Superflake suggested, I could think about the Central Half Marathon, December 7th....thanks for the reminder SF!

And the stomach still churns!

I'm becoming doutful that I'll make it to Fishers Ghost Run on Sunday - my last race for the year as it was supposed to be.

I saw the doctor yesterday & yes, stomach virus, possibly from the tap water I drank during Sunday's run. So I have something to take for the cramps & nausea, but the bug has to work its own way out of the system. I wish it would hurry up & do so!

Just to make a real mess up, I've the worst eye allergy in both eyes - 2 red, burning eyes that will only half open. This is not how I like to look! If I do make it on Sunday, I might have to borrow a seeing-eye dog to guide me around the course!

Wait & See...I wish I could see!

Wouldn't You Know It!

Coincidence of course, but just as I leave "the building", I'm hit with a bug which, for convenience sake, I'll call "Range Road Belly"! During yesterday's run - seems like a week ago - I drank from a tap along the roadside of one of the properties. Since then : awful stomach cramps, nausea & headache. I blame the water but it could be some other nasty bug I suppose; that, or someone has stuck the pin in a voodoo doll!

Luckily, it's a 'rest' day, but at the moment I can't see myself getting out tomorrow. Fishers Ghost on Sunday - hopefully OK to still run the 5km.

Anyhow, I feel safe here in Blog Land...thank God for it & its wonderful fellow bloggers! Being slack with commenting on blogs these days - but still an avid reader - makes me appreciate all the more the thoughtfulness of fellow bloggers. Thank you!

And now, back on the bed...if only I could 'throw up' & get rid of the thing. The stomach cramps are killing me!

A Long Run ends.....

It's been coming for a while now, but as of today I finished my long run as part of 'Cool Running'. I find I'm no longer interested in most of the threads & neither am I impressed with the direction that too many seem to be taking..... I'll leave it at that & move on.

12km today @ AHR 76%....medium aerobic. Try for negative split.

Got the negative split by 2 minutes!
6km in 45 minutes; 6km in 43 minutes.
AHR 76%; MHR 86%

I ran on Range Road. The morning was absolute heaven for running : overcast & quite cool. I felt good for the entire run even though I had to raise the pace for the return 6km.

A rest day tomorrow....even more heavenly!

Recovery Day....

A drop of 10 degrees from yesterday's temperature is probably why I found this morning's short run so easy.

6km @ 75% of AHR.

6km in 46 minutes, AHR = 74%; MHR = 84% (I didn't slow down on the hills!).

Before today's run I had a great time driving & walking around the Renwick paddocks with the Vet & his wife who run cattle on this property. I was about to start my run as they pulled up & asked if I'd like to come with them. Of course I jumped at the opportunity & into the truck.

These are the paddocks where I take my dogs for their daily walk & for the last couple of weeks I've seen new calves have been born & I've been wanting to get up close & here was my chance while the vet checked that all was going well. One tiny little calf had just been born ...they could tell from the water still dripping from its navel! Nevertheless, his mum had it on its feet for a feed & by the time we left, she'd marched the little thing up the hill to the rest of the herd, who are so tame they can be fed by hand. I fed a full loaf of fresh bread to one of the mums & it was gone in seconds!

The Vet's wife is priceless! She knows every cow individually & has given each a name! "Dolly" is her favourite, but I could tell she knows & loves them all & they her. As I patted one of the mums, who hadn't yet been named, she came out with a loud "MOO", & so from that moment she was immediately named 'Moo'! Now, she's my special cow!

Not world shattering news this, but for me they were some of those lovely moments that not too often come our way.