I ran another of my 10km RunAuckland series runs today.  It was completely different weather wise to my first run.  In short it was a cracker of a day.  We got to run around the park at Te Atatu North and it was lovely, and I did it in under an hour – just.  Success.

There were a couple of things I learned this time around.

• I run better if it isn’t pouring with rain and I don’t have lakes to navigate -who knew?
• I need to do this series next year because then I will be in the 50-59 age group and my results will look way better.  So that is great motivation for me to keep running for at least another year – yes my deviousness knows no bounds
• A nice sunny day means lots more runners so you have to be extra careful not to get in anyone’s way – not always my strongest suit
• It is impossible to look good in those photos they take of you running, unless sweaty mess is your thing and in that scenario I am awesome

Following my run Billie and I drove up to the Lodge for a spot of cleaning and checking in.  We have got some people booked in for this week, so we needed to make sure it was spic and span and also to check out our gum tree. The prevailing wind at Tapora is a westerly, but occasionally an easterly comes through and when it does look out.  It can cause some damage.  Earlier this week one blew in and managed to knock out our silver dollar gum.   It is less than half the size it was, and I am not even going to mention the damage that Brett’s Cock (weather vane) sustained.  (because I promised him when I started blogging there would be some no go areas) There was some good news however, the feijoas had well and truly been shaken down, so it was very easy to collect some to bring home for a feijoa crumble tonight, which was fabulous even if I do say so myself. Actually I am seriously considering making feijoa wine.  I think I might try and lure Mr Hamish Mack, poet, wine maker and wonderful human being up to the Lodge next year and leave him without any means of getting home until some sweet sweet feijoa wine is produced. Some people might call this slavery, I prefer to think of it as a) a cunning plan b) demonstrating the real spirit of John Key’s NZ “empowering” others to work very hard for the benefit of a few. Anyway Hamish, what are you and the Mack family up to next Easter?   I know of a lovely place for you to stay.

It takes 90 minutes to get to and from the Lodge so that was quite a bit of driving.  Brett was facilitating a workshop today, so I had to do cleaning all on my own.  Which can happen but isn’t recommended (by me anyway) So by the time we got home both Billie and I were a bit weary.  Billie is in fact making a contribution to this blog by giving a demonstration of just how weary we both felt (feel)

Actually what amazes me with this particular pose is that she was like this for about 5 minutes.  Surely not that comfortable.  But she seemed to like it. So another week has raced by, Sunday night always seems to arrive far too quickly.  But my Dragons had another win.  Well done Dragons.  Loving your work.  They seem to have plenty of happy fans at the moment, some of these are the same people who were so scathing about them just a few weeks before.  Meanwhile the Warriors had a loss, but they are going to do just fine this season.  After all being a fan means being there for the ups and the downs.  And both the Warriors and the Dragons like keeping their fans on their toes and testing their cardiac fitness.