Mothers Day Classic 2016

So I best do a recap of last Sunday's Mothers Day Classic before we head into this weekend.  And yes PINK for breast cancer awareness was the order of the day.  What we didn't order however was the rain.   For long time readers of this blog you may remember last year's disastrous weather.  Well this year was not much better!!

Despite the rain mum dressed up like a pink musk stick, pink from head to toe, except you couldn't see it under her duffle jacket.  At least she stayed warm and dry.  I knew I'd have to wear a hat so that it would keep the rain out of my eyes, and I have a large supply of these throwaway plastic raincoats now.  Perfect.

Although as we walked down to the foreshore before sun up, trying to put it on, in the dark, with the wind blowing, was a wee bit too much to handle.  I was flailing about everywhere until I realised I had it on back to front with the hood up against my face.  Doh!  With that fixed I realised I'd lost my spibelt and had to double back and find it.  And finally we were set.  It was still drizzling and everyone huddled under the various tents that were set up.

Near to start time I left mum sitting under some shelter and headed to the start line.  Yep, still raining.  And cold.  I had braved it though and tossed the rain coat.  Whilst there were some people running in them, I could think of nothing worse.  It was mainly to keep me dry prior to the start.

The 8km is a great course, leaving the water front and running up to the Eastern Gardens, this is the place that every Geelong kid learns to drive!  Two laps of Eastern Gardens and then back to the water front again.  Every kilometre marker there was a different sign.  And yep, still raining!

I don't know if it was the rain or what, but I was feeling strong.  There were a couple of girls that I had been cat and mousing with the whole race, but with 2km to go I kicked it up a notch and took off.  I never saw them again.  Yeeeee ha!   I run along the water front and through to the finishing chute and there's mum yelling out yahoooo.  She was so proud.  A kind lady took this photo of us.   Yes mum is that short!  4'11" !!

OFFICIAL TIME :  54:09

Another PB !!  By 2 mins 28 secs.

We didn't stick around for any of the entertainment, the 4km was about to take off and so did we.  It was too cold.  Mum's coat was drenched on the outside but thankfully still warm and dry inside.  We went home and I had the most magnificent hot shower and breakfast.   Later on at lunchtime we enjoyed our beautiful Mother's Day special lunch at Empire Grill.   We've gone there for the last five years for their special lunch, the three course meal is always spectacular, they have a piano playing in the background, they give you a rose and a little box of their special house made chocolate fudge.  It was once again a perfect lunch.

After this I took mum home and then went up to visit my mother-in-law's grave and lay flowers.  Then took the 2 hour drive home.  Full as a goog !   At home I was presented with this card.  What a clever little dog and cat to write it for me  ;-)   Even more clever is that they gave me a box of Lindt chocolate.  Well done menagerie!  

Speaking of which, our beautiful Bo Bo has been very sick during the last week.  Initially we thought she was being finicky with food which she can be from time to time, until we realised she wasn't eating at all.  We brought out the big guns - BBQ chicken, tins of sardine in spring water, anything to tempt her.  She'd sniff but walk away.  She was losing weight at an alarming rate and we had her in at the vets last Friday and he wanted to admit her and take blood tests and get her on an IV to rehydrate her, despite her drinking water by the bowlfuls at home.  We were worried it was kidney problems.  Blood tests came back and it was something to do with her white blood cells and her little body was desperately fighting an infection but it wasn't kidney.  It took a couple of tries on different antibiotics before she started coming good.  She finally came home on Monday, she's taken a week to get back to herself again and now she's eating up a storm so getting more meat back on her bones.

So it was a good Mother's Day indeed having our little girl on the mend again.

Sooooo ready for tomorrow.  I'm off to Apollo Bay to embark on the longest run in my life.  I've rented a house and we have a houseload of runners from our Runners Connect group staying there.  The Great Ocean Road Half Marathon on Sunday is a cheeky 23km.  I've never run over 21.1 before.  Plus the weather forecast for Sunday is 35km/h WNW winds and rain.  Oh joy, we're running INTO the wind!  With hills.  Crazy much?!!  I've come to realise that no matter how many times I refresh the Elders Weather website, it aint changing!!

Catch you on the flip side.