Tennis is back Pilates is not....

Congratulations to my Pilates teacher Karen on the birth of her first baby, a son named Edward. My intention to keep stretching at home has fizzled out without her direction. Kaz said she would be back soon but I hope she enjoys being at home with little Eddie for quite a while.

We had a really good game of tennis on Thursday night, we just had one week off for Easter but it felt like ages and it was really good to get back into it. A win for Paul and I (our first as a partnership) and a close loss for John and I.

Next weekend a new adventure for Running Buddy and I as we prepare for our first city trail run.

And I saw that the injured cyclist recovered to compete in National waterskiing championships and win several of her age divisions. Good recovery Lucy, well done.

Tennis & running & heat...

Running Buddy & I have struggled to get back our form after Christmas indulgences and the hot weather hasn't helped, not that we have had that much hot weather but it seems whenever we have an opportunity to get out and run it turns it on.

We have started doing Parkrun on a Saturday morning. These free timed runs are held on Saturday mornings around the World and a brand new group was launched in Melton. I had been wanting to participate in a Parkrun but the closest was Point Cook. We attended the launch and ran 5k along Toolern Creek on a very hot morning.

this is indicative of current form and the hot morning

2nd time was a bit better

we are working towards longer distances and avoiding photographers. Part of Parkrun is to volunteer in a role to keep the event going and free. I'm going to do my stint on Saturday as Running Buddy has to work and we are participating in the Wydham Fun Run on Sunday morning with Mel. This is our first 10k for the year so hopefully the conditions will be right for us to achieve that.

Cardio tennis is back on and I've also played a couple of tournaments on very hot days. Club championships were a test of endurance and we didn't end up as champions...except in our own minds.

Surprises at tennis...

Thursday night mixed doubles tennis went off with a bang. We won 3 sets and that was enough to bag the trophy, the 5th set didn't go ahead, we were already celebrating!

the winning team, thanks guys for a great season

I lost the first set though but came through to win my second set and was lucky enough to pull off a blindingly good shot to win the game and the set. I headed up to the clubhouse on a high and optimistic that the 4th set that was being played out could be a winner. While I was chatting and cooling off I got the surprise of my life.

 Around the corner came Lucy then Erin and THEN HAYLEY!

I let out a little scream as I was so pleased and surprised. She had come home a week early to surprise me, set up with Abi and Robbo. I couldn't let her go. We were laughing and crying and I was like,
WHAT, HOW, WHY, HOW?????? Lucy had already been surprised the night before when she landed on WEDNESDAY. Hayley didn't want to surprise me then as I had to work Thursday and wanted to be able to spend the day with me Friday. She had been home and surprised Erin and Chris and Callum. Luckily she came when I had finished playing as I would have been way too distracted to finish any tennis.
My plans for today had already changed as Big Sister had meetings and Cardio had been cancelled and this unexpected happening has been wonderful.

More tennis...

Since the last big race tennis has been the centre of my attention. We had the Annual Ladies High Tea Tournament for the local hospital. 140 women came along to support the fundraiser and play some (at times very competitive) tennis. The trophies were well worth winning but Rosie and I in our first pairing together couldn't take one home. The weather was perfect and the day successful.

The next tennis outing was the semi finals on Thursday night, which we scraped through into the grand final next week. The deciding 5th set was a nail biter but we came up trumps.

Today was a fund raiser for Relay for Life. We played 4 sets in hot temperatures and what at times felt like blazing sunshine. I wanted a bit more cloud cover and the forecast storm never took the sting from the sun. I am very thankful for well applied effective sunscreen, so I feel like I beat the 36 degree day. Couldn't win the afternoon but took out a raffle prize. It was a good hit up leading up to the grand final with fun people, just the sort of day I really enjoy.

Next focus is the Sussans Womens half marathon next weekend and have my fingers crossed for good weather and a good run.

Not a running post...

Bored with what is on offer on the TV and having read everything in my feed reader and used up all my lives on Candy Crush I started reading back through my blog posts.

Not bad if I say so myself.

But very heavy on the running posts. Sorry about that. So to change it up a little here is a post about...tennis.

Today being a Public Holiday in Melbourne AND the last day of my leave I played tennis all day.

my new partner

Kath and I partnered up for the first time and battled the heat and the very windy conditions to play 5 sets of good tennis. We had some wins and losses and are a very even match up. It was a lot of fun. we got a second in the sweep and third in the round robin. Kath was very organised and bought us matching tops to wear so we really looked the goods. It was a lovely way to end up my holidays. 

A big shout out to my Running Buddy who celebrates her birthday today. Even though it fell on the public holiday she still had to work and be normal etc. Happiest of birthdays my friend. I hope you always feel like you crossed the finish line in first place.

AND in very exciting news, Hayley has purchased her ticket home!! She will be home for Christmas and will skip winter this year and return for an Australian baking. Much like our Nana used to do, switching between Cairns and Melbourne to avoid the cold. It will be good to have her home and be able to catch up on her news in person.

Tennis...

As well as running I have been playing a lot of tennis.

Mixed double tennis on Thursday nights

Cardio tennis on Friday mornings

Saturday afternoon comp at clubs in the surrounding districts.

Not winning all these comps but having a great time doing it. The more tennis I play the better my game gets and the less my family recognize me and the less time I have to do housework, scrapping or blogging.

But that's the way I like it.

I'm back baby...

My leg feels normal!

Hooray I say, bout bloody time.And I can hop and everything so I am going to play tennis tomorrow night. I'll be stretching, massaging and then taping plus wearing my compression sleeves just for the reassurance that nothing will go awry.

Here goes!

The pain of not running...

Last week at Cardio Tennis I felt a sharp pain in my calf as I ran across the court. I felt it as a 'ping' and it stopped me in my tracks. I hobbled off and sadly made my way home to get some ice. An Ultrasound revealed a grade 1 tear to the unpronounceable gastrocnemius muscle.

Now it seems that when you have one of these injuries everyone you talk to has had experience with it. And everyone has their opinion on treatment and length of abstinence from activity. Of course I did the R.I.C.E. treatment and avoided H.A.R.M.(heat, alcohol, running, massage) and consulted Dr Google (sports medicine). Each day has been better and after one week of walking only I am looking to get back into my activities. I keep looking for the shortest answer when I am searching the length of time to rest.
Its similar to the drug clearance chart I see at work. This chart shows the different times it takes for a clean urine after drug use. For example for marijuana it says 1-7 days but to assume it is the longer time not the shorter one, there are lots of factors which influence the clearance - weight, frequency of use, dose etc. That is the advantage of sharing an office with the Drug & Alcohol Counsellor on a Monday ... I know things.

On Saturday for the Debut I was determined for the injury not to hamper my night out. Luckily wearing heels was less painful than having my foot flat on the floor. My dance moves were not discernibly different.

When I read or hear 1-3 or 4 or 6 weeks of rest I assume one. I want it to be one. Having to miss runs or training or getting someone to replace me is as painful as my calf.

Today was the first pain free day with walking so I am even keener to try it out with a run but  Google Physio says I should be able to hop pain free before going back to running . Tomorrow I am going to try hopping and if that is good I am going to stretch stretch stretch and try a run.

The school holidays coming up is a forced break from tennis and Pilates and if I wasn't so impatient I would hold off running til Term 2 as well but if I start back too soon I will just have pain and the doomsayers will be proved correct in their prediction of a longer recovery. I am trying to be good and to do the right thing but it's hard.

Wish me luck (& patience)

Poor old neglected blog...

too busy doing life stuff to write on the blog about it.

I have been running. Running a lot more and really enjoying it. We ran at the Zoo on a hot evening back on Feb 5th and I struggled with the hilly course but today we ran along the Barwon River in Geelong in much nicer conditions and I loved it. Not as hilly as the Zoo but longer by 2km. The difference between running in the morning and evening is astounding. I used to think I ran better in the afternoon than in the morning but  that changes from run to run. The running group on Saturday mornings always includes hill work and I can see the benefit now. Every time I run up a hill (there is some quite steep ones around here) I curse them as I struggle to breathe. We will need to keep at the hills if we are to do the Run 4 the Kids again this year. That bridge is not the only challenge in that race.
Thursday night tennis has started up again and cardio tennis on Fridays. We even squeezed in a fundraiser tournament on a lovely Sunday afternoon. I'm enjoying the tennis but my game isn't reflected in that enjoyment.
Pilates is back on again also on a Wednesday night too, the family look at me in my workout gear and say 'where are you off to now?' Tuesdays are the only rest/non exercising days.

The other event that is occupying our thoughts is Erin's debutante ball which is only 4 weeks away now. Shoes, gloves, hair, makeup, jewellery are sorted, the dress is under way and on track. Tickets, suits and other outfits are organised. The only thing we can't tick off is the limo as we are waiting for everyone else to get their act together. At this rate Erin might be going in her Dad's limo!

We went to a 40th the other night and had a lovely time

pic from facebook, thanks Mel

I was surprised and delighted to see my lovely friend Sheryl had flown down from Cairns to join in the celebrations. We tried to convince her and her husband to come back 'home' to us but they won't be in it.

Quiet time...

Apart from the constant hum of air conditioners running non stop during our 'record breaking heat wave' it has been pretty quiet around here.

We lay pretty low during the week of 40 degrees plus weather, keeping one eye on the CFA incident web site watching for news of fires. I was concerned for Big Sister when word spread around that her town had been ordered to evacuate. That turned out to be false but there was a big grass fire close to her that the CFA got under control quickly. We watched the skies at night, the lightning show was spectacular and responsible for many fires. Little Sister lives with the threat of fires also. Seems no-one is truly safe from them. I worry about work too with grass fires a real danger. There was no 'cool of the night' to get relief from the days scorching temperatures. I went to work or from one air conditioned place to the next, ever grateful for constant power to run them. I am not reliant on trains thankfully as they were out of action in the heat.

Charter work was thin on the ground for Chris as it was too hot for outings & the potential to be caught out in a grass fire was huge. I am sad to see the Grampians on fire again. They have had fires, floods and now fires again. We love that area and know that they can recover from these events but it is heart breaking to see.

I have enjoyed watching the tennis of the Australian Open and am astounded that they kept on playing during those scorching days. I didn't venture out for any running until the temperature was back in the 20's. On Saturday I made up for it by running in the morning with the running group and again in the afternoon with Running Buddy. That afternoon run was golden. It felt fantastic and again made me grateful to be able to do it.

I'll leave you with a 29 year old photo

We celebrated 29 years of marriage this week and next to the photo that is the header of this blog this is one of my all time favourites. I think we both look pretty good. Chris is so handsome in his tux and nary a grey hair in sight. This was taken after we were married, at my graduation later that same year, 1985. As we head off into our 30th year of marriage I am grateful to be able to celebrate such milestones.

Nothing is perfect around here but I have much to be grateful for.

The wallet...

I have made some good friends at the tennis club. Today I played in the club championships and teamed up with a lovely young girl after my partner suddenly had to ditch me cancel. We won 2 sets and lost one 8-5 and the other in a tie breaker. All in all a good day, not too hot and not too late. If I had of entered a mixed or veterans section I would have had another 6 sets to play and that would have been just too much. We aren't club champions after all.

Hayley gave this to me for Mothers Day

I was telling someone today what had happened on Thursday night and now I will tell you. After the grand final we stood around and had some drinks to celebrate, I got my wallet out to pay and put it on a ledge while we were chatting. I didn't give it another thought and I didn't get another drink as I was driving. When I got home at about 1045pm I heard a little tapping on the front door. I opened to see the lovely Rosie standing there with my wallet in her hand.

As they were leaving the club rooms they noticed the wallet, looked inside for my address then dropped it off to me on their way home. What lovely kind, considerate people. And I hadn't yet noticed the missing wallet before it was returned to me and I didn't have any hassle trying to get it back from locked club rooms or the stress of cancelling cards etc.

Thank you John and Rosie. I am very lucky to found such good people through tennis.




We have used up our 500 gig data allowance again this month, we are really puzzled as to where all this data is going. Just a few more days of really slow internet before it is reset. We are using as little as possible until then but it is very difficult, we are all so dependant on it. May not be a post until we sort this out.

Doh...

Missed yesterday's daily pic. I shouldn't say my plans out loud as they don't always eventuate. Yesterday I went to a 730am meeting which was today. I then went to work, came home and went for a run then fell asleep on the couch.
Today I went to the 730 am meeting on the correct day, had a busy day at work which included failing the student's clinical placement. I came home with one eye on the weather bureau's radar which tracked the sometimes heavy showers and wondered if we would get our mixed doubles tennis grand final in.

turned out to be a chilly perfect night

Well we did

Runners up this time

 It was very close. 2 sets a piece and it came down to the 5th set decider. I won one and lost one, so it was very even and lots of fun. It was quite cold still and only one shower interrupted play. It was as cold today in Melbourne as it was in Ipswich for Hayley.

I'll try to keep up with a daily pic from now on.

Tennis and tea...

Yesterday was the second High Tea Tennis Tournament run as a fundraiser for the hospital. I had worried over the forecast over the last week but in the end the showers stayed away, we had a mild day with little wind and occasional breaks of sunshine. The day couldn't have turned out better. Or it might have if we had come home with a trophy. But not to worry we all had fun.

 This year I paired up with Helen. Her partner from last year moved to Cairns in June so we've started a new pairing. We are similar players and were put into B grade and ended up winning 2 and losing 2 of the 4 matches. We were soundly beaten by the eventual winners of our Grade but we were a bit stiff to lose to the other pair. They were an older pair who were pretty serious about the match. We were ahead 4-2 when Helen copped a ball in her face. Her sunglasses didn't break but cut into the bridge of her nose. We suspended play and mopped up the blood then returned to the court. Even though she said she was fine I think Helen was a bit rattled after that and we went down 4-6. You have to watch out for the older ones they don't look like they have got the goods but they can whip your arse without breaking a sweat.

I thought I had the goods

 We had a yummy lunch between sets and some champers afterwards

It was a very nice way to spend a Friday all for a good cause.

Wash out...

Tennis is a wash out tonight.

I had agreed to fill in for someone as we were on the bye but I'm stuck at home with TV tonight a wash out as well. What to watch on a Monday night??

Looks like I will be browsing Pinterest and playing Candy Crush til my lives run out.








I shouldn't complain about a bit of rain when the Phillipines has been destroyed by the force of nature.

Cup Day...

What cup? A day off for a horse race always seems ridiculous to me but I'll take it. In fact it was a lovely 5 day break culminating in today's Tennis Tournament. We played 6 sets of tennis and my partner and I had a  mixed day winning 3 and losing 3. The day was perfect, sunny with the lightest of breezes. Sunscreen worked well and after all those hours in the sun I am not burnt. Usually I don't get that quite right. The grass courts were magnificent  and we adjusted from months of playing on mod-grass quickly. Of course we all had to stop to watch 'the race that stops the tennis tournament' with a glass of bubbly then back on to play the last 2 sets. I am tired now and will go to bed soon, there is nothing on tv to keep me up.

Erin is following in Hayley's footsteps with a passion for tie dying and despite feeling sick this weekend has dyed a double bed sheet and an old T shirt I was going to toss out. The under arms were a little yellowed and I had culled my stash of white T's down by a total of one. Now the top is yellow and pink tie dye pattern and I get to keep it a bit longer. She also printed a couple of her own singlet tops with some transfer paper we had found at Spotlight and pictures printed off the internet. She had wanted a Tokio Hotel T shirt for some time now and I had resisted because the postage was more than the top. She has done a good job and I didn't have to be involved apart from some advice sought via text message between sets.

Tomorrow I'll tell you how wonderful Hayley is, that's another long post. And I'll have to remember tomorrow is Wednesday in this mucked up week.

October 8...

October 8 already?!

After a dreary day of governance, quality improvement programs with very little clinical time I was cheered by this glowing plant on my arrival home

 I couldn't resist getting my camera and quickly snapping some pics while they still had their faces pointing towards the setting sun.

 It had been a nice day and tomorrows forecast is for 27 degrees.

Tennis last night worked out well in the end, we fielded a team, played 4 sets on a beautiful night and had an unexpected win (lost overall).

Callum has been building this guitar. He has stripped the body, stained and sandpapered it and added new 'pickups' among other hardware. Each day another small packet would arrive in the mail - special screws etc until tonight he was able to actually play it. He has done a great job, its really beautiful.

I just hope the neighbours appreciate the time and effort.

The short day...

Daylight savings time started today so it has seemed really short. I didn't achieve much and am now faced with going back to work tomorrow with little done.

I had some success with iTunes but have had no luck in procuring a number 2 player for tomorrows return to tennis so we will have to forfeit those 2 games. I'll be missing Fridays cardio tennis as I have to go to an auditing workshop instead. I am going to hope both Monday night and Friday morning are wash outs to make me feel better about missing out.

Here is a pic of Chris doing his superman impersonation after his self haircut to cheer us all up a little.

I told you it was windy.

Battered but not bruised...

I filled in for Thursday night mixed doubles tennis and played really well. Even a whack on the back from MY team mate while he was serving didn't throw us off our game. Well he was a bit rattled, as I was, after he had hit me but we went on to win. The surprising thing was though the ball hit me really hard square in the middle of my back, Phil has a powerful serve,  it has left no mark or bruise. I wasn't standing in his way but I think he was trying really hard to ace our opponent and it got me. It could have been worse. If it had hit me on the head or on my kidney region I might have been injured.

Just shows I am tough stuff.

Today we had to vote. The Federal election campaign has left me uninspired with all of them and scared of some. Last night at about 9pm I got a call from Kevin Rudd himself (alright, a recorded message). I didn't listen past 'this is Kevin Rudd' but it did give me a giggle that he was calling om my home phone with his 'important message'.

We'll see what direction we'll be taking tomorrow.

Spring...

Spring has arrived and shoved Winter out with  a huge push.

This last day of Winter has not been wintry. We've had sunshine and a warm day. I did 4 loads of washing and it was dry in a jiffy. The daffodils have poked their heads through, the grape vine is full of buds and emerging leaves and the trees are full of blossoms. The nice weather should continue for a few days now and I did a rearrange and assessment of the wardrobe this afternoon.  I hope I haven't been too premature at taking out the woolliest of jumpers. I have been browsing Pinterest looking for Spring trends.

Yesterday we did our cardio tennis session in our new 'cardio tops'

Emma was good enough to pose for a pic afterwards when we were all sweaty. I really enjoy these sessions but with all the tennis I've been playing my 'tennis elbow' is paining again. The weird thing about tennis elbow is it doesn't hurt in the elbow but in the forearm muscle.

Its just 3 weeks til the end of term, just 4 weeks left that I can say 'I am in my forties' and 6 weeks til the half marathon. Now that the weather has improved there should be no excuses not to get the training done.

Bring on September!

News of the day...

We had the NBN installed today. The box bit that goes on the outside of your house. Now all we have to do is have it connected, which I think we can do as soon as we talk to the Telstra people about our plan. Quicker internet will be good. Internet that doesn't drop out in the middle of candy crush games will be even better.

I cleaned and scrapped today. I finished off the 2 school pages that were laying on the desk half finished for the past 3 weeks. They were really bothering me and I got them done and away. I don't love them but they are done.

Tonight we played tennis. We played on even though the temperature gauge showed it was only 5 degrees. It wasn't too windy but it definitely feels like it could snow.

We are tough, determined, bad ass tennis playing mothers.

Hayley is enjoying the longest summer ever before she heads back to a really cold winter in England. She posted loads of photos on facebook and the ones from the firecracker festival are my favourite. Here is a sample if you aren't friends (of the facebook kind) with her.

She has loads of pics there now and lots on her Tumbler blog too.

Enough to keep this mother happy for now.