Addicted....

My name is Elaine and I'm an addict.



I'm addicted to... swimming.  Well, exercise really (running mainly - even the gale force winds last week didn't stop me from fitting in my running) but I don't think there's been a week in the last few years that I haven't fitted in at least 2 miles of swimming. Whether I've been on holiday or been to the city for a few days I've ensured the Hotel has had a pool that I can swim lengths.  I mostly swim on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7 before work, a minimum of 1 mile each time, sometimes 2 kilometres, sometimes squeezing in an extra session at the weekend if I can. I don't really do any drills just use it as thinking time mainly - planning lessons, brainstorming ideas or planning recipes.  

During the summer I was trying to swim 4 or more times per week, everyday abroad.  All sounds good.  But then, hang on a minute - wasn't it the summer that my hip was getting more and more painful?  I started talking to some of my other running friends about my hip injury (who also swam) and they concurred that their hip pain went away when they stopped swimming.  We all swim very similar - front crawl, only rotating to breathe on the right.  We chatted away on our Christmas night out about it "you can do it Elaine, you can break the cycle.... if I can give it up, you can too!" they said giving me encouragement, meanwhile I clung on to my wine glass nodding my head, agreeing, but deep down thinking I can't give it up!  If anyone overheard our conversation they would've thought we were talking about smoking, alcohol or drugs.  No, just swimming.  I fobbed it off, thinking, I'll give up at Xmas but I've already collected the Christmas leisure centre opening hours leaflet and mentally planned out my swims around the days off.  However, sure enough after my swim yesterday morning my hip pain returned and it got me thinking.  Could it really be that swimming NOT running has given me this injury?! 

All of the above, however, seems trivial when reality comes knocking at your door.  Nelson Mandela wasn't the only great person to pass away last Thursday.  Marion, Stuart's much loved Gran sadly was taken from us.  It wasn't a shock to anyone, she had been ill for the last few years but it still doesn't take away the sadness of the loss of such a wonderful, caring and kind person.  Stuart's Mum always described her as a person who would be "killing you with kindness" as every time we saw her she would feed you with rolls, tea, biscuits and cakes!  She was generous to the core and doted on her grand children.  It's obviously in the genes as Stuart's Mum could certainly be described as very similar!  After her long period of illness and needing so much care, at least now she is at peace.  Her funeral took place this week and although it was upsetting, the close-knit family came together and remembered her and the good times.  Stuart's Mum asked me to read a poem at the service.  A poem actually written by Stuart - when he was 11!  It was entitled "My Gran" and it was so sweet.  It completely summed up Marion's personality and spirit.  I don't think an adults words would've done her justice.  Marion herself loved that poem and carried it around in her purse all these years.  Life is so busy and time is going so fast, it takes times like these to realise that you have to make time to slow down sometimes and appreciate what you have before it's gone. 

I really want to do that this Christmas.  I'm looking forward to some time off work just to relax and be with family and friends. Work has been hectic but enjoyable particularly the seniors ceilidh dancing on Friday where all of them joined in and gave it laldy!  I'm starting to get into the festive mood - the Christmas tree and decorations are up at Bodega, Santa Dash completed (only 3 miles due to a Bodega after party...), shopping done and presents are in the process of being wrapped.  A few token mince pies have been demolished and xmas party nights out (see my food diary below, December really isn't a good month!) and the customary Christmas movie watching has begun with some of my favourites The Holiday, Elf and Miracle on 34th Street.  Just to look out that Christmas jumper now and try to keep away from that swimming pool - wish me luck!

Running away with the Year

Phew!  It has been a BUSY few months of work, parents evenings, committee meetings, instructing fitness classes, coffee afternoons, weekends away, work, training courses, work, prizegivings, novel writing (you heard it here first), organising MOKRUN 2014 including creating a new website, fundraising bingo nights, school ski trip organising and various races.  It all sounds a bit dreich and I've been stressing a little (cue my husband's laughter) but I've had a lot of fun too.  The last few weeks have been a bit of a blur with various things, usually not getting home until after 9, dinner, cup of tea then bed.  Before I knew it, wham!  It's full blown winter.  That crept up on me.  I can't believe it's been nearly 4 months since returning from my holidays and I've had all good intentions on continuing my blog but well....

It's now December and what has happened?  Well I've miraculously achieved a few PB's - 10k in Glasgow (47.03, narrowly missing a 46 minuter doh!) and my best time yet at the 5.5 mile cross country Tin Farm 5 race (hills, beaches, mud and rivers - oh my!)  Don't know how I managed that since I was definitely not at my fittest.  Keeping up the Sunday cycling club a group of us completed the MOKBike challenge - 70 miles of hills going round all of Kintyre.  It was hard.  It was hard.  It was hard.  But it was brilliant and we felt elated as we cycled back into town and finally off that saddle to a welcome glass of cider.  I also competed in the Amsterdam half marathon, achieving a 1 hour 48 minute time.  A few minutes over my PB but I was happy with the time since the course was incredibly congested and I've still got my dodgy hip.  I seem to be having good weeks and bad weeks with my hip.  We have a stormy relationship.  But what I've found that a long cycle and swimming seems to help.  That's what I'm telling myself anyway so I'm keeping up my cross training and my running.  Usually between 30 - 40 miles per week running, that'll keep me going until the big mileage kicks in...

 

The CRC gang after the 10k in Glasgow.  Of course we beat Haile (he was doing the half!)

The trip to the Dam itself was fantastic - lots of sightseeing, good food and cocktails.  I am very proud of some of the achievements of my friends and family at Amsterdam.  My husband, Stuart, who is going from strength to strength in his running gaining PB's at practically every race.  His mindset seems to have changed for running and he is now setting bigger targets, that before he thought was out of his reach.  He smashed his records with with a new PB of 36.00 for the Bella 10k and a half marathon time of 1.21! 

I'm particularly proud of my little sister who completed her first half marathon in a very respectable 2 hour 18 time in Amsterdam.  I started taking Mairi out 'jogging' 2 to 3 times per week last November after my continuous nagging finally broke her down and she gave in.  She hated it.  I shouted at her.  She started to enjoy it.  We chatted and laughed together as she improved and improved.  Now she loves it and she's doing half marathons with me - amazing.  She looks absolutely stunning too - she's lost around 2 stone in weight and she feels better too, permanently smiling :-)

 

 After the last hill at Peninver, 65 miles complete, what's another 5?

Me and my we star of a sister enjoying French Martinis in the SkyLounge in Amsterdam Hilton.

 

I've started a new Cross Country Club for pupils in school and so far it's been reasonably well attended and hope to take them away to the Scottish Schools Championship in Ayr in March.  These could be our athletes of the future - and some of them are pretty damn fast!  Although a few of them seem to like splashing about in the mud more than they like running laps.  I don't blame them.

 

Another exciting development is that we've got a committee together through Campbeltown Running club to coordinate a Toon Triathlon in July next year.  We've manage to affiliate through Tri Scotland who have been extremely helpful and have booked the Aqualibrium.  Sigh of relief, yip, it's a pool based swim.  Just a sprint Tri to start - 750m swim, 20k cycle to Ballochgair and 5k run down Kilkerran Road turning at Grant Logan.  We hope to get about 80 entries including 10 team teams.  Another wee event for Campbeltown :-)

Although time has been flying in, there are lots of things I'm looking forward to - especially Christmas!  I love this time of year with twinkling lights, Christmas concerts and nights out, friends and family reunited along with good food and wine.  Although I'm already panicking about potential bad weather (could affect training) and the food I will no doubt consume...  Never mind, I have the Slog in the Sand 10k on the 28th December - a gruelling race along Westport beach usually in freezing conditions, blowing a gale and some sleet thrown in for good measure.  Just a normal run for us Kintyre runners then.  At least we'll get some of Jennifer's homemade cakes at the end.

My next challenge?  The London Marathon of course!  I'm going to make a better effort to write a weekly blog that will double up as a training record.  Below is an example of some of the records of training and my weekly diet that I have been trying to keep in short note form - not very exciting but maybe if I publish it it will encourage me to be the healthiest I've ever been?  Worth a shot. 

18/11/2013	Breakfast	Snack 1	Lunch	Snack 2	Dinner	Snack 3	Exercise	Comments
Monday	Lemon muller light yoghurt with rasberries and almonds	Breakfast fruit and fibre biscuits and green tea	Lf houmous pot with oatcakes.  Apple and tangerine.	Banana, some brazil nuts.	Chicken stir fry with coriander, lemon, peppers, beansprouts, garlic, chilli and cashew nuts with noodles.  Shape chocolate mousse.	Mini milky way and curly wurly - whoops!  Tea.	5.5 mile easy.  Spin (instructed).  Few mins core.	Felt good but hip a little tender at end of night.
Tuesday	Lemon muller light yoghurt with rasberries and spoon of muesli.	Breakfast fruit and fibre biscuits and green tea	Cup of homemade thai veg soup with 2 slices bread.  Apple and tangerine.	1/2 banana on rice cakes with jam.	Chicken fajitas!	A few ginger nuts, a milky way (whooops) and 2 teas (it was cold!)	6 miles inc 6 1 min sprints	Freezing.  Wet.  Windy.  Never went to training as was getting hair done and weather was to get worse.  Hip really sore later, pain kept me up all night :-(
Wednesday	Lemon muller light yoghurt with rasberries.  Slice of toast.	Green tea and alpen bar (70 cals)	Lf houmous pot with oatcakes.  Apple and tangerine.	2 rice cakes with scraping of peanut butter and jam.	Haggis, potatoes and carrots.	Whhooppss - sweet popcorn, minstrels and a ginger nut!	1 mile swim, 3 mile run, combat class.	Soooo windy!  Never got much sleep but enjoyed swim in morning.  Hip a bit sore but getting better.  Captain Phillips was an amazing film - made better with popcorn and chocolate!
Thursday	Lemon muller light yoghurt with raspberries.	Green tea and alpen bar (70 cals).  3 marshmallows and melted chocolate - whoops (charity day!)	Lf houmous pot with oatcakes.  Apple and tangerine.		Baked potoato and beans.  Shape chocolate mousse.	Chocolate sponge and tea - (oops, bought for charity tho….)	7 mile run inc 15 x 1 min sprints @ 5k pace	Beautiful crisp cold day.  Ate pretty bad but needed it.  Ran early as had parent's eve meeting.
Friday	Breakfast biscuits and green tea	1/2 a cookie (damn charity donation!) On the plus - took a danish pastry for Stu, not me!	Soup and tuna toastie from bluebell.	Skinny cap	Spicy tomato pasto with lf smoked sausage, pesto, lf philadelphia, red onion and peppers.  Slice of homemade garlic bread.	Low fat choc cheesecake (2 tea biscuits mashed with spoon of lemon curd, lf yoghurt mixed with lf philadelphia and raspberries.  AND boost chocolate.	Spin am and 1 mile swim.	Beautiful day but VERY cold.  Only 1 spin class today as inservice day - yay!
Saturday	protein smoothie with berries, 1/2 banana and 1/2 tangerine.	Green tea	Home made soup with tuna sandwich.	Green tea and go ahead bar.	Chicken satay skewers then thai chicken curry with jasmine rice.	2 glasses of wine.  Cup of tea and biscuit.	12 miles easy run (Machrihanish)	Beautiful morning for a run.  Hip  a bit sore after.  Drove to Edinburgh to see Lion King - yay!  Fantastic Thai food.
Sunday	1 slice of toast with scrambled egg.  Sliced fruit with muller light yoghurt.  Croissant and jam.  Green tea.	Banana.	1/2 goats cheese and chutney panini.	Chocolate cupcake and salted caramel skinny latte	King prawn and cashew nut chilli noodles and 3 mojitos in Bar Soba!!! Delicious!	Baileys hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows - yum yum yum!  Cup of tea and biscuit.	30 mins cardio, 10 mins core/strength in gym.  Jacuzzi :-)	Fantastic day in Edinburgh - xmas lights, getting festive!  Lots of walking, shopping and sightseeing.  Xmas markets and lights were beautiful.
#########	Breakfast	Snack 1	Lunch	Snack 2	Dinner	Snack 3	Exercise	Comments
Monday	Slice of wholemeal toast, porridge and fruit		1/2 goats cheese and chutney panini with soup.	Apple slice and cup of tea (yum but feeling guilty, damn husband treating me on holiday!!)	Chicken balmoral pie with mash and carrots (ditto)	Cadbury's dairy milk with oreo bar (double ditto).  2 cookies (triple ditto?!)	5.5 mile easy.  HIT class.  Spin class.	Feeling very guilty for eating so much - whoops!  Comfort food.  Classes and run good but hip v sore later at night.
Tuesday		Breakfast biscuits	Oatcakes and vegetable soup.  Tangerine and apple.	Rice cakes with peanut butter and jam.  Coffee.	Chicken stir fry with coriander, lemon, beansprouts, garlic, chilli and cashew nuts with noodles.	Tea and a few ginger nuts	6 mile run at training with 13 x 400 m intervals.  Spin.	Felt good whilst training but hip sore before/after.  Eased a little.  Called in to take spin, never got dinner until after 9.
Wednesday	Breakfast biscuits	Green tea and alpen bar	Tomato pasta and salad	Rice cakes with peanut butter and jam.  Coffee.	Baked chicken breast with bbq sauce and boiled potatoes.	Tea and a few choc biscuits	1 mile swim, 3 mile run, combat class.	Felt good, hip a little tender.  Inveraray meeting.  SKSC hub meeting so not home until after 9 for dinner.
Thursday	Wholemeal slice of toast, cocounut muller light yoghurt.	Alpen bar and green tea.  Small slice of choc cake - whoops!	Oatcakes (4) and banana.  Tangerine and apple.	Rice cakes with peanut butter and jam.  Coffee.	Spag bol - yum!	Tea and 1/2 a mars bar :-)	7 mile run - parlouf (10 x 1/2 mile intervals with Darren at training)	Run was ok but hip sore after.
Friday	Banana	Breakfast biscuits and green tea	Heinz soup and oatcakes.  Tangerine.	Cereal bar and skinny cap.	Tuna spaghetti (pesto, lightest phili, garlic, chillies, onions and peppers) and garlic bread.	Mince pie and hot chocolate.  Some ben and jerry's Karamel Sutra (couldn't resist!)	1 mile swim.  Spin in pm.	Hip a bit sore.  Lights switch on - yay!  Very windy and cold but worth the walk over to get a hot chocolate and see lights.
Saturday	Toast and jam	Blueberry and banana protein shake	Simmer soup and egg mayo sandwiches.	Scone and earl grey tea.	Red thai chicken curry with rice, chips and 1/2 pitta bread with garlic. Pepsi. It's Saturday!!	Ben and Jerry's icecream.  Chocolate orange bar.  Cup of tea.	11 mile run easy on flat - moss road.	Hip sore all the time.  So frustrating!  Sore during and after run.  Julia appointment and did lots of work on roller and yoga later.
Sunday	Cinnamon bagel and green tea	Advent dairy milk choc day 1 - woo!	Scrambled egg and toast.	Scone and granola bar.	Pizza and waffles.  Pepsi.  Erm… it's Sunday!?	Low fat choc cheesecake (2 tea biscuits mashed with spoon of lemon curd, lf yoghurt mixed with lf philadelphia and 1/2 shape choc mousse.  Chocolate orange and tea.	1.5 hour endurance spin class.  3 miles on bike.	Hip a little bitter but still tender/annoying.

Road to recovery

A few sports massages, physio, osteopath visit and countless painful stretches on the foam roller and I am running again. Kind of. It's not any more painful than before and resting did no real good so I'm attempting to get back to normal. I've ran most days since starting back at school 3 weeks ago - all relatively flat and slow but I'm on the road to recovery and that's what matters. A sub 4 marathon was definitely not going to happen in Amsterdam so I've managed to drop down to the half. Since 10 miles took me 1 hour 33 on Saturday a pb half won't happen either despite the city's fast and flat course. I'm just going to go and enjoy it!

This week has been slow to start due to what I like to think of as mokfest fatigue however I've settled back into my usual routine of 5.5 miles on Monday followed by spin. Tuesday I'd normally run a total of approx 8 miles, at least 6 with the club but I only managed to get in a quick flat 6 miles to the sheep fanks. This particular Tuesday was the handicap 3 mile race night at Westport, a hard run that I was quite glad I had an excuse not to make a fool out of myself coming in last place - I had been invited to a civic reception with the Scottish Cabinet during their visit to Campbeltown. It was an entertaining relaxed night where guests could mingle with the ministers. I was glad of the opportunity to highlight the need for sports facilities, namely a running track, as well as plugging mokrun and kintyre. I'm pleased that not only did MSP John Swinney love his morning run along Machrihanish beach but would hopefully attempt mokrun next year! My excuse for no combat on Wednesday was also good - the Cabinet had booked out my venue. Something I had a wee dig about when I met the first minister later that day!

Recently, in my obsessive internet research about my hip injury I discovered I was most definitely an under pronator. From comparing my well trodden Nike running shoes to pictures online I was quite shocked at how badly I'd worn in my trainers at the sides, so much so the rubber had came off the sides! After some investigating I decided on buying a new pair of asics cushioned gel trainers. The beauties arrived today and I tried them out on an easy 5 mile run down to the jetty. Love them! Pain still there but maybe it's manageable.

These were some of my favourite things!

My hip injury fair gave my OCD a challenge. Forced to rest I tried my best not to look at my marathon training plan that I could no longer follow. How I would have loved to tick each training run off in a different place. As much as it sounds pathetic to most I felt lost without my normal regime. I love the buzz, the endorphins flowing through your body, that amazing invincible feeling you get after a challenging run or completing a new goal. I'm always driven by mileage, by times, by distance - I can't help it. It just feels so satisfying and I feel I deserve my treat afterwards. If you know me then you know my love of good food and fine wine (or any wine tbh)!  I've also come to realise on this trip that I'm a better, nicer, more fun person when I can run. I had such a great holiday but I know I would have enjoyed it that bit more being injury free. Therefore, at the top of my list of things I liked least about my travels was my injury and lack of running. Sad? Probably.

Other things I didn't have much time for -

#1 Dorm rooms in hostels
#2 Custom queues
#3 Weather in Melbourne
#4 Roadworks and building works
#5 Being away from my husband (aw bless)

My favourite things?
#1 Drinking prosecco at Sydney Harbour at sunset
#2 Scuba diving at Great Barrier Reef
#3 Ocean rafting and snorkeling at whitsundays
#4 Singapore Sling cocktails at Raffles and Sky bar
#5 Fraser Island adventure
#6 Mai Thais at sunset after Grand Palace visit, Bangkok
#7 Dubai fountains at the Burj
#8 Spotting humpback whales
#9 Cycling around Sydney
#10 Catching up with family and friends of course

My new addictions -
#1 Banana bread and/or muffins
#2 Jasmine tea
#3 Tim tams
#4 Red thai curries with sticky rice
#5 Bircher muesli

Oh I do love a good list! As you can see, I need to run to burn off that lot. I put on about 8 lbs. Yup, over half a stone. Whoops. OK time for this hip to heal pronto. Dr appointment made, injury management massage booked, osteopathy clinic appointment next week and self help yoga stretches on sky planner. Surely it's got to get better soon?! Maybe I'll just take up baking banana bread instead!

Our last stop...

Our last adventure of our travels was chaotic, busy and humid Bangkok.  The airport was large and the staff, so far, very friendly.  Dissapointedly for us we had to wait over an hour to get through customs, not quite what we had hoped in the middle of the night.  I had imagined a crazy taxi driver winding his way through lanes and packed roads to deliver us to our hotel but it was very peaceful but maybe this was because it was nearly 3am!  We were looking forward to getting checked in and back to our 5 star luxury :-) Our hotel, the Anantara Riverside Bangkok and Spa, welcomed us with open doors, smiles and opulent furnishings as well as a crazy woman outside screaming about something....  The receptionist dismissed it and explained she was a regular annoyance trying to get into the gym without paying and would get escorted off the premises shortly....

Then came the bad news.  "We have a lovely double room for you set up" the receptionist chimed happily.  Even more grumpy than ever (remember, it was 3am, actually 6am Oz time after an 8 hour flight) I replied instantly "we have paid for a twin room" and swiftly produced the receipt to show her.  She seemed apologetic and after a few minutes of pokering about on her computer she informed us that unfortunately we would have to be upgraded to a Junior Suite on the top floor as that was all that was left.  Ha - result!  We tried to keep the smiles off of our face as we were agreeable and she showed us up to our room.  3am or not, the jacuzzi bath was going on and I was treating myself to a drink!

We discovered that our hotel was a little oasis of calm away from the bustle of Bangkok which was exactly what we wanted.  The food was excellent, it had luscious garden grounds and a fantastic facilities such as a 25 metre pool, huge gym and large open air Jacuzzis.  We ate copious amounts of the fantastic food at breakfast to keep us going for the day and travelled on the free ferry to the city where we embarked on our own tour of the Chao Phraya river, tuk tuks, temples, Buddhas, Wat Arun (temple of dawn) and of course the bustling markets and street food.  A highlight of mine was the Grand Palace, the former residing place of the Thai Royal Family.  It was filled with temples and monuments glistening in gold and grandeur.  Tourists flocked round this area and you had to pay 500 Baht to enter (approx £10) which was well worth the money.  Part of the experience was also wearing traditional Thai dress as it was forbidden to show knees or shoulders in the grounds.  If I knew this beforehand I would've worn something more appropriate to save us having to queue to rent clothes but I wouldn't have got to wear a lovely satin, gold embroidered Thai dress so I'm glad I never.  The rest of our days were spent relaxing at the pool and hot tub, sunbathing and drinking Mai Thais or Mojitos.  Of course these were to cool us down - it was incredibly hot and humid!  On the second day, however, that turned into torrential rain which lasted about an hour - I got completely drenched and I must've been in the rain for no more than 3 seconds.  I won't complain about Scottish rain again.  OK I will, but not for a while. It actually gave me an excuse to get out of the sun and into the gym. No morphine necessary just 3 cocktails consumed and I managed to cope with the pain of 3 miles on the treadmill. It was a start. That was my second consecutive day of trying to run. I decided to be sensible for once and just swim the next few days. 

After sunset and watching the Hotel's show of Thai dancers, drummers and candle lighting ceremony we headed back into the city visited the famous Khao San Road and Asiatique markets where we haggled and bartered with the market stall holders for souvenirs.  It's amazing how you get into that frame of mind until you suddenly realise you are arguing over 50 pence for an ornament!  We also walked down the laneways and streets filled with bars, clubs and sex shows where reps, girls and ladyboys tried to encourage us to come into their establishment.  If we weren't flying out in a few hours and we weren't stone cold sober we may have went for a 'viewing' but we were happy to refuse and move along to get food.  In the 2 evenings we spent in Bangkok we sampled the wonderful Thai spicy curries, sticky rice, noodles and won tons as well as some delicious, but not very authentic, Oreo McFlurries for about 30 pence. Sometimes Globalisation has it's benefits. 

Diary of an injured runner in a runner's city. .....

OK, it had been over 2 weeks now since I last ran and my hip still ached!  It was like a stabbing pain in my side every time my left foot touched the ground.  I felt like a smoker without any nicotine.  An alcoholic with no booze.  I dreamed about being injury free.  I searched online for a miracle cure.  I read articles on muscles and bones and injuries.  I read running forums and blogs.  I definitely am an exercise junkie - I couldn't cope.  My name is Elaine and I am addicted to running!  God help poor Ryan who must think I was utterly pathetic but I couldn't help it - I was desperate to run.  It wasn't to be though and I just had to suck it up, I was on holiday after all.  I suppose I could use the hip injury as an excuse to have a bit of a break and just enjoy our week in Sydney, hopefully by then it would feel better.  I was just starting to get panicky that I would never run again - petrified in fact.  It didn't help that everywhere we turned there were runners taunting me, jogging past in their lycra clobber, pitying me with their smug looks of fitness.   I looked on envious of anyone who could run, jog or even walk happily whereas I was still hobbling on like a geriatric.  Remarkably it didn't spoil my holiday at all, however, I know I would've loved to join in with some of the running malarky or even one of the races such as the Surf to City race that finished at Bondi beach - wow.  I managed some good walks though in that area and it was great, not as good as running but I'd take anything that got me moving without a limp!  Here is my diary of an injured runner for the week, it doesn't seem too miserable -  

Sunday - After toasting our friends recent engagement with some prosecco we continued the celebrations at a nearby restaurant in trendy Newtown which was Thairiffic. No really it was, that was it's name and it didn't disappoint. We shared a banquet of thai curries, noodles, sticky rice and jasmine tea before hitting the sack for some kip - our tour guide Pete had planned for a 7am start!

Monday - Up bright and early we jumped on the busy commuter bus into the city centre where we picked up coffees en route to our first main stop Coogee Beach.  For a winter's day the sun was splitting the sky and Coogee was a beautiful white sandy beach.  The area packed with walkers, joggers and tourists.  From there we walked along the coastal path taking in the various bays and spotting humpback whales before arriving at the magnificent Bondi Beach.  I can see why all the surfers and sun worshippers flock there.  This is what I envision Australia to be about!  My elation soon turned to devastation when I went to pay for our lunch, realising that my purse was missing - gutted!  After a bit of 'manning up', I realised that I would spoil the day (only day Peter could get off on holiday) if I spent the rest of it trying to get it back or tracking it.  We had walked over 5k and I'd probably spend more on transport trying to get back to the start.  Liklihood is it was long gone by now so I just had to 'man up' and try to forget about it.  For me, that is an achievement itself as normally I'd fret and wonder and think and beat myself up over it for ages but at the end of the day it was only cash, no cards were lost, I didn't have that much money in it so I just had to write it off and enjoy the rest of the day.  Which I did!  Peter took us further up the coast where we got the most fantastic views of Sydney Harbour, the bridge and the Opera House as well as the cliffs and coastline.  You wouldn't think you were in the city.  We then stopped off for the obligatory banana bread and coffee before catching the ferry to Circular Quay.  Sailing in as the sun was setting was perfect, what a way to arrive!  You couldn't wipe the smile off my face!  To finish off our long day, feeling decidedly thirsty, we took a wander into the Opera House bar for a wee beer or prosecco in my case.  Thanks to Ryan and Peter for subbing me for the day!  Runners dodged in and out us all day and I stared at them enviously.  As we headed back to Peter and Louise's flat it was only around 6.30pm but it was pitch black already and quite chilly.  Not cold enough to put me off a wee swim in their outdoor pool though!  I jumped in and managed 32 lengths to give me a mile whilst Peter and Ryan headed to the pub and to pick up pizzas for dinner - yum!  Brilliant end to a brilliant day. 

Tuesday - Ryan and I decided to live like Aussies for the day, albeit a weekend day.  We borrowed Peter and Louise's bikes and cycled down to the fish market to pick up some salmon for dinner.  It was another beautiful day and we were following Peter's organised maps.  Although we didn't quite realise the scale of them and ended up cycling miles too far but as a bonus we got some spectacular views of the harbour and we cycled over the Anzac Bridge.  The fish market itself was an experience - millions of huge freshly caught fish, crabs, lobsters, langoustines etc packed the market but we managed to pick out some lovely fillets for dinner.  After breakfast on the decking we got on the bikes again for a 10k bay run before cycling through pretty Balmain to Darling Harbour.  We stopped briefly at a hotel to get our bearings - turned out it was the Glasgow Arms!  Peter had expected us to get all of this done by 5pm but we were home for 2pm.  Plenty time now for us to relax or head to the gym.  For me, I managed to track down a Sports Physiotherapy at Sydney University that I was going to take a chance on getting an appointment.  Luckily I managed to get a massage therapy appointment but no physio.  This, again, was excruciatingly sore and she asked me if I had never been given a massage before as my muscles were so tight around my hip and glutes.  She seemed to think even though I was getting pain at the front and side that it stemmed from my glutes and that my sciatic nerve was getting trapped causing some of the pain.  That seemed believable but unfortunately - no quick fix! I was hoping that she would magically fix me in an instant.  So I was somewhat disappointed afterwards. Ryan, my holiday husband, made me a lovely coffee when I got  back to make me feel better and I went for a long soak in the bath.  That night was time for a proper catch up with our friends as we drank beer, wine, ate good food and played cards. Obviously I won.

Wednesday -  Ryan and I headed into the city early in the morning to catch the train after an early morning swim in the indoor pool, to Katoomba the gateway to the Blue Mountains.  We had looked into tours but they all seemed expensive and intensive. We opted to go by train and by tour bus so that we could have a more relaxed day and choose to stop where we liked.  The views at the 3 sisters out over the Blue Mountains were amazing but some of the footpaths were closed so we couldn't walk all the way to the scenic railway.  I say scenic but it was near a vertical drop, being the steepest railway in the world, I opted out!  Well I did turn 30 this year, it must be the old age but I was happy just trekking round the sights, looking at the waterfalls and the rainforests.  Once we returned in Katoomba we regretted taking the tour bus at all as we could have easily walked from there to the main sights.  There was only 1 train per hour so we managed to catch the 3.30pm train back to Sydney where we instantly fell asleep on the 2 hour journey.  Although we were rudely awakened by Australia's biggest gossip who took great delight in the sound of her own voice for the remainder of the journey.  Peter met us at the station but as the rain started to come on we just headed home again for the evening so that Peter could cook up a storm again - a barbeque of course!

Thursday - We woke up to Scottish weather on Thursday so decided to have a lazy morning.  I went to the gym and managed some time on the bike and weights before feeling too achy so I was pleased with my token effort.  I wanted to swim too but thought I would leave that until before dinner - I hate washing my hair twice in a day (OCD still there).  Ryan and I decided to walk into the city today and we headed to Paddy's market first.  What an eye opener!  An indoor market filled with clothes, food and souvenirs where it was encouraged to haggle.  We also got dragged in to get a massage, I wasn't complaining.  After more banana bread and coffee we went for  a walk down to the Rocks adjacent to circular quay for some holiday snaps, to walk along the harbour bridge and to book a restaurant for dinner.  So much choice!  We opted for a trendy bar, bar100 which offered a mixed menu and cocktails although arriving at 8.01pm we managed to miss the BOGOF cocktail offers.  Prosecco again then!  We met up with our other toonie friend, Graham Rennie, here and his lovely Dutch girlfriend.  It was really nice to catch up and here how much he was enjoying life in Sydney.  The Argyle bar was next where although the cocktails were expensive at $18 they were superb.  In the mood for cocktails, Peter had told us about the bar on the 37th floor of the Shangrila Hotel where we could get the best views in Sydney.  Wow.  Wow.  Wow.  We certainly did and I opted for their signature cocktail - the Harbour Rose which was served with rose petals on top.  Unfortunatley it tasted of them too, a bit too much like pot pourri for my liking.  Clubbing next!  Well, no not really, we happily headed home before 1am for tea and tim tams #addicted.

Friday  - the sun was back in Sydney for our last day and we were feeling sad to be leaving, especially leaving our friends and fantastic hosts behind but we were also excited about our final destination of Thailand.  We awoke early so we could dine out for breakfast - I was liking this lifestyle.  The restaurant was large, rustic and busy.  I chose my new favourite of bircher muesli and poached fruit which was delicious but was lying heavy in my stomach after too many tim tams so unfortunately by the time we got back to the flat I had emptied my stomach again.  Yuck.  I refused to believe it may have been the cocktails...  After a little nap my runner's envy got the better of me and I decided I couldn't leave this city without running once so I doped up on my last ibuprofen and paracetamols and used Peter's maps and instructions to navigate down to a nearby park and right down to the harbour.  It was only a slow 4 miles and I could feel pain in my hip with every step but I didn't care - I had ran.  After a hot shower, I felt a little back to normal and my hopes were high that I would run once home.  It was now time to get organised, grab some souvenirs and jet off to Bangkok for hopefully a weekend of sun, spa and sticky rice!

Devine Sydney

It was finally here, what was to be the highlight of our holiday - Sydney! The city had seen the hottest July since records began and the forecast, for their winter, was sunshine all week with temperatures averaging 22 degrees. That would do!

As much as I've enjoyed Ryan's company on our travels so far it was brilliant to meet up with our friends Peter and Louise who had very kindly arranged to pick us up at the airport and put us up for the week. I'm sure Ryan was glad of some different chat for sure!

Peter, one of the most enthusiastic and excitable guys you can get was itching to show us the sights - you couldn't get a better tour guide. By the time he had driven us back to their apartment, via the Anzac bridge to view the Opera House of course, I was beginning to think that he had been sponsored by the Australian authorities to sell the place... could this be the place I fall in love with and want to emigrate to?

Nevertheless, Peter (a patriotic Scot) didn't fail to remain unbiased and let us know any negatives they had discovered about their new home. I couldn't see any so far. Their flat was like a modern hotel with a luxury open plan living area with a large decking and Ozzie compulsory bbq. They had shared access to a car (affordable and convenient - only pay for when needed and no need to pay taxes etc) a 50m outdoor pool, a 25m heated indoor pool and 2 gyms. Within the complex there was also a supermarket, cafes and a 'bottle shop' (very pricey gor beer and wine in oz #1negative) which was our first port of call. I was sold!

Melbourne in a day

Another sleepless night in cairns because of our amorous roommates argh!! Even the sambucca shared with Jacqueline, my uni friend, didn't knock me out but we had a fab night catching up and dancing in the cairns garage equivalent!

We headed up the coast to port Douglas for the day after sorting out a brief mishap with the car battery. The scenery was amazing and we had a great day on 4 mile beach. I didn't fancy the croc and jellyfish infested waters so stuck to sunbathing!  Port Douglas was just lovely - if I was to come back anywhere along tgw East Coast it would be here.

We knew we were flying to the other side of the country but were still surprised at the 3.5 hour journey time. My cousin Sue picked us up from the glorified shed terminal in the freezing cold (shock to the system! ) and it was fab to catch up. She was a great tour guide for the weekend and took us around the city in a day - walking round the arty lane ways, eating out in fancy tapas bars, drinking coffee, drinking cocktails and theatre. It was brilliant to meet her family. King Kong at the theatre was pretty spectacular and very unusual! !

Before we left we went out for breakfast, again, which is just part of the culture in Melbourne - fab! I want to start doing this more, we just need the weather! There were so many runners and cyclists I was jealous!  Hip still so sore :-(

I caught up with my cousin Margaret and her family too at the convent and animal farm and was introduced to the delights of bircher muesli - delicious!

Melbourne was over before we knew it and Sydney was our next stop!

Koalas, Kangaroos and Kinky stuff...

My excitement after seeing humpback whales only fuelled even more excitement for our trip ahead. Since we really didn't want to spend 10 hours on a bus to cairns we decided to tackle the 600km trip by hire car. We thought this would give us more freedom to stop off and see the sights along the way as well as speed up the journey. This ended up being true but at times all you could see were miles and miles and miles of road and sugar cane. Only a wee glimpse of the sea from time to time.

Oz wildlife was what we hoped to see en route and we weren't disappointed.  However,  a lot of it was kangaroo road kill :-(. Nevertheless we stopped in at the Billabong sanctuary where we got to hold a lovely big cobra, kangaroos, koalas and crocs - fantastic! Made it even better that I managed to blag our way in for half price! !

Other points of call included townsville and mission beach which were both picturesque but eerily quiet. I had hoped for some restaurants and cafes lining the seafront but it was deserted.

Arriving in cairns was a different story - a large marina town bustling with travellers with lots of bars and eateries.  Our hostel is more like a hotel with a great bar and pool (and gym yay!) But unfortunately our request for a twin room couldn't be done.  The room sleeps 6 and is pretty swish as dorms go. Was all going good until we got a wildlife show we weren't expecting. .. Our irish roommate got lucky and decided to show her a good time back in the dorm. Ear plugs to the ready. Little bit of sick in mouth as I tried to sleep on without any luck. As time went on I thought it might be sting in the other bed and thought I should maybe offer them some energy drinks, surely their electrolytes were running low?!

After just a few hours kip Ryan and I woke up to the oz sunshine and left our love bird roommates behind as we went on our first ever scuba dive on the great barrier reef just 20 miles north on a luxury cruiser. This has to be one of the best life experiences to witness such amazing coral and fish so close!  I want to do it again! !

This almost brings our East Coast adventure to an end. Having not seen a friend since university I bumped into her here! So out for dinner and drinks tonight for a long overdue catch up, port Douglas tomorrow then flight to Melbourne tomorrow evening.

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/yp0jy3kplw4soer/_RxlCf6yt8