18km and ANZAC Day

Every year I pledge to go to a dawn service somewhere for ANZAC Day, and every year I am thwarted! Last year I had to work, this year I had to run 18km ... well, I chose to rather. It was a fantastic run. I felt great up until I would say the last 2km when I died in the arse a bit. Although to be honest it had more to do with mental rather than physical issues, my mind was full of negative thoughts (about myself and my abilities). Oh well, three weeks to the race.

We had two extremely emotional and moving speeches before our run. One was from a lady who has battled with breast cancer for 18 years, since she was 27, and survived. She's in remission if you can believe it. Dear god though, there were some almighty stuff-ups on the part of her medical team! Note to self - find a good doctor and stick with them. This lady is the reason I am running with CanToo and raising money for cancer research, it not only raises money for research but it raises awareness. Check yourself, know your body etc etc.

The second speech was even MORE upsetting, from a good friend of mine S. She is the light of my life ... well, one of them, but she really is a ray of sunshine. She's supportive, friendly, warm, considerate and lots more of those things. I knew she suffered from bi-polar disorder, but on Saturday she told us how before CanToo she had spent months in hospital because she 'didn't want to here anymore'. Dear god, it tore my heart out to think that this bubbly girl who loves life might never have come into my life or found her way out of the darkness. It was one of those times I wished I could find just the right words to convey to her everything that was going on in my head - I care about you, you are special in this world, I am here for you etc etc. Instead I just gave her a big hug and shed a few tears with her! Hee hee.

Anyhoo, enough of the soppy stuff. After the run I raced home to get races ready! Had three dresses picked out, with matching fascinators and shoes. Gah! I could not decide, so quickly texted a friend who gave me v. good advice and I was set ... well, it still took me a
good hour to get myself sorted. My limbs had stopped responding as they normally do, body was HATING me after the run. Especially the knees.

The rest of the day was relatively standard - struggling with Sydney public transport, crowds, trying to get an over-priced glass of champagne, watching horses fly past ... watching people play two-up, laughing at guys in uniform misbehaving. Think wearing heels for 10 hours did more damage than the run though, the next day my feet were THROBBING. And I think I had about 10 glasses of champagne all night ... and one beer. Hah, oopsy. Oh well, ANZAC Day is (thankfully for my liver/kidneys) but once a year, so you have to put in a good effort.

Now I'm on the serious three-week super clean/angelic living challenge for the half-mara. I know I can run the distance, I can go under two-hours too, not sure for 1hr55min, but there's always September. Just want to keep running and not go up on the scales. Recent behaviour (PMSing) has seen some naughty toast AND even a chocolate bar creep in!! V. naughty.