Preparing for the Nile Ten Mile

Over the last couple of months ministry has been very demanding. There might only have been two funerals in December but they were both friends that took a lot out of me. By the time I had conducted both of them it was the busyness of Christmas with all the extra services that I needed to prepare for and conduct.

Val and I took most of January off (though I did lose six days of holidays due to public holidays, coming back to conduct a wedding and returning early so I could be prepared for the Sunday.

At least we were able to go to some fabulous spots and my favourite activity was trying to photograph birds and insects - I don't know why but both subjects appeal to me.

New Holland Honeyeater at Cape Bruny Light Station

Grasshopper on Hanson's Peak Track, Cradle Mountain NP

Welcome Swallows, Cradle Mountain NP

There are just too many others to post here, but they are on Facebook.

We'd hardly been home when I had urgent calls to visit friends (younger than us) in hospital in Launceston. I made three trips that week to visit them - and both of them died. It was so emotionally wrenching. I conducted both of their funerals this week - and sobbed at the end of each of them. And now I have another one to conduct on Tuesday.

As a result of everything that has been happening I have had very little time to go running. I have only been able to get out once or on some occasions twice per week for the last few months. I knew that I need to get out, but it is so hard.

Anyway, today I did a 14k run from home and along to the end of the bike track at the old ferry jetty. This course commences with a short, though steep incline from home and I reached the turn around mark in 42 mins, which was good seeing the first k took 6.40 because of the hill. I felt comfortable but I knew I had slowed down after 6k.

The return leg saw me running at around 6.15 for a while but then my lack of endurance took its toll and I finished in 1.29.11. I didn't stop once (except on two occasions to pick up 5 cent pieces to go towards Naomi's mortgage). The last couple of k saw cramps coming on, meaning I struggled and had to run flat footed at times. I found myself wondering whether, at 62, I am getting past it.

Well that's it from me for now, except to say that I will be running my version of Sunday week's Nile Ten Mile   on either the Saturday or the Monday but I wonder how I will manage it. At least I don't have those two steep hills to worry about.