Stuff

As our most loyal reader (my mom) pointed out today, the blog has been quiet... there's no particular reason for this.

We had our first visitor from America recently, my little sister. Her visit was much too short, but that's what you get when your visitors come from a country where employers can legally give their staff only 2 weeks holiday per year ... . We introduced my sister to the afternoon coffee break, the flat white, and the savoury muffin. She was quick to assimilate.

In other news, we have found our running feet again! A couple years ago in the States, Gareth and I were both regular runners. Gareth completed a bunch of ultramarathons, I completed one regular marathon and a bunch of 5Ks. Gareth ran pretty fast, but I just kind of trotted along and tried not to get beaten by the speed walkers. We both liked to run.

The wheels kind of fell off when we went on our Farewell Tour last April. Actually, my left wheel had fallen off earlier than that, as I got plantar fasciitis. That sucked. It still bugs me from time to time.

But anyway, then I got pregnant and couldn't run. (Nevermind that Paula Radcliffe ran a 45-minute 10K when she was 7 months pregnant...) Gareth did some running but was not really in his prime.

And then Quinn was born, and we couldn't run then, because we were pretty insanely tired.

But now Quinn is 4 1/2 months old and things are getting back to normal. We're very excited to be back into running again.

For Gareth, motivation came from an advertisement for New Zealand's first 100-mile race, the Northburn Station 100 miler. He was stoked. He asked me if he could pretty please sign up for it, and of course I said that would be fine. And then he told me the entry fee is $300... ouch.

This could be something to put in the "It Was Better In America" column. America had more ultramarathons (and other running races), the entry fees were way more affordable, and you got more stuff for your money. Gareth did some races for half the price of the Northburn race and got great schwag like tech t-shirts, duffel bags, fleece jackets, running sleeves, and gaiters. Not to mention heaps of food and drink along the course. As far as we can tell, your entry fee here gets you... entered.

On the other hand, the scenery here probably cannot be beaten. Check out our earlier post with Gareth's photos from the Avalanche Peak race... gorgeous. The Northburn race looks like it's going to be similarly stunning.

Not to be outdone, I've entered a race too! It's not quite as exciting as a brutal ultra-distance mountain race, but I'm sure the Corporate Challenge 5K around Hagley Park next month will be off the chain in its own way.