I have been seriously neglecting this blog

And all you lovely people who read and care about what I'm up to. I haven't been terribly good at commenting on your blogs either and when I'm feeling pressured I do tend to disappear into myself. I appreciate you all very much and hope that I can be there for you as the year goes on. I'm looking forward to meeting up with more of you for training runs/rides/swims and at various events around the country. Don't let me get away with anything!

It's not exactly a secret that I'm struggling to find my running mojo at the moment. Poor Kate had to put up with me apologising every few metres when we finally met up for a run on Monday. In retrospect, running Kelburn after two RPM on Saturday and 100km on Cleo on Sunday (a stunning ride out to the Akatarawas on a beautiful Wellington morning) was perhaps not the smartest idea. I do also tend to freak out when I run with someone for the first time, which inevitably leads to cramp. Thankfully the freakout effect usually only lasts for the first run!

I went on to do another RPM on Tuesday morning then was back in town a few hours later to do a Body Balance class. I then crashed and ended up sleeping on the sofa for at least an hour and on Wednesday felt so sluggish that it seemed like a good idea to rest. Which left me with a mission today and a set of clearly defined goals. I wanted to run the 10.6km Bays/Newtown loop and I wanted to run it without stopping. Pace didn't matter but I needed to feel I could still run!

I'm pleased to say that I achieved my objective although it was so hot out there that I did stop at Hataitai Bay for a quick drink from the tap and to splash some water over my head. The saddle over to Newtown kicked my butt but I felt good all the way back to town. My left knee and right ankle behaved themselves and I felt reasonably strong. Oh, I was slow, but not as slow as I could have been. I remember how I used to almost treat that route like a time trial, but I was running five days a week back then. I'm looking forward to having the excuse of the Rotorua Marathon to start cranking up the number of runs again. I don't really need to do anything special to train for the Grape Ride, as 101km is just a standard weekend distance for me now!

Now I just have to decide how long I want to run for on Sunday and where. I'm in need of an inspirational route, preferably a trail. It might be time to finally run some of the tracks in the Karori Sanctuary, although if it's a nice day they might be a bit crowded.

On the way back to the gym after my run I stopped in at Pennyfarthing to see Dee and the tri bike she's been raving about. I am in love. $5,400 worth of full carbon white and pink Scott sexiness (but with a 20% discount, so actually quite a bit cheaper). I wants, I wants badly, but thankfully it's a small and I suspect I'd need an XS.

Finally it was back to the gym and as I was standing in front of the mirror checking my appearance before I left the changing rooms one of the other trainers came up and gave me an amazing compliment. She told me that she remembered me from when I first started training with Duck and that she'd been meaning to tell me how great I look these days and how much she admired all the work I've put in over the last few years. Her compliment was so specific and so unexpected that I fairly floated out of the gym on a little cloud of joy and with my motivation to do a half Ironman this year well and truly restored.