Not your ordinary week....

Tues - 8 x 1 min, 30 SR, 3k WU, 3k WD
Wed - 40 mins, 8k's @ 5:00mins/km
Thurs - 2 x 1k @ 3:30, 3:27, 4k WU, 4k WD

Getting a little slack with the blog at the moment as the demands of life catch up, so here we go:

Tuesday speedwork went well indicating I was almost fully recovered from last week's virus. This is not my best session at present with some team mates taking advantage of the short reps to outsprint me whilst I concentrate on keeping my pace around the 3:30 mark. I had a controlled session running at the back of the A-Team and afterward ran strongly up Gold Coast Hill twice.

Wednesday saw an easy run on the tready at Fitness First before work - thank God my membership expires in November. I can't wait to be rid of the place!

Yesterday, I did a solo speedwork session along the Kedron Brook. It didn't feel like I was going very fast and I was dehydrated, but I still managed to clock 3:30 and 3:27 for my reps. A satisfying session! Then I had to get ready for a round of golf after being invited at short notice by Clairie yesterday. The event was an IBM Charity Golf Day and North Lakes to raise money for cerebral palsy and I was fully paid for! Thanks Clairie! Some of you might know that at one time, I had ambitions of becoming a single figure handicapper and sub 3hr Marathoner at the same time, but eventually gave up as there are not enough hours in the day to do both. As such, I arrived at North Lakes looking forward to my first round in almost a year. With the event being a 4 ball ambrose (everyone hits from where the best shot went), I envisaged a relaxing day driving around on the carts and working the rust out of my game. However, after seeing my enthusiastic but untalented team mates(Clairie had only ever played three times!) on the driving range, it was soon apparent that I would have to play some good golf otherwise, the team would have a very long day out on the course!!

Fortunately, I soon found that my swing had remained largely intact and I was able to give us some length off the tee and set up the holes in the process. We had a lot of fun along the way, if you don't count Clairies golf cart driving. I'm telling you, Clairie thought we were at Bathurst sometimes driving like a maniac and on one occasion when trying to catch up with the cart in front of us, shooting over the crest of a steep slope and putting two wheels into the top of a steep bunker and for a heart stopping split second, we came perilously close to overturning the cart!!! And Clairie loved every minute of it!! Our group ended up with a reasonably respectable 83 off the stick for 11 over par.

The fun didn't end on the course as we then relaxed with a few beers and a delicious dinner at the Clubhouse washed down with a glass of red. I can report that Clairie was quite disciplined and stuck to her new diet for most of the part, if you don't count the part where she tried to steal some of my delicious carrot cake when I wasn't looking. As the evening drew to a close, it was a very relaxed Matty who was nestled comfortable in his seat finishing off his glass of red. Possibly, I was too relaxed - that might explain why when the opening bidder in the auction offered $3k for a 5 night Hong Kong holiday for two at a 4.5 star hotel, airfares inclusive, I calmly trumped him with $4k bid!!!!!!! Now, although the prize was allegedly worth $8k, I had done some mental calculations and valued the prize at around $3.5k to $4k and I thought that MJ and I could do with a holiday, so I thought that I would have a go and maybe get lucky with a value holiday if the demand wasn't there. Apparently the demand wasn't there at all and it was with surprise and some trepidation that I listened to the auctioneer announce 'going once!!' As I started to wonder how the hell I was going to pay for this holiday, a bloke trumped my bid with a $4.5k offer. I whispered to Clairie '$4.6k??' and she I could see the whites in her eyes as she hissed back at me 'No, no, no!!! Don't do it!!!!' Although I was tempted to raise the bidding to see Clairies reaction, I kept my hand down and brought the hammer down at $4.5k. I should add that Clairie was in no position to be rebuking me for making outrageous offers. In the silent auctionl, she successfully bid $100 for afternoon tea at the Stamford Plaza and unbelievably, $80 for a doll in a wedding dress!! I really don't know how she is going to explain the latter purchase to Al! Yep, it was great day!