not Strathallen please

Man alone night followed by a long dog walk down to the Harbour so Rowlf could have a swim ad I could grab a coffee on the way. Special guest appearance from Rumpole today. I was feeling a bit sorry for the boys as they are exiled to the garden while the house is being painted; no indoors at all until we've sold the place. Rowlf goes mental when near the water and his swimming is limited only by the distance I can throw stuff and ho long until I get bored or knackered; he'd swim all day. Rumpole, on the other hand, has a  quick dip and the goes and sits down until the big fella is done. If he could he would tap his foot and look at a wrist watch "are we done yet?" style. Nice way to start the day.

Sal finally came to her senses today. Which meant a bit of a change of plans today. She decided to stay out at her aunt and uncle's place in Cranebrook while our house stinks of paint and is covered in sheets that are covered in paint. I'd suggested this a couple of weeks ago, but what do I know? All it took was for it to become Sal's idea for it to be a good idea. A-n-y-w-a-y this meant she'd not be staying with friends in Hornsby and therefore I'd not be running from Hornsby. So after a trip to Cranbrook to drop off supplies it looked like I'd be doing my loops again. Which is a bit dull.

So I thought I'd do a bigger loop. still quite dull, but, well, a bit different. And that's what I did. I'll not bore you too much with details, most of which are boring. As I approached Gore Hill Cemetery I thought about popping in and trying to write "HELP" with my GPS tracks but it was getting dark and I thought the risk of tripping over a cider-pissed goth emo was too high; they're tough to spot in the dark and the light was fading (as was the temperature.)

My mind was mostly occupied with thoughts of avoiding Strathallen Avenue at the end of the run. Of course my maths let me down and in the end, with an inevitability, I ran up the hill of Strathallen, needed to do a bit of a trip around the block and completed my 21.1km for the day.

Earning the Guinness I did not drink last night and a curry.

For the record, it is a bit sucky not having the family about and leaving the dogs out in the garden. Ho-hum. Does mean an elevated level of running freedom though.