It was a very Happy Birthday

Thank you all for your wishes.I had such a lovely birthday. It started exteremely early - quarter to five I was out of bed trying to find a banana that wasn't on the too-brown side. No success there so I went with the white bread and honey option. By five thirty I was running with a group of bleary-eyed people and chatting away as the sun was rising.

We did one of my favourite loops which involves heading in the opposite direction to where we usually go, over the Brisbane River, through the brand new tennis centre and along the river on the other side, back over a bridge at the University of Queensland and then back to our starting point. Coach Chris had said it'd be 16 or 17 k but it ended up being 19!! It was the longest run I've done since OTS set in. I was running with Peter G who had just turned 60 on Wed and wasn't sure where to go - I'd promised to stay with him to the Queensland Uni because he knew the way back from there. This meant that I had to slow right down a few times to wait for him to catch me up. Sometimes I think that running slow is harder than running at your natural pace. I was pretty tired by the end and really glad to be finished.

The run was followed with breakfast with the family - all my siblings bar one made it and that was a nice surprise. Three of my sisters had bought me clothes as a present. They have so much better taste than me and the clothes are great! My other sister gave me a cupcake carrier so I'll be able to make and decorate cupcakes and take them places with no fear of them getting crushed.

I had a couple of hours at home then headed out to the season launch of the running squad where I was given lots of love from my fellow runners. Then it was home and dinner with my friend Natalie and my boys, Teresa (Josh's girlfriend), Mum, Dad, one of my sisters and my little bro. I was shattered by the time I got home. It was a huge day but I'd been made to feel so special and appreciated. Pity that birthdays don't come around more than once a year!