So shortly after completing the post below I headed out the door to run up to the Harris Y where Billy and Chad were competing at the Splash and Dash- a 400m swim followed by a 5k run. I had a 15 mile long run on the schedule so I decided (sorry Tim) that I would split the run in two pieces- before and after the race.
The 8 miles there passed nicely. After the usual shuffle of the first two miles I was handily clicking off 6:20s towards the end as I tried to eliminate the negative thoughts about last night's race. It was 7.10 when I arrived at the race, in plenty of time for the 7:30 start, only the race had started at 7! So I missed Billy and Chad's swim but caught the start of their respective runs. The event was a little weird for a hardcore runner like me. The swim started in waves depending on the time you had put down as being capable of. Consequently, you are racing against the clock rather than one on one. As Billy and then Chad finished up I could tell that Chad had gained a little on Billy but not by much. It was over to the timing tent where it was revealed that Billy had edged out Chad by all of 2 seconds. They had swum the same time, Billy had beaten Chad by 17 seconds in transition and then Chad had gained 17 seconds back on the run. Billy got the benefit of rounding I guess and took his first ever race victory- well done Billy!
After the awards ceremony it was time to run back. Unfortunately 2 hours had passed now and the relative cool of 6 am was long forgotten and the sun was beating down alongside the humidity. Fortunately though, Chad and Danielle, Chris Bailey and Jay also needed some miles so we headed off together back to my house. At this point Jay offered me a deal. He would run all the way back to my house if I drove him back to his house. Of course I accepted and we made it back via two water stops as the heat intensified.
It was then time to rehydrate, refuel and get myself positioned nicely on the sofa in front of the British Open, perfect napping conditions! An hour later the phone rang to wake me from my bliss and so began the story behind the third subject of my title. One of Lisa's friends needed their Quaker Parrot looked after for a couple of days. Who better than pet averse hubbie to do the job?! So a meeting point was arranged and here I am now watching the golf with Mickey. Lisa had assured me that looking after a bird would be easy and it would only be for a couple of days. Actually it is for a week and when I picked up Mickey her owner had a full crate of paraphernalia that I needed to remember what to do with, including a book that I was told I should read! So far I have ascertained that Mickey likes golf, crackers and apples but not raisins and bread and is showing no interest in jumping up on to my hand which will need to happen soon if I am going to be able to take her outside later which apparently I have to do! The next few days could be interesting!
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