It's great having Bob home, although being around food is hard, and we have so much to catch up with! He was rapt in Vietnam and is not impressed with returning from a northern summer to the damp, cold, short days of a Canberra winter.

No post yesterday, no run and felt pretty crook in the afternoon with a more-than-annoying headache and fatigue. Ended up sleeping for a couple of hours in the afternoon, which didn't fix me up, but I did feel better.

Another headache, worse, again this morning which really knocked me around. I was looking forward to going to the Customs run with Aki today though, and Bob then decided to come as well. We three arrived early, with steady, set in drizzle and a general air of glum or gloom. We procrastinated about getting out of the car, taking our warm clothes off and getting to the start. Once there, Bob dashed off on a circuitous warm up to ward off the chill. He had rather alarmingly stated that he would 'run with us', as he was 'so slow'. No pressure! The only time I have run with Bob in 15 years is on a recovery run after an event when I'm fit and he's worn out. Otherwise it's a constant battle of him running ahead and doubling back in frustration every minute or two.

A few people turned up, despite the dismal conditions, and we opted to move the start and finish to an undercover area. Aki had been whacked a good handicap after her sizzling run last week and was to run off 12:30, whereas I remained on 13:00. Bob left with me. I was out of the blocks fast, knowledge of the ease of the wide sealed downhill to start to my advantage. Further along, Bob caught and past me just before the 1km mark where the fine gravel path was under large puddles of water. I tried to keep track of how far ahead Aki was during the run, and estimated that she maintained her 30 second lead over me, while Bob gradually gained on her so that for the first half we were generally spaced out at even intervals.

With Aki in front, Bob could easily tell the way to go from the Willow Tree turnaround and the lakeside track back to the bike path. Around 3.5 km's, Bob passed Aki and she seemed to give up just a little at that point and slow down. The track turned to gravel once more and the pools of water were deeper and covered larger portions of the track. A few gun runners flew past, eating up the distance and eschewing the mud. I saw Aki at the pavilion and looked at my watch: with the thirty seconds added on, it was possible for her to break 23 minutes. I hadn't counted on the changed course and finish area. It was certainly a little longer than the 'original' Customs 5k. Bob finished in a nett time 22:26, I did 22:57, and Aki 23:24. Allrounder was in front the whole way and although out sprinted at the line succeeded in having an excellent run.

We finished by having a quick coffee at Regatta Point, before heading home and me arranging (what madness!) to run with CJ tomorrow. The weather doesnt look any more promising, 4-9* with rain. Blah.