Hmmm.

This is most curious, although I feel pretty damn good at the moment.

Another mega hyper night sweats on Monday night, leaving me drained, groggy and feeling pretty terrible for the morning. Bob had gone for a cycle, and suggested when he got home that we go for a picnic when he got home. Not showered or dressed, he thought we should go straight away, and with the bulk of the country caught up in cup fever we were confident that it would be pretty quiet. Still with a shocking ear ache and bad eyes, we dropped by the local Turkish Pide House for a warm loaf of turkish bread and a small container of houmous and tabouli. We then drove down to Uriarra Crossing and sat by the river on the eastern side.

The river gurgled, there was birdsong from innumerable species, and the weather was fine. Although a kilometre or two off the 'main' Uriarra Road which carries very little traffic, at late lunchtime on Melbourne Cup Day, there was none. I didn't have much houmous or tabouli because of the fibre content, but I really enjoyed having something solid to eat. Feeling so delicate, I didn't think that there was much danger of doing much activity too soon.

Then an amazing thing happened; I began to feel better and better. The sharp ear pain and sinus pain ameliorated, which might have been due to the Panadeine Forte I had popped on leaving home. But this couldn't explain it all. We wrapped up our rubbish and returned to the car to put on shoes and grab hats and went for a walk along the river. We didn't get too far, heading south, but there was a carpet of wildflowers for much of the way; Canberra violets, vivid egg yellow native poppies and much more.

In the other direction we came across a board indicating the Murrumbidgee River Walk, a 6km return walk along the river bank. Although heavily overgrown, it was signposted and we found our way to the roadway where we lost the trail. Not to be walked this time, we must return to find the trail!

Feeling so much better (fresh air?), we left just as the 3 o'clock news started, and reluctantly switched over from Radio National to the local ABC at the conclusion of the news to hear the final 1,200m of the Melbourne Cup. The result surprised us both. Feeling better, I decided to give the ACT Cross Country Club's first twilight run of the Spring Series a go, albeit slowly. Changing the flat tyre on my bike, Bob and I rode down (separately), me arriving as people were lining up to start. With the PRB's help, I changed my shoes, took off the layer of cycling clothes and was there for the start. Peter and I ran together as usual, me holding him back, and although only a flat 5k, I found the going pretty tough. My legs were fine, but breathing was difficult, and I attempted to hide the pipe reverberating wheeze which I felt compelled to make.

We crossed the line in 24:09, and it took me some time to recover. Water helped! I was pleased with my legs, but concerned about how hard I found a slow, short run. Thank heavens to daylight saving, Bob and I did cycle home together. I felt great up until my bath, where I submerged my head. After that the sinus pain was once again immeasurably bad, and I was quite deaf in my right ear. I couldn't work this out. More Forte to get to sleep, and again when I woke to change the bedclothes during the night. Not feeling so optimistic - my doc doesn't work on Wednesday, so I would have to wait. Very frustrating.