Karen writes: Fairies and naps

I have just had a nap after lunch.  This does not normally happen in our house, so why did I feel the need to curl up and give in to postprandial oblivion?  Some of it was opportunity, with the children away at their Grandparents for the school holiday... children and naps don't normally go together.  Part of it however was having had a lunch fit for...a fairy (more about that later)... end result of a trip to the Clevedon Cafe to meet my urgent and justifiable need for eggs benedict and hot chocolate.

The day didn't start out all that well, I got up extra early to get a few kilometers in before meeting up with the Te Puru runners, but as I headed down the driveway I managed to slip and fall heavily on the cobbles.  An advantage of tri-shorts and the habit of wearing extra layers (jackets) around my waist is the presence of some extra padding so the attitude was never mind, see how the first part of the run goes.  It was fine, as long as I didn't stop, stopping meant starting again and that wasn't pleasant.    But in spite of the awful hour, the coast road from Maraetai put on a spectacular show as the day woke up, with spirals of mist rising off the water, not a cloud to be seen, and as my Nana would have put it, "a good to be alive day".

The run with the group went fine, round the outside of Beachlands, through Pine Harbour, and into the bush trails back to Maraetai, a fabulous 19 or so km, lots of talking, and lots to see, like the gorse with its myriad spider webs with dew on them lining the paths.  Cold though, stopping wasn't an option in the bush, you could just feel the chill if you slowed down.

What your non-hairy fairy wears for winter
swimming after running 25km 
Then...(who talked us into this madness?), into fairy costumes, and the Te Puru runners became (some of them anyway) 'hairy fairies', and actually handed over money to go for a masochistic midwinter dip at Maraetai Beach.  This was the annual Rotary fundraiser, and I understand it was for the local volunteer coastguard, an excellent cause.    I wasn't your haute couture fairy I'm afraid, just borrowed the daughters tutu and old wings (I may be in trouble here, the wings didn't do well in the sea) and put them on over my running gear, leaving on my merino beanie and shoes.  Note to self: this gets the shoes clean of all the mud but is also a handy hint to remember for future (YEAH right, Tui moment there) midwinter swims, you can just charge right into (and out of) the water at high speed shod thus!
The water got surprisingly deep given the tide was out, you had to swim around the coastguard boat and the shock of the cold got to my lungs in the deep water on the way back, but what a fabulous feeling to run straight out of that water, up the beach, ready for hot shower and well deserved treat lunch time!

And of course the nap.   I may plan on being otherwise occupied this time next year.

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