Dunedin Days

After a pleasant stay with my brother in Moutere, Nelson Lea and I travelled down to Dunedin over the Lewis Pass to Christchurch.

We took the inland route through Middlemarch on the way to Dunedin.

I was really excited about introducing Lea to my dad, sister and her family and they welcomed her with open arms. 

While in Dunedin we did a few touristy activities. We visited Cadburys and received a few complimentary choccies.

More details later. Hope you like the photos!. This post was done by Paul not Lea! Logged in under wrong name!

Disappointing Day at the Races

Last Saturday I competed in the New Zealand Road Relay but sadly it was a day to forget.

I had been under an injury cloud for several months and had been getting physio for a pulled calf. As a result I started the final lap with some concern. This proved to be a bad omen as half way through my lap my left calf pulled once again and I hobbled up lame. Thankfully I had Lea to nurse me back to health and ease my troubled mind as I have never previously had to pull out of a race.

Here are two photos of me competing! Once again wrong date!

We're Back

Lea and I have been down in the South Island visiting my family for the last week. It has been wonderful introducing Lea to my dad, brothers and sister.

The first point of call was Moutere, Nelson where I stayed with my brother, Vincent and his partner, Dixie. We left last Friday and it was a 3 hour journey on the Inter-Islander from Wellington to Picton.

 

 

 
We then had a 2 hour drive to our destination which Lea and I cycled parts of. Lea did well cycling over 22 km of hilly terrain in training for her upcoming cycle race in December. My brother lives only 3 km from where the New Zealand Road Relay was being held so it was most convenient.
 
After settling in at my brother's I took Lea to where I ran the New Zealand Mountain Champs in April. It had been a rugged run and my car complained bitterly at the rough road and steady climb. After my car gave up we took some photos of the surrounding terrain.

 

Mast in the middle is where I ran up to in my race in April

 

Lea and I had a great time at Vincent and Dixie's. I really enjoyed playing the guitar and having a sing along with Vincent.
 

 

 
Vincent also took his turn on the guitar playing some of our old time favourites.
 

 

Please ignore all dates on photos as they are obviously not accurate. Will be in touch soon with information and photos on the Relay!

Hectic Weekend

Lea and I went our separate ways on the weekend!

I headed off to Palmerston North with Alice on Saturday to see Kate. We arrived there late afternoon, picked Kate up from the University Campus and had Chinese for dinner. We had chicken with cashew nuts and sweet and sour pork. The meal was tasty and filling. Afterwards I checked in at Awatea Park Lodge where I was spending the night. The girls took over the T V and my bed and left around 9. I watched Keeping the Faith starring Ben Stiller which I really enjoyed!

On Sunday morning I had an 8 km run along the river before embarking on a shopping frenzy. I last went clothes shopping about 30 years ago so it was a mission. Being late in years I have become somewhat limited in my clothes choices and needed to have the expertise of my daughters to kit me out in a variety of jeans, shorts and t shirts. They did a great job and I'm already feeling 20 years younger with new trendy gear!

Lea carried on further north with her friend Rose to Taupo to tackle the half iron man course before the real competition in December. Lea is part of a 3 person team and is doing the 90 km cycle. I will let her tell you her story in the next post.

Bye for now! Apologies for the lack of recent posts. You would think that with 2 of us sharing this blog we could do better! Never mind we will endeavour to be more consistent.

Roll on the Holidays

Due to the fact I should now be leaving for school and my last post was such a mission I'm keeping this really short.

It has been an exhausting term with all the changes and turmoil in my life recently and I'm really looking forward to a break.

As you may have seen in my last post there has been some good times with celebrating Lea's birthday last weekend and having a fun time with her girls. I'm excited for the times ahead starting with the holidays in 2 more days.

Lea and I are travelling down to the South Island where I will catch up with 2 brothers, sister and my dad. I am excited about my family meeting Lea as I feel proud to have her in my life and I know my family will love her. No pressure Lea!

That's all for now! Will be in touch soon! I think this is a new record for a post completion.

Lea's Birthday

Due to Lea's birthday falling on a Friday and both of us working we extended the celebrations through the weekend.

Lea has already reported on her actual birthday but the weekend is when we got to spend time together and it was really special.

Saturday I had a club race in Wellington and Lea, Bianca and Caitlyn came in to support me.

On the way we stopped at Aotea Lagoon where we did some exercise and played at the playground. Bianca showed off her dare devil skills!

They did a great job supporting me as I was second fastest only beaten by an under 20 runner. Considering I have been injured and unable to train properly for several months I am really pleased with my effort. I ran 6 km [almost 4 miles] in 22:09.

After the race we went back to the club rooms where we played some pool. There was some fierce competition between me and Bianca.

We had dinner at the One Red Dog. It was a pleasant walk on a sunny evening along Oriental Parade and the wharf.

The meal was yummy! We all had pizza!

 

I attempted my first cake which didn't come out as well as I had hoped but Lea and the girls generously said it was nice.

It was awesome to spend the day with a special lady and her girls!