Yesterday my husband and I got back from a 4 day trip up the coast to Bateau Bay. We headed up there on Christmas Day after visiting my family to spend some time with his family, which included his parents, his sister Megan with her hubby (my good friend Joe) and their beautiful baby girl Darcy. I had actually met my husband through Joe, so he and I have been good mates for years.

On Boxing Day I got up early and took my dog for a walk up to the nearest lookout, i’m unsure what it’s called and it was raining so I didn’t take my phone so I have no happy snaps to show you i’m sorry. However I did come across the start to some nearby trail walk/runs and I kept note. I planned to come back to them tomorrow and do some tough hill training, it was not a flat area at all and would be a good way to work of some of the christmas indulgence.

So the next morning I set off before 6am to hit the trails. Unfortunately I couldn’t take the dog as they’re not allowed in the national parks, but it felt really good to be able to go at my own speed and push myself without having to worry about tripping over the dog.

Boy was it hilly!! I was very red in the face when I got back to the house, but I was lucky enough to have a brief chats with some other runners on the trails. They told me of some other nearby trails, in particular one which went all the way down to Shelley Beach. So I planned that in my head for tomorrow mornings run, and I could take the dog on that run too which was great as I really do like her company.

As planned I got up again the next morning and ran all the way down to Shelley Beach, where I also got to run along the beach with the dog and dip the legs into the water. We then ran back to the house which included a rather large hill at the last section, totally worth it though. Ebony (my 18 month old puppy) loves the beach, she has only been a handful of times but she dived right into the waves and loves tearing across the sand causing havoc. She bounds through the shallow water and always seems to have a bouncier stride at the beach, we clearly have lots in common!! ha ha

Here are some photos from the trails I ran (apologies for the awful selfie!!):

I will be honest and also let you know that each and every night that I was away I drank. Not heaps, okay maybe the first night I might have drunk quite a lot, but I never let it interrupt my training sessions. It’s not normal for me to drink very much lately but I had decided that the next 5 months are going to be some of the hardest training sessions, and the hardest runs that I will ever encounter, so after this mini break I would get back on the healthy band wagon. So it was my last week of a few little indulgences, before I buckle down. All in moderation right?

That being said, we had a fantastic time on our holiday but it’s good to be home. I even got up this morning and did a 12km run to the local beach, how good is my life!!

Happy Running!