September Rundown

Hey, what happened to September? That month absolutely flew by, perhaps because we were quite busy. We enjoyed the last of the summer...

Robbie returned to school and Emma went for the first time...

Robbie got a scooter for his 7th birthday and we rode the 'Dotto' train by the sea...

My parents came to visit and we had a great time battling wind and rain...

We said goodbye to warm sun and hello to loads of rain...

 And best of all, the kids and I took part in a race together...

Ran: 15x = 76.7 miles
Cycled 3x = 34.1 miles
1 Race (Bexhill 10K)
1 Children's Race (500 metres) with Robbie and Emma.

Not a huge month mileage wise, but we had some great fun with walks in the countryside, a picnic in the woods, days at the beach, Robbie's birthday, and the best running experience I can remember, encouraging Emma in her race and watching her go for it and enjoy it. I cannot overstate how much I LOVED running alongside her! I hope there'll be many more of those to come!

Big 10K Race Report

On Sunday I did what felt like my first race for AGES! It was great and I really enjoyed racing after nearly 3 months off.

We arrived in Bexhill at about 9.45am in time to register Robbie and Emma for the kids' race. Their race was 500m and exactly the same as last year. Robbie ran by himself, while I stayed with Emma to make sure she was ok. It was great. Robbie ran off ahead, and Emma and I were a little distance behind. They had to run down a road, round a traffic cone, then back up to the start / finish. At the turnaround point, it was slightly uphill, and Emma really impressed me as she sped up and overtook some other kids who slowed down on the hill! She ran really well and I loved running alongside her!

This was actually before the races...

I don't know any of the results as unfortunately the race website has had some technical problems and they haven't posted the children's results yet. ETA - results now up! Robbie ran 2m34s (as opposed to 3m03s last year), and Emma ran 2m49s (3m40s last year). They came 9th and 11th out of 26 runners, and Emma was 1st 4-year-old! I'm so proud of them! Anyway, they got a medal each and both said they enjoyed it. I'll probably buy some official photos as there are some great ones, even though they are outrageously expensive as usual...

After a couple of other races for older kids, it was my 10K. The weather was perfect at the start - dry, overcast and cool. The route was a little different from last year, and we ran down to the seafront, West along by the beach, turned round and back to the start, then East along the beach, up a hill, then down and back again.

As I ran the first few kms, I could see my time was pretty good, and I was around a 50min pace at the first km markers. However, as the race went on, I lost a little speed. I was still around my PB time though, and then I got to the hill. It was short but steep, and slowed me down a bit. Finally, on the run back to the finish after the turnaround, the wind had got up and it was quite a blustery headwind on the last 2 km.

As I got to the final stretch, I kicked for all I could, and overtook a woman in front of me. I ran really hard to the finish, and felt like I'd had a great spurt of speed! I was really happy with my finish. When I checked my time though, I couldn't believe it. My last 10k and PB was 51m17s. This run was 51m18s. I didn't know whether to be pleased or gutted! I didn't think I'd get close to that time, taking the hill and wind into account, so I was really impressed by my speed, but then frustrated that I could have got a PB... Aaaargh!

Anyway, I'm pretty happy with it, and it's definitely a big improvement on last year's (injury-affected) time of 57m16s. In fact I was 102/246 runners overall; 9/80 females, and 2/14 in my age group! I'm really pleased with those numbers, although it's a pity there was only a prize for the 1st in each age group! I'm glad the kids had fun, and the t-shirt I got was pretty cool. Hopefully we'll all be back next year.

Front...

Back!

Race Goals - The Big 10K

Tomorrow I'm going to run a 10K race. Here are some of my thoughts before I do...

Why am I doing this race?
 * Because I did it last year and enjoyed it. It was the first race since we moved from Scotland to the South of England, and I was still on the comeback trail from Plantar Fasciitis. Incredibly, this will be the first annual race I've ever run twice!

* Because 10K is a fairly undemanding distance, and in a month's time I'm doing a 10-miler so it fits into my training.

* Because last year, Robbie and Emma took part in the children's races and had a great time. It was their first experience of running in a race, and they both did well and had fun.

*Because I haven't raced since the start of June, as I wanted to spend more time with the family during summer weekends.


What are my goals?
* Enjoy it as much as last year.

*Enjoy the experience of running a race for the second time.

*I hope the kids enjoy their race.

*Although I'm not expecting a PB, I wouldn't want to finish much slower than 53 minutes. My last 10K in May was a completely flat course, and I had trained for it. Hence my unexpectedly good PB of 51m17s. But this race has a hill, and looks like it'll be windy, so I'm not expecting too much.

*I hope the t-shirt looks good and fits well.

In other news, Robbie has turned 7 YEARS OLD!!

Helloooo Autumn!

Summer is over! I didn't want to admit it, but the sunshine and warmth seems to have gone for good this week. Parts of the UK have experienced terrible flooding today, with hundreds of people having to evacuate their homes and others being stranded by flooding on trainlines and roads.

Luckily for me the South East has got off fairly lightly, and the only worry I've had to face was how to get my run in.

Only last Saturday we had a lovely sunny afternoon. Pete took the kids to a birthday party, and they spent the afternoon in the garden, where I was concerned about sunburn, rather than getting wet. I had to go to work and examine some foreign students, but at least I got to cycle to the College and back, so with a bit added on, I had a nice 10-mile bike ride (mostly) in the sun.

By Sunday though, it was all change. Robbie went off to his Rugby practice at 10am, and came home when it was ended early, as all the boys were freezing in the cold rain. He stood in the kitchen shivering and soaking, until a hot bath and mug of warm milk sorted him out. We spent the afternoon at the swimming pool - an activity mercifully unaffected by the weather.

On Monday and today I had planned a 6m and 4m run. Again, I was lucky, as on both days the driving rain in the morning was replaced by dry weather (leaving just gale force winds)  in the afternoon. On both days I managed to run without getting wet, but because of school pick up time, I cut both runs short, to 5.4m, and 3.4 miles. Never mind though becuase this is a busy week - it's Robbie's birthday on Thursday, my parents are staying for a few days, and I've got a race coming up at the weekend!

Hard to believe that it was only less than a week ago that Emma and I were at the beach, commemorating her last day at home before starting full-time school!

On 19th September it was still sunny and warm!

Super Saturday!

Yes I know Saturday was ages ago, but I've only just got around to blogging about it.

Last Friday after work, Pete and the kids had a quick dinner and then drove off to visit Pete's brother and family for the night. I could have gone with them, but there was a running event I wanted to attend on Saturday morning, and this gave Pete the chance to stay up late with his brother playing board games, as is their wont.

So this left me with not only the evening to myself, but most of Saturday as well!

I quickly decided that this was a great opportunity to get out on my bike at last - something I've hardly been able to do at all over the summer holidays. I also had some running I needed to fit in too, so I spent Friday evening planning how to make the best use of my time.

I got up early on Saturday morning, and cycled down to a nearby park. The first thing I wanted to do was run a mile, as fast as I could. This was instigated by having signed up the the Marathon Talk podcast's Magic Mile - a 1 mile running challenge. I had run out of time to get it done, so without much training or practice, I got off my bike at about 8.20am, and belted out a mile.

It was hard going, and seemed to go on forever, as I was really pushing myself. I had no target time, and no idea what to expect, but I did it in 7m08s. Later I checked how fast I'd run a mile last time I'd tried, over a year ago in July 2011. It was 7m26s, so yay - progress!

Anyway, after a few gasping minutes sitting on a bench, I slowly made my way to the start of the Parkrun race, which was on the other side of the same park. I wasn't planning to race after my all-out mile effort, but someone I know was completing her 100th Parkrun - quite an achievement, and I wanted to cheer her on.

I planned to jog round nice and easy, but the woman in question was aiming for a sub-27 minute PB, and that's not quite as relaxed a pace as I might have liked! I ran the last part of the race with her and her partner, and she got a PB, but we all finished in 27m04s.

Shortly afterwards, I got back on my bike. It was a pretty good day, nice and sunny. I cycled down to the town centre, and popped in a cafe for a second breakfast and a big latte. I was aware that I was very stinky after my exertions, but there was nothing I could do about it and no-one actually complained...

Then I wandered down to the seafront for a brief sit in the sun. It was lovely.

Then I got back on the bike and cycled along to another town on the coast. It was mostly on a busy main road, but there were some good views along there too. It was about 4 miles away and my legs were already feeling tired from the running! When I got to the beach, I pushed my bike across the pebbles and lay down for a little sunbathe.

It was so quiet and peaceful.

I locked up the bike and walked round to a local shop to get a drink and an ice cream. After refueling (pigging out), I slowly cycled the 5.5 miles home. It's an undulating route, and I've never found the uphills as tough as I did then - the 1 mile hard had taken more out of my legs than I had expected.

It's a picturesque route, cycling through the grounds of our local castle.

When I got home it was still only about 1.30pm, but I didn't have much energy left. I lazed around for a while, had a relaxing bath and did some baking for the others' return.

All in all I had run 4 miles, and cycled 17 miles. Not exactly record-breaking, but a great way to spend my me-time!

Emma starts school!

At last Emma is going to school. Well, kind of. On Thursday she went along for the morning, with about a third of her classmates. She goes again on Tuesday morning, then finally starts full-time from next Thursday. All schools have different ways of settling the new children in, and it seems that Emma is one of the last to start, but at least she will be going full-time soon. When Robbie started (in Scotland), he only did mornings for about 6 weeks before starting full days.

I'm sure there are good reasons behind these gradual starts, but it can be confusing for the children. Emma is keen to go every day, like her brother, and it feels as though she's been ready to go for a long time now!

Anyway, needless to say she had a great time, and thankfully I managed not to get upset! I have been feeling sad recently about the loss of my little playmate. Since we moved here a year ago, Emma and I have spent a lot of time together, and we've explored new places and got to know this area as a twosome (with an emphasis on cafes).

She is such a happy and energetic bundle of fun, and most of the time, I absolutely love her company. I will really miss having her around, but of course at the same time, I am relishing the idea of more freedom for me!

The last days of summer

Last week we had the last few days of school holidays, and then Robbie went back to school. Boo. But we had a good week, and it looked like this:

Monday:
It was lovely sunny warm weather all week, and on a last minute whim, I decided to take the kids for a walk up a local hill. I had run (crawled) up there once before, but there was more to explore. We see this hill every day on the drive to school, so it was about time we went up it.

It was quite steep at the bottom, but the kids were really good, and didn't moan too much!

Chalk pit

All the way up we were the only people around, and didn't see anyone. Then at the top, there were quite a few walkers around, and several dogs. I realised that there was a car park near the top of the hill! The other walkers had driven up the other side and parked at the top - we might go for that option next time!

Top of the hill

Tuesday:
Pete went to work late today, so I went for my run at 7.30am - later than usual. I did some speed intervals round the park, which was fun. Later in the morning, we went to the local play park in the morning, and the kids played with some of the friends who will be in Emma's class at school. In the afternoon, we had to go supermarket shopping...yawn...

Wednesday:
The last day of the holidays! It was another sunny day, so we headed to the coast. It was quite cool at first, and we walked along the beach and stopped at a cafe for coffee and babyccinos.

Sunshine on the water

On the way back along the beach, we found an area of the pebbley beach with a patch of sand, and Emma was desperate to make a sandcastle. They decided to help each other to build a big castle, while I relaxed in the sun with my kindle. It was wonderful.

Playing in the sand

If it hadn't been for the fact that we were hungry and thirsty, we could have stayed there all day. The kids were so content playing on the beach, and it was better than soft play - free, quiet and more fun! We had most of the beach to ourselves.

Thursday:
I ran at 6.40am, intending to take it easy, but I met a runner who recognised me from Parkrun! He started chatting, and as I ran with him, I went much faster than usual to keep up, and it ended up as a really speedy run. When I got home, it was time to get ready as Robbie went back to school. He is in Year 2 now, with a new teacher, in a new classroom in a different part of the school. I hated leaving him there, and he was a bit quiet, which I didn't know how to interpret. Emma and I drove away feeling miserable. I looked forward to picking him up all day, and when we did, we met another family and joined them on a trip to the park. So it wasn't all bed! Needless to say, he'd had a good day and enjoyed being back.

Friday:
I ran at 6.45am, and this time it was nice and slow. After taking Robbie to school, I had to tidy as we had a visit from Emma's teacher in the morning! This is something they do here for new pupils, and Emma loved telling Mrs Jones about her new shoes, favourite toys etc. After school we went to a miniature railway, where the kids had a good play again.

Saturday:
More sunny weather, and we went to a park where Pete and I played a bit of basketball together (in a loose sense!), and Robbie and Emma rode round on their bikes. We didn't stay too long as it was so hot. In the afternoon, we went swimming, and stayed in the pool for ages. It was great fun, and I conquered my fears by going down the flume! I'd been down it once before but never again, so this time I made myself go 3 or 4 times. I found it quite terrifying, but fun too, and by the 4th go, I'd just about stopped shaking, although my heart was beating like mad. Of course Robbie and Emma have been down it several times and love it - they don't seem as scared as me...

Sunday:
I started the day with my long run - 8 miles. I picked a shady route, but it was still really hot. I aimed for a slow, easy pace, but picked it up in the last few miles. While I was out, Pete and the kids made a picnic, and then we went for a walk in the woods. It was lovely, and quite cool in the shade of the trees.

Shade

View of a White Horse

Views of the countryside

We found a bench next to a tree which was perfect for climbing, and sat down for lunch. After demolishing the sandwiches, Robbie shot up the tree like a squirrel - he just loves climbing. Then the rest of us had a go.

Picnic

Tree fun

After some more walking, we stopped at a tea rooms on the way home for a cream tea. It was a very posh place, but the tea was disappointing. The scones were expensive, and not very good!

This week the weather is set to cool down, and there is rain coming. But we made the most of last week, and hopefully that won't be the last of enjoying the sun just yet. I'm happy that we did so much really fun stuff, and that I still managed to run 20.3 miles!