About time I blogged...

Things have been busy with work and children and busy weekends for a while, but this last couple of weeks I've had a bit of time off (from work anyway, not from children or busy weekends).

So I haven't blogged for a very long while, and it's about time I did a little catching up.

Since my last post in April, Pete, Robbie and Emma and I have all been very active. Pete has even signed up to do a triathlon in July! This is pretty significant as it's his first event since running a 10K in 2006 I think, and he's been up early training for weeks. He's lost a load of weight and is fitter and slimmer than I've ever seen him in the 18 years we've known each other!

Pictures speak quicker than words, so here's a glimpse of what we've been up to over the last couple of months.

Lewes Easter Monday 10K

Emma and Pete in the 1 mile race

Robbie in the 1 miler

After my 10K

This was a morning of races which started with the kids' 1 mile race. It was mostly round the track, although they ran off into a field for a bit. Robbie ran 9.26 and Emma ran 11.03!

My 10K started and finished on the track, but slightly to my surprise (and dismay), most of it was in wet fields amidst angry sheep and one herd of charging cows! This was quite scary, but a brave marshal managed to shoo them off. The land was quite boggy in places and I found it a very tough 10K. I ran it in 54.49.

My parkrun 50 t-shirt

In April I also ran my 50th parkrun, which entitled me to a free t-shirt! It's a really nice shirt, and as Robbie got his 10 t-shirt ages ago, we can co-ordinate nicely on a Saturday morning now.

Climbing

Rob

Em

Me

In May we all went indoor climbing one weekend! This was something we hadn't really done before but thought we'd try. It was good fun and the kids loved it. The next day they were fine, while Pete and I struggle to raise our arms above our heads...

Parkrun PBs

As we've been parkrunning regularly, both Robbie and Emma have recently smashed their 5K PBs! On his 30th run, Robbie ran 29m59s - his first sub 30 5K, and over a minute off his previous time. The following week Emma charged round to an amazing 34m10s, another huge PB!

Sea swimming and paddling

Pete is the swimming cap on the left

As part of triathlon training, Pete has to get used to swimming in the sea, so he has joined a group of nutcases who regularly get together on Eastbourne beach to take the plunge. It's great at weekends because Robbie and Emma absolutely love the opportunity to paddle and get themselves soaking wet, while I like nothing more than sitting on the beach doing nothing - perfect!

Beautiful scenery

Yes I did run up this hill

While I've had some more free time recently, I've been making the most of it by upping my running and biking, and doing some different routes. Last week I drove to just about my favourite place in the world, and ran over the cliffs. It was a tough hill run, but stunning scenery. The lighthouse at Beachy Head (above) is quite iconic round here, and these were the best views I've ever had of it - breathtaking.

So that's about it. Next week it's back to work, but I hope I'll be able to blog again a bit sooner. We've got lots of plans, including some races, camping trips and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow - can't wait!