Thursday 28 April 2011

LEFT TO THEIR OWN DEVICES

Mr T walked into the kitchen ( unheard of I know, probably only to steal a little more of the boy’s Easter eggs!) to find this creation by none other than TJ.
It is a man’s face, what I love most is the fact that the nose is actually a 3D nose!!
Reasons to be cheerful – this is one.

I PUT SOME NEW SHOES ON....

and suddenly everything is right!! Or so Paolo Nutini seems to believe.
It starts with achy feet, now my shins are starting to feel uncomfortable, these are signs for me that my running shoes are in need of an update. Hastily ( basically, the only day for the last 3 weeks that I have been childless for more than a couple of hours) I went a knocking on the door of Gary at Launceston Sports to acquire said “new shoes”.
Now this is certainly not a hasty process as Gary is remarkably thorough when advising on new running shoes and I believe today I had tried on about 6 different pairs before coming across the CHOSEN ONE, or two actually, don’t tell Mr T!!! Each pair that feels good on gets tested on the treadmill to see how the running feels and to be perfectly honest I am as excited as a kid in a sweet shop about my new purchases J I even managed to come away with a swag of freebies as the SIS (Science In Sport) rep was in at the time of my purchase, as I was purchasing his competitor’s ( highfive) nutritional tablets he felt the need to offer his gels and sports drinks to entice me to the other side. It may well work I will wait and see when I next use them!!
My running has changed within the last year and my aim at the moment with regards to training is to start upping the pace and taking times of my PB’s. This cannot be done without the help of my very reliable friend my Garmin and a Runners World Garmin ready training schedule. Within my training I have a speed work session and a tempo run to endure enjoy, which in turn has helped to make my natural running pace one that I am pleased with, which I now hope to build upon over the next few months.
The beauty of running is that you do really only need a couple of things to get you going and that is a good sports bra and a pair of trainers that work with your natural running gait et voila you are set and ready to go. I now have a race pair – Mizuno Precision and a cushioned pair – Mizuno Wave Rider. It is not goodbye to my tried and tested Brooks Ghost 3’s, just farewell my friends, may see you for a coast walk or a stint in the garden some time soon!

Seen better days!


My visions of Beauty!


Sunday 24 April 2011

WATERWAYS OF WARWICKSHIRE

The second week of the Easter hols saw Mr T, myself, JT and TJ packing our  van with all our camping gear to experience 4 days and nights of a slower pace of life. My father now resides on his much loved narrow boat of 6 years, Falmouth. Last October half term we went to see him in and around the canals of Trowbridge and the surrounding area, this holiday we were making our way further north towards Warwickshire.
With communications throughout the previous 2 weeks we had determined that dad would be around the Southam area and we duly booked ourselves into a campsite nearby, about a 5 min walk from the canal towpath at Long Itchington. My sister and her family were joining us so we had our bookings made, awning borrowed (thanks Mrs D), our cat feed (thanks Claire), and a long range forecast of wall to wall sunshine – you can’t ask for more than that on an Easter break.
The boys were climbing the walls with excitement to see Crazy Grandad and Lyn, especially JT as he and Amber (my eldest niece) were booked in for the stay on the boat. If any of you have travelled or hired a narrow boat before, you will understand that 11 people on a boat at any one time is a squash and a squeeze, 11 people sleeping on the boat would be tantamount to World War III with disastrous consequences for all concerned. Hence why the rest of us retire to our various camping units and meet up the next day. JT and Amber become boat children very quickly, helping with the locks, barefoot from the moment they are onboard, washing becomes a thing reserved for when mothers get hold of them, generally enjoying the independence they crave from younger siblings and their parents!!! JT is very much enjoying word searches at the moment and we would very often arrive onboard to find them both heads down stuck into the current one within their book of hundreds!
Meanwhile at Camp Trewin & Houghton, the 3 remaining children would meet in the morning outside the awnings and take their pick of which van they would eat their rice cakes and butter in that morning. Breakfast then followed with a civilised air of slowness and then it was off to meet the my dad and his crew.
You are never short of some fantastic pubs along the canal waterways of England and we did sample a liquid refreshment at one along the way on our second day, where the children’s play area was well used and a frisbee was hurtled overhead before moving onto the mooring for that evening.
My training schedule looked like a big void for the week, I managed a run along the towpath from Long Itchington to Napton, around 5 miles and another 5 miles clocked on Saturday morning upon our return. This was nowhere near the volume that was on my Garmin, but hey, I am only a week behind and my pins needed a break as well!
Happy holidays mean happy families, already looking forward to our next boat excursion – so WATCH OUT DAD!!



SEA SKIN

Don’t you just love the feeling on your skin of a day at the beach? I do, I call it sea skin. It has a noticeable colouring around my nose and cheeks ( mostly red!) whilst smelling of the mixture of salt and seaweed. We have been very lucky to have had the first week of the Easter school holidays basking in sunshine, not always tropical, even so those UV rays have been making their way through the alabaster skin tone to help incorporate a slightly red, freckly look!!
Spent the best part of the day on the beach the other day with friends, children were racing away from the incoming sea, paddling and having a great time.

Monday 4 April 2011

HOBGOBLINS AND BEASTS AND BEARS OH MY!

Mother’s Day was just perfect yesterday. Got woken by 2 boys producing hand made cards which adorn the window sill as I speak, a husband who was organising a family trip for us all along with a picnic and 4 hours where I could do what I chose. I decided to do my long run of the week ( 8 miles) to incorporate us being able to see my mum. I ran into Bude where my mum was spectating at the local pool whilst my sister and her family were enjoying their weekly session of fun and frolics in the water. Was able to give my mum a kiss and a present on mother’s day and for that I am lucky.
It is sometimes difficult to know who to please on Mother’s Day as both Mr T and I have our mother’s nearby and since becoming a mother myself, I also get put into the equation. Seemed to work really well this year though with all mother’s being catered for and feeling special. This year we wanted to ensure we were with Mr T’s mum as we lost Granny B two weeks ago to Alzheimer’s and felt the need to be with her.
Mr T and his brother Mark decided on a woodland walk near Hartland. We hunted for bear’s and hobgoblins with the boys minds enchanted by all that is fantasy. ‘Twas wonderful as they say in Cornwall!  Got back to the camper, where the men had brought all that is needed for a lavish picnic in the Devon countryside, rugs, chairs and food a plenty! Homemade Chicken and Ham pie courtesy of Mel, olives, stuffed peppers, brie, bread, ham, potato salad, etc with profiteroles produced for dessert as well as sticky pink buns for the children – all in all a wonderful family day.  We all live within 5 miles of each other, with busy lives and children’s social activities to contend with, we do not always get to see each other as regularly as we would like. When we do it always makes for a great day.