Bike It to School

What a stonking good idea, Bike It to School Day. I can't believe I'm such a numpty that I never thought, with my own brain, to cycle to school with the boys before this. And isn't it astonishing what the promise of free food will do to people?? I've never seen so many bikes at school; there were so many that they had to be locked up in the main playground, on both sides! I felt quite emotional when we got there, all these children and parents looking very pleased with themselves - and well so! It was wonderful. There were people waiting at the gate to ask if our bikes needed fixing (for free), and pupils directing us to the breakfast table that had been set up in the playground, where we could help ourselves to brioche, croissants, apples, bananas and juice (for free).

I was only able to ride myself because James is cycling properly. That's a very lucky thing, because he's only 4. He's done very well to find so much confidence so young. He just seemed to know that he was going to be able to cycle before he'd even been on the bike he's using now. He never bothered with stabilisers! Tremendous. I'm that proud :)

Matthew has quite a way to go before he can cycle himself. He has a little 12"wheeled bike, that was James's, and he can pedal it ... but only backwards. Hmm. I think he'll be on the back of my bike for quite some time. We've had the child seat for the back of my bike for years. I only used it about twice with Thomas, and I thought that I didn't like it because it was heavy. Shows how relative everything is, because I barely noticed it was there today - light as anything, and Matthew is older and heavier than Thomas was when he sat in it a few years ago. I think the last few years of chucking three children about has given me some splendid muscles. I could no doubt do quite well in World's Strongest Man (goodness knows I could pass for a fella right now!).

So, we're thinking that we might like to cycle every day now. Yes, I know, shocking! That amount of effort and exercise in a week could very nearly kill me if I'm not careful. So I'll have to make sure I eat some chocolate every day. And perhaps some cake as well. And possibly the odd packet of crisps.

Tomorrow me and Thomas are going to try an experiment, and see if we have enough time to cycle from nursery (which doesn't open until 8.30am) to school by five to nine. If we're late then I think school will have a bit of a cheek in telling Thomas off for being late for such an important reason!

Eeh, good stuff. It felt ever so nice to be cycling with Thomas and James this morning. They do cycle themselves whenever I'm organised enough to walk to school. But they're usually way off ahead of me and I have to run with the pram to keep up. Today I was right alongside them, and we were able to chat and have a laugh all the way. It's not a lot, but every little bit of time we can spend together and enjoy a few smiles and laughs is precious, eh? I keep discovering these extra few minutes in my days, and I can't be sure, but I think I've managed to somehow make my days into 26-hour ones, give or take a few minutes. I'm not sure how that's happened.

Healthy stuff.

Time for a cup of tea and biscuit.

Mmm, cake.

A running post

11th May, 2010

Yes, I went for a run. I mean, I don't know why, because I hate running. It hurts. It hurts before you do it, because you get this dull feeling in the pit of your stomach in anticipation of the actual physical pain you're going to make yourself feel very soon. And then it hurts while you're doing it, 'pounding the pavement' as they say, feeling the impact on your joints - particularly the knees - feeling the burning in your chest, the stitch in your side because you didn't leave enough time between eating and running, the stiffness that threatens to turn into cramp in your calves. And it even hurts when you stop (though it's nice at the same time), and then you struggle to walk because your muscles have turned to jelly. Although, I don't stop once I've started, until I get to the end. This is because stopping is such a relief that it makes it harder to carry on, for me. If I stopped half way through a run I know that I would walk the rest of the way; therefore, I don't stop.

But do I really hate it as much as I say? Probably not. I do feel good about myself today. It was very satisfying to surprise Kev by coming downstairs in my running stuff and saying 'I'm just popping out, back in half an hour.' He was struck dumb! And then he was struck dumb once more when I did arrive back home less than half an hour later :) I did three miles in twenty-seven minutes. I was very pleased with that - when I was running four years ago I didn't go that fast. I think I was probably being too cautious four years ago. I was running with a heart rate monitor, and I was sticking to a certain rate as much as possible, the rate that was supposed to ensure optimum performance. But I think I will just use my lungs as a guide to how fast I can manage to go - if I get pain in them and start to struggle to breathe, I will slow down a little (not stop, never stop!); if my lungs are feeling fine, I'll carry on as I am.

Today I feel good. I know I will have pain tomorrow, but it'll be interesting to see how bad it is. I've got achiness in my legs, and they're a little wobbly when I've been kneeling on the floor, but nothing as bad as I expected.

12th May, 2010

The pain arrived in the thighs and the muscles around the hips at about 8.30pm last night, around the time that David Cameron was leaving Buckingham Palace after being offered a new job by the Queen. The pain was quite considerable, but I stretched my legs a good bit, and all was well. So I'm thinking that I might go for another run this evening. Ugh. The thought of that amount of physical exertion makes me feel a little sick. But I will keep the thought of the feeling at the finish in my mind and I will make myself do it. I have to get into it properly if I'm going to manage to run the Paras 10 in October.

This is the Paras 10. But I will certainly not be doing it with a pack on my back, and I certainlywill just be wearing normal running gear. Perhaps the sight of these strapping young men will spur me on to a faster time though :D

So I was thinking about having a bash at the London Marathon one year as well. I've been saying it for several years now, but have never actually tried to get in. Noomski would love to do as well, and so would Kev. And I think my mum would probably have a bash also. Of course, I'd love to get a good time as well, something under three hours would be nice - although, of course, completely unrealistic! Keeping up eight or nine minute miles for twenty-six of them is probably a bit of a tall order for a beginner. But under four hours should certainly be possible... err, but perhaps I should keep my mouth shut about that for now! Noomski would get a good time - he can run for miles and miles, could probably do two marathons back to back on the same day without too much trouble, after a bit of training. He once set off for a wee run one day and found that he'd done twenty-six miles by accident! Weirdo.

So, there's a new Conservative Prime Minister, and a coalition government, but we can still carry on with our lives as if the election never happened. It was exciting to watch, but now I'd like to get on with what I was doing before, which largely involved ignoring politicians and just doing what makes me and my family happy. Well, I've added running, which doesn't make me particularly happy - but it does make my body work more effectively, thus allowing me to achieve more happiness-inducing activities.

Back to work on the book now - ttfn.

Crook o' Lune

:) We had a lovely day today. It was all to do with fresh air and the Great Outdoors. We let James try cycling again - he's doing incredibly well for someone who was only 4 a couple of weeks ago. That's James there, at the front of the picture. He can cycle by himself, but needs to work on the setting off and stopping. He can do it all by himself, but needs someone beside him to remind how to start and stop, lol. It's so exciting. Thomas, the tall one in the middle there, was very encouraging with James. He's so excited that his little brother can ride - they'll be riding to school together very soon, and I'll be running to keep up, pushing Matthew in his pram because he's still too small to make it to school and back on his own feet.

After the cycling, we went for a walk around the Crook of the Lune, and that was so nice. The last time we did that little walk Thomas was an only child, though I was pregnant with James. It was lovely to retrace our steps today. Matthew did walk the whole way by himself, and enjoyed his little adventure thoroughly. I was very proud of them all today. There was lots of scrambling involved, and climbing up big steps in places, but I didn't hear a complaint from any of them. I think it helps that the weather was excellent today - we've taken them lots of places to walk, and usually Matthew ends up being carried after a while. But he doesn't seem to work properly in the cold! Fair enough. He'll be much better at walking next Winter when he'll be 3.

Writing doesn't really happen at the weekend. We usually walk somewhere, or do something somewhere outside, and then we're all exhausted by tea time. I'm going to try and write a few hundred words before I go to sleep after this. I feel in the mood, so might as well do something :)

It's half term this week, but I still have my 3 mornings off because Thomas is at sports club. I wish he wasn't because I enjoy spending time with him in the holidays, but he asked to go and it will be a lot of fun for him, so I couldn't really say no!

I think I am getting used to this blog lark now :D I've added my blog list at the side there, and look, I'm following three blogs so far :) It's very, very nice to read about other people's lives - I didn't think I'd be all that interested, but I love it. I will have to try very hard not to get sucked in though - I cannot spend all my time reading blogs!

Night.