Ulverston Charter 5k and the Boys PB Week!

This last week's running got off to a great start at the weekend with Barrow parkrun PBs for both boys! It was pacers week so we decided to use it as an opportunity to see if William could beat his PB of 35.37 from May. He smashed it and got a new PB of 34.55. Sam has been doing really well with his running for the last few weeks now and he managed to go sub 40 minutes for the first time which is a huge achievement for him. His new PB is 39.51!

Still on a runner's high from parkrun, we ventured out to the Ulverston Charter 5k run on Wednesday evening. Andy signed up to do the main event and both boys were registered for the 1 mile fun run. I would be running with William again and Sam with Andy.

Well, it felt like William and I were just jogging along, but the nearer we got to the finish I realised that with a bit of sprinting William might just make it a course PB. He was amazing and finished in 10.16, knocking 9 seconds off his previous best time.

Sam was still in his element with running and ran really well. He managed to knock a few minutes off his best course time and finished in 12.20. I was thrilled for him. Both boys received a new medal for their brilliant efforts.

Andy took on the 5k again. The boys and I watched him head off at the start then went back to the playground for a bit until the first runners started coming back.

 

He completed the run in 25.57 which was only about 30 seconds slower than his previous time from last year. He's not done a massive amount of solo running recently for training so I think he did really well.

Summer 2015

Well, we've nearly made it through the summer holidays and in one piece too! We've done some good running over the last few months. Andy took part in the Windmill Half Marathon in Lytham. He's pretty good at running that distance now, and the medal was a whopper!

He also took part in Total Warrior in the Lake District. He had a thoroughly enjoyable time, although he did come back with bruised ribs!

I ran my furthest distance to date at the Prudent Riverside 10 Mile run at Lancaster. I had to have a sit down straight afterwards but I was so pleased and proud of myself. Plus it was great practice for the Wirral Half Marathon which I have in just over a week!

We also slipped in another 10k race and fun run at the Ulverston Summer 10k. The boys did really well, William managed to smash his PB for the course, finishing in 10.24! He was also extremely excited to discover that the children were receiving the same medal as the adults were getting and he loved it. I did the 10k run and finished in 1.04.03 which is a full 4 minutes faster than my previous time from last year's run. I was really pleased with that, especially as it was a VERY warm evening and I'd already run a mile with William!

We took a break from our usual running over the August bank holiday weekend and went away to the Calvert Trust in Keswick. They specialise in outdoor activity breaks for people with disabilities. This particular break was specially funded for families with a veteran or serving member of the armed forces and a family member with a disability. So that would be Andy, who spent many years in the army, and Sam who has autism.

We headed up to Keswick on the Friday and arrived a little early and had a good look around the centre before checking in. They have great facilities there, a games room, sports hall, sensory room and a fantastic swimming/hydrotherapy pool. We had a dip in the pool on the Friday night after dinner and the boys loved it. We were paired up into a group with another family who had 3 boys which was ideal.

The following morning, we were driven to the bottom of Lattrigg and as promised the day before we got to 'climb a mountain'! At least that's what it felt like to us all when we got to the top. The views were spectacular of Keswick and Derwent Water as well as all the surrounding fells including Skiddaw. All William's running up and down the amphitheatre on a Thursday morning with the WWC cubs paid off as he shot up ahead of us!

 

After lunch we headed out for some horse riding and archery (not done at the same time, I should add!). William loved trying out the bow and arrow and Sam found pressing the trigger on the mounted crossbow hilarious once he worked out what the contraption did and what the targets were for!

On the Sunday we spent the morning at Mirehouse, a local house and gardens where there was a steeplechase course set into the woods. William flew around this one several times so I think it was a hit. He's asked to go back some day! Sam wasn't as keen on the steeplechase, although he did enjoy the big tyre swing at the little park there too. We headed back to the centre and did a little orienteering in the grounds before lunch.

In the afternoon we went canoeing on Bassenthwaite Lake which was probably my favourite activity. Sam enjoyed dipping his hands in the water as we paddled along and William loved the team games we competed in with the other family. He even made friends with the canoe instuctor's dog who came with us.

After another evening spent in the swimming pool we were worn out and ready for coming home the following morning. I would recommend any family with a child or adult with a disability to try out the Calvert Trust for an outdoor activity holiday, they were excellent.

Ulverston Pool Triathlon

Last Sunday was the Ulverston Pool Triathlon, which Andy had crazily signed up for (nothing to do with me!). This involved a 400m swim (16 lengths of the pool), 28k cycle, and 5.8k run. This was the first of a few 'bigger' challenges that Andy had set himself for the year.

When he registered he'd put down the slowest time for swimming which meant he got put in the first wave of solo participants at 8.45am, in fact being the first one to set off! We arrived at a very foggy Ulverston Leisure Centre early so he could pick up his timing chip, t-shirt, numbers for running and cycling and get his bike racked up with all his gear ready for transition. Andy got to be lucky number 13!

He headed into the changing rooms to get ready for his swim just as the relay teams began theirs. There were 5 Walney Wind Cheetah relay teams this year, so it was good to be there early to watch them set off swimming. Once they'd all finished, the first wave of swimmers, including Andy, dropped into the water. He'd not had too much practice swimming so was probably the most nervous for this bit. He did really well and managed to get finished in 13 minutes.

As soon as we realised he was finished the boys and I dashed out to see him off on his bike. We watched him cycle off and disappear into the thick fog toward the coast road. Sam wasn't overly happy during this period, I think he was confused about why we were at the pool and thought he was also going for a swim! Once he'd calmed down and started to watch the cyclists leaving and returning he had a great time.

I spotted Andy cycling back towards us through the fog and he headed back into the transition area to re-rack his bike and change shoes for running. I saw a glimmer of electric yellow and the WWC logo as he headed off in the other direction for his run.

Half an hour later he was back and headed for the finish. Andy was really pleased with his run time as his usual pace didn't seem to change even with all the activity he'd just completed. His total finish time was 2.01.16 and he was 220th overall out of 251 taking part. Very tired, but very happy to have completed his first triathlon! I say first because he was already discussing signing up to next year's triathlon in the car on the way home!