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.

Catching Up

Sorry for not having posted anything recently! It's been a strange and busy month for running. I will attempt to fill you in.

The first weekend in July was taken up with runs for both Andy and myself. Andy took part in the Whinlatter 5 on the Saturday evening and I took part in the Bentham Beagles 10k Bash on the Sunday.

Both Andy and I took part in the Whinlatter 5 last year and it was a very challenging route to say the least. Andy wanted to take it on again and I was quite happy volunteering to watch the boys whilst he ran it. We took them up again to cheer him in but also to have a play!

We didn't see Andy set off but managed to get down to the finish area shortly before the first runners started coming in. Andy got back in a very respectable 56.29 which was about 20 minutes faster than our times from last year.

He received a medal and William managed to con him out of his post run watermelon treat. If you are considering doing this run though then I would suggest you bring and dowse yourself in insect repellent as the midges were out in force! Andy really enjoyed it again though.

The day after Whinlatter I took part in the Bentham Beagles 10k Bash. I had a lift up with some lovely cheetah friends so that Andy could take the boys to the Sunday morning WWC run. I'd been informed it was hilly, but that didn't bother me too much to be honest, having done several hilly run already. I had been having a niggly issue with my left shin, but was hoping that wouldn't be a problem on the day.

Well, it was certainly hilly, and very warm. As soon as you set off you head up the first hill towards the main road and I was super pleased to have made it up this one with the rest of the group. The main road was relatively flat but once you turned off, oh my. Between my leg, the heat and the hills I really struggled on this one, physically and mentally. It was undulating upwards if that makes sense until about 8k when it became more or less downhill all the way back. It was a lovely feeling on the legs with gravity helping to do its part. The speed picked up quite a bit and I made it back to the finish in 1.12.05. We might come back as a family for this one next year (with Andy running the 10k!) as they are adding in a children's fun run to the day!  Not only did we get a medal, but the local pub gave out a free drink if you came in with your medal so we had a post-run cheetah drink before coming home.

In other news this month, William and I both received our parkrun club 50 t-shirts! Just waiting on Andy and Sam's now, hopefully won't be long. 

I have upped my distance a bit in training for the Wirral Half Marathon in September and managed 14km last week. I have now booked myself onto the Prudent Riverside 10 Mile run in Lancaster for this coming Sunday to help with the training. Andy is taking part in Total Warrior on the Saturday so it will be a busy weekend!

Speaking of half marathons, Andy also completed the Windmill Half Marathon the other weekend but I will write about that in another post.

2015 Challenge Update and Other Good Stuff

Well, I missed the chance to write up about how our challenge was going at the end of April, thanks to the Dalton and Liverpool 10k races! Thought I would take the opportunity to update now and post about other fab things that have happened recently.

As of this post, we have run a total of 607 miles this year between us, leaving 1408 miles left to run! So far for the month of May, Sam is beating the rest of us in terms of mileage, probably helped by the fact that he has been going to his school running club on a Friday afternoon! He's running 4-5 kilometres up to 5 times a week and loving it.

Sam was also picked again to run for the school's cross country team in a competition that took place last week. It was a relay this time so I was even more nervous than before as he'd need to hold and pass over a baton as well as try and run the whole thing. I needn't have worried after all, he did fantastically. Kept hold of that baton and kept running, even when he wasn't holding my hand.

William followed us round the course as well to cheer him on. I heard this little voice about 3/4 of the way round shouting 'I'm still behind you mummy'! I think he is already planning on taking part in cross country when he reaches Sam's year.

We are still taking part in the Walney Wind Cheetah cubs sessions on a Monday and Wednesday evening. The boys are loving the running and the games. Sam has been taking part in the games as well more this year and is even starting to do one of the stretches after the run....progress!

And of course we love parkrun on Saturdays. William got a fantastic PB of 37.14 last Saturday. He worked really hard for that and showed a lot of PMA (Positive Mental Attitude!) which we were really proud of. He's only 5 minutes off my own PB now so I had better get faster, and quickly!

Our final organised race of the month will be the Crazy Cow 10k at Preston where Andy is running the 10k and there is a fun run for the boys to take part in as well. I'm very jealous he'll be rewarded with a cowbell!
 
Loads of good runs coming up in June as well, in fact every weekend in June is taken up with a race! The Grasmere Gallop, Liverpool Rock and Roll Half Marathon, SSAFA Holker 10k and the Walney Fun Run. Hopefully they will all get us nearer to completing our challenge!

Sam and Andy's 50th parkrun

It was a cloudy and windy morning on Saturday, but I was happy it was windy! It was due to be Andy and Sam's 50th parkrun and Sam isn't the most predictable person when it comes to running so we turned up with our cake, brownies and our fingers and toes crossed that he would be happy to give it a go! Sam loves windy weather (a fact that several Barrow parkrunners mentioned having noticed as well) and it looked like he'd be a goer.

 

I was hoping William would want to stick near his brother for this one then we could all help make sure Sam got round the course. Luckily we managed this for the most part!

Sam looked positively cheerful going round the whole way. I love seeing him smile when he is enjoying something as his whole face lights up. He did his usual sprint/walk/sprint routine and made it into the finish in 51.23, not a bad time for him! (His current PB is 47.42 which he ran last August)

After the run, we headed to the cafe for cake. There was a lot of it that morning as 3 other people had run their 50th parkruns and our friend had also run her 100th! It was great to see so many milestones being reached. Sam tucked into his cake and brownies and probably wondered what all the fuss was about!

I remember having a conversation with Andy about whether or not we should try Sam with parkrun, panicking that he wouldn't stay on the paths or that he might not even run but it turns out he's doing just fine. He may be distracted by wanting to sprinkle cut grass and fallen leaves sometimes but essentially he loves to run around the park and that's what matters. I'm so proud of what he's achieved.

I would like to give Andy a big shout out on here. He is a terrific dad who only got into running in order to take Sam round parkrun 15 months ago (little did he know he'd catch the running bug!). He's also done brilliantly to get to 50 parkruns. He's tirelessly taken Sam round every week and has only actually run 5 of his 50 parkruns by himself!

I'd also like to thank everyone at Barrow parkrun for their support as well. The inclusiveness is amazing. It's lovely to be able to access a mainstream family activity on a Saturday morning and have Sam completely accepted. He is a parkrunner first and foremost and no one is phased by any of his difficulties. Looking forward to him reaching the 100 club now!

2015 Challenge - February Update

Well, it's the last day of February today so time for another update for our 2015 miles in 2015 challenge! We did our virtual run, night run, parkruns and Wind Cheetah runs in February totalling 102 miles for the month. We now have 1818 miles to go!

Coming up in March we've got a few organised runs to do. I'm running the Jacobs Leg It 10k in Ormskirk which benefits the National Autistic Society. There is a 1.5k kids fun run on the day too, so the boys can also have a run. And tomorrow we have the Port Sunlight 10k/5k/1k fun run to take part in so will be an early start for us!

Due to Sam not wanting to run a few weeks ago, we didn't make it to his and Andy's 50th parkrun in February, but hopefully if he's in the right mood for a run next Saturday we'll be celebrating then instead! That's the beauty of parkrun - there's always next week! He did however manage his 49th run today in 49.06. He hasn't gone sub-50 since last September so he was definitely on a roll this morning!

2015 Challenge - January Update

Well, we're one month into our 2015 challenge and it's all going well so far! We've clocked up 95 miles this month as a family so that means there are 1920 miles to go. That's mainly including parkruns and a few midweek runs too. I'm hoping the weather becomes milder soon as William is not very keen on going out to run in the freezing temperatures we've had!

As we head into February we've got a few runs lined up on top of 'the usual'. Andy is taking on a 10k night trail run at Grizedale Forest next weekend with a fun run for the boys to take part in. We're also trying our first 5k virtual run which will benefit the Epilepsy Society. I love the idea of this virtual run, one that can be undertaken at your own convenience at some point during the month... and you get a medal for taking part! Also with a bit of luck, the last day of February should be Andy and Sam's 50th parkruns so there is a lot to look forward to!

William's 50th parkrun!

It was an exciting morning yesterday as William joined the parkrun 50 club!

We were umming and ahhing beforehand about whether or not to go ahead on Saturday due to the horrible weather forecast. I checked it every day last week and saw no improvement to the 30+ mph winds and rain showers predicted. We explained about the weather to William and amazingly he wasn't put off. Andy baked the traditional milestone cake along with brownies and welsh cakes so we were really hoping that William would manage to get round the course.

We heard the wind howling outside first thing Saturday morning but the rain seemed to have died down. Checked the forecast one last time which was now showing no rain so we headed off to the park. William was very excited and told several people it was his 50th as soon as we arrived at the bandstand. He got called up to the front during the usual pre-run announcements and received a huge cheer from the crowd. Couldn't have been prouder..... but he still had to complete the run!

We set off at a brilliant pace for William, in fact I had to work quite hard to keep up with him climbing the hill to the cenotaph! He ran the first lap brilliantly, the second a little slower, but still with determination. On the last half lap we were joined by some of our cheetah friends at different stages and William soon had a bit of an entourage with him! They ran with him till the start of the finishing straight and then it was down to him. He finished in 47.04, so 3 minutes off the PB he had wanted but in that wind I think he did extremely well!

Heading to the finish!

Sam also had a good run (his fastest since September), and he was a happy boy the whole way round, especially in the areas with high winds!

After the run we took our cakes down to the cafe to share. William looked so proud and happy.

Thank you to everyone who has supported him, not just today but at every parkrun since he started 14 months ago.  I was amazed when he joined the 10 club and I'm even more astounded that he's come this far, especially considering he's only 5 years old! Here's to the next 50!

New and improved countdown, now with Skylanders!

Merry Christmas!

You would think that the running would be taking a break over the festive period but we just haven't been able to stop!

First up we had the Ulverston Pudding Run back near the beginning of December. Then last weekend we took part in the Santa Dash parkrun at Barrow. It was fantastic to see everyone in their Santa costumes. I ran with Sam and Andy ran with William. Luckily, although quite breezy (particularly up by the cenotaph) it wasn't freezing and so the boys both managed to get round. I was really pleased Sam finished as he wasn't feeling his best and it was his 40th parkrun.

On Christmas Eve we headed to the Abbey Mill cafe for a Walney Wind Cheetah run and picnic party. This was the third attempt at a cubs get together as the weather for the previous two Sundays had not been outdoor party weather (think heavy rain and high winds!). The morning was breezy, but very bright and dry. About 12 cubs and their parents headed out on the path and back. Once we got back to the cafe, we took over the outdoor picnic tables and soon turned the event into a party! Plenty of treats for everyone, even Christmas crackers! William was thrilled that he got a yo-yo in his. We even got treated to some entertainment too, in the form of a hilarious 'bush tucker trial' organised by one of our run leaders. And of course, there was a visit by a rather Christmassy attired Charlie Cheetah which made Sam's day!

We headed back to the park the day after for the Christmas Day parkrun. William ran with his dad and I marshaled with Sam. It was Sam's first time marshaling and I wasn't sure how he'd manage waiting in one spot for the better part of an hour. He managed really well, only one small wobble towards the end and he was very glad to head back to the bandstand once we'd seen the last runners through (Andy and William of course!).

 

Hope everyone has had a fantastic Christmas week! Unfortunately our parkrun today was (rightly) cancelled due to ice on the course. Hopefully we'll be back for the special New Years Day parkrun next week!