It was blowy this morning for the parkrun at Edge Hill. When I was approaching the start it looked like there were 30 or 40 volunteers, but as I got closer it was clear that half the runners had bright yellow waterproof running gear. They were the sensible ones. It was cold and windy and I had more layers on than I’d ever had for running before.
The exposed areas were the hardest – around the top of the first km running beside Ruff Lane, and at the farthest point of the course. Head down, pushing against the wind, it was a difficult run. I finished in 31 minutes, well, 30:54 but I felt like I could have gone on for another five. I was kicking myself because I thought that I could have gone faster, which I probably could; but I’d followed two runners for the first half, until they started to walk, and then another two runners for second. The pace was slow but seemed appropriate for the weather. Looking at the results, the runner who finished first was a good minute and a bit slower than his best time – which made me feel my nearly-two-minutes-slower feel a bit better.
The Ormskirk run hit 124 runners today, which would be brilliant in any week, but given the god-awful weather this morning, it was quite an achievement.
Today we also went out for lunch with my the rest of the family to celebrate my Dad’s 70th birthday. We went to the Eagle and Child in Mawdesley, and it was a very pleasant way to spend the afternoon. The pub has always served excellent food, but they’ve recently changed management and the food is better than ever. It’s looking like a good year for my parents – Dad’s finally going to retire fully in a few months time and it sounds like they’ll be busier than ever.
The day was rounded off with a 40 minute walk with Joel off to Coronation Park and back again. He seems to like the time just chatting and spending time pottering. This week we covered more about Skylanders and discussed whether knights were better than wizards and what magical powers we’d like to have if we were wizards. I’m hoping that this turns into a “thing”; Joel and I going for a weekend walk and putting the world to rights.
It’s the night before Jude heads off to Twickenham and then off to Africa for the best part of three weeks. We had a bit of an old-style evening, scoffing chocolate and watching a movie and just having a bit of quiet time. It’s going to be very strange with her being away for so long. A few years ago she went to Australia for two weeks when the children were much much younger. I managed ok then, and I’m sure that I’ll be ok this time, but back then it was just feeding, clothing and washing. These days there’s school, homework and real food (not some mashed goop). Plus they’ll notice that Jude’s not around. It’ll be interesting to see how they react. I suspect that we’ll reach a new normality within a few days and then things will revert back when she returns, but anything could happen.
Anyway, today has been lovely, and tomorrow will be the start of an adventure for Jude. Happy days.