#CountryKids Fell Foot Christmas Parkrun #FitnessFriday

Thanks to Storm Desmond we were unable to have a Christmas parkrun at Fell Foot Park. However Cumbrians are hardy folk so 6 months on we held a Christmas and half parkrun last weekend. We were asked to combine summer and Christmas for the special event. I managed to attach some ribbons to my trainers to make them more festive:

My daughter was marshalling in a Christmas outfit whilst the Run Director was channeling his Santa on the beach look:

The volunteers had made a fabulous effort at decorating the course:

#CountryKids Preston Race For Life 10k

Today I drove down to Preston so that my son and I could take part in the Race for Life 10k event - as children aren't supposed to run over 5k too often it was an opportunity for him to test out his stamina!

My daughter brought her friend along to keep her company and assist in taking photos of the event in Avenham Park. We knew we were in the right place when we spotted all the pink:

Our arrival was timed to perfection as there weren't huge queues for the portaloos so we were very quickly ready to go:

#CountryKids at Lanydrock

Before we went to Cornwall I had checked out the nearest Parkrun and discovered it was at Lanhydrock. I persuaded my brother to pack his running gear so that my son had someone fast to run with! We all got up bright and early and drove the 30 minutes from our holiday accommodation to join in with what turned out to be a record breaking Parkrun for the location:

It was a lovely route and for a section of it I ran alongside a regular. Then my stinking cold stopped me breathing through my nose so I had to walk a while through the woods:

There were a few photographers around and they caught us all on camera:

My daughter met me near the finish and ran with me after I had recovered the long up hill! Not my finest 5k to date but my son was 3rd in the under 10 boys category. We had to recover with cake in the cafe before looking around the house and garden.

#CountryKids An active outdoor Sunday

On Sunday my daughter was invited to go on a bike ride with Gramps from Kendal to Staveley. The longest and toughest ride she has done since she got her grown up bike for Christmas. Whilst they were gone my son and I headed out for run together:

It was a freezing cold day but the sky was pretty blue. My son set a good pace but he needed some well earned walking breaks as we went round. There was even time for a family selfie whilst he got his breath back:

#CountryKids Boxing Day Run on The Helm

Both my children got new sports kit for Christmas and were keen to try it out today! My son got on his running hat and trousers and my daughter her new cycling kit this morning to drag the adults outside:

He and I headed up the hill to The Helm which runs behind Oxenholme. It's quite a steep ascent at first and was very muddy:

 My son was far more sure footed than me and sped up to the top:

#CountryKids Langdale Christmas Pudding Fun Run

As I was due to run a long race my son came along to Langdale for his fun run:

He was dead chuffed to get number 1:

In the end over a 100 people took part in the fun run from toddlers to adults with disabilities but they all lined up together:

#CountryKids Sporty Saturday at Fell Foot Park

As regular readers know my son and I run Fell Foot Parkrun every Saturday. Big sister is a marshal so we all take part. Today there it was a slightly smaller field than normal on a damp morning with muddy conditions. Both of the runners had acquired trail shoes to cope with the slippery footing:

I wasn't feeling as fit as last week and my son stayed in front of me all the way around! I came in slightly slower than my PB but still my second fastest on the course:

Official times due on Monday so looking forward to seeing how my son did! 

Meanwhile having marshalled my daughter decided it was her turn to have some sporty fun and stripped down to her wet suit:

Workout Wednesday Pushing the PBs!

My son is making a great pace maker at Fell Foot Parkrun. Once again this Saturday he pulled me round faster and (despite slipping over!) I once again knocked lots of time off my previous PB and so did he:

The event is such a fun and friendly one that all of us love including my daughter who enjoys marshalling!

Tonight I finally got out for a decent run after a few weeks of being too busy. Trying hard to be in shape for my 10 km race on the 6th December. I was worried that I would struggle with a 40 minute non stop run with only 3 minutes to recover before a final 10 minutes. Turned out I needn't have worried as I ran the fastest training run I have done for months (despite having to dodge crowds of running club members!).

I just have to try and squeeze in a few more training runs around my teacher training..

#CountryKids Fell Foot Parkrun

Today saw the very first parkrun at Fell Foot Park finally an event close enough to our home to get there for 9 AM! So I had added my son to the register and we all headed off through intermittent drizzle to the south end of Windermere. We were surprised by the number of people who had turned up in the wet to kick off this new event. My son was raring to go:

After a pep talk by the lead organiser we were set off to go around the beautiful grounds and into the neighbouring meadow. The runners were all ages, shapes and sizes from babies in buggies to one gentleman over 85. It was such a friendly atmosphere as we ran, jogged and staggered along. I kept my son near me until the last 500 m when I let him run on ahead as he had more energy left than me! I did find the energy for a final sprint as I was being cheered on by over 100 people at the finish... My son looked very pleased with himself for finishing just under a minute ahead of me:

#CountryKids helping mummy on her #OneBigFatRun

This weekend I was bemoaning to Fiona at Coombe Mill about my lack of outdoor time with the children now we are all back at school/uni! Then I realised that I could combine my need for taking part in the One Big Fat Run and getting them out in the fresh air. Normally going out for a run means grabbing my kit and a drink and hitting the tarmac. However, heading out with my children adds complexity to the proceedings:

1. help daughter extract bike from shed
2. pump up bike tyres
3. lace up son's running shoes
4. try (and fail) to persuade children to take water bottles
5. inform children as to the route we are going
6. head off for the run trailing after the children:

From a distance observe daughter's biking skills and note to tell her to improve road positioning at junctions:

#Juneathon Day 21 Fitting in fitness around the kids!

I always struggle to run at the weekend. My daughter refuses to run and my son only goes a certain distance so its not easy. So after yesterday's mini jog I thought I can do better than that...

My daughter was on a Guides event so once she had been dropped off my son and I donned our running shoes and set off along the river bank:

We headed to the playground the long way round. There were times he wanted to walk and I jogged the same section several times going backwards and forwards. He did run chunks of it such as through the mini woodland on the way to the tip:

By the time we hit the canal path he was slowing right down...