#RMRChallenge Lakeland Trails Dirty Double 2019

More than 10 months after I signed up for the Lakeland Trails Dirty Double, as part of my RMR Challenge, it was finally race weekend! The forecast was dire for Saturday and we set off up towards the Kirkstone Pass with no views due to the clouds. Luckily when we reached Glenridding it was dry and just a bit grey:

Day 1: Helvellyn 5k/10k

We registered for our respective races (10k for me 5k for him) and then just had to try to keep warm until our starts:

My race set off at 11 AM and I tried to make sure I didn't get carried away by the fast start as we headed out through Glenridding. We passed the 5k turning point and headed up towards Helvellyn and the Youth Hostel:

West Midlands Safari Park

Whilst we were away with Single with Kids the group booked to go to West Midlands Safari Park. By booking online a day before we saved quite a bit of money. With it not being half term in Worcestershire we were pleasantly surprised that the park was all set up for its Spooky Halloween spectacular with lots of scarecrows:

  

The first living creature we encountered was a penguin. It's amazing how long boys aged 9-12 spent watching it swimming around the pool:

Most of us then visited the rather smelly bats! It did make us duck when they swooped down low over our heads in the dark... The boys were all fascinated by the reptiles too:

Manchester Half Marathon #McrHalf

I was up far too early on Sunday morning (5AM!) to get to Manchester in plenty of time for the half marathon. However I was boosted by knowing that I was running for YoungMinds. It was still dark when we had walked to the start area near Old Trafford:

With my family, I joined plenty of other runners in the local Costa for one last drink before the race. At this point my race nerves kicked in so I headed to my start pen way ahead of time! This gave me a chance to chat to other runners and even share a mutual birthday hug with another participant, We were all well covered up due to the classic Manchester weather:

The event started in waves, so being in Pen F we had over half an hour to wait before it was our turn to set off round the streets of Manchester. The first few kilometres were a loop towards the city centre and then back again to the start area - and my first glimpse of my family. Despite doing my best to go off too fast I soon realised I was far too close to the 2:15 pacer and managed to ease off a bit as we headed down the A56 towards Sale:

Love Barrow 10k Race

So as the final push for my Manchester half training I took part in the inaugural Love Barrow 10k road race. Before our race there was a mental health mile for all ages an abilities:

Then it was time for those of us mad enough to run 10k to warm up and line up at the start. Some guys from Barrow Amateur Boxing Club decided we needed a team selfie before we ran out through the shopping centre and out towards the park:

We then undertook a zig zag course with plenty of undulations through the park:

Reasons to be Cheerful: Sharing the happiness via YouTube #R2BC

 
It's Saturday so its Reasons to be Cheerful. Amongst other things making me cheerful this week is the fact my cold is almost gone - nothing quite like a snotty nose to make you miserable! Otherwise there are some other things that have made me smile this week:
1) Making others happy

The final video from last weekend finally went up and I managed to get some great photos from it which show how much other people appreciate my filming:

Just so glad the final race footage is some of my best yet:

2) Walking to work

Being able to walk to and from work is one of the benefits of having a contract at a local school. Its not always as beautiful and sunny as this but I love it:

3) Being Creative

Another good thing about my current role is that I can have fun and get creative! We have been studying Earth and Space and made a model of our solar system using polystyrene balls that we painted to match the planets:

YoungMinds fighting for young people's mental health

I have decided that I need to let a charity benefit from my bonkers birthday idea of running the Manchester Half Marathon. I asked my children who I should support and my daughter immediately suggested YoungMinds:

As a family we know from personal experience what an impact mental health issues can have on young people and their families. We also know that the NHS does not have enough funding for its Child Adolescent Mental Health Services which means young people do not receive the help and support they need to get through tough times.

There I have set up a Just Giving page for the half marathon in aid of YoungMinds. My daughter and I also created birthday fundraisers on Facebook (her birthday is the day after mine!) and so far have raised £79 for the charity. 

CGP Study Guides

Affiliate Links

As a parent and tutor I am finding the CGP Study Guides invaluable. I am constantly adding to my collection as they provide clear and concise information which is readily understandable for students. The English language one provides practice questions too:

Students can easily use the workbooks to complete tests and consolidate their skills:

For Literature there are poetry study books which include the full texts with analysis: