This day I love.......: holiday

After an amazing Disney cruise it was time to head to the hustle and bustle of New York. We swapped the warm weather in Mexico for the cold winter weather in New York. It was a little bit of a shock to the system but worth the whistle stop tour.

We landed in New York on Saturday afternoon, I collected my race number from the expo and then ordered take away pizza for dinner. The evening was spent with three tired children in bed eating pizza, the best kind of holiday. I was up early the next morning for the marathon and had planned a day for the kids. They wanted to see the Central Park Zoo and would then watch the marathon runners and cheer them on.

I understand they had a nice relaxed morning and even managed a trip to Dylan's Candy store. I on the other hand had a very early wake up call and had to drag what I now know is a fractured ankle round 26.2 miles of New York. It was another chilled evening, it had to be after a marathon before we spent out final day in New York.

After checking out of our hotel we had 8 hours in which to take in all that New York has to offer. The girls wanted to head back to the candy store again. I don’t blame them I do love Dylan’s candy store so we ticked this off our list first.

Our hotel was located near central park and we planned a walking route which would take us past all the major landmarks. We unfortunately could not get a spot to ice skate near Rockefeller or to travel to the top of the rock but this did not ruin our fun exploring the city.

We showed the kids everything New York had to offer. Walking past all the major sights and stopping to shop in major stores. This broke things up for them and they loved watching Times Square from the Old Navy shop window. The only time we took a taxi was to take us to the 9/11 memorial. The last time I was here was a few years after, I could not believe how much has changed. The whole area has been transformed very respectfully and it was a place of quiet reflection in a very busy city.

We had carefully planned a walking route before we had arrived meaning we could walk past all the major landmarks and break up our day. There were plenty of shopping stops and stops for snacks as we walked around the city.

The highline was on our list of places to visit but we simply ran out of time, instead we finished our day riding the Seaglass carousel. This was stunning and I think the perfect way to end our crazy whistle stop tour of New York.

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I am currently sat here in my hotel room in Liverpool on Good Friday. A week has already gone by of our Easter holidays and we have another one to go. My children have been to their Grandparents house for a sleepover and I have run 50 miles from Manchester to Liverpool. Maybe not the most conventional start to the Easter weekend but one both my children and I will remember. For us Easter is much more than chocolate and Easter Eggs.

I always try during the kids holidays to make memories with my children. That is what I always aim to do. Sometimes this means we do things together and other times we do things apart. The girls, as Little Man is too young to understand the concept, have been asking for a sleepover at their Grandparents house for some time. To be able to give them that opportunity and for them to have had as much fun as it would appear is something pretty special and I am sure will be a highlight of their Easter.

We have Easter traditions too that we do every year too, whatever the weather, and the girls look forward to. In fact the second the Easter holidays start they start asking for them now with huge excitement. We always take part in at least one Easter egg hunt. There seems to be a few to choose at the moment so we have been pretty lucky and done two so far. Our main tradition is a ride on the Easter steam train.

From an early age the girls have loved the stream train. They know exactly how it works now. They know we hunt for the carrots left by the Easter bunny and in exchange they receive an Easter Egg. If they can find the golden Easter egg they will receive a giant Egg in exchange. There are also games to play like the egg and spoon race and if you win or come second or third you also receive an Easter egg too. In a past year we won the golden egg and each girl won their egg and spoon race so we can home with rather a lot of Easter eggs!

The first week of our holidays has simply flown but with it we have made lots of memories. This year so far we have been blessed with some amazing weather so our Easter egg hunts have been much more enjoyable. We have done Easter egg hunting in the snow and ice before and they certainly were memorable! Our second week we have slightly less activities planned but I am certain that we are going to have just as much, if not more fun! Oh and let’s keep our fingers crossed we get a visit from the Easter bunny too.

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Two weeks in Canada had been in the planning for over a year. Trying to organise a family get together and find dates that suited everyone was tricky but in August this year we finally managed it. We had planned a week in Vancouver, followed by a week in Whistler. The first week was to spend time with family and the second was more of a holiday.

When we arrived in Vancouver they were in the middle of wild fires. You could tell as there was smoke everywhere. The mountain views that you can normally see from the airport were hidden in thick clouds of smoke, but we were determined not to let it dampen our spirits and to make the most whilst we were there.

Having arrived in the evening our body clocks were taking some getting used to the time distance, so my eldest and I decided to go for a run around the block. Just to familiarise ourselves. We stumbled upon a local park and it was just beautiful. Worth the early morning start, we didn't see any bears though!

Once everyone had woken up and had breakfast we were off for the first of many planned activities, a trip to Stanley Park. There is just so much to do in Stanley Park, we could have spent the majority of our week there and still had plenty left to do. I love to stand in the park surrounded by the huge trees and look across the water to see the huge skyscrapers of the city, it is such a contrast.

Stanley Park will now forever hold a special place because it was the place where my Grandma met her Great Grandchildren for the very first time.

We decided upon a family visit to Vancouver Aquarium, which is situated within the park, as it was something for the children to do and something they could do with their Great Grandma too. The aquarium is lovely with some many exhibits.

Little Man took great pleasure in pointing out all the fish to his Grandad and the girls would not leave their Great Grandmas side. It was lovely watching everyone bond and the girls getting to know their Great Grandma.

After our aquarium visit we wanted to make the most of the day and so took a tour of the park on a horse drawn carriage. I would highly recommend this tour. We learnt so much about the history of the park, the children loved it and the horses seem to be enjoying themselves too.

Granville island was the destination for our second day. It was incredibly busy with cars, yet didn't seem busy with people. The area is a large market which sells every single type of food you can imagine, and probably some you cannot. We had planned on buying food and having a picnic but we basically ate our way around the market and was so stuffed we didn't want any lunch.

Granville island also has a free splash park. There are two sections to the water park one for the younger children, which Little Man loved and then one for the older children which the girls had loads of fun playing in. There was also a water slide which the girls really enjoyed.

We shopped, ate and played our way around Granville island. We went for a walk to see what else we could find and discovered a pirate boat. Unfortunately we had missed the last sailing as the tour sounded fantastic. I guess it is something to add to the list for next time.

An early morning start to visit Capilano suspension bridge. We arrived early to avoid the queue for the bridge and we had no waiting at all. I am absolutely petrified of both heights and bridges so this was a huge challenge for me. It was worth it though as the views were fantastic.

There was plenty to do from woodland walks to high tree top adventure. The girls also took part in a Forest adventure where they had to find clues hidden in the forest and answer questions. We learned about black squirrels some of whom tried to hit us with pine cones they threw from the tops of the trees.

The suspension bridge and sky walk terrified me but it was still good to experience them. I had to conquer another fear and that's cable cars, I absolutely hate them too. The family however were not keen on the hike up Grouse mountain and so cable car it was.

The top was fantastic though. Unfortunately the views were limited due to the smoke pollution but I could have stood and watched Coola and Grinder all day. They had such fantastic characters, I may still look at the bear cams to see what they are up to.

We watched the lumberjack show twice, the girls really enjoyed it and I had no complaints watching it a second time either. Highly recommend watching both shows were slightly different.

There is also a bird of prey show which we arrived a little late for so were stood at the back. I would recommend getting there early if you do want to watch it as we struggled to see. What we did see though was really good.

Before leaving we had dinner in the restaurant which had the most amazing views, just a shame about all the smoke.

A Saturday morning parkrun fix was on the cards too, we located one close to were we were staying and it would have been rude not to. A great course which my youngest did over half and my eldest completed with me. Everyone was really friendly and super welcoming.

Canada has so many amazing places to explore. There are loads of trails and hikes, and I love it for its outdoor lifestyle. I had seen Lynn Canyon Country park and we headed over there for the day.

The park is free, and we spent all day exploring. Loads of great walks and hikes. We even took a picnic and had lunch in the woods. Our hike took us to some fresh water streams and lakes. The water was freezing cold. People were jumping in from the cliffs above. Little Man loved the water, splashing in it and playing with the pebbles. The girls trying to brave up the courage to swim in the water. It was simply the perfect day.

It was the end of our first week and time to say goodbye to family and move on to our next adventure in Whistler. To break up the journey from Vancouver to Whistler we decided to stop on the way. With no real plan of where, just whatever we saw on our route. Around lunch time we passed Lighthouse park and so decided to stop and stretch our legs and have another picnic.

We sat on the rocks and watched the boats pass by. You could imagine on a clear day the view would be absolutely fantastic. There were lots of routes you could take through the park and even one leading to a beach, instead we stayed on the rocks and took a good look at the views. There were lots of old army barracks to explore too which were really fascinating to look around.

During our travels we stumbled across the BC mining museum so we decided to take a look inside. It broke up the journey even more and gave us the opportunity to stretch our legs.

As part of the museum you get to experience a tour underground. Little Man loved this as he got to go on a train!

The mine was used to mine for copper in the mountain and it was really interesting to hear the process involved. I struggled to get the girls and Little Man away from the sifting for treasure part of the mine. This is where all the waste product from the copper mine, it looks like sand, is placed in water and you use sieves to filter the sand. The girls found some gold flakes, fools gold and even some precious gems. Whatever you find you get to keep too, which they thought was amazing!

The museum was amazing and I am so glad we stumbled upon it. Not only did we learn loads but it was so hands on and family friendly. The girls would love to visit again.

We arrived in Whistler around dinner time and after checking in we headed out for something to eat. Whilst Whistler might be better known for Winter sports and Winter Olympics it is just as much fun in the summer. There is so much to explore and see.

We handed the car back once we arrived in Whistler as we did not need it. Instead we made the most of exploring the local walking trails. There are so many all over Whistler. In the winter I think they are used as cross country skiing. The views and scenery are just amazing.

Our week consisted of walking, exploring the forests and watching the skateboarders. Having picnics and making the most of the outdoors.

We hired bikes and rode along the trails around Whistler. Exploring the lakes and discovering lots of parks to play in in the nearby area.

There are plenty of areas dedicated to the Olympics and whilst we didn't go to visit the Olympic experience we certainly never felt we missed out. I would like to visit again when the girls are bigger and experience the bob sleigh and see the park but we were happy this time just exploring.

If I could I would move near to Whistler. I love the outdoor lifestyle, I love how much there is to explore and I simply loved we spent all of our time outside. Whistler is just beautiful.

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In an attempt to be organised for next year I am starting to put together our travel plans. These are both wish list and those we already have booked. I find it helps to plan ahead, especially when I am also having to plan around school holidays and my races. Although several of our holiday plans are involved around running too, much I think to the annoyance of my husband. With that in mind here are the plans for next year

Early in the year we are looking to take a short UK break with the whole family. This is to celebrate several family members who all have milestone birthdays. Whilst we don’t have definite plans in place as to where we want to go we are looking at somewhere where we can all easily get to, we live all over the UK so it can be a logistical nightmare, and we are looking for a weekend break and also one which has plenty for the kids to do too! I am sure we can find somewhere and I have been using the website ClickStay to help me find the perfect location and accommodation.

For Easter I am hoping to spend some time with my sister who lives near Brighton. It also happens to be at the same time that Brighton marathon is taking place so it makes perfect sense to me to spend some time with my sister and tick off a marathon that is on my bucket list.

Our travel plans for May have now had to change. We were due to go on a Disney cruise around the Caribbean but after I secured a place running New York marathon in November the cost of two transatlantic flights just were not in our budget. Instead we will combine the cruise with New York and make a multi city vacation out of it. Hotels in New York are already booking up fast with the marathon taking place and so I am looking for a modern apartment in the heart of New York that can accommodate my family instead. In booking an apartment we have a home from home, giving us flexibility whilst we stay in New York. We only plan on a few days in New York following the cruise and as one of the days is the marathon we are simply looking for a good central location to act as a base so we can make the most of our time in the city.

Given our plans for May have now changed I am once again looking at somewhere to go. The girls are expecting a break in May and were really looking forward to the cruise. It might be that we go abroad to somewhere like Spain or Portugal or we might stay closer to home. There is the Edinburgh marathon at the start of the holidays in May so a trip to Scotland could even be considered!

Depending on what we do in May will decide if there is any money left in the budget to go on holiday again during the summer holidays. We might visit my sister once again or even take a couple of weekend breaks. I usually leave the summer holidays to the last minute to see if I can grab any bargains!

Wherever we end up travelling to I can see us having lots of adventures and it is safe to say that 2019 is shaping up to be pretty exciting already!

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I remember opening the email to say I had been successful in the ballot for Chicago and thinking wow. I never thought I would be successful in obtaining a place, yet here I was looking at this email and feeling how lucky I was to receive it. The logistics came next, a family weekend in Chicago was booked.

I don't think I quite believed I was actually going to run the Chicago marathon even when we arrived in Chicago. I had booked a hotel that was walking distance to the start line, to make things a little easier and it really was in the perfect spot. The hotel was a 45 minute ride from the airport and could not have been better. We stayed at the Omni, for those interested, and they went out of their way to welcome the children. They were each handed a little drawstring bag containing games, puzzles, crayons, activity book and binoculars! The girls loved this, and I thought it was a great touch. We opened the door to our hotel room and the girls had each received a letter welcoming them to the hotel and wishing them a nice stay.

Straight to the expo to collect the race numbers, I worry until I have that number in my hand so wanted to get it out the way. Opposite our hotel was the Nike shop and a block down was a free shuttle bus to the expo. This got all 3 children very excited, a ride on the bus. Funny how children love the really simple things like a bus ride. Only this time I was quite excited too as it was an American school bus, one of the yellow ones! How cool!

The expo was huge, not quite as big as Berlin but bigger than London and of course there were plenty of deals to be had. I found an amazing deal on a watch but it was still a fair amount of money. My youngest loved that people were giving her free sweets and I think my eldest was just amazed at all the running gear! I now had my marathon number and t shirt and also mine and my daughters 5km numbers. It still felt very surreal, was I really about to do this?

Perhaps unsurprisingly from a 9 hour flight and a 6 hour time difference all the children had fallen asleep by 6pm. It had been a busy day. My eldest and I had an early start as we were running the Chicago International 5km in the morning.

Early to bed meant early to rise, all children were awake by 4am, never mind our race started at 7.30 and we needed to walk to the start and be there by 6.30. We left the hotel ready for the walk to the start, then the rain came. The rain was relentless. Heavy, but warm rain. Thunder and lightening. My daughter started to panic about getting struck by lightening. We took shelter under a building with a few other runners. The start was delayed in a bid to let the worst of the weather to pass.

By now we were soaked to the skin, wet shoes from the many puddles. My daughter was certainly not very happy and did not want to be put down. The rain cleared and we were called to the start line.

The race was so much fun. My eldest was running really well and at one point I was pretty convinced I might have got a PB on the course. We had covered 3.5km in 20minutes! The streets of Chicago were well supported and my daughter seemed to like that people were cheering for her. She couldn't quite understand that we were running on the actual road. The last 1.5km though I think the wet shoes finally got to her and she was starting to get cold. It took 7minutes to get to just over 4km and with it my PB was no more, but there was still a chance for her.

I was encouraging her to keep going, the other runners keep cheering for her and she really tried. It took another 10minutes for us to reach the finish line. Then she did what she always does when she spots the finish, starts sprinting. We had a sprint to the finish line. We were handed a medal, goody bag and a hat. The smile on her face was fantastic. Grinning from ear to ear. She loved it but was just annoyed about wet feet. On our walk home we stopped at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, well it had to be done!

My daughter was buzzing with excitement so a quick stop to dry her shoes and pick up her siblings from the hotel and we were straight back out to explore the city. It hadn't gone 10am yet and so many of the shops were still shut. We simply walked around looking at the architecture. The buildings in Chicago are stunning. The weather was bad, cloudy and raining so we decided not to climb the towers as the bad weather would have restricted the views. Instead we took shelter in shops and walked around the city when we could.

Our adventures took us to the Navy pier. This was all indoors and just perfect for the bad weather. There was so much to explore and do and the girls loved the interactive wall.

After lunch and a little bit of shopping we headed into the Children's museum, it was amazing. I wish we had found it earlier in the day because we really could have spent all day there, in fact we ended up getting kicked out because they were closing and we hadn't gone round all the exhibits.

We started in construction where my eldest designed and made a chair from scratch. Even working out how to overcome stability issues. My youngest built a thingy, I have no idea what it was but she took great pride in building it. Little Man however let his OCD go into overdrive. He had to collect up all the screws and neatly place them in every hole.

The museum is divided into sections. A water play section, where my youngest discovered water painting. A section on emergency services, where you could have a go at escaping a room filled with smoke, and this section was about animals so there were areas to climb and tunnels to scamper through.

I quite enjoyed the dinosaur section where we had to use tools to uncover the hidden dinosaur bones.

Little Man seemed to enjoy the village area, as he could drive a bus and a car. He likes his vehicles!

Time flew by as before we knew it staff came and said the museum was closing and we had to leave. Little Man really wasn't very happy by this idea and to be honest neither was the girls. It was however dinner time and time therefore to start our walk back to the hotel.

As a special treat on our way back to the hotel we stopped at Dylan's candy bar. I don't think I have ever seen the girls quite so excited. They really were kids in a sweet shop. Every single type of sweet you can imagine. Every flavour chocolate. There was candy floss that was almost as big as the girls. It was amazing and the girls wanted everything.

When we arrived back at the hotel the girls made signs so they could cheer me on the next morning. I found the route in a magazine and the girls helped me draw on the hotel and worked out places they could stand to cheer me on the run. All that was left to do now was get my running kit ready for the morning.

It perhaps goes without saying that I didn't sleep very well that night. I kept waking up to check the clock. That nervous panic of missing your race.

An early start, it was still dark outside, I opened the blinds and saw the rain. The tough decision of should I take a coat or not began. I opted to take one knowing I would be seeing my family on route and I could always pass it on to them. It was a short walk to the start line and as I got closed the number of runners increased until slowly it became a sea of runners nervously all walking in the same direction.

I found my starting block and went through several levels of security in order to enter the runners area. I don't think I have ever gone through so much security before a race, although I can fully understand it was a slight surprise. The temperature had dropped and I was starting to get cold. A fine mist was covering the tops of all the buildings and rain started and stopped. It was almost perfect running weather, almost.

The wait in the starting pen seemed to take forever to begin to move. We heard them start the elite runners but there were no screens to watch any of the race like their had been in Berlin. Eventually we began to move forward and it was our time to start. I was here on the start line of the Chicago marathon.

Crossing the start line didn't feel real, it was a total out of body experience. Here I was running the Chicago marathon. I knew the girls and Little Man would be somewhere on course within the first 3 mile and so I kept my eyes open looking for them. Experience now tells me to set off steady, and I have a mini laugh as I watch others set off far too quickly around me. I know full well I will catch them later on.

The streets were lined with people. All cheering and clapping, the support was amazing especially considering the weather. I felt good and I could see a 4.40 pacer behind me. I wondered how long I could keep them there for.

The weather was rubbish, cold and raining but in some ways it made running a little easier. I spotted my children just after the mile marker seeking shelter in the underpass and it was great to get some high 5s from them. I knew they were out and so I kept looking for them on the way round. The road travelled up and out towards the zoo. The signs were rather amusing 'Run fast, we haven't yet located the missing Lion' and similar signs. It made me chuckle and running felt good. In fact it felt great, the best I have felt in a long time.

The different districts brought about different music and different types of people. All cheering and all supporting. I loved the change in scenery it kept things so interesting and it also gave you a sense of Chicago. Drink stations were really regular, it seemed to be every mile or thereabouts. Each had water and Gatorade. I was a little disappointed that the only flavour available was orange, I rather like the lemon and lime gatorade!

At half way Gatorade also had chews which I also really like so took a packet to keep me going, but I was feeling good and taking in the scenery. An almost out and back followed which the turn around seem to take forever but once again the crowd support was amazing and really got you through. At mile 20 we hit a dance station and the vast majority of runners, myself included, started doing the YMCA. I mean why not!!

My favourite sign I have ever seen was on a dog near here, it said 'Run as if I saw a squirrel' I mean you can't argue with that. China town saw the only real incline in the whole race, just a shame it is near mile 21. Then it hit me. I went really dizzy and a wave of nausea came over me. I couldn't shift it. I steadied myself and started walking in the hope it would clear. The smell of the fried chicken place near did not help. I panicked that I would not finish. I had come so far and was doing so well. I felt shocking.

One foot in front of the other that's all I had to do.

I kept going and around mile 23 I started to run a little. Although slowly. I had to finish this.

One of my favourite Instagram accounts and an amazing runner was waiting at mile 25. My plan was to get to him and then all that was left was the final mile home. Streets were becoming more crowded now and people were out cheering, clapping and making noise. It was utterly amazing. The atmosphere was buzzing. I was approaching mile 25 and looking for a person who I had only ever met online. I thought I saw them, I ran to them and gave them a hug. Turns out it wasn't them but I did make a random strangers day and it gave me a rather funny boost to get me through that last mile.

It seemed to work. I turned a corner and I was back near the start again, in fact I could see the finish. A lady behind me was crying in pain and I told her we could both do this, the finish was there in sight, almost touching distance. I ran, or at least I tried to. The finish getting closer and closer.

Relief.

Pure and utter relief that I had crossed that line. Relief that I hadn't collapsed when I came so close to and just pure relief I kept the contents of my stomach in!

I had done it, star number 3!

I started walking over to where they were handing out medals, joined a queue and then heard two girls say 'Aren't you a famous runner?' I looked up and laughed to myself, as the lady responded 'I used to be an elite athlete' I then almost kind of answered for her in a oh my goodness look who gave me my medal kind of way.

I did wonder at this point if I had actually collapsed and this was some kind of weird dream and did actually pinch myself to make sure!

I wandered through the sea of people. Tired runners. Family members looking for their loved ones and out the park. After a 5 minute walk I found my family sat waiting for me. They hadn't seen me again on course, and hadn't seen me finish but at least they were close by.

After a walk back to the hotel talking to the girls about all things running, followed by an ice bath and a change of clothes we headed out for dinner at the House of Blues. Which was the perfect after marathon treat. Our flight home was in the morning and I was said to be leaving Chicago, it is a truly beautiful city.

Before leaving I collected a newspaper with a special marathon edition print, well I had to check to make sure it really happened!

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