This day I love.......: outdoor

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I feel like the last three years have simply flown past. My youngest baby, Little Man, has recently turned three. I think I am a little in denial about the whole thing to be honest. His cheeky personality has really started to come through this past few months. In his true style he waits before doing something and then does it all at once. He's now talking and has just begun his potty training journey.

We decided on a joint celebration, not only celebrating Little Mans birthday but also my Mum's retirement. We needed somewhere that would accommodate the needs of both adults and children and we decided upon Center Parcs at Sherwood Forest.

Center Parcs was somewhere we visited quite a lot as children. I think the last time I went though was 16 years ago and that makes me feel rather old. I was interested to see what had changed and what had stayed the same. A long weekend was booked and my girls were very excited.

The day arrived and we travelled straight from school, slight problem with this was I totally forgot to then pick up shoes for the girls. My eldest was OK as she had had PE and was in her PE trainers but my youngest only had school shoes. Total Mummy failure. A quick visit to the sports hall and one of the friendliest staff members I have ever met working in shoes and the issue was resolved.

After shoe sorting, dog walking and unloading and unpacking it had gotten quite late so there was only one thing for it. Well, my kids are bad sleepers anyway. We headed to the swimming pool. The vast majority of the pool hasn't changed since I last visited. Rapids are exactly as I remember them, so is the outdoor pool and there are still the two blue slides inside. The spa has moved and that is now a pool but it closes at 7pm and we arrived at 7 so too late to check it out. New water slides also close at 7 so again we didn't get to go on those. The advantage of turning up after 7 though was the pool was lovely and quiet. Little Man loved it.

I was surprised I managed to get a jacket on him as he is very particular about routine, but I said swimming coat and he held his arms out ready. The wave pool is the same and we spent some time playing in there before heading out to the new toddler area. It had opened this weekend and I was really impressed. Apart from one lifeguard saying different from another. First he was too small for the slides, then he could go down one but not the other, then he could go down the other but with me and finally he was big enough to go down both on his own. We just played anyway.

The late night meant that the birthday boy did not want to get up and so I snuck out with my eldest daughter for the nearest parkrun.

The closest parkrun is 3 miles away, Sherwood Pines. Had I known it can be reached all on traffic free paths I would have rode my bike there. It was really easy to get to and a lovely route suitable for bikes and pushchairs. We ran walked it to the start line and bumped into the Gruffalo.

J had joined us and we ran the three of us the one lap parkrun course. I have to say it was really beautiful and a really lovely course to run, certainly one I want to do again. The cafe after was great too and so we grabbed some breakfast before walking back to Center Parcs.

We made it back and birthday boy had just woken up. My eldest and I got changed and we headed straight out again to go bowling. J on the other hand curled up in his bed, after running nearly 10 miles he was rather tired.

Little Man absolutely loved bowling. He didn't quite understand taking turns but loved the opportunity to play. His sisters, for the most part, were really good and let him 'help' them. My shoulder was not up to bowling, I can barely lift a cup let alone a bowling ball, so I helped Little Man with his turns. Bowling is still in the same place as it had been years ago but it has had a make over!

Our next activity wasn't the best to do in the rain, Geocache. We were given some clues to locations and a GPS device with waypoints stored in it. Using the device and the clues we had to go and find the hidden letters and unscramble them to make a word. Now this is quite tricky when the smallest member of your group gets fed up and wants to just splash in puddles or when the girls get tired and just want to go back and get warm. We continued however and did our best. After collecting the letters we unscrambled to solve a hidden word and took out paper back to the desk.

Shock then took over as we only went and won! A certificate and a voucher for a free game of bowling!!

It was time for a rest before we headed out to find dinner. The plan was to have pancakes but it shut at 6pm and we arrived at 5.55pm. Never mind we found somewhere quick to eat and then spent the rest of our evening swimming.

Our final full day and I started the day with my eldest and a run around the park. J decided to try and chase all the squirrels and rabbits so it made for an interesting experience! It was interesting to see how the park has changed over the years. There are now two story villas, treehouses and what look like actual houses to stay in! A lot of development. Over near the country club there are now nature walks and lots more to do. I don't remember the tennis courts but I guess they must have been there?

Given the disappointment from missing pancakes for dinner we had to venture to the pancake house for breakfast. Surprisingly we were one of the first through the door. Everyone ordered the same a New Yorker. Well what's not to love about bacon, pancakes and maple syrup! The rain was coming down quite heavy now and with a tummy full of pancakes it was time to venture to the other side of the park for our first activity.

We had lots of activities planned in today, starting with archery.

My eldest decided to pair with me and my youngest daughter paired with her Dad. Now my sporty competitive eldest child picked up archery really quickly. She was actually really impressive. I on the other hand am not that great. It goes without saying her competitiveness took over and she got rather annoyed with me. On the Lowest scoring game I hit the bulls eye twice and in the highest scoring game I kept missing the target. At one point I hit the board, split the top of the board and the arrow shot straight up into the air, over the safety netting and into the farmers field behind. Whilst it was good fun, my eldest was less than impressed at how useless I am at archery!

A quick walk through the park for a spot of lunch and to meet some friends who happened to be staying in Center Parcs. It was lovely to see them as it has been rather a long time. The kids all had Robin Hood hats from archery and we wandered through the park as Robin Hood to our next activity.

Pool football was our next activity and something non of us had done before. Basically pool but with footballs. It was lots of fun, and even Little Man waited patiently for his turn. It was lovely to play all together and involve Little Man too. I think we shall be booking it again.

The girls then moved on to climbing. This isn't an activity for me, given I really dislike heights. The girls started off slow, I think testing limits and making sure the ropes worked. It wasn't long though before they were challenging their uncle to a climbing match.

My youngest daughter also made it all the way to the very top before shouting wee and jumping off.

There was a quick change after climbing before our final dinner at Center Parcs. We booked into Hucks. The kids absolutely loved having a buffet and picking bits for their dinner. Little Man found this utterly amazing. He had had enough once he had finished eating and starting asking for the toilet every 10 seconds which meant I had to take him every 10 seconds. He seemed to calm down once his ice cream arrived.

Our weekend had flown past. We had packed it full of activities and certainly made the most of our time away.

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My 12 in 12 challenge is starting to enter the final few races and with it the nerves are starting to kick in. Back in April I started planning for a 12 marathon/ultra challenge in 12 months for 2019. As I started looking at races I discovered that most of the ones I was looking at I had actually done already this year, I mean why do them twice. It dawned on me that it might actually be possible to complete the challenge this year instead, so I began to plan as such.

I was missing 4 marathons or ultras to complete the challenge, the issue was fitting them in. I knew November would be tough. 2 marathons in 2 weeks, which would then be followed by 2 marathons in December to finish the challenge. I had planned on running in between them too, just to keep the legs moving. This however went wrong at the start of the month.

I picked up a niggle at the end of October. Nothing major just a general pain. To be expected really given the amount of long distance runs I have done in a short space of time. Normally the niggle subsides but this time it stayed. In fact standing or putting weight on the leg hurt. The first marathon of the month had me really worried. This was an important one for me. Completing this marathon in under 6 hours and I would have a place to run New York Marathon in 2019, and in doing so collect my 4th star of the major marathons.

The race was on a canal. 3.7 miles from the start line in a west direction, turn around back to the start. Then 3 miles East and turn around back to the start. Repeat it. The 3.7 miles out was on a very slight decline so the return was uphill. The next 3 miles involved locks so it was a larger incline. The route was very monotonous and it resulted in a lot of mental strength. I wish I had taken some music with me. I was fed up, bored and trying very much not to make the injury worse. At the 5hour mark I started to panic as I was worried I might not make it in under 6 hours. I cannot tell you the relief when I crossed that line and received confirmation of my place in New York. The injury however remained.

One run planned in, a short 10km to complete the 100 runs of 10km distance or greater in a year. It was a nice steady run and just what I needed to not make the injury worse. Hindsight says I should not have done it but the desire to complete the challenge won and with it a huge relief that I had finished and could now run any distance and not worry about having to constantly round up to 10km in order for it to count.

Another week of rest, several massages and ice/heat sessions in an attempt to help the injury/niggle heal. No signs of it getting worse so marathon number 10 of the challenge could take place. I stood on the start line very nervous. I had no care as to what my time was, I just needed to get round and not make it worse. A steady plod of 9 laps was all I needed to do. I met a very inspiring gentleman on my way round and for 6 laps we chatted everything ultra and marathon running. A friend from running club had come to watch and it was a lovely surprise bumping into her as I started lap 5. It gave me a much needed boost. As I started my 7th lap I bumped into a friend from a fellow running club and we got chatting, I didn't realise the pace picked up and unfortunately I lost the person I was talking to earlier. I felt bad and spent the next lap trying to find him across the lake so I could judge if to run back or to slow down. Laps 8 and 9 saw the 10km race start and people on very fresh legs running past, not realising I was on my 8th and 9th lap and offering support saying we were nearly there. My children met me at the start of my last lap and it was so lovely to see them. It spurred me on to get the final lap done. At the final 1km I bumped into the first aider on his bike and we chatted as I ran into the finish line. I was pleased to have finally finished and a sense of relief that the injury wasn't feeling any worse. I decided though to rest until the next marathon, taking two weeks away from running.

Here I am then a few days before marathon/ultra 11 of this year, with no other running in November I am now getting nervous. Marathon 11 is a tough one and one I am hoping I make it round. There is a cut off time at 17 mile that has me worried, one I am going to have to work extra hard to ensure I make. This marathon takes me completely off road. It isn't marked and requires navigation skills, which means I have to carry kit with me.

Kit list includes

Full waterproof cover (tapered seams)

Spare thermal top

Hat / Gloves

Compass

Foil Blanket

Whistle

Fully charged mobile phone

Head torch

High energy snack

At least one bottle of fluid

Personal cup

A map is provided at registration, but I have downloaded the gpx file as well. I have purchased my kit from Simply Hike as they have everything I need for getting outdoors. It was important to me to have a brand I could trust as when I am outdoors and in the middle of nowhere I need to trust my kit and know it will work. There can be no compromises on safety.

Trail marathons are completely different to road marathons. You have to navigate and are constantly aware of where you are putting your feet, a wrong step means you tumble or slip. It no longer becomes a mental battle as your mind is far too occupied with where you are going and what you are actually doing. I prefer them, they test you a lot more. They test ever part of you and I find them so much more interesting. They are however harder and because of this take longer to recover afterwards. With an injury on top I am very worried about the weekend, not only will I get round in the cut off times but will said injury hold out enough to make the final marathon of the year too? I guess only time will tell.

The ever changing weather is also an important consideration when up in the peaks too. I am there all day. Starting at 7am with registration and probably finishing a good 7 hour later. It will be dark and no doubt cold when I finish. I have North Face gloves to keep my fingers warm and so I can hold the map! My hat is ready and waiting, and I take a few buffs to keep my neck warm too. The head torch is charged and my waterproofs are compressed ready to be packed. I have the kit ready to go, all I need to do now is believe I can do this and get out and do it.

Whilst I might be incredibly nervous I am also incredibly excited. I can remember how much fun I had last year and whilst I only did the 14 miles I wished after I had done the full marathon. It might sound silly but I simply love running through the peaks, especially the downhills I cannot wait for those.

Keep an eye on my Instagram as I usually have a chat on stories as to how I am getting on!

Post is written in collaboration with Simply hike

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I bundled the kids into the car very early on Saturday. The journey to Liverpool takes around 2 hours, sometimes a little quicker, and we wanted to get there for 10. The girls did not know where we were heading, a surprise treat for them was all they knew. Little Man was, as always, just happy to be doing something.

The journey to Liverpool was for the CBBC Summer Social festival. An incredible amount of CBBC, CBeebies and music artists were lined up. Many of the music acts the girls had not heard of, we don't tend to watch many of the music programs like the voice, Britain's got talent or Xfactor, which is where many of the acts were from, but they did know a lot of the CBBC and Cbeebies stars and I was excited to see how they would react watching them live.

CBBC Summer Social was held in the very beautiful grounds of Croxteth Hall. Traditional fair ground rides scattered on the lawn along with the various stages. We took our time walking around to get our bearings before starting out on the rides.

As well as the stages were we could watch performances, the girls and Little Man were lucky enough to meet some of their favourite artists.

Mr Tumble has been a favourite of all of my children. Little Man was star struck. He watched him on the main stage. Danced around and joined in with the Hockey Cokey and was giggling all the way through. He then got to meet him and just didn't know what to do with himself, so hid!

Both my girls love SwashBuckle. They have asked several times if they can take part in the show. They watch it on repeat! Imagine their delight when they got to help Cook and Line work out who should be Captain whilst Captain Captain was away. My eldest got a bit shy when we went to meet them, but my youngest challenged them to a floss dance off. Watch the video on YouTube to see how it went!

Our final meet and greet was with Operation Ouch. I loved the live show, as did the girls. They make learning about biology and the human body fascinating and are really engaging. If you don't know who they are you really need to watch an episode! They were incredibly popular and had a huge line waiting for them, even so they took time to greet everyone and never made anyone feel rushed!

Included in our ticket was a visit to the farm. Well we could not pass up the opportunity to visit some animals. We bought a box of food and made our way around the farm. Little Man insisting on feeding everything.

It was time to take a break and chill out, eating ice cream in the sun. The grounds were beautiful and after a rest we decided to explore the walled gardens and take part in the craft activities.

There was plenty to keep us busy. We took a 'horrible history' tour of the house and learned some very interesting facts. Even spotting the finger marks in the bricks.

Our day had flown by far too quickly. We seemed to have done so much, yet only touched the surface of what was on offer. CBBC Summer social had appealed to all my children and kept us busy for the whole day. We made some fantastic memories and it was no surprise that I had three very sleepy children on the way home!

We shall be keeping a look out for tickets for next year as we would love to visit again!

Thank you for inviting us and providing us with tickets to the festival, words in this post are my own and my own opinion.

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May bank holiday always starts off with celebration, my youngest daughters birthday.

Perhaps the best start to any bank holiday is birthday cake and one with colourful buttercream and unicorns! She was incredibly pleased with her cake and her presents. Her party had been the day before so we celebrated at home after school on Friday night, and perhaps ate far too much cake.

Saturday saw another celebration. My daughters 10th adult parkrun and my 50th. It has taken 3 years to get to this point so feels a long time coming.

The sun as shining and it was such a beautiful day. My eldest daughter did a sprint walk, as per usual, and so no PB's were set but it was just a beautiful morning.

The beautiful weather was also the perfect excuse to play in the allotment too.

I think Little Man would have spent all day digging if we let him!

Sunday was as beautiful as Saturday and the warm weather continued. I had a local race in the morning which I struggled with the heat but loved the route. I love this picture taken by fellow runner and photographer Steve Frith. He is fundraising for Mountain rescue at the moment so any donations are appreciated.

After my run the kids wanted to go on a bike ride so we headed back to the beautiful grounds of Nostell Priory to take advantage of their bike tracks.

A stunning 5km bike ride through the bluebells and the woods. Followed afterwards by a treat of an ice cream in the cafe.

The good weather continued into Monday and another visit to Grandma and Grandad house, and a chance to play once again in the allotment.

All three of my children love the car Grandad made for them and Little Man has now worked out how to drive it. He's not the safest of drivers so his big sister does help him!

Before the sunset on a wonderful Bank holiday I managed to squeeze in one more run. How beautiful is that view!

With the kids successfully worn out from three very sunny days filled with fresh air and out door play we could then unwind on an evening and play the Pointless mini Game.

Similar to the TV show, which we are all huge fans of, the game looks for the answer with the lowest score. Each card contains a question and 5 possible answers but in cryptic format. Work out the answer which you think has the lowest score. There are 6 rounds to play and the overall lowest score wins. With 120 cards it is difficult to remember which answers score the fewest points. I would say the game is for over 12s as some the questions are fairly tricky! Good fun to play when the kids are in bed and a great way to unwind after the bank holiday.

We are looking forward to the next May bank holiday, not long to go!

The pointless game was sent for inclusion in the post. all words are my own opinion.

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