Single Parents Are Brilliant!

A friend of mine, an amazing, inspirational single mum, recently started a campaign called "Single Parents Are Brilliant", in response to the way the Government seemed to be blaming the recent riots on absent fathers. She felt that although Mr. Cameron was attacking the parents who abandoned their children and played no part in their lives, he was actually laying the blame with the single parents - after all, they are the ones raising the children who apparently often end up being yobs and taking part in riots. She asked for emails from other single parents, or adults raised by single parents, to share their experiences and show that single parents do a brilliant job at raising their children single-handedly, with little or no support.

The campaign website can be found here: http://2starsandaswirl.co.uk/2011/09/11/the-single-parents-are-brilliant-campaign/

It's a subject close to my heart as I was brought up by a single mum, so here is the email I submitted to the campaign:

My parents split up when I was 3, and although my dad made the odd appearance for the first couple of years, I haven’t seen him since I was 7 years old and he has had no input in my life since then. Despite a court order setting out maintenance payments, he didn’t contribute a penny towards my upbringing. My mum raised me by herself, and did an amazing job.

The financial strain must have been incredibly hard to bear, but she worked two jobs in order to make sure we stayed afloat. We didn’t have expensive holidays, and as a child I knew that money was tight, but she made sure I didn’t miss out on the things the other kids had.

My mum instilled me with morals and taught me the importance of working hard. I achieved some of the best GCSE and A Level results in my school year, went to one of the best Universities in the country and got an honours degree and a postgraduate degree. Like millions of children raised by single parents, I am a long way from the unruly, yobbish, failing stereotype our government likes to paint.

Single parents do an amazing job. They and their kids are not to blame for the ills of society. Writing off the children of single parents is effectively writing off a huge number of talented children, who have the potential to be the next generation of doctors, teachers, maybe even MPs. Single parents should be supported, not criticised and blamed for situations they have no control over. They are doing the best they can for their children, on their own. Now I’m a parent myself, I know how tough a job it can be, but to be doing it alone, having to make all those tricky parenting decisions by yourself, with no one to discuss it with – wow. Single parents ARE brilliant and I’m in awe of what an amazing job they do.

Holidays and house news

So last week we went on yet another holiday - to Woolacombe again, this time with Wayne's mum. We do seem to have had a lot of holidays this year, but they've been budget ones and we're making the most of not having to go in the expensive school holidays while we can! The weather wasn't great - lots of heavy showers and strong wind, but Wayne and I got a few surf sessions in, and we did lots of swimming at the holiday park, and managed a few beach trips too, so everyone was happy.

The holiday park puts on some pretty cheesy kids' entertainment in the evenings, starring two larger than life characters by the name of Billy and Betty Beachball. They go on stage every night and play games with the kids, finishing with a song called the "Beachball Bounce". Kids are encouraged to get their "grown-ups" to come and join in, which lead to some rather embarrassing moments where me and Wayne tried to join in with the dance. Jamie loved it and has been singing the Beachball Bounce constantly since we got back. We bought him a soft toy version of Billy Beachball, who now goes *everywhere* with Jamie - including to Playgroup.

We got the best news of all while we were away - in fact I was on Woolacombe beach when I took the call - an offer on our house, which we accepted! I'm so excited, but also terrified something's going to go wrong. The buyers are in a great position with no chain, so the pressure's on us now to find a house. Just hoping we can find something we love, and soon!

Apperley Quarter Marathon

So I'd done the half, and the aftermath was a bit of an anticlimax...all that build up and then it's over. I decided I needed to enter another event. Every time I've driven to Tewkesbury recently I've seen banners promoting the Apperley Quarter Marathon, and even though it was taking place only 6 days after the half, I decided I was going to do it. After all, it was only 6.5 miles, nothing compared to the 13 I'd done last weekend, should be easy, right? WRONG!!!

To start with, I had to go on my own as Wayne was working and his mum was looking after the kids. I felt a bit lonely rocking up by myself when everyone else seemed to be in big groups. But anyway, I collected my number, made multiple trips to the portaloos (notice a theme?!) and soon it was time to assemble at the starting line. We ran through the village and down a hill to the river - all nice and easy so far. However, the next 4 miles or so were off road, running through fields and then along the riverbank to Deerhurst. I found this really hard going - it was quite bumpy, and felt a lot different to running on a road. It seemed to take all my energy just trying not to turn my ankle or fall over, and I knew my pace was rubbish.

We then ran through Odda's Chapel and back onto the road to Apperley for the last couple of miles. However, this involved going up a huge, never ending, steep hill, and bloody hell it was hard! I somehow managed to keep running, and even overtook quite a few people who were walking, and eventually made it to the top. Then it was a short run back to the cricket club for the finish. I did it in 1 hour 13 mins, which on paper is really rubbish for 6.5 miles, but given the terrain and the hills, not too bad I suppose, and I wasn't last!

So, two races in a week, covering almost 20 miles and now I think it's time for a rest! We're going on holiday on Friday so I'm definitely going to give my legs a week off!

Cheltenham Half Marathon

I entered this on a whim back in May, having been bitten by the race bug after the 5 mile fun run we did in Tewkesbury. Twelve weeks seemed like it would just about be long enough to get up to the distance, and I excitedly planned out my training schedule.

Overall, I stuck to my plan fairly well, but a couple of blips due to holidays and illness meant that I only managed to run 10 miles, twice, in the weeks leading up to the race...whereas in my schedule, I should have built up to the full 13 miles. I knew I'd probably be able to manage the extra 3 miles on the day, but that it would be tough.

The day before, I drank and drank and drank, determined that I would be well hydrated for the race. Race day itself started cool and rainy, but with a start time of 2pm I knew that could all change, and low and behold, at midday the sun came out, and I knew we were in for a warm afternoon.

Wayne and Jamie took me to the Racecourse in plenty of time, I made multiple trips to the portaloos, and then made my way to the starting area, placing myself in the section for a 2 hours 30 mins - 3 hours 30 mins finishing time. Soon we were off and running through Bishops Cleeve. There was lots of support along the way and the first 3 miles passed fairly quickly. The course was an "out and back" one, and at around 4.5 miles, the leaders started passing me, going in the opposite direction. I could hardly believe that they'd done almost 9 miles in the time it took me to do just over 4!

I passed my mum, who was parked up in a layby, at about 6 miles, then saw Wayne and Jamie at the half way point, then went back past my mum again at 7 miles. At that stage I was still feeling pretty good. Soon after though, the mile markers seemed to be taking longer and longer to appear. My aim was to finish in 2 hours 30 mins, and I could tell from my Garmin that although I was still on track, I was slowing down. By 9 miles, my legs were starting to really ache, and at 10 they were telling me to stop! I was telling myself I only had 5 km to go and that these days, that's a short 30 minute run, but in the end I had to stop and walk for a few minutes.

Those last 3 miles were tough!! I tried to run as much as I could, but had the odd walk break, each time wishing I hadn't because starting to run again was so difficult. At 11 miles, a man passed me with a slogan on the back of his t-shirt that said, "Pain is temporary, pride is forever". I decided to try and hang onto him for as long as I could and kept repeating the slogan to myself like a mantra. It helped a bit and finally we turned back into the racecourse with only a mile to go. I plodded on and soon I could hear the announcer calling people's names as they crossed the line, and finally the finish came into view. I'm afraid I didn't manage a sprint finish - it was all I could do to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. But I made it and finished in 2 hours 35 minutes...slower than I'd hoped for, but not too bad for my first attempt on a warm, sunny afternoon.

I think I'll do another half - maybe the Tewkesbury one next May...but I don't think I'd EVER do a full marathon! The thought of having to turn around and run the entire distance again...no way!!