Dublin City Triathlon - A race day recap

So remember that fateful decision I made a few weeks ago to do a triathlon...? Well I thought I'd do a race day rundown for anyone interested. You never know - it could be you next year :)

On Sunday morning at 6.30 I tiptoed out of the house on my way to my first triathlon.

Too tired to be properly panicked (yet) my brother and I drove in silence to Dublin, my head full of race day checklists, his full of hangover. Only on arrival did I get to appreciate the beautiful sunshine that surrounded us - a huge bonus.

The triathlon started in waves with the Olympic distance first (complete with an actual Olympian taking part) and then the Sprint distance (although anyone who calls a 600m swim, 16k cycle and 4k run a 'sprint' must be deluded). 

This meant that we were hanging around for a few hours - giving us plenty of time to get into full on panic mode. 

By this time I had a personal drip of Rescue Remedy hooked up.

The swim (600m in the infamously grubby River Liffey) was tough but after a mild anxiety attack and a few breaststrokes I finally got into my rhythm. The pre-race information of 'beware of Weils disease' and 'stay out of the reeds 'cause that where the rodents go' probably didn't help...

My poor brother either got tried of hanging around and went for a coffee or (as he says) was too busy cheering so didn't get any pictures of the bike ride. You'll have to take my word for it that it existed and I actually did it. The course ran through the Phoenix Park and was perfect.

Next up was the run and after jelly-legs at the start I actually enjoyed it. Coming into the finish and seeing my kids with their homemade flags was the perfect reward.

Image: Pixels Promotions

Dublin City Triathlon is brilliantly run by Piranha Triathlon Club.  Oh, and if anyone from there is reading this - I lost my hat and goggles and can't possibly do another one of these unless I get them back...

Dear So and So. . .

Dear School,

I know I have failed you. And yes I remember all those promises I made last year. This year will be different. I promise.

Yours hopefully,
The Parent

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Dear Child No. 1,

Just eat it.

Your exasperated Cook and Mother.

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Dear Child No. 2,

I'm not sure what's wrong with you these days darling. Just quit the whinging ok?

Your ever loving Mother.

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Dear Child No. 3,

Put it down. Now.

The Boss.

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Dear House,

It's ok, they're going back now. There's no need to be scared anymore. And I promise I will clean you the minute they are out the door.

It's been a while.

Yours slovenly,
Lady with the keys.

Skylander Giants - Something BIG is coming. . .

As you may know we are big Skylander fans in this house - I have blogged about them once or twice before now and they are still much loved by us all.

So image my surprise when I saw Alexander Residence's post about the 'Skylander Giants'.

Giants? What giants? Nobody ever told me about any giants!

Clearly a little investigation work was required... So here's what I've found out:

Skylander Giants are, well, giant Skylanders. They are supersize and have super powers.

They work in much the same way as the regular Skylanders but are bigger, bolder and better.

They launch in Autumn 2012.

And the good news is that all figures from Skylanders Spyro's Adventure come to life in Skylanders Giants. 

Here's the trailer. Now to decide whether to let the kids know or not...




BTW - This is NOT a sponsored post!

The Gallery - Sky

Couldn't help but join in this one.

Original image: No filter

I took this out of a skylight when I was supposed to be photographing my son. 

I can assure you that this sight is far more impressive than a boy in pants and wellies riding a hobbie horse around the garden.

For more stunning sky-scapes check out The Gallery at Sticky Fingers.  

Maxi Micro Scooters - A Review and short video

As you may know already we are big Micro Scooter fans in this house. The 3 year old has been zipping about on his Mini Micro since the start of the Summer, ignoring the death stares of his brother and sister with impressive indifference.

In fact this Summer has been a huge turning point for family life in general. The children have finally found friends of their own age in the estate and can't wait to get out the front door every morning to go and play. It's not unusual to open my bleary eyes at 7am to see the 5 year old standing in front of me fully dressed with his helmet on asking if he can go biking with Tom now.

The only flurry of rain on this parade is the fact that despite the 8 year old's best endeavors, and the fact that her little brothers can get from driveway to end of road in 0.6 seconds on theirs bikes, she still hasn't mastered the art of cycling.

So lucky for us Micro Scooters came to the rescue once again...





Micro Scooters - What's the big deal?

Micro Scooters have become such a massive hit around the world that it is hard not to spot them as you go about your daily business. But at over £90 (€120) they don't come cheap. So are they worth it? Well, in my humble opinion they really are. We had many years of cheap scooters that lay unused after the first week of ownership due to the noise, the falls, and the general hard work of the ride.

Micro Scooters are the Rolls Royce of scooters. Gliding perfectly and zig zagging around obstacles like a skateboard does. It takes seconds for the kids to master it. They are robust, fun and very ascetically pleasing. And did I mention their range of colours and accessories?

Although you wouldn't be buying one in every colour they do make perfect special birthday or Christmas presents.

If you're still trying to justify the cost then how about this - all the parts are replaceable so when your eldest daughter grows out of her purple one you can simply buy the separate parts in blue for her little brother - and voila - a brand new scooter is born.

Micro Scooters - Coming soon:
Micro Scooters have two new products launching in the next few weeks and I've been allowed to give you all a sneak preview.
First up is the Maxi Backpack which hooks on to the Maxi Scooter, RRP is £29.99 and comes with the detachable lunchbox as seen here. Perfect for back to school!

Secondly there are 'Zooters' which Micro Scooters explains - 'turns a scooter into a contemporary take on a hobby-horse. Not only will the range make identifying your scooter easier, it also allows kids to express their individuality. With prices starting at £10, the new range of accessories are great party gifts.'

For more scooter related info check out my other posts:

Stunt and folding scooters - a guide for confused parents
Micro Sprite review - a 2 wheeled scooter for a 7 year old boy
Mini Micro review - a 3 wheeled scooter for a 3 year old boy
Create your own Micro Scooter

Disclosure: The Maxi Micro Scooter was provided to me for the purposes of the review. Words, video and opinions are my own.   

Bedtime Routines. Will I ever learn?

Since I became a parent 8 years ago I have made copious amounts of wrong decisions and formed a multitude of bad routines.

One of those many 'good idea at the time' practices was lying down with my kids to read a bedtime story and forming the habit of remaining there until they went to sleep. I'm ashamed to say that at times this would take up to 45 minutes and at other times I would simply fall asleep only to wake up with a crick in my neck and a rabbit on my face at 3am.

However each child managed to finally learn getting to sleep on their own when the next one came along, until there were no more coming along, and now I realise that the 'baby' is almost 4 and the practice is still continuing.

Last night I lay in the dark beside him and listened to his breathing settle and slow and a moment of calm descended. Looking at his beautiful sleeping face I thought to myself that actually 20 minutes of my day wasn't much of a sacrifice in exchange for these special moments.

I eased my arm out from under his neck and couldn't resist smothering his warm chubby cheeks with goodnight kisses.

Then as I went to leave his eyes flew open accusingly and he said increduously 'You going Mummy?'

I sighed and lay back down. Clearly not yet I wasn't.

The Gallery: Sport. (Otherwise entitled: 'I may have made a foolish decision')

One week ago, some time in between having a drunken conversation with a (very fit) friend and a morning coffee with my (very fit) brother, I somehow made the decision to do a triathlon.

I know. My own jaw is hitting the floor as I write this and I may have broken out in a cold sweat that has nothing to do with exercise.

And just to add a little extra excitement to the fateful decision - the triathlon that I have signed up to is in 17 days 21 hours and 54 minutes.

The realisation of what I need to do has now dawned on me. Not only do I have to swim 750m in the open water, cycle 16k on a borrowed bike and then run 4k on very wobbly legs - I need to figure out how to get a wetsuit off whilst running to my bike, work out what exactly I'm supposed to wear under it before I strip off, and try not to get lost when I'm bringing up the rear of the competition with no one in sight to follow.

(Excuse me a moment whilst I hyperventilate.)

And now I've made another foolish decision by telling the world. Then again if anyone out there has any experience of triathlons and would like to offer some words of wisdom I'm all ears.

Because to be honest they're the only thing that aren't aching right now.

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Linkying up to Sticky Fingers' Gallery.

Lego Duplo Read and Build - A Review

As part of the being a member of the Lego Duplo Bloggers Panel we are lucky enough to get to review some really lovely Lego products. This time we got an exclusive sneak peek of the latest just launched product called Lego Duplo 'Read and Build'.

The packs contain a story book made of strong cardboard and a selection of Lego Duplo bricks that can be used to build the animals or vehicles mentioned in the stories.

It's a lovely idea and all three of mine (aged 3, 6 and 8) were thrilled with theirs.

Lego Duplo: 'Grow Caterpillar Grow!'

Lego Duplo: 'Busy Farm'

The lovely thing about this new Lego Duplo is that it's an activity that you do together, so whilst I read the story to the younger one he built the characters. I must say I was surprised at quite how much he enjoyed the fact that I was joining in for a change. (Way to make me feel bad Lego..).




So it's another thumbs up for Lego Duplo. And on an even better note I've since managed to persuade the 8 year old to do the reading instead of the filming so I can revert back to my usual lazy mothering technique.

Although she is getting to practice her reading whilst her little brothers build their creations so perhaps it's a bit of good mothering after all ...

Disclosure: Lego Duplo provided three sets of Read and Build packs to my me for the purposes of this review. All opinions and words are my own.