My new provisional training plan has arrived. It's supposed to give me an idea of how my week is going to be structured and highlight any potential problems before the full plan gets written and delivered. The thing that strikes me straight away is that I'm starting off with much shorter workouts - half an hour at times - which makes for more frequent occurrence. Previously I'd deem a half hour workout not worth the effort; after all you have to do the same amount of changing/showering/stretching for a half hour run as for one lasting an hour. Even though I'm starting on only 8.5 hours per week, the frequency makes it appear much more because I'm fitting in 10 sessions. On my own programme I'd fit 8.5 hours into about 6 sessions. Hmmm.

However I'm very willing to see how it goes on this new scheme, aware that it won't be long either, before the sessions start lengthening. I'm open to the possibility that shorter more frequent workouts will exhaust my body far less and keep my propensity to injury and illness at bay. I will just have to get used to the feeling that I'm constantly showering/changing etc.

The 2 x 1 hour swim workouts don't look too appealing. I know they'll be broken down with drills but my current boredom threshold in a pool is about 40 minutes. I'm going to have to dig deep for motivation and invest in a waterproof mp3 player. Which reminds me I need to sort out my iTunes playlists sometime soon.

The best thing about the schedule is that my day off falls on a Saturday instead of a Monday, which means that my family will benefit from my presence (assuming they do prefer me to be around!), rather than feeling that I'm constantly off training. In the future they may have to sacrifice another evening (I already do spin on Tuesday evenings, and will continue to do so), for the privilege, but for now I'm enthusiastically aiming to get up super-early on Friday to fit in two sessions before breakfast to avoid that. Breakfast? I won't have time for breakfast!

I'm excited about having the guesswork removed from my training. I'm looking forward to not having to think about it. So easy to check your timetable and just do the work specified. Funnily enough it's not too different in structure to my own programme though, apart from the shorter more frequent sessions. It'll be very interesting to see how it works out ... the November Ballbuster being my first acid test.

Jody is at school. Things have already changed. There's a slightly calmer atmosphere in the house for a start! But Miles is at a loose end without her and I'm not helping by using this time to run errands. If it wasn't drizzling I might be more dedicated to his entertainment but Ikea beckons.

I have just been contacted through Facebook by an old school friend. So bizarre to see somebody in photos who you haven't known since you were a teenager. She looks like an older version of the same person, which I suppose we all are. And she seems to be doing very well in her home and professional life, which is great. Speaking to peers about what they're doing always makes me feel inadequate though; I wonder what I could be doing if I'd taken a slightly different path, or what I might have achieved if I'd worked on some of that so-called potential. I'm not unhappy with my life because my kids are everything and I feel it's right just now, to dedicate myself to their upbringing. But beyond that, I certainly don't think I've challenged myself yet and I'd like to find a way to do so. There's time in the future I suppose, but I'm one of those impatient people who wants everything right now.

Monaco was lovely. In fact I eat all prior apprehensive words. It was a very laid-back few days with much foraying into neighbouring bays for swimming (albeit with jellyfish), snorkelling (Jody's new favourite sport), fishing (Roj was the heroic fisherman who landed a 3 inch sardine), eating (thanks to Jill's delicious picnic making, even while being rocked by significant swell), and lounging (me).

We also made characteristic forays into town each evening, for much delicious food, wine and people-watching; and on one night, an amusing Beach Boys impersonation evening. I found myself ravenous at the normal hour for eating (9ish) and consumed at least 10 times more than everyone else. I also found myself seriously flagging on the 3rd night of post-midnight wakefulness. I could have done with a couple of siestas but the timetable didn't really allow it and we had to be watchful with the kids during the day.

I suppose my main error was to be stubborn about training each morning rather than taking it easy and getting up when the kids did. But it was so lovely to do seaside runs and a little swimming. I even managed a silly 1:45hr run on day 2 up to the nearby town of La Turbie; only 5 miles to get there, but 1500 ft of ascent until the 1 hour mark, when I decided to return for breakfast. Good leg-testing.

It was just gorgeous to hang out in sunshine. One of my favourite parts of each day was the 20 minutes I took with the second part of breakfast; black coffee and croissants fetched fresh each morning, awful magazines, and just feeling good after a hard training session and enjoying the relaxation on deck of being baked in Mediterranean sun. It made me want to decamp; not to Monaco but to somewhere you can eat breakfast outside every day of the summer, warm in shorts and vest. Gorgeous.

The kids had a wonderful time. They were on land for a total of about half an hour for the entire 3.5 day trip! The boat was not as much of a death-trap as I anticipated and we only had one incident where Miles slipped into the water but held onto the pontoon and the boat so did not submerge. Roj was on immediate hand to fish him out and we only had to deal with a little ensuing shock. It served as a reminder that these things could happen quickly and easily, but danger was averted and the rest of our stay passed without incident.

Grandad and Jill were fantastic hosts and went out of their ways to entertain the kids and ensure we were comfortable and replete. Such a contrast from last year's journey with killer bacterial infections and hospital stress, from which Grandad seems thankfully recovered.

We had a super-quick return into City Airport in the evening on Sunday; much more sensible than the convoluted Heathrow/Gatwick routes. And then had the pleasure of one more holiday day before the return to normality. Of course we had to spend most of it running new term errands like buying school shoes on the King's Road (brown shoes are hard to find) and doing a supermarket run, but I got enough time during the day to get out to the Serpentine to swim with Emily. Only it was all a bit of a washout because I'm such a crappy swimmer. I'm in a much worse position than last year because of a distinct lack of summertime swimming (my 2 diligent weeks in Egypt are already too far away). I could barely do a single length of the Serpentine lido without getting myself out of breath and panicking because of it. Em was very patient with me and gave me some good tips but I got more and more frustrated as time wore on and ended up being convinced that the Vitruvian swim leg is way out of reach. Suddenly Julian's plan to get me swimming all through winter seems like a very good plan. And a new wetsuit that doesn't make me feel like I'm being strangled maybe.

I had an introductory meeting at Jody's school this morning. It was just an acclimatisation exercise which I had to do without the kids (thanks hugely to Rose for allowing me to nanny-crash), but made me feel more at ease about the routine going forward (always helpful to know exactly where to take your child in the morning!) Not sure Jody's particularly aware that school starts again tomorrow, but I'm sure she'll sink herself into it perfectly well and enjoy catching up with her friends.

I've still got 2 weeks at home with Miles before he starts back at nursery but in general I feel quite refreshed after summer. It's easier somehow, to deal with the summer holiday routine than the constant pressures of term time with ever-present deadlines. I've enjoyed catching up with friends and doing playdates and although the weather's been crappy, we've been outside quite a lot. Also nice to go abroad right at the beginning and right at the end of summer, to relax in sunshine and appreciate a bit of time away. But I'm ready to get back to the routine now, and excited about my new year of training which will commence after the Vitruvian on the 8th.

Of course the Vitruvian is a bit of a hurdle in itself, but I'm just trying to look beyond it and not worry too much. My plan will be to take it steady and not do anything silly. And if I finish the course happy and exhausted then job done.

My weekend was really good. On Saturday morning I cycled out to Acton (puncture included) to the posh Park Club to meet one of my potential coaches. Julian was enthusiastic, experienced and personable. He spent over an hour with me, running through his approach to racing and his training programmes. All of it was no-obligation and by the end I felt inspired for what I could - with help - achieve in the next year. I still felt inclined to speak to the other potential coach first, but since all has gone quiet at his end, I feel that Julian will be the right choice and have since confirmed my intention to follow through with him (am now on tenterhooks in case he sends me an email back saying "Well actually I don't think we're well-suited and I think you should find someone else to do your dirty work for you!")

In the afternoon Roj and I spent an hour or so in Habitat and Heals looking in vain for miracle solutions to our storage issues while Jody and Miles enjoyed a neighbourhood kid's party.

And then Ginger Pig roast chicken at home. Delicious.

Sunday was my half marathon. For some reason I thought that it would only take an hour and a half to cycle the 25 miles out to Burnham Beeches for the 10 o'clock start, but even as I was getting ready to leave 15 minutes later than intended, I realised that in urban streets you struggle to average more than about 12 or 13 miles an hour and that I'd be hard pressed to make it.

Still, with no other transport option, and at least relieved that the heavy overnight rain had eased, I set off on my bike at 8am and pootled westward to my destination. 18 miles out, it was clear I was, indeed, not going to make the start line in time although I picked up the pace and did my best. 1:55 after setting off I was chaining my bike to the railings at the school start and speeding to the changing rooms to get into running gear and sort out my race number. I was in such a hurry that I neglected to take my bottle of carbohydrate drink with me and realised too late that my bike was chained too far from the start line to make the detour to retrieve it. I'd only supped about 200ml on the journey out, so with dry mouth and mounting carbo deficit, I secure-checked my bag and jogged to the start line where they were already dismantling the electronic chip timing and told me my time would be calculated on the gun time - 6 minutes earlier.

I had no choice though, so I bleeped my pulse meter across the start line and began to play catch up.

It was clear from the start that I was going to miss those carbohydrates, and I was obliged at every water stop (6 in total) to stop and make sure I took on board 2 cups of water (nothing else available), but I still felt quite good on the course. It was pretty too; undulating country lanes in almost complete tree cover, and none of the anticipated rain. In a way it was nice to catch the laggers and be able to go past so many people, but I knew early on that I wouldn't be getting a sub-1:50 on this occasion.

I kept my pulse pretty high at 160bpm average, and my pace times were pretty consistent until mile 12, so I was content with my 1:54:05 finish time (on the clock; add 5:50 minutes for my official time). It's a half marathon pb and even better, I'm sure that on a flatter course and with better preparation (perhaps dispensing with the preceding 2-hour cycle!), I can get under 1:50. My next half marathon will be in mid-December when I'll have already completed 3.5 months of my training programme, so it'll be good to see how I improve.

Roj and the kids picked me up at the end of the run and we went further into the Thames Valley to an ex-colleague's of Roj for a barbeque lunch. The kids were in heaven in his huge garden with his lovely 12-year-old daughter and particularly in his little outdoor pool (heated, thankfully). Jody encountered flippers for the first time, and leapt ahead in confidence. Miles tried to do the same but ended up getting right out of his depth and having to be rescued by mummy in her jeans! It quickly became apparent that despite all his lessons, Miles lacks the understanding of what to do to survive in the water; while Jody immediately rolls onto her back and assumes an easy floating position when she gets into trouble, Miles goes bolt upright and stiffens up, meaning his survival out of depth is severely limited. Which increases my paranoia about staying on a boat in Monaco later this week, though everyone is keen to tell me I'm over-reacting.

The afternoon was relaxing and lovely and we came home to watch the beautiful lyrical Into the Wild; Jon Krakauer's [true] story of Christopher McCandless's life-quest adventure to Alaska in 1992.

Monday we spent the day at the Diana Memorial playground in Hyde Park with friends, where our children were given the enviable opportunity to play side-by-side with Madonna's kids (conscpicuous for their looks and bodyguards). And yesterday we had a lovely - though short - interlude with Milly who had wangled a working day in London and spent her leisurely lunch time with us. Then spin - as usual - a hard session for me (no excuses this time) followed by an enjoyable dinner with some Serpie friends. Too much wine, too little sleep and a recovery run this morning. Am feeling inspired.

Monaco tomorrow for 4 days. Am in denial about packing. As far as I'm concerned ... as long as I remember my trainers and my goggles, I'm sorted!

The new approach is to find someone else to blame if my racing goes wrong! Yes ... I'm getting a coach! This isn't as weird a concept as it sounds; it costs a lot less than gym membership per month and in my view, if you're putting in a reasonable amount of effort on a regular basis but not seeing improvements it means one of two things; either you're an extremely capable athlete who's reached the peak of physical perfection or you're just someone who isn't focused enough to get the training programme right. I fall squarely into the latter category because while I'm interested in all the statistics about phasing and power thresholds, I'm definitely not geeky enough to analyse all the data and work out how to adjust my training programme for better results. For me it's just "I have 2 hours free on Wednesday morning ... hmmm ... I think I'll do a long run." The closest I get to properly working it out is to know that I shouldn't put hard workouts too close together, and I should back off when I'm starting to feel tired. Not highly technical.

And over the last year, I feel like my form has improved (on and off, due to the bike crash and various viruses), but my race results haven't. I probably haven't done enough races to confirm that for sure, but I have a definite feeling as I approach the end of this season, that some of my effort's been wasted. That's all very well for a student with no responsibilities and an infinite amount of time to train, but for me who has a limited amount of free hours in the week and still wants to make the same gains as someone with more, I feel I need a bit of outside assistance.

There's another bonus, which is that working with a coach might persuade me one way or another whether to eventually pursue the personal trainer route once Miles is in proper school in September 2009. Nothing like experiencing it first hand.

So I'm enquiring after a couple of people who do triathlon coaching down here on a more or less serious basis. It's not going to be 1 on 1 regular sessions since those cost the earth, though I won't rule out an occasional one of those. It'll more likely be an online training programme which is monitored by some enthusiastic individual who makes himself available for advice at any time of day or night. I feel sorry for the guy already!

I'm already halfway through the 'interview' process and narrowing it down to 2 people. In the end it'll come down to the one I feel most in tune with, I think (or, as Roj says, the one I think I'll get least annoyed with!)

Meanwhile I'm quite enthusiastic about the Burnham Beeches Half Marathon on Sunday. Though I've done 6 half marathons as parts of other races, I've never done one on its own before, and my running has made quite sudden improvements recently after reading an article about technique. I'm aiming to get under 1:50 - preferably around 1:45 - but I'll have to see how it goes on the day.

Today is the end of my last full week of summer holidays with both the kids and it's the only day we've mostly stayed at home, due to the inconvenient timing of the Olympic track cycling on TV! We've had plenty of playground time this week though, and a full-day playdate with Louis yesterday, so I don't feel too bad. We'll spend the afternoon in the garden when Miles wakes up.

Roj and I have also been talking more seriously than usual about what we expect from our next 4 or 5 years. We're constantly talking in vague terms about holiday homes and moving to places with space and gardens. But a proper discussion has led us to think more seriously about moving away from Central London, and encouraged us to work out where we would go if we did. It's become apparent that Roj will almost certainly be based in London for his work, perhaps on a decreasingly stringent basis, so instead of waiting to see 'where he might end up', it seems more sensible to assume we'll be here for the medium term and make ourselves comfortable anyway. All this points the way to a probable decampment to South West London, either to somewhere within reach of Richmond Park (I don't think our lifestyles will allow us to be more than a couple of miles from a decent park), or further afield to Surrey. Personally my preference is the former, but we'll have to do more investigation over the coming months so that we can base our decision on more than just whim. Whichever way it goes, the move probably won't occur for another year, and more likely 2, so you're no doubt destined for some painfully boring monologues about location location location. What a thrill.

ARGH. The London Triathlon was bad bad bad. I went in expecting to get a personal best. This is mainly because my other olympic distance triathlons have not been done under the best conditions; Birmingham when I'd barely started training after the baby years; Shropshire 6 weeks after my bike crash; Dorney Classic ... well ok that was done when I was feeling pretty good but still I thought that nearly a year of training since then (some of it good) would equate to a better time.

I was therefore aiming for a total time of 2:40 (which wouldn't officially have been a pb since I got 2:38:46 at Birmingham last year, but I discount that result because the course lengths were ridiculously short and my performance was abysmal negating the possibility that it was a realistic race). But in actual fact I didn't get a personal best yesterday at London I got a personal worst! 2:48:53. Crap.

I knew the swim would be a challenge. I haven't been in the water since Egypt and I find it a real drawback physically and psychologically to not have recent practice. Plus I was in a big wave with a lot of women and the course looked long, intimidating and slightly choppy. My worst fears were proven correct as the swim progressed and I found that going off too hard and getting out of breath exacerbated my feeling of discomfort in the water. I slowed with some breaststrokes and to clear my goggles, but soon found myself hemmed into a big group of splashers, getting kicked from the front and pushed from behind. I just couldn't get into any kind of rhythm and ended up stopping to steer round to the course edge where I got a clearer path to the turning buoy.

I'd like to have achieved a 30 min swim and I'd have been happy getting under 32 but my actual time was over 34. It felt like I was in the water forever. I then spent a couple of minutes grappling with my wetsuit while more competitors ran past me but eventually made it to transition to tranfer to my usual strongest sport; the bike.

But for the first time in a triathlon, I just couldn't get on with this discipline. For the entire ride I felt I was putting in plenty of effort but that it just wasn't transferring into speed on the bike. I averaged 210 watts, which was around what I intended, but I kept getting passed and passed by other competitors and felt that my speed was uncharacteristically slow. I just couldn't understand what was holding me back, but retrospectively wonder whether it was tilting my seat down for a more aero position on Thursday without raising the seat post to compensate. The too-low position would certainly explain the unusual lack of connection I felt to my bike.

So it was with frustration and relief that I transitioned to the run and at last felt some strength and speed. It's an easy run course at London with good hydration stops (I stopped 4 times for water) and I felt I could push the whole way round, keeping my pulse at around 162 and passing plenty of people. Usually my swim and my run are on a par below my eventual rank, but I got a pb on the 9.8km course (48:22), equating to a pace over 10km of under 8 minute miles. Luckily this pulled my rank up to a final placing of 33 out of 98 in my age-group.

I was really disappointed with my final result and particularly with my bike result. Usually I can rely on my bike to pull me up the rankings, and I feel particularly annoyed because a good bike course coupled with my strong run would have given me a pretty passable result despite the appalling swim.

I also spent a mammoth amount of time driving to and from Docklands this weekend; on Saturday for obligatory bike-racking (Roj decided not to race due to poor race-preparation, so I didn't have the excuse of watching him in the Saturday sprints), and yesterday to get to and from the race, and I feel the enormous amount of effort and time (around 6.5 hours in the car) was just not worth it. I probably won't be entering London next year.

The highlights however, were watching Dave smashing his sub-3 hour aim on his first ever olympic course and getting a pb 10k run while he was at it; and hearing constant 'Go Serpie!' shouting around the entire course.

Emily did an amazing race and despite seemingly no training whatsoever, nearly broke 2:30, including exiting the water as first woman in our wave (and potentially overall). Very impressive. Although you have to wonder where she'd be if she took it seriously .......

So. Next race is a half marathon next Sunday which I'm looking forward to for its simplicity (enough of this transitioning already!), followed by a short break in Monaco and then the Vitruvian. Although right now I'm sceptical about completing a middle distance course at all.

Training Diary 4-10 August
M: Off
T: 1hr spin
W: Off
T: 80min bike around Regent's Park
F: 40min run with 6 x 1mins @ race pace.
S: Off
S: London Triathlon.
   Swim (1500m): 34:08 (rank 56/98);
   Bike (38.7km); 1:19:41 (rank 44/98);
   Run (9.8km): 48:22 (rank 25/98);
   Overall 2:48:53 (rank 33 of 98 women age 35-39)

Total: 5 hrs 50 mins

My parents' visit was a success. They arrived on Tuesday afternoon and left 2 days later. Lots of time spent with the kids cycling around Hyde Park (including a visit to the beautiful Frank Gehry pavilion at the Serpentine) and some book reading and craft moments. We also went out to Zoom for dinner on Wednesday to celebrate my parents' 40th wedding anniversary. Food was a bit mediocre this time, but it was still nice to go out for a change, even though the poor babysitter turned up 50 minutes late after falling victim to appalling London traffic.

I also skived my responsibilities on Tuesday evening in favour of spin, which was - as usual - therapeutic in a masochistic sort of way. Roj didn't make it in the end; he'd spent Monday crewing at Cowes Week during which the yacht broached 3 times, causing him minor damage to his leg and hip. He conveniently made an appointment with the nurse on Tuesday to discover whether he needed stitches in his leg at about the time we needed to be setting off to the gym, and even when he actually got back home in time, he decided not to join me.

Surprisingly I managed to get out on Thursday morning (despite alarm clock failure) to cycle around Regent's Park with Emily at 6am. Em had overslept and joined me a bit later, but early enough to alleviate the inherent boredom of repeating the 2.8 mile circuit. Good to have the opportunity to tweak my tribars and seat position for the race on Sunday.

I also managed some running speedwork on Friday morning, but discovered that my back is still painful. A visit to the osteopath is no doubt in order at some point; 3 months after my crash you'd have thought there'd be no noticeable vestige. Or maybe I'm just destined to hurt.

So now I'm allegedly ready for the London Tri on Sunday, only I'm still suffering a bit of a motivational low. Not sure why but it could just be pre-race nerves manifesting themselves as denial, as usual. I'm sure once I get to the ExCel Centre on Sunday I'll start getting excited and channel that nervous energy into something a bit more positive.

Going there today actually, to watch Roj race in the sprint and to rack my bike. If I'm unmotivated, Roj is utterly comatose; he is lamenting the lack of training he's managed over the last few months (holidays and work being the preventative issues) and can't face the rain and wind for a slower time than last year. Personally I think he'll pull something out of the hat at the last minute because he's prone to doing better than expected and 1.5 hours of racing is well within his capabilities even on a bad day, but he remains morosely unconvinced.

Meanwhile my brother has been attempting his annual ridiculous cycling feats in the Alps. He should be somewhere on the route of The Marmotte right now, aiming to achieve the gold challenge time. He's already cycled up the Mont Ventoux three times in the same day, and another day on the tandem with Charlotte. And no doubt plenty more unbelievably superhuman feats of one sort or another. It's easy to be envious of his capabilities and opportunities, but I'm also just pleased for him that he can get so much out of his holidays.

Only one complete week of full childcare ahead of me; we go to visit Grandad and Jill the week after for a few days and the week after that Jody's back at school. Hardly seems possible.

Nice weekend, on the whole. The Hillingdon Slipstreamers morning was a success in that Jody seemed to enjoy herself, and adapted well to the instructions laid down in the induction. Miles too, enjoyed a non-structured morning on the like-a-bike, mainly zipping along the induction course perpendicularly, in-between confused 5-year-olds.

The Hillingdon circuit is a tarmac loop of a little under a mile which is open to the public but rented out by the bike club on Saturday mornings. I'd say there were around 40 youngsters there aged between 4 and 16, all getting various chances to 'race' around the circuit. After the lengthy induction, Jody had time for two circuits and although she seemed to enjoy the group impetus, it was clear that the competitive spirit of her parents has not yet awakened in her. She seemed content to potter around at cruise pace, watching her neighbour Milo zoom ahead at breakneck speed.

An experience to be repeated, I'm sure.

We followed it up with some time in the well-designed playground out there, lunch in the car (which we seem to do a lot), and both kids falling asleep (predictably) in the car in the final 15 minutes. Roj successfully transferred Miles to bed, while I sat for half an hour in the car chaperoning Jody until the sudoku on my mobile got too boring.

And later we all went off to the O2 Centre on Finchley road for Jody and Miles's first cinema experience since the 3D fish movie at the Science Museum a year ago: We went to see Wall-E with Milo and Louis. It was originally intended to be just for the older kids, but Miles seemed so wistful to be missing out on this mystical experience, and he's proven himself to be remarkably patient when confronted with hours of just sitting, that we thought it was a shame for him to miss out and decided to risk going en famille. The highlight for Miles was undoubtedly ownership of a personal armchair and a huge box of salted popcorn to munch his way through. Jody was emotionally overwrought, as she's used to CBeebies plot downturns which are immediately resolved. She spent the whole of the second half on my lap choking back sobs of "He's dying!" or "She's lost him forever!" Both children were quite subdued after the movie as if it had taken a lot of effort just sitting there watching.

Sunday we did a Richmond Park morning for the family. This is a fine way of melding the adult aim of some kind of exercise, with the kiddie aim of constant entertainment. On Sunday it went something like this: Lara leaves by bike to Richmond Park at 8:15am (it was supposed to be 7:15 but I was tired and freezing and a sudden burst of rain postponed my departure in favour of crawling back to bed and summoning motivation); Lara does 4 loops of Richmond Park at varying rates and meets Roj and kids at the car park at 10:30. Lara then takes kids along gravel path on their bikes while Roj runs a loop of the park; Lara runs back home while Roj drives kids back and feeds them lunch.

It worked very well as a morning, partly because the workout went well (the best run I've done in a very long time), and partly because we were all back and relaxing at home from around 1pm. All parties enjoyed it and it's always nice to get out and make the most of probably the best casual bike circuit London has to offer.

Roj headed off to Cowes in the afternoon and left me with a slightly less calm and cathartic moment as - on going into Miles's bedroom to wake him up and say goodbye - Roj noticed that he had had a little accident during his naptime, which resulted in a very very large clean-up operation for me with a lot of nose-holding (sometimes it's best to just throw away the pants!) Soon it was clear that Miles was suffering from a bout of diarrhoea, so I stuck him in a nappy and hoped it would get better. Unfortunately it re-materialised during bathtime later when I was combing through Jody's hair for nits (the least desirable result of 2 weeks in crèche in Egypt), when Miles complained of sudden stomach ache and I had to plonk him on the toilet and leave him sniffling there for 15 minutes while I finished up. On the bright side this resulted in the rare occurrence of a successful poo in the toilet (Miles normally waits til he's asleep and utilises his night nappy) for which there was a visit this morning from the much-fêted poo-fairy. Oh the incentives one has to summon as a parent!

Monday went much more smoothly, although I did have to stay in for most of the day awaiting roofers and deliveries (not all of which materialised). But the kids were well behaved and enjoying playing nicely together leaving me free for a bit of a clear-up operation.

My parents arrive tomorrow for a couple of days in the smoke and hopefully a bit of a break for Mum who has had plenty on her plate these last few months.

Nevertheless, I fully intend to make it to spin in the evening, as my chance for training this week is lamentably limited. There's even a rumour that my lovely husband might join me for the first time ever. We shall see.

Training Diary 28 July - 3 August
M: 60 min base endurance run with 4 x Primrose Hill reps
T: 60 min spin
W: 2 hour run to Hampstead Heath (incl approx 10 mins stoppage)
T: 80 min transitions in gym: 3 x 10 min stationary bike + 10 min treadmill
F: Rest day
S: Off
S: 2 hour 15 min bike incorporating 1 x hard 13.5 mile effort (2 x laps Richmond Park); about 45 mins, average 203 watts.
    70 min run from Richmond Park home. 7.5 miles (incl stoppage)

Total: 8 hrs 35 mins