In extreme contrast with my last post, I am now in Egypt revelling in sunshine, windsurfing, and Egyptian 5-star hotel living! It's weird to come back to the same resort we spent 2 weeks in last year, but the facilities here are pretty good and the kids are, once again, having a ball. Despite much complaining in the early hours of our arrival about being sent to kids' club, they are now so enthusiastic about going that we can't hold them back. And why wouldn't they be, when they face the exciting prospect of learning to sail and windsurf, spending time with their peers in the pool and the sea, building sandcastles, painting faces, playing in playgrounds, eating ice-creams and generally doing all the things kids want to do on holiday. Meanwhile we are able to relax a little, windsurf (I pulled off a good carve-gybe yesterday, on my second morning out, relieved that it isn't going to take me the entire week to remember how to do it!), play scrabble, do a little gentle training (swimming and minimal gym-time), and relax in the sunshine. It feels like the perfect rest week, and honestly it feels like 3 months ago now, that I was trudging that Zurich course.

We need a rest week though, to prepare ourselves for our house move which is now so close. I haven't got my head around the idea of leaving London yet, although I get occasional twinges of regret when I think about how little I'll see some of the best friends I've ever had, from our neighbourhood. Jody was really exhibiting signs of sadness last week, after the end of her school term and her last swimming lesson. She is over-reacting to any little change, and I see this as a symptom of her anxiety about the future. But she hasn't seen the up-side yet, and can only think about what she will be leaving behind. Hopefully an entire month spent in our gorgeous garden, getting to know some of her neighbourhood friends, and setting up her new bedroom, will allow her to adjust her opinion. I have no doubt at all that this move is going to be a positive transition for all of us, but why does transition inevitably entail leaving something behind? I sympathise with her.

My thoughts wander quite often to the Ironman. It seems very surreal now, and yet it's not even a week ago. I almost have to pinch myself to remind myself of what we all did there. The memory of the pain now having receded, I'm dangerously close to wanting to sign up to another one next year, and see how much better I can do when I have more than 6 months of good training under my belt. But I'm not going to. Instead I'm going to focus on the UK Half Ironman again in June, and see if I can shave a few more minutes off my time there. Followed by the possibility of a big European sportive (maybe even the Etape du Tour) in the summer, and a 100-mile mountain-bike race in the Scottish Borders in early September - again with Yi Shun and Jim and if he can be persuaded, even Roj! At some point I'd also like to attempt a straight marathon because I have a bee in my bonnet about completing one in less than 4 hours and now - when I have so many endurance hours behind me - is the time to try. But I'll have to see. Wasn't it only in my last post that I talk about not being a natural [nor enthusiastic] runner?!