I hope that everyone had an amazing Bank Holiday weekend. How amazing was the weather? Returning to Wallingford later is going to be even more of a chore than normal.

I’ll start by rewinding a week. Last Tuesday I reached the grand old age of 39. I celebrated(?) my birthday in an incredibly quiet office. There was no cake and no after work drinks, I don’t think many people realised it was my birthday. The highlight of the day was my right knee surviving a five mile run after work.

I wasn’t too fussed as I knew my birthday celebrations would take place during the weekend.

I made my usual quick escape from the office at 15:00 on Friday, and arrived back in Four Oaks three hours later. After demolishing far too much Chinese food, I spent my Friday evening tackling the washing mountain, catching up on Chicago Fire and just chilling out. Boring but I needed some time to relax.

On Saturday, I woke up ridiculously early and couldn’t get back to sleep. I decided to risk running a little faster (for me) at Walsall parkrun.

I arrived at the Arboretum, jogged to the start area and made sure I lined up a little nearer the front than I usually would. I crossed the start line and spent a couple of minutes struggling to get into any sort of rhythm.

Not the most flattering parkrun photo, I can’t tell if I’m smiling or grimacing.

[Photo: Laurie-Anne Kennedy]

I wanted the finish in sub-28 minutes, but given the heat and my lack of running faster than 10 min/miles recently, I was happy to finish in 28:18. I’m aware that I’ve said it before but next time 😉

I jogged back to the top end of the Arboretum where my friend was waiting – apparently I looked just like a beetroot – posed for the traditional post-parkrun photo, and was given a lift home.

I had a couple of hours to start my ironing, to have a shower, to lose my red face and to get ready for my first belated birthday meal.

I met my friend at Bistrot Pierre in Mere Green, selected a table inside the restaurant (it was far too hot to sit outside) and spent a few minutes working out what to eat. After a lot of debate, I opted for the Cassolette de moules to start with followed by Steak-Frites and Crème brûlée to finish.

Although I managed to eat all three courses, I felt incredibly peaky when I’d finished the Crème brûlée. I never usually struggle to eat, so will blame it on the warmer than average weather.

The rest of Saturday afternoon was quiet and may have involved a power nap; I guess it’s all good practice for when I turn 40 next year. I caught up on some blog related admin, listed some unwanted running gear on FleaBay and finished my ironing. Fun, fun, fun! Adulting tasks over, I had my third shower of the day, got changed and walked to the local pub to meet some school friends.

I had such a boozy night my early Sunday morning run didn’t take place.

After a very steady start to Sunday, mum collected me and drove me back home. The original plan had been to head to one of the local Chinese restaurants for an ‘all you can eat’ buffet. Due to the appearance of ‘summer 2018’, the buffet meal was postponed.  After a bit of sneaky sunbathing – top tip, remember to remove your socks first – we ate in the garden.

I failed as a blogger and forgot to take photos of the food and birthday cake mum had made for me. The cake was amazing and possibly fuelled by Pimm’s and lemonade; I piled far too much on my plate.

Yesterday, I spent the morning and early afternoon working on the paper I am meant to be presenting at a conference later on this year. After discovering that my current assignment is not going to be extended, I also spent a couple of hours exploring some possible career options.

Definitely not the most exciting Bank Holiday Monday!

Did you have a good Bank Holiday weekend?