hardcore help and giving triathalon a try

Until the end of July we are staying with friends in Yate, near Bristol. Catherine looks after the boys in the morning and I take them out in the afternoon, giving us time to pray, reflect, communicate, do chores etc., Liking a bit of manual labour I have been doing a few days of volunteering renovating a community centre, ripping out ceilings and lugging hardcore about, that sort of thing - very therapeutic.

I have also been doing a bit of swim - bike - run to get fit for doing a triathalon with my brother in september. The swimming has felt more like drowning with style but I am slowly remembering how to breath. Running has been a non-starter so far as I haven't had any running shoes and the shoes I do have really hurt my achilles heel to run in. But I just found a good pair of trail shoes in a sale. Cycling has been the most fun, painful and eventful. A friend in Yate lets me borrow his racer when he is at work. I love getting out in the fresh air and the sense of freedom (although the clip in shoes took a bit of getting used too!). My brother also took me on a weekends mountain biking trip in the welsh valleys, which was fantastic and lung busting (and very wet...).