Well there’s been a major development – on Friday 20th September at 12:20 my wife Sacha gave birth to beautiful baby Violet. The delivery was a planned C Section. There were complications before and after but after 6 days we made it home. It was a wild ride, and perhaps too soon to share the entire medical rollercoaster, but suffice to say life has changed. 

When Sacha awoke this morning, she looked at me and said “ what happened?” 

To be honest this week I kind of feel that I’ve got nothing to write about, but of course the opposite is true. I’ve just got no running or cycling adventures to share. But really, who cares. Not the Universe. 

I feel like I’m a lucky man. My close friend Gary succumbed to cancer last year. My mum has dementia. I had kidney surgery in March (all clear atm), I have three beautiful grown children to share life with, whether they like it or not. I’m trying to perhaps be a better person and father than I was 26-30 years ago. Through Violet and at my age (59) it’s going to partly be a revisiting of those older times, and also an opportunity. But having my grown up kids around is so great. That sentence btw, though true, is also for my daughters who might be reading this. 

I was struck on the maternity wards that new life and births are the balancing mechanism for all the sh*t in the world. I didn’t realise that this was going to be the case before Violet’s birth. The nurses and doctors on those wards are quite incredible I feel, and get to witness that balancing mechanism on a daily basis.

With regards to running, after the race a few weeks and the long 1-step-forward-2 steps-back kind of post surgery rehab, to be able get my body do that small 10K distance, I really felt like I’d had enough. Then after 2 hours sleep Sunday I went out for some fresh air and started running, and it felt good. It’s clear that my relationship to running (& cycling) is going to change, and so what I write about. My backyard has now become closer and larger at the same time. Especially once we start showing Violet around. 

I kind of love cycling more at the moment, but haven’t been able to make it out the door yet, especially as time is very limited. This morning I was going to try to do a short ride but had only a few hours sleep and thought it probably wasn’t wise to be on the roads, because, I’m soooo f**ked – it’s quite something.

So to conclude, I feel lucky, I’m not sure what exercise will mean, and I’m not sure what I’m going to write about. 

But I mean who cares, the Universe has handed us a gift, so that’s more than enough this week, let’s see where it all takes us. Take care xxx