3 weeks...

It's gone from 'are we pregnant' to, bloody hell, in 3 weeks I'll be a dad. Am I ready for this......I've been waiting for this to happen for ages but as to whether I'm ready is a completely different issue. Lisa is doing brilliantly and even though she's blossoming (as her girlfriends say) she's getting on with it all like a proper little trooper.

This is the most recent pics of the wee-fella and I have to admit to after seeing this the other week, it really felt as though it was happening. I was present at this scan and by all accounts, apart from the fella being a bit of a brute, everything is looking good at fingers crossed, I'll be seeing the wee-guy in the next 2 or 3 weeks (4 at the most).

Everything is coming together and more of the house is finally getting decorated. The previous owner hadn't really shown the place any love and so even simply painting a wall seems to take for ever and about half-a-dozen coats of paint.

In other news, my ankle is finally starting to feel close to 100% - even managed to run a mile the other day. Summer is struggling to start but the lake is warm enough to just be in a shortie, so it could be worst. The only problem is that with the summer months hitting, Tom loves to get the money in and packs the bookings up with ringo rides and so getting behind the boat is a challenge if I forget to book a slot in well in advance (as I keep doing).

Finally, bugger knows how long it's been since he died (think it's 7) but this Monday was the anniversary of his passing. Really wish he'd managed to hang around long enough to see his grandson but I guess he couldn't help it. Still miss the old sod and he really was the best man I have ever known. When the summer finally hits and we've got to grips with having another member in the house, we will all have to head to Beer (the beach and not the drink) and say 'hi' in a looking to the sea sort of way.

Physical failure...

Well, the London to Brighton run didn't go exactly to plan. I twisted my ankle at the start of the week and even though I was limping around at work for the majority of the week, managed a 5km run on the thursday and thought I'd be able to manage the run. In retrospect, it was pretty obvious that I wasn't going to be able to manage to complete 100km of x-country running on a twisted ankle (I know....you didn't to be a genius to work that one out).
Started the race and all felt pretty good. Running with my little sis was good. She's a much better and faster runner than me. My all-round sportsman approach works well for a spot of fun but puts you at a slight disadvantage when pushing the limit of your physical ability- stupidity will only get me so far!
The first 25km went pretty quickly and we realised that we were overtaking about a ten folk or so every 12km. As we approached the first marathon distance, I did notice that my legs were feeling a much tighter than usual. Sadly as we moved towards the 50km distance my left ankle was completely giving out and the rest of my body was trying to take up the strain. Flats were just about do-able but the hill sections and some of the rough terrain were just bloody painful, I was actually rather happy to reach a rest stop and say goodbye to my little sis.

This was the night before the ultra-marathon and as you can see, the doubt was starting to set in.

Pretty sure this stuff was going to get me through the day.

Little sis (Spud) and me at about the 25km point. Things were feeling ok.

Passing about 40km and my legs were starting to feel very tight. Still plodding along and overtaking a lot of people but I could feel things were not quite right,

My sulking face at around the half-way point. My ankle had given up at this point and all my other joints were now taking  a real pounding. I had to be a sensible grown-up and throw the towel in.

Little sis leaving me at the rest stop......Grrrrr!

I have to imagine why the Police had taped this portaloo off!

With only about 20km to go, the smile of Spuds face was starting to fade. The terrain and hills are really hard going at this point (I recall from the last time I ran and completed the challenge).

My view from Maish's van, as we drive to the finish line.....I'd have rather been running.

We stop for fish and chips on Brighton beach, while waiting for Spud to finish - OK, I wouldn't have done this if I'd not pulled out.

Ankle really starting to swell-up!

Spud finishes in just under 15hours - about 30mins faster than my previous time.

I turned to beer to help my mood.

Ted has also found the weekend very tiring - clearly not use to getting up at 3am for a race start.

Watching the Bali WSl with my foot up ....a tad sore today.

Saying goodbye to my trusted sander. While being unable to train or wakeboard I've been decorating the wee-mans room (nursery) and I fear my sander has had it. Apparently it shouldn't spark while being used!

That weekend went quickly. A spot of fresh air with Tilly and Ted.

Only weeks to go...

Things are starting to feel very real now. L is 32 weeks pregnant and although it might sound daft to say so, she is looking proper pregnant (with only a matter of week remaining). She's still feeling pretty good and in my opinion is looking very good. Her only issue is working too hard during the day but she's not someone who you can tell what to do, so on the whole you have to leave her to it.

We're still playing around with names but I think we're 90% sorted. Although I guess we'll have to wait until the wee-fella makes his appearance before seeing if it suits.

It's amazing that we've gone from the tiny guy in the bottom shot (is he on a tiny surfboards?) to the 4lb+ boy you can see in the upper shot.

L having a rest.

L testing out her new garden strimmer.

Past the half-way point....

Things are definitely happening. L is now in her 21st week and the wee-boy is most definitely a boy. L even thought she felt the boy kick this morning but she would like to feel some proper ol' movement just so he's making himself known to her.

At least folk have stopped telling me how my life will end once the wee fella arrives. According to all the inlanders, once the wee-boy arrives I'll have to say g. I'd beg goodbye to surfing, wakeboarding and all those things that keep me sane. I'd beg-to-differ and show you a vid-clip of Cory Lopez with his grommet of a little girl as evidence.

Popped over to Liquid Leisure yesterday and bleddy hell, it was the coldest session of the season yet. Ok, I should have realised it was going to be cold when the air temp was close to zero and the water temp was in the low single figure numbers (4'C?) but the hail storm really took the piss - a giant hail stone to the eye just after hitting a kicker can put a downer on a day. Still, it was great to get wet - always good for the soul.

Oh ye, we went to the Banff Film Festival earlier in the week and saw some brilliant short films. It was the Red film viewing and so the majority of the films shown were land-based and I was surprised how I found myself completely absorbed by a couple of films in particular.

Probably joint favourite film was only 8mins long but was a sad little cracker called Denali. It's on Vimeo and so you'll have to jump over there to check it out (see link). A cheeky surprise to me was Unbranded. Four guys train and ride a dozen mustangs from the Mexican border all the way  up to Canada. It was the abridged version and so I'll definitely be renting the full movie at some point.

Unreal was a cracking mountain-biking film. The footage was just ace and the twist on the filming made it a little extra special.

Pretty Faces was a fab addition to the evening, with the focus being on female athletes. There have been a few viral articles going around about women and the way they're treated in the professional sports environment. This film film looks at Rachael Burks and her dream of Alaska.

There were a number of other cracking little films but if you want to see them, you'd best get your arse in gear a get a seat booked at your closest Banff Film Cinema - LINK

Well into January...

Well, I'm not too sure how many of you know but L and me are pregnant. It's going to be a summer baby and we're pretty sure it's a mini-surf dude! It's been quite a battle getting to this point (I'll not bore you) but needless to say that the pair of us are pretty chuffed. I'm still getting my head around the fact that it's actually happening and slowly things are dawning on me - you know, I'll have to share the house with someone else, my pocket money will take a huge hit, I will no longer be the sole focus of L's attention.....the list goes on but I think I'll be able to get my head around most of them.

Already L has informed me that the wee-guy will be too small to either hit the lake or the sea. Apparently I might have to wait a year or so.

This is an old pic but things are looking good and apparently everything is in the right place and the right size. Today he's about 10cm from head to butt, which is spot on!

Anyway, L is doing well. Starting to look proper pregnant and I guess the cheesy word to use would be blossoming. She's obviously not drinking and so my beer intake has taken a huge hit (I had 3 beers all last weekend and that was pushing it).

Off wakeboarding in the morning, so looking forward to getting wet for the first time since the start of the year.

Oh yeh.....I guess I could say that I've eventually started my training again (proper training) and have done a couple of runs longer than 6km. Still need to pick things up but I'm sure I get the distance up as I move closer to my London to Brighton challenge.

I'll keep you in the loop.

Not quite festive...

There are things afoot in the life of N & L and we've had a flipping busy few months. The summer is now a distant memory but winter hasn't really kicked in yet. It's only a matter of days until Christmas but we're still experiencing double figure temperatures.  Thinking back to last year and going wakeboarding was all about separating the men from the boys in December. With minus figure temps and pretty much freezing water temps, just building up the momentum to get in the water was a challenge enough and wiping out was made painful simply due to how bleddy cold the water was. Looking at the weather charts and wakeboarding this weekend might be wet but it could be 14'C.

So what have we been upto...catching up with friends, celebrating birthdays, a trip to Brno and generally just being busy. Haven't been wakeboarding for the last month or so. I did manage to squeeze a very poor session in when we visited Brno but the main cable was closed for the rest of the year and so I was left with a very poor quality 2.0 style system. the cable was so slack that most of the time I was amazed that it managed to pull me up out of the water. Still, I spent almost 60mins trying to nail a raley....in reality I spent 60 mins just hitting the water at various angles and speeds.

Training for the London 2 Brighton run (100km) is kinda' going to plan. Not really a great runner, so my idea is just to maintain a decent level of fitness through the winter month and then when the days start to get longer to kick up the training and actually start to do some running of worth. Hopefully it'll work but I do have to make sure I don't put on too much muscle or running in the New Year will just be painful.

As I said, Christmas is around the corner, so I should have more to say at the start of 2016.

Tilly takes it easy after a bath.

Ted looks surprised about his wash and haircut. 

Blaithin takes drinking games as seriously as she did back at Uni.

More games.

Same game.

A walk in the woods.

Saturday morning coffee.

I cooked.

I popped out for 2 drinks and wandered home at 2am.

Something not quite right about Ted.

Tilly snuggling with L.

Tram stop in Brno.

L trying to work out if this is our tram.

We made it in one direction and now just have to make it all the way back again.

Got to love a spot of lego.

A great skate shop hidden away in Brno town centre.

Brno health & safety.

L takes a glug of my beer.

It's a up & coming area apparently.

Prior to a spot of Brno wakeboarding.

If you look 'up' the place looks a lot better.

A very comfy bed.

A changing mat in one ofthe bars.

The flight...