Spring has definitely arrived so the skis and skates have been put away and other sporting paraphernalia is emerging from the closets and basement. Over the winter Andrew did a cross-country ski course and headed out skiing as often as he could. Occasionally I went with him and once B12 even gave it a go. B12 however was introduced to downhill skiing over the Christmas break and it became the highlight of his winter. He joined a group who skied every Tuesday and he watched the weather from one week to the next in the hope that nothing would Jeopardize the ski day. The season ended for him with a full day of skiing with Andrew who took the day off work and donned downhill gear for a change.

B12 also did a soccer winter skills program in preparation for joining a soccer league this spring. After several years of community soccer he is enjoying the challenge, coaching and more serious nature of his new team.

A16 has been training for track since October but has been plagued by illness and injury. Indoor training ended this week and next week she will compete in her first outdoor meet of the season. As she is now at school she is hoping to represent her school at the Ontario high school championships and her club at various meets over the summer.

After doing very little exercise over the winter I have taken on the challenge of doing a “couch to 5K” running program. It is a free podcast series lasting nine weeks and at the end I will be able to run 5K in 30 minutes. I came across it on Jean’s blog where she is blogging about each week of the program as she completes it. I have not run regularly since high school so it was quite a stretch at first. L18 has joined me and we are now in week 5, half way through. We run three times a week following the program which is a mix of running and walking. Each week the program changes slightly increasing the amount of running and decreasing the walking we have to do. On a couple of the days I don’t run, I swim. L18 has kept up swimming at the university pool through out the school year but I much prefer the convenience and warmer temperature of a more local pool.

I noticed the tennis nets have returned to some of the local courts so maybe Andrew and I will recommence our tennis matches soon. I hope to win one this summer. He has also played a few games of squash lately and had his bike out this week to ride to work as the temperatures have been very nice.

All in all we are getting outdoors and enjoying the warm weather and the snow free ground.