30 April 2011

The East Lancs Railway held a Thomas weekend, so Graham suggested that we go along. Thanks to the extended weekend and sunshine (though very strong blustery wind), it was extremely well attended. Emily joined the queue to pull the whistle cord on Thomas, which was ever so loud and probably frightened quite a few little ones. Then we took the short ride in the open, standing only carriages, which were just going a couple of minutes each way along the track.

After lunch of white baps with cheese in the platform cafe, we rode the steam train down to Ramsbottom, then dashed across to the other platform for the diesel train back to Bury. On the journey home I went in the open-topped BMW with Graham, and predictably my hair was a tangled birds' nest afterwards. It was a fun experience though.

While Emily had a bath, Graham and I went out for a much-needed run. The strong wind kept it at a comfortable temperature. As we approached the usual turnaround point at 2 miles, I was sorely tempted to go back as I was struggling badly. However, pride kept me going and after getting worse for a while, I finally began to settle into a pace. By the time we got onto the Middlewood Way I was going strongly and more or less enjoyed the rest of the run. We ended up doing 67 minutes, which was probably about 7 miles. After that I was wiped out and only had one small glass of cider. I think I was asleep within a minute of going to bed, and thankfully Emily did not trouble me until 7am.