My First Half Marathon

On the 2nd July this year I went for my first run in a very long time... I ran 1.6km and it took me 15 minutes (I know this because I logged it on www.mapmyrun.com). 

It was an absolute effort, but none-the-less I decided that I would run on a regular basis to shift some weight, and to improve my general health. 

On the 29th July I turned 27 and received an iPod Nano, and a Nike+ sports kit (it measures and logs all your runs). Soon after I decided to enter the Auckland Half Marathon to see if it was something I could achieve. 

Since the 1st of July i've run 683km's,  lost over 2 stone and have made running a major part of my daily routine. 

Yesterday, I finally ran the Auckland Half Marathon, and I achieved more than I ever thought I would!!! I finished the course (21.1km) in 1h:31m:24s which is an amazing time for a first effort. It's a great run, on which you get to run over the harbour bridge, although I don't really remember it! shame... 

Out of a field of about 6000 runners I finished 206th overall, and 110th in the 16-34 year old Male category. I even beat former All Black Ian Jones which is pretty cool.   

In honesty it was utterly exhausting, but it was totally worth the effort and I've got the bug!!! I'm considering entering an event in a months time, and would plan to beat that time; I'll keep you posted! Here are some photos...

Receiving some pre-race physio from my good friend Si

In my gear, ready for the race

Laura & Gracie waiting for me near the finish line

Completely exhausted!

Ah... post race massage! 

The official results... click on image to see full size

Adidas Auckland Marathon

Well tomorrow morning I'm running in the Auckland Half Marathon. I haven't entered a running race since the egg and spoon at primary school, so I have a mixture of nerves, anticipation, and excitement. It should be a lot of fun!

 

I'm still taking sponsorship, so if you'd like to donate some money to the Heart Foundation NZ please follow the link and make a donation with your credit card. Every penny counts! 

Go to http://www.heartracer.org.nz/paulkingsleysmith

Here is a photo of my badge - go 7055!!! I'll post again tomorrow once i've completed!!! 

Some photos of Gracie

A tour of our new house

Please Sponsor Me!!!

Some thing a little more formal... I'm running in the Auckland Half Marathon on Sunday 28th October, and I've decided to raise money for The Heart Foundation which is the official charity of the race. Please click on the link below to go to my sponsorship page, where you can make an online donation with your credit card. 

This is my first ever half marathon, so I've got no idea what to expect but I've been training hard, and am hoping to finish in under 1hr 40 mins - we'll see how I do! 

Thanks for your support! I'll try to get some pictures up, although I don't tend to let Laura photo me in my running gear! 

My sponsorship page is here or www.heartracer.org.nz/paulkingsleysmith

An eventful week...

This week I (Paul) went away with the staff from St Paul's to a beautiful place called Tarawharanui; It's a national park an hour or so North East of Auckland. I thought I'd write about it because I had a couple of experiences that I've not had before.

Firstly, on Wednesday afternoon we took a rowing boat out to a place in the bay, where we dived for scallops - this was great fun, although diving down to 5 or so meters and then trying to find scallops proved to be exhausting. We took 34 scallops back to our bach once done and they were cooked up and served as a nice mid afternoon snack!

Yesterday (Thursday) was even better. The team were sat on the deck having breakfast at about 8:30 when one of the team members spotted dolphins in the bay. We wondered down to the beach and watched them for a while, until I was able to persuade Mike & Rachel to go out in the rowing boat with me to get a closer look.

We got out in to the bay and they seemed quite happy to have us around, so we decided to jump in and swim with them - we swam with them for about 30 minutes or so, which was utterly exhilarating! 

Given that we weren't in wetsuits, we decided to head in to avoid hypothermia, but returned 30 minutes or so later with wetsuits, flippers, snorkels & masks, and spent a further half an hour swimming, diving, and playing with the dolphins - it was certainly the best experience of New Zealand that I've had, and one that I'll never forget.

This weekend....

This weekend we have had beautiful weather. We've been out in the garden playing , out walking and as always, at church!. 

This morning we watched the All Black's get beaten by France which was amusing! It's a shame we couldn't drag ourselves out of bed at 2am for the England match-we did however watch the replay this afternoon. It's never the same when you know the result!

Gracie and Paul watch the rugby

Growing up fast...

I had written a blog post a few days ago that I felt explained and captured Gracie's personality at this moment in time; sharing this with all of you who don't have the pleasure of seeing her daily/weekly/or haven't even met her. I was so frustrated as I knew I would never be able to re-write the blog post in the same way because it just seemed to 'flow' as I wrote it. Rather than attempt to re-write it now I think I'll just share with you this one photo I've uploaded. I think this shows her determination to get where she wants to be regardless of our countless attempts to move her away from the cupboards. What's that they say about feisty redheads?!

Our Holiday in Oz!

Two weeks ago we went on holiday to Australia with our friend Alana for her birthday which was so much fun. We spent the week in Caloundra on the Sunshine coast soaking up the sun and playing in water. The weather was just beautiful and we all enjoyed a bit of sun and relaxation. Gracie had her first real experience of sand and sea-she wasn't overly keen on the sand but jumping in the waves was a big hit!

We also visited Australia zoo which was amazing. We were able to walk, sit and stroke kangaroos, stroke koala's as well as seeing loads of other animals. The highlight of the holiday was going to underwater world and watching the seal show. Although the actual place wasn't amazing the show was such good fun that we went back for the second showing later that day. Here are some photos for you to enjoy!

Gracie thinks her outfit is hysterical!

Jumping in the waves

Hanging out by the surf club (for all you Home and Away fans!)

Cooling down in the very cold water!

Hanging out on the beach at Maroochydore

Laura and Gracie by the beach

Gracie meets a Kangaroo

We meet a kangaroo too!

Shots of the beach at Caloundra

Paul & Gracie at their favourite Juice Bar

Paul doing the BBQ!

Gracie loving her spoon!

Tired at the end of a busy week!

We're off to Australia today and the weather is amazing!

So where the bloody hell are ya?!!!

We've Moved!

Well we finally moved house yesterday from our place in Pt. Chevalier to an amazing converted villa in Mt. Roskill. Our new address is 34 Kings Road, Mt. Roskill, Auckland, 1041. 

We'll show you more photos soon, and of course there will be the obligatory tour of the house video! 

Swimming

I've been taking Gracie swimming recently and she loves it! Paul came with us today and apart from one little scare when Paul came up from under the water (she also finds this scary when he does it in the bath!), Gracie had the time of her life!

Party!

Today I took Gracie to her friends birthday party. I know it's a bit sad to be posting about my daughters social life but I was very excited for her as it was the first party she has ever been to in her whole life. I was also able to play dressing up and I put her in the most beautiful dress sent to her by Esther. Here is a photo for you to enjoy!

News....

We haven't blogged for a while as we've pretty busy with life!

Gracie has been teething and now has one tooth and another almost through. This process has been exhausting with her refusing to eat, waking at night and generally being unhappy during the day!

We've still got my brother Ed with us although he is now travelling in the Sounth Island and seems to be having a great time. We've also just said goodbye to our friends Wendy and Ian from Sheffield. We had a great time with them and had an added bonus day when we were on the way to the airport on Saturday morning to realise the flight didn't leave untill 11:30 pm not 11:30am! We had a great bonus day climbing Mount Eden and going into Parnell to have hot chocolate.

Yesterday was cluster Sunday, a day when the church breaks off into smaller groups to do different activities. Our cluster went to the zoo which was a bit crazy but fun all the same!

So it's been a crazy few weeks and just when we feel life is slowing down again we have to gear up for the church camp, then to move house and then finally we will get a break in Oz!

Gracie rests on daddy as wasn't feeling to good.

Wendy & Ian

Gracie playing with her food

Gracie's on the move...

Gracie is slowly starting to move! She can now roll about the room and has started to move backwards. This photo was taken this morning, as you can see, going backwards can be tricky when you get stuck under the sofa! It reminds me of a photo of Ed when he was a baby-very cute!

Gracie meets Uncle Ted...

Well my brother Ed has arrived safely. It's great to see him and he seems to be a big hit with Gracie! We will no doubt post many blogs about all the adventures we get up to during his stay.



These photos are for you Steffi-Thank you so much for the gorgeous hat-she looks very cute-also note the top she is wearing!

We're moving again!

Just to let you know that we're moving house again! Its just down the road from our house now- a friends house who is moving to China so we've got a great deal in a great house! I think the plan is to move next month so watch this space for a video tour!

Visitors...

It's that time of year again when we have an influx of visitors and the trip to the airport becomes a regular occurence! This weekend we have been hosting Mike and Becky Breen whilst they have been in Auckland spending time with St Paul's guys as well as some others which are part of The order of Mission which Mike heads up. We've also had our friends Emma and Dan up from ChristChurch to see us and Mike which has been so nice.

(ED-THIS BIT IS FOR YOU!)
On Thursday the long awaited arrival of my brother Ed comes to an end! He will be the first member of my side of the family to meet Gracie and we can't wait! He is in New Zealand for about 5 weeks so Gracie will have plenty of time to bond with her uncle, although i know he has plans to continue his adventures exploring this beautiful country.

And then on Sunday our friends Wendy and Ian from Sheffield arrive. They will be staying with us for a couple of days before heading South to see Emma and Dan. So all in all it's a busy time for us, but it has been, and will continue to be really great to see so many friends and some family.

Oh, I just thought i'd add that Gracie is growing up so fast-here is a photo of her wearing a new top given to her by Rachael and her hair clip-very cute indeed! (Steffi, i will get a photo up of Gracie in the gorgeous top you sent her soon-promise!)

We're sick.....

Sorry its been a while since our last post but we've all been sick! Firstly I (Laura) had bronchitis for 2 weeks, followed by Paul who had tonsilitis, followed by Gracie who had her first ever vomiting bug followed by a cold and fever which still lingers. It's not a fun time in the Kingsley-Smith household!

On a happier note, we've been away for Paul's birthday with Rosie and Pete, Matilda and Harry for the weekend and had a fantastic time. The weather in Whangamata was beautiful for two out of 3 days and we spent our time on the beach, eating on the deck and playing settlers. Paul had a great time and ever said it was one of his best ever birthdays!

Is it cold enough yet?

A few months ago we were given a snow suit for Gracie. It looks so cosy and i've been waiting for it to be cold enough for Gracie to wear it. The weather is just amazing at the moment and i've been out in the garden today weeding in just a vest top. Yesterday it felt a little fresh so i took the opportunity to put Gracie in her snow suit whilst we went for a bike ride. It turned out to really warm outside and we were both sweating by the time we got home! Anyway, I took a photo of her as she looked so cute and as fat as babies come in it!

Hilarious...

I want that one!

Well Laura recovered from her Bronchitis, but I've spent the weekend sick with Tonsilitis. I spent most of the weekend in bed, but today managed to squeeze in some infomercial viewing, and Neighbours (Which I haven't seen in months) and to my hilarity Lou & Andy from Little Britain were on as Extras! Possibly the funniest Neighbours scene ever!

Gracie and her friends

Here are just a few photos of Gracie hanging out with her friends over the past week.

Gracie & Amélie

Gracie & Aaron

Laura's birthday bike...

With her birthday money, Laura bought herself a new bike. We've bought both her and Gracie a helmet, and a baby seat to attach to the back. Laura just couldn't wait to try it out and has made several trips up and down the drive with Gracie in the basket!!!

A few photo's

Just to keep you updated....

I was thrown a surprise birthday party the other week by some friends! It was a great night and the cake Alana made was amazing...


I also took Gracie to the park and she had a first real go on the swing, as you can see, she loved it!