Last weekend was a tough one. It marked the 2^nd challenge in the trilogy of girl power sporting events my 13 yr old daughter and I had signed up for this summer and it was only getting more difficult. After meeting the challenge of completing the Race for Life Pretty Muddy 5km the previous weekend, we now had to face the Macmillan Cycletta in Bedford, a very pretty but hilly cycling sportive for women of all ages and abilities. We signed ourselves up for the Challenge distance of 70km which was the longest route on offer believing that with a bit of training, we could do this. After all, I had already done it twice before on my own so why would it be any different?

When it comes to exercise, we all know that we should be doing it often, that it is good for us and the benefits of doing it are all very positive. We are rewarded with greater cardiovascular health, increased fitness, more energy, we maintain a healthy weight and we lower our risk of serious illness and early death. Exercise also increases our self-esteem, mood, sleep quality and reduces our risk of depression. So that all sounds very motivating. But what you are never told about exercise and doing sports must be written in the small print that no one reads: Exercising and participating in sports inevitably involves a good dose of humiliation, many failures and some injuries. This becomes even more apparent when you take part alongside your children.

I have always thought that participating in sports makes you better prepared to face the difficult things in life because you have to learn to put the highs and lows into perspective. It is a hard lesson to learn as a child but we get another crack at it as parents when our children play sports. Because unless you are raising an extremely independent, well-adjusted Jedi master of all sports who simply shrugs off wins and defeats in equal measure, you will find yourself joining your child on an all too familiar emotional rollercoaster of winning and losing, victory and failure, dominating and being robbed.

The weather is still keeping in most parts of the UK and so far we have managed almost an entire week of sunshine. It has been such a welcome relief from the dreary winter and like many other parents, I have been taking advantage of it and have enjoyed watching my children play in their final rugby matches of the season without the need for hats and gloves. However, with the beginning of training and fixtures for different summer school sports plus the overlap in sports seasons with club rugby soon ending, athletics starting and road cycling already underway, it becomes a bit of a logistical nightmare to plan around who is doing what and when. And it is just when you think you have rides and meals organised, when things don’t go to plan. Especially when it comes to hunger.

After spending another cold and windy weekend on the sidelines, supporting one of my children playing in a rugby 7s tournament, I was thinking about the amount of preparation it takes for parents just to get their children to the pitch. Especially if there is a lot of uncertainty about the actual event other than the time you are meant to be there by. How many games are they going to play and when? Do they have any breaks between matches? Will they get a long enough break for lunch? And when is the whole thing is going to finally finish?