Sally Gunnell's blog by Sally_Gunnell

The week started with the predicted carful of smoky, smelly clothes, which took me days to wash. All that for just two days camping on the Isle of Wight! But it was worth it. The kids had a fine old time, building fires on the beach and roaming around crabbing with their mates. Well worth the soap powder…

On Friday I took the family up to Crystal Palace to see the Aviva Grand Prix athletics meet. I caught up with old buddies Linford Christie and Kelly Holmes. I also bumped in to my former room-mate Jenny Stoute; it was great to see her and a lot of memories came flooding back. There were some fantastic performances, with Jenny Meadows standing out in the 800 metres, along with the Jamaican, Kalise Spencer, who set the fastest time in the world this year in the women’s 400 metre hurdles. I haven’t been so excited by a meet for some time; most of our guys look in pretty good shape for the Worlds coming up. The following morning Jon and I took the boys for a run. They’d been inspired by Mo Farah’s efforts the night before and left Jon and me for dead in the last 200 metres. Just like their hero did at Crystal Palace!

On Saturday I went to the Anglian Home Improvements Summer Ball at the Four Seasons Hotel near Winchester, Hants. What a wonderful place! I was spoiled with a spa treatment and a massage, before enjoying an English tea party; complete with bunting, archery, falconry and (of course) cakes. All this before the main event even got started! The ball itself was a glamorous affair and I had a wonderful evening, gliding around in my frock (it can be fun to dress up once in a while). But it was back to reality on Sunday, returning home to find children running around in filthy clothes, one with a runny nose and two so dirty that I started to wonder if they were deliberately winding me up! So, back to the washing machine and yet more dirt stains that don’t want to shift. The spa felt like a lifetime ago by this point…

I’ve finally managed to sort out a bit of a summer break, after a few weeks of uncertainty with work dates and so on. So, time for some family fun in the sun. It’ll be good to hang out with the kids and I’m looking forward to spending time with Jon too. Sometimes, it feels like we live in separate locations; I guess quite a few of you will know what I mean. Modern life, I suppose. After that, I’ll be finalising my preparations (Sally-Speak for catching up desperately) for the Monster Challenge up in Scotland (a team run/bike event). I think one or two of you guys out there are coming along too, so do please say hi if you happen to see me on the course. I’ll be the one with the red face, who can’t speak for panting!