On friday we were back out to do section 2 of the Glamorgan ridgeway walk. Again we weren’t sure of how far we would get but the idea was to pick up at the exact point we stopped last time, leave the car and reach a suitable starting point for section 3. We succeeded – eventually!
Perhaps i’m paranoid but there seems to be a deliberate attempt to prevent walkers using this path, locked gates, extremely hard to climb stiles (for dogs), unfriendly signs. barbed wire where therre should be no barbed wire, missing signage. it’s as if landowners don’t want people using the rightful path through their land.
But maybe it’s just me – we knocked off another 4 or 5 miles (we have to retrace our steps each time to get back to the car so in effect we are doing it all twice) so around a 10 mile walk for all the dogs so they were happy! So next time we start from betws.
Lets go!
Hobbit house!
You shall be free! – Murph has a habit of trying to release Dug by biting through his lead
Dug finds a river
The view down towards Betws
Ummm yeah these are dog friendly
Extra milage where we took the wrong path down a super steep hill and ended up in Coytrahen by mistake. The small loop at the end is where we got lost in a field because the path was unclear and signs missing. The loop on the way back was to avoid the ladders again.
So for a change we did some walking. Well we walk a lot anyway but this was pre planned walking so its different. My friend heard of a long distance footpath called the Glamorgan Ridgeway which runs from Margam Park in the west to Caerphilly Castle in the east. There isn’t a huge amount of info about it online and from what i can make out parts of it are run down and wild.
The plan is to walk its length with the dogs over a period of time. So we will head off along the path until we find a suitable spot to begin the next section in a few weeks and then walk back to that sections start point where we left the car. This way we should actually manage to walk it both ways at the same time. Follow me? I wouldn’t we get lost a lot. Well on our initial recce visit we did get lost because we weren’t really trying and didn’t have great maps but on the inaugural first section last Sunday we made good progress and didn’t get lost at all.
So far we have around 5 or 6 miles done. We found a spot to pick up from last time and overall we were out for 4 hours and 20 mins which is probably enough for the dogs – well actually they were fine even the little one … see below
The Bro Stone in Margam Park – near the start of the whole route. As usual we were out early, avoid heat, avoid peopleNice views towards the Bristol Channel from the stoneValley of the sheep – as you leave Margam Park itself you have to pass the gatekeepersHappy Tilly – only small legs but the heart of a lion and never stops trottingTraversing dangerous groundThere was a bit of road to do but it was peaceful enoughn the return journey we detoured through a forest whereupon Dug decided to play with tilly – who was having none of itThe view southeastwards towards ShwtNearly finished and Murph discovers he is attached to Dug as we test out the double lead that may be required while I run the South West Coastal path next week
We will keep you updated with progress, im also going to work on a route guide and publish it online for anyone who wants to follow in our footsteps/pawprints
I was out on the beach last week. It was cold, windy and raining. I had taken a fall and banged up my knee and elbow. The way back was into the headwind and I was feeling like I hadn’t had enough calories for the run (which i admittedly hadn’t). I was feeling kinda miserable and had the internal monologue of self pity going on at my suffering.
Then I thought this isntsuffering at all. What people are going through all over the world is suffering, losing, lives, loved ones, jobs, freedom. Thats suffering. My choice to run along a fucking beach in shit weather is hardly suffering on any scale and the only one who makes me do it anyway is me. And in that moment I realised I was being a complete self absorbed dickhead. I had the beauty of the beach, I had the company of my dog, I had health enough to run this and the freedom to do so. I am truly blessed and fortunate and its something I need to remember.
It’s made me realign a few things, go out and help people during this crisis, do what I can even in small ways, look after my parents, neighbours and community as much as I possibly can. Give something back for once, I can take what I need from nature on the run.
Time to step up and help others suffering because I’m fortunate enough to not be. Take care out there people and if you can do something good then do it. Little things, little gestures might just go further than you think.
And now the photos!
Blessed just to be here
Poser posing posingly
Sunsets
Shiny days
Jesus Christ its a hailstorm! Why are we out in a hailstorm you idiot/ (said the dog)
I’ve been running just not writing about it. In fact i’m back to 4 or 5 days a week although the legs go from great to bleurgh pretty quickly. I suspect I still haven’t fully recovered from last months ultra. But it really is awesome to be back out just enjoying it. In order to maximise joy and not worry about miles and times etc Ive also stopped wearing a watch. Its odd at first but then quite liberating. No more seeing what pace i’m doing means no more worrying about what pace i’m doing. The run ends when the run ends. This is just a chance to be out with murph simply enjoying the whole process.
It does feel odd not to have a goal or target, the 50 miler loomed so large for such a long time I forgot what it was like to just do what i felt like. So at the moment all i do is what i feel like – and we’ll see what that takes me. I suepct back up more hills but that can wait.
Last week we swung by Tillys house and picked her up for a run, for a small dog she’s got a big heart and we all did 10 miles together
Run friends
A whale of a time was had
Chase!
We get to run in the forest again right?
Early mornings
Rainy afternoons
Poser
I also dropped off the money I raised to Fiona at Lizzies Barn Dog Sanctuary – £1210!
Firstly I apologise – I havent been here for months. Then again I havent really run properly for months. As some of you know when you cant run its easier to not be involved in running things at all, so thats where I’ve been – its nothing personal! I had the Eddum 50 miler planned for August the 3rd and I also had this niggling butt injury that wouldnt go away. So all I’ve done over the past few months in preperation is a lot of walking with murph and the odd jog here and there. Hardly ideal for my first 50 miler.
But as I was doing it for charity and had already raised money not starting the race wasn’t an option so last friday my friend Claire, the two dogs Murph and Tilly and I packed up the car and went on a camping/ultrarunning trip! Yes the leg still hurt but there was absolutely nothing I could do at that point it was to be sink or swim.
Here we go!
Friends at the campsite
The campsite was perfect, just a quiet farm with few people to freak murph out. Didn’t have the greatest nights sleep before the race but we were up at 5 to get ready and drive to the start.
The usual registration stuff, kit checks (thankfully we didnt have to take waterproof trousers, I need a lightweight pair) and lots of nerves, But eventually at 7AM we were underway. The Epynt way runs around the edge of the Sennybridge MOD training area so were were warned about gunfire and explosions and told not to touch any ordanance left lying around. We were also given the MOD number as they were aware we were out there and would be able to reach us in event of an emergency much faster than the race organisers. A nice touch from the MOD really. Its a permissive route that they have created by placing yellow topped posts every few hundred metres or so for the whole 50 miles.
The first few miles were the usual adrenaline fuelled thing, probably going a little too fast but not as bad as usual. I knew I was injured and probably relying on base fitness from the last few years and so I had decided that my best chance of finishing was to have a plan and stick to it. I was going to walk everything uphill apart from smaller inclines and run from aid station to aid station and take them one at a time. Experience told me I had to do better with hydration and so I was planning to drink both bottles between each station and eat something between too. I stuck to that all day until I couldnt eat the last 6 or so.
Early starts are the best
The injury hurt after a few miles and I could feel the rising panic that it was going to go south and I was going to be done much sooner than even I thought. The trick was to just run through it, fight the mental side of it off and simply ignore it until other things started hurting too. It’s something I’m learning – pain isnt necessarily catastrophic, every niggle , every ache doesnt mean that the race is done. They come and go, and come back … and go again. After a while you stop noticing them so much and the panic subsides. I cramped around 12 or 13 miles in which was early but again managed to calm the panic, accept it and limped on for a while until it cleared.
The whiole course had views like this
I was lucky and fell into a group of 5 runners and we all seemed to have a similar plan and pace. And I was grateful for that as the navigation at times was hard, it was like it all day, although the route is marked by the yellow posts and some signs they can be very hard to spot and I was thankful for the extra eyes. Although i usually like to run alone the company in this case was nice as we clicked off miles slowly and steadily.
Some monument around 16 miles in
The course was hilly – some of the early hills were like this – ok going down
But a bitch grinding back up the other side
Just a beautiful day to be out
This is the path …
The course itself is a brute – as described by the race director (who it turns out has run Badwater) Its got 8000 feet of ascent and descent but it feels like so much more, apparently this this the 3 peaks total. Or so someone told me halfway around. As it turns out for much of the route there is no path at all, just the marker posts to navigate to, one to another and picking the best route. It means that on the climbs and descents youre beating your own path through the grass which adds to the …. fun? We didnt pass a single walker all day in either direction – It really does seem barely used which is amazing as its so beautiful but also understandable as the terrain is such a bitch.
But I love running the hard stuff as its always more interesting than the gravel paths and I was enjoying myself despite the growing heat and aches and pains. I was growing in confidence and that was helped knowing I had a crew out there. For the first time I had an official crew! I was so so so lucky to have Claire following me around all day with the dogs in the car, she would stop, walk them and chill with them until I reappeared and I could pick up whatever I needed from them (I also had a dropbag at mile 28) so I changed shoes and socks at halfway and that felt great! I also had a few blisters but they neve got much worse and im grateful for that.
The views just kept coming along with the hills
Top of another climb
The yellow posts – We actually missed this turn somehow and had to backtrack to it. It was getting harder to concentrate on things
Hey look a hill! This is the “path” – I spent so many hours climbing so many of these. they seemed neverending and were probably the toughest part mentally. Just grinding one after another
We were down to three of us now, one guy had gone ahead and one had dropped behind. I know we all felt bad about him dropping off the back but it’s just one of those things in ultras I guess, he wasnt keeping up on the hills and stopped catching us on the downhills and so we had to stop waiting for him. That felt odd as it almost felt like we were letting him down but he knew the game well enough and it’s one of those things.
I hadnt run more than 32 miles before so this was new territory, we were still running well on flats and downhills but it was so attritional. The hill going up to the 5th aid station was utterly brutal. But claire and the dogs were at the top and with 10 miles to go there was no way she was letting me drop. As I ran from that station I could hear Murph crying (the only time he did it) which broke my heart and almost broke me but I managed to not turna around and just ran on.
That last 10 miles will stay with me a while. It was hard, physically I was pretty shot, climbing was just an intense effort which just went on and on, my quads were blown out so downhills were incredibly painful but we still found we could run whatever flats we could find – simply because somehow it was less painful than walking. Mentally I was very low by this point, looking back its easy to say I should have tried to be more positive but all I could think of was the end and why weren’t the miles going by quick enough. 10 miles sounds nothing, Ive knocked it off in training so many times. But when at the end of a race you realise 10 miles is pretty much 3 hours more of suffering its hard to take in.
But as dusk fell we climbed a final fence (literally had to haul ourselves over it) and hit the road which would lead to the end. 4 of us finished together as we had caught and passed a few people in the final miles including the guy who dropped us 30 miles before.
As we rounded the corner to the finish it was such a fantastic feeling, mainly so the pain would stop, I passed claire and the dogs and finally finished in 14.09 in 29th place. I’m not usually emotional at the end of races but this one felt like it had meant a lot to me.
It had also meant a lot to others. Claire had crewed me and been up supporting me from 5 that morning – 16 hours plus and she still had to drive me to the campsite. I had turned live tracking on my phone and the village back home had been watching my progress all day in the local pub as had my mum and dad at home (keep getting well dad!)
And as we drove back I had the news from the pub that I had topped £1000 in my charity fundraising for the dog sanctuary I adopted Murph from.
So although the racing between start and finish was I guess all about me, the day taken as a whole was more about a lot of people who got me there one way or another. I couldnt have done it without them.
The race itself is superbly organised, I cant recommend the races run by Pegasus Ultrarunning enough. Rhys the race direction is a lovely guy and the whole thing is so professional. The aid stations were amazing and the volunteers manning them were so supportive. They really made for a great day.
Glad to have his dad back walking him
The next day we walked the dogs a lot, I was sore and stiff but it did me good to keep moving, looks like I didnt even aggravate the injury – So who knows whats going on there but its not worrying me anymore lets put it that way.
So thats the story of my first 50 miler. It’s a bit of a long report but I wanted to get it written down as memories inevitably fade. Everytime I run an ultra I learn something new. I learned a hell of a lot from this one. I learned not to give up even before you start. I learned that not all pain is significant (I stole that line from somewhere) I learned that fitness is great but a plan and executing that plan is just as important. I learned that I have the mental strength to overcome my physical weaknesses.
But most of all I learned that with belief and the help of your friends you can achieve things you’d never have thought possible. Summer 4 years ago I couldnt run 200 yards. This summer I ran 50 miles.
I shall wantonly use my blog to say a big happy mothers day to my mum (of course) cos she’s the best! I wouldnt be where I am and who I am if it wasn’t for her. She is also one of teh few people Murph actually likes and is honoured to be able to get him to sit (even if it does a require a treat)
Speaking of Murph I of course couldnt not post some photos. Things have been fairly quiet on the running front, just taking it easy and praying everything fixes up in time for Preseli … My usual theory prevails. Im either in the process of getting injured, recovering from injury or wondering if ive recovred from injury yet. Goes with the territory I guess. We have been however doing 3 or 4 miles of walking before work and the same after each day so thats time on feet and so im not that worried about any race specific training ..yet
Some new friends
It all got mysterious and misty the other night – However my usual photography skills totally failed to capture it
Thats one happy doggo. We’re both happy to be out and running, so much so it seems I never update the blog. And I say that every single time I post now!
Something else I say every year at this time and I’m always too early is – Doesnt it feel like spring! I just got back from a beautiful run and whether its february or not it felt like spring!
So what have we been up to? Plenty of runs and plenty of rest days so the niggles dont become injuries. Plus a hiking trip to the Brecon Beacons with friends.
Trust me people winter is officially over – its spring! (Bet we get more snow)
Sometimes we run. Sometimes we stand still
Oh hai – got any treats?
So if you’re gonna climb a tree ….. so am I. Now what?
We’re still out there. And we’re just enjoying being out and training. By training I just mean running when we feel like it – which for Murph would be every day if he could but for his old man it means when I know the body can take it. No matter because we can always walk anyway!
It really is such a joy to be out with a dog again, I think I’d forgotten how much pleasure you can get just by making an animal so happy. Gotta admit Soaks is probably up there watching and thinking Thank God he never made me run like that, she was definitely a walking dog. But Murphy was born to run (to be fair its his genetics) and watching him bounce around and be a general lunatic with a huge grin on his face is a simple way of making any hurt I’m feeling disappear. It’s so easy to melt a mile away in his company.
We’ve seen some pretty cool sunsets recently too
Giant dog!
This is actually early morning not dusk
First snowdrops!
Looking handsome
Last nights clouds – Looking a bit ominous with snow forecast
Things are starting to look up – Ran/walked 7 miles down the beach on saturday with no apparent repercussions and then went for a walk up the Brecon beacons on sunday with no ill effects either. I’ll continue to ease back gently though just in case.
Wild ponies – Murph has to go on lead around them. I dont think he could bring one down but Im not letting the sod try
The view from the head of the Cwm
More of the way we came
We went up there – til it got too steep and came back down.
Ok so I fully admit my post rate is poor, its currently at around 5 runs to a post or similar. Cant be helped more time running and less time writing is fine for this time of year. Autumns coming too – In fact i do believe its here and its always a pleasure to be out and about this time of year. So much to see and cooler weather to do it in.
Looking handsome as ever
So this week we have mainly beach run with a trip back to West Wales to see the people at the sanctuary Murph came from. he was good as gold there no sign of freaking out at being back and it was lovely for them to see him.
While we were there we took the chance to pop back to Pembrey Country park to have a walk on the huuuuuge beach there.
See? Big beach
Oh yeah he had his therapy dog with him too
Standing on things is always better with friends
Murph dug himself this pit in the dunes and then pro0mptly lay in it
Tilly getting confused by a mirror image – The other dog was even called Tilly, was the same breed and the sme age give or take a few months – small world (if youre a small dog)
Back to running and I had an idea – I sewed my old garmin watch to one of Murphs collars – I want to see hwo much extra milage he does – sods law he decided to stuck to me like glue on this run so whereas i did 7 he did only a quarter mile more. When he chases skyrats I want to see big numbers Murph!
Blue Green Gold Grey, Awyr Maes Tywod Aarreg 