Its a party!

We’ve not been up to much running wise lately – the odd trot and adventure.  With only 3 weeks to Preseli ive been trying to rehab the leg, thge problem is that I dont know exactly whats wrong with it. I suspect sciatica but have a doctors visit this week to try to get to the bottom of it. Still its been improving slowly so we’re getting there. Not running all the time is hard but hey I have Murph to walk and walking does it good I reckon.  And yesterday was the best walk of all because it was his first adoption day – a whole year since I brought him home so we just had to have a hike and party in the beacons with his best buddy Tilly.

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It was a hot day but we found plenty of pools for the dogs to go in – although Murph doesn’t like to I just doused him with water instead while Tilly is a born water rat
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Games with the buddy
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Looking serious
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Obligatory Tilly on a rock time
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My phones camera is now officially dreadful
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We had birthday hats!
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And I made birthday cakes with peanut butter which were to everyones amazement a huge success!  Murph loved them and consumed twice as much as everyone else – well it was his part afterall

 

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Idiots in hats eating cake
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More birthday posing
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Goon
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Surveying the scene – note the difference in photo quality when i dont take them.
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Spikt dinodog
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Surveying his kingdom
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And on the walk back Murph shoed Tilly a neat trick. To keep cool he digs into wet peat in the shade and made them a cooling down spot

All in all the best way to celebrate his adoption!  Hopefully more running again soon =)

Bit of walk bit o run

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.

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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
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The view from the head of the Cwm
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More of the way we came
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We went up there – til it got too steep and came back down. 
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Waterfalls
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Murph and Tilly playing
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Not sure what was going on here …..
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Love this photo – running free makes him so happy

Still alive and going up!

Still around, still running just never seem to have time to post!  Murph went on his first camping adventure this week, we went up with his therapy dog to Snowdonia to climb Cadair Idris.  He did so well too! He’s so nervous around people I wasn’t sure how he would settle but he did start to get used to it after a while and even slept right through the second night.  I invested in a tent with blackout tech so it was cooler, darker and he could use it as a refuge when he was a bit overwhelmed and it worked great.  We had an awesome few days climbing mountains and exploring.  Even tired him out!

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Murph Emerging from his cave
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Yes he wore a cape at the beach
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Yes Tilly had a cape too – This is the two superheroues digging a hole
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Forests to play in
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And a river right by the tents
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Early morning recce of the route up Cadair Idris – Its up there somewhere – was a little concerned about the visibility and weather but who wants easy adventures right?
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The mountain at dawn – The clouds roll in and out so fast you’ve just got to roll with it
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On our way up
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Halfway – mountains everywhere
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Murph looking enigmatic on a mountain
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Views for days
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Look at the bloody camera Murph while we can see anything at all
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At the peak, hanging on tight to the lead as its a long way down off this one.  Vertigo kicking in too
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On the way up or down – I dont remember
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Christ we almost look normal
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Timer photo actually worked!
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After all the exercise sometimes you just need a friend to sleep on

No fear, no heights just miles

Ok going back in time …. these two runs were the friday and saturday before the Fan Brycheiniog hike.  Around 10 miles each time and incorporating a nice little loop I’ve found which tacks on as many miles and hills as I like.  Along with the hike thats over 30 miles in 3 days so today is most definitely a rest day.

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This is the close to home training hill of Witches Point – Currently at 3 repeats

Google finally synched all my photos to the cloud so I don’t have to manually drag them here like the last post so have some more fan brycheiniog hike photos

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Yeah we go up there!
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Pretty steep
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This was after I stopped having panic attacks and could go nearer the edge again
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Just stunning
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The path is the line running diagonally
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Snow at the peak!
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Tea break in the saddle
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Gore-tex dog
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Fell running time

Brecon wander

Went up the Brecon beacons yesterday.  Out into the bits people don’t tend to go and just hiked around a bit with the dog.  It was pretty cold, then hot, then windy then not. Hey im a poet! We didn’t follow the paths mainly as there weren’t any. Its quite liberating and definitely fun to just go where you please. This did mean we spent a few hours or so falling in bogs, marshes and swamps (we havnt worked out which is which yet) but wet feet is a given these days.  Plus Tilly the dog loved every minute of it even if she couldnt see over the grass much of the time I guess.

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Pro tip – Park the car by a big obvious mountain like this one so you dont lose it
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Technically we should have been over there but I cannot tell a lie – my directions are shit
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Standing stone doing what it does best
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Waterfall – slightly on the wonk
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Frozen “waterfall” / trickle
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Is that the mountain by the car? Oh …
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Look I CAN take photos – Tilly in her snazzy coat
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Ok we put the dog with short legs on the rock for a photo shoot, she didnt leap there – tiny legs and all that. Though she did exceptionally well seeing as its not really short dog terrain
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Reservoir points to car (backup in case of loss of mountain)
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“Over there is bog…. over there is marsh ….. over there is swamp” ( I fell in most of them)