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.

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

Games with the buddy

Looking serious

Obligatory Tilly on a rock time

My phones camera is now officially dreadful

We had birthday hats!

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

 

Idiots in hats eating cake

More birthday posing

Goon

Surveying the scene – note the difference in photo quality when i dont take them.

Spikt dinodog

Surveying his kingdom

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.

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. 

Waterfalls

Murph and Tilly playing

Not sure what was going on here …..

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!

Murph Emerging from his cave

Yes he wore a cape at the beach

Yes Tilly had a cape too – This is the two superheroues digging a hole

Forests to play in

And a river right by the tents

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?

The mountain at dawn – The clouds roll in and out so fast you’ve just got to roll with it

On our way up

Halfway – mountains everywhere

Murph looking enigmatic on a mountain

Views for days

Look at the bloody camera Murph while we can see anything at all

At the peak, hanging on tight to the lead as its a long way down off this one.  Vertigo kicking in too

On the way up or down – I dont remember

Christ we almost look normal

Timer photo actually worked!

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.

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

Yeah we go up there!

Pretty steep

This was after I stopped having panic attacks and could go nearer the edge again

Just stunning

The path is the line running diagonally

Snow at the peak!

Tea break in the saddle

Gore-tex dog

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.

Pro tip – Park the car by a big obvious mountain like this one so you dont lose it

Technically we should have been over there but I cannot tell a lie – my directions are shit

Standing stone doing what it does best

Waterfall – slightly on the wonk

Frozen “waterfall” / trickle

Is that the mountain by the car? Oh …

Look I CAN take photos – Tilly in her snazzy coat

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

Reservoir points to car (backup in case of loss of mountain)

“Over there is bog…. over there is marsh ….. over there is swamp” ( I fell in most of them)