More West Wales

On friday I headed down to West Wales to stay with friends again and of course I managed to fit in a run.

In fact I fitted in a 15 mile run along the Welsh coastal path. I intended to do around 10 but I felt great and it was a beautiful day so I just grabbed the chance to go further. The thing about coastal paths is that they are very rarely level – My watch reckons I did 2500 feet of elevation gain! I have to admit that some of the climbs were steep but I had the common sense to walk the worst and managed to keep my heart rate down for the whole thing (Im a good boy)

You can see why I was enjoying it

I found a washed up buoy – Bigger than I thought they’d be!

The views were simply stunning

And it all went a bit deliverance at one point. Is #spottedtheskull trending?

I ran along the beach at Broadhaven

Went past Littlehaven nad kept going (Everywhere around there appears to be called somethinghaven)

Went through some lovely woods (also full of bloody nettles)

#spottedtheship

Destination – This headland

Destination reached!

On the way back the tide was right out so I could run and scramble between the two Havens and was glad I did as I #spottedthecave and what a cave it is!

Found but didnt eat the mushroom!

This part of the trail is know for its man-chasing giant acorns – I was wary but didn’t see one

So 15 miles, lots of hills, controlled breathing and heartrate, good nutrition and hydration. Things are going well right now! (touch wood, don’t jinx myself etc)

And all this followed by a few hours in the kayak and some beers with Iolo the dog.

West Wales Weekender

I was lucky enough to be invited down to West Wales by a couple of friends who were renting a cottage for a week ( I say cottage, it was huge and could sleep 8) so off I went on friday straight after work , only a couple of hours drive but you forget the beauty of your own country sometimes.

The cottage was in a tiny village called Nolton Haven and it had the most perfect bay for learning to kayak, not much swell and some interesting coves and coastline to explore.

Nolton Haven beach at low tide

But first things first I woke on saturday and my foot felt fine so I figured I’d go for a gentle run on the beach as the sand was super soft, of course I couldn’t actually stick to my plan and was soon off up the coastal path that runs either side of the bay. The views were fantastic and the foot felt fine. I’ve spent some time considering things while off injured and have come to realise I can’t hammer my body at this age (which does makes me sound old) when it’s not really used to it. If I want to run at all I need to run smarter, lower impact and run slower.

I’ve been serruptitiously reading about slow ruinning and heart rate training and I managed to keep my heartrate easily below 140 despite some extremely vertical terrain – not that I was really monitoring it to be fair as I didnt have my watch as I didnt expect to be running and anyway the watch doesn’t even do heart monitoring. So I simply took my pulse and timed it. Works for me!

I ran around 4 or 5 miles perhaps and as I say took it slowly, expecting my foot to start hurting but apart from near the end where it started to nag a little on the downhill to the beach it was fine and afterwards I felt no pain. I have an appointment at the doctors tomorrow to discuss the xray results ….. so I probably wont mention the run :p

I also had my Altras on and in my admittedly limited experience these are the most comfortable trainers I’ve ever worn. It’s like running in slippers and the grip is utterly fantastic. Some of the descents were on shale and they provided perfect footing with no slippage at all. To say I’m happy with them right now is an understatement.

Some photos from the run

Overlooking the bay at Nolton Haven

Cave!

Headland which probably has some local name which I don’t know

Close up of stack

Looking down to Newgale

I came across this just off the path – Turns out to be the remains of Trefane Colliery – a Mine! – more info if you’re interested here

 

Beautifully weathered stones

Mineshafty thing

Mineshafty hole

So after the run it was time to test the kayak!

Absolutely loved it, spent a good few hours in the water self teaching various techniques – I think the hardest part was launching it! I also learned how not to panic when you ground yourself on a rock and nearly tip out and how to fend off a dead seagull with my paddle. I finished off with a lesson in how to get back on if I ever do actually fall off by mistake.

I actually look like I know what i’m doing! Note the calm sea though

After kayaking it was chill out, bbq, beers and watching Wales win their opening game in the Euros! Oh and playing with Iolo the labrador puppy – Who had this face on after trying to eat my Altras

Ummm we may have drunk one or two

Well running and kayaking is thirsty work!

All in all a fantastic few days. So glad the foot held up and to get a few miles done was the best news plus the kayak is great and gives one hell of a workout to arms, legs and arse!

Hope everyone else had a good weekend too.