Dog Walk Sunday

Sunday is mostly always a group dog walking day (this if I'm not away marshaling somewhere).  These are usually quite leisurely affairs more of a social thing an exercise thing.  Today was no exception but did involve a bit of incline.

Didn't really do much the rest of the day I'm afraid.  Had plans but couldn't be bothered oops.  Had some crisps and crackers and pate at Lin's then beans on toast for dinner.  

Saturday sauntering

Today we went to Buittle Castle for my 60th birthday present, yes from last year lol.  Thoroughly enjoyable afternoon learning about the history of the castle and how the cousins (both priests in the Western Orthodox Church) are restoring and improving the Castle to turn it into both a tourist attraction with B & B and a religious community.  The tour included an afternoon tea served in the library, very posh indeed.  

Before the tour we had a walk round Rounall Woods at Dalbeattie, good paths with some slight inclines it took roughly 45 minutes at a gentle pace, the dogs enjoyed themselves.  Good to know this little wood is there for future short  quiet walks.

On the way home we stopped off at Dalswinton so the dogs could have stretch of legs and a bit of running about and having fun.  I stepped on a sluttery tree root and fell onto my knee, yes my sore knee,  Nipped for a while but seems not to have suffered too much

Walking tomorrow at the castle.  Let's see what else I can fit in.

Once More into the breach

Have decided that it's time to resurrect the blog.  I've gotten lazy and fat and fat and lazy.  I injured my knee well over a year ago and it's been a complete menace.  However after a failed attempt with a NHS physio where I thought it was better and decided in my wisdom to stop the exercises, I opted for a private therapist and have been working hard with the exercises, well mainly working hard apart from a bit of a blip lately. So this blog is an attempt   not only to make me take stock and behave and get back on track both with fitness and  my figure but also make notes on my exploration of the world I chose to adventure in.

I don't want my running days to be over and am determined to at least get up to being able to do 10 miles.  So here goes from tomorrow the knee exercises re-start and so does the clean eating.

I'll just use this to record what I do, be it walking the dog, climbing hills, exploring, cycling - yes I have a bike and know how to use it  - just haven't in a while, jogging - hopefully, swimming with Rissa as she's joined the gym and is on her own fitness journey.

Ring a ding a ding it's the year end round up.

My year in pictures.

It turned out to be rather a good year, achieved  almost everything I set out to achieve and had rather a lot of fun doing so. It's been a year of being helped along the way by friends, teamwork working lol.

So instead of writing loads I am basically going to let the photos do the talking.

January

Walk with Neil to see the Andy Goldsworthy's near Penopnt.

Ziggy came to stay

That's Lyth (Probably my last ever but we won't dwell on that even if it still smarts lol)

 March

Little Mell, Great Mell and Gowbarrow with Kim

APRIL

The Great Lakeland 3 Day event with Kim

Northern Viaducts Walk with Kim

In my Volunteer Uniform for Dog's Trust

May

Edinburgh Half Marathon with Jax first road race in a long long time.

 June

Marshaling at KMF and my first ever outdoor music festival.

July

The Great Glencoe Trekathon with Kim

Marshaling at LSU and Scaffel Skyrace

July 

Marshaling and competitor stalking at Lakeland100

 September

Grand tour of Skiddaw marshaling and knocking Latrigg off the list.

An evening with Josh Naylor at Johnstonebridge

October

Ullswater Way with Kim

Dumfries Half Marathon with Jax which was September but this photo is refusing to move

The very BEST thing in the year Molly joins the family.  First Grandchild for me and Bilbo.

November and December

Carlisle Santa Dash with Jax

DRC Santa Dash

Supernova Run Falkirk

Molly's First Christmas

So all in all it's been a good year and I'm looking forward to 2018.  Kim and I are entered into the Great Lakes 3 Day again and this year we are going to ace it.   Training for this will start in earnest after New Year.  Still have RED to finish for December.  We are having a Parkrun in Dumfries and a new Jog Scotland Course starting in January.  Jax and I will be continuing with the road training and Kim and I will be popping a few more Wainwrights off the list.  

The icing on the cake of course will be watching our wee Molly growing over the year.

Onwards and upwards.

Realisation

Time to face reality, I am never ever going to make an ultra runner.  I was going to completely change the name of the blog but as I'm sure no-one but me ever reads it I decided why bother.

This blog thing is basically a way of me keeping a sort of diary of my adventuring so have just added that to the title. 

Have just completed the GL3Day a feat I am rather proud of regardless of mistakes made, hey as long as you learn from your mistakes eh.  We tended to take rather a relaxed approach to the whole thing, in hindsight perhaps a bit too relaxed.  Setting off earlier each day would of ensured we finished in better time.  Learned a lot about navigation and managed to tick off a couple of Wainwrights and had a great time on all three days.

My friend Jax and I are in training for a half marathon at the end of May, it's been quite fun although we are a bit worried about the cut off time.  It's been quite a while since I did anything like this - looking forward to it - really.

So what's in the future - well more of the same as I've been doing but without any dreams or un-realistic targets.  In a way it's been brought home to me in this last week that in the end it doesn't matter much in the great scheme of things,  What does matter to me is enjoying life, getting out there seeing the countryside, ticking of hills as and when I can without caring if I tick them all. No time scales, no pressure, no wanting to be something I'll never be.  

I am still in awe of those who do  amazing things, who climb mountains, who run mountains and vast distances, who can run and navigate at the same time lol and I will continue to be in awe, all respect to them. I will continue to follow their exploits with pleasure.  

So I say to myself Watch This Space.

Some musings

Well it's been a few months since I wrote anything in't blog so think it's time to post a couple of paragraphs.

I feel that I've been lazy but funnily enough looking back I've not been THAT lazy,just a bit lazy lol.

October saw Kim and I heading off to do one of the Three Rings of Shap (Ring 2) which takes you from Shap out through Great Asby Nature Reserve to Gaythorne Hall and back to Shap probably about 22 miles all in   It was a super walk, very scenic with quite differing terrains. it is our intention to complete all three rings.

On the 15th of this month I attended Trail Fest in Glasgow (Mugdock Park)  the speakers were excellent particularly enjoyed the Consani's and Gary Tompsett and James Stewart.   Hopefully I might be able to persuade other people into coming next year.

To finish off the month Jax, Kerry and I travelled down to Pooley Bridge to tackle the Ullswater Way Day organised by Nav4.  Although we came home on the Boat of Shame we completed 14 miles and I managed to tick of another Wainwright - Gowbarrow.  Got to say for most of the day we had a laugh and the part we did was in my estimation the hard bit.  Both Kerry and I have done the second half anyway so felt fine to call it a day and live to fight another day.

As you can see the views were spectacular.

Credit to Nav4 for the photo.

November - almost a write because of a very nasty chest infection.

However I did manage to recover enough to take Kona on an adventure with Kim and I in the Lakes.  We went from Askham to the Cockpit, from there to Lowther Castle and back to Askham,  Had a nice relaxed day and even managed to do some graveyard exploring and had time to partake of a nice afternoon tea and scone at Lowther Castle itself. 

December - came and went - I did the RED runner thing again which kept me moving through the month and hopefully kept some of the Christmas excess poundage at bay a bit.

So the year drew to a close and January loomed, can't say much about the weather it just seemed cold, wet and miserable.  A few days of frost but not enough.  Now January brings the event I always (up till now) have kick started my year with That's Lyth.  We missed it last year because of the snow but was determined to get there this year and show Kim what a great event it is.  Now to say I was left at the end of this deflated and feeling like I'd been kicked in the teeth is an understatement.  I am so totally upset with LDWA that I will not be renewing my membership.  I don't disagree with cut offs in the least or in removing at risk people from a course but to remove us 3 miles from the end with an hour and a half to cut off time in my book is disgraceful. We were more than capable of finishing within time and were in no way distressed.  We had up to this point been thoroughly enjoying the walk and the scenery perhaps we were slow but we were having fun, photographing things, chatting to people etc.,  If they only had the hall booked until a certain time they should of made that clear on the cut off stated. I wonder when it became a race.  A well never mind, but I still feel very sad that after many years of loyal membership we were treated in such a way.    I've not encountered in my marshaling duties anything like this, we always make sure the last people on the course are treated really well, food is always kept for them and every effort made to ensure they are looked after and have a great event.  Yes cut offs are cut offs but they're not cut offs until that point has passed. 

So having to make an effort to put that disappointment behind me and move on, we move into February and it starts going tits up, both socially and healthwise.  More chest infection and something else I'm waiting on the results of blood tests for, if they come back positive then that may explain something if not then I really need to seriously think about things and get my backside in gear.    Watch this space.

Roll on SPRING.

Bringing it all up to date - with an eye to the future,

It took a while for me to gather myself together after the cow incident at the Lakeland 50, physically the bruises came and went and mentally I must admit to getting a lot of it out of my system by talking about it and finding out that I am not alone and that lots of people out there are not too keen on getting up close and personal with the Bovine Mafia.   One of the things that I found refreshing was how some people took the piss a bit in a friendly way, Lots of mooing and pretend matador stuff.  The saga continues though.......

Spent August mainly pottering about doing small walks , dog sitting, Guide Dog planning etc.,  Linda and I did a fantastic walk  near Wanlockhead in a place called Glenim, very quiet and peaceful.

It was a beautiful sunny day just right for a paddle and yes I did.  Lots of scope for more walking up here, super place for map and compass practice too.

September and instead of taking part in The Grand Tour of Skiddaw Kim and I pitched up to camp and help out wherever we were needed.  So after a stint of gatekeeping at the start we went off on a pootle with Sabine.  Parked at Latrigg car park and went off up and down the Glendaterra Valley (so that's another bit of the Lakeland 100 route ticked off - don't ask).

round Blencathra Centre and back to Latrigg for another chat with the crew there.  Sabine's partner Jakob was going that fast that we just missed getting her back to the finish to see him crossing the line.  

The day after Linda and I had an adventure day in Ayrshire visiting Auchinleck House and then Crossraugel Abbey.  Guess who feel asleep in the car on the way home - clue we are still alive so it wasn't the driver.  

My club's new Jog Scotland course started and I have committed to taking a friend along for the duration.  Love doing this, just getting folk into getting out and about doing stuff is such fun. 

Another stint of helping out, this time at The Cumbria Way Ultra, Kim Bev and I were at Keswick again, great place to be and so much fun.  Very rewarding too knowing you are helping someone with their individual challenge.  It was brilliant for me this year also because my club had a team entered into the relay.

So I managed to round of September very nicely with a weekend away with OH in Edinburgh attending something called The Presidents Cup, which is a invitation only Sombo competition. There were teams from Russia, Spain, Italy, The Netherlands, Scotland and France. Lovely to be involved in something that OH is very keen on makes a change for him as he is normally trailing round assisting me with my goals.  We had a lovely hotel room in The Holiday Inn with two fantastic breakfasts and a dinner laid on for officials and the contestants on the Friday evening.  OH spent the day on the scoring table with a fantastic view of the action on the mats.

Thoroughly rested and restored now and as Autumn settles in and turns to Winter then my thoughts turn to next year, well actually they turned to next year quite a while ago if I'm honest.  Plans are afoot for some more adventures one definitely new and one is some unfinished business.