Local Foot Hunt Invades Residential site for the morning

Well at the moment I'm sat in the cabin waiting for it to stop raining so that we can go for the planed walk, using the local hunt as light entertainment as they run around the site like idiots after a fox that I've just seen duck under the cabin for safety

We've had random packs of hounds running round the site for the last hour now, more interested in fussing round us than they are tracking foxes. Things are a little different here then the hunts back in Leicester, just as disorganised if a little more interesting to watch. Its not that I agree or disagree with hunting I was just brought up used to seeing it and watching this bunch of tweed coated farmer types thrash around in bushes with a pack of unruly hounds, I'm sorry but its nothing in comparison to a full blown posse of red coats on horse back blowing horns thundering past following a pack of still unruly hounds, followed by 100 plus followers on horse back. Sorry but the two just don't compare.

So getting bored of that quite quickly and as the rain is set in for the day I think I'd better have a pottering about day doing a few jobs until its time to go to the Aberdovey fireworks show, which is suposed to be on Sunday night according to the Dyfi Diary but now it appears to be tonight and hopefully the bonfire wont be washed away by a high tide this year.

Top tips for the New York Marathon

The New York City Marathon

Boy its a killer, widely regarded as one of the toughest marathons on the circuit. I completed it a few years back for a local children's charity. The race its self was awesome, the training up to it was horrific, shin spits, colds, sore Achilles, bad knees you name it I got it. But fortunately it all paid off as I had a fairly comfortable race on the day. Mind you cant remember passing Columbus Circle???

So anyway I was out the other night and ran into a friend that mentioned they were doing the NYCM on the 4th of November, it was too load to talk (dodgy rock/country band ruining the Rolling Stones)
but I got to thinking about what I did when I did the marathon. There not race tips, bit too late for that now, but here's my top race day tips.

1. Drink lots of water on the plane on the way over, to avoid dehydrating.
2. Get more water and plenty of carbs don you for the 3/4 days prior to the race.
3. Avoid Tea, Coffee, Alcohol, Fatty foods
4. Make sure you get plenty of sleep, race day is a very early morning.
5. Get involved with the pre race parties, its a great atmosphere and will boost your moral.
6. Wear an old tracksuit/joggers on the morning of the race, its cold in NY in November, wear your suit until the start of the race or until you cross the Verasano Bridge, here you can take it off and just dump it, clothes get collected later for charity.
7. take foil blanket/ bin bag to wear to keep the wind and rain of as you hang around at the start, you will be waiting around for quit a while before the race.
8. If you need to relieve yourself the over the side of the Verasano Bridge is your last chance before the public can see you.(everyone does it)
9. If you are starting on the bottom layer of the Verasano Bridge, run in the middle you don't need telling whats coming over the side from the top layer.
10. Take it steady for the first 5-10 miles, really steady, there will be a lot of runners and trying to get round them by bobbing and weaving is just knackering and you won't gain much time for all your effort, anyway its good race practice to run the first half slower.
11. Split the race down into sections, don't run it as one whole thing. Say you know you can do a nice steady 6 miles in under an hour, split the race down into 1 hour sections run your 6 miles at your 1 hour target, then start again you've only got to do it 4 and a bit times, you know what it feels like to run 1 hour so your head can handle the times.
12. Enjoy Brooklyn and the Bronx its probably going to be the only time you see it without fear of getting shot and all the kids will be out giving you sweets and oranges and making there own refreshment stops for you, a lot of them cant afford it so give them some high fives and pocket the sweets for later (nice little glucose rush)
    
13. Look up as you cross the finnish the camera for the finish photo is on the top of the gates.
    
14. Arrange a meeting point for after the Finnish line, its chaos. The helpers are brilliant they get you to your bags that you stashed at the start give you a snax bag and get you through that bit where your legs just give out, trying to find your loved ones on the other hand is a nightmare, I ended up with some random New Yorkers helping me back to the hotel.
15. The most important one now Enjoy yourself! its a personal challenge yes, but your probably not a pro runner with a must have time to beat so don't get wrapped up in this I trained to run it 3h so I must do that! thing just do what feels right on the day. Its actually physically harder to run a marathon in 4 hours than it is 2 hours due to the fact the your body will have run out of energy supplies after 2 hours anyway.

Ok everyone have a great time out there, have fun, do some sight seeing, party after the race but most of all have a good race.

nice little session in the estuary

Well still no internet connection as such, well only the old hanging off the decking borrowing my neighbours one ( Ta guys) BT rang the morning to let me know thats its going to be another 4 weeks until someone can come out and dig a 20cm trench 3m long to put my line in!!!! come on I could do it myself in an hour, whats with the 4 weeks lark?.

Anyway, we had a nice bit of unexpected wind on Tuesday so we shot off to Borth (the dark side) and a little play in the estuary 4 a couple of hours until the wind dropped off..Brrrrr that water soon gets chilly after the summer, it doesnt seem that long ago that I was out in board shorts and Tuesday I could have done with my winter gloves to block that cold east wind.

Fingers x for the weekend, its looking quite good at the moment, but hey that could all change.

Keep kiting

Tata

looks like I'm living in Wales then

Well thats it, we shut the shop on saturday, I had an offer on my house on Tuesday, and I drove down to Wales on Wednesday.

I'm currently sat on my deck in glorious sunshine looking out at this......

I dont want to brag but I wake up every morning to this view, I can see it from my dining table, while I'm doing the dishes, and just out of the corner of my eye while I'm watchin TV. Ahh life is good, posting on the blog has been a tad difficult as I have no phone line yet, fortunately my neighbours are letting me borrow their wireless signal, I can get a whole 11mbps if I stand diagonally in the left hand side of the deck with one foot in a bucket of water while at the same time holding on to a wire coat hanger. Ah well I think I can cope things are just going to have to slow down a little bit, the more people I talk to about what I'm doing the more I'm convinced I've done the right thing.