Trail Running in the Savernake Forest

One of my happiest discoveries this year has been my love for trail running. I've been an avid road runner for a couple of years now but it's only more recently that I've ventured off road into the exciting and extraordinary world of trail running.

This weekend a friend and I headed to the Savernake Forest in Marlborough to stretch our legs in the 4,500 acres of this beautiful woodland owned by the Earl of Cardigan. The forest is in a designated 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' and words alone simply cannot do it justice.

 I took my phone camera along for the run which was both a good and bad thing - on one hand it allowed me to capture these beautiful images, but it meant that I kept stopping intermittently to take pictures! Fortunately, my running buddy was very patient and admittedly the breaks were welcome as the Savernake Forest is certainly a challenging run consisting of ample hills and some very boggy terrain underfoot.

Some people discount trail running if their focus is on achieving good running times. Naturally, the pavement or the treadmill are better if you're trying to improve your time but there's no harm in adding a spot of trail running into your routine too. It brings a whole new dynamic to the sport - it's both challenging and rewarding and it allows you the opportunity to spend quality time outdoors in the beautiful countryside. It's worth investing in a good pair of trail running shoes if you live in the UK though as it can get a tad muddy along the way!

 

Happy Halloween!

What's not to love about Halloween? Copious amounts of sweets, spooky decorations, trick or treating and of course pumpkin carving!

This evening a friend held a pumpkin carving evening at her house, in preparation for the almighty HallowBon party she is throwing this weekend (HallowBon is a combination of Halloween and Bonfire Night and looks set to be the party of the year!).

I have to confess I have never carved a pumpkin before in my life (sad I know!) but with a little inspiration from some pictures sourced from the Internet and a super sharp knife and voila! these are the beauties I created!


Happy Halloween :)

 

Happy National Poetry Day 2012!

image from dreamstime

A friend sent me a fabulous email at work today in which she not only wished me a happy National Poetry Day, (how did I miss this? I love poetry!) but she also wrote me a joyful little poem about the flat pack joy that was our evening last night. (The move is almost done... finally!)

I love writing poetry and spend a fair bit of my free time wrapped up in creating the perfect poem. However, I'm not quite courageous enough to share my musings with the cyberworld just yet, so instead, in celebration of National Poetry Day, I thought I'd share one of my all time favourite poems:

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!
      

Rudyard Kipling

What is Love?

It has been a barren few weeks on the blog front for which I must apologise profusely. (I blame it on the fact that I am currently in the middle of moving house, which involves building flat pack furniture, which in turn involves me having to lie down for extensive periods of 'recovery' time...)

In short, normal blogging services shall return very soon. In the meantime though, I thought it would be nice to share this little thought with you....

'Love is... to listen'

I volunteer for a local charity and the other evening I came across a painting in the branch with these words on it. And how true they are - one of the kindest things we can offer to our fellow human beings is a sympathetic ear. We all have vastly differing journeys through life but a common element is that at some point we will all face difficult patches. At these times, having someone to listen without judging or throwing advice at us can make all the difference. Surely that's love in one of its most selfless forms?

Why not give it a go and see what happens....

image from dreamstime
 

'Mission Kayak' Accomplished!

There's nothing quite like the feeling of accomplishing something new! This week, I am basking in the warm fuzziness of that feeling because I have just completed my 1 star kayaking qualification from the British Canoe Union.

The course ran over a series of five weekday evenings and covered all the basics of canoeing and kayaking, including elementary manoeuvres, embarking and disembarking from boats, capsizing and of course health & safety and rescue procedures.

Another requisite for the award is to complete a river trip. I had this pleasure back in August on an all day kayaking excursion along the Thames in Oxford. We had dreadful weather that consisted of perpetual rain, thunder and lightning! (But I did it!)

Admittedly I still have a lot to learn - my kayaking skills are more 'learner driver' than 'formula one' racer at this stage, but I intend to persevere with it, as I would love to become proficient enough to be able to go sea kayaking in the none too distant future.

But let's not get ahead of myself. For now I shall simply pat myself on the back and enjoy practising my new found skills. :)

 

Cocktail o'clock!

If you're having friends over and are stuck for ideas for something entertaining to do, then perhaps consider holding a cocktail-making party.
 

Recently, a couple of the girls and I got together for exactly this and I could wax lyrical all day about how much fun we had!


How to go about it:


You'll need the following basics:

• A good cocktail book (we used '1000 Classic Cocktail Recipes' by Robert Cross)
• A cocktail shaker, preferably with a strainer
• A blender (for making 'frozen' cocktails, which I'd definitely recommend)
• Various spirits and mixers, depending on which cocktails take your fancy. If you're on a budget then I suggest picking recipes that use the same spirit/s to keep the cost down
• Some nice glasses & decorations for the drinks, such as fresh fruit, drinking straws and mini umbrellas
• Lots of crushed ice
• A couple of willing guinea pigs participants to join in the cocktail shaking and drinking

 

And voila! you have all the ingredients for a perfect party.

We experimented with several cocktails during the evening, including good ol' classics such as mojitos, and classics with a twist - saocos (a Caribbean recipe similar to a pina colada but made with coconut milk instead of creamed coconut) and my personal favourite - frozen raspberry daiquiris. I couldn't find an exact recipe for the berry daiquiris so we improvised a little with superb results! The secret is to taste your creations whilst preparing them (any excuse!) until you get the perfect balance.



Happy cocktail making!

Soul Food from the Sole!

Over the last couple of years, running has become one of my best friends. At school I was an avid cross country runner, but sadly somewhere down the road (it was probably the road to the wine lands in Cape Town...), I got distracted by life and my passion for the sport started to dwindle.

However, rediscovering running has been of the best things that could have happened to me. After a busy day in the office, or even bright and early on a Sunday morning before the world has woken up, I love nothing more than grabbing my trainers and hitting the open road. I'm very fortunate to have miles of beautiful countryside literally on the doorstep, so within five minutes I can find myself surrounded by nature in her full resplendence without any people or cars in sight for miles. Bliss!

It's not just the endorphin kick that makes running so rewarding - I also find it does wonders for the soul. My mind has a tendency to permanently race around at about 1,000mph and running really helps to slow it down. I use my time out on the hills to work things through in my head (whether it's something that's bothering me, something I need to find a solution to, or even just creating a to-do list for the day!) and by the time I've finished my run, my head is cleared and my legs have had a good stretch!

In June this year I ran my first 10k at Westonbirt Arboretum and despite the fact that the weather was beyond atrocious (think mud bath...), it was such a liberating feeling. I've already set my sights on The Wolf Run in Leamington Spa in April 2013 (Wolf stands for Woods, Obstacles, Lakes and Fields...) and plan to complete a similar challenge every year.

It takes time and commitment to get back into running after having had a break from it, but if you can push through the initial difficult bit, then there's no looking back. I know I certainly haven't.

Image from dreamstime

Cranial Implosion on Aeroplanes

It’s a cruel world for a person consumed with wanderlust but overwhelmed with an irrational fear of flying.

In short, that person is me. I’ve always loved the excitement that visiting a new country brings. My senses come alive and I lap up the intoxicating sounds, sights and smells that abound on foreign soil.

Unfortunately there’s the little matter of getting there first and with time this has become a concern of increasing magnitude for me. Yesterday, I was telling a friend about my flying phobias and it ended in a fit of uncontrollable laughter because my list of flying fears is quite ridiculous. In fact I am surprised my brain doesn’t explode on an aeroplane considering all the things I worry about. Here are a few of the best ones:

Low cost airlines – despite the fact that many of the low cost airlines in the UK have flawless safety records (yes, I research an airline’s safety record before I will fly with them), I just can’t help feeling that they must be cutting the cost somewhere. So I spend the entire flight watching various parts of the plane to see if bits rattle/ fall off/ explode.

Counterfeit aeroplane parts – this links in with the point above. But the truth is counterfeit parts have resulted in unnecessary crashes over the years. Read ‘Airframe’ by Michael Crichton if you want to join me in this phobia.

Aeroplane toilets – this one is a double edged sword as I hate public toilets anyway as a result of my aversion to germs. Add to this an impossibly small cubicle, turbulence, queues, oh and a toilet that sounds like it’s going to suck you out into the abyss when you flush it and the result is me sitting cross-legged for the entire flight.

Terrorists – does anyone not fear this on a flight these days?

Gradual loss of cabin pressure – if you’re flying, take a bag of unopened crisps with you. If they burst then there is a good chance the cabin hasn’t pressurised properly. Hopefully you haven’t got hypoxia by this point though or it’s too late anyway. I remember reading an article years ago that said that oxygen masks only come down in an event of sudden loss of cabin pressure, hence the need for a bag of crisps as back up!

Hitting an air pocket – This can result in a serious, sudden drop in altitude - made even worse if you are squatting over the toilet trying not to touch any germ-ridden surfaces at the time.

Losing my passport – imagine reaching your destination - having survived the ordeal of flying - only to be deported (and placed back onto a steel-caged death trap of an aeroplane) because you have lost your passport along the way. My idea of hell.

So there you have it. An insight into my overactive little mind. Fancy flying with me? Didn’t think so!

image from dreamstime

The Benefit of Hindsight and all that!

It occurred to me the other day whilst looking in the mirror that I really shouldn’t have plucked my eyebrows so thinly when I was younger. If only I’d known then that they’d eventually stop growing back and I’d be left with but a few scraggly tufts of wannabe hair where once there had been beautiful thick, youthful eyebrows. Aah!

This grievous injustice then got me thinking about ALL the other things I wish I’d known at eighteen, which then compelled me to write a post about this!

So here goes; the things I wish I'd known back then:

1. Not everyone you meet in life will have your best interests at heart so be careful whose advice you listen to and whose company you keep.

2. Be tolerant and considerate of other people and their views – you don’t know what they may be going through or what life experiences they have had that have formed their current opinions.

3. Your body is freaking awesome and healthy at eighteen – appreciate it, take care of it and have confidence in yourself. It’s much harder to look as effortlessly good when you hit 30!

4. Whilst love is an awesome thing and should be cherished, never let your love for someone allow you to lose sight of other, equally important things in your life, for example, friends, family, career etc.

5. Set up a pension as soon as you can afford to do so in your twenties.

6. Dance as often as you can, whenever you can and without caring if you look silly. Dancing is good for the soul.

7. Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes. We all make them. Just make sure you learn from them.

8. Everything you read in your twenties about the importance of moisturising your neck is completely true! It’s one of the first areas to show signs of aging when you hit your 30’s. And use sun cream! I wish I had.

9. Think really carefully about what you want study at university and whether career satisfaction or money is the most important motivation for you. Both can be highly relevant!

10. Life is a constant ebb and flow. The bad times pass, as do the good. The secret to happiness is being able to accept both the good with the bad. (*Caveat - I’m still learning how to do this now…)

What do you wish you had known at eighteen?

Image from dreamstime