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Motivation & Trepidation

— Posted inHealth & Fitness, Personal — 2 min read

Well, where do I begin?

Blogs – never really succeeded at them! Partly because of my own mental health, I am the archetypal manic personality type – starting things and then running out of steam as my cycles, well… cycle.

There’s also the reasoning that I don’t know if I have much to say that deserves to be preserved! I’m a pretty private soul, and my running is my way of expressing myself. I played guitar and in bands for 30 years before I stopped – mainly because I felt I’d done what I’d wanted to do with that. The thrill of bunging a load of expensive equipment in a car, driving miles to be paid peanuts to play to small crowds wore off as I got older as the gilt edges of the lifestyle wore off to reveal the base metal underneath.

So these days I run. Even that I struggle with occasionally, but typically summer (with the sun) and winter (with snow) are the times I do my most exploration. So I document my runs on my Garmin with photos to serve as a pictorial record of my exploits – at 55, I know that this will not last forever and perhaps these records will serve to be the things I look back on in future years…. “I may not be able to do that now, but I did then – and here is the proof”

So I’ll explore the idea of recording some particular runs here, with photos, explanations and thoughts.

Dwarf 2 telescope and rediscovering Astronomy

— Posted inAstronomy — 1 min read

My degree’s are in Astronomy, and I have been fascinated by the sky since I could look up. In the early 2000’s I bought a 10″ newtonian (Orion Optics!) and although it did work incredibly well, the sheer size and bulk meant it didnt get used much and I eventually sold it.

This year I treated myself to a Dwarf 2 Smart Telescope after seeing some rave reviews, and I have to admit it has absolutely rekindled my love for the stars. This photo of M42 was taken on a moonlit night, stacked from 32 exposures of 15 seconds and gain 100 – then processed in Siril and Gimp to highlight the nebula.

Take me back, to sunny days again

— Posted inHealth & Fitness — 2 min read
The Sugar Loaf. Mount Doom looks so much better now Sauron has gone.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/17561599475 is the activity

https://www.plotaroute.com/route/2669723?units=k is the route

Starting from the car park in Bailey Park in Abergavenny (parking on Sunday only cost me £1.70 for all day too!) you head up towards the Sugar Loaf. What this route does is different though – you don’t actually head to the summit, but explore Llanwenarth and Cefn Lewis around it.

Weather was a bit pants really – drizzle for most of the day, temperature about 6C and a big difference to when I did this in the summer….

Summer on the Loaf. Doesn’t look it here, but was significantly warmer that day!

This route takes you through some empty valleys to the west and north of the Sugar Loaf. The mountain itself is always on the horizon, but here you also get some great views of the Blorenge, Govilion as well as Cwmdu and Mynydd Llangorse at the mid point. You are also within spitting distance of Llanbedr at the turnaround point.

The trail is largely sheep path for 80% of the route, and in the wet weather there are a few isolated areas where the ground gets a bit boggy. Even though you don’t hit the summit, this 20 mile route gets you a good 1200m of climb so its not as simple as it first seems, and proves that you can get some good ascent without needing to hit the summits!

Who I am.

— Posted inHealth & Fitness, Personal — 2 min read

My name is Adam. I live in south-eastern Wales, and I’m 55. I have had a varied and interesting work history, and after working in IT for a number of years I was made redundant in 2003 – I then went on to get an Astronomy masters degree, and a PhD. I work in education, but not in a teaching role. During my time during my PhD, my wife was diagnosed with a degenerative spinal issue and this lead us to review our work/life balance. The realisation that life can take so much away from you at a blink of an eye was a big part of my decision to focus on my personal life.

I also foster cats for a rescue, and we specialise in those that need special care. I jokingly call myself the butler of the feline convalescence home. This year has been tough on me as I lost my dog George, my faithful ginger companion Horatio and a cancer survivor called Snowy.

Snowy no-Nose. Cancer survivor and winner of the 2023 “Who the F%^% are you looking at?” award.

George. My third rough collie. My faithful companion for many years. Miss you more that I ever realised I would.

Horatio Redlegs, or H-Bomb for short, with his wife and life partner Twinkle. She misses him as much as I do. Ginger tom’s are special. They’re just the most amazingly loving shitheads. They cause trouble, and melt your heart at the same time.

Setting the Scene

— Posted inHealth & Fitness, Technology, Travel — 2 min read

I live on the very south-eastern edge of the Beacons. It’s where I first explored as a kid, on foot and on bike, and the moors above Brynmawr hold a lot of personal significance for me. This is my usual goto area to explore, seeking out unusual nooks and crannies in the landscape.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cjU9d5jXjZBjkpE29 is my Google Photo album called the Joy of Running, where I keep the photos I’m most proud of during the years since 2017 where I started running in earnest,

https://www.plotaroute.com/routes/all/latest/1?MappedBy=209955 is my Plotaroute directory of running routes. I use PAR as it integrates well with my Garmin (Enduro 3) and I use Garmin’s Up Ahead facility to break routes down into areas of special exploration.

In summer the area is beautiful. Typically I have a few different start areas, where I can park the car and explore. Abergavenny, Llangynidr and Crickhowell for the eastern edge, and Cyfarthfa Park, Dare Valley and Parc Penallta for more western explores.

Typically I aim for 80k in distance and about 1400-2000m climb per week. I have completed several ultras of 50K and upwards – with a personal best for distance of 103K in 2024 with the Buff Joust 24. In 2025 I aim to increase this to 100 miles.

But I don’t have to go far to see scenery. The valley I live in is beautiful – scarred by its post industrial past, but still with an underlying wildness that cannot be tamed. Red kites and other birds of prey call these areas home, as well as other fauna like deer reclaiming the area from man.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/16062679369 is a prime example of my weekend runs. This year, I explored more of the western Black Mountains than I had done in the past, and in doing so found more and more interesting areas to seek out. Grwyne Valley is fascinating, and linked closely to the south Wales valleys industrial past than I realised, with a reservoir constructed in a single year to gravity feed water to the thirsty mining population of Gwent.