Blogs

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Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog

Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church

For details of how to sponsor see this post

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Well it's Day 16 already and this blog is still going strong. I must admit though that it is sometimes difficult to think of a fresh topic for each days post so I decided to take a look at other running blogs to see what is out there.

There is certainly no shortage. One of the first sites that caught my eye was this one:- Top 50 Running Blogs It is, as you might have deduced from the title, a list of the Top 50 Running Blogs as ranked by Google, Alexa etc. I don't think I will be submitting my own feeble effort for inclusion in this list BUT it is certainly an interesting and voluminous repository of information and ideas for anyone with an interest in running and/or writing about running.

After a brief perusal of one or two of the blogs on the list I was fascinated ( and relieved ) to learn that there is much more to write about running than one might first have thought. Certainly I have come across a few medical conditions that are new to me, for example:- Iliotibial Band Syndrome which features in this post from Runblogger - Running Shoes and Iliotibial Band Syndrome (ITBS): One Runners Story

But I guess if you're going to run the main thing is to enjoy it, a sentiment which I'm sure would be endorsed by the Fishtown Beer Runners whose mission statement ( see linked blog ) is to :-

"....combine responsible running with responsible drinking in the interest of science. We gather once a week to run three to five miles, and conclude each run at a pub for a beer or two."

And lest anyone thinks that running is strictly the preserve of grim faced fanatical 'fittists' here is a whole blog devoted to the notion that Running is Funny

I'll be back with a full report on my own painful and glacial progress tomorrow but meanwhile check out the links at Running is Funny....I'm sure you'll find something to chuckle at

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WARNER MUSICS DUO LILYGREEN AND MAGUIRE ANNOUNCE DEBUT WELSH OPEN-AIR TOUR - THE BIG WELSH BUSK

FREE GIGS ON A BEACH, A STATELY HOME, A CASTLE AND AN AMPHITHEATRE

AINT LOVE CRAZY EP RELEASED 11 ^TH JUNE 2012

Welsh singer-songwriters Lilygreen and Maguire will bring their melodic, acoustic sound to communities across Wales from 16 ^th April - 20 ^th April in a series of free, open-air gigs at some of the countrys most famous locations and landmarks, including a beach, a stately home a castle and an amphitheatre.

Friends Jon Lilygreen and Jon Maguire, both from Newport, south Wales, who have just released their debut single Come On Get Higher, on the Warner Music label, will begin their Big Welsh Busk tour in Wrexham city centre on Monday 16 ^th April 2012 and will play their final gig at their hometown of Newport. They will also play at 8 other venues across the length and breadth of the country including:

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THE BIG WELSH BUSK:

• Monday 16 ^th April : WREXHAM AND BANGOR
• Tuesday 17 ^th April: ABERYSTWYTH AND CARMARTHEN
• Wednesday 18 ^th April: SWANSEA AND BARRY
• Thursday 19 ^th April: CAERPHILLY AND CHEPSTOW
• Friday 20 ^th April: CAERLEON / NEWPORT AND CARDIFF

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The pair who are both in their early twenties have already built up a solid fan-base after supporting X-Factor runner-up Olly Murs in his recent arena tour of the UK and Ireland. They are also well known within south Wales music scene: Lilygreen as a covers performer and Maguire as a local music producer and member of a rock band. They came together in 2009 when their talent was spotted by Warner Bros. Music who soon secured the duo with a lucrative record deal. Their debut album will be released later this year.

Further information about the Big Welsh Busk tour visit www.facebook.com/lilygreenandmaguire An acoustic version of their debut single Come On Get Higher can be found here http://www.youtube.com/lilygreenandmaguire

Jon Lilygreen said: These gigs are going to be great fun for us and our fans. I cant wait to grab my guitar, pitch up at some fantastic locations and play free acoustic music in the open-air. Its going to be quite a challenge visiting so many venues across Wales, including a beach, a prom, a castle, a mountain and our hometown, Newport, hopefully our fans will come and support us and cheer us on.

Jon Maguire added: We love writing and performing our songs and thought wed like to give our fans a special preview of some of the songs that will be on our album. Weve played in front of thousands of people in big arenas but this Big Welsh Buskwill be quite different well be up close and personal with our audiences and that will be an intimate experience.

A duo that will make their mark in a very big way in 2012. The Mahogany Blog

www.lilygreenandmaguire.com

www.facebook.com/lilygreenandmaguire

http://twitter.com/lilygandmaguire

http://www.youtube.com/lilygreenandmaguire

SCHEDULE IN BRIEF times are approximate guide only

Monday 16 ^th April Wrexham and Bangor

WREXHAM
Photo op: Erddig House, Wrexham 10am
Busk: Glyndwr University Student Guild, Wrexham 11.30am

BANGOR
Photo op: Llanfairpwllgwyngychgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Road sign, James Pringle Weavers 3pm
Busk: Bangor city centre town clock, high street 4.30pm

Tuesday 17 ^th April Aberystwyth and Carmarthen

ABERYSTWYTH
Photo op: Aberystwyth Promenade 10am
Busk: Aberystwyth Promenade 11am

CARMARTHEN
Photo op: Exterior Llansteffan Castle 2.30pm
Busk: St Catherines Walk Shopping Centre, Carmarthen 4pm

Wednesday 18 ^th April Swansea/Mumbles and Barry

SWANSEA/MUMBLES
Photo op: Mumbles pierside/seafront 10am
Busk: Oxford Street, Swansea city centre 11.15am

BARRY
Photo op: Barry Island Amusement Park 2.30pm
Busk: Barry Island Beach 3.30pm

Thursday 19 ^th April Caerphilly and Chepstow

CAERPHILLY
Photo op: Exterior Caerphilly Castle 10am
Busk: Caerphilly town centre bandstand 11am

CHEPSTOW
Photo op: Exterior Chepstow race course 2pm
Busk: Chepstow town centre town arch 4pm

Friday 20 ^th April Newport and Cardiff

NEWPORT
Photo op: Tredegar House Newport 10am
Busk: Caerleon Amphitheatre 11.30am

CARDIFF
Photo op: Exterior Gate 3 Millennium Stadium 3pm
Busk: Exterior Millennium Centre Cardiff 4pm

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Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog

Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church

For details of how to sponsor see this post

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Didn't get a chance to run today. Pressures of employment amongst other things prevented me from training. I suppose I am lucky however, in so far as my current job involves being on my feet all day and walking around a lot. I guess that almost counts as training.

Certainly since I have started training again and curtailed a lot of my old bad habits, I no longer feel fatigued at the end of the day and I am quite happy to carry on working on the site and WCE arrangements till midnight most nights. I still have to get past the 15 minute barrier though. I haven't succeeded in running for longer than that yet.

I thought I might throw a few leg strengthening exercises into the mix. I am not sure how beneficial these are but there are some that can be practiced in spare moments at home and with minimal equipment ( see examples in the video below ). Cant do any harm but I suspect that only running will make you a better runner

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Click on link below to read article about brand new single:

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/south-wales-news/merthyr/2012/04/12/songwriter-darren-releases-new-single-91466-30739931/

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Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog

Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church

For details of how to sponsor see this post

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OK..... I'm going to cheat a bit tonight because I worked late and I'm 'plum tuckered'. So a short link blog in which I will treat you , dear reader, to an account of The Great Welsh Marathon which was held in blazing sunshine at Llanelli last year on April 10th. This was, apparently, only the second Llanelli Star Great Welsh Marathon and by all accounts it was a raging success. This year's event will be held on April 15th at 9 a.m. at the Millennium Coastal Park

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Keep tuned for more WCE announcements. Hoping to have some major news by early next week.

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Llanelli Star Great Welsh Marathon

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WARNER MUSICS DUO LILYGREEN AND MAGUIRE ANNOUNCE DEBUT WELSH OPEN-AIR TOUR - THE BIG WELSH BUSK

FREE GIGS ON A BEACH, A STATELY HOME, A CASTLE AND AN AMPHITHEATRE

AINT LOVE CRAZY EP RELEASED 11 ^TH JUNE 2012

.

Welsh singer-songwriters Lilygreen and Maguire will bring their melodic, acoustic sound to communities across Wales from 16 ^th April - 20 ^th April in a series of free, open-air gigs at some of the countrys most famous locations and landmarks, including a beach, a stately home a castle and an amphitheatre.

Friends Jon Lilygreen and Jon Maguire, both from Newport, south Wales, who have just released their debut single Come On Get Higher, on the Warner Music label, will begin their Big Welsh Busk tour in Wrexham city centre on Monday 16 ^th April 2012 and will play their final gig at their hometown of Newport. They will also play at 8 other venues across the length and breadth of the country including:

THE BIG WELSH BUSK:

• Monday 16 ^th April : WREXHAM AND BANGOR
• Tuesday 17 ^th April: ABERYSTWYTH AND CARMARTHEN
• Wednesday 18 ^th April: SWANSEA AND BARRY
• Thursday 19 ^th April: CAERPHILLY AND CHEPSTOW
• Friday 20 ^th April: CAERLEON / NEWPORT AND CARDIFF
• .
  

The pair who are both in their early twenties have already built up a solid fan-base after supporting X-Factor runner-up Olly Murs in his recent arena tour of the UK and Ireland. They are also well known within south Wales music scene: Lilygreen as a covers performer and Maguire as a local music producer and member of a rock band. They came together in 2009 when their talent was spotted by Warner Bros. Music who soon secured the duo with a lucrative record deal. Their debut album will be released later this year.

Further information about the Big Welsh Busk tour visit www.facebook.com/lilygreenandmaguire An acoustic version of their debut single Come On Get Higher can be found here http://www.youtube.com/lilygreenandmaguire

Jon Lilygreen said: These gigs are going to be great fun for us and our fans. I cant wait to grab my guitar, pitch up at some fantastic locations and play free acoustic music in the open-air. Its going to be quite a challenge visiting so many venues across Wales, including a beach, a prom, a castle, a mountain and our hometown, Newport, hopefully our fans will come and support us and cheer us on.

Jon Maguire added: We love writing and performing our songs and thought wed like to give our fans a special preview of some of the songs that will be on our album. Weve played in front of thousands of people in big arenas but this Big Welsh Busk will be quite different well be up close and personal with our audiences and that will be an intimate experience.

Interviews available on request

For further information contact stifyn@mrproducer.co.uk 02920 916667

A duo that will make their mark in a very big way in 2012. The Mahogany Blog

www.lilygreenandmaguire.com

www.facebook.com/lilygreenandmaguire

http://twitter.com/lilygandmaguire

http://www.youtube.com/lilygreenandmaguire

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Follow the whole nine yards here (a 95 part series) :- Half Marathon Blog

Why I am running:- West Coast Eisteddfod Bryn Seion Church

For details of how to sponsor see this post

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There have been occasions in the past when, faced with hours of blogging/coding and other webby stuff, I have resorted to a 5 or 6 hour energy shot. I know the debate rages as to whether these products will do any more than a strong cup of coffee in terms of promoting alertness but they seem to work for me. In fact some times too well. I darent take them later in the evening for fear of not being able to sleep.

I'm wondering if these drinks would be useful for training purposes. Of course the idea is to build one's natural stamina and endurance rather than relying on a 'shot in the arm' from the local 7-11. On the other hand runners occasionally hit a plateau in training and maybe one of these things would help to further progress. At the moment I seem to be comfortable running for about 15 mins but I'm not having much luck persuading my weary old carcass to persevere for any longer than that.

I suppose I am going to be told that there is no healthy potion or magical elixir that will help in the long term but still, it probably does no harm to dabble with temporary expedients once in a while. I'll put it to the test one of these days and report the result in a future post.

Meanwhile here is a list of the active ingredients ( together with links ) from the Wikipedia :-

The ingredients of the drink are, in order of listing, taurine , glucuronolactone , malic acid , N-Acetyl L -tyrosine , L -phenylalanine , caffeine , and citicoline . ^{[ 5 ]} The maker claims the product "contains caffeine comparable to a cup of the leading premium coffee."

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Certainly doesnt seem like there is anything particularly or potentially harmful in that lot. Or am I missing something?

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A 10-year-old student at the Stagecoach Theatre Arts School in Carmarthen is making a name for herself with big name model shoots in London.
Grayce Davis, from Pembroke Dock, has just completed a shoot for the Marks and Spencers new school range of clothes.
The shoot comes hot on the heels of Grayce being featured in the new Emma Bunton fashion range in the current Argos catalogue.
Its been something of a mad whirl of events and photo-shoots in recent weeks, Grayces mum, Vanessa, admitted.
But its been great fun. Grayce is very grounded and a very level-headed young girl and while she loves all the big name photo-shoots she doesnt get too carried away with it all.
Every weekend, we seem to have some event to attend in London. Its hard work, but Grayce thoroughly enjoys it and she has had the chance to meet and work with some very talented people.
Stagecoach Theatre Arts Carmarthen Principal Liane Davies said she was delighted at Grayces success.
She added: We are proud of all our pupils and their achievements, but Grayce is setting the bar very high with being successful for a number of very high profile photo-shoots.
Hopefully, the training she has received at Stagecoach in Carmarthen stands her in good stead. She is obviously a very photogenic young lady and she happily takes on all the hard work involved in major photo-shoots.
Grayce was in the news last year when she played the lead role (Olivia) in a music video for jazz singer Aimua Eghobamien's new song Tis what it is.
Her mum Vanessa said: She loved that experience and quite happily embraces all the hard graft and dedication that goes side by side with modelling and acting work.

The event will be known as the Evan-Evans Llandeilo Jazz Festival and will take place from July 6-8.
The event will be based on four of the towns pubs and is designed to be a free music festival, starting on the Friday night and finishing in the late afternoon on the Sunday.
Evan-Evans Brewery Chief Executive Simon Buckley said: As a company, we have for a long time wanted to promote a series of music events in our brewery town of Llandeilo.
We have teamed up with the local pubs to create a group of high quality venues to launch this fantastic new jazz festival.
Having been involved with the Brecon Jazz Fringe for the last four years, we were delighted that our idea for a Llandeilo Jazz Festival was so warmly embraced.
There will be a mix of classic Trad Jazz, Gypsy and Rag Time Jazz.
On the Sunday, we hope to have a massive picnic in Penlan Park, where young musicians from the town and surrounding area can come and play.
We are currently finalising the line-up and will be launching a new web site and Festival Facebook page.
We hope this will be the beginning of something that will, in time, rival some of the other bigger jazz festivals in Wales.
We encourage young musicians from all over Carmarthenshire to visit the website in the next two weeks and come and join the street music scene.
I am convinced that Llandeilo Jazz Festival will be a great event, and people will come from all over Wales to be one of the first to support this new event.
Weblink:
http://www.evanevansbrewery.com/
Photo above: Mike Harries Root Doctors performing at another Evan-Evans-sponsored jazz concert.

Smashing picture story in the Llanelli Star - Llanelli Rotary Club award Paul Harris Fellowship to rugby legend Derek Quinnell.
Nice story about the junior open golf tournament at The Ashburnham golf club in the Llanelli Star today.
Splendid picture story in the Llanelli Star about Llanelli Rotary Club giving a Paul Harris Fellowship to Angela Saunders (Stradey Park Hotel).
Review of Handel's Messiah in the Llanelli Star following performance by 'Three Choirs' including Llanelli's Cor Baroc.
Nice piece in the Llanelli Star today about Cor Meibion Llanelli wining praise from the Mayor of the London Borough of Richmond.
Smashing spotlight in the South Wales Evening Post on movie star Michael Sheen helping the Healing The Wounds Welsh PTSD charity.
Nice story in the Carmarthen Journal about Stagecoach Theatre Arts in Carmarthen expanding to cope with demand with new afternoon classes.
The latest 'View from Richmond Park' Carmarthen Town AFC column is in the Carmarthen Journal today.
The latest 'Business Brief' legal column from QualitySolictors Redkite is in the Carmarthen Journal today.
The new weekly gardening column by Aberglasney's Joseph Atkin is in the Carmarthen Journal today.