Blogs

Today Ceri and I toured the Multnomah Art Center and tentatively booked it for this year's West Coast Eisteddfod. We've reserved the space for October the 14th but still have to go back and do paperwork to close the booking. The space is an auditorium, which seats 260, with stage, lighting, sound, kitchen, extra rooms, excellent parking and a courtyard with outdoor performance or exhibit space available in a building which is a center for the southwest Portland arts communities. More to come on participants, activities and further specifics!

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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A bit late and a little under prepared today. I've been out working the light rail all day to raise funds for the WCE ( see latest announcement HERE ). Sometimes I resort to petition signature gathering to raise extra revenue for our events BUT I am not here tonight to talk politics. No...my subject is footwear!

When I was younger 'trainers' did not really exist, they were called 'daps' and they cost less than a fiver ( GBP ). I have never really joined the branded footwear revolution as you can tell from the picture of my current 'daps' at the bottom of this page. They came from Goodwill, cost less than 10 bucks and are ok for work and I have run in them a few times as well.

But lest anyone supposes that I don't take the subject of running shoes seriously I should add that I realise the pitiful specimens pictured below are woefully inadequate for a 13 mile run. In fact I am seeking recommendations. What's good and what's cheap? Any and all advice gratefully received.

And finally an overdue explanation of the title of this post. I have seen the Grangetown Dap Dance alluded to on the backs of album covers and in obscure online forum posts but have NEVER, despite all my best efforts, been able to discover anything about it. Does anyone have any information? Does anyone know the steps? Does it have any steps?

If it is at all practical ( or physically possible on the day ) I hereby pledge to dance the Grangetown Dap Dance ( for a few seconds at least ) at the end of my 13 mile run. I will be suitably attired in my running daps of course and there will be a Video camera or Iphone present to capture the historic moment

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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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A short post today before I rush out to work ( followed by some early half marathon training ). In yesterdays blog I mentioned running for 13 miles in Cardiff back in the 80's. Basically I had two routes. The first involved running circuits around Pontcanna Fields ( see map below ). I did 8 or 9 of these and though I do not know the precise distance I believe it is about 1.25 miles around the perimeter of the field.

My second route involved running from Cardiff Castle up to the 5 mile marker along the Taff Trail . There was a little overgrown stone by the side of the path which recorded the fact that you were 5 miles from the castle. I would invariably throw in two circuits around the playing fields on my way back to make up the distance.

Clearly the distance of the perimeter around the playing fields at Pontcanna is important in both sets of calculations. Is there any kind person with an intimate knowledge of the geography of Central Cardiff ( or the ability to perform measurements from Google maps ) who can confirm my calculations? If so please post here. I'd love to know if my rough estimate was anywhere near correct.

In other news. We are now up to a total of 100 dollars in pledges ( many thanks to Peter Griffiths and Swansea Jack ). If you are minded to support me in my latest folly please go to this post and make a pledge in comments or go directly to the PayPal Donate button on this page. All proceeds go toward the West Coast Eisteddfod and Bryn Seion Welsh Church.

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I can not finish todays post without mentioning the sad death of fitness enthusiast Ged Clarke who died immediately after completing the Reading half marathon. I am sure we would all like to offer condolences to his family and friends. This was a tragic ( and extremely rare ) event and I note that nowhere in the press accounts is there any mention of the cause of death. Has anyone seen anything that I missed?

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View Pontcanna Fields allotment in a larger map

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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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I will start today's post with a confession. I have run this distance before on several occasions. In fact I will blog my old route along the Taff Trail tomorrow in the the hope that a Cardiffian with expert local knowledge will be able to confirm that the distance was 13 miles. I was never too concerned with precision in those days and I may be a mile or two out.

One thing that has always concerned me though, is the vital question of glycogen depletion. I have posted a YouTube video below of unprepared runners 'hitting the wall' . This experience which invariably occurs somewhere between the 15th and 20th mile of any long distance run is also referred to as 'the bonk' . Some of us are very reluctant to be caught 'bonking' in public especially when you consider that it involves an unseemly display of wobbling invariably followed by total physical collapse.

I understand that this phenomenon has to do with a metabolic adaptation to burning body fat for energy which occurs once stored glycogen reserves have been depleted. I leave it to any experts out there to correct me on the details if I have erred.

All in all it seems like another good reason to stop running at around the 13 mile mark. But still I would be interested to pick up any tips on how to handle this from full marathon runners. I realise that with proper preparation the body will make this adjustment smoothly and no public embarrassment will ensue.

Hitting the wall is similar , in terms of its symptoms and effects, to hypoglycaemia and at this point I have another confession to make. When I was young and foolish ( youth has fled and only folly remains ) I suffered occasionally from a form of 'exam nerves' which I treated with prescription beta blockers . I have long since forgotten the name of the course and qualification I was pursuing. I read the warnings on the label and decided that since I was young and immortal they did not apply to me. In particular they cautioned against combining alcohol consumption and physical exertion. Naturally I opted to combine the two in the form of a good Friday night out at my local pub followed by a brisk nine mile walk in the Brecon Beacons the following morning.

Result? Disaster! My blood sugar collapsed as it was bound to do under the circumstances and I was left rolling down the side of a ridge at the back of Pen Y Fan because I was no longer able to stand let alone walk to the car. Families out for their Saturday morning constitutionals looked away in embarrassment assuming I must be drunk or insane. I did made it back to the car and after a short drive to the nearest convenience store and an emergency Mars bar I was fine again. Of course I was very lucky. The incident occurred within reach of emergency transport and I had someone to drive me . Under different circumstances this episode might have had much more serious consequences and I DO NOT ignore warning labels on pill bottles any more.

Anyway....just in case I change my mind and decide to got for the full 26 miles....any advise on avoiding 'the bonk'?

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http://baarbaarathesheep.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/stop-the-rape-of-the-fair-country-2/?preview=true&preview_id=243&preview_nonce=a3221803bf

This Video says it all....

Reproduced with kind permission from David Western's Portland Lovespoon Blog

My new book has just gone through the final editing stage and is now scheduled to go to the printers!

It will be far-and-away the most thorough book detailing the origins, traditions and craft of the lovespoon and I am more than a little bit excited to see it reaching this stage of production! I spent a lot of time researching lovespoons in public and private collections and quickly realized that the lovespoon tradition is a much broader one than I had originally thought. From Sweden to Romania, most European countries engaged in some form of romantic wooden spoon carving and my quest to discover historical spoons hidden in out-of-the-way places was a great adventure!!. For me, visiting the museum collections first-hand or gazing through astonshing photo collections was like being a kid turned loose in a candy store; I stuffed myself on new discoveries until I thought I was going to burst!

I can only hope that with this book, I will have done some justice to this remarkable tradition. At the very least, I hope it encourages others to undertake some research which may one day demystify more and more of the lovespoon's hidden past.

From a historical viewpoint, it is a sad thing that the lovespoon was primarily a tradition of the 'poorer' classes and so attracted precious little interest from social observers of the time. Much of the lovespoon' lore has thus been cobbled together from supposition and fanciful marketing with much of it being distinctly suspect. Hopefully, some of the discoveries and theories I mention in the book will ignite some debate among lovespoon enthusiasts and collectors and will lead to newer and more accurate observations on the lovespoon's traditions and meanings.

I know my own thoughts and beliefs about the lovespoon have changed fairly dramatically since I started researching this little book and it will be interesting to see what kind of response it generates!

But the book isn't all history. The lovespoon is an evolving tradition (like all good traditions) and it is through the work of current carvers that the art of carving them will continue and broaden. I have been extremely fortunate to enjoy the great support of many of my contemporaries who have shared photographs of their beautiful work, have debated lovespoon history and have provided me with the encouragement I often needed to press on as a lovespoon carver! Without a doubt, the 'modern' section of this new book is going to be an eye-opener for both those new to lovespoons and to those who think they have seen it all!! To see the work of carvers as diverse as Alun Davies, Mike Davies, Sion Llewellyn, Laura Jenkins Gorun, David Stanley, Adam King and Ralph Hentall all together in one place is my personal highlight of the book! I know that it will be for plenty of others too.

History of Lovespoons is published by Fox Chapel Publishing and is available for pre-order from all the very finest and most reputable book dealers!!

David Western

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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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Pheidippides was the first man to demonstrate the sheer folly of running for 26 miles. In his defense it should be pointed out that the Greek public transport system was in its infancy in those days. This from the Wikipedia :-

The traditional story relates that Pheidippides (530 BC490 BC), an Athenian herald, was sent to Sparta to request help when the Persians landed at Marathon, Greece. He ran 240 km (150 mi) in two days. He then ran the 40 km (25 mi) from the battlefield near Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek victory over Persia in the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) with the word "" (Nenikkamen, "We have won") and collapsed and died on the spot from exhaustion.

Most accounts incorrectly attribute this story to the historian Herodotus, who wrote the history of the Persian Wars in his Histories (composed about 440 BC). In reality, the traditional story appears to be a conflation from several different ancient Greek sources having varying levels of authenticity.

Robert Browning gave a version of the traditional story in his 1879 poem Pheidippides.

This is one reason why I will only be running a half marathon. Being half dead at the end of ones exertions is no biggie. A bit like having a severe hangover which can be mildly exhilarating.

As I get into my stride ( groan ) in this, the longest running ( groan again ) blog series in AC history I shall rely less on wiki quotes and expound more on the joys of physical training.

Anyway....dont miss tomorrows thrilling episode:-

Why It Is Unwise To Run Into Walls At High Speed
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http://www.open.edu/openlearn/whats-on/ou-on-the-bbc-the-story-wales

This has been a great series it's still available to watch on BBC I Player...

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

The Background

As a new years resolution I undertook to quit smoking, give up my Friday night sixpack and run a half marathon at some point during the year. New Years Resolutions

Last week Gaabriel announced the date of my coming ordeal. Ceri's Going to Run A Marathon! OK she exaggerated a little, I'm only doing 13 miles

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The Blog

So how does this blog fit into the scheme of things I hear you ask? Well...I decided that the physical challenge wasn't enough so for the next 95 days I am going to blog every single day on the subject of running. That means i will have to think of 95 things to say about running between now and July 4th. Of course I'll throw in details here and there about our plans for this years West Coast Eisteddfod and there will be some talk of our local 128 year old Welsh church, Bryn Seion. I'm running to raise money for both.

But now as an extra incentive to sponsor you get the additional amusement of watching me struggle to find something new to say on the same topic every day for 3 months.

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SO...don't forget to tune in for tomorrow's thrilling instalment:- 'Day Two: Pheidippides - A Lousy PR Man!'

And now for the obvious video .... sorry couldn't resist

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