Too much noise

I really like playing with Young Master and Bella, and their friends. But sometimes I prefer a bit of peace and quiet, expecially when they are racing around the house with their guns pretending to be CIA agents or assassins. I knew that things were heading the wrong way when Young Master produced his Airzooka (a weapon that fires a strong pelt of air, and makes a din), so I took refuge under Leah's bed - it reminded me of those awful vuvuzelas in the summer.

Gran-pons

"It never snows in Anglesey".
(mark writes) Gran is now a confirmed devotee of Kahtoola Microspikes. There was about 10" of snow on Wednesday night, and when we arrived we couldn't get the car down the drive to our rented Christmas farmhouse, so we left the car in the layby at the top of the track and had to ferry all the luggage, food and drink about a quarter of a mile to the front door. My mum, with two recent hip replacements, did a great job of getting down in deep snow, but the big problem was getting her back up the hill again the next morning on Christmas Eve. I'd packed my microspikes and suggested she used them to get back up to the car. It was a complete success - with two walking sticks and the crampons she got up in 15 mins (about half the time we'd estimated), and without a stumble.
Great kit.
On Boxing Day we spent 3 1/2 hours on Snowdon, Charlie submerged by snow in places and often having to leap out of it like a dolphin. Driven back by the wind too strong to progress further than the cwm above Clogwyn station - Charlie getting blinded by driven snow. Afterwards I relaxed and rewarmed with a great mug of hot chocolate, roaring fire, and usual warm welcome, at the Pen-y-Ceunant tea house (on the steep road section just round the corner from the cattle grid after leaving Llanberis). "Muddy boots and Dogs Welcome" makes it the best sort of place.

Christmas in Anglesey

We're off to Anglesey for Christmas, staying in a farmhouse near Lligwy bay. Gran and Kim are joining us, and my job in the car is to protect the turkey from Kim - butter wouldn't melt in my mouth, but as for Kim...once a Labrador, always a Labrador, and where food is concerned, she never has enough to eat. So I shall guard the turkey and make sure it arrives in one piece.
Mark's been getting his Snowdonia maps out, and he's now up in the loft finding his ice axe. I'm sure we're going to have a lot of fun in the mountains over Christmas; we'll try to do some of the PB if conditions are good.

Charlie the Husky

SNOW!
(Mark writes) We had over 9 inches of snow at home, so up to the loft and down came the cross country skis. We bought these skis over 15 years ago, but have only been able to use them once before 2010. I used them in January, and now again.
Charlie then becomes a sled-dog; he gets attached with an extended lead (so the tips of the skis don't catch his paws) and is strong enough to tow me up the hill outside the house. The main problem is his frequent stops to water trees and lamp posts. Tonight we went up to Playfield, then down the track into Bagley Wood; along our usual route (including the bridge over the A34 - (northbound of which was still blocked solid at 20:00, and many of the drivers waited 8 hours before the M40 jack-knifed lorries were cleared). On the way back we stayed on the road, and got past a few cars which had been unable to get down the final hill into Kennington; one of these was a Land Rover Defender which had gone into a ditch - great car, but lousy driver, unless it was trying to avoid the car abandonned on the other side of the road.
Sled dog and skis best for these conditions, obviously, rather than a 4*4.
If he slows down, his 'mush' equivalent command is 'cats' or 'squirrels', then he's off again.

Charlie the Hero

It could have all ended so badly. Minky's cage door open, Minky outside and on the floor, Minky a bit wet and showing marks where my teeth had been, and me about to take her in my mouth again.
It must have looked like I was about to eat Minky for dinner, but that's ridiculous. Squirrels and cats may look tasty to me, but Minky is my best friend. Really.
No. What happened was that Minky finally managed to work out her escape plan. She prised off the peg holding her door closed, and then put all her weight into shoving the door open. I tried to tell her to stay inside, but she had the taste of freedom and scurried onto the floor. I knew I had to act quick, so I tried to grab her and put her back in her cage. But she escaped my gentle jaws, and I was just about to try a second time when Mark came to the rescue, caught Minky and shut her up again. Phew, a good job that Mark was close, otherwise it could have been very different.
I reminded Mark not to jump to conclusions: remember Llewellyn the Great's dog, Gelert : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelert

Dollie the Collie

A few weeks ago I made the acquaintance of Dollie, a baby collie, at the rowing club. She's very small and sleeps a lot. Master Mark said that I used to be that small, before I joined the family, but I don't think so. I was very interested in finding out everything about her, and she smells surprisingly nice. She doesn't play much, but she said when she gets bigger she will come running with me.

Minky's Back

It may be freezing outside this morning - coldest day of the autumn so far - but I'm not interested in my morning garden patrol, chasing the birds, warning off the cats, and barking at falling leaves. I've got Minky back.
She arrived in her cage last night and we instantly became inseparable. But then young master put her cage in the kitchen and closed the door - I was devastated. I roamed the living room all evening looking for a way out to the kitchen. Now I'm waiting patiently by her cage for her to wake up.
Last night was young master's birthday party - they gave me the chicken scraps afterwards, but I'm sorry to say that Minky took all my attention and I scarcely gave the chicken a second glance.

Foel Fras

Mark says his mate Will has postponed today's Paddy Buckley, and to make up for my huge disappointment at missing out on 2 very long runs today, he says he will take me to the Aber Falls and then on to Foel Fras. I had a look at the forecast while Mark had his breakfast, and it says (for Snowdonia) "Bitterly cold with near gales. Showers." Bring it on.....
Route:
top car park (pay & display) at Aber; follow southerly lower path to east of river up to the falls, at falls turn West, and cross next stream; leave path and head south up ridge direct to Drosgl; trig point/cairn alt758m.
From Summit CB110 to col, then descend CB140 to meet alt710m path south of Bera Bach, then right left fork alt790m on CB120 for 300m, then CB110 direct to summit of Carnedd Uchaf (now Gwenllian) alt926m, avoiding pools, and angular rocks at summit.
From summit CB050 down broad ridge on path, wide col alt900m lots of pools; alt920m meet wall coming up from east, and follow CB010 to Foel Fras alt942m.
From summit follow broad grassy path keeping to left of wall; initially CB040 for 150m, then to CB074, swinging gradually to NNE; marshy col alt730m; to Drum alt770m.
Follow path northwards; then on path descending CB 315 keeping to west of Carnedd Ddelw. Before Pen Bryn-du leave path and traverse West to meet river path in valley. Follow path alongside river until meet road at the fellgate (limited parking here), and follow road back to the car park....drink hot coffee from flask.

Border Collie Advice

Mark's been reading the Fell Running Forums again, and told me about some good advice for BC care here: http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showthread.php?9777-collie-tips
There's another thread about whether people wanting a dog should get one from a rescue centre or buy a puppy from a breeder here: http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showthread.php?12467-Border-Collie-Pup
And finally, a sad story about a BC needing rehoming: http://forum.fellrunner.org.uk/showthread.php?12619-Border-Collie-needing-home - "He has had no more than 15 mins exercise a day for a long period, living in a small house and garden, and consequently has become very frustrated and begun herding visitors to the house. He has bitten once- a hard collie nip to an adult which caused no serious injury. This is entirely to be expected for a BC in these circs"

I've been out for a run up to the nearby castle (which was partially restored a few years ago; apparently the original motte and bailey was built in 1088 by Normans, but retaken by a Welsh prince 6 years later; after 500 years of disuse was refortified, and then used in the Civil War for a few weeks - so in almost 1,000 years of its life this castle has seen action for under 7 years). We then ran along the shore, and back up the hill from Penmon.
Tomorrow's a big day - new hills to climb.

Moelwyns and Cnicht

I was pretty exhausted after last Saturday's walk, the culmination of a frantic couple of days. On Friday morning I woke up in the Edinburgh doggy hotel, joined in with the barking, and was then served breakfast in bed. They've been giving me a new breakfast recently, called Chappie, which is meant to make my poos more solid.
Just after breakfast, as I was settling into my nap, the nice lady came in with my lead and said my family have come for me. Oh Joy. She took me out of the compound, and there they all were. I said hello (they looked very pleased to see me), jumped into the car and said let's go.
There was a lot of driving, then Mark and I got out at a big field at Llanberis called 'camping'. I like this field, there are sheep in it, and a few other dogs to meet. Mark put up my tent, but I preferred to stay outside to keep watch; later on we walked to a pub with Will, Sarah and Matt and they talked about something called the Paddy Buckley, every so often looking in my direction and patting my head.
Mark was a bit wobbly as we walked back up the hill to 'camping', and went to sleep very quickly. During the night it rained very heavily, and I moved into the inner tent in case Mark got scared.
In the morning Mark took ages to pack the tent away, and we trotted off to meet Will's car. I got a very pleasant surprise - in the back of the car was Ru, a brown border collie; she's a bit older than me, but very kindly allowed me to share her car, although I did growl a bit whenever she came into my personal space.

Holidays

Young Master and Bella are on their school holidays. It's easy to tell. They are getting up later and later. Sometimes they get up, then go back to bed - it's a bit like how I sleep, maybe they are turning into dogs? Sometimes Young Master has a burst of morning activity and goes swimming.

It's been fun having Kim staying with me, but she doesn't want to play much. I like Gran too, but she doesn't play much either; still, I keep dropping my ball in her lap to give her a chance.

Soon we are off to Scotland, where Mark has promised me a special treat - 5 days in a doggy hotel. I've not been in such a place before, but it sounds like fun.

Carneddau

Mark took me for a walk in Snowdonia today. We'd all been camping in Anglesey by the beach, and Mark wanted to recce a leg of the Paddy Buckley Round. Parked on the A5 just before Capel Curig, then we jogged along the footpath to Ogwen. I enjoyed the steep climb up Pen Yr Ole Wen - Mark had to help me in a couple of places, and when we got to the top it was very windy and about 20m visibility. Mark had to use the compass a few times. When we got back to the car, Mark took me to the river at Capel for a wash. I slept a lot on the way back.

A few days earlier at Moelfre, I met a 12 week BC pup called Max - he had sharp teeth. Young Master said he wants a puppy too. That would be fun.

Now back in the garden and enjoying the company of Splodge and Stripe for their last night before going back home

Minky

Wow, life is good. Mark called me into the house late last night after I'd spent all day with Splodge and Stripe, and when I got in I saw Minky in her hamster cage. Minky is a lot smaller than the Ginny Pigs, but moves around a lot more, and I have to keep moving quickly around her cage to keep up with her.

New Friends

Splodge and Stripe have come to stay for their summer holidays. Their family has gone to Greece for a couple of weeks, and my family is looking after their pets. I think they are called Ginny Pigs. I like them a lot. I have given up all interest in balls, toys, food and water, and I sit next to their hutch all day. They are the most fascinating things I have met.

Eddie's Paw

Saw Eddie today, he looked a bit sad; he said he couldn't come running with me. There was a sock taped over his front paw, and he had a cone around his head. He said it was a grass seed that had sprouted, and he had to go to the vet to have it removed. Poor Eddie, hope he gets better soon.

My Henley

Mark and the children took me to Henley yesterday to watch some boats. I remember last year I got so excited at the start that I jumped in the water to chase the boats. I go wild when races start, and I tell everyone how excited I am. This time Mark wouldn't let me jump in, and kept my lead really short - he said he didn't want me to shake over everyone when I got out, but I wouldn't have minded. Rosemary took me for a long walk up the bank and then I managed to wriggle out of my harness at the bridge and jump in. We then had a nice boat trip back down to the start.
Just before we left, some boys were juggling balls nearby and I shouted at them to let me join in. Then they came over and rubbed my tummy. Bliss.

Staying cool

A great day out yesterday. Mark drove, Rosemary did a triathlon (on the hottest day of the year, I ask you!), and I had a fantastic time - there was so much to do. I loved the lake: lying in it to cool down, swimming, splashing and chasing after the big fish, and best of all - you can drink it. I got a bit over-excited by the crazy golf, I even managed to catch one of those little white balls, but Mark said he got fed up at my barking so he tied me up by the car. I loved seeing the other dogs (except the growly husky) and made lots of new friends; there was another collie chasing a tennis ball - why are we all so obsessed with tennis balls?

Mark's 50 at 50

Mark's asked me to post his account of his recent all day run in the Lakes. He's broken it down into sections so he can fit the pictures in.

Mark's 50 at 50 - The Challenge

In Safe Hands
My 50 at 50 Bob Graham Round 28th May 2010

The Bob Graham Round is one of the classic tough fell running challenges, established in 1932 when Bob Graham completed 42 Lakeland summits in under 24 hours. The allure of the BG and of joining the 24 hour club drives many people every year to Keswick to attempt their 42. For a few of us, 42 isn’t enough and a nice big round number looked like a great way of celebrating my 50th year. Months of preparation, a great support team in place, and I was ready.

Woke with the birds at 03:50, couldn’t sleep, mind whirring with so much to do before the start at 17:30; last minute shopping (mittens and water container), food supplies, lunchtime Keswick fish and chips, and in the afternoon carload by carload the friends (organised by Al) who would help us round arrived at our HQ camping barn. Rick Houghton, Andy Pead and I had agreed to do our BGs at the same time to share support and logistics: the plan was I’d set off 20 minutes before them for my first two (Lonscale Fell and Skiddaw Little Man) and the 3 of us met up at the top of Skiddaw; after that we’d stay together as far as possible, and if still together I’d leave them at the top of Robinson for my final six (Whiteless Pike and then along the ridge to Causey Pike). My schedule allowed me 23hrs46mins to complete the round.

Mark's 50 at 50 - Leg 1

Looking good at Moot Hall. Andy on the left, Rick in middle, and me exactly 24 hours before returning.

Set off with Alan and Michael. Michael didn’t let on he was in a lot of pain – he’d cracked a rib a few days before, but didn’t want to let me down. We gained time on the first two summits, noted at one stage I was climbing too fast (21m in a minute) and so settled to a relaxed walk up the final ascent of Skiddaw ahead of Andy and Rick. After regrouping we made up more time and reached Blencathra and Yiannis who took us straight down the Parachute Descent, saving us lots more time.

So why choose these extra 8 summits? The final 6 along the Grasmoor ridge would add another big climb to the standard 42, making it more of a personal challenge, with (in all seriousness) a significant risk of failure. The first two worked really well so that I could go round as far as possible with Andy and Rick, and were also reasonably good climbs in their own right. Another early decision was that I would complete the 50, even if it meant taking longer than 24 hours, and I made sure everyone in the team knew this. It saved a lot of discussion later on when things got tough.

Mark's 50 at 50 - Leg 2 maintaining fast pace

Half an hour up, Leg 2 started before darkness. I’d eaten well at the handover, but on the move it was taking me a long time to finish the food I brought with me. This was not a good sign, as I always tend to lose my appetite in long events, but I hoped that constant snacking would get me round. Alan stayed on and I was joined by Mark whose inch-perfect navigation brought us through the nighttime. Rick had the most energy and he was leading most of the leg, but we all stayed in one group throughout. I was running cautiously, to avoid falls and also to save my legs, which were not mountain hardened, for later. Gained more time on leg 2, but moved at a pace that made it hard for me to eat.

I’d not managed much training on the fells – only 4 visits to the Lakes in the previous 6 months – and so I’d adapted my training to strengthen my legs as much as possible in the gym. My training buddy, the indefatigable Charlie (seen here on Helvellyn in April) pulled me along (on his hands-free leash) for most of my steady running training sessions.

Mark's 50 at 50 - Leg 3 - The wheels came off

For leg 3 I was joined by Bob, and Mark stayed on. We all left Dunmail together in a big group, still half an hour up, and climbed fast up Steel Fell, but I was not keeping pace. Big effort to catch the others at the summit. Trying to stay in touch with the group. Needing to eat, but no appetite. Can’t chew anything solid. Only stuff that would go down was gels – I’d had 2 towards the end of leg 2, and had more now. This was not good. I should be keeping gels for emergencies. Stomach was in pain - tight and uncomfortable. Knew that I couldn’t go on much longer without fuel. Struggling hard to keep up at Sergeant Man. Conscious that I wasn’t in the mood to chat, that Al was running alongside to keep me company, with Mark behind to make sure I wasn’t last. The signs weren’t good. By High Raise breathing laboured, I sensed that I badly needed a rest but I couldn’t decide where, and thought I could rest at Wasdale – as this was 4½ hours away I’d clearly lost the power of thinking straight. Resting was not unusual for me: I’d slept for 90 mins in the previous year’s Lakeland 100, and for 60 mins in the Ridgeway race, and gone on to finish both. To my relief the decision was taken for me at Thunacar Knott – I was slurring my words by then. Andy, Rick and the others had waited for me, but would go on, I would walk from here with Mark and Bob until I’d eaten and regained strength. I’d been going only 10 hours..........
A common question is how do you train for these events? You don’t need to be fast. Mental stamina is the key. I think this is probably more important than physical. After several hours on the go it is harder to take rational decisions and it’s easy to get confused by emotion, fatigue, pain, delusions, and ‘why on earth am I doing this to myself’ thoughts. For the previous 6 months I’d rehearsed this mental state, and my response to it was always the same – just keep going. It was essential that I had a simple plan: stripped down to its essence, it was to take no decisions on the day, make no changes, and keep going to the end, so that (as I joked in the months leading up) they would have to peel me off the mountain if I didn’t make it. This meant that on the day I wouldn’t need to summon up new mental energy when it got hard – hard was part of the plan: it was never going to be easy, but I wasn’t going out there to make excuses.

Walked, threw up, walked some more, drank, ate a bit, drank, ate, jogged, and with Bob and Mark’s patience after 2½ hours started to find the right pace again. Sorry about there being no pretty sunrise photos here: I was grim, and so were the conditions, getting windy, with rain showers. The forecast was right, but this was normal weather for the Lakes. Bowfell at last, now in the rocky (and wet) section, lost a bit more time to Scafell, rapid descent to Wasdale down the screes, and in the car park 18 minutes behind schedule.

Mark's 50 at 50 - Damage Limitation on leg 4

Complete change of support here – joined by Sarah, Peter and Paul for leg 4. My brother Julian had driven supporters and supplies here; he’d been told by mum not to let me get too tired! thankfully he chose to disregard this piece of parental advice. By taking only half the planned break, we left Wasdale only 10 mins down on schedule, thinking that it would be tough, but achievable as long as I got to Honister in good shape. While Leg 3 may the longest, leg 4 is tougher with the big climb coming straight after the 900m descent from Scafell. Started climbing Yewbarrow too fast (altimeter read 15m/min), was sweating, reduced pace, and ascent was exactly on pace. Morale good. Sarah reminding me to eat. For me leg 4 was about damage limitation, I soon gave up caring about the schedule and found a pace that was comfortable. Along the way Paul pointed out a few extra summits that would involve a small detour. Not interested. My route was planned, and I was sticking to it. Pace dropped at Kirk Fell and Great Gable, causing a bit of worry in the team; I didn’t know at the time, but they were seeing my 24 hours slipping out of reach again. Paul navigating up front, Sarah doing a great job sticking close and keeping me focused. Green Gable done, picking up a bit of speed on the grass, stumbled, tripped, fell headlong, avoided most of the rocks, supporters worried, checked for injury, no damage apart from torn altimeter strap, but a whole minute lost. I was more worried about being told off by Sarah for not concentrating than by the fall itself. Underway again. Last summit of this leg was Grey Knotts. Paul, “it’s 14 minutes to Honister from here, 12 if you push it”; checked watch, it said 13:11, I’m still in with a chance of the 24 hours. Damage was limited, now let’s go: we came down in 12 minutes.

Mark's 50 at 50 - Four hour adrenaline rush

Happy after Dale Head. Feeling strong, eating again and gaining time. Flying into Honister we picked up Wendy, Mandy, Roy and Pete(W) for Leg 5; leaving behind Paul, and with only 5 mins rest we left 9 mins behind schedule. I describe leg 5 as a 4 hour adrenaline rush. I was on my second wind; we hurtled up Dale Head in 30 minutes. I was now eating jelly and rice pudding on the go; they were the only things that slipped down easily. At Robinson Neil joined us again – he’d joined us earlier from the top of Blencathra to Dunmail.

Mark's 50 at 50 - Why?

Folk who hear me talking about this ask Why? I know why – it’s about having great people helping you achieve your dream, and being totally in their hands. Throughout the round everyone had been so positive, and now gaining time and sensing success, the whole team got infected with tremendous energy. It was a great feeling.
Up on schedule, and up on Robinson (Rick finished in 20:34 – arrival 14:24 – about the time this photo was taken)

Mark's 50 at 50 - Final 6 summits

Climbing Whiteless Pike from Sail Beck (Andy finished in 21:27 – arrival 15:17 - about the time this photo was taken).
From Robinson, we dropped down as quickly as possible; folk not keen on the kamikaze waterfall descent I’d planned, so we went slightly longer; no matter, we’re still good for 24 hours. Now for the final climb up Whiteless Pike. These final additional 6 summits added over 800m ascent, and about 2.5 extra miles, but with the benefit of only 3 miles on roads. We climbed well, and kept moving ahead of my schedule, then relaxing, laughing and joking about having enough time to stop at the pub at Swinside before Keswick.

Mark's 50 at 50 - Timing error revealed

Final summit, Causey Pike, we thought. Pete wrote “Except a minute later we realised that not only was this photo taken on a false summit but the schedule 'skipped' half an hour and we were now out of time. That was an amazing last 40 mins to get back to Keswick with a couple of minutes to go!” The error when later corrected gave a schedule time of 24:05. In an instant our comfortable time cushion and easy pace evaporated, and we had to race for it. From the top of Causey Pike we had 50 minutes to get to Keswick. Achievable, but we would have to work hard.

Mark's 50 at 50 - the Finale

In a hurry, every minute counting - about to hit the road at Stair, with less than 30 mins to go. Meanwhile in Keswick increasingly anxious friends watching the minutes tick by; wanting to do everything possible for me, they cleared a path through the Saturday afternoon Keswick market shoppers. Three miles away I must have been mentally attuned to them willing me to succeed, and I was flying.

Paul ready by the car to guide us in. What pace do you want? As fast as possible. 8 minute miles? Yes, sounds good. Fast pace for first section, but slowed to a walk on the first hill. Paul getting worried. You’ll have to really run now. Picked up speed on the descents, and through Portinscale with 10 minutes left - should be just enough. Along the Keswick streets dodging shoppers and cars. My team were stopping cars and moving people for a clear run. Final push to the Moot Hall. Touched. Stopped watch – it read 23:56.59. Too exhausted to celebrate. Flooded with relief, emotion and pride in the team.

Later that evening, final act of the day was a couple of important pints with everyone who made it possible. Making the most of the occasion. And why not?
Scarcely had the sweat dried, and I was being asked what’s your next big event? No hesitation, I said, “Nothing”, it’ll take 3 months to recover from this. The BG affects people in different ways, some can’t run for months afterwards. Well, 11 days later I found myself on the start line of the Boars Head fell race. Why not? Andy was there too; he won V40 and I won V50 – a boosted training effect, I understand.

Vuvuzelas

(Charlie's blog again) I was all set for a quiet Friday night in, having my tummy rubbed, cosying up on my sofa, everyone saying what a good boy I am. But then the boys took over, shouting, fighting each other, and blowing their loud horns while getting very excited about some football on the TV. I didn't like the horn blowing, so I took cover upstairs and hid under Lea's bed. I hope the noise ends soon.

Training Buddy

Mark told me he's writing about his 50 at 50, and how I am his training buddy. I'd just like to set the matter straight that he's my training buddy: I'm the one pulling him along when we are out together, and often he's just sitting at home while I'm doing all the hard work chasing the birds out of the garden,
Here's a photo of us resting at the top of Helvellyn two months ago watching the JJs play snowballs and Mark studying his 50 summits.

First dog

Just back from the village fun run through the woods where I won a bone for being the first dog; I stopped at about 5 trees, and had a roll in one muddy puddle along the way. The bone was nice, and I started on it straight after the prize giving. I've just buried it somewhere at the bottom of the garden, with my other bones - quite a good collection now, if only I could remember where I put them. I pulled my young master around, and he was the fastest under 15 boy, and Mark won the race - he won a voucher for a pub meal, so he's very happy now. He keeps telling me he will write up his recent 50 at 50 in the Lakes; I would have liked to have helped on this run, but I wasn't allowed.

My garden

My family has a nice garden. It's big enough for Mark, or anyone who wants, to throw a ball or my squeaky a long way, and for me to bring it straight back ready for another throw; it's my favourite game, and I could play it all day. Sometimes, if none of my family wants to play, I drop my ball over the fence for Alf to throw for me; he can't throw very far, but it's better than nothing.
The garden at the bottom of mine has some bunnies in a hutch; I sit and watch them all day. Underneath the big shed there's a new family of small animals just moved in; I sit and watch them all day too.

Race for Life June 6th 2010

My first marshalling duties this morning. Mark had volunteered to help with the marshalling, while I assisted by just being there. After the morning's usual rowing coaching, we trotted off to the Parks. Lots of people wanted to make a fuss of me, and I obliged by rolling on my back a lot. Another warm day, and I was glad when Mark asked if I would mind if we took the bus home. The bus ride was fine, and Mark reminded me of when I was a puppy and used to get really angry with buses, especially when they swallowed up Young Master when he went to school.

Colllywobbles

Today at Blenheim, a nice lady was talking to Mark. She said she has a collie the image of me, who is 13 years old; last year, she had the collie wobbles, which apparently affects older collies, and ones who get too hot; basically the brain gets disconnected from its balance functions, the eyes roll, and the dog can't balance. Normally all gets back to normal after 48 hours, but in her dog's case it took a week.
We were at Blenheim to see Rosemary and Sue (Team Summer Madness) do the triathlon. I would have liked to have gone for a paddle at the edge of the lake, but Mark said that the thick, black, smelly mud might spoil the inside of the car. Shame, I wouldn't have minded.

Recovery week

I'm pleased to see that Mark is back, as always, but I haven't been out for a decent run for well over a week now, and I'm getting stir crazy. Perhaps it's for the best given the hot weather recently. He mentioned something about a run along the river early tomorrow morning. Can't wait.