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| Making big waves for summer at the Gower Mighty Hike |
That was a busy 2 weeks, and we still have two more Mighty Hikes to go to get to the end of July... and the weather hasn't turned up yet...
With over 1000 miles of driving covered, and that's just me - to get to Yorkshire Dales and then the Gower Peninsular, it's about as far as I can get from the office here in Sussex, and then I remembered we still have the Rob Roy and Corwall mighty hikes at the end of August... if you're still up for entering these fantastic events - go here: https://www.macmillan.org.uk/mighty-hikes and join in.
You'll get a great signposted route, super qualified Mighty Marshals that walk the route (actually med qualified mountain guides), rest stops which are really well supplied with food and water, proper finishing food and sustenance, and a great set of medals to collect. Rumour has it on other charity walks you're lucky if you get a cheap supermarket sandwich and a cub scout to walk with you on the route - but I might be wrong... check your details and make sure you pick *the one with the free photos* as well... which help you to raise that bit more for your intended. Proof - it's all about the proof.
Time for the selection of cheerful photos to make this blog far more light entertainment on the interweb - the Morcambe and Wise of the internet meme running and hiking world. Hopefully lighthearted fun in a world of climate chaos and political partisanship.
Cowdray Park - Summer 10k Run the Seasons
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| The fast downhill start on the crisp polo fields |
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| Running out across the rugby pitches at Cowdray |
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| Always time for a double thumbs up witha view like that |
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| Going off too fast and teasing your mates behind you is a risky strategy. #53 didn't want anyone to know he was in the race really. |
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| Our Graham, in a high viz, thinking it means he can ride anywhere again. |
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| dogs are more competitive than you would think, and also have no time for double thumbs up, but at least they put their numbers on properly |
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OK - You try telling him to "show your number", see if he can hear you, or any marshal on the course for that matter... why is life so hard sometimes ? Also - front hydration vests - design the zip at the side and put the number on the front ? perfect win-win.
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| woopsie - Just too late on the big arm wave |
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| Correct double victory wave timing for the shot |
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| ok some are not competitive, but more into finding security risks or drugs. |
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| Being a race director is not tiring... |
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| When you reach a state of Flow, everything is and looks easy, even putting a number on the front of your top properly |
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| Nice tshirt, yes - what are you running for ? certainly not for a race position with that number hidden there... |
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| OK, he was quite tall |
Meanwhile in Yorkshire, it was raining
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| The Hills are... |
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| came prepared |
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| Five go hiking, with Captain Rum |
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| not YMCA - it's FTY ? |
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| It's about this long |
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| Goldfinger pew pew !! |
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| It's the eye of the tiger... |
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| actually not siamese twins |
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| suddenly with 1 mile to go she remembered he had hidden his essential snack bar |
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| No puddle in sight, but still a Gentleman... |
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| Mighty Marshal on the case |
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| It was at about 10 to 3... |
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| good stickage |
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| The surprise of finishing |
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| he did eventually find the contact lens |
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| hmmm, waiting for friends... |
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| Yorkshire air is good for your hair ! |
So the good news was that in Yorkshire it didn't rain as much as it could have, and the internet at the finish was so good I could watch my daughter win an international schools netball tournament at Loughborough Uni (#proudDad). The peace and calm of my first location - only a mile from my parking spot was broken at 7:30am by the absolute bird shout (wasn't anything song-like about it), coming from the nearby lake.
I was asked if I knew where the water from the lake went by one intrepid hiker. Downhill ? was my timid reply. No - it's the source of the Liverpool Victoria canal apparently. So it doesn't go downhill at all ! That'll learn me and my ignorant understanding of physics and indeed geography and historical transport systems of the yorkshire dales. It was still a lovely lake and those ducks, geese and other menagerie had a lot to talk about for about an hour.
For a while I decided to put on some chilled connected-brain meditation entrainment sounds - designed to get the whole brain firing in coherence, and because it was on my bone-conducting headphones I could still chat to everyone as they went past. Modesty prevents me from saying too much, but my wit and repartee and general chat in the few seconds one has to connect and get photos with the passing hikers - was on metaphorical fire.
This was a tactic I employed for shooting at the Gower - but I gave it an hour first to see how I felt and contrast with it after/during listening. I can confirm I was enjoying live and much more relaxed and even faster on the work than I was once listening to and getting on the right wavelength. (people are often surprised at the work rate required once more than one person starts to go past a camera).
And then to the Gower Peninsular Mighty Hike
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| They wore hi-viz and green plastic as they marched from the start |
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| Three legs are better than two |
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| my assistant here identifying the beach I was sat on in the distance |
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| If you look very carefully - you can see Nigel Farage having a panic attack |
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| Side-eye to the photographer, and no number ? Definitely a spy. |
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| Pick the easy route they said. The one that won't twist your ankles. Oh ok then. |
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| Cartwheeling smiles the whole way |
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| No number, no photos - thems the rules. Stop horseing around. |
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| The sand walk after lunch - just to get those thighs burning |
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| Teamwork and the challenge and the achievement - and lifelong friendship. |
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| Take that as a V for victory with style |
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| Also not siamese twins, just trying to keep his friend safe from the tide |
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| High Kicks to show of leg numberwang |
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| Strictly come hiking |
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| just take a look at that beach - if you look closely.... |
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| woo woo numbers ! |
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| Send help, Bear Grylls has arrived |
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| Friends waiting for friends and capturing the moment |
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| The arm wave of properly exhausted victory and achievement ! |
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| YES ! Challenge achieved !! Mighty Hiker status allowed !! |
By the time I made it back to the accomodation at 10:15pm - it started raining like january - thank goodness we had got away with that through the day !
Personal progress update
Some of you may know I took a good look at meditation to calm my sensory overwhelms associated with my recent late life diagnosis (*late life = well into/past middle age) of aspergers/autism (often described as socialisation difficulty). This was mainly to do with the sort of "get me out of here" sensory overload response to being in the queue to buy something in the Bodyshop (or Lush), whilst the customers infront of you all decide to open a customer loyalty account with the new saturday staff who don't even know how to charge for an item without a barcode whilst bright lights, smells, temperatures, colours all assault your senses. But I digress - in searching for good meditation stuff to help with the stress of overwhelm - I found neuroplastic feedback meditation - which is the hard mental brain workout equivalent of a HIT cardio session. (It is not just being chilled out hippydom).
And after 2 months (and now 7 months on) it turns out that I am a lot lot less sensitive (well frankly - I'm not over sensitive any more - but I can't use the word "cured" apparently) - because the meditation stuff that is done with neurofeedback kit has worked pretty well. It's not that I'm super zen now - but more that my brain processing speeds are getting faster.(I have measumrements!) Or more accurately - the bits of my brain that went slowly - which used to litereally get overwhelmed with input - are now getting up to speed - and literally can process inputs properly in real time - so I cope. normally. like what normal people can. Which is good. Cold hands don't hurt, bright lights don't hurt the back of my eyes, I can hear music clearly - it doesn't sound like Medium wave (often now - oh *thats* the lyric when listening to 1980's music..), words and names coming back to me faster - rather than hanging on the tip of my tounge, I can hear what's going on in a crowded pub, I can socialise with ease, I'm not super-straining my hearing to hear the person next to me. I am no longer isolated.
I have to admit though that the primary emotion on getting those parts of my brain that were a nanosecond behind the curve back up to normal speed and discovering just how easy life can be - is utter fury.
I'm furious that I've struggled for the best part of 50 years and the misery I have been through by comparison. And I'm furious that there is literally no help out there.
And on all the chat forums, all run by large charities and organisations or highly qualified psychologists, and even neurologists and also highly academic professors of neuroscience is "accommodate, accommodate, accommodate". I see massive posts by Neurodiversity experts sharing their lived experience - and how workspaces need to be made to accomodate and how they can't change and the outside world simply has to accomodate them and *everyone has to be trained to accomodate and have infinite empathy and massive EQ (note: this is literally impossible - just as it is saying that everyone has to have a massive IQ to help and accomodate).
To this I say a firm "No" - workspaces just need to be designed better for everyone, they're simply just badly designed (I speak as an ex engineer that has been involved in the design process - you would not believe how basic and thoughtless the office interior design process is - because it's done by the cheapest designer aka new graduate that has no idea other than how to run the software) - nobody is designing them with anyone in mind except the budget. Certainly not beyond putting a fire door in the right wall. It's not a big conspiracy against Neurodiverse individuals, it's just bad design, it's not all about you... or me for that matter. Nobody is thinking of anything except the budget.
The whole motivation for my research into neuroplastic and neurofeedback methods was the well intentioned official advice of "don't trigger your sensitivities", like a doctor telling you to never run again because you've got a dodgy knee. I ask you as a runner/mighty hiker - how many of you would accept that sort of advice for a wonky knee ? YOU MUST NEVER RUN AGAIN !, just avoid making your knee hurt.... err yeah - nope no. Not many of us accepting that advice !! You find the physio.
You have the option of limping along for the rest of your life in pain, or go find advice that helps you get back to running again. Or ignore the advice as a mix of the two and keep running and hurting - because you can't afford the physio - and do your best - but you don't just stop running do you ?
I mean I literally manifested (completely unconciously of course) avoiding my sensory overloads between the ages of 13 to 18 by going to a darkend room, with no sound and sat there for literally hours every day. In those days we called it something different - the school Darkroom - and it's where we used to print photos from negatives. It's no conincidence that I enjoyed it in there is it ! But all the better for you guys as it lead to me literally creating this business and writing this blog - so I guess there's that to be grateful for (meanwhile I scan the room and side-eye every other old photographer that worked with film and their historical de-sensory behaviours - except for the act of literally holding up a camera and putting distance between themselves and everyone else in the room... obviously, but surely not. Oh I see.).
Anyway - I'll one day do a post of things that I find really really relevant to this topic - but for now - did you know you can get a brainscan to find out what part of your brain is going quickly or going slowly - and that is clearly related to different types of output behaviours and mental health:
https://www.centerforbrain.com/services/eeg-brain-mapping/
Other event news
In other news - it was great to hear that the BHF had a fantastic pier to pier swim a few weeks ago in Bournemouth - really well attended (although I'm stuffed if I can find any results!). Unfortunately the inevitable change of staff that happens at a mind boggling rate at some charities meant that budget changes and priority decisions made by the new incumbents meant that they didn't want us along for the ride this time in 2024. Fair enough, I'm ok with people trying new things with their strategic budgets - but please edit the website so you don't send a thousand participants to our gallery looking for their 2024 images - it makes us look bad, and you look bad, let alone dissapointing your participants as well - although it does serve to show how popular and important a service the swim photos are and how much people wanted an achievement memento to help with their fundraising... my guess is that budgets will be even tighter beause of this next year. #facepalm.
Not Politics
Also I hope you noted how I've managed not to mention the election until now. Be grateful - You know I can rant. frankly I'm more terrified of what is happening in the USA and Ukraine - both have massive geopolitical and economic and democratic implications. But "let's be clear" - putting a bunch of people into Government cabinet positions that actually know what they are talking about ? Experts in jobs that need experts and subject matter experience ? Not sycophantic yes men that even Macchiovelli would be proud of ?. Next there will be a civil service populated by highly proficient people being told to implement government policy that *actually makes sense and not soundbites* (that's my quote and you can use it). Whatever next - an outpouring of boredom about politics because it finally returns from the cray cray. Thank goodness - my adrenal glands haven't rested since 2016.
And then the footy
Well I'll just about be back after the Thames Mighty Hike on sunday evening in time to watch the footy Final. Wasn't expecting that to be on my calendar - but fingers crossed ! I might have some adrenaline left after the weekends Hiking hopefully !
Until next time, keep safe and enjoy this little bit of warmer weather
Anthony
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