Saturday 10 December 2011

I dream of fire... and fire comes to me...


Some dreams I willingly share, others I keep close to my heart...

Several years ago, when Kez was a puppy and I had only just moved to the village of Winterbourne Dauntsey, I had a dream....

It was one of those dreams where one awakens not quite sure where one is... was it a dream, or did it actually happen..

At the time I was going through a tough patch in life, one of those times when you question all that is happening around you. Question everything yet find no answers...

I dreamed a very special dream, where Kez had grown from a puppy into a phenomenal ultra running husky, known to many. He had changed from a rebellious nightmare of a teenage husky into a dog that was respected by many through his attitude and his behaviour.

We (the other huskies and I) were known for helping children, helping inspire them to run and to participate in sport...

Kez had become famous and was considered so inspirational that Lord Coe believed him worthy of Olympic recognition. He asked Kez (and I as his running companion) to carry the Olympic Torch to its destination in the Olympic Stadium just before the 2012 Olympic Games....


This dream was dreamed many years ago, well before I knew that there would be an Olympic Torch Relay, consisting of 8,000 people from the United Kingdom of Great Britain..

In June this year I became aware of the torch relay. Sue Hendry from Pets Health for Animals (Trion:Z for pets) had nominated me to carry the torch with Kobi, our little rescue husky, who has his very own inspirational story to tell....

On Thursday 8th December, I received an email that I still find hard to accept. The email contained the words "congratulations" and "successful", all relating to the torch relay. I also received a very special badge in the post, and a personal comment from one of the judges on the panel. All the evidence and facts point towards the unimaginable.... On 12th July, 2012 I will hold in my hands a most precious item. I will hold the Olympic Torch, alight, on fire and on its way to London. The flame that symbolises so much of what we as a modern society are in dange of losing..... When I hold it I will hold it for many people. Each and ever one of them will be with me, in my mind and in my heart.

Every day I hear of sadness in this world. What if I could turn this opportunity into happiness...? What if I could take this opportunity to promote something that could inspire a nation, inspire a great many people and raise a huge amount of money for charity??

P.S. for those that do not believe in dreams.... When I wrote my first book, I wrote of this dream. That was in 2008, yesterday I checked...:-)

(image courtesy of BBC Olympic page)

Saturday 3 December 2011

5"K"s running 5K


So why has it taken me so long to write about "the dream"....
I guess because the reality was that the actual experience was one of the most challenging things that I have ever done. The memory will remain with me forever, and I will remember the smiles, the exhileration and the fact that we ran as we live. We ran as a team, good times, bad times, fun times and some downright dangerous times.

Each dog ran as it lives, personality to the fore....

We started at the back, to ensure that we did not infringe any human runner. Kobi, who has been trained to run 5 minute miles at parkrun, to race against humans, did not understand why we were going so slowly. He did not understand why he was not running with the front runners, why he was not racing them to the first bend.

Kroi did not understand what he was being asked to do. At only 6 months of age, he is only a baby. He tried to copy his idol Kobi, pulling excessively and very powerfully. He does not yet know about working, about pacing and about control...

Kade remembers parkrun in some form... he tries to race forward, and then something holds himself back - it may be his fading eyesight or that he lives in a soundless world, or it may just be that his body cannot run as it used to. Whatever the reason, his preference when running with me is to run either directly in front of me, or just by my side, with as much contact as possible. His choice of position places me in a very precarious position as I am trying not to trip over him, whilst being pulled forward by two dogs that would like to break the sound barrier....

Kroft stays on my left and just behind me, the entire duration of the run. Never rushing, but never infringing or distracting me from what I am trying to do.

Kez remains the worker that he is. He stays on the right, running as quickly or as slowly as I ask him. I necklined him to both Kroi and Kobi during various parts of the run, merely to allow some level of control.

Sometimes I am lost for words as to how best describe Kez. A dog in a million does not do him justice. This dog is more than phenomenal, a dog that can at times read my mind, and when he cannot read my mind, he can read my body and reacts in the way that he thinks I need him best. Usually he is right.....

There were times during the run when I truely felt in heaven. I asked the dogs to run forward, and they all ran together in unison. Each dog running full stride and forward at quite some speed. We slowed as I asked, and we speeded up as I asked.... These are the memories that will live with me forever - complete unison and complete bliss.....

I will remember the poo stops, the geese distractions and the steep descents. But I wont remember them with the fear or the frustration that I felt at the time. I will merely remember them as the part of the integral reality of living and breathing a challenging dream....

I will also remember the honorary member of the "K" team. His name may well begin with the letter "I", but he was there all the way... The stress before the run, the stress during the run... He took photographs and he video'd the precise points where I would have chosen had I thought deeply about it. Without him, the memories would probably have involved tears, pain and lots of mud upon my face.....

Friday 2 December 2011

My first ever experience of mud skiing.


Have you ever tried mud skiing? I have and didn’t even need any specialist ski equipment. The only problem was that I only managed to stay upright and on my feet for approximately ten seconds! Never mind, I am sure that the potential is there.

I hadn’t gone out the door that morning with the intention of trying a new extreme sport. I was simply going for a nice run, with the dogs for company.

It was a lovely spring morning, dry and bright, but underfoot conditions were a little hazardous on the off road sections due to excessive rain over the previous fortnight. As a result of the conditions, I made a spontaneous decision to take a slightly different route, one which I knew had a good solid track for most of its length. Plus it is nice to be adventurous every now and again and experience new scenery and interesting trails – for the dogs and myself.

And so the run commenced, with all four of us in joyous spirits as we merrily trotted along, down through the village and up towards the track. We ran along the track for about approximately one mile, when I noticed in the distance that there were some pig houses. For anyone not familiar with the habitat of free-range pigs, each female has its own enclosure with a little pig house to sleep in. These she-pig enclosures are divided up using electric fencing.

When I saw the pigs I must admit that I was not particularly concerned. The dogs have run past pigs on numerous occasions and had never previously shown an extreme hunting interest. Perhaps the dogs know that pigs are a formidable force to contend with. Or perhaps it is because pigs tend to just stand still and stare at passers-by and not run away (like sheep do), evoking the predator/ prey response, either way pigs are not normally a problem. I pulled the dogs close to me (just to be sure), and keeping a close eye on the movement of the sows, we continued down the track passing each enclosure.

Everything was going to plan, no problems and completely under control. We only had one sow and a large barn to pass and then there would be a hedge between the pigs and us. I didn’t even give the large barn a second thought, just assumed that it contained the weekly rations of straw and pig food. If only I had known then, what I learned that day…

Those large barns are the piglet nurseries. They are where the little baby pigs live, in huge herds probably in excess of 100.

As we ran alongside the barn, the little sleeping pigs awoke and started charging out as fast as their little trotters could move. Screaming in frenzied excitement.

The barn was situated about twelve feet back from the track we were on, with the entrance/ exit at the far side and electrical fencing forming a channel that all the pigs had to run down, parallel to the track, to access the main field.

As you can probably imagine, when the first piglet appeared the dogs went into hyper-drive. Little pigs, running and squealing on maximum level are a completely different prospect than full grown angry sows. All the piglets screamed in panic and surged towards the fence. Kai was already planning his menu for the day: bacon for breakfast; sausages for lunch; pork chops for dinner – yummee!

I tightened my grip on all of their leads and held on for dear life. No matter what, I was determined that no dog was getting anywhere near those pigs.

When Huskies are at full strength and absolutely determined it would take a phenomenally strong person to hold them back. Each dog is easily capable of pulling six times its own weight, and with me being a mere eight stones, all bets are off as to whom will win this battle of strength.

And so my mud skiing experience began, or to be more precise, pig pooh/ mud sliding experience, As the dogs edged forward I was pulled behind them in a rather inelegant fashion. I started to panic as I physically was not strong enough to hold them and urgently needed more resistance to stop them reaching the pigs. I threw myself onto the ground and started sinking into the pooh-mud, perhaps I could anchor myself into the sludge....

To no avail. Even flat on the floor the dogs continued to drag me, straight towards the electric fence.

Kade hit it first, screamed once and then was through to the other side, collar partially stuck on the wire. I managed to lock Krofti's lead to slow him down getting through to the other side.

And then I saw a lifeline....

A tree trunk was partially protruding from the mud, I reached if and wrapped leads and body around it. I just had to hold on for a few more minutes. Just until the last piglet had emerged.

I closed my eyes and prayed. I would not say that I was a religious person, but I prayed to someone and my prays were answered. The last piggy emerged and ran safely to the centre of the field.

I stayed down for a few minutes until the dogs had settled a little, stopped their screaming. I pulled myself from the mud/ pig pooh sludge and unwrapped Kade from the electric fence. The fence was completely destroyed, but at least no piglet life was lost. And.... I had no broken bones, just very bruised and battered and very,very smelly. I am sure as I looked across to all the pigs (very attentive audience, adults and all) that they were all laughing through their little piggy snouts.

It was several months until I was able to run past that field, even longer until I could pass the Farmer's house!! I wonder if he ever found out how his fence was destroyed. Maybe one day when I am famous..... I will confess!!

P.S. I must admit, I did buy sausages for the dog's dinner that evening!!
P.P.S. It did strengthen my desire to one day try proper skiing. Perhaps that could be classed as Dream Number 5....