Snow on Man!

Wow - snow in November was a bit of a shock; not good for the training sessions though.

In fact I was lucky to be in Spain for a few days (thanks Mark) so avoided the snow until tonight, but actually the conditions were horrendous there too. 40 hours of solid torrential rain turned all roads into rivers and just about shut the place down. I did manage to get 1 training walk in albeit it turned into a bit of a battle for survival. It should have been a great road walk up into the mountains on a rarely used road but not only were there streams coming down the road but there were lots of rocks falling onto it from landslides. In the 90 min walk I saw no cars or people just lots of water and rocks!

It was therefore a bit of a shock to land back home with snow on the edge of the runway. We were very lucky to get home at all - some of our friends ended up doing a planes trains and automobiles eventually relying on the Steam Packet via a long train journey from Gatwick to Heysham.

Anyway less rambling about the weather... I have been going down to some of the Tuesday walking sessions laid on by Allan and Manx Harriers. I would recommend this to anyone who is thinking of doing the Parish next year. You will get lots of tips and whilst some of the top walkers come down which is a great help, there is a really good mix of all levels of walkers. I also find it a good way of ensuring you go out even if it is cold and wet.

I have a few ideas for the blog but if anyone out there wants me to cover anything in particular please give me some feedback as I am not used to talking into the ether...
Must sign off but before I go firstly thanks to Dave my first ever follower! Hope you enjoy the blog and also hello to my fellow amateur bloggers Richard and Stephanie whose bloggs I look forward to reading along with our professional Murray.

Training Already?

When Murray asked me to be an "official blogger" I realised it was a great incentive for me to keep the training up through the long winter months. The earlier you start the easier it will be?!?

As this is my first post I will keep it short so I will have a few things to say later! If you are reading this blog in 2010 then you are probably an avid Parish Walk supporter anyway, so no need to explain what lies ahead before 25 June 2011.

This will be my 3rd Parish so I now know what to expect and have received lots of tips from many walkers - this is what makes the Parish special for me. Whilst it is a competitive event there is real camaraderie amongst the walkers, lots of support for all competitors and even the elite walkers are happy to pass on tips and help with training and walking technique.

By posting this blog I realise that I am committed to enter, train, try to finish and hopefully beat my best time - time will tell!

Looking forward to see who is my first follower (if I get one!) as this is a first for me...