unironedman

A much-needed week away in Clare beckons; our favourite holiday spot.

There will be visits to the beach, some swimming, walking, perhaps even a spot of light running. There will be food. There will be (for me, anyway), a few beers. Our daughter will join us on what will be probably her last trip away with the old pair. The son (AKA The Lodger) will not be with us.

‘Gaffer’, as the young kids say. Which is to say, free gaff. And if that still confuses you, it means a free house, free of the constraints of annoying parents. He’s 22, so that’s hardly surprising.

As regards running, there have been a couple of 10k runs in the park in the last week or so, and we are back in the gym again three times a week, plus enjoying the delights of Pilates on a Wednesday evening. Always good for a decent sweat! Weight doesn’t bother me much, but I will probably drop a kilo or more by the time we toe the start line in Dublin in Autumn. No point in carrying excess baggage.

In reality, we are in a holding pattern. The marathon programme starts the day we return from Clare. It’s six days a week, until the end of October. Which rather sounds like the end of Summer too… But that’s the price you pay if you want to finish and in a decent time.

There will be plenty to enjoy in the Burren in Clare, though one thing we won’t have to face are bears. Not live ones, anyway; I think there may be some bones in Ailwee Caves, but they are thousands of years old. If you want to put a smile on your face, check out this post by Brendan Leonard.

And finally, best wishes to one of our Kildare colleagues caught up in a nasty house fire. We gather his injuries are not too serious. But it sounded like a close call.