unironedman

As the great Dave Lee Roth has said on many an occasion, time rolls on. And that’s as it should be, he added. Well, it will, regardless of our opinion, I suppose. Moot points abound! And so it was that during the week, a message popped in from Gary to see if I was around for a Sunday run. Last weekend was the Dublin Marathon, of course, and in fairness, he has made a speed recovery, and to celebrate his partner’s impressive 450 parkrun milestone (‘5 kilometre stone’ doesn’t quite roll off the tongue), they had partaken in the Malahide parkrun yesterday (which I learned was the location for the first parkrun in Ireland on November 12th, 2012).

I was certainly in the market for a run, so the only real question was where? I proposed Ticknock up in the Dublin Mountains, and whilst the initial mood music in response suggested this might not be an ideal session for tired legs, we found ourselves heading southbound down the M50 motorway, towards the hills, early this Sunday morning.

The route we planned was one we both had travelled in the past, in one form or another, so despite the heavy mist and poor visibility, we figured it would be hard to get lost.

We parked in the Ticknock Forest Car Park and headed straight up the gnarly paths towards Three Rock. I am currently in training with the National Ambulance Service to become an emergency call taker, and our training room has impressive views of the mountains, including Kippure and the various telecoms mast that mark Three Rock from the city. So we reckoned this was what put the idea into my head. But, as Gary was happy to report at the end of our run, it turned out to be a good plan.

We crossed paths with other hill-runners out and about. A popular fundraiser for the local mountain rescue teams takes place along these trails in two weeks time, so no doubt many of those we met were finding their feet, and doing some recces. Hopefully they get finer weather for their runs.

Once we passed Three Rock, with a quick stop to take a pic, we pushed on into the woods where many of the trails are shared with the mountain biking fraternity. On the whole, they are generally friendly, but if you should find yourselves on the wrong path, they will let you know about it in no uncertain terms. The woods soon give way to open ground again, and the route turns right and heads uphill on well-worn paths of both granite and peat. Certainly trails you cannot take your eye off, or you will come a cropper very quickly. And then you might get to meet those wonderful people from Dublin Mountain Rescue sooner than you’d like!

We reached the top and found Fairy Castle heavily shrouded in mist. Again, we stopped for a quick picture then moved on to follow the trail off the hilltop. This short stretch of the Dublin Mountain Way soon joins the Wicklow Way; a section we were both familiar with from previous training runs and races, though I had to admit, I wasn’t sure about the way back to car park. Never fear when you’re with Gary, and the route back quickly dropped us out at the old barn site again, with only a few hundred yards left to the car.

Then it was on to Marlay Park open air market where we found a hot dog stall with some rather tasty and classic offerings. I dare say the bright stripe of red ketchup and fluorescent mustard was visible from space. It was wolfed down, along with a tasty hot chocolate. Then it was home for a shower. All in all, a decent way to spend a Sunday morning. Nice too, to return to Three Rock. I had not been back since we scattered Dad’s ashes.

And finally, amongst the study, training and exams, I am finding some time to work on the new shed. Below is a lovely old pine door my Dad had ‘obtained’ from some job or another. It has been in his workshop for years. I will essentially build the shed around it. Yesterday, I made a frame for it. Next week, I should be able to get the foundations in for the blockwork. Shem, Tamsyn’s cat, came to check my handiwork. I can’t say if she was impressed or not, because she is a cat.