unironedman

Not long to go now. On Saturday afternoon, Gary, JC and I will head west towards Connemara and our accommodation in Clifden. And the following morning we will all arise and get going on our various missions. There are three distances, and between us all, we will tackle all three; the half, the full and the ultra-marathon. There’s nothing to be done now in terms of training. All we can do is pack our bags, charge our watches and fill our bottles.

The Easter Weekend was a busy one, not least as my brother was over from Italy so he was roped into doing some blockwork on the shed, and we were gigging on Saturday and Sunday. The first night was a function to celebrate fifty years of a local soccer club, and the guest of honour was John Aldridge. Younger folk may not remember him with the same affection as us over-fifties, or indeed, recall him at all. But along with the likes of Packie Bonner, Paul McGrath and Ray Houghton, they were legends of Irish football in the late eighties and into the nineties.

I skipped my long run on Sunday, mainly due to fatigue, and instead managed 14k on Monday morning, despite yet another late night from the Sunday gig. The sun was out for the most part, and I worked up a bit of a sweat. I was keen to try an energy powder from my neighbour; it’s ISO+ isotonic drink with carbs; a powder you can mix with water and add to your hydration pack. I made up about 600ml and drank it all during the run without any ill effects, so I will use it at the weekend, along with gels and bars.

The weather looks a bit hit and miss for Sunday, but there’s no point obsessing over it. It will be whatever it will be, and no amount of checking the app will change it.

---

Pope Francis passed away, and within hours some commentators were picking over the remains of his papacy. If these people were subjected to a detailed autopsy by the very best of pathologists, not a single Christian bone would be found in their bodies. But hey-ho, I am rather agnostic myself, so perhaps I should hold my whisht on the subject. He just seemed like a decent bloke, and a bit of craic, and the epitome of everything a good Christian should be.

I have long held the view that this Jesus character was many things, but foremost, he was a pacifist, an environmentalist, and a socialist (in the true meaning of the word). And of course, that’s an uncomfortable truth for a lot of modern, soi-disant Christians who exercise the very worst forms of revisionism and hypocrisy. Though once again, I should remind myself of my own leanings. Specks of dust in my eye? Well, yes indeed.

But you sensed Francis was going to be a breath of fresh air when he held mass in Lampedusa in the Mediterranean – his first pastoral visit out of Rome since his election to office – and excoriated world leaders for their failure to help migrants. And some of his last words recently where again to heavily criticise the situation in Gaza. And as I type this, I see on the BBC news that the official Twitter account of the Israeli foreign ministry deleted their message of condolence on his death. Grotesquely churlish, but in keeping with that government’s appalling behaviour.

And now for some dogs, and other light relief…