"I was born in sixty-seven, the year of Sergeant Pepper, And Are You Experienced..." (© Porcupine Tree). I've decided to do an Iron Man race before I turn fifty. Not so much a rage against the dying of the light, as being slightly miffed at the brevity of the sunset. That, and I've noticed I'm holding jars at arm's length in order to read the labels.
Each Park Run newsletter arrives with a variety of info on runs around the country, and news on sponsorship and T-shirts, etc. This caught my eye from the latest one just in the box. It’s Griffeen, in Lucan, where I go to ‘Park Run’. I hope Teresa McCarthy doesn’t mind me re-posting her feedback. It … More A Park Runner, from the heart…
I have been hugely impressed with the Iron Cowboy’s 50/50/50 attempt. If you have been missing in action, then check out his site. He’s well on his way to completing a mammoth – nay – Herculean task. The athletic ability is complemented by a very smart piece of web design, and as I do a little of this … More Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
Set off up the Black Avenue. Greeted with a low-flying mewling buzzard. It’s warm and pleasant and overcast. Top the hill and down the long stretch towards the treatment plant. Recently-laid tarmac path overgrown with lanky annuals, all keen to exploit the freshly-turned earth. Turn left up the long draw past St. Catherine’s Well and out … More Training Week 1 for Half Iron concludes with a long(ish) run in the Park
Just for the hell of it, I tried the exercise bike in the station gym. I was hoping to get a sense of heart rate thresholds. I did a warm-up for 20 minutes, then pushed it for 5, then eased back for 2, and then went again, repeating that 5 minute burst 4 times in … More Something’s leaking…
Can you juggle? I can juggle. Well, I wouldn’t get a job in a circus or anything, but I can take three roughly spherical objects and do a few things with them, other than just hold them or drop them on the floor. I remember in my post-student days in flats watching folks juggling and … More Juggling (in the pool)
My favourite place to run is in St. Catherine’s Park in Leixlip. It’s right on my doorstep, so it suits me, whether I’m on call or not. But it also has a lot of variety for a park, with plenty of hills of differing difficulty and length, open flat spaces, good footpaths, and wooded areas. … More Pace and tempo training
Ear worms. They can be dreadful little beasties. The programme started yesterday, and not without a few hiccoughs. I was busy in the office and forgot the time, so missed out on the 12.45 swim in the local pool. Then berated myself and promptly re-engaged with work only to realise it was nearly 5 o’clock … More “I write the songs, I write the songs…”
Today is technically the first day of the new programme. The training plan is from the same place as the Olympic: 220 Triathlon. Here’s the link. It’s for the Half Ironman up in the Ards Peninsula at the end of September. I found the last one worked out reasonably well, and to be honest, I have … More Getting with the programme
There now follows a particularly non-scientific post about swimming, so if technical swimming stuff really is your thing, then politely look away now. One of the things that triathlon throws up, for new folks like me, is that I really don’t know an awful lot about any of the disciplines. Or, put another way, when you find … More The S stroke
There is one companion you will always have on a cycle in Ireland. I am not talking about yourself, the cyclist. This isn’t an existentialist blog as such. More à la carte than Descartes. Nor are we talking about the bike. If you go out for a cycle and discover that you have left your bike … More C’est le vent, Betty
