Up With The Birds...

In honour of my first major lawn cut of the year I decided to post this pic of a mushroom, which ended up as an innocent victim of said cutting.  PS:  what room has no windows and no doors... yes, a mushROOM.  Hardy, har, har...

I decided to give myself a kick up the jacksy this morning, by rising at 5.45am to get out for a four miler.  Is there anything more spiritually uplifting than running on a bright May morning with a cool breeze at your back and  the chorus song of a thousand birds all around?  And what a chorus... there were finches, for sure, thrushes and other little birds I couldn't recognise.  One fellow I did recognise though was the quuuuuark quark of the pheasant - we live in a marshy area and the place seems to be the pheasant equivalent of Grand Central Station! My pace wasn't too bad either - I eased into the run by turning down towards the lighthouse with a leisurely gait, but on the way back I stepped it up, almost unknowns to myself.  This was my first run for over a week, and though I've been busy at work and with some visiting guests, there's no real excuse.  I missed it, but now the decks are cleared and I'm ready to trot.  And by the way, there's talk of another marathon this autumn, but keep it quiet...

3 Miles in Hurricane!

Ard na Bleaistéirí - part of my 'up and down the road' run!

Last week the Queen of England came to town and this week we welcomed Barack Obama - a red letter fortnight for Ireland of the welcomes!  Inspired by the 'yes we can' speech, I decided to brave near hurricane conditions to do my 'up the road and down again', three mile route.  I felt grand and the wind pushed me along up ard na bleaistéirí (the hill of the blasters).  Three miles isn't huge, but it keeps me ticking along.  Summer Irish courses start in two week's time and this marks the real start of summer for me.  At this time we're constantly on the go with 15 students staying in our house for 9 weeks solid.  Strangely though it's a perfect time to train like mad - evenings stretch along nicely and I usually have between 7-9pm free for leg stretching.  That's the theory anyway... Yes I can!

Blustery, Stormy, Spluttery Seas...Wonderful Run!

Ahhh.... sometimes the worst of weather makes for the best of runs!  A four mile jaunt around Salthill, heading out towards Mutton Island while the sea swelled an spat at me... funny thing about this Mutton Island run is that one side of the causeway calm no matter what the weather, while the other is wild as starving boar...

I'm happy to have strung two sessions together this week - progress is a drug like no other!  PS:  Historic times in Ireland for sure, today we lost Garret Fitzgerald, who was Taoiseach (PM) from '82-87, and one of the very few gems... 

3 Miles Treadmill...

Well, t'was a treadmill, and t'was but three miles. But still, it was better than I've been doing for a while, so, on the day that the Queen of England came to Ireland, I'm happy enough with that!

My thoughts on the Queen's historic visit:  well past time, and very welcome.  I'm definitely no monarchist, and like most Irish men my age I was raised on a diet of waaaaaaaaay to much history (the average Irish person knows   so much about the past that we could each write an indepth book on any period!).  England and Ireland have had a troublesome entanglement for sure, but we've also had much to be thankful for... So, I'm buying my own Elizabeth action figure and putting her up on the mantelpiece!

Calcutta Run for the one-a-month boys...

On our way back from Dublin, following another successful outing for the One-a-Month brothers!

Another month, another run for the one-per-month brothers.  It's been a hectic few weeks for me between one thing and another and I made the cardinal error of not incorporating runs into my work and life schedule, so the one-a-month club got me back out there again... This time we were without Cormac, Ruth, or Richie, but Kevin and I continued our monthly committment with this lovely 10k.  It started off outside the Law Society at Blackhall Place, and we ran around some sideroads before coming in to the Phoenix Park, where most of the run was located.  For the most part it was a flat course, with some nice downhills and very little uphill, so we had little excuses... We ran throughout at a chatting pace, but upped the tempo for the final 2ks and ran together past the 10k mark at around 53.23.  The race itself continued for nearly another half a km so our finishing time was in the 55 min bracket.  There was some wind, but by in large the day was perfect up until the final 1km when the heavens opened and it lashed rain...  All was in aid of a good cause - the Fr. Peter McVerry Homeless Trust - helping the homeless in Calcutta and Dublin.  A very enjoyable occasion - and hopefully a springboard to more regular running...