2 Miles...

Just two short miles today on the Galway prom after work... It was the nicest day of the year so far - almost to hot for running!  Men, women and children were out in their bikinis in Salthill. Yes, everyone in bikinis.  Day 3 of Juneathon done!

Day 2 Juneathon - 1 Mile Run.

Didn't even need shorts for this one!

I have rarely done a run as short as this, but with time being scare and the legs being slightly heavy after two days running in a row, I decided it would be good to mark day 2 of Juneathon with the shortest of hops, out the door, down to the pier, and up to the one mile marker.  On a beautiful even, it was a beautiful idea!

Day 1 of Juneathon... 5 miles.

June is back, and so is Juneathon, that weird and wonderful jogger/blogger marathon when we sign up to run or exercise every day and blog about it, every day!  I muddled through last year with some, well plenty, sit-up days, but this year I am determined to run a bit more if I can!  I had my heart set on a run in the neighbouring village of Spiddal today with the rest of the Trísport club but had to come home and attend to some house fixing work due to the imminent arrival of 15 young teenagers on Monday (for the first of three summer camp courses for which we are a host houses!).  With my Spiddal plan scuppered I decided to do my usual up and down the road run.  The legs were weary enough for the last mile or two, but generally I did ok, for the first day that is!  Good luck to all other Juneathoners... let the games begin!!!

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!