A 10-mile plod this morning on a very cold but bright and still Dublin morning. The Sean O'Casey bridge was closed for maintenance so a rare detour upriver and over the Isaac Butt bridge before heading back downriver, over the East Link to Blackrock and back. A couple of the city's many unfortunates were happily tucking in to their cider for brunch in the bright sunshine. But hey, maybe they think I'm the unfortunate one, often in a state of discomfort in the name of sport whilst they dream the day away.
I'm over the 1,000-mile mark for the year. Not bad for my age and lack of any ability. Those miles were mostly piled up in the first half of the year. Where's my old diary...here we are. I finished my final year in Jersey (2007) on 777 miles.
Yesterday was 'interesting' at Irishtown Stadium with the kids giddy in the morning whiteness and more interested in throwing frostballs at each other than concentrating on their drills. However we got some work done including a 600m, results as follows. Note the 6-year old lad who trotted around as to the manor born.
1. Fiachra Thirroueiz (U15B) 2:16.9 PB
2. Rachel Maher (U12G) 2:25.8 PB
3. Sarah Maher (U10G) 2:30.4 PB
4. Alix Hughes (U13G) 2:33.3
5. Roisin McGuill (U10G) 2:33.4 PB
6. Orla Murray (U12G) 2:43.1
7. Ella Thirroueiz (U10G) 2:45.7 PB
8. Alan Francis (U10B) 3:03.7 PB
9. Patrick Tucker (U7B) 3:11.9
And home then to see a cracking game, 1st v 2nd with honours even. Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Birmingham City. I'll settle for that.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Composing of The Fields of Athenry
Young Pete: Mammy, I've written a poem but I can't finish it. Will you help? It goes -
'Low lie the fields of Athenry, where once we saw the da da da fly'. What will I put?
The Mammy: I cook and clean and slave and all you can think to do is write. Put any feckin' thing, put 'small freebirds' whatever the feck they are. Nobody'll read that shite anyway.
Then go and pull me up a cabbage.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Parking
Continuing with the early-morning short runs this week, though I thought I deserved Monday off. I've built in a little dogleg (Cambridge Road) so it's now near enough three miles though I've not bothered to Garmin it.
That's 999 miles so far in 2008!
I must say that this little discipline really sets one up for the day. Getting out of bed promptly and out the door regardless of weather and an easy (though not effortless) 30 minutes running gets one in touch with the day.
One interesting thing I've noticed is that there appears to be rare free on-street parking down Docklands way. The spaces are filling up quickly by 7 o'clock and many drivers sit there, engines running (for the heating no doubt), presumably waiting until it's time for work. One good reason for living in an expensive but central apartment.
And to add to the excitement I was nearly taken out this morning as a sudden gust of wind threw a roadside barrier across the footpath. No end of wonders to see on a Dublin morning.
That's 999 miles so far in 2008!
I must say that this little discipline really sets one up for the day. Getting out of bed promptly and out the door regardless of weather and an easy (though not effortless) 30 minutes running gets one in touch with the day.
One interesting thing I've noticed is that there appears to be rare free on-street parking down Docklands way. The spaces are filling up quickly by 7 o'clock and many drivers sit there, engines running (for the heating no doubt), presumably waiting until it's time for work. One good reason for living in an expensive but central apartment.
And to add to the excitement I was nearly taken out this morning as a sudden gust of wind threw a roadside barrier across the footpath. No end of wonders to see on a Dublin morning.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Fighting Irish
Well, a steady little 8-miler on Sunday out towards Blackrock and back. 10-minute miling which has become a pretty standard sort of pace for me on my longer runs. Occasionally I'll step it up a notch but, at this early stage of base training, there's really little benefit. I listened to a Fighting Talk episode and the beginning of Phedippidations 160 (I think). A bit chilly out there.
Swansea 2 - 3 Birmingham on Friday evening. Another game pulled out of the fire and we still lie in second place.
On Saturday we had 18 in our young Crusaders' training group and we had a good session before cutting it short as it was getting wet and cold. I'd prefer an indoor venue for the winter for the young ones.
Then a first for me on Saturday afternoon - a trip over the river to Croke Park to see Ireland play Argentina at rugby. Everything about this historic but recently rebuilt stadium is impressive. It is the fifth largest in Europe and on this occasion there was a crowd of 65,000 against a capacity of 82,000. My ticket took me up many steps to a few rows from the top and, on turning around, the view of pitch and stadium is awesome (and a little vertiginous). The match itself was dour enough until the good guys pulled away in the last quarter for a 17-3 win.
With existing bad blood between the teams (Argentina beat Ireland in the recent World Cup) it was unsurprising that several impromptu fights broke out. And of course the crowd would rise as one as if at a boxing match urging on Jerry, or Hayesy or whoever to 'give him another belt'. The Irish are not known for backing down if violence breaks out. But sensibly the officials just let the boys get on with it and kept 30 players on the pitch.
Compare with soccer where you only have to look sideways at someone these days to get into trouble with the ref.
Swansea 2 - 3 Birmingham on Friday evening. Another game pulled out of the fire and we still lie in second place.
On Saturday we had 18 in our young Crusaders' training group and we had a good session before cutting it short as it was getting wet and cold. I'd prefer an indoor venue for the winter for the young ones.
Then a first for me on Saturday afternoon - a trip over the river to Croke Park to see Ireland play Argentina at rugby. Everything about this historic but recently rebuilt stadium is impressive. It is the fifth largest in Europe and on this occasion there was a crowd of 65,000 against a capacity of 82,000. My ticket took me up many steps to a few rows from the top and, on turning around, the view of pitch and stadium is awesome (and a little vertiginous). The match itself was dour enough until the good guys pulled away in the last quarter for a 17-3 win.
With existing bad blood between the teams (Argentina beat Ireland in the recent World Cup) it was unsurprising that several impromptu fights broke out. And of course the crowd would rise as one as if at a boxing match urging on Jerry, or Hayesy or whoever to 'give him another belt'. The Irish are not known for backing down if violence breaks out. But sensibly the officials just let the boys get on with it and kept 30 players on the pitch.
Compare with soccer where you only have to look sideways at someone these days to get into trouble with the ref.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Crikey, Blog of the Week
How did that happen? You can't keep a little diary these days without someone getting hold of it :-)
Better write something about running then. I've never run in the US of A. Indeed I've only visited once. That was with the family a number of years ago. We went to Orlando and the Keys. I don't think I could run in the temperatures we had for those two weeks.
But with the vastness of that country must come many and varied running opportunities. I know many trails exist which, if not laid out specifically for running can be utilised by runners. And despite the predominance of the car you will certainly not have the invasive sense of traffic everywhere that there is in modern Ireland.
Things have changed in that regard. Ireland has changed from being a rural, slightly backward country and fairly traffic-free to a cosmopolitan, prosperous and materialistic land in less than thirty years. These changes have not been runner-friendly. Despite the still-rural nature of the countryside there are few quiet, winding lanes. And there is far less access to the countryside itself compared with mainland Britain where this battle was fought and won by walkers and hikers in the 1950s.
However you make the best of it. And you relish any opportunity to run in traffic-free environments.
And of course it's not as bad as Los Angeles where I hear that anyone not in a car is automatically labelled a suspicious character!
And finally, for any North American visitors, try to get hold of a copy of Four Million Footsteps by Bruce Tulloh. Bruce, a very good former British Olympic athlete, was the first to run the breadth of America, west to east, in 1969. This book is his record of that run.
Better write something about running then. I've never run in the US of A. Indeed I've only visited once. That was with the family a number of years ago. We went to Orlando and the Keys. I don't think I could run in the temperatures we had for those two weeks.
But with the vastness of that country must come many and varied running opportunities. I know many trails exist which, if not laid out specifically for running can be utilised by runners. And despite the predominance of the car you will certainly not have the invasive sense of traffic everywhere that there is in modern Ireland.
Things have changed in that regard. Ireland has changed from being a rural, slightly backward country and fairly traffic-free to a cosmopolitan, prosperous and materialistic land in less than thirty years. These changes have not been runner-friendly. Despite the still-rural nature of the countryside there are few quiet, winding lanes. And there is far less access to the countryside itself compared with mainland Britain where this battle was fought and won by walkers and hikers in the 1950s.
However you make the best of it. And you relish any opportunity to run in traffic-free environments.
And of course it's not as bad as Los Angeles where I hear that anyone not in a car is automatically labelled a suspicious character!
And finally, for any North American visitors, try to get hold of a copy of Four Million Footsteps by Bruce Tulloh. Bruce, a very good former British Olympic athlete, was the first to run the breadth of America, west to east, in 1969. This book is his record of that run.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Docklands Dublin
Running-wise I've kept up my little early morning runs this week. As Misery Hill is closed due to construction work I have instead been running along the south river bank to the East Link. And fascinating that area is being a mixture of old, abandoned quayside buildings, new apartments and flashy new office complexes and others still planned and under construction.
Across the river on the north side it is very much the same, with old Dublin still clinging on in the face of increasing development and investment. Though that may now be slowing down somewhat.
The Docklands Authority have done a good job in making good cycleways, footpaths, benches and little statues along both banks, and it is tastefully illuminated by night. The area is a little way away from the tourist trail and therefore it is still relatively quiet. One upshot of this is that the area has yet to become infested by Dublin's lowlife who can be found in profusion further up the quays. No Roma beggars either, the footfall being too low to be an attraction.
The East Link, opened in 1984, replaced - I am told, a ferry which had been in existence since 1665! This connects Ringsend on the south with the harbour area to the north. Further back towards the city the Sean O'Casey pedestrian bridge has been open for only a few years. Between the two, construction has now begun on the Samuel Beckett Bridge which will carry traffic between Macken Street and Spencer Dock. At that time then there will be no fewer than three bridges where before none existed east of the Customs House. Indeed (again I am told) that in earlier times ferrymen used to wreck attempts to build various wooden bridges as this would of course impact their livelihoods.
But anyway, I must run a little longer on Sunday. Last Tuesday we had nine in our young group. Last night it was Liz, Eoin and Patrick for a heavy session together with Brian, a strong 14-year old thrower but with whom I needed to go easier.
Across the river on the north side it is very much the same, with old Dublin still clinging on in the face of increasing development and investment. Though that may now be slowing down somewhat.
The Docklands Authority have done a good job in making good cycleways, footpaths, benches and little statues along both banks, and it is tastefully illuminated by night. The area is a little way away from the tourist trail and therefore it is still relatively quiet. One upshot of this is that the area has yet to become infested by Dublin's lowlife who can be found in profusion further up the quays. No Roma beggars either, the footfall being too low to be an attraction.
The East Link, opened in 1984, replaced - I am told, a ferry which had been in existence since 1665! This connects Ringsend on the south with the harbour area to the north. Further back towards the city the Sean O'Casey pedestrian bridge has been open for only a few years. Between the two, construction has now begun on the Samuel Beckett Bridge which will carry traffic between Macken Street and Spencer Dock. At that time then there will be no fewer than three bridges where before none existed east of the Customs House. Indeed (again I am told) that in earlier times ferrymen used to wreck attempts to build various wooden bridges as this would of course impact their livelihoods.
But anyway, I must run a little longer on Sunday. Last Tuesday we had nine in our young group. Last night it was Liz, Eoin and Patrick for a heavy session together with Brian, a strong 14-year old thrower but with whom I needed to go easier.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Germany 1 - Ingerland 2
Ha, England put one over Germany again - when it counts for very little. A confidence-boosting performance though. Apart from Carson. What the feck is it with present-day English goalies? It's come to a pretty pass when David James is the Safe Hands of the England team. Oh for the days of Banks, Clemence, Shilton & Seaman.
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