Swimming lessons 2010-2013

In many places I have lived over the years I have looked for adult swimming lessons and was frustratingly never able to find them. I had it in my head that I wanted to learn to flip turn.

When we moved to Athlone in 2010 we discovered it was hosting the 2010 European Triathlon Championship 6 weeks after we came to town :-) Watching 2009 world & 2012 Olympic Champion, Alistair Brownlee win over the now current and three time world champion Javier Gomez was fantastic. Seeing regular people taking part was an inspiration for me to train and compete on the same course the following year.

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Discovering the Athlone Regional Sport Centre and it's instructors has been one of the best things about living in Athlone. I have done their advanced lane swimming classes which runs in 7 Thursday night blocks 5 times, twice in 10/11 in preparation for my first tri and 3 times in 12/13 while training for my second.

On my first night in 2010 I told the instructor Dave I wanted to learn the flip turn. He said there were a few things to learn first! I still can't flip turn! I had read some of the total immersion book, borrowed from my brother, over the previous decade while self-learning freestyle. I had used the book principally for learning alternate side breathing and had not dived into the rest of the book in detail. It had not yet sunk in how technical a sport swimming is.

In advance of competing in the 2013 Brian Boru tri I went over my swimming lessons notes.

The personal feedback I got from the 2010/11 sessions was:

• Breathing too rigid: body must turn as well as head to breath, head should stay completely still, only break over water enough to just catch a breath.
• Relax the shoulders
• Entry
  • My left arm goes right over and enters the water outside my shoulder on the right, it should enter in-line with my shoulder.
  • Can see bubbles when I swim as air passing through fingers, keep fingers tight.
  • After 10 lengths, throwing my arms, which twist my legs, keep elbows high.
  • after entry catch water and push back when extending hand back to hip.
• Legs
  • My legs are sinking & cycling in the water, straighten them and keep my knees down.
  • Feet are straight so the block water, be long in the water.

From the 2012/2013 sessions:

• Breathing: I am over-inhaling, so I am working too hard to compensate. I am gasping each time, breathe should be normal, if you breath too hard it tells your body it should be "panicking" as well.
• Entry
  • Keep fingers closed, together, be a spoon not a fork and knife.
  • Hand is entering too late, I should not stretch my hand at the top of the water before entry. I am entering close to wrist, it should be entering between wrist and elbow of opposite hand. As a result my body is not as streamlined through water. I should enter at right angles and then glide under the surface longer. After entry, the hand should extend about 10cm under water (find a point between the malleable top water and the deeper stuff), before stretching.
  • My left arm is pulling across and not doing a complete stroke. Imagine a centre line going through body and don't let hand/arm cross that.
• Strokecount
  • I am only doing half strokes, I should extend my hands and then brush my hip when I pull back.
  • Normal stroke is one hand following the other but my cadence is too fast. The out of water stroke should be slower (no resistance) as it's slower under water.
  • I am not extending enough in the water, I am moving my arms too fast.

My ongoing issues I need to work on are:

Leg sinking

I have a big problem with my legs sink and I have not been able to improve that yet. The ideal is the ankles breaking surface and with some splashing.

Entry

I am still struggling with my entry, I know I am going in too later and I struggle going in earlier.

Strokecount

My stroke count for 25m still is generally 30-32. The best I have managed is 29. This is way too much and means I am wasting energy. I should be able to reduce this to 24 with improved technique. Swimmers with excellent technique would do perhaps 18 strokes per 25m.

Breathing

I have breathing issues and mentally struggle keeping my head under water. Recently I read the Inner Games of Tennis, first written in 1975 it talks about switching off the thinking brain (self 2) and letting the body (self 1) uses it's memory muscles. It worked on switching off my brain to get through the Brian Boru mentally but in the long run this is no good for improving technique.

Back to reading the classic Total Immersion book and more lessons for me.

Brewers' Ryan Braun - drugs cheat

Mixed emotions on Ryan Braun's drug suspension - obviously disappointed in someone that I admired - but delighted to see some action being taken by the sport. He got off 2 years ago (in his MVP season) on what was assumed to be a technicality - no doubt making the authorities more determined to catch him.

However the suspension is a bit of a joke - he'll miss the rest of the season - 65 games in a 162 game season. Brewers bottom of their division, already out of contention, no real impact.

Interesting reaction from the Brewers' owner - e-mail to all fans:

http://brewers.mlblogs.com/2013/07/30/a-letter-to-brewers-fans-from-chairman-and-principal-owner-mark-attanasio/

Even more interesting is that he's PAYING FANS TO TURN UP:

http://onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/brewersfansfirstvoucher.html

Desperate times......

Lug up Lugnaquilla

Lugnaquilla - or just Lug - is the highest mountain in Wicklow. At 925m (3035 ft), it is also the highest peak in Ireland outside Kerry. In Scotland, it would qualify as a Munro. It's a serious enough mountain in winter, with avalanches and rescues in recent years, and options for ice-climbing on the North and South Prisons which guard the peak.

I first hiked up Lug in the late 90's, and was up only once since then, in January 2001. The latter was with Richenda, about 3 days after we first met. Tom, you were there too (as was Eoghan, and a few others). It was a seriously cold day, and no time to hang around on top. I don't think an exaggeration to say than minus 15 with wind chill.

Last week was the first time I realised it was possible to bike up Lug. With the seed planted, it seemed there was a bit of interest and in the end with not much planning (except a map, and knowing the route up and down) Paul and I met up with Andy in the beautiful Glenmalure valley last Sunday evening at 6:30.

We were ambitiously aiming for a 3 hour loop, but had lights (and one bivvy bag between three!) just in case. So, off up the valley, northwest - past the beautiful An Óige hostel, following the course of the Avonbeg river.

The first 15 minutes were probably the toughest of the whole circuit. It was seriously hot, like nothing I've experienced in Ireland (at that time of day). The terrain was gravel fireroad, slippy. On we climbed.

Looking back to Glenmalure valley.

Hot.

 
Harder than it looks. Andy, with Paul behind.

This sign clarified that mountain-biking is a prohibited activity. We took a left here onto a smaller trail, heading up towards Table mountain.

Up at 700 m. now, just like that. This is the boundary of the Glen of Imaal military range - "...do not touch any military debris,  it may explode and kill you...".

 Paul and Andy. Taking a breather here.

A gentle climb to Camenabologue, Lug is now visible.

Cairn at Camenabologue (758 m). There is a sting in the tail here though, as we dropped down over 100 m, and more climbing to follow.

 A bit of carrying needless to say.

Check out those views - you could see every mountain in Wicklow from up here: Sugar Loaf, Djouce, Tonlagee, Mullacleevaun, Kippure, Turlough hill, Lugduff...

The cliff is the one of the faces of Lug, down to Art's Lough below.

Paul silhouetted.

More views...

...and the sunset.

The three of us on top. Still plenty of light, right?

Um, puncture.

From the top, it was flowing (whooping) downhill, leading to technical (less whooping) rocky downhill, and finally the zig-zags (super fast switchbacks - more whooping) back down to the valley floor, and a short ride back the road to the car. It was fairly dark by now, but we had just about gotten away without lights. A plague of monster midges here, like nothing I've ever witnessed - we were being eaten alive.

The stats: it took us four hours to get around, but my moving time was 2 hours 45, so there was plenty of hanging about, taking it all in. Average speed was a hopelessly slow 7.8 km/h (possibly explained by the ~900m. climbing).

This was a really special and epic spin, real mountain-biking (as in, we biked up and down a reasonably large mountain), and something I wouldn't have even contemplated a week ago. We were all very buzzed up, and to be honest despite the (nice) tiredness, it was hard to sleep that night. The conditions were absolutely pristine - this is normally a seriously boggy circuit, and we didn't even get a foot wet. This is clearly the best summer we've had in this country in decades. Are you making the most of it?

Ancient Brambles arête & the lost ring

Rock Climbing is my favourite thing to do in the outdoors, the places it brings you, the freedom, the feeling of satisfaction are not really paralleled for me.
In 2009 I took a breath and realised I had not been on the rock since Easter 2006 when I spent an amazing five days at Pedraforca in the Pyrennes (including a benighting after climbing the stunning line circled in the picture).

Living in Waterford and hiking up to the amazing Coumshingaun I had been wanting to get up there climbing. I had a Saturday outing with Cormac in July to the excellent Ballykeefe Quarry in Kilkenny and then on a September Sunday I went up to the coum with Andy, where we fought through the typical rain and got up a 25m route on the south-facing cliff - Devices & Desires (HS 4B). Too many plans foiled by the weather, too little time.

Martin and I started hatching plans for Costa Blanca and that November we spent 3 prime days climbing there (including Penon d'Ifach pictured below).

I had not been on the rock since, going on 4 years. Over the June bank holiday weekend I brought my 6 year old on the climbing wall in Dingle, she flew up the 20m walls and loved it. Then I read McG's post about midweek night summer rides and I got inspired.

I started climbing outdoors through a beginner's climbing course in Dalkey quarry with the Irish 
Mountaineering Club in spring/summer 1992. On that course I made a lad, Colm, and we purchased a rope and basic rack together. 2 years later I moved to the USA, before going we split the gear, buying a 2nd rope which Colm kept, with me retaining the original. I climbed all over with this rope until I dislodged a rock at Ti Point in New Zealand in 2000 which ended up badly damaging the rope at the half way point and ending up with 2 25m ropes. I still have the damaged piece:

Colm and I had briefly got back in touch last year over a phone call but I had not seen him in a long time. I got on climbing.ie which hosts a wiki for climbing in Ireland and I saw 2 small crags in Westmeath both near Castlepollard. With me in Athlone and Colm in Dublin I proposed we meet up at one, the Rock of Curry, and go climbing.

We arranged to meet up the evening of Wednesday 19 June which turned out to be a lovely evening. We eventually both found the little farmers lane described on the wiki at about 7.30. The crag looked impressive, especially for the Midlands, perched up there from the road and we started catching up on nearly 20 years as we got organised.


We could hear farm equipment on the go and we kept an eye out for the farmer to have a chat. It was not long before he came up to us, he was a nice lad but unfortunately there was no way we could climb there he said. I showed him the details of the crag on the web and he was unaware of previous climbing done there in 2010 & 2011. His stance was that with the crag and access being on his land, one sue would shut him down.

It's an unfortunate situation in Ireland where there are almost no public right of ways at all. I got the farmers details and have since talked to the Mountaineering council of Ireland's Access officer who is going to contact him and expects to put him at ease. So I hope to get back to the Rock of Curry this summer!

I remembered the 2nd crag in Westmeath and getting connectivity back in Castlepollard we found the crag was close by in Fore. The small outcrop is unmissable from the town being a 5min walk up behind the graveyard. In the summer evening light the gorgeous view from the base of the crag of the valley overlooked the old Benedictine Abbey ruin of Fore Abbey where St Feichín founded an Early Christian monastery around 630 AD.


Colm had brought his rope, it turns out it was the 2nd rope we had bought in 1994, which I had never climbed on, tonight was to be the first time. The climbing wiki describes 3 routes on the rock the first put up in 1974. It must have been after 9 when I tied in and started up this route in the middle of the buttress. Starting to climb, I noticed my ring and down climbed tossing it into the side pocket of my bag. The rock was solid but had some loose bits due to not being climbed on frequently. There was an obvious crux (hard bit of the climb) which I worked on for a while, on stepping up over the bulge it felt a bit loose and taking account of the time of the day and wanting to get something done I backed off.

Really I fancied the small arête 5 metres to the right which was unclimbed! I have only put up one route before, on the North Island in New Zealand, a chimney I christened Buzzing Web. This was a not so difficult climb but it felt great to be on the rock again. As I climbed the arête the vertical ridge became more obvious and would look more aesthetic if some gardening was done to remove the vegetation.


With the fine evening we were in shorts and getting to the top of the pillar it became obvious pretty quickly when I tried to go further that I was being ripped to shreds. With the night drawing in I decided to setup a belay station which we could abseil from slinging the pillar with a 5m corlette.

When I got home I added the climb to the wiki and called it Ancient brambles arête. The following day I missed my ring and that night went through my bag - absolutely gutted to not find it. Christine had given me this ring when we got married at sunset on a boat in Hawaii, this was not cool. Colm checked and it was not in his bag. I could not believe I had not hung it on some gear and just tossed it in the bag loosely and absent-mindedly. I took a half day on Friday and rented a metal detector and went back to Fore with all the family where we diligently spent 2 hours finding and digging up old beer cans and the like. We came to the conclusion that a cow had eaten it in the grass. When I found a story about a wedding ring being found in a cow when it was cut up 3 years after being sucked off the finger I was not too hopeful. We talked about heading back with a couple of detectors checking all the patties. Also, Christine since rang the garda station and tourist office.
You can see the detecting going on in the picture!

Last night I finally got to reorganising my gear nearly 2 weeks after the climb at Fore.

Sorting my second last piece, I was blown away so see sitting on the carabiner on one of the extenders my ring! Subconsciously old habits died hard and I must have slipped the ring on a carabiner when throwing it into the bag without even realising it.

McQuaid interview on Newstalk

Very edgy interview, and fascinating insight into his mindsight. Gilroy does a decent job, just keeps at him. Would love to see him referee McQuaid and Kimmage some day - I'd pay to hear it :)

Podcast is here (broadcast 23rd June).

Running

 

1.       Running is a constant struggle. Niggling injuries. Difficult to get out the front door. Dour, tough training. Back / knee / shin / ankle pain. Frustration. Too easy to say no.

2.       Running is gliding along a road. Pain – free. Head space, relaxing and enjoyable. Exercise but seems like little effort involved. Controlled. Easy. Pleasurable.

The difference?

Chi running. Did a course with Catherina McKiernan three weeks ago and I’m a convert. There have been times during and since the course when running seemed almost Zen-like, gliding along the seafront. Really relaxing. My attitude has completely changed from measuring distance and time to relaxing, concentrating on technique and enjoying being out.

In addition, you get to spend a day with a friendly, down to earth legend with an incredible passion for running. She is only too delighted to help everyone from experienced, top level runners to people who are starting out (generally the high side of 35 and carrying a few pounds J)

Check it out (€150 for the day)….

http://catherinamckiernan.com/DesktopDefault.aspx

Lebron James - Dunk block in Game 2 of the 2013 NBA Finals

Dunk Block in Slo-Mo

Granite

Long summer evenings mean the possibility of after work spins, and a few of us have been heading up the hills midweek, usually Wednesday (it's always dry on a Wednesday for some reason). I missed last week (Olympia). Thursday (30th) was a cracker, so I left work at 6 and within the hour was on top of Three Rock. Hazy views out over Dublin Bay, Howth, Lambay island in the distance. Always time to take in the views. Especially after that climb (450m.) 

In my mind I'd worked out a route down while climbing, a track I hadn't done in a year or more, off the beaten track. So down I went, fairly tricky, which I knew, so careful. Rocky, then winding into the trees, and rocky again. A small spill, just landed on my side on boggy ground. Dusted off, then back up. Not really concentrating, so didn't "get going" properly (it was fairly steep), and I hadn't clipped in the left foot properly. A small bump brought me to a stop, and with the body-weight all wrong, I slowly went up on the front wheel. Slow motion, and (too relaxed) landed over the handlebars. Didn't really feel anything, so dusted myself off, and picked up the bike. 

Only then noticed some blood. Lots of blood actually. Pouring from my forehead, on which I had inadvertently and unknowingly landed (the helmet took no impact due to the angle of the fall). No other symptoms or pain - I was clear-headed and didn't panic, but knew I had to act quickly and carefully. No-one was going to find me here in a hurry, even if I could explain where I was. I took my top off to stem the flow of blood (compression, right?). Somehow worried about blood on my shoes and on my bag. And the icebreaker soon to be soaked in blood.

So, now topless, holding the t-shirt to the wound, I walked the 10 minutes or so back up to the masts. It would be faster home this way. I phoned Richenda to fill her in (impossible to talk, kids all at full pelt - bedtime pending). A couple of Polish lads on top saw me coming towards them, I showed them the gash (they gasped of course - helpful). I was probably like something out of a zombie flick. Another lad came on the scene, army man - full first aid kit, put on his latex gloves, cleaned me up, bandage, tape - the works (I took his number, and rang him later to say all OK). Discussed if stitches needed (he thought yes) and if it would scar (ditto).

We worked out that the bike was in good nick. With barriers blocking car access to the mountain, I decided to find my own way down. Another phone call home to arrange a hospital trip. And down I went - gingerly. Cleaned myself up in the shower, changed, ate (I pretty much knew the wound was superficial - although somewhat woozier now). My Kiwi neighbour Adrian drove me to Tallaght emergency department. You really do see all sorts here. I was seen by the triage nurse fairly quickly - he took off the bandage, and knew I'd need stitches. Another 15 minutes to see a doctor. Clean-up job (he got stuck in), then the dreaded needle. Not too bad to be honest. A tetanus shot (you know where) just in case. God knows when I had the last one. A nurse cleaned up my knee and shoulder, and bandaged them - hadn't really noticed before. Back home within two hours. God bless the HSE (at least it wasn't post-midnight Saturday night).

I took Friday off work - I was very foggy for the next 24 hours, like being drunk and hungover at the same time. Pain kicked in some more that night, but nothing serious. Over a week later, it has healed quite well. And the sorest part of me now is the ribs (not bruised - possibly cracked?). Some hard lessons learned. I always ride with helmet, and within myself, but sometimes alone obviously (never at night though). Some of this will have to change. And I've bought a new helmet too.

Banff Mountain Film Festival

Went to the Banff Mountain Film Festival last night. Each film was better than the previous, world class.

Here are the trailers for movies which played.

Wide Boyz - Two unknown English lads attempt to beat the best American climbers on their own turf, including an attempt on Century Crack, the toughest climb of its kind on the planet. 'Off-Width' (crack) climbers really are a different breed, hard nuts.



Strength in Numbers - Mountain-Biking in the Swiss alps, and local teenagers with incredible skills in an urban bike park in California.



Flow Hunters - White-water kayaking on the South Island's west coast, and Tree Trunk Gorge near Taupo.



Crossing the Ice - Highlight of the night. Two Aussies with little skills or experience attempt to become the first to hike from the Antarctic edge to South Pole and back, unassisted. A Norwegian starts out to do the same one day before them, so this is a race as well as a battle of survival. Gripping.

 

Being There - Skiing in Norway. Does what it says on the tin, incredible skills and scenery.



Honnold 3.0 - Alex Honnold attempts to free-solo 3 of the biggest walls in Yosemite (El Cap and Half-Done included). Crazy enough, except he aims to do it in 24 hours.



Lily Shreds Tailside - Super short, Lily is a Jack Russel. Just watch.

Ski Sunday meets Tom Burt

Ed Leigh meet up with snowboard legend, Tahoe local, Tom Burt, on Ski Sunday this week. He came across as a legend should and it was amazing to hear that he has never repeated a line.

Unfortunately the bbc iPlayer for TV is still not usable outside Ireland without fiddling with your proxy. Set your series record for Sunday at 17.15.