RUN: fishing for hubcaps

The other night I was reminded you don't have to venture too far from home to have an adventure. I had been doing my weekly swimming lessons and weekly bike ride and then around Easter time, life kicked in, multiple house moves and funerals and sick kids and long work days and all of a sudden the Athlone triathlon was only weeks away and Christine was asking was I doing it or what. She was talking about going for a run last Wednesday night and when she decided not to go I said well I better get my first run since last August in Kerry.

Christine had been doing some training for the mini marathon and recommended a lane beside us which was 1km long and suggested doing a couple of up and downs. I headed out, not sure what I was thing but something along the lines of if I can't run 10k tonight then I might as well forget about the tri. Across the road there was a little footpath disappearing in the trees I had noticed in driving past, where did it go. It just joined the turn which has the sign for the pet farm which Christine said is down a ways. Sure I'll head up there. I just had got a replacement phone from insurance after the other giving up the ghost, I had loaded up endomondo on it the night before and set it in motion. I didn't have headphones but heard the generated voice tell me as I ran up and down the small hills, lap time 5.37, time 11.09. At 3km my lap time was up to 6.19, then I saw a right turn with a brown sign indicating a megalithic tomb and took the small lane. I'll go to 4km, then do the lane near home when I get back. Lap time 6.12, more like it son.

Then I saw the motorway, the M6, a bridge ahead of me crossed it. Sure I'll just go to the to of the bridge and then turn. At the top of the bridge the gravel road the far side of the motorway which went of into the distance up the hill parallel to the motorway came more into focus. I had seen this driving the M6 back from mountain biking in Portumna and wondered where it went. The big blue sign indicated exit 13, which our new place was off, was 2km away. Could I do a loop? Always more preferable. Going up the hill there were a few gates and it was clear a farmer had done a deal with the government land purchasers. But down the hill I could see the gravel track coming to an end at a gate. It did not make sense to reverse now.

I climbed the gate and skirted around the large field pulling away from the motorway. 5 or 6 horses 200m ahead moved around nervously and seconds later as I lightly jogged the uneven ground took off at pace. The fence turned back towards the motorway and there were the horses again ahead and off the took once more. This time the fence turned again and it soon became obvious why, there was a stream, not big but not jumpable. I followed it towards the motorway, not possible to jog now. I noticed one of those big pipes near the edge of the motorway mound. If I crossed over that fence and jumped that small bit of water I cold cross over the pipe and then be over the stream. Once there it made sense to climb another fence and continue on the compulsory purchase land. I was still a good 30m from the motorway. How come they bought such a wide tract, there could be a great jogging/cycling trail put in here. I half jogged along the top of the mound, skipping right as the bush thickened, down to the right was a little stream, after, the bank climbed up to meet the motorway.

The vegetation carried me down to the stream bank and there it was, sticking out of the water, clear as day to me, a shinny VW hub cap which I knew instantly would match my car. Not something I would typically know, but I had replaced a few in the last couple of years so knew the look of them. I got my toe wet before dropping to my belly and stretching into the water to retrieve my prize. Back jogging along I had this image of myself driving along and seeing a guy dressed in running gear with #28 on the back carrying a hub cap and wanting to complete the picture for the driver as I heard a car approaching I lifted the hub cap over my head in triumph. Yes, I had come back to the scene and retrieved my hub cap.

I started to see a motorway bridge ahead and then I ran into it a full on river. I followed to the right and there was a track on both sides under the motorway. A perfect place for someone without a house to camp out, but it was not a city. A killer place for a party/rave, but someone would drown, the paths were only 2m wide. Under and over to the other side, for a microsecond I thought about wading/swimming and then I saw it 100 off to the right, a railway bridge. No turning back now.

A little tributary went off to the left, muddy sides to jump across but not too bad. Bushes and trees covered the other side in the slope up to the track, I couldn't see a way. I cut back on myself a bit and scrambled up though some tress and it was possible to pull up onto the track. Track stretched straight in both directions. Lap time 15.43. I still had light and figured I better not stay on the track too long, not exactly legal right. I crossed the bridge quick enough and it stretched off, The fence on ether side was high now and not scalable. If a train came there was enough room to hang down to the side but they would definitely see me and call it in. I kept jogging trying to pace with the sleepers. A while later, the high fence was ending by some trees up to the right. I saw house tops to the left but went right to the gap. I squeezed through and saw a little gravel road down below. I started to go left and then heard some traffic to the right and saw a truck off to the distance. I changed direction and was somewhat surprised when I popped out and the roundabout 500m from my new estate. 8km lap time kicked in. I passed the little lane near the house barely over walking pace and the thought of running up and down that was a non event. Christine listened to my story and said did I know anything about training!

Glendalough Revisited

The Glendalough WAR course: 9km Spink run around the Upper Lake (575m. ascent); 15km bike ride on the road, to Lough Dan (165m. ascent); a short run to the lake followed by a 2km kayak, then back on the bike to reverse the previous leg. Slight course change was a shortened return bike leg and an extra 3.5km run from Laragh back to Glendalough. Easy. Right?

The buildup: This time I focussed on the running, and started out about 8 weeks ago. Working up to running up 3 Rock/Fairy Castle 4 or 5 times on a course comparable to the race run. Virtually no bike training, just the odd detour up the hills on the commute home, and one trip up Kippure (route here) for a nice climb the week before. No kayak training whatsoever. I drove down in Wanda the night before and parked up in the Glendalough carpark, saving a few hours kip in the morning. Every little helps.

The usual high carb nosh-up the next morning. Jelly babies for breakfast with no guilt. Weather was perfect: fine, a some cloud, not too warm and not a breath of wind.

The run: Pre-race nervous anticipation, and unfortunately no-one to share the build-up with - all 3 FINEOS mates had bailed out during the week :(. I watched the big guns return from the Spink run in about 45 minutes, how do they do it? With no-one in particular to race against, I had a few strategies to beat last year's time and make it interesting. First of these was to get into the lead group in the run, and avoid the traffic jams when the race hits the narrow steps up Spink. 9:15am was race start, there were about 170 in my 'wave' and I was one of the first off. Some people were walking minutes later - long day ahead for them. Stepped it out, steady does it. In the top 5-6 up the top of the first set of steps, a huge group snaking back. Flat now for a bit, then more climbing. This second climb was fairly hellish, trying to take in the views to distract (see pic below, just putting on a brave face for the photographer!). The descent is extremely tricky, and was passed by a few 'mountain goats' here, but managed to stay on my feet. Naively thought I'd have legs to catch them on the flat, but even the miner's track back to the start was a slog. I somehow managed to trip and skin my knee on the easiest part of the run - no pain (feeling it now though).

Clocked in 58:20 (was 1:02:39). V. chuffed to beat the hour. Estimated I was in the top 15 in my group.

I also knew I could save minutes on the transition - I was literally one of the slowest last year, faffing around with change of shoes, food, drink. Amateur!

Transition 1:27 (was 3:33).

The bike: Sped off through Laragh and on towards Roundwood. Powerbar on board - another race tactic, it was attached to the crossbar with masking tape, worked a treat. My race drink was homemade - orange barley, water, sea salt and sugar. Powerade my hole. But would it keep the cramp away later? Picking off others now with ease (I think they were in the group who left 15 mins before) and in turn passed by one or two others before I reached Lough Dan.

Bike leg 40:03 (was 38:13, but this year we had to run 400m before clocking in).

Kayak: Nothing like a cold, wet arse to put manners on you. Hooked up with another lad who arrived at the lake at the same time. He took charge, sat behind and got us around double-quick time. No drama, but could feel inner thigh muscles starting to twitch - memories of last year.

Kayak leg 14:54 (was 23:09).

Took the time to take on fluids and do some leg stretches knowing the bike climb to come - I cramped on this last year. Flew up this time, happy days. Raced back to Laragh with 2 other lads, we must have passed each other 10 times!

Bike leg 30:29 (was 35:11, but 3km shorter than last year).

Final run:

Transition to the run was less than a minute. Then the sting in the tail. 3.5km, but winding and undulating. Managed to pass 2 more lads as I slogged along. VERY happy to reach the finish line. Even happier I wasn't doing the longer race. Some lads who'd started 1:15 before me and done the full WAR passed me on that final run. Mindboggling stuff.

Final run 18:26.

Full course 2:44:29. I did it in 2:42:43 last year, but that extra run versus bike translates to about 12 minutes quicker, so obviously very chuffed with that. Figured I was in the top 15-20 of my group of 170 (I subsequently discovered I was 12th in the intermediates), but there was another 'wave' who started later - I guess these were the experts, as my final placing was 44 of around 280. Interestingly, while only 200 did the short race last year and 500 did the full one - this year, more did the short course and the standard was seriously higher. The winning time was even faster than Andy's winning time last year, despite the extra leg. Other useless stat: finished 6/38 in the over 40's. And more importantly, only beaten by two women (I know, two too many).

High and Low

View from 3 rock towards Sugar Loaf

The Featherbed is a boggy, mountainous wasteland - less than 20k from Dublin, but a world away. It is surely one of the most wild and desolate places around, maybe even in the country - not a house, a tree or even a sheep in sight. It's also a great road bike route - an hour's gentle climb along the Military Road (eventually leading to the Sally Gap, unpassable these last few weeks) brings you to the top nearly 500m above sea level. And this is where I headed to yesterday afternoon, a dusting of snow outside, and wondering how far I'd make it, or if I'd be able to complete the loop over the top and back via Glencullen.

Not surprisingly, there weren't many people about (I saw one car all day). Roads were dicey, just needed to take it handy, but nothing too serious. Leaving the trees behind, opening out into a frozen and beautiful plateau, with higher mountains rising above. Dropping down now towards Glencree, the road worsening and I knew the smaller back roads to Glencullen would be even icier. Better to turn back, and climb over the top again.

Bitterly, seriously, unbelievably cold - not a day to be taking chances. While taking off my jacket to get a few extra layers on, sweat had incredibly frozen inside (a first). Thermometer is showing about 4 below. Time for balaclava with the descent ahead. For some reason I'd only brought 'ordinary' winter gloves, and not my ski gloves. I paid the price on the journey home - no exaggeration to say I wasn't far off frostbite by the time I was back off the hills.

This is surely the harshest winter I've spent anywhere, and that includes two winters in NZ's South Island. Spiky ice tyres on the bike, schools closed, snowed in at home - all the norm now in the last month, and three years in a row. Climate change is here, and I think we'll be getting used to these conditions from now on.

But yesterday was a wonderful spin on the bike - up in a place where you could die in the extreme temperatures, I felt very alive up there alone, and in the deafening silence of the mountains.

Postscript: No camera yesterday, but here are a few pics of some recent hiking, biking and boarding adventures in the snow:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davemcg/sets/72157625551711992

On the Military Road - "This is a road through the Wicklow Mountains, which is still in use for mainly tourist traffic, built at the beginning of the 19th Century to open up the mountains to the English Military to assist them in putting down the insurgents who were the remnant of the 1798 uprising". More here.

Young man's game mate

So Jimmy White and Stephen Hendry met in the first round of the 2010 UK championship, finishing yesterday. It was Jimmy's first time qualifying for the event in 4 years and the first time the pair met in a ranking event in 7 years. Hendry trotted out the old reliable before the match, saying of Jimmy, "He is probably the best player not to have won the world championship." Jimmy has beaten Hendry twice at the world championship though never when it counted, loosing the final to him 4 times in the early 90s.

Still, Jimmy was crowned world champion last month...yes you read that right, he won the first world seniors championship, beating Steve Davis in the final. Alex Higgins, RIP, was due to play the tournament. An over 40s event, it was the first World Seniors Championship for 19 years. Peter Ebdon, 40, was knocked out in the first round. Disappointingly, Hendry, 41, declined the invitation to play the tournament.

But back to the UK championship. Jimmy had a 8-7 lead in the first to 9 and incredibly the pair went on to have only their 5th ever final frame decider. Jimmy said afterwards, "I was 8-7 up, but there was so many mistakes you haven't got enough tape to go through it, and there was a bit of vintage Hendry at the end."

Looking back, it's been an interesting 12 experimental months for snooker. Last December there was the did it really happen six-red world championship in Killarney. The experiments continued, especially after Bary Hearn took control of World snooker this summer, and we saw Power snooker, not sure what that's about...

And in that time we have an Australian world champion. To cement his year, Neil Roberston beat Ronnie O'Sullivan to win the world open in September and become world number 1. Still, Graeme Dott was the player of the world championship this year, Dott needed to get to the final to stay in the top 16 and amazingly he made his 3rd final - if he had won he would have joined a select club to have won it more than once - but just ran our of steam in the end. It's a young man's game in fairness and to remind us of that, Jimmy white, now ranked 64 in the world at 48 years of age concluded, "I tried to get focused but I didn't play well at all and I'm really disappointed because I've done a lot of qualifying to get here. I was so pumped up for it but just couldn't produce the goods."

Why we will lose

Two reasons...

First - Kidney has picked a team to lose. It is a team picked to defend not attack, to keep the margin of defeat down. A team picked on reputation over form. A predictable team. A winning team would have players picked in each position on form, yet Mike Ross, Leo Cullen, Bob Casey, Keith Earls aren't even on the bench. Why not try a Stringer-Sexton combination? Why not Fitzgerald at full back (when was the last time you saw Kearney pass to a team-mate outside his 22?)? Why not Toner to target the NZ lineout, their only 'weakness'?

Second - confidence and mindset. They just don't have the belief to win. You can face down the haka all you want, but you have to follow up in the early collisions. They will lose because, like me, they are afraid and have already lost in their minds.

But I will still watch in hope...,

A legend retires

I am in shock, Haile Gebrselassie, the greatest distance runner of all-time, has announced his retirement.

I had the privilege of seeing  him edge out Paul Tergat in a sprint finish to win his 2nd straight 10,000 Olympic gold in Sydney. Myself and Dave were far up in the stands but I will never forget the sight of that unbelievable sprint finish. Gebrselassie only lost 3 times to Tergat in 25 races.

2000 Sydney, Olympic 10,000m final

"I did not expect Tergat to attack then," says Gebrselassie. "Usually he goes from about two kilometres out, but that day he waited and waited until the last 200m.

"When he went past me on the home straight, I thought he had won the gold. I thought that was it.

"But I decided I had to try to just track him to the finish line to make it as hard as possible for him. I did not think I could win."

"Tergat did everything he could," says Haile. "He was simply unlucky that it was not his day. I wish that they could have given out two gold medals that day."

"But it was so special to win like that, in that fashion in an Olympic final. I will never forget it."

Source: BBC

I saw him make his marathon debut in London in 2002 when he finished 3rd to Khannouchi. This injury has caught him my surprise I think, he still believed he could take 1 minute of his marathon word record of 2hr 3 min 59 seconds.

Retirement press conference

Buy Tommie Smith's gold medal

Fancy buying Tommie Smith's 1968 Olympic gold medal? The auction begins 4 Nov, reserve is $250,000.