Runnity run

I went for a run yesterday at lunchtime. I decided to just go and run and not to worry too much about form or pace or anything. I did a 10k loop through the Phoenix Park, a hillier one than my normal loop and there was also a headwind for most of the first half. It took a while to warm up but once I got into my stride I was felling good. Looking at the stats at the end, my HR was an average of 172 with a max of 186, average pace of 4:20/km with a max of 3:59/km. Not incredibly fast for a 10k, but it took me 44 minutes in total.

I was quite happy with it until I went to move later on in the day and my knee was sore. It was my right knee for a change. I did some stretches and after it had warmed up a little it was fine again. I must remember to warm up properly for training tonight and the match tomorrow.

The league starts again

And boy did we have a bad day!



We were playing against Munterconnaght at home and were doing alright in the first half until we let in three sucker goals. That left us 3-3 to 0-6 down at half time, not too bad, only 6 points in it. I had started at half back, but was moved to wing back after the guy I was marking scored a goal. Then the wing forward I was on scored the third one. I wasn't with the pace of the game at all. I felt lousy.
The second half was a complete transformation. I was moved to corner back and the team as a whole started to play. We levelled eventually and then went 2 points up coming near the end. Then another sloppy goal. That put them one point up and we weren't able to claw it back.



It was a frustrating and annoying afternoon. Some good play and some bad misses but it all comes down to once again letting in goals. We had a few good chances to score goals ourselves and even hit the cross bar near the end.

Next week we are away to Templeport, let's hope for a better result

Snowboarding

I'm back from a week of snowboarding in the Pyrenees. Myself, Louise, John, Una and Peter went to Andorra last week and we all made it back in one piece, some more bruised than others. We had lovely sunny weather, the snow was good and the slopes were quiet enough for most of the week. Myself and Louise managed to get every run done on the Pal side of the mountain and most of them on the Arinsal side as well.

We tried to get more done in Arinsal on Saturday, but when we got to the other side of the gondola, there was a wind blowing from the bottom of the valley all the way up and taking ice crystals with it. We spent a lot of time trying to board down before giving up and getting back on the lift to go to the warmer side. It was like being sand blasted in the face so we were better off to head back and try to warm up.

So now I'm back in work and drinking coffee to try and keep awake, I need another holiday to recover from this one!

To add to the week, I also proposed to Louise at the top of the mountain, looking into Spain and even though she was shocked, she gave me the right answer! After a few minutes of sitting down and trying to figure out what it all meant, we both headed off down a nice little red, I think we both flew more than skiied though :)

Bad weather

Our first challenge match of the year had to be cancelled on Sunday. There was a large snowfall on Sunday morning and I got a few phonecalls telling me not to drive from Dublin.
The night before I was down in Limerick playing in the Munster League. We had three matches, we drew the first one against Kamikaze and beat Glaway and Bad Company. Ireland were playing France in the 6 Nations but I only got to see about 15 minutes before I had to go with the rest of the Muppets to set up the pitches.

I went for a run on Monday evening after work to loosen out and it was lovely, cold and dry. I went for a loop through the Park of about 8.5km. Then afterwards I met a gang in town and went to the Bodies exhibition. Then dinner and off to the cinema to see Valkyrie. A good evening all round.

A new gym

I went for a swim yesterday in Northwood gym in Santry. I joined there last week with Louise, Ronan and Waggers. Only a 25m pool but it wasn't busy at all. I tried out some tumble turns and was starting to get the gist of it by the end. Didn't do much else except for a few hundred metres of fist drill. Wow, it's a weird one, I didn't realise how much I use my hand for balance! Some more of that will either drown me or get my balance better.

On another note, we have snow! The weather has turned cold and we are getting a nice bit of snow and cold wind from the continent. Not as bad as England, but it's nice to look out and see snow falling. It's even nice to cycle through it as long as the flakes don't freeze to your glasses and make you blind :)

Hard football training and a cycle

Football training is in full swing now, we had two more sessions over the weekend. I'm using these as interval and speed sessions as we are doing lots of running to get everyone fitter. We spent 20 minutes running in circles on Friday night on the track around the pitch. I really enjoyed it, but I don't think that was the general concensus from everyone :)

On Saturday I went for a cycle into Enniskillen to see the new boat quay place that is being built by the Round O. It looks like it's the perfect size to fit in polo pitches and with walkways on both sides to let the referee walk along. Now all we need to do is to get the Fermanagh District Council and Waterways Ireland to let us use it for a competition. There is loads of parking, and even a coffee shop as well. Perfect.

The cycle took me around an hour and a half for 46km in nice cold and dry conditions, not much wind to speak of either.

Later on that evening, I had the second training session, this time in Loughan House. Yes, the prison! Training on the astroturf pitch is different to grass and it tends to burn more if you try to slide on it! More running after some short passing games and it was all over. Everyone was glad to get out of the heavy rain and the cold.

I took yesterday off as a rest day and today I plan to get back into the pool for a session.

Football has started again

Like the subject says, training for the new football season started last weekend. We had 2 sessions, one on Friday night and one on Saturday evening. Nothing too strenuous, I thought, but then again I have more of a base to work off than most of the others. I only really have to work on my football specific skills. Oh, and maybe some speed work! :)

I came back up to Dublin on Saturday night to go to the Punchestown Duathlon on Sunday but when I got to Dublin it had been snowing and the forecast was for more snow, some ice and 100km/h gusts. Not ideal racing conditions so I decided not to go out. In the end the race was turned into a 3 lap running race, so I'm glad I didn't go.

I have also been back in the pool in the last couple of weeks, just some light sessions with an emphasis on technique and long slow distance. I think I'll keep at this for another couple of weeks and then start bringing in some more pace.

We've been in the middle of a strange non-Irish cold snap recently with snow, ice and cold winds every day. I'm looking forward to getting out in it tomorrow for a run.