Tuesday 7 May 2013

First rock climbing day of the year.

On Sunday I went with Frank to the Gap of Dunloe for our first stab at rock climbing this year. The weather all spring had been rubbish and even though we were now into May this was our first opportunity to climb dry rock. The previous week I had pulled a muscle in my back in the gym and I hadn't been able to go running all week. I was feeling a bit sorry for myself and a couple of late nights only added to my malaise but it was great to be back in the "Gap" again and I was really looking forward to getting stuck in. We opted to head to rescue rock and soon I was getting the harness on and readying the rope for my first climb. I opted for the relatively easy "Umbongo" a 10 meter Severe route just to the left of Rescue Rock that climbs a lovely arret. The start is easy and before you know it there is a fair bit of air under your backside. Below the top there is a vertical wall that requires a committing couple of moves and well lets just say I struggled for a while before I finally topped out. It had been a while since I led on rock and it showed. Still I was up and Frank easily followed.
Starting off

Almost there

Next we turned our attention to rescue rock itself and we now opted to top rope our routes. The weather was also showing signs of turning and drizzle seemed to blanket "An Tarbh" in the neck of the Gap and the wind was now quite strong. I scrambled up and set up the rope and we then climbed Rescue rock itself 10 meter Severe and Quartz Movement 10 meters VS. This is a lovely route that is quite hard for the grade and had a lovely airy feel to it (top roped of course) and required a fair bit of searching blind for hand holds around the corner. After a bite of lunch we decided to have a go at the classic "Mother of Prague" a 20 meter E1 that keeps its toughest test for near the top. The wind was now really blowing and it made communication with Frank all but impossible. He managed to get as far as the crux but then exited off to the left. I went down to give it a go but with no way of communicating with Frank my heart wasn't in it and I gave up before I really began. We decided that that would be that for today but we plan to return at the soonest opportunity to explore some more. It is always lovely to have a day out with Frank and next time I hope to have more energy for the fray.

Tuesday 30 April 2013

Boughil near Molls Gap Killarney

Last weekend I went with Frank for a hike in the mountains of Killarney. We had hoped to have a day rock climbing but alas the weather wasn't playing ball and with plenty of rain showers about we had little choice but to forego the rock and go hiking. Frank wanted to go somewhere other than the Reeks today so we opted to head for Boughil near Molls Gap. This proved a lovely choice and it provided a nice scramble of over 300mtrs from the back of Barfinnihy lake to the summit and then we continued across the rugged mostly trackless ground that dipped and rose over the next few kilometers until we stopped at our final top for lunch. The views in all directions were lovely and thankfully the rain that occasionally threatened never reached us and we stayed dry for the full day. We descended northeast towards the valley and explored at our leisure the lovely unspoiled terrain that was littered with large boulders. We followed the gurgling stream until we opted to traverse around the hillside at Gearhasallagh rather than intrude on the privacy of the homesteads in the valley floor. The day was now lovely and by the time we neared the car we were enjoying warm-ish sunshine. A change of clothes and a nice coffee back in town ended the day nicely. Hopefully from now on we will need to apply some sunscreen when we go out. Maybe even some rock climbing might get done. Roll on summer.
The gully in the center was the route of choice

Nice steep scrambling

Tired but having fun

Lovely wild ground

The view east


The Reeks

What a man

Beautiful valley
 

Sunday 21 April 2013

Great Island 10 Mile Run In Cobh

This morning I headed for Cobh near Cork to take part in the Great Island 10 Mile Run. It was with a little trepidation I set off as I could still remember the difficulty I had over the last four or five miles in the Mallow 10 and while I had done more in the way of training I felt that I was still a long way from where I wanted to be. I registered and milled about for the thirty or so minutes before the off and as the sizable crowd gathered at the start I got caught up in the occasion and excitement of it all and soon my nerves went. Its really a bit silly me getting nervous at all but I suppose it is just in my make up to push myself, and while I knew I could cover the distance easily enough, I would always try to run as hard as I reasonably could. The weather forecast had been poor so I had my warm merino top on covered by a light jacket and tights as well, unfortunately the sun was shining and I was a little overdressed for the day. Ah well what harm. Soon the start arrived and we were off.

I could do with losing a half stone or two.
It had been quite a climb up the hillside in Cobh to get to the start but that meant that after an initial flat few hundred meters we were then treated to a long fast downhill section. I enjoyed this but all too soon we bottomed out and the first of the big hills arrived. This was fairly steep and carried on for a good four or five hundred meters and any time gained from the downhill start soon disappeared. I wasn't feeling too bad and this time I listened to my body and tried to keep at a pace I could sustain. The run continued and so did the undulations. I would crest a hill and try to recover on the all too brief downhill sections while also trying to up the pace to make up for what was lost on the hill, before I would have to face into yet another hill. I tried to have a drink at the regular water stations but I nearly choked myself trying to gulp some water from the plastic cups that were being used and gave up on them after that.
Sonia o Sullivan. I was only a few minutes behind....honest

The miles passed and I suppose gradually things took their toll. Each hill seemed that little bit tougher and my recovery period took that little bit longer so that by the time I arrived at the seven mile mark I was starting to suffer a bit. Still at this stage I knew that I would reach the finish and it was great to hear the encouragement of James Moore at this stage as he cheered me on. All the hills were now behind and the scenic views across the harbor helped to take my mind off my failing stamina that saw me slow gradually over the last couple of miles. I looked with some envy at the people that passed me at this stage and wished that I had the strength to put on some speed rather than slow down but hey I wasn't doing too bad I suppose. Eventually the finish line appeared and once again James was there to cheer me home and I crossed the finish line in 73 minutes 37 seconds and came 120th. There was a great atmosphere in the town and it was lovely to sit outside and enjoy a coffee and a chat in the sunshine. A rest tomorrow but then the training must go on.