|
Home
Last year in about April I decided that I needed a new challenge for 2012. I decided along with a friend Kevin O’Callaghan that this year we would attempt to complete the Devises to Westminister International canoe challenge( http://www.dwrace.org.uk/ ). I short it is a 125 mile race along the Devises canal and along the Thames to Westminister with something like 70 portages thrown in for fun. It is all done in a K2, a very thin and long kayak designed for flat water racing however speed comes with a compromise on stability.
My training schedule is now in the heavy stage and I am out almost every night in a Kayak and the other nights I am in the Gym or out doing Pilates. My training regime is: Tuesday/ Wednesday / Thursday – Interval training in the Kayak (Pilates also on Wednesday) Friday – Either a rest or if feeling good then a run or cycle Saturday/ Sunday – 2/3 hour paddle to work on long distance paddling and style So it all leads to a lot of training and a pretty quiet social life as the body needs a lot of rest to enable it to keep going like this. The plus side is that the race finishes in WEstminister in London so I am looking forward to blowing of a bit of steam , if I can still walk after that long sitting down. If you are interested and want to join in the fun here is a sneak preview of what to expect. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_LfzBEQ8Hg&feature=related
I will keep you updated on how I'm getting on! My favourite food for long endurance races is home made brown bread with much honey and butter and home made biscuits with whatever I have to hand. The latter seem to have gone down well with Gerry Duffy (our roving ambassador for Gaelforce Events in 2012) and his guide, Shane Young when they recently completed the Gaelforce West route on a cold but not too wet, Friday morning in February. So if you are wondering what fuel to put into your body – try this recipe in pounds and ounces (the quantities are large as necessitates a big household but they can be frozen very easily).  Flap jack biscuits:
1 lb butter
1lb porridge oats (or can use other similar grains from the health food shop)
½ lb dark brown sugar
½ lb golden syrup
12 ozs cooking chocolate
3/4 lb of a mixture of any of the following that you have to hand – sultanas, nuts, diced apricot, coconut, sesame seeds. (If you want to cheat, then use 1 ¾ lbs of a ready made muesli such as Liberforce Muesli that will give you the oats and the mixture all in one!)
14 ozs plain flour
Method:
Melt the butter, chocolate, sugar and syrup over a low heat. Mix in the oats and fruit etc. Lastly mix in the flour. Press into a large baking tin (approx 10 x 16 ins) and press down firmly. Bake in the oven mark 3-4 for approximately 50 mins. By then the outside of the biscuits should be beginning to brown whilst the inside won’t be, but they are ready. If you leave them in until they are brown all over you will find the outside ones are very hard and not so nice to eat. Cut into small squares 5 mins after you take them out of the oven and then leave to cool before you attempt to remove them from the tin.
Happy eating! by Mary Young
Pilates is a superb adjunct to any training routine and while it will not improve cardiovascular fitness or burn inches from your waist it does have many other important benefits. I have been teaching and practicing Pilates now for 7 years and I really am a believer. There is no spiritual side to Pilates but yet I always feel more relaxed and focused afterwards. It is like a very rudimentary form of meditation giving the mind a few tasks to occupy itself with, so that all else that could be crowding in and taking up space is pushed aside for the duration. So if you have burst into the New Year with a punishing schedule of pounding the roads or pumping iron in the local gym, you might want to add a little variety to your regime to give your body the structure it needs to cope with these, albeit admirable, activities. Pilates to me seems like the right thing to do, the exercises make me think that this is what our bodies were meant to do – not solely but maybe at the original level. If we can achieve a strong core, lengthened muscles, freely moving joints and good balance then all movement, sporting or otherwise has to be better. We will look taller with a better, more natural posture; we will become injured less; we will breathe better; we will move more gracefully and efficiently. A lot to claim maybe, but afterall that is how we were made to be!
Joseph Pilates, interned in a camp on the Isle of Man during the First World War, set about making exercise machines from the beds and bed springs to try to rehabilitate those in the camp's infirmary. From a sickly beginning he had trained himself to a high level of fitness to competing in gymnastics, boxing and other sports. During the flu epidemic of 1918 his ward in the infirmary managed to entirely escape the ravages of the disease, presumably protected by their exercise regime. Pilates called his exercises Contrology, control being the main function of the core muscles.
Pilates went on to work with the New York School of Ballet and lived in America for the rest of his life. Evolving science has taught us more about the body than what Joseph Pilates could ever have known so nowadays some of his exercises have been modified to better suit our bodies. His machines are still in use and they still carry the original names of the Reformer and the Cadillac among others.
However, Pilates is not for everyone. It requires leaving a lot of what you expect from exercising at the door as you learn a new concept. There is much thinking required in Pilates and almost all movements are performed slowly. As the muscles of the core are very deep, there is not necessarily much sensation of hard work either. This of course does not mean that the exercises are easy – far from it! However for those who like to feel the burn and emerge sweating and red in the face from a workout this might take some getting used to.
So as Joseph Pilates said, after 10 sessions of Pilates exercises you will feel different, after 20 sessions you will look different and after 30 sessions you will have a different body. Definitely worth a try I think!
I came home to Ireland last March 2011, after living away for eight years. I left in 2003 for New Zealand, mainly because I wanted to travel and New Zealand had always been one of the top 5 places that I wanted to live. Nearly 3 years later I moved from there to Sydney. Like New Zealand, I found it fairly easy to get work and build a good lifestyle. Hot, sunny weather helps, and it never takes long to get used to good things! I'm now 35, home, starting from scratch - trying to learn about and develop a new career, build a new social network and find that sense of belonging, which, I have to admit, is still proving pretty elusive. I loved my time away, but despite the recession and all the warnings not to come back, I haven't for one second regretted the decision to come home. There was no huge catalyst around making the choice to come back. Life had just started to speed up and I realised that I didn't want to spend the rest of my life in Australia. Sitting at the beach in the sunshine, the recession seemed awfully far away. People told me I had no idea what I was facing and that I would quickly regret giving up what I had in Sydney. One friend asked, half seriously, whether I was determind to move back to Ireland just because everyone told me I couldn't. (I'm still not sure whether that didn't play a little part in it.)
Its now been nine months since I arrived home. In lots of ways my friends were right. I had no real idea of how bad things were economically, and found the stories of so many people in financial distress frightening. It was strange, while basking in the novelty of being home and being welcomed by family, hearing radio and TV programmes advising on how best to leave again. Advice on how to apply for working visas abroad, and phone in's from those who were out there, finding their feet in a new country – some for the first time and many not through choice – were everywhere. It was unsettling to listen to. It was also a bit like walking into a room ready for a party only to find everyone else is not in the mood and heading somewhere else.
I was very lucky to find work within a month of coming home, helping organise peoples holidays exploring the best that the west coast of Ireland has to offer. (Yes, I landed on my feet! See www.connemaraadventuretours.com) It's funny the things you find yourself appreciating. I can speak at a normal pace again and not worry about slowing down so that people can understand me. I like how Irish people are always up for a debate over anything, and keep you on your toes with quick wit and a great sense of humour, even in tough times. I like walking into the local and have everyone know your name, but mostly I like just having a local again! Being around family and old friends is great. Being able to call up my sister and hang out for a weekend, spending time with my brothers again, or arriving home to my parents house unexpectedly, knowing that there will be some dinner kept in case one of us pops in, is a fantastic luxury. I'd forgotten what it was like to have support, be understood (often better than you understand yourself) have people to ring up and ask advice from and not have to struggle to make things work in unfamiliar territory on your own all the time. It takes time to settle in and there are alot of the same challenges to face as you would settling in anywhere, and some bigger ones, particularly in Ireland right now, but it's still early days.
Catching up with friends who were home from various countries for short visits over Christmas I was glad to find that that I didn't envy them flying away again. It can be tough not feeling completely on solid ground yet ... but someone told me that it takes 18 months to really feel at home after a big move, so hopefully I'm halfway there!
One of the most common questions I get asked are about cramps and how to deal with them during a race. It is something that affects us all and is actually quite de-habilitating as those of you who have experienced it know. My worst experience of it while adventure racing happened on day 2 of the Gaelforce 12 challenge in 2004, this was a 3 day race that was organised to coincide with the other route of the traditional Gaelforce. One of the civil defence saw one of our team mates really suffering with cramp and what he did was pour a tablespoon of salt into a water bottle with about 10ml of water and get him to knock it back, Crude but effective. Within 20 minutes the erstwhile teammate was back on his feet and running again
Since then I have tried a lot of different things but I have found that prevention is the best way of stopping it. I will always have a sugary/glucose based drink before a race to get myself going. After this my personal tool of choice is nuun tablets(http://www.nuun.com/). They are small, you can change over from water during a race, as they are so easy to carry and they actually taste half decent compared to a lot of gels. I find one or maybe two of these tablets during a race will keep you hydrated and also keep the salt and glucose levels high enough.
A cheaper option is to make you own electrolyte drink, this can be done by making a very strong orange or blackcurrant mix about ¼ in your drinking bottle and then adding a couple of teaspoons of salt. It provides the same as the expensive hydration drinks without the high price.
So in closing keep hydrated before and during the race and make sure to get some salt in during the race to keep you going. Also as with everything else it is very important that you try these out during training do that you aren’t shocking your body during the race.
Good luck
Shane
...what else to do in the Westport area Either you're heading to Westport for a holiday or like you reside in the area and wonder how to entertain your visitors. On the web you'll google out that there are numerous businesses in the area of Connemara and Mayo coast providing vast selection of recreational services from less adventurous activities like golf or fly-fishing to extreme adrenaline activities like bungee jumping or surfing. Though even with the VAT reduction in the tourism sector it's not easy in these times of economic hardship to entertain your family or friends by paying someone else for the service.
For those who like to DIY their own leisure time I have few tips I haven't found promoted in any tourist guidelines:
1. Seal watching
Where: at Roonagh pier, Louisburgh.
Are you heading to Clare Island and arrived too early for your ferry? Then take a walk south abouth 500m and don't be deceived by the horrible smell lingering around the pier area. You're gonna find the collony of Grey Seals swimming around the little bay or relaxing on tidal boulders. With little effort of hoping from rock to rock you may get yourselves to the proximity of few metres from these interesting animals. Unless there is a heavy swell and gale force winds you will spot at least 10 of them (guaranteed).
Hazzards: be careful on the slippery rocks.
Nice to have: binoculars
2. Coasteering.
Where: north from above mentioned Roonagh Pier or Old Head beach.
Need to have: full wetsuit, runners you don't mind to get wet.
Set your group off to explore secrets of the numerous caves along the coast line. There you're gonna come accross immense caves and up to 30m high cliffs. Caves lead sometimes 100m inside the ground, branching, curving in different angles and are connected with each other by underwater passages. Fairly thrilling to float in this murky environment where tidal flow funneling through narrow spaces lifts you up and down as on a rollercoaster.
There are few spots where cliff jumping is fairly safe though use a common sense and don't jump higher then from 5m and 'pencil drops' and 'cannon balls' only.
For those who are into rock-climbing a deep water soloing is an option.
Hazzards: falling off heights, drowning, hypothermia
Nice to have: watersports helmet and buoyancy aid. Waterproof head-torch.
Please feel free to contribute to this blog with information about other places where to conduct above mentioned activities within a 'daytrip' around Westport. Also more ideas what to do or your own experience from holidays around here are welcome. Gaelforce West Adventure Race for the 50’s! By Mary Young Think your best days of competing are past you – think again. Many people may pass you out but there is life in the old dog yet – even pushing 50 there are still lots of people who can only follow in your wake. In the longer adventure races, a large part of the challenge is in our heads and that is where we come into our own. Our heads are so full of data (both useful & otherwise) collected over the years, that the chance to get away from it all and just shoot the breeze, is a welcome distraction!
To do nothing but concentrate on doing something physical for 5 or 6 hours (or 7 hours 2 mins in my case) is the perfect answer to days spent sitting in the office. Yes there is a little pain to go through in getting together a reasonable level of fitness but not nearly as much as you might think. I was out for a maximum of one hour, two or three times a week and managed to compete in the first GFW so… if you are thinking can I do it – the answer is …..Yes I Can!
In a farming town where a man heading to mass on a Sunday in his tractor with his collie dog running alongside it is not an unusual sight, five of the Killary Adventure Co. crew have chosen to make their home and have managed to add a somewhat exotic flavour to the local mix!
There is me, Barbara, part of the office staff at Killary, living in Louisburgh for 11 years now and originally from Dundalk (ok not so exotic). Running Pilates courses (now that’s a little more exotic) for the past 5 years to a mixture of farmers’ wives, local GAA players and nifty 70 year olds has taught me that there is a whole community of people here who are happy to try new things and who constantly surprise me in doing so!
Then there is Karolina, one of Killary’s senior instructors, all the way from Posnan in Poland (destination of Irish soccer fans next year), who can often be seen surfing the waves on Carrowniskey beach. Karolina is married to Peter, the Killary activity manager, who hails from Brno in the Czech Republic and yet knows more about Irish politics, history and economic conditions than the average Irish person could ever hope to know. He too can be seen at Carrowniskey on a windy day dabbling in some kite-surfing!
Lorna Sheridan from Edenderry in Co Offaly and another of Killary’s senior instructors is married to Chilean Gabriel Rodriguez, which might explain her recent interest in Zumba dancing. Far from that she was raised! Herself and Karolina are also intrepid rockclimbers who spend their days off discovering the local climbs of which Louisburgh boasts quite a few (who knew??). Gabriel Rodriguez is from Conception in the south of Chile and is a fly-fishing guide and rafting instructor by trade (how cool is that!) and can often be found staring into the Bunowen river checking out the local offerings or kayaking at speed down rapids on the Bundorragha river in the Delphi valley.
So next time you drive through a small sleepy town in the west of Ireland and think to yourself “what a boring little place this must be to live in, sure what would you do here??” remember that underneath the surface could be a wealth of nationalities, interests, hobbies and activities, they just might be less obvious. And of course if you see a man in wellies and a peak cap getting down from his tractor outside the church on a Sunday morning…well that is just the other side of life! Mona Purcell - A middle of the road adventure racer
I noticed on our blogs all our race reports whilst brilliant and informative were all from elites. So I felt I had to ammend the situation and write my own race report.
Gaelforce West Race Report from an average racer
I had made good time up so I kept pushing myself. I gave myself less than 5 minutes and took off again down the slopes. I had plenty of practice coming down off the reek so suddenly it all seemed possible again, I tried not too look to smug as I jogged down passed the sorrowful creatures slogging up the hill.
There are not many days when I wake up, look out the window to a beautiful sunny (!) morning and think I would LOVE to go for a run today! Having had my first child 9 months ago I am finding the transition back into exercise very hard.
Once my 4 month post baby ban on exercise was up I went for my first run and promptly injured myself and have spent the last 5 months doing Pilates, exercises, physio and recovering! There are no more excuses left!
For me the transition period between being unfit to fit is the worst part, once I am fit I really enjoy going out for my run and find I run 3-4 times a week. Getting there is a different story! Here are a few things that help me get out for a run on a wet, windy and cold day and make running a more pleasurable experience!
Running is one of the cheapest sports to take up, as we all know this is now more important than ever. You don’t need a gym membership, personal trainer etc all you need is a good pair of running shoes and the great outdoors.
Having the right pair of shoes is really important. It is important to make sure that the running shoes you buy are suitable for the terrain you will be running on whether it is on the road, trails or up the mountains. There is great info available on the web on which brands are best and a visit to your local running shop is advised.
I find that setting myself a goal is a great way to getting me going. There is no point trying to run 10km on your first day back running, it will hurt and you will probably injure yourself. I should have listened to my own advice 5 months ago! I start off small with a couple of 15min runs for the first week gradually increasing the time and distance as I feel I can. It is also a great idea to enter an event, there are lots out there to suit all levels of fitness from 5km runs to 67km adventure races. This helps with motivation on those inclement weather days!
It is a great idea to put together a play list of your favourite songs for you to run and sing along to! This will help make the time pass quickly and who does not like listening to good music.
I would love to hear what your favourite songs are that you listen to when running/training.
Post them below!
|
CATEGORIES
ARCHIVE
|
The first attempts to get the K2 moving involved a lot of laughing from the support crew on the shore and even more helpful advice. However we have improved a lot recently, thank god, and are now going out for 3 hour spins at a time which at times I thought would never happen. One of the hardest things I found was figuring out how to train for a race that is going to last over 20 hours and go non stop. It means you have to train at all times of the day and night and be as comfortable in the middle of the night as the middle of the day. 
Comments: 0
I am a middle of the road competitior with an unfortunate competitive streak. This means on race day no matter how many times I brief myself just to relax and enjoy the day I go at it like there is a demon at my heels and fall over the finish line not in the best of conditions!