Ireland Trip Part 2

Day 3 started with my final run on the Killiney Hill Park trails. After checking out from Fitzpatrick Castle, Asia and I headed west along the M4/N4 highway which runs east to west from Dublin to Sligo. While looking for something to eat we stopped into Tormey’s Bar. Unfortunately they weren’t serving food yet but all was not lost since Hugh, the owner, poured us a couple perfect pints of Guinness. We spent roughly an hour chatting with Hugh about New Jersey, Ireland, sports, and of all things “The Sopranos” series. After finding food a bit further down the road, we visited the Boyle Abbey. This 12^th century Cistercian Monastery is a very impressive mixture of Roman and Gothic architecture. The church itself was built in the shape of a cross and its tower still stands at over 60 feet tall. It is also the burial site of 13 kings of Morlurg and 12 members of the royal family of Boyle. Other than the care taker, we had the entire place to ourselves to explore and costing us only 4 Euros each it was definitely a bargain.

Our next stop was to explore the nearby Lough Key Forest Park (formerly Lough Ce). We had a choice of paying to park in the recreation area lot or parking beside the road for free. Do I really need to tell you our decision? Boats were not available to get out to Castle Island so we had to settle for taking pictures of the castle from the dock. It’s said to have been the home of the McDermotts, the Kings of Moylurg, as early as 1184. We visited the remains of the family’s private chapel, giant red cedars, and the Ice House (a fairly large underground storage room). We also had a great chat with an elderly couple that were very eager to share some local and national history and folklore with us.

 

As great as these things were, our favorite find happened totally by accident when I had driven down a wrong road and had to turn around. We found a trail off the side of the road and I could just make out the unnatural shape of a wall through the moss-covered trees. We parked the car and investigated. Much to Asia’s and my surprise we found the very large, unmarked ruins of what we believe to be a wealthy landowner’s compound and farm. This place had everything we could hope to find. Tall walls, beautiful archways, large barn and court yard, and the best of all…a tunnel! We explored this site until dark and finally headed to our next castle hotel, Kilronan Castle.

 

Kilronan Castle, located near Ballyfarnon in the County Roscommon, was built in 1820 and was home to Colonel King Tenison. It sits on over 40 acres of fields, woods, and a lake (Lough Meelagh). The castle oozes with opulent splendor with high vaulted ceilings, coats of armour, hand-carved furniture, fancy dining and reading rooms, and curtains and linens fit for a king. My favorite part though was the dungeon bar where we enjoyed cold pints and live music. We also met some great people including Dave who was celebrating his 40^th birthday.

For more photos of these sites and more, visit me on Facebook at Gary Davidson Runs.

Ireland Trip Part 1

Thanks to my daughter, Asia, I am currently in the land of my ancestors, Ireland! She purchased this trip as a present for my 50th birthday. We are staying 6 nights in 4 castles spread out around this beautiful country. Rather than be part of a tour and be told where and when we have to be somewhere we decided to rent a vehicle. This is allowing us the freedom to choose which places to visit and what routes to take. I admit I was a bit anxious about driving on the opposite side of the road; but, after about 15 minutes I was driving like a pro. Our first two nights were spent at Fitzpatrick Castle in Dalkey, roughly 10 miles south of Dublin. While the castle was very nice it was its location that appealed to me the most. It sits conveniently next to Killiney Hill Park. There is a little something for everyone. There’s a large playground for kids which has the expected equipment but also includes a small zip line. There are fields, hills, woods, a quarry for rock climbing, a large obelisk, a pyramid, trails of all type, and spectacular views of the town and Irish Sea. There are numerous castles to visit, a beautiful shoreline, and the many pubs and restaurants one would expect. We were sad to leave this wonderful area but were eager to head west.

The spectacular morning view of Killiney and White Rock Beach.

I'm going to miss this view.

Almost to the top.

This was one of my favorite trails.

The pub at Fitzpatrick Castle is in the former dungeon, pretty cool.

Inniscorrig Castle was built in 1847 and has its own private working harbor.

Of course we had to tour the brewery.

Built around 1840, this castle was formerly known as Victoria Castle and Ayesha Castle but is now home to the Irish singer Enya. Enya calls it Manderley Castle but all the locals we met just refer to it as Enya's Castle. 

Goat Castle is now the home of Dalkey Castle & Heritage Centre and the entrance to the ruins of 10th century St. Begnet's Church and graveyard.

Taking a short break during one exploration of Killiney Hill Park.

 

We staked claim to this pyramid for Clan Davidson. We hid a small item (it says Davidson on it) somewhere in the pyramid. If you visit the park and find it let us know.

 

My final hill workout before heading west.

12th century Bulloch Castle overlooks the village harbor.

 

 15th century Archbold Castle stands across the road from Goat Castle.

St. Begnet's Church ruins found on Dalkey Island dates back to the 9th or 10th century. I was happy this came out clear as I placed my camera against the eye piece of a local telescope in Bulloch Harbour.

 

December 2015 (part 1): The Post-op Trail to Recovery

30Nov – 6Dec (Week 6 post-op):

Tuesday, 1Dec15: I had a great run in the rain on the Monmouth Battlefield State Park trails. I ran the Yellow, Green, White, Red, and Green trails all end-to-end. I didn’t see anyone else on the trails but I did see 5 deer. This was my first run without the knee brace and, at 5.6 miles, it was my longest outing since my operation and everything felt great.

Wednesday, 2Dec15: After yesterday’s test of my knee without the brace I chose to rest my legs and spend an hour doing yoga. I followed along with my favorite yoga DVD (Yin Yoga) by Travis Eliot which gets deep into the connective tissues by holding each stretch 3-7 minutes. This is part of the Ultimate Yogi series of DVDs. I always feel so good after doing this workout.

Thursday, 3Dec15: With my body’s great response to yesterday’s Yin Yoga session I chose to do the same tonight.

Friday, 4Dec15: I had planned to run this afternoon but my dog Sparta was sick so I stayed in with him and continued to work internally. I started with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series followed by some Pranayama (breathing) techniques and finally 20 minutes of meditation. While I still wish I had ran I do feel really good.

Saturday, 5Dec15: Sparta and I ran the Whites Bog inner 4.1 mile loop after work. This was my second run without the knee brace. Everything felt great, I think the yoga the last couple days helped. The water in the bog must be getting cold because Sparta only jumped in twice. .

Sunday, 6Dec15: Keeping with my focus this week on muscular health, I finished today off with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series and 36 Sun Salutations. This was a good week and my body truly feels good after all the yoga.

 

 

 

7-13Dec (Week 7 post-op):

Monday, 7Dec15: Took the day off, no training.

Tuesday, 8Dec15: I ran the 4.1 mile Whites Bog inner loop with my dog Sparta after dark. After returning home, I added P90X Stretch (1hr) and AB Ripper X (15min) followed by the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series, Pranayama breathing and finally some meditation. Tonight was a great night.

Wednesday, 9Dec15: Today I walked 4+ miles after work on the Lawrenceville dirt track. Then later in the evening I did 36 Sun Salutations and ended with my Ultimate Yogi Gentle Yoga DVD (1hr).

Thursday, 10Dec15: I was going to run but I was really tired so I took a nap after work and decided to just workout inside. I worked up a great sweat with my Tapout-XT Muay Thai DVD and then cooled down with the Ultimate Yogi Mountain Pose series.

Friday, 11Dec15: Today I just worked on a lot of stretching, no structured workout. I finally got to the last of the blue berries I picked this year so I added them to my peanut butter and onion sandwich for some extra flavor. I used Vermont Peanut Butter Co. chunky because it's all natural and it's made in Vermont like me so you know it's good!

Saturday, 12Dec15: This morning I ran with Ted and Diane Hardies on Black Run Preserve trails. This was my first time there. They have some great trails there consisting of single and double track as well as dirt roads and they are very well marked. After Ted and Diane left I ran on the trails and sand fields around the superfund site just south of Black Run Preserve. The trails were nice but it was the sandy fields that made me work. It was like running on the soft sand down the shore; a lot of effort for not much speed. It was a great morning. Then I got a long-needed massage in the afternoon and finished the day with an hour of Yin yoga just before bed.

Sunday, 13Dec: Today I hiked the Batona Trail leg 1 (8.1 miles) from Ong’s Hat to Pakim Pond with my kids Asia and Kriss and our dogs Sparta and Honda. While I have ran this many times it was the first time I had ever slowed down to hike it. It was a nice change of pace and a great time for the family to bond. This was Kriss’s first time on the trail and Asia’s third time on this section. The trail was mostly dry and the unseasonably warm weather felt great at nearly 70 degrees. I don’t imagine it will be anywhere near that warm when we hike the next sections.  

 

 

 

November 2015: The Post-op Trail to Recovery

1-7 November (Just 2 weeks after knee surgery):

Monday, 2Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track. Nice easy walk, knee felt good.

Tuesday, 3Nov15: Walked 4 miles on FT Dix trails.

Wednesday, 4Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Thursday, 5Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Friday, 6Nov15: Walked the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta. I also tested my knee with some very slow jogging. It felt good; no problems. We also saw a shooting star which was a pretty cool addition to a great night in the bogs!

Saturday, 7Nov15: Rested my knee, only did some long slow stretching.

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8-14 November (Week 3 post-op):

Sunday, 8Nov15: Slowly jogged the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta. This was my first real test of my right knee and it felt good.
Monday, 9Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Tuesday, 10Nov15: Walked 3+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Thursday, 12Nov15: Walked 2+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Friday, 13Nov15: Walked the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my daughter Asia and our dogs Sparta and Honda.

15-21 November (Week 4 post-op):

Monday, 16Nov15: Slowly jogged the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta. Once again, my knee felt good but I am still wearing my knee brace on these evenings just in case but I haven’t really needed it.

Wednesday, 18Nov: Walked 3+ miles on the Lawrenceville dirt track.

Friday, 20Nov: Ran the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta. It felt really good to be able to run pain-free even if it was slow.

Saturday, 21Nov15: Ran the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) after dark with my dog Sparta again today. Two days in a row with no pain. I concentrated on running smoothly and landing with my feet under me, not in front of me to limit the force on my knees.

22-29 November (Week 5 post-op):

Monday, 23Nov15: Ran the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) again today with Sparta. I felt great but still wore the knee brace to make sure it is tracking correctly as it continues to heal. Ran a little faster today. The best part was being pain-free. With both knees fixed and my Achilles reattached, my immediate goal is to run pain-free. Once all works well, I can start actually training toward my real goal of running the Batona Trail 53 miles end-to-end next winter.

Friday, 27Nov15: Hiked a few miles with my kids Asia and Egypt on Mount Olga (site of the former Hogback Ski Area) and on the slick rocks to see the Petroglyphs in my hometown of Bellows Falls, Vermont. The petroglyphs are disputed as to their age, meaning, and creators.  Some say they depict Native American history, some say it’s the site of “evil spirits”, while others suggest alien visitation. No matter what the real story is I’ve always loved visiting them as a kid and I was glad to share them with my kids today. More photos are posted on my daughter's blog: http://www.asiagoesplaces.com/ 

Saturday, 28Nov15: Ran the Whites Bog Inner Loop (4.1 miles) slowly with Sparta. It was a nice afternoon run with temperatures near 60F and a constant cool mist falling on my face.

Sunday, 29Nov15: Spent the day relaxing with my family. I did 1 hour of yoga and I felt so good after! It’s been a while and it was much needed. This was a good month and easing back onto the trails felt so good. My dog Sparta looked pretty happy to hit the trails too.