Grow It Yourself Saturday - Upper Body Training

So due to other commitments, training over the past couple of weeks has concentrated on the gym. There's no excuse as it's only across the road from work. Since last week I have incorporated free weights into my routine. It's funny because I don't know what all the different exercises are so I try to watch out of the corner of my eye to see what others are doing and I copy them. In my mind I keep thinking that I must look like Mr Bean slyly glancing at what the person beside me is doing and then copying them.

On Saturday we took the opportunity to do a different type of training. The residents committee where I live had organised for Grow It Yourself Ireland to come and help us dig out and plan a

vegetable garden for our apartment complex. I arrived down in my digging clothes only to be met by a crowd of people, a television camera and Shane Horgan (Irish international and Leinster Rugby player). Mortified. Old tracksuit bottoms, no make up and a bright red rain jacket. No one had told me that GIY Ireland were using our project to launch Grow It Yourself week and that Shane Horgan was going to be there for an interview and press photos.

As I do not know anything about gardening or vegetable patch creation, myself and Johnny took on the duty of filling the wheelbarrow with manure and soil to bring to the plot. This ended up being a really good work out for our arms. After what felt like a hundred trips back and forth with the wheelbarrow, Johnny came up with the clever idea of using a wheelie bin. Being completely honest it was actually a good idea and sped up the process. It was great to be doing some manual labour that benefited the community that we lived in.

It was great to see so many people getting involved. Someone mentioned that a group of landscapers actually travelled from Waterford to help us. In the end we planted peppers, courgettes, cucumbers, rocket, lettuce and some other stuff that I can't remember. It will be great to eat vegetables that we have grown ourselves. We have loads of spare land behind our apartments so if this works out we might actually extend it. All in all it was a great mornings work and also got a bit of training in as well.

The Wicklow Way - Glencree River to Oldbridge (Stage 2)

Distance: 18km & 3 km to Roundwood (where the car was parked).

Terrain:  Mainly forest tracks and mountain paths, boggy underfoot and exposed in places.

Summary: Views of loughs, waterfalls and mountains made strenuous by the gradients, terrain and exposed areas.

Myself and Johnny started the day by dropping one car off at Roundwood (end point) and driving the other back to Knockree Hostel (Starting point of Stage 2). Given how much we enjoyed the first walk a couple of weeks before, we were quiet excited and enthusiastic about this walk. It started off ideally walking downhill, quickly followed by a lovely level walk by Glencree river.

After walking along the river for a while, we began to climb gently uphill through a forest. Along this forest pathway we passed by a man, wheeling a 2 wheeled shopping trolley. Slightly strange and even stranger that he didn't even acknowledge us. We shortly came to a road that led us to Crone Woods. Again, we climbed gradually uphill through the woods. There were much more people around here as the woods had a car park and many were jogging and running through the woods. It was slightly embarrassing when a couple that were definitely in their late 60's to early 70's ran by us.  After walking uphill for some time we turned a corner to the following view:

Powerscourt Waterfall. It was so beautiful that we stopped there for a few minutes to take in the scenery. We then continued on the pathway, following the cliff walk until it opened out into a stone type of walkway. At this point, you are looking out for a wooden footbridge crossing the river Dargle below you, to make your way to. Once you catch sight of the footbridge, the first thing that will immediately jump out at you is the steep climb once you cross the bridge. From a distance it looks like a completely vertical climb but don't let this freak you out. Although it is steep, it isn't as steep or as high as it looks from a distance

Johnny decided, on behalf of both of us, that we would climb to the top without stopping; really push ourselves. "Hills are our friends" (Johnny's saying, definitely not mine). So that's what we began to to. However the first mistake that we made was not defining what the top was. My view was that the top was where the steep bit finished. I learned when we reached that point, Johnny's view was that the top was where the hill completely leveled off, quite a bit on. By this point I was weak as I had burned off my breakfast and needed just something small to give me the energy to keep me going. I mentally decided that I needed a banana that was contained in Johnny's backpack. Do you think he would give it to me. NO, I HAD TO WAIT TILL WE REACHED THE TOP (He said). A few more minutes on I asked again. I really needed a banana (I know I am sounding dramatic here but I was feeling week with hunger). NO, I HAD WAIT TILL WE REACHED THE TOP (He said again). I'll leave my response to your imagination but needless to say I didn't ask a third time. In future I will be bringing my own banana's.

Following this section, it leveled out for a few minutes and then we met our new enemy; The never ending dishonest hill. An honest hill is one where you can see that it is steep and you know up front what you are letting yourself into. A dishonest hill is one that does not look that difficult or even doesn't seem like a hill in the first place. This was definitely one of these. It went on forever and each time you got over what you thought was the top there was a new top. This never ending hill was really demotivating and dampened our spirits. We were climbing it forever but weren't seeming to get anywhere. Eventually we got to the top and joined a new cliff path.

After the cliff walk we reached the section that the book described as railway sleepers to protected the bog . The book also mentioned that this part of the walk can be windy. OK so here is the bit where we tell you not to believe everything you read. For another definition of windy, try look up hurricane. Picture this. You are walking in single file on the sleepers that don't really give you much room to maneuver your footing. Also at each side of the sleepers are pools of water and soggy bog land. Battering you from the side is the strongest gale force winds that you can imagine to the point that your body is practically bent sideways to try and keep your balance. Seriously how one or both of us didn't land in the water I don't know. You might think I am exaggerating but I am seriously not. If anything it was quiet funny and perked up our spirits. What on earth were we doing here?

After the sleepers we descended to overlook Lough Tay which is absolutely beautiful. There is a memorial to the JB Malone, the original architect of the Wicklow Way here. Following this we continued to descend and reached a road. After the road, we went back into another forest before entering some private farmland (although private, you are allowed to pass through it if walking the Way)

Once through the farmland, we ended stage 2 of the Way and proceeded to make our way to Roundwood via the local road. We arrived in Roundwood absolutely exhausted at 3.15pm, 5.5 hrs after we had begun at Knockree Hostel. Although the distance of this stage of the Way was the same as the previous one, it took us longer due to the terrain that we were walking on, the gradients and we took more scenery stops. Also the constant watching of your footing and the wind and weather exposure of this stage really did have an impact on our tiredness during the walk. Hiking boots, a rain jacket and a hat are absolute musts for this walk. You could not do this walk in runners. Again the Way is well served by way markers and can be done without a map or book.