Masters Cross Country Championships

What? Cross Country Running
Where? Santry Demense
Time? 12.00 (I was late, doh!)
How much? Free as a spectator, a fiver for an entry

I was lucky enough to be a spectator at this event yesterday, held in Santry on a gorgeous, dry, bright wintery day. It was the British and Irish Masters Cross Country International Championships, Masters running is for those aged 35-65+. Anyone feeling that it may be too late to get off the couch and get active should get their butts to one of these races!
I was late so I only got to see the last 2 races on the card but that was all I could handle to be honest. The conditions were lovely if you were strolling around cosied up in your coat, carefully avoiding any soft muddy patches so you wouldn't get your socks damp. But out on the course was a different story. It looked so bloody tough!

Genuinely, these athletes were running so hard and you could see how much they were putting into it. It was a tough course, undulating and the going was soft and sloppy in parts. The womens race was combined with the male over 65 category, run over 6 km, following that was the men between 35 and 65 race, run over a gruelling 8 km. Unbelievably, one of the men on the Irish team was running BAREFOOT! Yikes, I had read lots about it but had never actually seen it ( http://www.runnersworld.com/article/1,7124,s6-238-267--13401-0,00.html ) and he was gone passed before I got a photo!
It was hard to cheer because my voice kept cracking and I sounded like a banshee, I always get emotional when watching races, even horse racing, (the egg and spoon does me in completely! ) Two little kids were next to me, cheering on their Mam, I know they call her Mam because they were screaming 'Go on Maaaaaam, come on Maaaam!' It was brilliant!
I didn't want to put competitors off or draw attention to my over emotional state from the St. Johns Ambulance crews so I stuck to clapping. I also didn't want to sound patronising because the 2 women next to me were unreal! They were cheering, loudly and slowly, 'Awww, well done, good for you' as one ancient man from Scotland trudged past! Screw that like, if I was that runner I would not like to be patronised in the middle of a race, no thanks girls, keep the pity cheers away, these athletes deserve our RESPECT!
It was brilliant to see top class athletes from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all competing against themselves and each other. I got a spot by the finish line and witnessed some lung busting sprint finsihes. The weather changed just as the last race finished but the freezing rain didn't bother any of the competitors who stood around, draped in their countries flags, congratulating each other and posing for photos. I, on the other hand, shuffled off to the warm and dry car!

Til next time
Keep it (Cross) Country!
Raedi

Open Mind Yoga

What? Yoga, not sure what type though, just go with the flow man ;) !
Where? Open Mind Project, 95 Pearse Street, Dublin
Time? 1-2pm
How much? Donation based

Since the closure of the lovely Hush Yoga studio, I've been on the lookout for another drop in Yoga studio. I'm not keen on signing up for 8 week courses as I feel it really ties you into something you should be able to go at anytime you want that yoga hit. Alas, so many of the drop in classes cost alot so I was thinking that I'd have to be saluting the sun from my kitchen window! Until I heard about Open Mind Project. Hurray! www.openmindsproject.ie All classes at the centre are currently donation based. Double Hurray!
Its a bit tricky to find (I cycled passed it twice) and once inside I couldn't find anybody so wandered upstairs. The studio is a bright, warm, clean room with 3 huge green plants and lots of space. I had forgotten my mat so was freaking out a bit in case they didn't have any to spare. In my best 'I'm not freaking out' voice I asked the teacher for a mat and she smiled & pointed to a load of them neatly rolled up in the corner. Phew!
We started the class lying down on the mats, eyes closed and listening to our breath. Listening to heavy breathing is some peoples idea of torture but I think in a Yoga class it just doesn't seem so bad. Anyway, we moved to sitting up and horror of horrors, our teacher asked us to introduce ourselves and say whether we had any injuries. That bit was actually fine though, I thought she was going to ask us to name our intentions for our lives or something so I fell back into my breathy, relaxed state. Deirdre (our instructor) started with some core strengthening postures. I found these pretty hard going, as in I was shakin' like a leaf on the second posture. I think she saw me wobbling all over so showed 'the class' how to adapt the posture if its a but too difficult. Thank you! Deirdre bought us through some lovely flowing postures that were challenging but at the same time, relaxing. She demonstrates the postures then moves around the class, correcting peoples alignment and offering tips to progress each posture. The hour flew by. We finished the class with three Nommmmmssss, there were only 5 of us in the class so there was some very self conscious Nommmming going down but I gave it socks!
I really liked this class and going to it at lunchtime seemed so much more appealing than sitting at a desk, eating your tuna sandwiches! Its adaptable and gentle enough for beginners and intermediates alike.

Til next time,
Peace out 

P.S. Just a quick tip, during Downward Dog I was horrified to see up close and personal, how badly my poor feet needed some tlc, so remember to paint those tootsies!

Sculpt!

What? Sculpt
Where? YMCA, Aungier Street, Dublin 2
Time? 7.30 am (yuck!) til 8.15 am(phew!)
How much? 6 euro

So this morning I decided to 'treat' myself to an early morning wake up call in the form of a Spin class in the YMCA (http://www.ymca.ie/) in Dublin city centre. The YMCA has a massive schedule of classes for you to choose from, over 60 classes a week so your bound to find something that makes you want to throw on a pair of runners and get moving. The studio's and sports hall are spotlessy clean and the changing rooms are clean but the showers look like they need a small bit of an update. Weirdly, you need to bring your own padlock if you want to use the lockers or buy one at reception. I didn't know this so just took my bag into the studio with me.
You sign in at reception according to what class you are going to,  I signed in then noticed that Spin was crossed out and Sculpt was on instead. Oh I get so annoyed when centres just change the timetables like that!
I'd never been to a Sculpt class before so wasn't exactly sure what to expect. There were four other girls in the class and the instructor bounced in at 7.35, we did a pulse check, a quick verbal medical screening (any injuries etc?)  on with some dance music and off we went. The class starts off with a warm up, all moving briskly, side step, double side step, high knees, leg curls, kicks and lots of 'big elbows'. As we were jumping around Sandra (our instructor) informed us that this is a Hi Lo class and I nod away, smiling but have no idea what a Hi Lo class is, I thought it was Spin or Sculpt?!
After some stretches, we moved onto the main phase of the class, thankfully this was a fairly basic aerobic routine, the class is ideal for beginners who want to build up their fitness levels but may not want to go down the jogging/running route just yet. Sandra was great at demonstrating the moves and then called them out as we attempted to copy her. A few of the girls in the class were regulars so there was good banter and a nice atmosphere in the class. I got totally mixed up at the side side back 4 jump jacks bit every time we came to it, morto! At around 8.10 we got out some mats and did an 'abs blast'. Yikes! It only lasted 5 or 6 minutes but I really felt it, which, Sandra assured us, was a good thing!
We finished with a few stretches at about 8.20. I enjoyed this class, its a great energiser to start your day with and I felt great heading off to start my day with a bit of exercise taken care of!