Running and knee health? Jog on

So we’ve all become runners during the lockdown it would seem. See I told you it was fun. But not just that. We’ve decided we want to be really fast runners overnight that can run almost every day. Never mind the fact of not having ran in years or in some cases ever. Meh! Let’s…

Extreme lengths for some Alone time

Daddy Day Care started out brilliantly with real enthusiasm by all of us. I looked at it as a once in a life time chance to catch up on time missed out in the previous 6 years with our three boys. And they too seemed equally excited about the prospect of having Dad around a…

Heat, Hydration & Exercise

I’ve struggled cycling in the blistering heat of the Atacama Desert, shivered through 8 hour night-long ultra marathons in the Irish winter and suffered with altitude sickness in the beautiful but 3399m above sea level town of Cusco, Peru. Climate and weather conditions have always proved challenging in the world of sport. But this years…

“Parting is such sweet sorrow”

We all remember those early days in a relationship. Long walks together with close intimate contact. It felt right paired up with this attractive ‘model’ most guys dreamed of having. To onlookers it probably looked like the perfect match but below the surface there were problems beginning to emerge. What started as some minor nagging…

Records – there to be broken

From Easter Bank Holiday 2017 Ah yes! A long weekend. After a long laborious weeks work you’re looking forward to kicking back on a Friday evening, feet up with a glass of your favorite tipple and catching up on your latest Netflix addiction. Until you realise it’s Good Friday in Ireland; only the second day of the…

Glutes are key! No Butts About It

I like big butts and I cannot lie, a common ground both I and 1990’s American rapper Sir-Mix-a-Lot clearly share. But what interests me with the human derriére is far more than its aesthetically pleasing values. The role the gluteal muscles play in our everyday and sporting lives has become more and more evident as research emerges (you other…

A healthy, injury free 2017

Motivation is at an all time high. This is the year (again): ‘Couch to 5k’ programmes, attractive gym offers, adventure races, triathlons, your imminent return to team sport after retiring 5 years ago, another long distance endurance event to chalk off the list. We’re all in the same boat with personal goals whatever they may…

Taper Time

This year I find myself one week before the Dublin marathon with a longer tapering period than usual. Inadequate recovery, poor sleep are both well established risk factors for injury and while I haven’t suffered a musculoskeletal injury (yet) my chest and throat and voice box have taken a hammering. I haven’t ran in 2 weeks…

Making Time for Sleep and Recovery

It’s 5:25am and I’m already on my second coffee. The agonising wails of my teething 10 month old has the whole family up an hour already. Proper up. Not to mention attending to two ‘wee-wee’s’ during the night, only one of which was legit. The other was a false alarm or in other words a way of getting…

Tri staying injury free in the water this season

400 metres to go. The shore was in sight. This was further than I’d ever swam before in either open water or the pool. The first 200 metres during the mass start had left me traumatised. Swimming being referred to as a non contact sport is clearly a misconception, certainly with triathlon with countless kicks to the…