Get Off the Couch

Couch2Christmas With TV3’s Elaine Crowley

couch#Couch2Christmas

The challenge is on. One minute I am sitting nice and cosy on the TV3 Midday panel with Elaine Crowley and the next thing I know, we have talked ourselves into running a 10k before Christmas.

As we sat, discussing the benefits of running for both your physical and mental health, Elaine had a Continue reading

Walking The Line From Donegal…

Erigal

Knee Deep in Pressies, Boots, Sunscreen and Midge Spray….

Tomorrow I’m in the gym at 0730 before catching a lift to Donegal for a special birthday celebration for a really good friend.  A bunch of mates are marking the occasion with a meal tomorrow night, followed by climbing the iconic, volcanic, and mysterious looking Mount Errigal. What a way to celebrate a friendship, which for me covers 4 years of extraordinary change. My friend and I both discovered hills and walking around the same time, and this weekend will be really special.

Will You Walk The Line?

The annual fundraiser for Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue.  It’ll be tight getting to the start in time, but I’ve a fireman driving me, so hopefully we’ll make it 😉

The 25k hike kicks off at 9pm and continues through the longest day/night of the year, to finish well after dawn on Sunday morning. This is a chance for the hiking and climbing community to give something back to the volunteers who are on call 24/7, 365 days a year – ready to pull us out of trouble when we discover our map-reading skills aren’t as good as we thought they were! If you fancy it, the starting point is the Brockagh Centre in Glendalough. Registration opens at 6pm and you can be join a group with a navigator or navigate yourself. Click on the picture below for details.

Walk The Line 2

Presuming I finish up in time, it’s another dash – over to Swords this time, to meet up with my buddies from Get Off The Couch, the TV show we recorded last year. This bunch of adventurers from all over the country got out there and got active, and inspired a whole load of other people to do the same thing. They kept up their adventures, even when the cameras stopped rolling – and we also kept up our friendship, which is wonderful.  They’re having a get-together in Dublin this weekend and I’m dropping in for breakfast to survey the damage….

From Swords it’s back to Lucan for another friendly get together with a mate who’s planned a bit of a spa-break to help me recover from all of the above. It’s certainly going to be a busy weekend – but it all counts as training too; because my trip to Mount Elbrus looms ever closer.  I picked up my Russian Visa earlier this week, and it’s all looking very real..

The Hairy Bikers….

“Pedal, pedal, pedal – good girl”

A few words of self-encouragement as me and some mates go on a beginner spin with the Godfather of Irish Mountain Biking, Richie Byrne – and the amazing Carol Farrell – at Ballinastoe Mountain Bike Park in County Wicklow.

I’ll say one thing: “Keep an eye out for the tree trunk”…

Thanks to Richie, Carol, everyone that turned out on a very, very, wintry day – and to all the lads at www.biking.ie

For more adventures check out the January archive: http://www.teenagates.com/2014/01/

The TV Cameras Have Gone – But The Show Goes On…

A crisp, fresh, winter morning saw the ‘Get Off The Couch’ crew piling out of their cars at McDonalds – but it wasn’t to share a mac – it was to park across the road and share a raft on the River Liffey for our first ever competitive raft race with www.rafting.ie. The day’s sport was arranged to raise funds for Concern’s Philippines’ relief effort.  A good cause, a beautiful day, fun on the water…. all reasons for me to smile deeply.  But I also had a warming glow at seeing my new adventure friends getting active in the great outdoors, long after the TV cameras have stopped rolling.   Yes, we made a television programme, but more importantly, the team and all our participants, have made a difference.  They and I have both experienced the benefits of stepping outside the door into the beautiful, stunning, inspiring country that we live in – and now they continue to spread the word, about the joy of nature and the joy of being healthy.   Rock on Ireland, or roll, or climb, or or or…   well you get it.   Here’s how some of our clever friends captured a little bit of the day….

There were winners in the all male, all female, and mixed crew categories, while GOTC came ahem, 4th last.  You’ll get all the results and a whole host of pictures on rafting.ie’s facebook page.  It was also great to welcome Santa and his helpers along on the day.

Sluice raftSaturday’s rafting was merely a warm-up for what I had planned on Sunday.   I huffed & puffed & made it up, only to plunge down the rough rocks into the forest.  Do I really want a mountain bike aged 48?  Mountain Biking rock star, the legendary Richie Byrne and his angelic partner in hardcore biking, Carol, took me out for a beginner spin on Ticknock.   All I can say is that this sport doesn’t let you hide for a second.  It’s intense from the moment you start spinning those pedals, and it’s a rush right to the very end of the ride.  I was soooo slow and sooooo clumsy, but I loved it.  In fact I loved it enough to get fitter enough, so that I can judge how I like it when I’m not completely annihilated by the hill climbs.  Mind you in fairness, I kept spinning, so there’s hope for me.   If I have a word with Santa, I wonder if I’ve room for another bike….? Ticknock

Run, Run, Run Away….

Parkrun1I’m back at the start line again.

Last year wailing in despair over ‘just being brutal at running’ – I accepted the advice of amazing Irish Ultra Runner John O’Regan and joined Le Chéile AC in Leixlip, to learn to run properly.  I’d already been told my knees were too weak to run, but to my regret, I just wasn’t content to leave it at that! Many times I wished I had, as I moaned and grumbled my way down to the track during the dark months of late winter and early spring, until finally the complaining eased up, and the pace picked up, and I finally realised I could kick a sprint at the end of a 5k with a grin on my face.   I was dangerously close to reaching that holy grail of ‘enjoying a run’.

In fairness, I didn’t slack off, but other challenges got in the way.  I needed to pick up my kayaking skills for the Liffey Descent challenge that I was doing with Kayak champ Kipper Magure for the LauraLynn childrens’ hospice, and I needed to learn how to use a roadbike, after signing up for the KAR13 Killarney Adventure Race.   I had a great year, but the running just got put on the back burner – until the dark evenings started creeping in again, and the urge to hit the road returned from some dark recess of my mind….

Enter ParkRun.  This is an absolute gem of an idea.  Parkrun is a non-profit organisation which sees volunteers running 5k’s in parks all over the world, including here in Dublin, at 0930 on a Saturday morning.   You register once and get a barcode, which you can then produce to run at any of the parkruns at any of the parks, at any of the venues in Europe or the US.  You get a time too…. it’s free and it’s all great fun, with mixed levels; experts and novices and a welcome for all.   I registered a while ago, but yesterday was the first day I had the courage to show my face.  I turned up at Grifeen Valley Parkrun and set off, crawling home a tragic 44 minutes later which is the slowest I’ve been all year – but the encouragement and enthusiasm was brilliant, and as one of my mates pointed out – I couldn’t have even finished it at a walk a couple of years ago.

The incredibly patient John O’Regan turned up on my last lap with some coaching tips.  The man’s patience is astounding.  I’m slightly embarrassed but enormously grateful that talented people like John can still make time to show me the ropes AGAIN.

Ok as everyone keeps telling me, you haven’t failed if you’re still trying.   You know, I said that to someone about 2 years ago, and the expression keeps following me around since then.

I suppose there’s no excuse now – I’ll simply have to go ahead with the Run In The Dark for Mark now on November 13th…  and I guess that means I’ll be showing my face at Le Chéile for training on Wednesday night  🙂

*Thanks for the wonderful welcome at Griffeen Valley Parkrun on Saturday – and thanks for the coffee!  Check them out on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/griffeenvalleyparkrun?hc_location=timeline

 

 

Get Off The Couch on Setanta TV – Thurs @ 10.05pm

Tonight we’re on TV – our hardy band of six adventurers take to the small screen for the first time after a year where they pushed outside their comfort zone and took on a whole heap of challenges that they never thought possible.

Here’s how the idea began:

Get Off The Couch! follows six people as they seek to change their lives and take on active challenges that they never thought possible. This series captures the triumph of the human spirit through determination and the desire to better oneself by capturing the personal stories, achievements, and courage of these six ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

Get Off The Couch – by Athena Media for Setanta Sports is made with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland’s Sound & Vision scheme. The six part series is free to air on Setanta Ireland from October 24th 2013 at 10:05pm.

For more information on Get Off The Couch! please contact Rob Hope at (01) 4883352 or at rob@athenamedia.ie or visit www.getoffthecouch.ie

Do Our Fears Limit Our Children?

final photoSix months of training and filming culminated in a sunny climb on Spinc Mountain in Wicklow on Saturday with the Get Off The Couch team and their friends and families.

Back in February, six ordinary people from around the country met with myself and a production crew from Athena Media.  We went for a short walk in Dublin’s Phoenix Park, while we discussed our plans to get out and get active in the great outdoors.  It was our first day of filming for a six-part television show that will be broadcast on Setanta TV this September.  In the months that followed, we ran and trained, climbed mountains, cycled bikes, learned to swim, took part in triathlons and became firm friends.

When I started this project, I was widely enthusiastic, exhilarated by the opportunity to preach my message once again – that if I could lose 13 stone and get healthy, anybody could. For me,  the benefits of a healthy lifestyle have exploded into a life full of passion and colour and I can’t help but get carried away when I talk about the joy of waking up each day with my new-found health.  I hoped my group of six ‘Get Off The Couch’ participants would have a similar experience; but I could hardly have imagined the outcome.

I don’t want to give too much away, but we’re not just talking about six people who got fit and healthy, we’re talking about new jobs, a return to college, a major sports deal, giving up smoking and whole families changing the way they spend their leisure time together.

Strictly speaking, we finished filming back in June.  But on Saturday we met again, to catch up, and because I wanted to show them my lovely Spinc Mountain that I had been bragging about throughout our months of training together.  They were invited to bring friends and family, but I was a little concerned when I saw the youthful bunch that turned up – our youngest walker was just 4-years-old, and I confess  I didn’t think they’d last 5 minutes.   To my amazement, they hopped around the mountain covering a 9km hill-walk with a climb of 380m in just under 4 hours; and 4-year-old Charlie was the most energetic of all of us.   It just goes to show that sometimes our kids can be limited, not by their lack of strength or maturity but by the preconceived and erroneous notions of  us boring old adults.

MinesThanks to my GOTC gang for a fabulous day – to the kids for the life lesson – and to Joan Kavanagh (local historian and member of the Glens of Lead Project) who met us on the trail along the way to introduce us all to ‘Paddy Byrne’ (wooden miner model) and to tell us about the history of the old lead workings and mines at Glendalough.

After a ‘Last Supper’ with the team, several of us went back out on the hill again for a night climb on Spinc – as part of my climbing mate Vera Baker’s preparations for a Concern hike to Kenya later this year.  Staying in Wicklow overnight, the Concern trainees were back out on their bikes for some cycling exercise on the Sallygap on Sunday, and then I was back up on Spinc for a 3rd and final climb on Sunday afternoon, before I returned to the city and prepared for work and the gym on Monday.

My own training intensifies next week.  I’m preparing for the Liffey Descent kayak and cycle challenge that I’m doing this September with ‘Mr Kayak’ Kipper Maguire, to raise funds and awareness for LauraLynn Hospice – Irelands ONLY childrens’ hospice.  If you have a few bob, please drop it into our MyCharity page here – and please pass it on….

http://www.mycharity.ie/event/weirsnwheels

 

 

Walking A Line – To Errigal

Walk The Line 2I ‘Walked The Line’ and I proudly get to wear the T-shirt, and raise the mug – thanks for a brilliant workout from Dublin Wicklow Mountain Rescue.  Their mega annual fundraiser had two challenges, a navigational chase and a straightforward 25k hike for those who were willing to follow the signs!  I chose the latter, but the physical demands were no joke.  It was a tough, long day out and I came home delighted in just over 6 hours.  To be honest, I had a secret weapon, the latter part of the hike was down through Spinc – my favourite mountain. I was actually heard to say ‘this is my patch’ as I trotted down the stones towards the Miners’ Village – and you know I meant it.  Yep I guess I’m declaring it.  Spinc is MY mountain – so there!  (I’m not actually being facetious – that mountain rescued me from being 23 stone and stuck in a cell of my own skin, and my own making. I owe a lot to that mountain).  The other benefit from ‘Walk the Line’ was accidentally turning up just 2-minutes before registration closed, and ending up ‘walking the line’ on my own, which I hadn’t really planned.  It left me picking out way-paths and finding my way around the hills in a way I hadn’t done before – and I learned a lot – lessons that came in handy later in the week….

A trip to Lough Sheelin cooled my heels after Wicklow – when I turned up to provide boat cover for my brave ‘Get Off The Couch’ colleague Karen Bowers, who swam her first 1k ‘wild swim’ in the beautiful County Cavan lake, surrounded by master swimmers and the fantastic long-distance swimmer, Fergal Somerville, who turned up to coach her, after recently adding an elusive North Channel Crossing to his previous English Channel crossing.  That man is inspiration in a set of speedos, and I have permission from his wonderful wife Margaret to say so. (Incidentally that woman is the best power-bar chef this side of either channel!).

Kayak DonegalA couple of days later I was back in the water again – this time in Donegal.  In bright sunshine, myself and buddy Vera Baker ‘Girls on Tour’ headed north with kayaks strapped to the roof of her heroic Jaguar and two bikes jammed inside, along with wetsuits, paddles, running gear, hiking gear, and high heels.  What other way to travel?  Well as Vera’s son commented wryly as he saw us reverse out –  “it wasn’t that we couldn’t do it – but probably that we shouldn’t“!

We hit the ground running when we arrived in Donegal in bright sunshine and instead of heading for shelter and our lovely home for the next three days, we made straight for the beach and launched the boats.  It was a good call too; we woke up to winter conditions the following morning, with the mist so thick we could hardly see our boots as we made our way towards Errigal.  That solo-navigation stuff in Wicklow helped with my confidence, as we strolled back down the mountain on a bearing and walked straight into the car park to our absolute delight.  Boasting to my Mountain Rescue buddies may have been a calculated error however – I’ve been told I’m navigating next time out!

Lots of thanks are due to lots of people after my last set of adventures.  Love you all and hugs will be distributed in due course. x

 

  • Saturday June 22nd – 25kilometre hike ‘Walk The Line’ fundraiser for Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue
  • Sunday June 23rd – kayak boat cover for Get Off The Couch at Lough Sheelin long-distance swim event
  • Monday June 24th – Kayak training with Wild Water Kayak Club
  • Tuesday June 25th – 40″min gym ‘strength & conditioning’
  • Wednesday June 26th – paddling with adventure buddy Vera Baker in Donegal
  • Thursday June 27th – climbing Mount Errigal, Donegal’s highest mountain, and navigating through thick mist
  • Friday June 28th – 15k cycle with hill-climbs (or thereabouts) and paddling in a choppy sea 🙂
  • Saturday June 29th – rest day (Get Off The Couch finale and wrap party)
  • Sunday June 30th – sea swim in Malahide & climbing Spinc Mountain in Wicklow

When Your Snorkel Snares Your False Teeth…

Dad in Spain 2013

I’ve been on holiday, but I haven’t stopped being active and having fun.

I’m just back from Torremolinas in Spain, where I took my dad to celebrate his 88th birthday.  We stayed in the Sol Aloah Puerto 4-star hotel with a deal from Clickandgo.com travel – and I’ve got to say we had a ball. it wasn’t a freebie or a sponsorship or anything, so I’ve no avaricious reason to promote or advertise the travel company or the hotel, other than to say how brilliant they were and how fantastic they were in tailoring the trip to myself and dad.  They really delivered and I think that’s worth a shout-out.  Thanks lads.

Sol Aloah Puerto

The hotel is situated right on the beach between two Irish bars, walking distance from the Marina, with plenty of shops and restaurants nearby, and the sea-front promenade that comes alive at night with a magical display of impromptu music, traders and entertainers.  During the day we soaked up the sun, ate too much, enjoyed happy hour and spent ages in the sea Although the Med hadn’t quite warmed up to Summer temperatures, it was certainly warmer than my Sunday swims in Malahide.  During the trip, Dad came kayaking with me, and body boarding and sailing – which is all pretty impressive, given the fact that he doesn’t swim!

The snorkelling was going well too, until the mouthpiece snagged in his false teeth….

Joking aside, what a fantastic spirit my dad has, and what an inspiration.  Every day he shows me how life is a dream come true – you just have to wake up and live the dream. I’ve got 40 years of fun ahead of me, to get to where my dad is now, and he’s still open to new adventures.  I just can’t wait until tomorrow to see what we both do next. xxx

Back in Training

On holidays:

  • 1,000 metre swims twice daily, 2 half-hour kayak trips, 30-min jogs each morning at dawn, some snorkelling, body-boarding and sailing, lots of walking.

Back Home:

  •  Monday June 17th – 30k cycle / Returned to kayak with Wild Water Kayak Club, this time helping the instructors with the new recruits – 1 year after starting out as a newbie-paddler myself.  (Awe…… )
  • Tuesday June 18th – 30k cycle, 45-mins weights session in gym, climbing with a mate at Awesome Walls.
  • Wednesday June 19th – 30k cycle, 45-mins weights session in gym, running training at Le Cheile AC
  • Thursday June 20th – 30k cycle
  • Friday June 21st – Rest Day
  • Saturday June 22nd – 25kilometre hike ‘Walk The Line’ fundraiser for Dublin & Wicklow Mountain Rescue
  • Sunday June 23rd – kayak boat cover for Get Off The Couch at Lough Sheelin long-distance swim event

 

 

I Walk The Plank at High Noon…

Liffey Leap

Oh my gosh – what have I done?

In 12 hours’ time I jump off O’Connell Bridge and into the Liffey!  I’ve taken the leap from higher heights from that, but usually I’m attached to a rope.  My poor head for heights is kicking my butt already over this one, and I haven’t even reached the bridge.  For some reason the idea of stepping off into emptiness is freaking me out.  Aggghhhhh…..  it’s for Cystic Fibrosis though – so at least the fact that it’s such a good cause, should help stop me from running away.

GOTC

It’s been such an intense couple of weeks, very busy at work and very busy with the camera crew for ‘Get Off The Couch’ the TV show that will broadcast on Setanta later this year.  My gang of hardy participants have completely transformed themselves into athletes, and we all took part in their first Sprint Relay Triathlon last weekend in my hometown, Blanchardstown.  They had a 750-metre pool to contend with, in our magnificent Olympic Distance pool at the National Aquatic Centre.  I personally got a PB cycling the 15k – but pushed myself so hard, I could hardly walk afterwards, not to mind run the 250 metres in the transition back to rack my bike.  We’re all competing in a Sprint Triathlon on June 1st, and I’ve learned my lesson – I’ll have to pace myself when I’m doing all three disciplines, so my time won’t be as good for each section, but my motivation will be to complete all three parts.  So complete rather than compete will be in my mind – we’ll see how the times work out afterwards! Katie in Greystones

We’re coming to the end of filming for GOTC, but as usual, I’ve found this latest adventure is really only the beginning for something totally new.  Joe, Maryanne, Cathy, Karen, Eamonn and Damien are the participants.  When you watch the programme, you won’t believe how far they’ve come; not just in changing their physical fitness, but their entire lifestyles.  It’s been a roller-coaster ride full of hard work, injuries, recoveries, bravery, camaraderie and craic.  If these last 6 months had never made it to the screen at all, it would still have been a magnificent project to be part of, simply to see where we’ve all come from and gone to.  Most important of all, I’ve made 6 new friends, which is such a heavenly gift from the world.  Will everyone continue on their athletic journey?  Well we’ve all discovered some sports that we liked more than others, and we’ve already made plans for getting together for sporty adventures in the future – without the cameras.

The best memories?  Carrauntoohil is high up there (excuse the pun) I was hoping that people would like it, but was quite prepared for the likelihood that they wouldn’t.  I’m not going to tell you who did and who didn’t – have to leave you SOMETHING to watch the programme for… lol.   The Galtymores and the Mournes were both very special, running with Catherina McKiernan was extraordinary and probably life-changing for me.  Running the Ballintotis 4-mile in Maryanne’s home town was incredibly memorable, including the fun and laughter before and after. Joe coming back to run alongside me on the track, training with Eamon Tilley in Greystones was pretty special, and Olympic Champion Katy Taylor coming over to help us train was extraordinary.DSCF0747

I’ve a feeling that Sunday’s gig will be another special moment – when Channel Swimmer Fergal Somerville takes the gang out to swim in the sea at Malahide.  I’ll be doing boat-cover for that, paddling alongside in my kayak (Saffron).   That brings my mind back around to tomorrow and O’Connell Bridge.  It’s Fergal that’s talked me into making the ‘leap of faith’ off the bridge and into the Liffey.  I walk the plank at 12-noon – but someone may need to give me a sharp push.  No doubt Fergal will gladly oblige!    OMG.  :/

 

  • Sunday May 19th – Get Off The Couch – Fingal Relay (15k cycle)
  • Monday  – 15k cycle x2 (in and out to work)
  • Tuesday – 45″ gym session with David Dunne @ Westpoint Gym, Blanchardstown
  • Wednesday – Rest day
  • Thursday – 15k cycle x2 (in and out to work) including Knockmaroon Hill!
  • Friday – 45″ gym session with David Dunne
  • Saturday – Liffey Leap swim (pending)
  • Sunday – Kayaking with GOTC (pending)

 

 

Postscript:  

Liffey Leap

I survived…

 

 

Clients
  • Communicorp
  • Danone
  • Irish Farmers’ Journal
  • Dublin Airport Authority
  • WeightWatchers, Ireland
  • Limerick City & County Enterprise Board
  • ‘Foot In The Door’ Media Trainer for Independent Commercial Radio, Ireland
  • Clare County Enterprise Board
  • Carlow County Enterprise Board
  • Great Outdoors
  • Adrian Hendroff ‘From High Places’
  • Chernobyl Children International
  • Concern Ireland
  • The Hope Foundation
  • LauraLynn Childrens’ Hospice
  • Travel Department
  • Helly Hansen Killarney Adventure Race
  • 98FM Dublin
  • Newstalk
  • TodayFM Radio
  • Learning Waves Skillnet
  • BCFE, Ballyfermot
  • Pat Falvey, 'The Summit Book'
  • DSPCA