I saw a surprising documentary recently that has made me think a bit more about food. Fat,Sick, & nearly dead is a documentary by Australian Joe Cross, and his experiment with change in diet and lifestyle. Joe suffers from chronic urticaria, a disease that causes painful rashes and blisters to appear on his skin. Considering himself to already have one foot in the grave, and been on steroids and other medications for years, Joe decided to completely stop the typical western diet he had been living on, in favor of fresh juices for sixty days. The documentary covers Joes trip across America, with a juicer hooked up to a car battery in his boot. The end result was that Joe lost a massive amount of weight and cured himself of urticaria. To to prove that his case wasn’t a fluke, a truck driver he met on his travels took on the same process and also cured himself of urticaria, and dropped more than 200 pounds of weight.
While Joe’s experiment was extreme, its results should not be that surprising. Several years ago I saw another documentary by American Morgan Spurlock who undertook to eat a MacDonalds meal three times per day for 30 days. His documentary was called Supersize me, after the infamous McDonalds meal size option. Morgan Spurlock started from the opposite position to Joe Cross; he was fit, healthy and a good weight. At the end of his thirty day stint, he was 25 pounds heavier, he had severe liver dsyfunction and mood swings that were tied to his cravings for more McDonalds food. His physicians likened his symptoms to those of a binge alcoholic.
Both documentaries pose a very interesting question about what we eat and its effect on our health. We’ve been hearing that fruit and vegetables are good for our health from a very young age, and indeed our health experts tell us that we need at least five portions of fruit and vegetables per day. Eliminating them and eating whatever processed and convenience food is to hand, has a negative effect on our health. The Supersize me documentary showed this by speeding up the process that would normally take many years. According to the expert opinion that Mr Spurlock sought out as part of his experiment he was advised that during his thirty days he consumed about eight years of the allowed volume of fast food.
I don’t think that there are many of us who would argue against the effects of fast food/junk food. But there has to be a corresponding cause/effect for a healthy diet comprised of fruit, veg and unprocessed foods. Maybe that is why it was so unsprisinging that Joe Cross managed to cure himself by improving his diet. I have read somewhere that the increased incidence of depression ( and worse, suicide) could possibly be linked to our diet, including processed meats which have traces of hormones, and other additives, the effects of which have never fully been examined.
Speaking for myself I can see a lot more fruit and veg making an appearance in my diet from now on.
I’m delighted to see that The Cara Bundoran Run is back in 2012. In a fit of madness I signed up for the inaugural Cara Bundoran Run earlier this year, and tackled it with nowhere near enough training, and wearing runners that did more harm than good. It was no surprise that I was last across the line. It killed me to finish, but I was on a high for weeks afterward. Already I’m looking forward to the 2012 race and the chance to much improve my time and finish position.
I’ve been continuously exercising since the race, and haven’t put on any of the weight I lost. Since the beginning of September I have been more consistent in the training I’ve been doing. I joined the gym again and have been making good use of the treadmills. I’m not a particular fan of treadmills, but I’ve found that they really help your keep proper form and increase your distance. At the moment I can do 7k in an hour running at a slow steady pace, and despite being pretty busy, manage it 3-4 times per week. Best of all I’ve only a small gut remaining. I can now identify with those women in the Special K ads who get excited about their jeans fitting them.
As an extra incentive to not look silly next March, the team at the Cara Bundoran Run have linked to my humble blog so that all you good people can watch what I get up to in my preparations. As far as plans go, I plan to continue to lose the remaining gut by continuing with the long low intensity runs and gym sessions. From the information I’ve been reading from runnersword.com and other websites, losing the excess weight is going to make the biggest change to my performance. I’m going to keep to this programme until January, and will then concentrate on increasing stamina and speed. This plan sounds right to me, and I know I can do it, but if anyone has any other suggestions I would appreciate the advice.
Thats all for now – if you haven’t signed up for the 2012 run, get on with it and do it now! Why wait until New Year’s Eve to decide that you want to run a race in 2012. Make the commitment now and you’ll have plenty of time to train. If physical exercise is not your thing ( or hasn’t been for years ) you can walk the race. Why not do the race with a friend or work colleague ? I can assure you that will never experience a feeling the one when you cross the finish line…. even if like me you come last!
Saucony Progrid Omni 8 - what a name!
It has been a while since my last post, and you may be forgiven for thinking that I have again fallen off the wagon. Life tends to get in the way of ones best intentions, and there are always great reasons not to get up and do something.
Over the past month or more I have been building up my fitness again. When I say building up my fitness. I really mean trying to lose more poundage. But I do see some improvement in the distances I can cover, alongside the slowly ( oh soooo slowly) disappearing gut.
I’ve finally solved the mystery of why my ankles and calves have been giving me such trouble; I’ve been trying to run in the wrong runners. The website where I bought the last pair is www.sportshoes.com, and in hindsight I just bought what was on sale. This time around I did a little bit of research and found a very useful little video on the sportshoes.com website. It asks you to try a little experiment to find out what kind of footprint you have. Basically you put your bare foot into water and then step on a sheet of paper. Depending on the print that you leave you will need either a neutral shoe, support shoe, or control shoe. Needless to say, I was not what I thought I should be and I needed a support shoe.
Since I bought a proper support shoe, my calves or ankles have given me no jip at all. This time I bought Saucony Progrid Omni 8 runners ( probably named by the same marketing people who gave us Gillette Stealth Fusion Power III razors).
Another milestone was tripped over by yours truely yesterday. I’ve passed another birthday, yet still mercifully I’m still in my thirties. To celebrate my brothers, a pal and I decided to climb to Diarmaid and Grainne’s bed, a cave 560 metres (1867 ft) up the Dartry Mountains. It has long been a goal of mine to climb some of the great hills that we all take for granted here in the North West. Years ago I had driven around the Geniff Horse Shoe glen and marvelled at the rock formations and hills around the valley. Up the valley on the south side is an enormous cave that is just below the summit. Its easy to see how the cave became embroiled in the old Irish legend of Tóraíocht Dhiarmada agus Gráinne.
For those who don’t know the story, Grainne the daughter of High King Cormaic McAirt was to be married to Fionn MacCumhaill leader of the Fianna Warriors. At the wedding Grainne was disgusted at how old Fionn was compared to her father. She slipped a sleeping potion into the drink of Fionn and the other guests and then coerced Diarmaid MacDuibne to run away with her by threatening a geis (or curse) on him. ( Women! They never change…) This set off a chase throughout Ireland as the couple try evade capture by Fionn. Many places in Ireland are called Diarmaid and Grainne’s bed, so named for the couple who spent time there as they tried to stay ahead of Fionn.
Diarmaid and Grainne's Bed
The cave is in Sligo roughly at 54°22’20.36″N and 8°25’22.30″W. The easiest way to reach it is to drive to the village of Cliffoney, Co Sligo and then follow the signposts for the Gleniff horse shoe Glen.
We parked below the cave at a derelict house and started out at 10.30am under sunny and breezy conditions. Our plan was to go up along the more gently sloping path left of center in the photograph, and then cross to the steeper slope below the cave. I would have considered myself the unfittest of the bunch climbing, and the burning in my calve muscles started pretty quickly. Of course it didn’t help that I was laughing at the smart ass comments coming from the guys ahead of me. Comments about setting out from base camp, rationing provisions and having to eat sheep. We were all un-used to climbing and had to take regular breaks on the way up. The terrain was scrubby grassland, very well cut back by sheep. As the incline became more steep, we had to progress spiderman style on hands and feet. This of course meant watching where your hands went as there was nettles and thistle lurking among the grass.
We lost a good man on the way up. Our pal John who none could call a sissy, stopped and stuck to the hillside like a limpet. John has fished for King Crab in Alaska on a trawler. Anyone who has watched Deadliest Catch knows how tough that job is. John also regulary saves kittens from trees, rescues damsels in distress and helps little old ladies across the street, so his credentials are impeccable. John decided to turn back and we decided not to slag him… at least until we got back to the car.
Gleniff Valley from half way up
From just above half way up the view is spectacular. Looking north Mullaghmore can be seen and if there was less haze, one could see clear across Donegal Bay to Slieve League. Just above the halfway point the terrain levelled out to make travel a little easier. The remaining four of us, walked along the sheep trails to the scree slope beneath the cave. This is where the hill walking gave way to mountaineering. Below the mouth of the cave is a rock gulley that zig-zags to a small grassy slope at the mouth of the cave. Previous climbers had left a rope dangling down the gulley to assist those that would come after them. Using a combination of the rope and careful climbing we took turns at climbing up to to the grass slope at the cave mouth. A second rope anchored to a pin at the mouth of the cave gave assistance over the last couple of meters.
I now know the meaning of the word exhilaration. When I could turn around and take in the scenery, and the surroundings of the giant air-craft hanger of a cave perched atop a mountain… exhilaration is the only word. My younger brother had been here the previous year and had told us about the numerous caverns and smaller chambers further in, so in preparation we had brought torches. In the back of the cave to the right is a chamber about the size of a big house that has second chamber leading off into the mountain. On the other side of the cave is an even larger cavern that has some interesting stalactites. Not having any experience as cavers or climbers we left the deep exploration for those with the proper skills. What we saw though, was certainly very impressive.
We were nervous about the decent so after half an hour we started back down again. Going down one at a time and taking exceptional care we managed it without difficulty. Not surprising the descent went a lot faster than the ascent. Climbing took us just under an hour and twenty minutes, while the descent was just over half an hour. From a fitness point of view I was happy; I wasnt as fast going up as the rest of the guys, but racing up and down would have defeated the purpose.
The buzz from climbing up to Diarmaid and Grainne’s bed is still with me, though last night I caught myself twitching a few times as I thought I was falling. On hindsight it may have been less than wise for five untrained guys to climb to a cave at the top of a mountain and then explore inside. The ropes that were so helpful during the last section are made of nylon. Nylon rope deteriorates faster than any other type or rope, and with the exposed conditions up there, it definately shouldnt be trusted. While some kind soul left these ropes for those that came after, we dont know how long ago that was and wether the archor points they made can still be relied upon. If you decide that you would like to climb Diarmaid and Grainne’s bed in those mountains I would suggest going as part of an experienced group and being exceptionally careful.
I heard recently that more than 5000 Irish people have taken up the hobby of hillwalking in the past year, which isn’t really surprising. There is fantastic countryside all around us and the cost of starting out is minimal. On beautiful clear days like yesterday, it also beats going to the gym.
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- Diarmaid and Grainne’s Bed
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- Gleniff Valley from half way up
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- View from inside the cave
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- The dangerous section beneath the cave
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- Looking down from the entrance
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- Looking North
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- steep!
I’ve been getting back into training again after a break that probably was longer than it should have been. I’ve been out jogging on a couple of occasions, and cycled a few times also. But all exercise doesn’t have to be solitary and strenuous. Last weekend, we took off exploring Inishowen from beloved’s house in Buncrana. Donegal is a seriously big county and as well travelled as I considered myself to be, I still hadn’t explored it to its very top. Inishowen could almost be another county on its own. So last Saturday, beloved, the kids, the dog and myself took off to go visit some of the more hidden spots of Inishowen.
First stop after leaving Buncrana was Clonmany. Clonmany is very easy to get to after you leave Buncrana, you simply turn left at the North Pole ( hey, I told you it was a big county). Clonmany is a couple of short miles from Ballyliffin aka the wedding capital of Ireland. Just outside Clonmany there is a small hidden valley at the top of which there is a spectacular waterfall. Just over a kilometre each way, it has beautiful pathways, and footbridges that crisscross the stream all the way to the waterfall.
Clonmany Waterfall
inishowen Sheep
Just below Clonmany there is a small derelict churchyard that has only a single grave that seems to be attended. St Columb’s church was in used for 300 years before falling out of use in the 1920′s. The sole maintained grave belongs to a soldier who died in the first world war. The church roof was removed due to that draconian law brought in at the formation of the Irish state.
After leaving Clonmany and skipping through Ballyliffin (we’d visited there a few times before) we headed through Carndonagh heading for Malin. Without stopping in Malin we headed for 5 fingers strand.
Though on this occasion the strand had less sand than normal due to the winter storms. It didn’t stop us having a good explore through the rockpools and the dog had a great time.
five fingers strand
View from 5 fingers
Some winding backroads bring you to the cliffs above the five fingers strand and the scenery is spectacular. After this the road brings you closer to Malin Head. The scenery makes you drive quite slow as this is really wild country.
Passing the Malin Head Coastguard station the road leads to Malin Head and Banba’s Crown. This is Ireland’s most northerly point and with the clear weather we could see why. For 270 degrees all that can be seen is sea and sky, though I hear that on exceptionally clear days, Scotland can be seen. Below hill can still be seen Eire written in stone and mortar, a remanant from the second world war, where the sign was used to let pilots know exactly where they were. On other headlands numbers were lain out on the ground to indicate where exactly they were in Ireland.
Banba's Crown - you can see Eire written in the bottom left of the picture
Martello Tower Banba's Crown
The tower has had a mixed history, firstly as a watchtower during the napoleonic wars, then as a marconi tower and then as a signal tower for Lloyds of london.
We also had a coffee at Ireland’s most notherly coffee shop. Caffe Banba is a mobile coffee wagon stationed next to the old martello tower, and I have to say that we were impressed. Not only was the coffe and cakes good ( I didn’t have cake, relax!) but it was extremely reasonable, unlike many other cafes at prominent tourist destinations. Well done Caffe Banba.
Moving back down through the east side of Inishowen, we passed many hidden piers, bays and beaches. It would take a lot more time than we had to explore them. There were also many places that would have been great for fishing.By this stage everyone was getting tired, including the dog who couldn’t believe her luck at getting walked again and again.
Our plan also included climbing the king and queen of the meenshies, the twin hills between Carndonagh and Buncrana, but we’re leaving that until another day.
Yesterday was supposed to be a work day, but as it was technically the last day of the summer, my brother and I took off to explore the Barite mines in the Darty Mountains in Sligo. We approached from the other side of Slievemore, coming up the Gleniff Horse shoe valley. From this side there is an old road that led from the valley floor to the mining operations at the top of Slievemore. Unfortunately this road runs through private property and the owner doesn’t want people using it. Luckily we met the farmer before starting and he waved us off! The road is now mostly overgrown, and in parts doesn’t look like a road at all, as floods have turned it into a riverbed.
Mining has been going on in the valley for over 150 years, and while there is the remains of a fairly recent mining operation at the top, throughout the valley there are mine shafts that were in use in the 1800s. Our plan was to try find some of these early mine operations and have an explore. This valley also has Diarmaid and Grainne’s cave, though not strictly under the remit of an Urban Explorer is worth a visit. I haven’t found any historical evidence of mining taking place inside the cave, but there are a serious amount of chambers and tunnels inside, that are well worth a look.
This is the view from the approach on the Gleniff side
In this picture you can just about see the 3 black dots at the bottom of the cliff face in the centre of the picture. Just above them and slightly to the left is the entrance the mine
This is the closed up entrance to one of the early mine shafts from the 1800s. To get to here the miners used ladders, and according to one historian they had a wood walkway constructed down to the mine from the top of the mountain.
Following the roadway up about a quarter of the way, you can see whats left of a road way over to the foot of the cliffs
From underneath the cliffs, the 3 dots we can just about see from the second picture are a little closer. There are still two steel cables coming down from the cliff face and the closed off mine, further up the cliff face
The three shaft entrances up close and personal. The one on the top right is the one that can be seen from the road, and goes in for about 5 metres, the one in the upper left only about a meter or so….
but this mine shaft goes in for quite a bit. The entrance was flooded, but once inside its fairly dry going. I would say that the mine goes in for about 100-125 metres.
You can see the drill marks on the walls
The cables leading down the mountain. Originally the barite was sent down in buckets. A railway system was used to bring the barite to the port of mullaghmore, and coal to power the drilling machinery
Its steep climb to get to this mine, and there is quite a drop if you fall!
There are supposedly quite a few mineshafts around the Gleniff valley. We tried to reach this one but couldn’t, as the ground was slippy underneath. We think that it definately was a mineshaft due to the barite spoil on the ground around the entrance
After exploring this mine, we treked around to the most recent mining works for an explore. Open cast mining was carried out in the past and the cleft that can be seen at the top of the mountain runs north/south with the seam of barite.
This is the remains of one of the open cast clefts, to the left of the mine entrance.
Further down from the cleft above, is one of the earliest open cast clefts from the 1800s.
In one of these is a section that drops down about thirty or forty feet. Be vary careful
From inside the mine, this gulley leads to the surface, and is in line with the vein of barite, from the last two pictures
Beneath the gulley
The GPS watch said that we covered just under 15 kilometres from start to finish, and it took us six and half hours. If you fancy trying to visit the first mine on the Gleniff side, be extremely careful. The ground is fairly wet and loose in places, and the death factor is fairly high! Wear proper hiking shoes/boots as your feet will get wet, no matter how careful you are. Keep your hands free and keep a hand hold as you walk. Bring good torches, and plenty of food!