Dun Loaighre, Saturday 23rd
Got to Seapoint with Vitaly early so got a headstart on warming up after a quick show around the area, as he'd not been there or DL before.
Then along comes Cari, then Flames then other peoples and so the warm ups (that I have to entise Flames to participate in lol) started.
Jogged a bit then dynamics/rotations and some light static stretches.. the usual.
Onto a couple of simples as Flames was out of practice a while and the couple of other gals there had a good go too.
Monkey stalls, cranes, then once feelin back into the swing of things, pop to climb ups, cats, precisions. Then we all just did our own thang and went for a swim, or in mine and Magda's case, a knee high paddle lol
I had a go at barefoot precisions and I have to say, I quite like them. The one's there were nicely inside my range so I could focus a bit more, got em landed good and silent after a couple of slappy, not stuck one's. Thanks Vitaly for the encouragment!
Flames' dad stopped by and had a go at a cat and the pop to climb up, he's quite tall and able so twas no problem.
Went down to the rocks for a ramble, some cat's and pre's, with mumbled complains of the rocks being too rough and not wanting to get runners wet, we set off toward DL after a bit.
Oh and some peoples got cut on the rocks gettin in and out of the sea, myself included, as there was a barrier of slimy seaweed to negotiate, aswell as what the seaweed hid sharp stones, so I tended to those that accepted cream and plasters.
Onwards to the west pier? The parking lot area.
Over the wall to the side with the slanted little walls.
I gave a good few desire fuled go's at taccing from the top of the slant to crane the rounded wall, am almost there too, so will be going back to that till I gets it!
Also just did a few box jumps up on top of the lil slanted wall, they were nice and smooth and silent.
Along came a couple more peeps and so twas onward to the harbour.
This is where I tried something I've not attempted, yet always wanted and invisioned myself doing well, the pop straight up the toilet block wall.
Previously I'd only just grabbed the lil white ledge and used the green circles to climb my way up and onto the roof. So I said feck it today.
I was quite pleasently suprised to find that soon enough I was tipping the very top of the roof overhang!!
Well now, that's a good improvement on my part, both confidence and ability wise and I must thank Matthias for his advice and encouragement!
So anywho, enough of that and onto the antics of the lads who, spurred by one, two more decided to strip to their undies and jump and flip off the harbour into the water after some slight hesitation.
Got some nice pics and watched as Flames and Magda proceeded to apprehend the lads clothes and run off to wear them.
Eventually they were held down and the clothes were back to their owners but twas a bit of a process of asking for them back, then Flames gave in and said "for the love of god give the poor guys back their bottoms". I'll only say this, two of the lads were decent enough but Vitaly, well fair dues to him, the pics'll tell ya why.
Aanywho.. when all was starting to dwindle, some wanted ice-cream, some wanted to train, I proposed a spot of bouldering then the promise of ice-cream my treat.
So off we went, or so I thought.
I went down to the rocky wall area, started and Matthias came down and joined me for a bit only to wander off back to the group, who as I found out, after running to catch up, had wandered off to either go home or get ice-cream. Apparently the news that they were leaving, escaped Matthias, who was to play messenger. But all was well sure, I got a bit done.
So the majority gone, then there were four.
Off for ice-cream we went. We hung around chatting on a bench and happened to notice Hippy on the balcony, so had a bit of a chat with him, said heya to the missus too and off they went.
We hung around chatting outside too before, Flames and I forget her name and Cari got their bus and I headed back for the train. I is satisfided quite well with the days proceedings and progressions of myself and the other peoples.
Thanks to all who went, twas a great day and I didn't get burned so yay.
DCU, Sunday 23rd
Got ready, headed out for my bus to town (27), once there I discovered I'd forgotten my phone, ran back home, got it and then wised up and went the complete opposite direction to get the 17a.
So got to the crossroads and turned into the direction of DCU, texted bullet to let him know I wasn't far, got there and waited at the Helix.
Nice to see him wearing his One Giant Leap t-shirt, that must have been the last time he'd been to a jam.
He did one tac to pre from a rock to the top of the flower bed (which was really nicely planted and colourfull and pretty) and we were politely told not to jump about there, so off we went round to the area in the corner of the yard with the rounded seating block and the freestanding tower.
Stayed here a while just chatting/training and coming up with ideas and routes and the like.
I came up with a nice few things then some that just wouldn't be feasable at all lol
He tried a few out and I tried the few he pointed out for me. Twud be kinda hard to explain but anywho, stuff like: tacs to speed vaults over a nicely sized, wide wall.. a two step stride from said wall to a bench a fair enough way away but was comfy.
A cat to a wall of a building with a window ledge and a slight little ledge lower down the wall. The wall(of building) was slippy so the wee ledge was usefull.
A slanted rail that had less and less space underneath as one side was a raised platform and an access ramp on the other side.
I lazied over and stepped one footed straight under and lazied then straight under and so on till I couldn't fit or roll under.
Then the obligatory (for me cause I likes it much) cat balance, took me a few go's to actually get anywhere, tis one of those on/off/almost kinda things. But once settled, got a nice pace and then backwards too. Was well out of breath too quickly for my liking but given the heat, I excused that.
Both of us just doing our own stuffs, rolling, landing and rolling, me lazying, stepping under and rolling sideways quite slowly, smoothly and silently, which felt real nice.
Flow is something I seem to getting the hang of sometimes, going back to the two person (myself and Vitaly) training day out the last time I was in Bray, I really got into relaxed rail flow there.
So once we were both tired and out of ideas and just chatting, Bullet decided to head off due to the heat and he'd been there a good half hour before I showed, so I said I'd keep training and off we walked then parted ways.
I went to the bike rails near the playground, but heard a few voices throught the wide open windows and thought the better of not staying.
Oddly enough I didn't venture to the playground, dunno why.
Instead I went off down the opposite end to the seclueded enough spot just by the science labs.
Got some clips after I'd played about and did some pre's, wanted to control and stay quiet as there were random peoples in earshot.
Looked at a running pre, you know the bushes by the staircase then the bushes as you walk into the spot, the wall that went from one to the other with the nice gap? No? Ah well, I'll prob include the clips should I make another vid or even just a bit of a sampler or something.
Right so happy that I'd stayed there over a half hour and done little but good I went off and walked/jogged back up the longish road back to the cross roads for my bus.
En route, you know the long rail bout ankle high, just kinda half ran along it, only loosing balance a couple of times when a couple of people shouted at me from their cars lol.
So got home and was happy to settle down and rest with some food.
Back to Dun Loaighre now for the class, 24th
Got there early, couple of people showed within minutes of each other, then waited for the rest. Once all were there, twas to Aidan's car to shed our bags and stuffs, cept for me, I only shed the things I wasn't gonna need.
So off we jogged to the harbour.
Got the warm up stretches done and set about a sort of relay of sprinting some then jogging some of a set distance with the blue lamposts and grey stone bollards as markers. One guy went barefoot well enough.
This also went quite well for me as I was suprised at how good my form/posture was also how light and loose, steady, fast and silent I was for the first few go's, then I, like most, lost momentum by the last few.
Poor Aidan had a dodgy left ankle already, but he went over on it, luckily Ciara(missus Crimmie) was there to lend an experience hand.
So we went on and got to 10 push ups then a climb up, did that 5 times, which was enough for me lol. After that came the precisions, 30 of those, mostly good landings, so that was good.
Then us gals, advised by Aidan, went about tacs then tac to cats, which went well enough, was funny when it didn't work out lol, flinstone feet n'all
Then I went round the other side to give the ever-so-close pop up my best go!
Hells to the f**kin yeah, I only got it twice but it was bloody awesome!!
I'm really pleased with myself!
Of course, as things would go, when I got my cam out to record it, I tried a good few times but to no avail, but feck it sure:\
That definitely made my weekend for me!
Thanks to Aidan and the others who gave me the enoucouragement to keep trying, that's how I got it the second time as I'd lost it after the first go and thought it was a fluke.
When alls was said and done, we all trooped back to retrieve our stuffs from Aidan's car and parted ways.
A few of us got the train back together.
Once home I sprawled out on the couch after spending the last of my hyped up, happy energy dancing about well chuffed with myself for the past 3 days of training, mostly that I'd gotten that pop to climb-up at the class.
So I guess I'll just end abruptly here lol
Fun and prosperous times!
Till next time
Sprite
Pac