Taking Stock of the Year

2019 has been a good year for me personally, professionally and sporting wise. I've had plenty of bad moments and challenges too. It's not all rosy, but in general life is good. My recent injury has forced me to stop - step back and reflect on the year so far. Sport and exercise takes energy …

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Night Run 10km – a surprise win

28th April 2019 – 10km PB of 33m 56s This race report was written last month after an unusual Sunday night for me. Wow, I’m shocked, surprised, delighted, tired, buzzing, happy, motivated. I don’t know what to say. I won a 10km in 33:56 beating over 4,000 competitors. It doesn’t get much better – plus …

Wicklow Way Relay 2019

Race Report 2nd place, Rathfarnham AC in 7h14m This race really is the Grand National of Irish Hill running. A big field. A long attritional course. The potential for disaster. The form guides. The chopping and changing of runners and riders. The going of the ground. The risk of falling at the first (not arriving …

Conducting the Orchestra: Phoenix Park Duathlon

27th April 2019: What do you call a duathlon without a bike leg? One of the many questions I pondered as we dealt with the tail end of Storm Hannah today. You learn in life that things will always take a twist, just when it looks like plain sailing. Well today I'm proud of the work …

Quest Glendalough 2019 Report

3rd place, 3h21m, 60km, +1800m My third time out in Glendalough and it turned out well – 3rd place after 3+ hours of slogging up and down Wicklow’s finest hills. I really do love these events – the Quest team open up beautiful parts of our country, where we get to battle it out with …

Bohermeen Half Marathon: Smashed my PB

PB by 90 seconds – 75:41 (3:35 pace) – 19th of 1,200 competitors Country village races are just better The smaller the community the better the vent. All you need is a pub, a church, a school, a community centre or GAA pitch and a big field for a car park. Oh, and let’s not …

Women in Tech: Hopper Local / Dublin Conference

I don’t get out of the office much. Today, I only left the building for a 10 minute walk at lunchtime. But it was a really enlightening day, not my usual mix of emails, meetings and evening calls. Microsoft hosted the first ever Hopper event outside the USA, and I was lucky enough to get …

The Love of Sport: Special Olympics

This week we hosted loads of Special Olympics athletes in our offices at Microsoft Ireland. They are a mix of men and women of all ages, who take part in the games in various sports like table tennis, golf, dancing, football and basketball. I was touched by the challenges these people face and how they …

Book Review: Off Balance (Matthew Kelly)

I read a nice short book recently which got me to think differently about the perennial question that every worker now faces: “how do I find the balance between work and my life?” We live in a crazy, always on, smartphone-centered world. The answer Kelly gives is that we’re asking the wrong question. I was …

Exploring La Palma

Hiking & running in one of the lesser known Canary Islands (December 2018) Visiting “la Isla Verde” Our 14th year away at Christmas, since John left us in 2005. We've always gone away. I look forward to it, so this time split my time by discovering a new island: La Palma. I’d read a blog …

Canada & Quebec: What’s different?

Canada is a peaceful place. The pace of life is calm, even in the city. Drivers are patient. Cyclists are well lit and wrapped up. Streets have character, with unique shopfronts. Lots of Irish surnames – Murphy, Maguire, Mulcahy. Plenty of British influence: spelling - “centre” not “center”’; a bronze statue of the Queen on …

Comparing Quebec and Ireland

Visiting Quebec for 2 weeks this autumn has made me think a lot about the parallels between these 2 places. Even though they are very proud of their language and heritage, they're not anti-British or anti royalty. They still show that patriotism to fight. On the face of it, you see so many differences: language, …

Visiting Quebec

I spent 2 weeks exploring Quebec in late October 2018, visiting a good friend in Ottawa. I was lucky to have a local tour guide and get to explore great cities like Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City, as well as the great outdoors. Here are my thoughts from my diary. Trip Highlights Hiking up Mont …

The Stook 10 Mile

2nd in 59:40 (3:43 pace) Dungarvan is synonymous with a big 10-mile race, named after John Treacy, but it better watch out, as it’s namesake up the road in Kilkenny will give it a run for its money. Today I took part in a lovely community organised race in rural south Co. Kilkenny. It’s a …

What I Listen To: Podcasts & Radio

I recently shared my favourite blogs and writers that I read online. This time I’m sharing my favourite podcasts and radio shows. I spend a lot of time listening to music, talk shows and documentaries. It can be at my desk in work or out for a run in the evening. I love finding out …

The Joys of Reading on the Web

I love reading and learning about new perspectives and things. The web has opened up a world of great writers, bloggers and journalists. I want to share the mix of sources I follow – as everyone has a unique insight to this world. My essential reads list covers football, triathlon, running, economics, technology, travel and …

Returning to Canada

I’m on a plane over the Atlantic, on my way back to Canada for the 4th time. It brought back memories of my previous trips. First time was in 2002 when I visited Toronto for the World Youth Day festival, where I got to attend Mass with Pope John Paul II. We also got to …

Quest Killarney 2018: Did Do Better

Sixth year running around Killarney, I was surprised to end up on the podium in 3rd after 4 hours of racing. This is a story of familiar faces, glorious gaps, muddy mountains, lovely lakes, stupid sheep, continuous climbs, dangerous descents, several surprises, pilates poses and lots more. I’ve been going down to Killarney since 2013 …

Wild Atlantic Way Cycle

5 days in West Cork & Kerry on the bike with the Microsoft Crew Day 1: Kinsale to Skibbereen 106 kilometres A long day - 2 days in 1 really, up at 5:20am with the alarm, to get on a bus to Cork. Seeing new faces and old friends. A quick pitstop change in Kinsale …

Charity Events at Work: What I Learnt

In September 2018, I took part in a charity fundraiser with my colleagues at Microsoft Ireland. A team of 80 people fundraised over €110,000 for Ireland’s only children’s hospice, Laura Lynn. I wanted to share my thoughts on all the great things that I learnt by taking part, both from a personal and team point …

Thoughts on race organisation

This year I’ve spent more time organising races than competing in them, so I’ve had lots of time to think about what goes into organising events. I was race director for 4 of Belpark Tri Clubs races, which took up a lot of time in the winter, spring and summer. Most races or events are …

Hiking in the Comeraghs

Recently I took up a new challenge, hill walking. I’ve ran in the mountains for years but never really gone for a long hike. You know the crowd, out with their poles, waterproofs, compasses, flasks, boots and those shoe cover things to keep your feet dry. Timing was good – I signed up over 6 …

Exploring Co. Down

Last weekend, I spent a couple of days in Northern Ireland. My excuse was the Belfast Titanic Triathlon, so I stayed on and explored a new part of the province – East County Down & the Ards Peninsula. It was a really nice couple of days, staying in Portaferry and cycling a lap of Strangford …

Dingle Adventure Race: 2018 Race Report

My 7th year coming down to Dingle for an always memorable and happy weekend. This time was different. I was injured, so had to make a call the night before to drop down to the sport distance. My ankle has been sprained since a triathlon 2 weeks ago, so there’s no way I could run …

Wicklow Way Relay 2018

Rathfarnham AC Team Report By David Power, Team Captain One of the highlights of the IMRA calendar, a real celebration of team spirit, adventure and surprises. Rathfarnham AC was hoping to continue our proud history in the Wicklow Way Relay, an 8 person relay over 100 kilometers from Dublin to South Wicklow. In our way …

Maurice Mullins Trail 2018

8th – 1h57m One of the excellent IMRA events, which I completed for the 4th time. Conditions were calm and mild, and a lot drier underfoot thank I’d expected. It’s nice waiting at the start in Ballinstoe. Watching the Ultra runners reach their halfway mark, just as we set off. Fair play to them all. …

Thoughts on America

January 2018: After a week in Trump’s America, working, travelling and meeting people, here are some thoughts: Work Start early, finish early Face to face meetings are great Redmond, WA has so many job opportunities The drinks fridge is impressive Microsoft is full of white & Asian people The Reno office is really quiet People …

Skiing in Tahoe, USA

I was lucky enough to ski at Lake Tahoe in January 2018, while on a work trip to Reno, Nevada. It was very cold but beautiful and a great experience. It got me thinking - how does skiing in the USA compare to the European Alps? 20-Jan: Skiing at Heavenly Back in South Lake Tahoe …

Rotterdam Memories: 11 years later

I wrote this piece in 2017, after spending a week in Rotterdam. In September 2017, I was back in Rotterdam, 15 years after I first stepped off the plane in the Netherlands. First, I came to Maastricht on a university exchange in 2002. I loved it so much and it changed my world, that I …

Cycling in Gran Canaria: North vs South

Gran Canaria is a mecca for winter cycling, on the road and off-road MTB. For years I’ve spent a week around Christmas riding through the valleys and climbs on the southern coast, based out of Free Motion in Playa del Ingles. This year I explored the north of the island, based out of Las Palmas. …

The Spanish Football Podcast Live #TSFP

Spanish football has been an interest of mine, ever since I first watched the Galacticos of Real Madrid back in the 1990s with Beckham, Raul, Ronaldo and Roberto Carlos. Zidane's winning goal in Hampden Park, Glasgow in 1998 against Bayer Leverkusen stands out, even though it's 20 years ago. So it was nice to go …

Gran Canaria Cycling: Pico de las Nieves from Las Palmas

Route: 91km, +/-2855m, 5hrs, 20th Dec 2017 HC climb – for years I watched the Tour de France and didn’t really know what it meant. Hors Categorie – without categorisation. Climbs could be graded 1-4 depending on gradient and length. HC was invented for climbs off that scale – tougher than a Cat1. (In Ireland …

Novice XC Champs 2017

WIT Arena, Waterford, 17th December 2017 44th in 21:37 (3:45 pace over a muddy & hilly 6km course) Pure racing. Raw sport. No bells or whistles. Cross country needs a muddy field, a car park, tape to mark the course and start/finish line. Bring along 2,000 runners of all ages and let them at it. …

Virtual workshops using Surface Hub

This week I got to use some cool technology which really impressed me. Imagine if the National Emergency Coordination Committee could use this technology to collaborate on the response to natural disasters like Ex-Hurricane Ophelia which hit Ireland this week? Ok, I work for a tech company who makes cool stuff like Xbox, Windows, Azure, …

Cycling around the Netherlands

September 2017 Overall thoughts After 5 days of cycling around the Netherlands, there are a few great things I noticed and appreciated, which makes cycling safe, enjoyable and easy. Touring on a bike is such a great way to see the countryside. You discover so much more than going by car or train. It’s a …

Race day – Rotterdam Triathlon (World Championships 2017)

Race report from Rotterdam Triathlon - ITU World Championships 2017

Rotterdam: Name the Triathlete

One of the best things about racing aboard is the World Cup of nations you met and get to race a against. The Mexicans had the best gear, hands down, inspired with their Aztec floral design on every piece of kit – from arm warmers to bras (so I was told!). With over 100 nations …

Charity Cycle for Laura Lynn

On Tuesday 5th September, I'm taking on a 3 day charity cycle with 40 work colleagues at Microsoft in support of Laura Lynn Children's Hospice. Training began in June with many first time cyclists but it's great to see everyone out and ready. We have a big fundraising target of €50,000. Please donate online here …

Remembering John

John left this world 12 years ago, back in 2005. To be honest, I didn’t realise til I had a chat with my dad this evening. I’ve tried to remember him each year, as I’m sure lots of people miss him and think of him regularly. The post below is something I wrote back in …

Race Report: Dun Laoghaire Harbour Swim

13th August 2017 One of my goals every year, when I sit down in January, is to try something new. For 2017 I wanted to improve my swimming – I love getting out in the sea. My plan was to swim every month in the sea – starting in freezing cold January waters. The perfect …

Achilles Injury: The Positives

I can’t remember who Achilles was but he’s got a tendon named after him. So, I’m assuming he knows how I feel, with a bit of Achilles Tendinopathy. It’s a mouthful but a month into physio, rehab and no running I know a bit more. Being told I can’t run and need to rest is …

Race Report: Jailbreak Cobh Triathlon

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jancek/34842408953/in/album-72157682945422153/ Jailbreak - who wouldn’t like to swim away from an island back to the mainland? If they can do it in Alcatraz, Cork won’t be outdone. After years of going to Kinsale, for a great race and weekend at King of the Hill, I decided to give Cobh a go, mainly due to the …

Leinster Open Water Swim: Wicklow

16th June 2017 The last time I swam competitively was over 20 years ago when I took part in the Community Games in Mosney. I’m no fish, but I did the backstroke in the 4x25m medley relay. I diverge. Last Friday I took part in the Leinster Open Sea Swim event in Wicklow Town. They …

DAR 2017: Race Report

Result: 6th in 2hr 54m “Rachaimíd ar nós na gaoithe” was my thought at the start line on the Marina in Dingle. I was buzzing after hearing the living legend Micheál O’Muircheartaigh, who started the race with a countdown “o deich a haon.” This was my 7th year doing DAR – I’ve finished 4th twice, …

Coaching & 360 Feedback

I’ve been working with a personal coach over recent months. He doesn’t tell me about heart rates, mile paces or recovery. He doesn’t blow a whistle or wear a tracksuit. Nope this coach is helping me with my career. I’m lucky to get the opportunity to avail of some pro-bono coaching. Coaching - Personal Development …

VO2 Max Test

My Health Matters – Seán Kinnane (April 2017) Things clicked again today. I got refocused on making sporting goals this year and believing that I have a lot more potential to run faster. The catalyst was a VO2 test. It took 20 mins running on a treadmill and 20 mins to explain the results. An …

Duathlon Race Report – RD view

This is a race report with a difference. For a race I didn't even take part in. The Phoenix Park Duathlon took place on 22nd April 2017 with over 200 competitors. I was one of the 40 Belpark Tri Club volunteers who made it happen. Here's my report from the race director's (RD) eyes. Where …

Maurice Mullins Trail Race 2017

Race report from the Maurice Mullins Trail race on the Wicklow Way. Organised by IMRA in March 2017 over 26km.

Book Review: Run Wild

Book review on Run Wild by Boff Whalley - musician & runner.