County Clare and The Cliffs of Moher

On Day Two out in the West of Ireland (day after half-marathon), we decided to leave Clare's place in Kinvara and set out to the Cliffs of Moher.

 (and stop every 30 or 40 feet to take pictures, along the one hour drive)

 

So we drove from near Burren (south of Galway), down to Ballyvaughan, up to the coast road (the black line is a coastal road along the water) which we took down through Fanore and just past,(which is where the Cliffs are), back around to Lisdoonvarna, and back to Galway. Not a big area at all, but we took our time and soaked it up.



 Here's a rock wall with a field behind it that has not yet been cleared of stone. County Clare is covered in limstone. Everytime you see a fertile field, with cows grazing in grass, you know that's only because the field was cleared of these boulders, at one point in history. The West of Ireland is covered in the rock walls because, among other reasons, they needed somewhere to put all those rock piles.

And here is one where it has been cleared. (see above for difference)

 

 Old abandoned Home - Notice the rock wall going up the mountain side

 More of the Rocky Limestone landscape. It was like another planet out here.

 Driving along this road, as the mists cleared, I thought I could see silhouettes, and sure enough, it was a group of hikers coming over the crest. This is called the Burren Trail.

 This view was so gorgeous I could barely stand it.

 Our Trusty VW Rental

 First glimpse of the Cliffs of Moher in the far distance.

 It was blooooody cold, so poor Norah looks miserable  here.

 Norah and Daddy at the Cliffs of Moher

 That first cliff edge, closest to us, is where we'll be standing, soon. =)

 So this is the castle on one cliff top that you'll see later.

 And well, I didn't want to just take pictures of the cliffs with the tiny people on the top - I wanted to be the tiny person on the top. So, out I walk. I'm in the middle of this one, somewhere....

On this, I am the 2nd person in from the edge (a good 12 feet from the actual edge, don't worry). It looks much more treacherous than it is (where I am at least). That guy on the outside, he most certainly had a death wish and was stupid.

 Here, also, I am the 2nd person in from the edge, at the first cliff.

Walking back to safety. People have, literally, been blown off these cliffs, to their deaths and that thought was with me with every single footstep.

 And here's Wayne, same cliff, 2nd guy in. He's looking at us, taking our picture.  

Wayne, 2nd person in.

Looking back at the Castle where Norah was climbing the steps.

 

 



Galway Bay Half-Marathon and 10K

Just to give a visual, here is the map - we drove from Dublin to Galway for this race. My first half-marathon, and Wayne's first 10k race. Thanks to a relatively new highway, this drive now only takes 2 hours - East coast to West Coast. So we woke up looking at the Irish Sea and I was looking at the Atlantic (actually for the very first time in my life) by lunch time.

 

Clare's House in Kinvara, County Galway. Clare is a friend from my running group. She's been coming from the very beginning and we've now run 4 races together in the last 9 months (same with Graham, the other friend who came along for this "destination-run"! Pretty amazing. Clare and her family built this cottage and she was very gracious in letting us all stay here.

 Clare's House in Kinvara, County Galway

Clare has two sons, ages 19 and 16

Clare's House in Kinvara, County Galway

 Clare's House in Kinvara, County Galway

Clare's House in Kinvara, County Galway - On the 2nd morning, the fog had rolled in and it was gorgeous!

The small village of Kinvara

Took this to show the one narrow sailboat in their tiny "locks". Made the Ballard Locks in Seattle seem massive (if I ever see the Panama Canal, I'll probably faint).

 We all drove into Galway to see Wayne off at his start line.
The 10K race started at 9:45 and the half-marathon at 11 am.

All the 10K-ers

  Pre-Race with Norah

 Walking around Galway as we waited for Wayne to finish (which was only 48 minutes so we didn't have much time).

 Now, I've only seen a few Irish cities but Galway is definitely my favorite thus far. I also loved Kilkenny but Galway took the cake.

 I was trying to take a picture of Wayne crossing the finish, not this woman's face. He's on the left, int he blue. (but it was tough while holding Norah, and cheering for Wayne)

 This guy barely broke a sweat despite running faster than I will EVER run, no matter how many years I train.

 Making sure I have my gels, inhaler, gummy bears and iPod......goodness. Whatever happened to just running? This is Killian, the 4th member of our group, over from Dublin, to do the half-marathon. The difference for this guy is he is ALSO running the Dublin full Marathon in less than 3 weeks. He's a real trooper for coming out to run with us.

 Here's Graham coming through the first "lap". I say that because "lap" implies a short distance but this was a 6 1/2 mile loop. Wayne ran the 10K course (which was one grueling lap of this thing) and we ran a little over two of them. (torture)

 Clare and I going through lap 1.

Norah doing some work of her own with her wheelie-backpack

 Graham, comin' in hot for the big finish! This guy finished in 1 hour 56 minutes! (very fast)

 Feelin' good!

 Killian digging in deep to finish in under 2 hours! Amazing!

 And here's Clare - big smile on her face! She did so great!

 Me, rounding the last bend at the 13-mile-marker.

 Such a huge nerd. This is me, seeing them cheering and clapping my hands, going "Woo!". Nerd. But I finished and didn't pass out or throw up so I was plenty happy. 

Me, not feeling great, 10 minutes after. Too. Many. Gels..... Stomach. Angry.

 From the finish line, looking back you could see each runner on the horizon coming in. Beautiful sight.

 Feeling very proud of my hubby, and so happy we both finished.

 Leaning pretty heavily on that railing.

Big smile, hiding pain. Thankfully, my muscles and joints were fine - not too much leg pain - my mistake was taking too many gels when I haven't done that in training runs. (I've only ever trained with taking 1) I learned, afterward, that your stomach/digestion shuts down during a run of this length so if you put anything into "the tank" - (and haven't done so in training) - it will just make you very, very nauseous. Oops. So, while I had high hopes of having a beer, I only had a few sips of this thing. Wayne gladly finished his Guinness though, and then finished mine.

 Galway is home to the Claddagh Ring - something I've always loved and have had several since I was a little girl.