Exploring Dublin Part II

With Socs off to work, I was left to explore Dublin on my own. It's always a little unnerving to go about a new city alone as even crossing the street poses unique challenges. Luckily Dublin city authorities helped out on that regard.

So I set off to see more of "newer" parts of Dublin first and explore that area. It is actually an older part of Dublin that used to be more of a docklands/warehouse area but is now the up and coming place where more modern apartments are being built up and the development of their financial district.

Armed with the knowledge I gathered from the River Liffey Tour, I went back and took a closer look at some of the attractions along the river. Walking along the North side, I saw a couple of nice bridges, the James Joyce Bridge which bounced up and down from the pedestrians walking over it and the new (and unfinished) Samuel Becket Bridge which is reminiscent of a harp, an icon for anything Irish (see the Guinness beer, their coat of arms etc)

And since the River Liffey was the lifeblood of Dublin, it also showcased a replica of Jeanie Johnston (a really old boat) that offers sailing training trips, which is something to look forward to if and when I relocate.

And then there was the Famine Statues, sometime in Dublin's history there was a great Famine and is constantly reminded by memorials such as this.

A quick walk back to the apartment made me pass by the Court House and a few more bridges before I got to the familiar city center.

Fitness Log #16 aka I'm Back

Day 15: Oct 26, 2009

Squats - 5x5@70kgs

Overhead Press - 5x5@45kgs

Deadlifts - 1x3@90kgs

Pull-ups - 3xF(12, 8, 6) @Bodyweight only

Prone Bridges - 3x30sec

Jason and I decided to go and do 70kg squats today. Despite my leg not being 100% I was able to do relatively good reps in. We are planning on sticking to 70kgs this week and increment by 2.5kgs next week so as not to shock the body.

OHP still sucked a bit, but with spotters we were able to get the reps done. 90kgs of deadlift was better this time. Probably the psychological effect of having a spotter adds something. Although the 3rd rep was not in good form according to Jason.

Fitness Log #15

Day 14: Oct 23, 2009

Squats - 5x5@65kgs

Bench Press - 5x5@55kgs

Inverted Row - 3xF(15, 12, 8) @Bodyweight only

Push ups - 3xF(15, 15, 15) @Bodyweight only

Reverse Crunches - 3x12

Forced myself to the gym this time. Mediocre performance on everything except Bench Press. I was taking care of my leg and was not really in the mood, I just needed to log my second workout for the week.

Exploring Dublin Part I

The first few days of my two week vacation in Dublin was getting my bearings and exploring the city. Socs and I went for a quick and dirty walk of the city enter and the major streets that I would be walking for the rest of my days in Dublin.

I saw the usual Dublin highlights such as the Spire of Dublin (aka The Stiletto in the Ghetto aka The Nail in the Pale aka The Pin in the Bin aka The Stiffy at the Liffey aka The Erection in the Intersection aka The Rod to God, etc) and Molly Malone statue (aka The Tart with the Cart aka The Dolly with the Trolley aka The Trollop with the Scallop aka The Dish with the Fish aka The Flirt in the Skirt). Dubliners tend to have cool nicknames for such things.

I was finally able to try the infamous Nando's chicken that I've heard so much about, and might I say it was pretty good. In fact I was able to sample quite a few of the restaurants I've been hearing about and none have failed me.

One of the more touristy things we did was visit the Old Jameson (pronounced "Jemeson") Distillery. I was not really a fan of whiskey (or hard drinks for that matter) but after taking a sip of Jameson Irish Whiskey (and one with cranberry juice) I seemed to take a liking to Jameson Whiskey in particular. According to the tour guide, Jameson is arguably the best whiskey and I'm not one to argue.

On one very nice Irish day (the sun was actually out), Socs and I went on the Liffey River Tour which basically ran up and down the Liffey River, which is the lifeblood of Dublin. This gave me a chance to know more about the city and find out interesting places to see and visit during my stay.

Fitness Log #14 aka I suck

Day 13: Oct 19, 2009

Squats - 5x5@60kgs

Overhead Press - 5x(5,5,4,4,5)@40kgs

Deadlifts - 1x3@90kgs

Chin-ups - 3xF(10, 5, 3) @Bodyweight only

Prone Bridges - 3x30sec

I suck. While the squats were ok and could have done 70kgs, everything else was crap. After a (relatively) long hiatus, I felt some effects of the travel and jetlag. My leg muscles still felt all bunched up (perhaps from the cold Irish weather and the 24 hour flight) so I had to wear knee braces on both knees.

OHP sucked big time. Jerked the weight more than usual and failed to reach 5 reps on 3rd and 4th set. Luckily Daryl came in to help on the 4th set (I nearly failed to do the 4th rep there) and on the last rep of the 5th set. He also gave me quite some time to rest for the 5th set hehe

90kgs of deadlift was a little too much for me. I was shaking all the way up and was not much in control on the way down so I stopped at 3 reps. Might go back down to 80kgs next time.

Chin ups was a mix. I liked the form, but only managed to do 3 proper chin ups on the last set. These were all unassisted though so at least I know where I am.

I made a mistake on the prone bridges as I tried to do them at 1 min intervals hehehe. Only managed to do it successfully on the first set. Next 2 were probably in the region of 45secs, not bad.

also identified

Just like in Cyprus, I've recently chanced upon knowing what things are way after I've wondered about them.

I was surfing the internet over the weekend for Voyager I information (yes, I am a geek) and somehow chanced upon this link (if you can figure out how these two are related, I'll give you a pack of chocnut). The sculptures looked familiar, and I finally realized that these where the weird sculptures I've been passing by from work when I was in Vermont.

Everytime I chanced upon the sculptures from the highway, I wondered what it was and why the hell was it there. I had no idea how to get there as it was in the middle of nowhere. Now I know, and knowing is half the battle...

Fitness Log #13

Day 12: Sept 25, 2009

Squats - 5x5@60kgs?

Bench Press - 5x5@50kgs

Inverted Row - 3xF(?, ?, ?) @Bodyweight only

Push ups - 3xF(?, ?, ?) @Bodyweight only

Reverse Crunches - 3x12

First (and only) workout in Dublin. I thought that given the stress of international travel would weaken me so I decided to reduce the weight on my squats. I was mistaken there and could have proceeded to do 70kg squats.

Went up to 50kg bench presses as I couldn't find a couple of 10kg plates. Weight was decent. Forgot the number of reps on the inverted rows and push ups, but it was neither pathetic not spectacular.

After more than a week off, I'm back to the gym tonight. Thinking about shifting programs but might as well continue with the program rather than waste my time and effort.

Roar!

I initially wanted this...

... but we got this instead :)

In Eire

A few days behind, but I am finally in Dublin, Ireland. It was a very long flight from Manila and I wasn't able to get some sleep for 24 hours. And with the weather that greeted me here I wasn't a hundred percent the following day.

Felt better after a day of taking things slow. Met some of Socs' officemates and had dinner with Christian, Joel and Tinay. Suprisingly very good Irish weather today, the sun is out most of the day and was able to walk around a bit without a jacket on. Socs and I just came back from a river cruise, pictures to go out later tonight probably. Looking forward to explore the city tomorrow (weather permitting) rather than just the shopping areas hehe.

We're off to the gym tonight, hopefully I'll get back into the groove of things after a long time off. I'll probably take it easy for tonight, it is a vacation after all.