From Guinness to Black Pudding

Well in the last week I've been eating and drinking for Ireland and Australia. I can't go an evening without some beautiful creamy pints of Guinness and in the morning I aways start off with a continental breakfast and end up with a full Irish breakfast - you got to love buffets.
After an awful Irish summer, the weather has been great and it's been great catching up with family and friends. I really forgot how beautiful Ireland is especially the countryside. It was a glorious day for Mossie's wedding and you couldn't ask for a more beautiful location - Glandore in West Cork. From the Rebel County we left for the Kingdom of County Kerry and explored the Dingle Peninsula. It was great to watch the All Ireland final in a pub in Kerry. Kerry were going for 3 in row and got beaten by Tyrone in a very exciting game. Kerry supporters are very unforgiving and there was a famous incident a few years back when the Kerry manager told a reporter 'Kerry supporters are the worst kind of f*** supporters and you can print that'. Apparently he was giving a compliment of sorts...well they called for his head but hung on for another year to bring another All Ireland to the Kingdom.
I did manage to get a few runs in, early on saturday I went for run along Clonakilty Bay(Michael Collins hometown, the man who brought the British Empire to it's knees during the War of Independence in 1921 - a hero of mine). This morning I went for a run in Killarney National Park along the lake. Quite an awe inspiring run as I ran into a herd of red deer. Will head up along the West Coast for a few more days and then head back to Dublin and then onto Berlin.
I had a quick look at the Sydney marathon results and noticed the front runners had a difficult 2nd half. Obviously the weather was factor as I thought Chris Truscott was in better shape than 2.38. In saying that Darren Moyle (5th) and Greg Graves (6th) both ran 2.37 but both slowed up in the 2nd half as did strider veteran's Cam Arnold and Steve Jackson. Maybe the guys went out a little quick as Jo Blake and Chris Graham ran an even split. They say even splits are the way to go...really need to start focusing on Berlin again.
Gerso ran the half and as usual ran a 5 min pb (1.47) beating Big Bear who was 10 sec slower in the Dublin half (tougher course and hot conditions and the bear was suffering from jetlag). Dec Kelly who ran 1.44 in Dublin half is looking good for a 3.45 finish in Dublin at the end of October. The buffet is still open better get down there for my daily feed of black pudding ;)