Killarney (from Irish: Cill Airne meaning “church of sloes”) in County Kerry is one of the most popular and renowned tourist destinations around ireland. The town is located north of the MacGillicuddy Reeks, on the northeastern shore of the Lough Lein/Leane which are part of Killarney National Park. The town and its surrounding region are home to St. Mary’s Cathedral, Ross Castle, Muckross House and Abbey, Lakes of Killarney, Torc Waterfall and Gap of Dunloe. Tons of tourist busses and backpackers are floating around the small town and the beautiful surroundings.

This sunday the DUNDAG MASTERS OPEN WATER SWIMMING CLUB KILLARNEY had the annual MUCKROSS LAKE SWIM on the agenda. The race was split up in different 1 Mile, 3K, 4K and 5K competitions.

I entered the 5K together with 23 other swimmers. A nice crowd lined up at the registration beside the scenic Muckross Lake. Most of the tourist just had the breakfast when we made our way towards the start at a small beach at the south shore of the lake.

The water was calm when the race startet, but later in the swim it became a bit choppy as the wind came up from the mountains.

To swim in Muckross Lake was a unbelievable experience. The landscape is something else and to swim in such a beautiful surrounding is something really special.

The race itself went solid for me. It was my longest swim race ever so i didnt know how to tackle the distance. After all i should have pushed a bit more. I got into a nice rhytm at around 1k and was holding the pace steady until the finish.

Results 5K

Togs
1. NED DENNISON – 1:16
2. KEN ROGERS – 1:21
3. JOHN CONROY – 1:26
4. MARK DEMPSEY – 1:28
5. FIONNUALA WALSH – 1:32

Wetsuit
1. ORAN KANE – 1:10
2. JOHN EDWARDS – 1:24
3. JOHN CONROY – 1:26
4. MARKUS ROESSEL – 1:26
5. VINCENT HARRIS – 1:32

Today i received my race number for this years Berlin Marathon. 

Still injured i know that i can not run – that hurts more than the cramped legs.

Life is a long lesson in humility.

James M. Barrie

Open Water swimming is addictive!

I got another dose this sunday afternoon at Portrush harbour in Northern Ireland.

Conditions could not have been better for the 2k swim across the Westbay and back.

The water temperature was at around 13-14 degrees and 12 swimmers lined up to enjoy the calm Atlantic wetsuit free.

Read the ILDSA race report HERE.

Standing in Cobh harbour you can see a 42 hectare big island roughly 2k from the mainland – Spike Island (Irish: Inis Píc).

The island is famous for its prison so the well known term “escape from…” was used to give the swim its name.

Not many people escaped the island. In 1921 the IRA prisoner Richard Barrett made his way out of the prison, this sunday Niall O Crualaoich and his family organised a legal island getaway and 35 people were held in custody for a short while.

Perfect conditions made the swim a true experience and the choppy final 500 metres were challenging for everybody.

Wetsuit
1. Brian O’Shea – 24:34

Pictures

There is still no running. Another visit to Cappagh hospital in Dublin was on the agenda today.

After two negative Pressure Studies i had an Magnetic Resonance Angiogram (MRA) today.

A magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) is a type of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan that uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to provide pictures of blood vessels inside the body. In many cases MRA can provide information that cannot be obtained from an X-ray, ultrasound, or computed tomography (CT) scan.

Now i am waiting for the result.

When does thing come to an end?