By Ann-Marie Giglio, Owner and CEO CoreMatters
I knew about this trip for months. I planned it myself, with my daughter and son-in-law. I knew she wanted to rent bikes and ride “around” on the Dingle peninsula in Ireland. “Thirty-miles” was never a part of the conversation…but honestly, I should have known these Pacific NW mountain bike riders would have, could have, something like that in mind…
From May to September, I biked by the flat riverside a few times. Of course, my intentions were to ride every Saturday and/or Sunday, but that didn’t happen. Depending on “stuff”, mostly my weekend to-do list, the rides were sporadic and never more than 12 miles.
What I did do, with slightly more consistency, was maintain my kettle bell practice. Nothing fancy or goal-seeking. Just maintenance swings and get-ups. I also did some Z-health eye drills. But it all had to fit my M-F schedule.
So here I was, told we’d be riding about 30 miles, thinking, “Ok, I’m here. I’ll try.” The ride started well. We rode our bikes out of the parking lot, down the hill back toward town, and spun out of the main traffic circle toward what the locals call, “The Wild Atlantic Way.”
I knew what they meant when we rounded the first finger of the peninsula and saw this:
And it just kept getting better. We stopped only to take off our raincoats, or to put them back on, the weather was that fickle. In the middle, about mile 15, we had a beach picnic and then tea with a view 😊. And then finished the circle, another 15 miles. I was good until the last half mile. My legs were simply tired. So my son-in-law rode beside me and pushed me, his hand on my back, up the last hill and 15 minutes later, we were back where we started.
My legs were never sore. I wasn’t exhausted the next day. In fact, we hiked a few miles the next day. If you had told me I was going on an afternoon’s 30-mile bike ride, I wouldn’t have believed it possible.
But this is yet another example of what we call the “What the H#ll?” effect of kettle bell practice, where KBs improves an activity you didn’t train for. Add my Z-health eye work, and I’m in better shape than I’ve ever been in!
Yes, you can get better, no matter your age.
Want some of what I’ve got? Enroll TODAY in our Three Pillars Strong program and our SFG Intro to Kettle Bells. Call 404.435.6367 to find u when the next sessions will begins or email Ann-Marie at annmarie@ourcorematters.com
Ann-Marie Giglio