7.5 with Big Ron, and a Brand New Running Trail...

This heroic pose shouldn't deceive anyone:  Big R had just run a mile more than me, and still finished sufficiently far ahead to take a photo!

And there is Burgundy himself, minutes before we set off on that windy wonderland behind him.

We set off for Leitir Mucu, neither of us having ever run this route before.  To discover a new run on one's own doorstep is always a joy, but this was a real eye opener.  Big Ron at least was familiar with the area, he had driven his car up the narrow little road once before.  To me, it was like fallling down a hole in the ground and ending up in Wonderland.  We parked the car at the starting point - a right-hand turn, up a windy, bogland road.  The 'main' Leitir Mucu road is pretty isolated in it's own right, but this trek led us to completely uninhabited country, where the road prodded it's way through bog, marsh and lake.   The day was perfect for running - crisp air and not a cloud above.  Somehow though I wasn't quite 'with it' running-wise today and even stopped for a slight walk at the 3.5mile mark. I did recover though, and trotted most of the remainder at about an 8.40 pace.  

Big Ron, though, is on another fitness planet.  I turned for home with a little over 3 miles to run but Ron continued for another half mile - yet he still caught up with me right before the finish!   My first race of the year will be the Tuam 8k next Sunday.  Last year I posted a time of 40mins for this particular race...on today's form, beating that time will be no foregone conclusion.