Dundalk Parkrun 5k... First Race in Years

Well there it is...after a hiatus of 8 years (which was after a hiatus of 5!) I finally raced again, and set what I will claim as a 'modern times' PB (though not without controversy!).

I was joined by my 11 year old boy, Cuan, who took a wrong turn towards the end and added a minute to his time, and still managed to come in ahead of me 😃

We were meant to be joined by Mikey Minnock, but he took a wrong turn getting to the place and ended up at DKIT Sports instead of the college campus!

I've been back training, on and off for a good few weeks now and I was feeling confident that I could come home inside the 27 minute mark that my eldest, Murty, had set as an end of year challenge for me, so I set off at a tempo that was far higher than anything I've run lately (and against my own advice to Cuan). By the midway point I was beginning to struggle and honestly questioning whether I would finish at all with 1.5k to go. But I kept at it, and my smartwatch shows the pace dropping, but not as badly as I thought.

I crossed the finish line and switched off my watch at 26.15, after which the woman at the line was looking for both my barcode and Cuan's -a conversation that cost us nearly a minute on the official clock. To add to the confusion, the watch shows only 4.96km from start line to finish, so my time of 26.15mins is also in question, but certainly I was faster than the official recorded time of 27.22! Was I sub 27? Surely I was, as I hit my own watch correctly from start to finish, and even if the course was 0.4k shorter than official I would have come home sub 27 (or would I?).

As for Cuan - another contestant said he was like a gurrier flying past them - though I'm sure she meant 'terrier'😃 If he hadnt taken wrong turn he'd be in the 25 min bracket.

As for time? Well, I know for sure I did 4.96k in 26.15 mins. Maybe that's all I can record until I break the 5k 27min mark officially, so Murty's challenge remains.

Back at it (Plodding)

Right, the old blog is getting dusted off. I've started running again, and I need somewhere to be honest about it.

Today's marker: 3.46 km in 33 minutes, about 9:32 per km. At that pace a 5k is somewhere around 48 minutes. It's a long way from the 23:16 I ran in Westport in 2014, and from the 28:20 in Knocknacarra in 2023, but everyone has to start somewhere, and this is somewhere.

The plan is simple: three easy runs a week, log every one, and see where I am come the new year. First target is sub-40.

Let's see how it goes.

Late Night, Early Morning Run in Sligo.

Went down to Sligo with my father on Friday for a weekend of music, drink and meeting up with relations.  It was the County Fleadh - a festival of traditional music and dance, so Dad and I brought the fiddle and banjo and headed down to stay with uncle Marty and his wife Patricia.

The craic was mighty - with a great sing song in The Castle Inn on Friday night in Easkey with Marty, Daniel and Derek, followed by a chat back at home until 3am.

On Saturday morning, I elected to get out of bed early and get the body moving.  So I ran down to Dunalton,   The body wasn't in the most energetic of shapes, but I got down there.  The place is absolutely beautiful - with a serious dip in the valley before you get to 'St Farnan's Shrine' away in the trees.

Further down is Dunalton itself - like a mini version of the Cliffs of Moher.  I sat for a few minutes to take it all in and to call the family at home.  And then started the jog back.  All in all a short run, but given my condition after the frolics of the night before I was happy I did anything.

It left me tired enough for the rest of the day - a sorching hot day where we got to visit landmarks such as the Beach Bar in Aughris Head, before making our way back to the Castle Inn again at around 6pm for more tunes with the likes of Damien, Jason and Lorna McGuinness, Darren O Reagan and others.

We had a great weekend - and at the very least I ticked off some sort of a run!

Warm weather, short run...

 

It's beautiful here at the moment - the sun shining, the flowers are blooming and even old ruins like this one (right across from our house) are standing proudly.

On the subject of old ruins - I, myself, am feeling okay these days.  Today was my first training run since the Park Run 5k on Saturday, and I really am just stealing a bit of time here and there between working, bringing kids home from school, bringing kids to accordion/football/judo practice, calling in to my Mum in the nursing home and calling up to Dad above in the house.

Still - the running is supremely important.  I need to get back to a level of fitness that will allow me to function with intent in everything else.

Today, I just did about 3k, with 1k easy, and 2k hard - at a higher pace than I'm used to.  This meant that, even thought it was a short run, it was tough.  I remember from my old Furman training programme that a tempo run like this can work wonders for your fitness...

Here's hoping!

First Run in Nearly 10 Years!

 Thank God I'm finally, finally, back running (if plodding).

I signed up to the Knocknacarra 5k Park Run on Saturday last, and went in with brother Richie (above)- where we met up with Darach (pic below).  

It was a gorgeous morning - and the turnout was at the high seventy mark.  These park runs are normally well organised.  My last park run, back in early 2014, was in Westport with Big Ron.   I finished that in a time of 23.16 - and by all accounts I was disappointed with my time!  

How times have changed... I plodded through this run and completed it in 28.20 - a full two minutes behind Richie, and well behind Darach.  Even so, I was well pleased with the run.  There were times over the last ten years when I was sure I wouldn't run again.  To be part of a running community is something special.

I now have a marker - I know what I need to improve on.

Back to Saturday runs with Murty

 I got out for a 3k trot on Saturday with Murty... first in a long time, but I'm determined to get back (if slowly) on to the running wagon again.  It was fierce cold, and lashed a little icy rain.  Poor Murty (who is only 10!) felt the brunt of it, and asked to shelter for a minute at the door of an old shed by the beach.

Later that afternoon I indulged in a pint with the aul fella! Not bad for one day's inter-generational bonding!

Slow(ish) run down to beach and back...

 I broke with my original training plan for a new and revolutionary one:  no training at all.  This lasted for over a week before I arrested the slide yesterday with a nice slow 4k run, down to the local beach and around the loop road back.

I felt the excesses of the past two weeks - the beer to welcome returning siblings on holidays, the beer to welcome returning cousins on holidays, and the beer to celebrate Galway reach the All Ireland final for the first time in 21 years!

Okay - too much beer.  The Claregalway 10k looks ominously out of reach - but still I will continue to push on with slow, mid range runs, for the next week or two and see if I'm anywhere near the pace... If not, we can adjust and go again!

Little Kathleen welcomes me back!