by Julie

The cost of running

I forced myself out of bed this morning for a run, and am I glad I went. It was a beautiful morning, quiet enough with walkers but increased car activity. Now that lockdown is easing, people are going back shopping and playing football and doing other things so the footpaths are much quieter - noticeably so around here. It’s definitely good for me in terms of running if there’s less people out and about. I think I will stick to the pre-work running. Really just means getting up a bit earlier when it comes to…
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by Julie

Virtual Bloomsday

Today is Bloomsday, a day when James Joyce’s novel Ulysses is celebrated in Dublin and around the world. It was set on 16 June 1904 in Dublin, which was the actual day that Joyce met his lifelong partner Nora Barnacle. It’s kind of a day-in-the-life of various characters and indeed the city itself. It’s funny and challenging and musical and totally Irish, yet somehow universal. To me it’s always been a kind of secular holiday, a day to celebrate Joyce and Dublin. It’s mostly on-line this year but it’s still special. All day RTE has…
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by Julie

Running the mile I’m in

So I did my first virtual running event yesterday, the Castleknock 5k. It’s a lovely charity event they hold in memory of a local guy who died young a few years back and all proceeds go to a selected charity. This year it was the local hospice, St Francis’, who had supported my Dad and Mam, so I wanted to make sure I contributed a few bob. I always remember a girl I knew in Athlone saying ‘if you ever get a chance to do anything for a hospice, do it’, and she was right.…
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by Julie

Slow and torturous

I took the day off work on Friday as I was totally wrecked after the intense two weeks of quarter-end. Of course I woke up early, so I noodled around for a bit before going out for a run. It was overcast and a bit wet so I was hoping it would be quiet out, and it was ok. It’s actually easier to avoid cars on the road now than pedestrians on the footpath, so I generally run on the road to give no offence and steer clear of people. Increasingly I think people don’t…
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